P: Banker
D: Teacher

Up | Down

 

Critter

~ ~
FOOD
This weekend, we were craving for some crab and Crustasia was the most convenient option in the Rockwell area. We were actually planning to eat in the now-famous Som's Noodle House but since we we had to catch Toy Story 3 (great movie, btw!), we settled on just trying something "new" in the mall.

The place was actually pretty full save for that one table beside us which got snapped up as soon as we finished our meal. Come early also since the crab takes a while to cook.

Twinings fruit tea shakes
D: I got the strawberry mango. It was quite tasty and refreshing but it felt like they just dumped crushed ice over the tea and called it a day. The bottom part was quite bland.
P: Peach and passion fruit for me. I really enjoyed this one even though ordering something with the words passion and fruit isn't the manliest thing haha. 

Crab Maritess
D: Check out this beauty! It had a ton of garlic piled on it with a light, buttery sauce beneath it. I hate messing with shells so P had to help me crack it open. The white meat was so yummy and went well with the garlic. I also requested for a honey glaze-type sauce that went with their appetizer just because I like the salty-sweet combo.
P: Oh my my my, what a feast! More than enough for two and brimming with yummy, soft crab meat and sinful, decadent crab fat. The garlic and chili were appropriately strong flavors for the delicate crab. This was easier to pick through than the smaller ones I'm used to at home. There's also something to be said about enjoying a meal a little more when you get your hands dirty. Definitely worth it.

Chicken and dried fish rice
D: This was actually pretty good after you mix it up. The dried fish was a tad too salty for my taste but overall, it was pretty tasty with the crab.
P: Kind of like a meal in itself. The fish held it together while the Chinese sausage felt a bit superfluous. Might have done better if they replaced those with a non-meat topping.

Wrestling with the crab

After dinner, we decided to head over to Tiendesitas to check out the puppy merchandise for little Lulu! Haven't been there in an age so we were excited to stare at furry little friends behind glass windows.

But first!
We couldn't resist some old-school-straight-from-the-school-cafeteria cheese corn in a cup. Binatog is good too but I wanted that artificial cheese powder mixed with melted butter. Yum!
Our shady cup of corn for only P25!

Here are some snapshots of the creatures that caught our eye in the pet village!

Sugar glider
He was going nuts since they're nocturnal and it was well into the night. I couldn't take a decent shot but his body span is AMAZING!
D: I considered getting one of these (heard you could tuck ém in your pocket! Cute!) but after hearing that they pee everywhere... no thanks.

A ridiculously big spider

Check out those peepers! Doesn't he look insanely human-like?

This little guy was just chilling out and wagging his tail at us. Can anyone ID the breed?

We love Chows! Cutest breed ever!

He was sleeping on a pile of kibble!

This baby looked so sad! In fact, we noticed that almost all the Chows looked positively bummed out. Poor things!

Haha! This one was so chill and so cute with his underbite!

Another lonely looking Chow.
The friendliest of the lot! He was just hamming it up for the camera! He had the best smile.

This picture just breaks your heart. Look how miserable they look. I wish I could take them both home!

On the other hand, this little guy looked so relaxed without a care in the world! So much character in this one.

Can't see his eyes!

This is the only Chow that looked relatively chipper. He posed and held it for us as we were taking his picture. Check out the other one below!

P: I really want one of these bear-type Chows. Cute little fur balls!

I love the foot in the face! These were the most affectionate of the bunch. Every time one would move, the entire pack would shift to make sure everyone was touching and leaning on someone else. So adorable!


FASHION



Breton v-neck from I.T., Uniqlo lavender (?) socks, Zara sneakers, all Topman in between
I really like the fit of this shirt, right at the bicep and the hips. The bright blue stripes make me think of sailing in Greece haha. I love the sock wall in Uniqlo! Made me think of so many interesting combos. Finally, I think the capped toes of these under-used shoes make the pair stand out from the rest of its ilk.

Topshop muscle tee, DIY-ed cut-offs
A casual schlepping outfit
My favorite vintage lace jacket
I love the substantial weight of this piece and the kicky little fringe at the bottom.

metal cap-toe ballet flats from HK

Mom's high school class ring, HM stud ring, SM panther ring

'Til next time, everyone! Stay safe and dry and thank goodness it's a holiday on Wednesday.

A Surprise Guest

~ ~

Look what I found on my doorstep!


Just kidding.
Apparently, my cousins' dogs had puppies and my mom asked for the only girl of the litter without telling any of us. P and I went to pick her up and she was just the sweetest little girl!


I love her suspicious look on her face here.
 I didn't really want a shih tzu anymore because they're so common and I already have a 4-year-old boy.


But how can you resist this freakin' face?!
We love how curious she is and how she's sniffing everything! 
Not so much how she promptly peed on my brother's floor.


Now all she needs is a name.
I have a Chops and a Charlie already.
Any ideas or suggestions?
We'd be most grateful for any good ones.
:)

Limited shoot

~ ~
Spent Saturday afternoon at Rosanna's house shooting for our Lola Limited line. It was definitely a team effort and I can't wait to see the end products! 
Here's a little teaser and some behind-the-scenes action...


Photography by: Rosanna Aranaz
Make-up by: Anjie Gogna
Model: Monique Regalado
Styling: Rosanna and myself

Hey Spotty

~ ~


Wore this to dinner last Wednesday. I checked out Landmark recently to stock up on office clothes and instead, found this cute Minnie Mouse-y skirt. They had it in black and navy blue as well. I love the little fold-over "collar" and satin buttons going down the front.


The top is from an awesome vintage store in Hong Kong. While we were trolling the Ladies Market, I stumbled upon this shop hidden in one of the back streets. They had racks and racks of vintage clothing priced as low as HKD5 or P30! I got a ton of stuff and spent less than P800! If you're heading to HK anytime soon, I suggest you hunt this gem of a store down in Mongkok!

Landmark skirt, top from HK, Parisian wedges, Msense sunglasses

Pasto + Cafe Juanita

~ ~
D: On P's first Saturday back, we started off the day with lunch at Pasto, Eastwood. This happened upon the invitation of our friend, Meggie who celebrated her birthday last June 2. My high school girl friends Maina and Donna also joined us for the meal. A shout-out goes to Tala in the US, who we missed that day!
Meet some of my fabulous friends!

Donna and her pretty necklace

Maina, my friend since 5th grade!

and the blooming birthday girl, Meggie!

FOOD
P: The Pasto menu was difficult to photograph but we took the liberty of linking it here.
Gamberi (fettucine with garlic-sauteed shrimps, asparagus spears and fresh diced tomatoes)
D: I didn't get too much of this but the girls seemed to really like it. This was Maina's personal preference.
P: Oil-based pasta isn't really my first choice but I like the combination of ingredients. Tasted fresh.

Carbonara (linguine with smoked bacon and mushrooms in garlic cream sauce)
D: I really love good old carbonara. This was a classic and simple rendition of the dish. Creamy and no scrimping on the bacon and mushroom!
P: Agreed. There was enough bacon to go around. Some restos tend to pile on the cream and neglect the toppings.

Melanzana (penne with eggplant, smoked bacon and melted mozzarella)
D: Despite the fact that I don't eat eggplant and had to weed through this, it was actually pretty good. I'm a fan of penne and the tomato sauce was tasty!
P: This one was my favorite of the three. I really like eggplant in my pastas.It lends a unique flavor. I liked the generous helping of onions and meats on this as well.

Formaggi (feta, ricotta, mozzarella, parmesan) and Rucola (prosciutto, fresh arugula, mozzarella)
D: I only tried the formaggi and it was perfect! I love the bubbling cheese, the super thin crust, and the chunky bits all over.
P: The formaggi seemed to be popular so I let the girls have it! I did like the rucola but it could have used a bit more prosciutto. The salty and bitter combination is right up my alley.

Greca (feta cheese, onions, sun-dried tomatoes, olives, artichokes, and capers) and Di Carne (Italian sausage, smoked ham, pepperoni )
D: The greca was exceptional! I especially loved the sweetness of the sun-dried tomatoes. The sweet ham on the di carne was pretty good too but I had to strip off my slice since I don't eat pepperoni. I know, picky picky.
P: The sweet sun-dried tomatoes really made the greca pizza for me. It was a surprising touch and really brought the other flavors together. The di carne was ok for me, regular meat pizza.

Chowing down on our carbofeast

All five, absolutely clean plates!

For dessert, we all went over to Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf to try out their new yogurt offerings. Our other friend, Alexi works in their marketing division and tipped us off about a flavor not posted in their menu. All we had to do was say the "secret password."

So Maina says "Awesome" to the lady behind the counter and luckily, she knew what we meant and didn't think we were crazy. The secret flavor? Hazelnut!

Maina's hazelnut swirl, our green tea swirl, and Donna's original
Meggie doesn't really like yogurt so she got a cup of chai tea latte.
P: I really liked the green tea on this one. It really tasted like good matcha, probably the same one they use on their drinks.
D: The green tea and hazelnut didn't have the tanginess of the original flavored one. Ours was more like ice cream but I really liked it! The green tea was grainy and wonderful!

Enjoying good company and sweet treats! 
Happy 23rd Megs! Thanks for a great lunch!

D: After lunch, we took care of some errands for LFL and went to SM Makati to check out the pieces from Fashion Week. I finally got the black and white striped boots and some additional things from WWW.
P: I found a pair of cherry red Persol-esque sunglasses for less than P200! More on that soon. We left the Makati area at 8 and wanted to go somewhere easy yet delicious for dinner.
D: And considering I live 2 minutes away from it, what's easier than Cafe Juanita?!

The famed restaurant with its quirky interiors

P: We didn't make any reservations but luckily, they had a free table for us. Do call ahead though. The place was almost completely full when we got there at 9pm.

Tamarind shake and buko lychee shake
D: I've gotten the buko lychee shake each time I've dined here. It's refreshing and not too sweet. I wish it was more lychee than buko though.
P: My tamarind shake was a little too sour. I prefer the shake from LJC restos.

Catfish mango salad (Thai-style crispy shredded catfish on green mango salad)
D: We absolutely finished this off. I love that the catfish was dried and shredded. It gave the salad a nice texture.
P: I like the crispiness of the catfish and the sour dressing. It was a simple but great way to start off our Thai supper.

Stuffed crab
P: This is one of the resto's newer offerings. The flavors here were surprisingly complex. It came with a good honey mustard sauce.
D: I like how the crust on top broke open and crumbled into soft crab bits. This was yummy!

Thai bagoong rice
D: This is a dish on its own! I love all the flavors together. A Cafe Juanita staple for sure.
P: The ingredients mixed really well together. I like the flavor of the pork, a little different from other Thai restos.

Crepe Samurai
D: This didn't look like any crepe samurai I've had before. It was sweet and the chocolate was perfect with it, of course.
P: A good, light dessert to finish off the meal. Cheap too at P89!

Great weekend as per usual! Later, folks!