Showing posts with label Taste. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Taste. Show all posts

October 14, 2016

How I met Jack

I remember what life was like before I met Jack. Life was good, i thought I had everything I'd ever need. I knew my limits and I never tested them.

Photo from the movie 500 Days of Summer


It was a weeknight, no different than all the others. A friend invited us to a party - some guy's birthday. The place was packed and we couldn't hear what anyone was saying so we danced in our own little corner until he arrived. I was with someone at the time but he was really smooth. I still remember the way he tasted on my lips. The rest of the night was a blur. 

It wasn't until a few months later that I would meet him again. A friend of a friend's graduation party. I ignored him when I walked in, but as the night wore on we got reacquainted. Still as smooth as the night we met. 

We'd meet up every so often. At parties, celebrating. At local haunts to unwind. In speakeasys and watering holes to nurse a broken heart. Sometimes I'd go months without him, forgetting he was there. He was an acquired taste. Other times I'd see him for days until we got tired of each other. It can be too much. 

These days, our meetings have become far and few in between. There are meetings to tend to, adult responsibilities that need to be sorted out.

But every now and then, I come out of hiding and crave for him. So I order my favorite drink.

Thanks for the years spent together Jack Daniels. Can't believe I used to order Mai Tais before I met you.

November 16, 2014

Quick Post: Greeka Kouzina - A Mediterranean Feast in Manila


A friend has heard great reviews about Greeka Kouzina so we decided to try it out for ourselves one night. 

We were charmed by the lovely interiors, the textured walls and the ambient lighting, highlighted by these lovely lamps. 

Looks and feels like having dinner at a Greek Taverna when you're really in SM Aura.
Being the gluttons that we are, we decided to try a couple of things on the menu. We were surprised by the generous portions and ended up eating way too much for just two people.

Appetizer: Pita and Tatziki (P165)

We started off with Pita and Tzatziki/Tatziki which is my favorite dip. Tatziki is made from cucumber, greek yogurt and olive oil (and served cold). If that makes you cringe, I suggest you set your assumptions aside and try it out first because it is delicious. Greeka Kouzina's pita bread is thick (just the way I like it!) so I ended up eating more than half of my share.

Pita Bread and Tatziki: this photo is already missing 2 pieces of Pita. 
Salad: Fig Arugula Salad (P480)
A Greek meal isn't complete without a salad. The serving size for this one is good for 3 - 4 people. Suffice it to say, we weren't able to finish it off, but I ate all the figs and all the cheese.

Fig Arugula Salad: Sweet Figs, Walnuts, Sun dried tomatoes on a bed of Arugula and mixed greens
Main: Lamb Shoulder with a siding of Moussaka (P580)
The lamb shoulder is served with (what I assumed was) lemon butter sauce and your choice of siding. We chose the Moussaka which is grilled eggplant with beef tomato sauce and bechamel (A bit similar to lasagna but instead of pasta, it uses eggplant)

Lamb Shoulder

other options for sidings. photo from Greeka Kouzina's FB page

Total damage: Around 600 per person + an hour of boxing to burn all those yummy calories.

Not that hungry or working with a budget?
Try the Gyros and you can opt to add a siding.



Location: SM Aura. (For other branches, click here)
Menu: via Greeka Kouzina's FB Page

November 10, 2014

NESCAFÉ Cappuccino is the most indulgent coffee I’ve ever had!


Have you ever googled "how to wake up early" or "how to be a morning person" and still find yourself pressing that snooze button time and time again? I have. I have always been a night owl and I've tried a lot of things to help me get out of bed earlier than I normally do. But what worked best for me was this tip - create a happy morning ritual. 

The first step is to make your bed. According to a Navy Seal in this article by Lifehacker:
"If you make your bed every morning you will have accomplished the first task of the day. It will give you a small sense of pride and it will encourage you to do another task and another and another. By the end of the day, that one task completed will have turned into many tasks completed. Making your bed will also reinforce the fact that little things in life matter." 

 Makes sense, doesn't it?

 The next thing you should do is to devote your time to do something you love, something completely selfish. Whether it's doing yoga, reading a book, or working out (you masochist) is up to you. I've been trying this experiment for about a few weeks now and it actually works (most of the time). What I do after the alarm rings is to resist the urge to press the snooze button, get up, get my guitar and play a couple of songs or learn a new lesson. When I'm lazy I just browse through social media apps, which is really selfish too. 

Lastly, to make mornings easier to wake up to, you should reward yourself with something you love. I am passionate about food. So after my morning ritual, I reward myself with a hearty breakfast and just recently, I've been re-introduced to the perks of drinking an indulgent cup of coffee. And when I say indulgent, I'm referring to NESCAFÉ Cappuccino.



 Just the smell of this coffee is enough to wake me up (which is how you know it's really good coffee, one whiff, and you're sold). According to The Gotham Palate you can tell you're drinking a good cup of cappuccino by its aroma, the frothiness of the foam and the "rich intense" taste of espresso. For an instant coffee that costs a fraction of the price of a Cappuccino, it's not too shabby.

foamy cappucino + chocolate sprinkles = happy morning
Right after I poured hot water,  I can already tell how deliciously frothy it's going to be!



I had to take a sip before I took a photo and was pleasantly surprised at how complementary the foam, the sprinkles and the coffee were. To make it even more indulgent - I had mini pistachio macarons to go with it. Next time I'll probably mix things around and add a dash of cinnamon.


So indulgent you want to wake up early every morning.
Or you know.. not wake up early and just drink it all throughout the day.
I hope you find your formula to help ease you into the day. Remember to cap it off with a good cup of joe and maybe a wonderful view like the one below (from a recent trip to The Ruins in Bacolod)

Don't you wish you were sipping your coffee on a balcony with this lovely view.



 Side note: If you're curious about what a cappuccino is - check this link



July 29, 2014

The Kitkat Break Movement

The people who really know me can vouch for this. When I'm having a bad day, all you need to do is give me a bar of KitKat and I start smiling again. My love for this chocolate knows no bounds. I've consumed it in all kinds of forms... ice cream, incorporated in baked goodies, crumbled over cakes. But nothing ever beats a good old Kitkat bar to lift my mood.



I open my Kitkat the way they do in the commercials. It's a habit I've formed since I was younger. I run my fingers across the smooth silver foil, break the chocolate in two, unwrap it and take a bite. Pure bliss.

Wouldn't it be amazing if on top of getting that much deserved downtime you can get a power or a skill while taking a kitkat break? If you ask me, I want to unlock the skill of teleportation so I can instantly find myself at the beach or in Paris or Maldives to recharge in the middle of a busy workweek.




How about you? What skill would you unlock after taking a Kitkat break?

July 09, 2013

Dinner and Tea at Geisha in BGC

A few date nights ago, we ate out at Geisha. Our pockets felt a lot emptier but I felt like a gained a few life experience points and a moment of childlike wonder when we ordered their tea.

Don't get me wrong, the food was great. I especially liked the spicy tuna crisps. I didn't fancy the sashimi salad. But that steaming bowl of Gyudon was the best Gyudon I've ever had, granted that I don't really eat gyudon all that much. :) Back to the tea. I'm not really a big fan of tea. The fanciest tea I've ever had was Twinings and I'm not one of those girls who head off to TWG for afternoon high tea (edit: I was at TWG last week. I would definitely go back!!!). But I'd go back to Geisha just for the Mangga tea.

THE TEA
The Mangga tea is a mixture of mango, pineapple, orange tangerine, strawberry, colendula and safflower (says their menu). They serve the entire experience on a dainty tray. On the tray is a small bowl with the tea leaves, herbs and fruits, a Japanese teacup, an hour glass with three glass bulbs and varying sand colors a teapot with water and what looked like a glass teapot with a strainer at the bottom.

photo stolen from ourawesomeplanet.com
(my photos were wiped out by a virus :( )
You can also check out the review of ourawsomeplanet.com 

August 20, 2012

Oh so Sinful!

We had a late Friday night birthday dinner at Bulgogi Brothers.


While the birthday girl was already at Greenbelt, my friend Jo and I were coming from opposite ends of the metro. I was stuck in ATC for work, and she was coming from Novaliches. 
We gave a whole new meaning to the word late when we both showed up 2 hours late, arriving a few minutes apart.   

The only difference was, Jo came with goodies that served as a free pass for any sin you could ever commit - chocolates from Sinfully!!!

(photo from theboxed.com)

(photo from spot.ph)


I would always pass by their storefront and watch with wonder at how they make the desserts and chocolates. So imagine how happy I was to receive a box of chocolates. My stress from 2 hours of traffic, went away with every square of chocolate that melted in my mouth.

She got this for me! Even though it wasn't my birthday. Can you just imagine what the birthday girl got?


The box by itself was already so decadent. Inside were three kinds of chocolates - milk chocolate, dark chocolate and, well, the normal kind (my chocolate vocabulary is limited). The gifts came with a warning from Jo. "Do not eat all of it in one sitting, Miss Diabetic"



Look at what Birthday Girl Ceena got from Sinfully
Copyright © 2014 Excessively Random