Cheers

Yesterday, we went to Ponti to watch our friend, Bianca's debut as a DJ!
DJ WannaB, you did great!
Congratulations and remember us when you're all famous and raking in the dough!

D: I have the most awesome friends!

P is wearing this white button-down from Topman. Notice the multicolored buttons! Lalalalove quirky details! No proper outfit shot of him because he was rushing from work. Next time...

D: Ruffled coral dress, Culte Femme belt, white platforms, Looking for Lola earrings

Belt: This Culte Femme has been getting a lot of mileage. I am so into the idea of slapping it over everything I wear. It reminds me of my brother's wrestling belts!

Dress: Coral is my color of the moment. It's such a happy medium between pink and orange and I plan to abuse it before I turn pasty white again. This dress is a lucky find and I am dying to hoard it in all colors tomorrow!

Let's hit the malls, it's Friday!

Got the Blues

.

Wore this last Friday to the birthday party of some friends at the Fort.
Found this chambray shirt at SM Men's section. I was accompanying my 15-year-old brother who wanted to buy shirts for summer class when we spotted it. He wanted it too so I told him to get the lighter shade so I could nick it every now and then. When we got to the cashier, it was marked down from P699 to P349! What a score considering they look exactly like the ones high street stores are peddling! We ended up getting the darker version as well.

SM shirt, Topshop dress as skirt, HK ankle boots, Looking for Lola Darna cuff, random necklaces

Two of my favorite rings at the moment.
The armor ring is another lucky department store find and the panther(?) ring you can find at Looking for Lola. :)

I can't believe it's only six more days before the end of my break.
Time flew by unbelievably fast and soon, it's back to the daily grind.
Although I must say, I definitely miss playing with the kids everyday.

- D

Dinner at the Palace

FOOD

After watching Shutter Island (P: two thumbs up!) at Greenbelt yesterday, we decided to head over to People's Palace for dinner. We went here for Valentine's Day last year and P had a hankering for something "fresh" = pomelo salad.

We were supposed to stick with water to save room for dessert but I couldn't resist their Thai iced tea. I'm such a sucker for any sort of milk+tea beverage. Glad we ordered it though because the food we got was pretty spicy.

Pomelo salad with prawn, crab meat, coconut, etc. etc.

D: I really, really enjoyed this. One of the best salads in my book. All the different flavors jive so well with each other. It was a really fresh, summer salad. Definitely a must-have when dining here.

P: Agreed. I never fail to order this when dining at People's Palace. The pomelo chunks are always juicy. It's a light and fresh starter to lead you to the main courses. They served up this salad better than most Thai places in the city.

Aromatic chicken curry with sweet potato and pineapple relish

D: This one had a tad too much heat for my taste. I really cannot tolerate the slightest hint of spiciness. They didn't mark it as being spicy in their menu so we didn't bother to ask them to make it mild. It was still very good though! The pineapple relish was a nice touch!

P: Yeah, make sure to order a milder version if you're not into spicy food. The curry was good, no question, but it was nothing amazing. However, I do recommend the lamb curry, which we ordered previously. That was fantastic!

Khao pad (egg fried rice with prawn)

D: This was yummy with the fish sauce! The prawn pieces were also pretty substantial. One thing, I'm extremely picky with my rice and this had a lot of clumpy, hard bits which I hate. Had to pick out a lot of them.

P: We were thinking of getting the regular pork fried rice (their bagoong rice, another good dish) but we chose this lighter tasting one to temper the strong flavor of the curry. It reminded me of eating in Chiang Mai in Thailand. It should go with most things on their menu; a solid choice. You can also order this with scallops or chicken, instead of prawn.

Upon the recommendation of Rosanna and to combat the oppressive heat, we went to Gelatissimo in Greenbelt 5 for dessert.

They were closing up when we got there, but the very friendly and accommodating staff allowed us to place our orders. Of course this was after we sampled an embarrassing number of flavors!

D: Next time, I'm getting the lychee!

D: Forest Berries was pretty good too! Oh and the green tea! I want everything!
P: I want the Rum & Raisin, Caramelized Fig, and all the flavors that D would never touch haha.

D: American chocolate looks sooo good too! I like how the "decorate" the display by putting the main ingredients of each flavor on top of their tubs. Makes everything look extra appetizing!

After an age, we finally settled on....

P: Honey toffee and malt

D:Veronese Chocolate! Wasn't in the mood for anything tangy and Chocolate Truffle was too dark for me.
(Pardon the horribly chipped polish.)

An overall successful dining experience, we think!


FASHION

P: Chambray hat, pink v-neck, reworked floral shorts, brown leather chukkas (doing a post on these soon!)

D: Mini dress with pocket, denim band jacket from Rockwell bazaar, black buckled wedges from SM, thrifted nautical belt with anchor buckle

Bling: Panther bracelet, studs on mesh cuff, various rings

Any ideas for where we should go next?

To the 3 people reading this blog, we'd love to hear your ideas on where to go next! Haha! :D

D's Favorite Things: Shoe Edition

So I'm on a self-imposed shopping ban and to slip out of my funk, I decided to "appreciate my blessings." To keep from buying new stuff, I've been trying to organize my closet and I've unearthed things I completely forgot I had! While I'm trying to replenish my dismal savings, I guess I'm stuck with shopping the closet.

In the meantime, I thought I'd do a post on my favorite things of the moment.
Today, we shall start with shoes! My absolute favorite thing to buy! <3
I plucked my current top 9 from my closet and shot them in the garden.
(arranged in no particular order)

1. Valli knock-offs! I know, these are super old already but I still love 'em.
These are definitely not ideal for walking though.

2. I've only worn these once but they're actually pretty comfortable.
White patent is so easy for summer!
Plus the round wooden stump heel is a fun detail.

3. Tan lace-up fold-over heel
Really comfortable and easy to walk in!
I love wearing these for schlepping around during the day.

4. Nautical wedges
I'm a big fan of all things nautical and these shoes are really easy to pair with stuff.
I like 'em with ratty cut-offs, a crisp white button down, leather braided belt, and a ton of tacky, gold bling.

5. Fringe loafers
I call these my "teacher shoes." These are definitely the anti-thesis of the fierce shoe trend.
I've only worn them around three times because the leather on the vamp really digs into your foot.
Maybe there's a way I can get the leather stretched?

6. Leopard print ankle boots
Okay, these are a little fierce.
Super uncomfortable to walk in but too pretty to pass up.

7. Hot pink pump with stacked wooden heel
I love the canvas upper and how it's tacked down with gold pins!

8. Lace and suede ankle boots
A Christmas gift from P.
I love the wedge on this one!

9. Black satin platforms
Goes with anything and everything.

Tune in for the ring edition and for P's version!
I'll bug him about it!

Hola, Adiosu

FOOD

After a crappy shopping trip at Greenhills, we headed over to Ristras, a Mexican restaurant in San Juan for dinner. Ristras is supposedly another restaurant of the people behind the highly successful Charlie's Grind & Grill.

Basically, you pick a dish and choose between the variety of meats that they offer (click on the photo to enlarge). The new ones on the menu include ox cheek, lengua, and tripe.

D: I tend to stick to the safer choices of beef and chicken. Their regular steak was still being slow-cooked so we ended up getting the spicy variant. They allowed us to sample the beef and it wasn't soooo spicy which I liked.

P: I'm definitely taking the more adventurous route with the lengua and ox cheek next time when D isn't with me. Haha! While I'm at it, no scrimping on the "disgusting" veggies as well.

P: We arrived just after 7 to a relatively empty restaurant but once 7:30 hit, people started coming in droves. Long tables were reserved for large families and they converted the parking slots in front into dining areas. Inevitably, parking will be hard to come by and eating al fresco will add jeepney smoke to the ambiance. Not a good thing. Definitely call ahead to reserve or come in earlier/later than regular meal times.

2.5 kg burrito challenge. Losers fork over 1k while winners get the burrito free.

Dishes are prepared right in front of you and you can pick and choose your own toppings.
D: For finicky eaters like me, this is a dream come true. However, P and I were sharing a burrito and he wanted all the disgusting vegetables. We compromised on no pickles and bell peppers.

P: My only gripe is that they chose to scrimp on the utensils and plates by using styrofoam and plastic. Aside from additional and unnecessary waste, cutting into the tortilla is also a pain because you end up cutting up the plate at the same time.
D: Let's go green with reusable kitchenware!

Our order: Burrito with spicy beef and chorizo rice.
You can also opt to get cilantro rice instead. This is easily the biggest burrito we've ever been served. A single order should be good for 2 average appetites. In fact, P ended up eating the last few bites of my half.

This puts other burritos to shame with the flavor and the quality of ingredients. And did we mention, it is absolutely stuffed! The flavors of the greens go nicely with the strong flavors of the meat. Both are tempered by the surprisingly subtle chorizo rice and the non-mushy beans. Best eaten with copious amounts of salsa.

And just because we ALWAYS over-order, we also ended up getting a chicken quesadilla. This serving is also gigantic and was quite packed as well. The cheese holds this dish together, literally and figuratively. It's also juicy and fresh-tasting if you don't want something as heavy as a burrito. We ended up wrapping more than half to take home though.

For drinks, we decided to go across the street to Serenitea. We're already frequent clients and we make sure to pop in for a visit whenever we're in the area. I'm so glad they finally have a "Loyaltea" Card!

D: I'm obsessed with this place! I get random cravings for their tea all the time. Rosanna and I constantly rave about this place to everyone. During one crazy fit, we drove from Makati to San Juan just to get our fix! They definitely need to get branches in the Pasig area.

D: It always takes us FOREVER to decide what to get because there is just soo much to choose from. The line gets pretty long because people are staring dumbfoundedly at the board. It would be nice to have a brochure explaining the different components of each beverage.

P: They also serve savory snacks to go with your refreshing beverages. Their pepper corn is a perfect foil for the mellow tea. I never thought sprinkling that much pepper on a steaming cob of corn would work out that well.

Random selection of Japanese (?) snacks

D: Black dragon milk tea (oolong) with pearl and standard sugar levels
P: Hokkaido milk tea with pearl and standard sugar levels

You can choose from a variety of toppings (pearl, brick, egg pudding, etc.) and set your preferred level of sugar (100, 75, 50, 25, 0 -- all in percentages).

Ristras and Serenitea
J. Abad Santos Street, San Juan (just off Wilson, near Gloria Maris)
*Both establishments get a collective four thumbs up! We will definitely be dining there again!*



FASHION

Pretty boring stuff on the fashion front. We were dressed down to hit the tiangge after all. Just thought we'd share anyway.

P: Nothing special here. Just a pink collared shirt from U2, gray Landmark shorts and my ribbed grandpa cardigan from Looking for Lola, the best vintage store in town. ; ) It's loose and slouchy but dresses up basic t-shirts. I especially like the oversized pockets and silver buttons.

D: See? Even boys can shop at Lola! Okay, shameless plugging ends now.

D: Lazy dressing = F21 top, ratty denim shorts from The Ramp, my favorite espadrilles from Suenos in Podium, hat from SM men's dept. and a pseudo cardigan that I'm "favorite-ing" at the moment.

Yay for surprise detail!
This comes in handy when you need to cover your tummy after heavy Mexican meals!


That's it for the weekend, folks!