Friday Date: Banapple @ Ayala Triangle Gardens

January 21, 2011

4 p.m.-ish 

 

Banapple's polka dot-inspired table 

 

Ayala Triangle gardens

 

 Banoffee pie (Php 85/slice)

 Banapple's house salad (Php 110) ~ mixed greens with corn, cucumber & bell pepper bits, crumbled banana chips, honey peanuts and shredded mozzarella; drizzled with balsamic caesar dressing

Banapple smoothie (Php 95)

Because I Don't Want To Get Sick...

January 20, 2011

10:00 p.m.

My second favorite place: Kitchen!*

... I drank this Vitamin C-loaded drink. I squeezed six (6) pieces of dalandan and added two teaspoons of brown sugar to kill the sourness. Then I found a three-week old lemon in the fridge; I rescued it and put it into good use.

Bottoms up!

Wondering what's inside that white casserole? It's pork & chicken adobo. Mind you, I was so tempted to eat some with rice (God only knows how many cups) but I think that would be a major diet faux pas. Grrr.

*First place goes to my sanctuary - bedroom! 

Cupcakes by Sonja

January 16, 2011

Cupcakes By Sonja

Serendra Piazza

Bonifacio Global City

A visit to Cupcakes by Sonja will never be complete without PB & J's. Check out my previous post.

 

PB & J's - concorde-grape-jelly-filled chocolate cupcake iced with creamy peanut butter frosting

Cupcake heaven

 

Sweet tooth 100 % satisfied!

 

Someone is sweet enough to let me bring this box home. :)

 

 Cookie Monster, Lemon Drop & Chocolate Surprise

I Heart Booksale!

January 15, 2011

Booksale

Shopwise Arcade Cubao 

As a general rule, I condemn sudden heavy downpours. Who doesn't? Seldom would you find an umbrella in my possession or any protective gear designed to shield me from instant fever and runny rose; hence the general rule. Just like any rule, it admits of exceptions. (Omigod! I suddenly miss Elle Woods drama!) So, the heavy rains forced me to sashay into Booksale - one of my favorite places in The Cube - to kill time and patiently wait for the rains to stop. Obvs, I always treasure every minute I spend in that place. Look what caught my eye and destroyed my weekly budget. 

It's THE Nancy Drew! I literally gasped at the sight of this. It brought back wonderful memories of my bibliophilic grade school years.

 Brand new & thick as an old school family album

 It got an envelope at the back which says "Postcards". When I opened it (note the whitish area), book covers of ND series posing as postcards were revealed. Smells good too!

All pages have interesting features which showcase ND's adventures in the series. Pop-ups galore. Very interesting. As of this writing, I actually finished reading the book. Told ya, I'm a fan!

Spell H-A-P-P-I-N-E-S-S.

I'm eager to click "publish post" now just so I could read the rest of my book haul upstairs. Au revoir!

Marsh-Mellow Eskapo

Sizzlers' Blends

Mezzanine, Shoppes @ Victoria

# 78 Timog Ave. corner Panay Ave.

Quezon City

January 14, 2011

 Sizzlers' Blends: A Tasteful Fusion of Fire and Ice!

 Her Royal Highness Princess, dinner sponsor :)

 Strawberry kiwi coolers

 This is what we do best while waiting for sizzlers - smile for the camera!

 Sizzler # 1: chicken sisig with lotsa lotsa mayo!

 Sizzler # 2: beef salpicao

 Sizzler # 3: gambas

Tummy worms attack!

 Let's pose before we eat.

 Yummy & seedy strawberry kiwi cooler!

 After we destroyed our diet

 

Diet plan, stand by. 

Ton-Ton Thai Massage

Tomas Morato Street

1-hour body massage (Php 300 only)

 Before the relaxing Thai massage. Two thumbs up for this place!

Thanks Princess for this wonderful treat! See you soon! :)

Bagobo House Hotel, Davao City

Bagobo House Hotel

Gov. Duterte Street, Davao City

Duration of our stay: January 8 to 12, 2011

De luxe twin rate: Php 1,400/day (twin sharing)*

Complimentary continental breakfast

Fairly decent and clean

Bathroom & the towels

Let's go to the nitty-gritty part of the package. I suggest bringing your own toiletries such as soap and shampoo. They do provide those but Bioderm and Clear & Clear doesn't work for me.

Mini-ref for de luxe rooms

We found out that a standard room (Php 1,300) doesn't have a mini-ref. There's a hundred bucks difference between a standard room and a de luxe room so why not grab the chance to have ice-cold water every time you want some? You can buy mineral water from a convenience store nearby.

 

Cable TV and cabinet

The hotel has no elevators that's why we were grateful enough to be on the 3rd floor. Exercise, folks! :)

* Published rate. We're able to get a lower deal thru Agoda. :)

Davao Food Trip: Dencia's Restaurant

Davao Dencia's Restaurant

Gen. Luna Street, Davao City

Date of visit: January 12, 2011

Breakfast

Before we fly back to Manila, my uncle treated us for breakfast at Davao Dencia's Restaurant, which is a stone's throw away from the hotel.

Brewed coffee; evap milk as creamer

Pinoy breakfast: fried eggs, garlic rice, beef tapa & fried sweet potato...

... and fruits! Papaya, to be specific.

 

One of Davao Dencia's bestsellers: lugaw and tokwa't baboy

Davao Food Trip: Taklobo Restaurant, Jack's Ridge

Taklobo Restaurant 

Jack's Ridge

Shrine Hills, Matina

Davao City

Date of visit: January 11, 2011 (oh yes, 1-11-11!)

Dinner

 

Taklobo means a giant clam. 

Trivia: Unbelievable as it may seem, the land you are standing on was under
the sea millions of years ago. These taklobo shells right here at Jack’s Ridge
are silent witness to Davao’s watery past. (taken from one of Jack's Ridge markers)

The menu

Sinigang na seafoods (Php 253.25)

Specialty of the month: steamed tuna steak (Php 285)

Kinilaw -cubed raw malasugue fish mixed in vinegar, onions, lemon juice and slices of cucumber and radish (Php 152.35)

Seafood supreme -combination of clams, crabs, squid, tuna and shrimps in a special sauce (Php 288.60)

Fruit platter (Php 105)

Total cost: delicious viands, rice & drinks & fresh mountain air= Php 1, 524.78 (including service charge)

3 adults & 1 child

Davao Food Trip: Shakey's Duterte Branch