Wednesday In Town.

Met up with Yron, Sab, Mino, Abie and Michiko yesterday in Alabang Town Center to watch Segunda Mano and catch up with stories as if we don't flood Twitter every night. Ha ha. The movie was good! Go see it! You have about more than a week to catch all the films under the Metro Manila Film Festival, so go ahead and watch a couple or all of 'em. Ha ha!

The ever-generous Sab treated us lunch in Shakey's while waiting for Michiko and for the screening time. It's always nice to get tickets in advanced (online or just go there early) so as to avoid the hassle of long lines come screening time. We went to Timezone right after watching the movie and spent a good hour (or more) hoarding two videoke booths and we also played in the arcade. Parang mga batang nakawala na naman kami. Ha ha! 

Photodump coming right up!

Check out Abie's Tumblr

Check out Mino's blog

GAME FACE. LOL

It's always nice to let loose and just have fun once in a while! Thanks, guys! See you all again soon!

Christmas 2011

Merry Christmas! I intended to do a Christmas post much earlier today but I was running around with some of the cousins who dropped by our house. So, how did you spend Christmas eve and Christmas day? Here are some photos of what me and my family did.

Cooked a simple Noche Buena spread.

Molo Soup was definitely the star of the table last night.

No Noche Buena's ever complete with Queso de Bola, Chicken and Potato Salad.

Colors of the season.

We spent a good hour during Noche Buena then headed upstairs to have tea and exchange stories; a first for our family. Ha ha! Went to bed right after because we had to wake up to hear the 9:00AM Eucharistic Celebration in St. Therese of the Child Jesus Parish in UPLB.

Christmas morning. With some of our relatives from Talim Island, Binangonan, Rizal.

Before heading out to hear Mass.

Change position daw. Ha ha.

I guess one of the best things about Christmas is that I get to hear Mass with my family. See, my mum and aunts don't really attend Mass every Sunday and RJ goes to Mass with his girlfriend so I usually hear Mass with friends from the BLD Youth Ministry. The Christmas Family Mass is actually one of the things that I always look forward to whenever Christmas season comes.

Went home right after the Mass and spent time just chillin' and waiting for relatives to drop by. Mum and Mama thought of this neat idea of giving out "Papasko" to some of our younger relatives. They clipped on different denominations in a rack and each person gets to pick out a piece of paper with a number on it from a fish bowl. The number on the paper corresponds to the piece of plastic which contains PhP 40.00 - PhP 1,000.00! Ang saya lang kasi thrilling and excited kaming lahat. Ha ha! 

The Money Rack. LOL

Yes, I did join and I got PhP 50.00! Ha ha! Mum imposed this isang bunot kada tao lang so ayun. Ha ha! My ten year old cousin Buchoi got the PhP 1,000.00! Swerte! The rest of the day was spent running around with hyper active kids and some videoke. Definitely a tiring but fun day!

Kayo? Kamusta ang Pasko niyo? :)



Again, Merry Christmas and may the love, joy and peace of the Lord fill your hearts!




P.S: Don't forget to join my first ever blog give-away! I'm giving out one Moonleaf Tea Shop 2012 Planner! Click here to know more on how you can score this one! :)

LAMBingan Friday At Chubby Habbi's Mediterranean Grill.

Because of time and financial constraints, I was not able to visit Chubby Habbi's Mediterranean Grill ever since I made my first visit during its soft opening. Fortunately, I was able to visit last Friday when UPLB's Christmas vacation kicked in. Another "fortunately", their Lamb Kebab (which has been getting a lot of raves on Facebook and Twitter) was available that day.

It's great to see how much their menu has "grown"! Lots of offerings now!

Got fascinated with little Christmas trees set on each table.

Hummus, Pita and Iced Tea while waiting for the Lamb.

100g Lamb Kebab 

Chubby Habbi's only offers Lamb Kebabs on Fridays, 12 noon onwards, until supplies lasts. They usually serve lamb which weigh 150g above. The piece I got was the smallest from their fresh supply. Not a big deal since it was priced lower and because the order of hummus and pita already had me filled. This was only my second time to eat lamb. The first time was in a grill in Baguio where I had a lamb burger which tasted kinda like the regular beef/pork burger. I was really excited to try the lamb kebab since this'd be the first time that I'd actually taste lamb, with only salt and pepper added before it was grilled.

The verdict? It was more than I expected. I had it cooked "well-done" but it maintained the juiciness! The meat's a little sweeter than beef and it's texture ain't gamey at all. What I liked most about it is its fat. Oh no, I know. Its fat's texture greatly differs from beef and pork. It was more like a piece of tendon, actually. I believe the good ratio of meat to fat of the lamb actually helped in maintaining the moisture content of the meat. The grilled lamb smothered in Chubby Habbi's garlic sauce brings it totally to a new level! An order of their butter rice is definitely not enough!

Chubby Habbi's Lamb Kebab is a bit pricey but for a piece of fresh lamb cooked to perfection, served with buttered rice, grilled vegetables and garlic sauce, I'm sure you'll be more than willing to splurge on this, especially since it's only available during Fridays.

Do check out Chubby Habbi's Mediteranean Grill on Facebook and check out the Chubby Habbi himself, Caio Cadiz, in this Twitter handle.

Chubby Habbi's Mediterranean Grill

Lot 9 Ruby Street, Los Baños Subdivision, Batong Malake

4030 Los Baños, Laguna

Operating Hours: 11:00AM - 9:30PM Monday to Saturday

Mi Bonitos Lunch With Magulo Friends. LOL

Please don't mind the title, especially the "Magulo Friends". No chance I'll elaborate on that here. Ha ha!

We decided to grab lunch in Mi Bonitos earlier today. See, Mi Bonitos has been around since 2004 and I (together with my family) have been coming back ever since. This has always been on my top 3 go-to places in Los Baños and you can take my word for it, the prices of their offerings are really worth it. Really getting the bang for the buck, if I may say so. 

Pardon the photos since I was too lazy too lugg around my camera. These were taken with Ning's and my iPhone 4.

The Menu

Nachos

Buffalo Wings

Ning and Bryan

Aisa and Ten-ten

"Hey, what's up? This is Chris." LOL

Blueberry Pancake ala Mode

Banana Split

Nothing bad can really be said about Mi Bonitos' food, really. Even the place is really good. I believe having the entire place enclosed and "air-conditioned" gives the customers a more comfortable venue for enjoying their food and their company. Oh, and they also have free WiFi! 

Do check out Mi Bonitos' Facebook page for more information and y'all can follow them on this Twitter handle.

Mi Bonitos Restaurant
Oregano St. cor Lopez Avenue, Demarses Subdivision
4030 Los Baños, Laguna
Operating Hours: 10:00AM - 10:00PM Monday to Sunday

On Simple Orders And Free Coffee (and Toffee).

My good friend and fellow blogger Mino of MINOrity posted this entry which talked about getting a simple Caramel Frappuccino from Starbucks Coffee (Simple, right? NOT) instead of getting the more complicated ones. It got me thinking of my first-ever Starbucks experience which led me to texting my mum.

Me: My, when and where did we first have Starbucks nga po? It's in this building in Ayala, if I remember correctly.

Mum: 2000? Sa 6750 Building in Ayala. First store ata nila 'yon.

Yes. I had my first taste of Starbucks Coffee around eleven years ago. God knows what I ordered that time, but as far as I can remember, my most favorite drink from Starbucks while growing up is their Caramel Macchiato; be it iced or piping hot. It's funny how my mum and I have been patrons of the shop for over a decade now. Ha ha. Oh and if you're wondering, her favorite drink up until now is a Grande Cappuccino with a shot of Hazelnut syrup. 

And because of the sudden trip down memory lane, I decided to get a mug of hot Caramel Macchiato earlier while reading my newly-purchased book. And yes, I encourage everyone who'll order hot "for here" drinks to request for a mug. A pile of paper cups is still trash, y'know. You can also ask the baristas to put your "to-go" orders of hot or cold coffee in your own tumblers (even the ones not from Starbucks).

Caramel Macchiato (PhP 140.00)

 I admit I might've outgrown this drink but it's always a welcome alternative to my now default Green Tea Latte. Ha ha.

Mini Toffee Nut Frappuccino and Bite-sized Toffee Nut Loaf

I was lucky enough that they gave away samplers of their Christmas offerings during my visit earlier. The baristas were handing out these mini cups of Toffee Nut Frappuccino and a bite-sized piece of Toffee Nut Loaf for the customers to taste. I was surprised that the loaf was actually good. Now I wonder why I haven't tried ordering it. Maybe tomorrow? Ha ha.

Anyway, enough of Starbucks talk. For now. 

Chubby Habbi's Soft Opening.

Our good friend Caio opened his new venture today and I'm really glad that I stayed in LB and waited for its soft opening! Finally! Los Baños, please welcome Chubby Habbi's Mediterranean Grill!

Moonleaf Tea Shop's Soft Opening In LB.

Moonleaf Tea Shop's first-ever provincial branch opened its doors to the residents of Los Baños and nearby towns at exactly 11:00AM this morning. This branch is actually one of the three new branches of Moonleaf Tea Shop that simultaneously opened today. 

This Week's Brunch.

With the onslaught of the urge to finish my first set of stickers for the Starbucks 2012 Planner, I made it a point to get brunch in their SM City Calamba branch whenever I can. It actually works because I'm usually either too early or too late to be able to eat breakfast at home. Plus, I get to ease some stress from my mum and aunt since I do most of the errands (i.e pay bills) whenever I drop by SMC, and of course, I get to add one or two more stickers whenever I purchase any core beverage or any of the three Holiday Specials offerings from Starbucks Coffee.

Sun-dried Tomato and Basil Roll (PhP 50.00 with jam and butter | Add PhP 20.00 for cream cheese)

For the three days this past week that I went to Starbucks, I always partnered my drink with one of their Christmas offerings, the Sun-dried Tomato and Basil Roll. For those who know me, this'd be a no-brain-er type of order since I like basil and any of its derivatives. It looks so unassuming but believe me when I say that it boasts of amazing flavor, add to that the aroma of the infused basil which diffuses so easily once you cut open the bread. Adding jam and butter adds a different dimension to it and makes it all the more fun to eat! I've tried it with cream cheese and the combination of the bread and cheese is great as well. Kinda reminded me of eating a basil bagel with cream cheese. The bread itself is kinda thick and can easily fill you up. For PhP 50.00, this is an absolute cheap treat! You don't get too many fifty peso-offering from Starbucks Coffee, and I think they should keep the Sun-dried Tomato and Basil Roll in their regular menu since it's a very welcome alternative to their sandwiches and sweet offerings. 

This very well has made it to the top of my bread list for now. Ha ha.

Go ahead and try it out and tell me what you think!

Moonleaf Tea Shop x Chubby Habbi's OPENS This Friday!

Yes! Four days til the soft opening of both Moonleaf Tea Shop and Chubby Habbi's! Come by their shops this November 11 and enjoy your day with amazing food fare! I'll see you there, okay?

Moonleaf Tea Shop and Chubby Habbi's are both located in the new building just beside Crayon Box, Ruby Street, Umali Subdivision, Los Baños, Laguna.




UPDATE: Here's a map for a better "direction" as to where this building is located!

Of Red Cups And Stickers.

Christmas season reminds me of Starbucks' Red Cups. No, Starbucks' Red Cups remind me that Christmas season is near. Whatever. 

LB, Meet The Chubby Habbi.

Eight more days til we get to taste the Mediterranean region in a plate! Be sure to drop by the opening of Chubby Habbi's on the eleventh. Yup, mark 'em calendars, 'cause this joint will start serving LB and nearby towns starting November 11, 2011 (Friday). It'll be in the new building right beside Crayon Box in Ruby street, Umali Subdivision, Los Baños, Laguna.

Chubby Habbi's is from the same group which brought us Faustina's. 

Sunday Late Lunch.

To say that my family likes pizza is an understatement. Italian food fare is a very common choice whenever we dine outside our house. I'm a big Shakey's fan, RJ likes Greenwhich more than the others, and my mum and the others love Pizza Hut. She's a fan, really, so finding a box or two of Pizza Hut in our house as merienda is very typical. Since it's also the nearest to our house, Pizza Hut, over the years, has become our go-to place whenever our aunt gets a tad bit lazy to cook. 

After spending a gruesome and sweaty afternoon in the cemetery, we decided to grab some late lunch in Pizza Hut, located in Olivarez Plaza, Los Baños, Laguna. 

Yes, you read that right!

For those who still do not know about the Palm Card, it's this amazing card you get in Pizza Hut stores and whenever you present it, you'll get a free pizza for every pizza that you pay for, provided that you buy any Pepsi product along with your purchase. Originally, only to-go customers and those who've availed of the delivery service are the ones who can avail of this promo, but in the spirit of Christmas, Pizza Hut now allows customers to use it when dining in! This is actually perfect for groups and for celebrations! 

Like I said, my family frequents Pizza Hut so we kinda have this "set meal" whenever we eat there. Here's what we usually get. 

Cream of Mushroom Soup with Puff Pastry (PhP 69.00)

Combo Platter | Garlic Bread, Fries and Chicken Tenders (PhP 179.00)

6-piece New Orleans Chicken Wings (PhP 209.00)

Regular Hawaiian Pan Pizza

The Hawaiian Pan Pizza was free of charge since we originally ordered one of the store's new variant of pizza. We brought this home 'cause we were already feeling full because of the other food we ordered. Ha ha! And now, for the piece de resistance, Pizza Hut's Tuscani Pizza. 

Medium Supremo Tuscani Pizza (PhP 349.00)

Pizza Hut's Tuscani Pizza variants boast of a thinner-than-usual-Pizza Hut-crust filled with flavor, topped with generous amounts of premium toppings. We got the Supremo variant, which is kinda like the Super Supreme of their Tuscani line, and I can honestly say that this just rocketed to my top pizza flavors. It was well-balanced and the thin, crispy-on-the-side-soggy-in-the-center crust does magic! Oh, and look at the amount of toppings! I hope they put this on their regular menu!

All four of us (Mum, Mama, Tita Cora and me) were able to finish all except the Hawaiian Pizza. Went home with happy tummies! 

How about y'all? What did you guys have for today's meals?