The Return of the Good Joojoo

Still on house hunting, the following days seemed better than the first one. The good joojoo is back. We tried our luck searching for properties over the internet through sulit.com.ph when we came across East Residences Ortigas. The location was great and price range is within our budget. We called the agent right away. At 10:30 in the evening it's pretty cool he still did entertain us and setup a tripping the following day. And here's what the place looked like.

low rise condos of East Residence

And here's the view of a 30-sq meter model unit . . .


The first thing that you will see upon opening the door is this cute little kitchen.


They made it a two bedroom unit by setting up a division.



And the bathroom. Tapioca forgot to take pictures of the living and dining area.



And this is the bare unit. It's quite small but it's perfect for a starting family.


UPDATE: We did not acquire the property. The condo had no elevator and the available units left are in the 4th and 5th floors. Also we learned that this area got flooded during Ondoy. The house hunting experience taught us a lot of lessons. At the end of the day, we knew we made the right decision. If it's meant to be it's meant to be.

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On House Hunting, Bad Joojoo and Teriyaki Boy

I'm on a vacation leave. A 4-day vacation but it's not going to be an out of town trip or even an out of the country trip I have been dreaming of. For the next 4 days, we are going to be up to some challenges. Something that we have been planning and waiting for. But before the first day of my vacation ends, here I am typing away on my notebook and that's why this blog is almost (but not quite) up to date. I say I'm almost there. A little more diligence and frequency would make this blog more updated and by that time I'm going to be the happiest person.

Anyway, the most anticipated and top priority on our list was to look for a nice dwelling place. Yes, the house hunting is on. With all these condos left and right of the metropolis Tapioca and I dream of having our very own home sweet home. Due to different work schedules we can't make up time to do this. And I have been reading tips after tips on buying your own place. So many factors and things to consider so little time. We were expecting too much. We though this is just a piece of cake and that the 4 days we allocated was more than enough. Turns out we were sooooooo wrong. First day and we were already stressed out. Tapioca was putting the blame on me. He said I brought all the bad joojoo because I had use the chopsticks the wrong way at Teriyaki Boy. And I was like, "bad joojoo what?" He said it means bad karma or bad luck. Oh well who would have thought there is a wrong way of using a chopsticks. All I know was I'm craving for their Mabo Tofu goodness!

By the way, this post is worth 2 visits at Teriyaki Boy. The first one was in Gateway Mall where I discovered the Mabo Tofu and I can't stop thinking about them. The 2nd visit was at SM North.

. . . use the chopsticks properly or you'll suffer from bad joojoo

sapporo ramen . . .

This was Tapioca's choice. Soup base in miso with chashu slices, corn kernels, sesame moyashi (sprouts), leeks and toasted garlic. He said it was just okay. Take note the soup is served warm.

. . . chuuka ramen

Soup base in shoyu with thinly sliced Japanese roast pork, pechay, gari (pickled ginger), spring onions and cracked pepper. Jellybean's choice. Again the soup was warm. So I asked the server to return the bowl of ramen back to the kitchen and heat up my soup to a scalding hotness. It was serve back to me still not hot enough to my liking. Sigh.

And here's my mabo tofu served in a pretty cast iron cauldron with wooden cover. Perfect to keep the soup warm. How I wish they served the ramen in these cauldrons too.

mabo tofu . . .

Diced silken tofu, cooked in spicy broth with ground pork and leeks. The tofu was so good it has a clean taste and it melts in your mouth. And the heat level was just right. I'm not really fan of spicy food but with this dish, the flavors blended so well. And if the hotness gets too intense I'll just eat spoonful after spoonful of rice. Yum!

. . . sukiyaki beef teppanyaki

Stir-fried beef bacon slices with onions and teppanyaki sauce. Nobody can go wrong with this dish. Another yummy pick.

tempura tuna sashimi tartare . . .

Tuna sashimi in a spicy mix of tempura flakes and Japanese mayo. Tapioca was raving about this. He said it was very refreshing. A different way of serving sashimi. He said the combination of textures and flavors were amazing.

. . . teriyaki boy fish n' chips

Battered and deep-fried creme dori served with special wanton crisps and tartare sauce on the side. This was the most boring dish on our table.

gyoza . . .

Steamed pork dumplings and then seared until crisp. This was good but not as good as Shinjuku's version.

Noticed there was something missing in this post? Again no dessert cos we ordered a lot. After meal we headed straight to the mall to look for prospect properties but everything turned out not so well because of the bad joojoo. I felt so sad and tired I put all my remaining energy and frustrations in blogging. But tomorrow is another day and I'm praying for my good joojoo's return.

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Our First Year - Last Part

The surprises did not end from the restaurant hopping at Eastwood City.


When we went home, there were actually more surprises. Just like this fluffy creature hiding underneath the blanket.

Meet Miss Petunia, my pink overweight rabbit.

'Hello! I am one of Blue Magic's little fairy tale friends. I was created to inspire love and kindness and I promise to share with you lots of warmth and happiness. I am a twinkling dream nurtured to life by pure hearts and gentle fingers. My name is Miss Petunia. Please adopt me. I long for your tender snuggles and warm loving cuddles' - Miss Petunia.


Officially she is now our adapted fluffy rabbit. Little did I know she had a secret within her. Then I found out what it is . . .

. . . and I said yes!

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Our First Year - 3rd Part

The restaurant hopping continues and for the third stop, it's ramen baby at Ramen Bar.

. . . 3rd stop

The menu consists of all things ramen and a little bit of non-ramen items.


Whenever we dine at Japanese, Chinese or Korean restos we always, always ask for the house tea.


And Ramen Bar's house tea comes in these really cute cup. It tasted burnt though but hey it's free and you can ask for refill anytime. Up next is our ramen. We just ordered one bowl to share cos we were still planning to dine somewhere else and we thought it comes in a huge bowl as it says on the menu but we're wrong.

R.B.S. #1 . . .

Ramen Bar Special. When it was serve, we were very disappointed. The bowl wasn't that huge. We're hoping at least they fill up the bowl to the brim. The soup wasn't hot and it tasted weird. I hate it.


We knew they just opened and in a dry run but the service that night was terrible. It was a few minutes before closing time when we entered the place. A few diners already done with their meal. We got a seat and ordered a bowl of ramen to share. Then the wait staff kept serving us food we didn't order. And that happened like 3 times. A few people to serve food with and they can't remember which customer ordered the right food. But the worst of them all happened to the couple right next to our table. They were served a glass of house tea with a lipstick mark on it. When the lady pointed this, turned out it wasn't for her pala. It was for another customer at the back who requested for a refill. Hay!!!! So much for all the boo boos!


We love ramen and we love the fact that a new ramen place is just a few meters away and we don't have to drag our feet all the way to Makati for a ramen fix. But it's gonna need sometime before we will be back here for a second chance.


Fourth and final stop, our hearts skip a beat. This is what greeted us at Johnny Rockets . . .

a juke box and all you can eat FRIES!!!

Now, lookey lookey here . . .

A9 - Happy Together by Turtles, puuurfeeecttt!!!

And as if I was not content by that, I went to the actual juke box and spent all my one-peso coins to play more of the oldies but goodies songs.



And this is what we ordered . . .

Chili Size

Open-faced burger with all-meat chili topped with grated cheddar and chopped onions. A messy burger to eat. We shared this too but I think he had more than what I ate. Tapioca loves anything with chili.

. . . Root beer float for Tapioca

They serve the root beer and the ice scream on separate glasses which was cool. Remember how root beer overflows when you put ice scream on it? On this manner you really get a full glass of root beer and control how much root beer you can put on the other glass to prevent from spilling. Me likey.

Mocha Milkshake for Jellybean

This was quite an expensive milkshake and it also comes in two glasses. For a milkshake lover serving size would be satisfying but if you don't like diabetes milkshake this can be shared by two person. So I guess that made up for the price. Anyway, it was too sweet like it was all ice scream and no milk at all. I like the glass though and was hoping to buy one for use at home.


Not to forget, the fries. One of the best french fries in town. Served unlimited with smiley ketchup on the side. This also put a smile on our faces.


Jayvee and Hephaestion dropped by Johnny Rockets to celebrate with us. By this time we were all full. Our sweetness is too much already. There's no room for dessert anymore. Hihihi!

no more room for dessert

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Our First Year - 2nd Part

Here goes the continuation of an all-week celebration of our first year together. I just hope we still have the same anticipation for the years to come. It kinda felt like we had never celebrated monthsaries or anniversaries before (that's just me).

The original plan was to have dinner at the same place where it all started. The place where we had dinner for our first date. It wasn't really a romantic date then, just a friendly date (with a little malice on his part which I wasn't aware of until he told me so.) Back then our dinner was boring because of the forgettable food we ordered. If you really think about it, we were in a burger place, the most unromantic place to be in and we never ordered a burger which was the resto's specialty. We were disappointed with our food and therefore vowed never to return.


So much for first impression. Just like our love affair. After the first date, he expressed his love for me. And I was caught off guard. I told him I'm sorry but there won't be a next time as I am not in the look out for a romance specially not with a guy like him. There I was, judging him for what I (and other people) knew about him but never for who he really was. I can be mean if I want to but if you are nice to me I would be more nice to you. Unexpectedly, he became nicer to me which sorta weirded me and my mates out. I still considered giving him the cold shoulder or the infamous let's-just-be-friends thing but the nicer me won over and next thing I knew there was the next date and the follow up date and more dates. Oh boy am I glad I gave Tapioca a second chance? Definitely! And we're so glad we gave this burger place a second chance, too.

. . . 1st stop

People like us with never ending change of plans decided to order just one item from one resto to another and do a restaurant-hopping adventure (if there is such a thing called that). At Stackers we decided to order an appetizer to start our dinner. You may be thinking, burger for appetizer? Oh yes. And its called burger on a salad bowl. A different way of serving a burger . . . on a bowl of fresh greens.

bbq burger bowl . . .

This was a perfect meal on its own. You got all the greens plus meat from the burger which by the way was really awesome. One of the best burgers I had. I am never really a fan of burgers because I hate the aftertaste. You know like when you burp and can still taste the burger? Ewwww. But this one totally won me over. It's juicy and full of smoky flavors. The salad had all these different textures playing in your mouth with the added crunch because of the crispy strips on top. Yummy! And you will not feel guilty even if you down 2 or 3 bowls of this. Also it comes in Asian flavor but we love the bbq most. Since Agave was just right beside Stackers we ordered another appetizer and my now-fave cocktail . . .

. . . frozen strawberry margarita

This baby was kinda expensive. Over 200php but it was serve on a huge margarita glass so it's still worth it! Highly recommended. Just looking at the margarita pic makes me want to go to Agave now and order myself not just a glass but a pitcher. Lol.

half eaten tortilla with salsa . . .

Freshly made tortilla. The salsa was just okay, though.

. . . 2nd stop

Up next, we're gonna conquer two more newly opened restaurants in Eastwood City. Stay tuned.

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It's Raining In Manila

I just have to cut my anniversary post to give way to my fave Korean guy. He was here last night for the first time and hopefully not the last because he's going to military service in Korea soon. It might took years again for him to make another tour. My girlfriends and I had a blast and I swear until now I can still feel the rainism fever! It was awesome except for that Korean girl and her Mom who made my back a punching bag and kept on stomping my feet intentionally. My girlfriends told me those annoying mother and child were staring nasty at me all the time. Poor them. I only had my eyes on Rain as I, together with those nice kids in front of me (whom I made friends with during the show) were happily singing, dancing and screaming our hearts out.


Vanj and I have been waiting for this moment since like forever. Thanks to my dear friend Divie for making this dream come true. And it's more amazing because of these fab pictures I took. Just click on the link below to view them. There are still more of them coming once I got a hold of the pictures from the other cameras.


*I was here*

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Our First Year

Wooohooo. We made it. It's now officially a year and I can't believe nor image how things are getting better and bigger than it seems. Last year, Tapioca and I were just office mates who always if not most of the time disagree about how we should do our job. This guy then who always makes fun of me, the biggest A-hole and jerk turned out to be a real sensitive, loving, caring, thoughtful, who even understands me better than myself is going to be the guy I've been waiting for, the answer to my prayers and.... enough. Too much cheesy-ness, I know. I just can't help it but to show the world, and let the whole blogosphere know how I am deeply, madly and truly in love with this guy (parang kanta lang). Btw, Tapioca said he looked like a retard in the pic. I said I think it was cute.

As early as our official anniversary, Tapioca and I have been celebrating all week long. That's how excited we are for the big day. On the final week of August, Tapioca started the celebration by preparing a special dinner. He just can't wait.

. . . penne pasta in marinara sauce topped with pan fried chicken breast fillet 

He was not happy with the outcome of this dish because he was in hurry. He wasn't able to take off the seeds from the tomatoes as evident on the photo above. But I tell ya it's still as delish as a marinara sauce should be. And that's coming from a white sauce lover that I am. And we paired the pasta dish with this . . .

2007 sauvignon blanc from New Zealand . . . 

We bought the Monkey Bay last Christmas and then we forgot about it. We decided to open the bottle on our anniversary but then again he just can't wait. The thing is the bottle wasn't stored properly so it kinda tasted funny and we did not finish it. Now this bottle will be use for cooking na lang. Sayang eh.


The following week, Tapioca made another fantabulous dish that spells love, love, love . . .

. . . pork chop ala pobre with mash potato

I'm proud to say this but my Tapioca makes the best mash potato I have ever tasted. He knew how much I love (him and) his mash potato. The pork chop was made tender in consideration for my braces. That's why this dish is spelled L-o-v-e.

I think it's not fair if I let him do all the cooking and the surprises. There should be at least some effort coming from me. On the night of our anniv, I was very lazy to cook so ending I bought take outs from Megamall. Talk about effort, this is what you call some effort eh? Tamad lang. And this is what I got him . . .

baked ziti from sbarro, subsandwich from subway and a cheapo mini cake . . .

. . . subway club

  This is quite small compared to the sub sandwich we bought from Almon Marina. Also more expensive. But what Tapioca liked about this sandwich is the wheat bread. He was raving about it.

We have so many plans for the actual day and we can't seem to stick to one plan. Whatever happens it still gonna be a surprise for us. Will post it next time. Me excited. Very Much. Hope you are, too.

Happy Anniversary, baby! ! ! *hugs and kisses*

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Ice Cream Store At Project 4

After grocery shopping at Save More, we went to Ice Cream Store to chill out and of course have some ice cream. We always pass by the Ice cream store but never get the chance to try their ice cream offerings.



Checking out the store, they have a wide range of products. Aside from ice cream they sell pizza, too. I’m sorry but we’re here for the ice cream and my eyes went wild with all the ice cream flavor they offer. Prices are easy on the pocket!



We already had breakfast at Pao Tsin so we just shared this choco sundae for Php28 only. Lookey, lookey, it has a cherry on top. Read that CHERRY on top and its freakin’ 28 bucks only. Beat that McDonalds and Jollibee!

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