A Year To Be Thankful

birthday cake

I recently celebrated my birthday. And I realized that I do have a lot to be thankful for. In terms of how God blessed me and how He guided me through my ups and lows is enough for me to feel grateful. Of course, needless to say, my birthday will not go by without me having a little celebration and surrounding myself with good food.

I Like My Coffee Crafted This Way

a strong brew of coffee at Craft

As far as I know, Craft Coffee Revolution (then called Craft Coffee Workshop) started out in New Manila. I'm not really too keen on that part of the metro. I usually rely on Google Maps if the place is quite dubious for me. But sometimes I also get confused using it and I oftentimes read the maps wrong. Forgive me. I'm not really that good with geography. So you could just imagine my happiness when I've learned that Craft finally decided to branch out to places I'm quite familiar with.

Celebrating My Birthday Week As I Turn 34 (Last Part)

cake, ice cream & spaghetti

This would be the last part of a series of posts. If you wanted to check out the first two, you could click to those links through here and here.

Selecting At Random

truffle pasta at Monsees

I've been eating to a lot of fast foods lately. It's the usual rounds of Jollibee, McDonald's, KFC and Wendy's. Save for a few occasion that we go to Lasapin, a 24-hour food court located at the ground floor of Strata 2000 Building. But it's usually a chore going there, considering the distance from the office I worked for (walking under the intense heat of the summer sun, at that). Although a friend of mine usually complains that the smells brought by the food being prepared at various stalls inside the food court area tends to cling to clothes; and that averse her. I do bring pack lunches everyday especially prepared by my Tita so getting too used (in Tagalog, umay) to fast foods does not pose as an immediate problem. But my friends and co-workers usually don't have baons with them; and food being sold at the pantry usually doesn't appeal to them. So off we go to their chosen fast food of the moment. And the mere fact that I accompany them so I could eat lunch with them, I feel somewhat obligated to order something. Usually a sundae, a Frosty Swirl (choices of KitKat or Butterfinger), Milo Mix-ins soft serve or if I have extra money to spend, the whole nine yards of a burger, fries and drinks combo.

To Be On This Side Of The Picket Fence

breakfast food and ice creams at Picket Fence

I'm always enticed by food places that are kid-friendly. Stacy's for one, and also Mom & Tina's. When I've learned of a newly-opened ice cream parlor named Picket Fence Milk & Ice Cream Bar in Katipunan from Dessert Comes First, I immediately set about plans to pay the ice cream shop a visit. And that actually happened just this weekend before Christmas.

FACE OFF: Burger Streak-From Beef, 'Shrooms & Chicken Burgers

My Baconator meal at Wendy's

If there is such a law that it is a crime to have a deep sense of affection towards hamburgers and in eating it exorbitantly then I would be guilty as charged. I'm all crazy about hamburgers. The best that I've tried, at least the ones on top of my head, were those hamburgers at D'Amburger Gastropub and Lusso. While for the most part, I enjoyed most of my hamburger experiences, there were those that doesn't really fit the bill. Most notably the flame broiled burgers that I've tried at a burger joint in SM North Edsa. I'm not going to yakety yak about the food that I tried at this burger joint. I still feel a little cringe seeping through me when I tried to remember it. All I could share to you was that the hamburger tasted so bad I avowed not to go back to that burger joint ever.

Celebrating My Online Diary's 1st Year w/ Friends

Filipino dishes at Wooden Spoon

I'm quite hard pressed where to dine and celebrate my blog's first year. I already have a few food places that tumbled in my mind as possible prospects but Wooden Spoon, a fairly new Filipino restaurant in Katipunan owned by no less than Sandy Daza, was the one that always stood out. Partly because I practically grew up watching his cooking shows so trying out his own food creation firsthand somewhat excites me. I also asked a few friends to join me in this simple celebration. Our original plan to meet around lunch time was moved to an early dinner time due to a mean thunderstorm that shrouded the metro around noontime. The whiplashes of lightnings and roars of thunders were truly scary. It even resulted to flash floods on our village and some surrounding area. In my mind I thought this freaking storm already blew up my plans and almost gave up. But when the floods quickly subsided and saw some glint of sun rays on the horizon, I found hope that our get-together would probably push through. I almost succumbed to celebrate by myself at H.I.D. Burgers but thank heavens the storm stopped as immediately as it came.

Crazy Over Peanut Butter

goodies at PBCo

I'm always intrigued with this food store that specializes in peanut butter, which I would like to call a peanut butter cafe. Since I'm crazy over peanut butter, it proved to be no sweat for me to travel the long stretch of Katipunan Avenue until I reached Regis Center where Peanut Butter Company (PBCo.) is located.

The Magnificent Duo

@ sandwicheese

The magnificent duo that I'm referring to would be Banapple and its newest baby, Sandwicheese. When Banapple first posted on their Facebook page about this sandwich place, I got really excited. Especially when they also posted a picture showing Sandwicheese is only right beside Banapple One, I couldn't help but placed a comment of my plan to visit this sandwich place which actually materialized just recently.

Trick Or Treat At The New Banapple One

Banapple's cakes and coffee

Banapple recently did some make-over on their original store in Katipunan. Also branded as Banapple One (the original store is located in 225 Katipunan since there is another Banapple store in the area, which is near Blue Ridge, also known as Banapple Two), I'm quite curious on what the newly renovated store has to offer, ambiance-wise. So, right after my hefty meal in Tia Maria's Cantina, I decided to walk my way to Banapple One.

Olé! At Tia Maria's Cantina

Tia Maria's Cantina Mexican food

The pangs of loneliness and despair. We all encounter that in one way or another. I am a self-confessed worry ward when it comes to what my future hold. Pessimistic was too harsh of a term. I just worried a lot. Most possibly its just my age doing its reality check on me. Or possibly I'm just too stressed out at work.