Can Y'all Handle An EPIC MEAL TIME?

I'm watching the Dallas-Miami game as I write this so I'm a bit distracted hahaha GO MAVS!! LOVE YOU DIRK AND TYSON CHANDLER!!! :)

Anyway, my officemates David and Josh have been talking about this non-stop. They kept quoting lines from this Youtube sensation. I remember David let us watch our first episode, and I remember it was a bunch of girls eating mac and cheese with burgers inside. Inasmuch as it was disgusting, it was actually fun to watch them mix these RIDICULOUS ingredients all-together to make one hell of an EPIC MEAL TIME!!

Every Tuesday, the guys of Epic Meal Time upload a video on Youtube. Harley Morenstein, co-creator, acts as host. He co-created the show together with Sterling Toth who acts as their cameraman. Also popular is Alex Perrault, a personal trainer, who is known in the show as "Muscles Glasses".


As of now I've watched only a handful of shows, it's a joy to watch because it's bordering on disgusting but at the same time it's something I'd like to try. I actually want to get on a food trip with these guys!

So far, I've watched the EPIC EGGROLL which has Chicken Fried Rice, Cantonese Style Chow Mein, General Tao Chicken, Chicken Fried Rice, and Hunan Dumplings all packed inside a custom eggroll mix. It packs on a whopping 6,378 calories. This is by far my favorite episode, and something I'd most likely eat hehehe!


I also got to watch PROTEIN BAR, where they featured a Seahorse Protein Sandwich (9,763 kcal), 2 Happy Meal Bacon Protein Smoothies (10,500 kcal) and Protein Bar (29,173 kcal) dripping in chocolate.



They also have THE BLACK LEGEND, where they mixed in EVERYTHING SWEET (candies, McFlurry, Chips Ahoy) inside a chocolate wrap. And they asked GIRLS to eat it. The total calorie count was at 19,177.


Oh and these guy LOVE JACK DANIELS AND BACON!!!! Josh and David said these guys took a shot of Jack Daniels mixed with bacon fat. Haven't gotten to watching it, but I think it's fun.

Watch these guys on Youtube, just look for Epic Meal Time, and you're good to go. They have a lot more episodes, so maybe you guys can get around to watching everything. It's actually fun to watch. The mixing of the ingredients is the best part. Plus Harley's narration IS THE BEST!!

So...can you foodies handle this or not? :p

Here are the links:
Epic Meal Time Official Website
Epic Meal Time - Youtube
Epic Meal Time - Twitter

P.S. Oh and to all DALLAS MAVERICKS fans out there. It's OUR TIME!!!!!! :)) GO MAVS!!! :D

Reader's Digest Eat Shoot & Win

To all my fellow foodies out there, you guys might want to join this competition by Reader's Digest. My Mom sent this to me through e-mail. It's perfect for us since we take photos of the food we eat and we try to write in full detail the taste and how it has enthralled us. But this time instead of just informing our readers, we get a shot at winning an iPad 2! :) Perfect isn't it?

Here are the super simple mechanics on how to join the competition.

Contest ends SUNDAY, JULY 10, 2011. Let's not wait for the deadline to join so we could have all the time in the world to describe our favorite street food! :)

For those who would just like to vote for a certain entry, you guys also have the chance to win a Canon Digital IXUS 115 HS camera.

Hope to see your entries there guys! Let's do this! :)

For more information about Reader's Digest Eat Shoot & Win just click on this link.

What Doesn't Kill You Will Only Make You Stronger...

...or put a huge dent and deep scratches at the rear bumper of your car!

Just this morning I got into an accident. I had just crossed the intersection of Buendia and Makati Avenue and about to turn right on H.V. dela Costa when a taxi in front of my car stopped. So obviously I had to stop too. Unfortunately the cab right behind me didn't and hit my car from behind. The impact was a bit strong, so thanking my fast reflexes, I stepped on the brakes harder and pulled on the hand brake just so I wouldn't hit the cab in front of me and prevent further damages on my car. The result:

A pathetic looking rear bumper. It had a HUGE dent and an awful lot of scratches. Plus my bumper looks like it's about to fall off. THIS PICTURE DOES NOT ENTIRELY SHOW THE DAMAGES. But it's painful to look at all the same. What's even more painful is that the taxi that hit me only got a bent hood, and I got this.

I wanna thank my friend Mariko, who thankfully was already up and about at 7AM, for helping me with this situation. It's my first real accident ALONE, so I had no clue on what to do.

So we went to the Traffic Bureau beside the Makati City Hall and filed a police report and our sworn statements. NO BREAKFAST YET. It was killing me! Since we were obviously the first "customers" of the day, we were entertained by an unusually jolly government employees. We both wrote our written statements and surrendered our licenses and car registration. It was pretty fast, although Manong Driver took his time writing his sworn statement.

Here's the good part, I talked to SPO2 Christopher Millares, and he was VERY, VERY ACCOMMODATING. He really helped me with the process. He asked about my comprehensive car insurance (which I am so thankful to GOD for!) and told me about this car shop that was accredited by our car insurance (Prudential Guarantee). He told me if we get the car in at that shop we could waive the participation fee from the insurance company (which costs about P2000 to P4000) and they'd be the ones to process the police reports and the other documents needed to avail of the service from the insurance.

After about 2.5 hours at the Traffic Bureau, I went to check on the car shop named Ambassador Inmogo along Bagtikan St. in San Antonio Village. I talked to Kuya Ramir Bitangcor who was by then already briefed by SPO2 Millares. I thought that it was pretty fast! Kuya Ramir accessed the damages, took photos of the pathetic-looking-barely-hanging on rear bumper and was very helpful. I'd be bringing the car in this Saturday, hopefully the papers would've been processed by the insurance company by then.

This then brings me to thank SPO2 Millares of the Traffic Bureau. Thank you so much! You made my life so much easier! Thank you for giving Kuya Ramir a heads-up! I will make sure your boss knows about it and that you get commended for a job well done! :)

I would also like to thank Kuya Ramir of Ambassador Inmogo. Thank you for the quick assessment of my car and for putting me at ease that my baby Huey would be in good hands as you guys spruce him up and make him look brand new again.

But in line with this, I'd also like to say sorry to the driver that hit my car. You see he's an old guy with a bad leg. He was limping and looked rather weather-beaten. I was surprised when he told SPO2 Millares that he was only 56 years old, he looked WAY OLDER. I know it was an accident, I do not have ill feelings towards you. Your quick apology and no-fuss attitude was what really got me. I really hope you still keep the job since you said you were just driving as a sideline today and that you get into no more accidents. Hope everything's ok after I left you at the Traffic Bureau.

To all my fellow drivers out there, just be careful. Don't lose your cool. And don't ever think that just because a jeepney, bus or taxi driver hits your car, and you know deep in your gut that they won't have means to pay for the damages, don't ever make them feel inferior. Accidents do happen, that's a fact. Lahat naman ng bagay naayos sa mabuting usapan. Accept the apology, don't make a huge fuss about it, forgive the guy, and just let the insurance company take care of the problem. Don't let your anger out on these drivers. They make a living too. It's just really unfortunate that the accident happened, and a lot of time was wasted. You see, it's only YOUR TIME THAT GETS WASTED. These drivers lose potential customers, their only means of getting by. So just keep it cool! :)

Feel at Home at Mom & Tina's Bakery Cafe

It was a year and a half ago when I first got to eat at Mom & Tina's Bakery Cafe. We were newbies here at Solar Entertainment and our officemates decided to go eat at their Legaspi Village branch as a group to welcome us. We ate there again for a despedida dinner for one of us who was about leave for film school.

So I had a good idea on how good the food was here, that's why I wanted to bring my Mom there for a good dinner. After weeks and even months of planning, we finally got to go last night after Mass. Good thing they have a branch in Pasig, along C5 so we don't have to travel all the way to Makati for it.

The Pasig branch is exactly like the Makati one - HOMEY! It's really a good place for families, and since it was a Sunday night, families filled the place up. Although I have to say the wallpapers are a bit excessive, no offense!


Besides the bright and floral wallpapers, the other thing that welcomes you are these huge chillers with everything sweet, creamy, rich, and sinful.



Had had a sample of their cupcakes before, and I must say they're really super good! They're really creamy and not too sweet. Perfect for dessert with a good cup of coffee.

So here's what we ordered:

Caesar Salad - whole. We asked them to split them to two already.

What we loved with this salad is that their veggies are super fresh. The lettuce was green and crunchy. They also had very generous servings of bacon bits, croutons, and dressing. Really good way to start our meal.

For our main course, Mom ordered her favorite Callos.

Although it has to be said that OUR home-made callos is waaaaaay better than this. But suffice to say it's also waaaaaaay better than what Mom had in Dulcinea which was a total flop. In all fairness, this Callos had tender meat and good portions of twalya or tripe. It was only later that Mom noticed that it didn't have pimientos.

As for me, I've been really wanting to have this all for myself: the famed Shepherd's Pie.

The first time I tried this, I was SOLD! On top is like half an index finger full of mashed potatoes. But what's underneath that, that makes this a real winner. MEAT! Ground meat! It's just so tasty, and their sauce HEAVENLY! I especially love it when it's a bit cooler cos the mashed potatoes harden a bit and it mixes with the meat. I This was so good I had to recommend it to my good friend Mariko when they ate there. And like me, she absolutely fell in love with this.

For drinks, we had the Carousel. It's basically just an entire round of their iced teas - blue, red, green, and lemon. Mom and I only had 2 out of the 4. Their iced teas are a bit on the sweet side, it's best that you let the ice melt a little, but that's just me hehe.



We were stuffed. But more because of the iced teas. We planned on having coffee, but we just didn't have space in our tummies. But not giving in just yet, I bought a tub of Oatmeal Raisin Cookies.


Had a piece at home with coffee. You get to taste butter the moment you bite into it. Not too sweet. But I don't like the kind of raisins they used. It just gave the cookie an entirely different taste. So kinda disappointed with it.

But hey, if you want something homey to eat in, I totally recommend Mom & Tina's Bakery Cafe. Nice also to bring home cupcakes for both the kids and the adults. They still have other stuff there worth trying. But I will forever swear on the Shepherd's Pie. Consistency is key...and what's good about Mom & Tina's is that no matter what branch you eat in, the Shepherd's Pie has the same quality, taste, and everything that goes into that makes it SUPERB! MUST TRY!! :))

Mom & Tina's Bakery Cafe
106 E. Rodriguez Jr. Ave.
Brgy. Ugong, Pasig City
Tel. No. 914-0833

This Made my Day! Thank you Coffee Bean and Geiser Maclang!

First of all, let me apologize for the absence in blogging. I've been struggling at juggling studying for masters, work, blogging, and my so-called life hahaha! I promise I will make time to finish my Cebu trip blog. I'm so sorry!

Anyway, this totally made my day today. I opened my e-mail and the subject said: "Someone left a drink for you at The Coffee Bean". So I opened the mail and saw this:

I was thrilled to the bones. I SUPER LOVE COFFEE!! I have about 4-5 cups of it every freaking day! It was a huge sacrifice for me to give it up for Lent. Every time my friends and I would hang out, it'll almost always be in a coffee shop.

When we get sick and tired of the usual Starbucks, we go to the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf. BFF Trency has a swirl card already, so we go there frequently and use free wi-fi!

I love Coffee Bean's Vanilla Iced Blended and Cafe Latte. The latte is super good with any of their pastries, especially their cakes. I don't know if I'm the only one who thinks this but I think Coffee Bean has one of the BEST CAKES compared to some coffee shops! I particularly love their New York Cheesecake! Paired with a Cafe Latte, it's simply heaven!! YUMMY!!!

Hope you guys get to receive one of these! It was a huge surprise for me. I'm claiming mine in my usual branch - Four Seasons Condominium here in Salcedo Village. Thank you so much Coffee Bean and thank you Geiser-Maclang! :))

Cebu Part 2: Hello Bantayan Island

After a hectic tour of the city, Trency and I woke up LATE the next day. We wanted to wake up at 6AM but since we were both tired from the day before we overslept and instead woke up at 9AM. After a quick breakfast, we checked out, and hailed a cab to take us to the North Bus Terminal. Good thing our hotel was only about 15 minutes away from the bus terminal, so we got there pretty quick.

As promised more photos, less words. :D

NORTH BUS TERMINAL. Take a bus going to HAGNAYA PIER. It's a good 3 hours away. Bus fare Php130. This bus ride actually reminded me of our Manila-Laoag-Pagudpud-Laoag-Vigan-Manila trip earlier in the year. But it was scenic drive so it's pretty much ok! :)



HAGNAYA PIER. Take boat that will go to STA.FE in BANTAYAN ISLAND. Fee costs Php170, terminal fee i think was Php2.



We were to stay at the Hard K Kafe & Kiwi Kottages. They were kind enough to pick us up from the pier. After checking-in and had our bags brought in to our rooms, we decided it was time to get our late asses moving. We had already arranged our island hopping tour (more on that on the next blog), but for that day we decided to go to the Bantayan town proper to get to an ATM, look around the town, and to go to the palengke (market) for the food we were to eat during the island hopping. We hopped on the trike that took us from the pier to the resort, and went on a 15 minute ride to the town. We paid Php300 for that.



BANTAYAN WET MARKET. I usually get disgusted with markets because they can get pretty stinky and dirty. But not in Bantayan! It was clean and it didn't reek of anything out-of-this-world. So going around wasn't a problem! :D



THE OLDEST CHURCH IN THE ISLAND: STS. PETER & PAUL CHURCH BUILT IN 1580.




KOTA BEACH & SUNSET


FOOD TRIPPING. I swear Cebu is a city of sin, but more on GLUTTONY. Case in point, this eat-all-you-can buffet for only Php295 with unlimited iced tea. I swear I gained about 20 pounds here! But it was so good. They had a wide variety of dishes, from pancit, spaghetti, fish, adobo to native kakanins like biko and maja blanca.






To cap off the night, Trency and I drank by the bar. We started up a conversation with the most hospitable resort owner I've ever encountered, GING. She married a Kiwi, hence the name of the resort, and they have a daughter named Steffi. It was a fun night of trilingual conversations, switching from Tagalog to Bisaya to English. Funny!

For the next, and the last entry, on Bantayan Island. It's going to be about our island hopping escapade with Bantatay and Kuya Jun and our habal-habal ride to the town of Madridejos. STAY TUNED!! :p