Shake, Rattle and Roll: UPEC Style.

Some of the resident members of UPEC (plus Nanes and Sean) went up to Tagaytay to grab some coffee and spend some time together as a means of celebrating the success of EC GIVES BACK: FIRED UP (Oh yeah, still THE PARTY of the YEAR). This has got to be one of the most adventure-filled night-outs of UPEC. I shall not post details here but let me tell you one thing, this is definitely one night that'll be etched on our memories for a very, very long time. Ha ha. 

Photo-dump, coming right at ya!

With "Kuya Kim"!

The last three photos were taken with my phone's camera since excited me forgot to charge my camera's battery before heading out that night. Boooooooooo.

Here's to more adventurous trips, UPEC! :)

Starbucks Coffee's 2012 Planner

After two weeks of constantly being sleepy from chugging in caffeinated products (Yes, caffeine makes me sleepy.), I finally have a Starbucks 2012 Planner. It's available in five designs and I got the one in Spruce since many are eye-ing the ones in lighter shades. 

Starbucks' 2012 Planners come with a sac pouch.

Starbucks' 2012 Planner in Spruce, pouch, a bookmark, and ton of coupons.

It has a "storage leaf" at the back and an elastic strap to hold the entire planner.

Planner season's til January 8, 2012 so y'all have plenty of time to collect stickers for your planner! Now, let's see if I can acquire another planner. Ha ha!

P.S: I still haven't written anything on my planner because I feel that my penmanship ain't planner-worthy. Ha ha! 

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. 

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!

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. 

TFG In SMC.

Right after we watched the UPLB Filipiniana Dance Troupe's concert entitled Banyuhay: Katutubong Sayaw Sa Makabagong Pananaw, we all decided to kill some time in SM City Calamba. Main agenda is to find sunglasses/shades since summer's just around the corner.  Geoff, Yron, Rouvel, Marvin and I braved the Monday-going-home-traffic and arrived in Sm City Calamba at around 7:00PM. We immediately scoured through the racks of sunglasses in the department store and other shops in SMC. After about an hour, we finally decided to get some dinner first before we continue searching for the much-needed shades. Ha ha.

Aling Lucing's Sisig. NOTE: We don't know the guy in the violet shirt.



Sisig with Lechon Kawali (77php)



Sisig with Grilled Liempo (77php)

We went for Aling Lucing's Sisig and got their combo meals. Their sisig, I think, has greatly lost its quality since the last time the best bud and I ate there. I'm not in the mood to do a review tonight, though, since I'm just having a break from all the reviewing I'm doing tonight. One little review though, you know those Takuyaki balls that are so "popular" right now? Well, I finally got to taste one.

Takuyaki (27php)

And man, I hate it. I'm never gonna go near one ever again. Ha ha. It's just plain, err, weird. Ha ha. That's just me, though. Moving on. We went back to the department store so tat the best bud could purchase this one shades that he spotted earlier while the others fooled around. Ha ha. I then decided to treat the guys to some coffee and to Starbucks Coffee we went. We spent a good hour or so there and made fool of ourselves. 

I told you we made fools of ourselves. Ha ha. We came up with this challenge involving those photos above but I doubt we'd be doing it anytime soon. I'll update y'all if ever we push through with it. We finally called it a night at around 9:45PM and before we went our separate ways, we took one last photo depicting one of the popular games to date. Can you guess what game we are portraying?

Brraaaaaaiiiiiinnnns.

Fun night, all in all. Oh and if you're wondering what's TFG, it's actually a "name" for "our group". It means "Teethy Feed Guys". Why? Amin na lang 'yun. Ha ha! Til next time, TFG!

For the full photo set, see my TFG in SMC photo album in my Facebook page.