Jellybean74170

Butter Diner

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Going out with Tapioca means leaving my comfort zone just so we can spend some time together. Whether an early morning breakfast or a late night dinner, doesn't really matter. Either way, it's an opportunity for me to try new flavors and at the same time a stress reliever.

For two years, my week always started at 12 o'clock in the afternoon. Having said that I just realized how I completely miss having breakfast. For two years breakfast for me means a piece of bread or toast and a cup of tea latte. Having said that you would have guess I am not a morning person. I always sleep late therefore I wake up late and most often no time for breakfast.

Tapioca loves breakfast so much. In fact he can have breakfast for lunch or dinner. And one of his fave brekky place is Butter Diner. He always wanted for us to go there but being a not so morning person as myself its very difficult.

Unexpectedly, a miracle happened. One day Tapioca and I found ourselves on Butter Diner for some brunch.

...cream of mushroom soup with garlic toast

This is not my first time at Butter Diner. I was on my way home after working graveyard shift then when I craved for some mushroom soup. That's how my feet led me to Butter Diner. I can still remember how good it tasted. If you're the kind who likes instant mushroom soup (which I do) you will like this one even better. It tasted like that of instant soup but the after taste is different. Their mushroom soup tasted like its home cooked with bits of mushrooms here and there.

fish and chips with salad on the side...

Tapioca ordered this one. I tried it but for me the best fish and chips are from Fish & Co. This one is just okay.

...french toast, bacon and scrambled egg

An all time favorite American breakfast. Too bad I can't eat bacon nowadays because of my braces. I remember eating one and I almost die. Until I get rid of my braces, bacon is going to be on my list of "foods that i missed". Oh by the way, did you notice that pink ice cream looking on the side? Actually, it's not an ice cream but a stawberry flavored whipped butter. Yeah right, that's the pride of Butter Diner. Their wide selection of whipped butter in different flavors. You maybe wondering what it tasted like. Well, its not that bad. It's butter only with a hint of stawberry. But the purist in me still want my butter as it is.

cheese omelet with french toast...

Now, this is a people-with-braces-friendly meal. Very simple just egg and cheese. Check out the color of the egg. It's light yellow and that means its not overly done. Just the way I like it.

...blueberry pancakes

I like my pancakes to be really fluffy but this one was not what I'm expecting it to be. Though Tapioca loves it because of its crusty edges, I'd say it's not that bad. Still, would prefer it to be fluffier. This time they put a chocolate flavored whipped butter.

strawberry-banana milk shake...

Super thick milkshake. Lurved it!

Our server that day did not use any pen or paper to take note of our orders. With all the food we ordered, it's amazing how he was able to got them all and didn't miss a thing. Impressive. Dining experience was very satisfactory. Service was fast, our food still hot when served and best of all good value for money. We ordered a lot but we did not end up with holes in our pockets.

To cap off our brunch, I got this choco moist cake from Shopwise which Thirdy's Mom has been raving about for weeks. I told myself I should give it a try right away. And here it is. Artwork courtesy of Hephaestion.

The Lady Gaga Experience

Saturday, August 15, 2009

When I saw her name on top of the charts, I was like "Gaga who?". Now look who's making waves in the POP industry.

Anyway, we were excited when we heard she's visiting Manila for a one-night concert only. But when we saw the ticket prices we were like "Is that for real?". It's uber expensive. Still, somehow Vanjee was able to encourage me to watch it. Yeah her turn for convincing me. After our lunch at Little Tokyo, we headed to SM to buy our tickets. And man oh man, the fact that tickets were very expensive, still they were selling like pancakes.

We've seen the edgy way she performed before. From the out-of-this-world outfits to the crazy make ups and hair dos and the props and the dance steps. Whoa! We were so looking forward to the Lady Gaga experience. I had never seen Araneta Coliseun so fully packed even way up to the bleachers. Its was amazing.

Vanj and I never bothered to watch nor listen to the opening act so don't ask me who they were. Sure enough we didn't have to wait long to see her. When Lady Gaga's face flashed on all the screens inside Araneta Coliseum, the crowd went wild with all the shrieks and scream of excitement. By the time she stepped onstage to open the set with Paparazzi everyone got even wilder. It felt like her concert was turned into a full-blown house party. Every one's up on their feet dancing and singing with her.

She definitely wowed the crowd with her gaga performance. She's a total performer not only in singing but dancing as well. Not to forget her eccentric outfits. Vanj and I can't help but be awed with her outfits and props. Can't remember how many times she changed costumes. It was a lot. And I mean a LOT!!! My favorite was the bubble dress. Yes, they're bubbles and it looked like she's naked. Also, her glass piano was present at the concert. Thought the piano was pink but heck its just the pink lighting that made it look like pink.

Lady Gaga proved how gaga she really was with all the stints and witty talks in between songs. On stage you will see her arranging the hem lines of her panty. She's so not embarrassed about it. She also tried lifting up her legs over the keys of the piano as she played the acoustic version of Poker Face. Very impressive. It showed how good she is playing the piano with her hands and with her feet as well. Hehe.

In between songs, Lady Gaga told stories about her Pinoy best friend, growing up penniless but pretending to be rich and famous in New York, and shooting down a reporter who ask if she was a hermaphrodite. Did you know what her answer was? She said "Yes I do and it’s much bigger than yours." LOL. She also confessed crying 6 times throughout the show. We were confused and wondered why she cried. But after the show, we heard about what she twitted and figured. This is what it said on her twit: " just headlined my first arena ALONE, after opening for years. thank you manila, never forget u. luv my fans so much, u r the reason im here.”"

Her concert was a sure hit and her electrifying performance surely blown her fans and audience away! Sold-out and just an hour long concert. Super bitin. Oh well, it's her first concert. I guess we can expect more when she makes new songs and more albums in the future.

Choto Stop and Shinjuku at Little Tokyo

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Way back in my high school days, I always passed by Little Tokyo on my way to school. I though it was just some place where people from Japan goes to. Just like Chinatown in Ongpin. Nothing really hit my fancy. Oh well, back then I'm more interested in pop culture (Hanson brothers and the likes) than anything else. But now, it's like all the foodie bloggers know that place existed.

First time I set foot here was the day I accompanied Tapioca to a bank near Greenbelt. Since Little Tokyo was just a few blocks away, I convinced him to check out the place. The first store that made us all smiley was Shinjuku Ramen House. We've been craving for ramen but too bad I have a shift that day so we just ordered take outs from Choto Stop.

Choto stop is a mini grocery selling Japanese goods. If you're a fan of everything Japanese this place is for you. Prices are expensive. Of course they're imported. Take a look at these photos...

...cup noodles selection

sorry, dunno what these are but hey they look so interesting...

...more more Japanese goodies

And our take outs...

...beef cubes steak bento box

We just love how soft and tender the beef cubes are. Not to mention very very tasty.

I told Vanjee my discovery and knowing her who's into Japanese cuisine because of Japanese drama series, she delightfully agreed to go to Shinjuku with me.

California maki...

...Gyoza

Manten ramen...

We enjoyed everything that we ordered except for the gyoza. Nothing really special. The ramen was really good though I would want my ramen with clear broth. I'm not a fan of mayo but despite the mayo on top of the maki I still enjoyed it. Probably one of the best maki I've ever tasted.

On my first and second visit, it always ended happily because of this...

...vanilla waffle ice cream

Yummy waffle ice cream. I like how creamy the ice cream inside and it has the right amount of sweetness. The waffle complimented the ice cream nicely. It doesn't break when you take a bite so it's not messy to eat. By the way, its a Lotte product. And I thought Lotte products were from Korea. Haha.

Surprise, Surprise....

Thursday, July 16, 2009

He asked if I wanted something from Megamall.

He asked whether I want some pasta from Sbarro or chicken from El Pollo Loco.

Not sure which one I like so my reply was 'just surprise me'

Indeed I am....

...miso soup

shrimp tempura...

...sprouted beans

tuna sashimi...

...mixed seafoods furai

Japanese Bento Box from Rai Rai Ken

And of course, a meal will not be complete without a dessert...

...blueberry cheesecake from Sugarhouse

To you . . .

. . . you know who you are

Thanks ! ! !

Isdaan in Gerona Tarlac

I've been getting disappointed on planning to go some places but not going anywhere. Months and months of staying at home made my feet itch. Good thing my office mate Mark reminded me of this place in Tarlac. Vanjee and I passed this place from our trip to Vigan. I remember seeing those gorgeous Buddha structures along the high way. It's like you're in Thailand. Mark knows the place very well and I didn't think twice of going there even just for a day. Tarlac is a good choice for a day trip since its just a few hours away from Manila.

On the night of our trip it was raining hard. But the deal is rain or shine we are going. The next day it's still raining. I texted Mark and he said the sun was shining brightly in Tarlac. Okay, that's good news. But the bad news is the heavy traffic not to mention very few public utility vehicles passing by that morning. Tapioca and I was suppose to meet in Cubao at 7am but at that time I was still waiting for buses. After waiting for some time I was able to get into a bus. The usual 15-minute travel time to get to the nearest MRT station took me almost an hour. Finally I made it in Cubao at 9pm.

We headed straight to Five Star bus terminal and boarded the bus going to Dagupan City. The trip going to Gerona, Tarlac took approximately 3hrs. We arrive at 12:45pm just in time for lunch.

When you see this sign, you know you're in Gerona where Isdaan is located. Outside you would think Isdaan is a resort and not a restaurant because the place is huge. Some parts are still under construction.

First thing that greeted us were the koi fishes. Lots and lots of koi and tilapia all over the place . As we go further, I almost forgot I was hungry. I mean the place has so many photo ops here and there and I can't help but click my camera away. Oh yeah, I'm using my phone camera for the first time so you know how excited I was. And then we finally see this...

...happy, happy, joy, joy ^____^

Coolness. There's a lot more of that around Isdaan but that Buddha in the picture is the grandest of them all.

another one here...

...chased by the dinosaur

wooden pathway...

We took some more pictures until we get tired and settled at one of the huts. Did I mention that Isdaan is a floating restaurant? The water around the floating huts is around 6-9 feet deep (Yikes, mas mataas pa sa akin).

Isdaan is a Barrio Fiesta sister company so expect Filipino dishes. They also serve Japanese dishes like sashimi and tempura. Prices are reasonable, good for sharing. Here's what we ordered...

...sinigang na hipon

inihaw na liempo...

...pinakbet ilocano style

grilled tuna with butter sauce...

...fresh watermelon juice

mango juice for Kit...

The sinigang has the right amount of sourness on it and the shrimps are cooked perfectly. We loved the liempo because it was soft and very tender. I'm not sure what's the difference with the ilocano style pinakbet and the regular pinakbet I know of but what I'm sure of is I enjoyed the pinakbet because the veggies were not over cooked and its not malansa. The grilled tuna on the other hand was just okay. I liked the grilled tuna we had in Boracay better than this one. Probably the tuna wasn't fresh. Since the weather was hot I wanted to drink something refreshing like melon juice but not available that time so we had watermelon juice instead.

While eating, these guys serenaded us. Minimum tip is 20 pesos.

After eating, we went to the infamous Tacsiyapo wall and tried to smash some plates and cups.

...tacsiyapo wall

the san kilo bridge...

We tried coaxing Tapioca to cross the san kilo bridge so we can get 1 kilo of tilapia for free but he just wouldn't do it. I know I am very bad with balancing but maybe next time I might try it. And that means I'm definitely going back here.

My new baby!!!!

Saturday, July 4, 2009

I've been lusting for this baby since last year after I saw Hephaestion's G700 Sony Ericsson phone. Until I saw this candy red phone, G900. Complete with all the features I am looking for a phone. Touch screen, FM radio, expandable memory card up to 8GB, and most importantly with 5 mega pixel camera and built in WIFI. Perfect for blogger like me. I sooo love it. Finally I got it in my hands and am lurving it!!!!! Love, love, love, love.....

dream come true.....

Doll Domination

Sunday, June 14, 2009

I cant remember the last time I watch a concert. Was it the Hanson's Concert? Gee, that's like 5 years ago!!! Prolly not. But seriously, I can't remember. The Doll Domination concert would be a good start for this year.

I can't believe I missed the Pussycat Dolls' first concert here in Manila. Well, I have an excuse for that. I have a night shift on the said date and I needed sleep more than anything. Yeah, right. It sucks when you live only to go to work.

By the way, PSD is back with a new album and all the songs are pretty darn good just as the first album. This time I totally made sure I'm not gonna miss it. Thank God there still are people na kahit pang-gabi eh may social life pa rin. Thanks you, thank you, thank you to my office friends for watching the concert with me. And of course big thanks to Clear shampoo for bringing PSD back to Manila with matching 50% off on ticket. Nicey!

... Jellybean, the 6th Pussycat Doll?!?!?

Melona, Cheryl, Cristy and the 6th PSD.... hahahaha!!!!!

We had so much fun at the concert. They sang all their hit songs, as in! Name it, you got it, every songs they released. It's like watching the first concert because they sang all their hit songs from the first album and songs from the new album plus every one's fave Jai Ho (from the movie Slum Dog Millionaire). We thought Jai Ho's going to be the finale song but we were wrong. It was When I Grow Up extended version.

The show ended with a big bang. Wonderful fireworks display. It was so amazing. It's like the time stop and we just stared in awe at the colorful sky. Sorry, no pics of the fireworks.

When the fireworks ended we realized how tired and exhausted and hungry we were from standing up all night. Unbelievable Melona was able to endure all this despite the fact that she is very pregnant. We tried to look for a place to eat but it seems like all the restos around the MOA Concert Ground are fully packed. Mark suggested to go to Cubao but its late and we were starving and too tired to walk and too tired to think of what and were to eat.

I swear my feet never got this tired before. I think its because of lack of exercise hehehe! I feel like having a foot massage then. We ended up at Shakey's in Bluewave. Again, sorry no food pics :-(

...jellybean with preggy but still pretty melona

Over all, the concert was great except the standing ovation part. I mean I've watched outdoor concerts before but this one made me sooo tired due to all the walking. If you want to go from point A to point B it would take some serious walking. I'm not sure if I will watch another concert in MOA ever again. Not unless it's Hanson, why not?

The Blair-ish Project

Saturday, June 13, 2009

Last night, I got the saddest text message ever. It came from a very emo friend. He was whining about his mom forgetting to greet him on his very special day. Upon reading his text message I felt so bad and feel the need to do something.

Then this morning an idea dawn on me. I remember having his mom's number on my phonebook and decided to give her a call. I have no idea what to tell her. All I know is I have to come out with something that will make sure emo friend would realize how wrong he is about his mom. I mean come on, the last person on the entire universe who would ever forget your birthday is your mother, right?

So there I was calling his mom. Never even meet her or talk to her before. Not sure how to start the conversation but somehow it went well. Uhm, not really well cos his mom was not feeling very well that time. She said she felt a little hurt cos it seemed that her son don't like her. Ouch. I told her the purpose of my call and the plan that I was thinking. She said she had a headache and not sure if she wanted to do it. I was like, it's ok I totally understand and apologized for calling at the wrong time of the day.

I called emo friend and told him my conversation with his mom (but did not go through the entire details of course). Plan A didn't work. Moving on to Plan B, I got ready to hit the mall and, lo and behold, I got a text message from his mom saying that they were game to carry out the plan. Yay!!!

His mom picked out the place and we all meet up at SM Makati. So, I finally met his mom and brother and they were... not what I was expecting. Emo friend always tells me that her mom is evil and really really scarry or something like that but he was obviously exaggerating. Ok, I'm expecting the worse but it couldn't be that bad since she agreed with my plan. She was really nice when I walked up to her and greeted me warmly. She has a really good sense of humor which makes me feel comfortable while chatting with them. On the other hand, his brother seemed a little shy and timid as oppose to what he said about him.

I was able to talk to his mom more thoroughly than our conversation over the phone earlier. I found out that she's like your normal/typical mom who's mostly concern with their children's well-being. It's amazing how she copes up with taking care of two teenagers and working at the same time. Somehow, in some little ways I found things that are common with her and my own mother. Quite unnerving as it was, it raised questions on me. If time comes and I become a mother as well, I wonder what would I be like? How hard would it be raising teenage children in the future? Would my children think of me as a bad or a good mother? I saw my mother struggled with me back then same as with emo's mother only on a different level. Prolly because of the difference in time/generation? *shrugs*

Anyway, after a few minutes of talking emo friend finally arrived. He's got that confused look in his eyes like saying "what the f*** is going on?" Hahaha!!!! Surprise, surprise he was. He did not know what to say or whatever he just looked at us and..... I'm sorry. Not sure if I should write that part but don't worry guys, I made sure emo friend had a very memorable and pleasant Birthday to date.

To emo friend.....many more birthdays to come!!!! Love you much!!!!