Zao

  FASHION

 Striped green button-down from Dean & Trent, Topman woven belt, old stuff

I love sale season. I always find one or two pieces that I can immediately snap up at bargain prices. The shirt and the belt here are the fruits of following D around while she scours the malls. I like the apple green strips and the peter pan collar on this shirt. Green is a color I don't use often so this is a good change.

I'd been looking for a durable woven belt because all my leather ones are worn out already. This one from Topman has a very versatile shade and is likely to see a lot of use.

my brother's shirt, F21 shorts, Janilyn shoes, random accessories

Got this flippy pair of shorts from F21 a while back. The tag said that they're made from some environment-friendly material. I already love the pleating so that was a nice bonus.
My little brother's shirt was almost perfect save for the fact that i doesn't nip in where a girl's shirt normally would. 

New wedges that I got for 10% off! The inner part of the shoe is made from leather so it's pretty comfortable but the foot bed needs some work. You need to put in strips of cork to cushion your feet. 

I love the pop of red on the sole ala Louboutin!

FOOD

Last Saturday, we had dinner at Serendra with D's family. After much time deciding and declining to wait at a couple of packed joints, we settled on Zao, a Vietnamese resto beside Mamou. It looks new but it already looked like it attracts a lot of traffic.

Started off with crispy spring rolls which you wrap in the lettuce and dip in vinegar.

The rolls had mushrooms and ground pork and shrimp. Really good!

Had the house fried rice with salted egg and fish. This was popular and went away really fast. Our group of five had to order two servings of this!

Caramelized garlic prawns

Looks like a lot but the garlic was not overpowering. It found its way to a most of the other dishes we had that night as well. The prawns were well-cooked but a bit hard to shell.

Honey-glazed tenderloin

This was super soft and flavorful. The meat was so easy to cut into.

So by now, you've noticed that they serve everything  on top of a bed of lettuce and an assortment of other vegetables. This tofu dish (forgot the exact name) was phenomenal! D's mom ordered it to balance all the meat and it turned out to be quite the surprise hit.

The last dish was the crispy catfish for D's dad's health and well-being! It was pretty good as well. The flesh was really flavorful, soft, and went very well with sauce. You could really tell that it was fresh!

All in all, Zao was a dining success! It showcased more of Vietnamese cuisine than just your run-of-the-mill pho restaurant. Two thumbs up!

Prom Throwback

D: Last Saturday, P and I took my little brother to get his suit made for prom.

I can't believe it's his turn to go to prom! 

I seriously feel so old, too old! Lola vibes!

Anyway, I digress.

First, we went to this tailor in the village who's been in business since forever.

He had a nice, cushy atelier with a ton of swatches.

 and stacks of GQ for reference. The really nice atelier came with a high price though!

D: I never knew menswear could run that steep! I guess I still have to fine-tune my eye in looking at the details of menswear. P taught me a lot about lapels, vents, etc today!
P: The place was a bit too pricey for our needs. D's brother will probably grow out of the suit in a couple of years so we had to stick to a budget.

 D: My brother was rolling with a high school kid's budget (aka my mom's wallet) so we decided to go to P's super trusty, awesome tailor in good, old Kamuning!
P: This is the place to go for bespoke clothes on the cheap, you can buy good quality wool for a suit or even just for slacks. Prices range around P800-1000 per yard and my size (5'10) would require 3.5 yards.

 Even more swatches!

D: Boys have it easy. Everything is blue, black, brown, or gray. I started planning my prom dress months before the actual prom. My brother is cramming it in less than a month!
P: Color's just one of many details you can decide on!

P: Vito ended up choosing a metallic grey Italian wool roll. We recommended a grey suit because it's the most versatile. While you should have a black one, it feels too severe for a lot of occasions.
D:  He needed just 3.25 yards. Good thing he's so skinny!

D: Here he is being measured by trusty Mr. J. Habana.

P: His final sketch and measurements. We specified details from the lapel to the cuffs and vents. Fitting is in a week's time plus another week for the finished product.

After Kamuning, our trio headed off to Cubao X to chow on some Bellini's and check out one of our favorite shoe shops in the area.

 Creepers, saddle shoes, and cowboy boots

P: You can get a lot of inspiration from looking at all the vintage pieces.

Ceiling and wall of Bellini's

Pizza Mediterranea

 Tartufo risotto

D: My absolute favorite risotto ever!
P: It looks really simple but it packs so much flavor.

 Solefish in lemon butter sauce

D: This went really well with the risotto. The tanginess of the sauce with the richness of the tartufo.

Here are some of the other interesting things we spotted while strolling around the area.

 D: I love all the mens shoes at Mark R, especially their amaretto line! I wish they carried women's sizes.

This is actually where I had my first pair of bespoke brogues made.The people who work here are super accommodating!

P: Planning to get a pair of loafers soon!

 D: It took me forever to decide between 2 pairs I was eyeing! I'll show you what I picked out in the the next post or so. It was my lucky day because everything in the store was 10% off in honor of the owner's birthday.

 D: Loved these nude patent leather pumps! The full stop detail at the toe looked fabulous!

 Cute eco bag that came with my shoe purchase

Topshop top, F21 peach cut-offs and desert boots

Schlepping it in my favorite muscle tee and boots

These are beyond comfy! I love the minimal sole and the creases it gets on the vamp with each wear.

The color is right on the money as well.

What a fun and productive Saturday!

8 spices

This past weekend, we decided to go to Galleria to pounce on cheap finds to shopping to be had at the Topshop/Topman sale and to check out the newly-opened restaurant area, The Veranda. The place is very clean and bright and you probably wouldn't mind sitting outside al fresco for a drink. The cars pass by far enough not to be too much of an annoyance.

If you've been a regular reader of this blog, you'll know we love our Thai food so we had to drop by this new restaurant, 8 Spices.

The interiors are nice but a bit cramped though the back mirrors make it appear otherwise.
We had to wait a few minutes to get a seat inside.

You also might know that we love our iced teas here at the Shady Chronicles so we have here a frozen iced tea (L) and a Thai milk tea (R).

P: My frozen iced tea was like a mix of mango shake, iced tea and something else I couldn't quite place. It was nice and refreshing for the strong Thai flavors.
D: Your standard Thai milk tea. I had to order 2 serving of this to drown out the spiciness of the food.

Crispy fish with mango salad

This would be the catfish and mango salad found in most other Thai restaurants. This was pricey but the serving was generous and the dressing was fantastic. The perfect combination of sour, sweet and spicy that's so characteristic of this cuisine. We had to have the rest wrapped up and it still tasted fantastic the day after.

Pineapple fried rice
 The slices of ham and red hotdog were a little off-putting but this turned out surprisingly good. Not sure how traditional this is or if this is touch more Filipino but it would be accompany most of the main courses quite well. We also ordered the beef rendang but we were absolutely famished that we ate without shooting it.
 
Overall, the food was very enjoyable, if a little pricey.
They also have to work on their service. It took an age for us to get the bill, more than 15 minutes! And our server didn't write our orders down so the rendang came really late. Not good.

FASHION

F21 shirt, BKK polka trousers, Jessica Simpson Dany platforms

 

My somber look does not match my goofy pants at all.

These are pretty tricky to wear because no one wants the extra hip baggage.

The paper bag waist and the giant dots are a fun detail and you can't beat the comfort of a nice and soft wide-leg trouser.

 Also threw on this frilly, flower earrings.

I just thought they were a sweet touch!

Nothing new to feature here. I just wanted to share my outfit. With global warming and the weather being so weird, it's been getting chilly out. Cardigans are perfect for this kind of Manila weather because they can protect from wind and aircon and they're not too thick that you'll want to rip it off as soon as the mercury rises a couple of notches.

How was your weekend? :)