Latte Love: A Latte Art Workshop

If you've read some of my entries, you'd know how much I absolutely can't live without caffeine! I am simply addicted to coffee. I usually get to have 3-5 cups, depending on the situation and the level of sleepiness I am in.

So I was thrilled when I received a Blogger's Pass for an event on a subject I really understand and love: COFFEE. The event is called Latte Love: A Latte Art Workshop and it'll be held on Saturday, November 5 from 2 to 5PM at the Landmark TriNoma in Quezon City.

The first time I saw latte art was in Boracay, I forget the name of that cafe but I see it clearly in my mind's eye. Ever since then, it continues to amaze me - how they can "draw" or "create" art using latte! AMAZING! Makes you not want to touch your coffee AT ALL sometimes hahaha

Thank you so much to Krups Marketing. I will run to TriNoma right after my Strategic Planning class all the way from La Salle in Taft. Your latte event will keep me up for an extra few more hours! :)

Who else will be going to this event? Give me a holler! :)

May Field Trip sa Grad School!

Oh yes! May field trip sa graduate school! Funny cos when we were but undergrads in La Salle we never had one. So we all kinda looked forward to this out-of-class activity for our Integrated Marketing Communications class.

Our cool professor, Mr. Rodrigo Cornejo, works at the Office of the President at one of the biggest television networks in the country, GMA 7. Every single time we have our class, he always mentions GMA, as in never fail! Proud to be Kapuso ang lolo niyo talaga! Understandable, cos he's one of the pioneers of the network, present ang lolo niyo nung mga panahon na it wasn't doing well yet.

So last Friday, our class trooped on over to GMA along Timog in Quezon City. Bonggang commute kaya pawis pawisan levels ang lola niyo cos I had to bring my car first to Toyota Pasong Tamo for a 35k km check-up. Alay Lakad ang ganap sa katirikan ng araw! But I seriously missed riding the MRT, since it was past rush hour hindi parang Quiapo o Baclaran ang mga train compartments. And I think a lot of you would agree on this, on the girl's compartments, it's relatively peaceful! Tamuh? Tamuuhhh!! :)

Kami ata ni Drin ang pinaka-maaga don, egzoited much na makakita ng mga artista. Joke lang! But we were early, but it was nice to see that our professor already waiting for us at the lobby of the GMA Network Center, the building he says took Php950 million to complete! BONGGELS!

When we were finally complete, we were lead to the Mezzanine to wait for THE Mike Enriquez. It was nice to see him without his game face, he's usually angry on TV or radio kasi cos he's like our Mr. Expose here. And he spoke to us in STRAIGHT ENGLISH, wag magulat purong La Sallista po itong taong ito. Because we were all La Sallians, chumika ang lolo niyo about La Salle during his time. He was so cool talaga! My Mom doesn't really like him because of the way he speaks on TV or radio, but when I was telling her afterwards how he was really soft spoken pala talaga, although he didn't lack in facial expressions hahaha!




By the way, meet my pretty kulots classmate Rieze. Ang magandang babaitang ito ay galing sa kabila, Kapamilya. Cute when she was in GMA and she was wearing the studio tour pin, laughtrip! Medyo pinagtripan lang siya nila Mike Enriquez hahaha

After his inspirational talk on Integrated Marketing Communications in the media we were given a quick tour of GMA and its studios. I'm no stranger to the place because when I was still working for a publishing company, I got to interview and shoot Arnold Clavio and Heart Evangelista. The place is really modern and jazzed up. A far cry from what they were when they started out.




We were done with the tour just before lunch. Most of us had to rush back to work, but kami na makapal ang mukha at nag-leave or tumakas sa trabaho, we all had lunch at Banapple, Il Terrazo along Tomas Morato. No pictures of the food, but I had the Cheezy Penne, my fave at Banapple. Super good and CHEEZY!! But we had our photos taken at the free photobooth hehe.

Hoping for another out-of-class activity in one of our majors soon! It was really fun! But when I was in GMA I realized I've been veering away from what I really want to do. When I was in high school/college, I wanted to be a reporter, I got as close to it when I was in publishing. But now I'm doing something different, I think it's time get my life back on track! :)

Yummy Roast @ Eastwood's Food Junction

Being cheap doesn't mean you get something mediocre. There are times when cheap thrills can be one of the best you've ever had. And that's what happened last Sunday when we had our family day at Eastwood Mall.

After hearing Mass at the Richmond Hotel's lobby, we got so hungry we decided to have early dinner. But first I decided to bring my baby boy Yankee to the groomers (Dogs and the City) before it was too late. Then we passed by YUMMY ROAST at Eastwood City Walk's FOOD JUNCTION. You won't miss it because of their brightly colored interiors plus it takes up a huge space. It also helps that they had their huge menu outside of their door, and we saw their Yummy Pork Asado with Rice. Surprisingly it was only Php98 with unlimited rice and regular coke. Good deal!

Mom and I ordered the Yummy Pork Asado because it looked so good at their photo. How I wish they presented the actual order the same way as the photo on their menu. But it was really, really good. The pork was tender and they gave us generous amounts of the meat, too. The girl at the counter suggested I order their YUMMY RICE (with an additional amount of Php20) with it, and it was YUMMY! Our helper got inggit because I didn't order that for her. But really, try their yummy rice! :)


On the other hand, our helper ordered their Yummy Chicken with Rice. She got disappointed with it because she wanted the pecho part I think and they gave her something different. But I think it was good enough for her because not only did she inhale it but she also asked for 3 more cups of rice hahaha!

They also have other rice meals on their menu which are also very cheap! I do hope it's good. So you see you can have a good meal that can totally satisfy you that's below a hundred bucks!

Now I have yet to try the other stalls at the Food Junction! :)

If Not Now, When World Tour 2011 + Buffalo Wings at Wing Kings

As media partners of Ovation Production, our channels here at Solar Entertainment aired non-stop the plugs for the Incubus concert. The big day was on July 28, 2011. We already perished the thought of getting tickets to this one-night only show, so we just stuck to listening to Incubus songs on our iTunes/iPods to temper our lusting over free tickets.

But around 2.30PM on the day of the concert itself, God answered our prayers and the best instant message I have ever received came through. WE HAD TICKETS!! YEAH MEN!!!!! But just like an insider's scoop, I can't name our source! :D What's fun is that we would have been happy with Upper Box A or B tickets, but since we're a lucky bunch, we got LOWER BOX tickets! HOOOZZZAAAHHHH!

Since it was Thursday, I first had to attend my class over at La Salle because I had a report that night. But right after my report, I asked my dear professor to let me go because we had an "EVENT". Luckily, he said yes so I ran to the LRT as fast as my two feet could carry me. Just a side note: Haven't ridden the LRT-MRT in a long time, it reminded me of our college days when we'd troop down to the Araneta Coliseum, that same way, to watch La Salle games! FUN! :)

I got to Araneta in the nick of time, the front act FRANCO, just finished playing their set and everyone was just waiting for Incubus to come out. Good thing I had enough time to breathe! Was seated with Lainey and her boyfriend Anton.

Photos from MAGIC LIWANAG. Taken from Saab Magalona's blog: SPELL SAAB


Here are photos from my Blackberry. They suck yes! But I just wanna use them just because I took them hahahaha proof that I was there talaga! :p




We were absolutely POOPED after that concert! But it was great to hear them sing their songs LIVE like I Miss You, Promises, Promises, Wish You Were Here, Drive, Pardon Me, and so many others. They're a great band! And I really wish they come back SOON! Thank you to our source whom I cannot name, without you, we wouldn't have been there! THANK YOU!!

Oh and our friends, David and Marvin got their production passes signed. But for David, he wasn't contented with having his pass signed, he even had his FOREARM SIGNED! Weird mo talaga David! But hey, I turned green with envy! Hahahaha


And even though we were tired, Josh, Leah, and I still managed to haul ourselves to The Fort Stopover to have a post-Incubus dinner at Wing Kings. Had this killer, super good, spicy buffalo wings meal for only Php95 and it came pa with a iced tea. Really good midnight snack! I have to say this was super good because I already have a strong tolerance for spicy stuff, but still this meal got my sinuses worked up! GOOD JOB WING KINGS!!


Wing Kings
The Fort Stopover
32nd St. cor. Rizal Drive, Fort Bonifacio Global City, Taguig
Mobile No. 0917-5594649
Tel. No. 775-8229

Slurping Goodness @ Ramen Bar

Two Fridays ago, on the day Prince William and Kate Middleton got hitched, Mom and I went to Eastwood for lunch. I was down with horrible colds and cough (which made me miss an awesome Mt. Pinatubo trek with Kim), so I really craved for something hot. Finally, I had an excuse to go eat at the Ramen Bar, which a lot of people raved about.

I've been reading Cecile van Straten's Chuvaness for quite some time and have been enlightened on everything Japanese because of it. The moment I stepped inside, I thought how very MUJI of the Ramen Bar (see Cecile's MUJI entry here). It just made the entire restaurant, it being small, look so vibrant! Plus the anime drawings on the wall are really cute.

Of course we came here for the ramen, and I ordered SPICY KARAAGE RAMEN.

I wanted my ramen to be spicy to help ease the nasal blockage. It helped a lot, I might say. It was really good, the spicy oil gave it a good kick without damaging your taste buds! Generous servings of both noodles and karaage (bonesless chicken), too. People who LOVE spicy would be totally diggin' this!

Mom on the other hand got the SAPPORO MISO RAMEN.

She just had the butter and cream removed from this dish. Had a little taste of it, and it was good, though I wouldn't order since I'm not a huge fan of miso soup. Mom on the other hand, has this addiction to miso soup, and went as far as buying packs and packs of it from the Japanese grocery store. Like my ramen, they were also very generous with their servings.

But this was the absolute winner KAKUNI BUNS.

They're siopao buns with either pork or fish inside, but instead of the huge bun, they're cut up in small pieces. Perfect for pika-pika! We went for the fish, and it was love at first bite! We were given this mayonnaise type of dip, and it just gave it extra flavor! Mom and I had two each, and even if we were so full from the our ramen, we inhaled this. Super good! Don't go to the Ramen Bar without getting these, you won't be sorry!

Suffice to say this may be the closest I could get to having authentic Japanese ramen! Sorry to my favorite Teriyaki Boy Chicken Ramen, but Ramen Bar emerges as the winner (haha!). I'd love to try their other big bowls, they've got other unique stuff that look really enticing.

Eastwood Mall
Ground Level, Eastwood Mall
Eastwood Ave. & Orchard Road, Bagumbayan
Quezon City
Tel. No. 570-9457

Don JuanHito's Grill: The Newest Bar To Hit Town

It was payday Friday 2 weeks ago, I got a text from friend Ninya inviting me to go to this newly opened grill/bar in Granada St. in Quezon City. I was still unsure if I could go since I had a despedida party to go to that same night. But when I found out that my two other officemates, Chuchie and Jenny were going to be there too, I decided it was time for a reunion of sorts! I MISSED THEM ALREADY!

After almost 2 hours on the road, I reached Gilmore St., but had a slight confusion with directions. Turns out GRANADA STREET IS NOW GILMORE STREET! Good God! But it turned out okay since we found it.

Owned by sports enthusiast, Dexter Araquel, Don JuanHito's Grill is this hole-in-the-wall type bar right smack in the middle of Gilmore. What's so cool about the place is that up until around 10PM it's lit by this giant billboard of Anne Curtis, don't laugh it was actually cool to be drinking under a billboard! :) And also for us Filipinos, we couldn't go wrong with INIHAW or GRILLED food! :))

You could watch television while you're there, on the other side Ian and his friends were watching football, and on our side we watched PBA. Then later on we switched channels. It's that carefree to be there!


If you guys are wondering why it's called Don JuanHito's their specialty is HITO (for the foreign readers, it's catfish). Since it was Friday, and I was still observing the Lenten season, I couldn't eat meat. So I ordered their JUNIOR INIHAW NA HITO (Php120)

It was really good, and since they have an aquarium filled with catfishes, you are 100% sure of its freshness! Although there was a slight incident with me getting a fish bone stuck on my throat, I had fun eating this! The stuffing of tomatoes and onions made it all the more tasty.

Ninya and Jenny ordered their Pork Sisig (Php150). Too bad I wasn't able to taste this, it was meat! :( But they said it was really good! Perfect with the beers we were already chugging down!


Chuchie was the one who recommended we ordered this, and it was an instant hit! Sizzling Garlic Mushroom (Php120)

This was really GOOD! It was filled to the brim with garlic, and we had fun picking at it. This is really good with beer actually, but you could also order rice and eat it with it! :)

Lastly, we had the Seafood Sisig (at my request) (Php160).

We all liked this because it was spicy! It had squid and fish in it, and both had very generous serving.

For those who are really into hanging out with friends, have a beer or two, and watch basketball or football, while eating really good, cheap food, Don JuanHito's Grill is a nice place to go. They also have this drink-all-you-can promo for Php300 but only for Coors Light Beer. You can have a bucket of San Miguel Light for Ph225.

This has to be said though, you have to be a bit patient while waiting for the food. Since it's cooked on the spot, you'd have to wait for several minutes before the food gets served. But at least, you're assured of the quality and the freshness especially with the seafood.

Here are some picture we took that night. Chuchie, Jenny and Nya I missed you guys! We should do this more often!



Here's me with owner, Dexter Araquel. Thank you for accommodating us Sir! We really loved the food! I am now officially a fan.

Don JuanHito's Grill
96 Granda St., Quezon City
Tel. No. 585-3175
Mobile No. 0917-8741101

Crisostomo: Our Namesake With The Best Kare-Kare

I am a Crisostomo. It's my Lola's maiden name. And when I was in high school whenever our teacher read my name in the class list it was always: Dumana, Ma. Teresa Crisostomo Ibarra. It's an old joke I get all the time. For those who don't know who Crisostomo Ibarra is, he is Dr. Jose Rizal's main protagonist in Noli Me Tangere.

Since we're always at Eastwood, Mom and I keep passing by CRISOSTOMO a restaurant found in the 2nd floor of the new Eastwood Mall and one of Chef Florabel Co's babies. We wanted to give it a try immediately, but never really got to until Christmas Day, when Mom treated me to Christmas dinner (as if our Noche Buena feast was not enough!).

We were at the restaurant a wee bit early for dinner so there weren't much customers JUST YET. I was able to take photos of the dining area before it got crowded. And I super loved their chairs it was comfortable and the back rest was soft.


Since it was Christmas, most of the customers were families. Within minutes the restaurant was packed - even the seats outside were filled with hungry families. But despite the number of customers, the servers were able to bring our orders in just about 5 to 10 minutes after ordering. Kudos to the fast service! :)

This is what we ordered, and must I say everything was GOOD! And they were still good and tasty when Mom and I had them for lunch the net day! :)

2-pcs. porkchop with mushroom gravy

I do not regret ordering this. Although the porkchops were a bit oily, it was really good. It was crispy, and best to let it swim with that mushroom gravy. Perfect meaty goodness!

Tuna Belly

Since Mom's the healthy eater, she ordered a fish dish. We super loved this, and this is even better than the tuna belly of Gerry's Grill and Jaymark's (in Paseo de Magallanes). Fish eaters will LOVE this hands down!

Last but not the least Kare-Kare


Now this was love at first bite! Their peanut sauce was to die for I especially loved picking on the peanuts in the sauce! I have to admit I am a bit snooty when it comes to kare-kare, our helper makes one of the best kare-kare, so sometimes I can't help but compare. But Crisostomo's version is just DELICIOUS. Although it lacked ox tripe and was a bit selfish with their vegetable portions, it was still one of the best kare-kare's I have tasted!

And after that big meal, we even had the good old doggy bag...

...and a satisfied smile on our faces!

Looking at Crisostomo's menu, there are some other dishes that I'd like to try next time.

Like the Kangkong with Lechon Kawali Chips. I believe that a perfect food pair would be a mixture of healthy and unhealthy, so that is on the top of my list!

And their line-up of sinigangs and their tinola. Again, it's just a comparison with our helper's cooking. She was trained by my Lola who can whip up a storm, so I'm just being snooty and would just like to compare it with our own sinigang and tinola! :)

Right outside the restaurant you'd see Eastwood Mall's giant Christmas tree. It was very simple, but it was beautiful and it towered over the people taking pictures of it. With the cool air, it was a happy and peaceful Christmas night.



Crisostomo
2/F Eastwood Mall Veranda, E. Rodriguez Jr. Ave., Bagumbayan, Libis
Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines
Tel. No. 710-1693