Joei & Me

It's the second year of The Great Mooncake Bake Off and Lucky Chinatown is calling all talented bakers to join their contest.  You can win round trip domestic plane tickets and up to P20,000 cash!  To join, contestants can download an application form at www.facebook.com/luckychinatown.   Applications must be in by 5pm on September 2.    

But if you're not joining, you can just watch the bake-off on September 5 around 3pm at the Lucky Chinatown Atrium.

When I posted a photo of me swinging upside down in the air on Facebook and Instagram, a lot of people asked me what I was doing.  When I told them that I took a flying trapeze class, the reaction I mostly got was, "Excuse me? Say that again?"

Two weeks ago, I was invited to the launch of the new faces of Vitress.  But before that, let's go through the different Vitress products first.

My sister and I have always been Vitress users but honestly, I never knew which product to use.  So here's a guide to the different variants that they offer:

Baguio Country Club's raisin bread is one of my top three favorite things ever, EVER.   But because Baguio is so far away, I only get to taste this when I go there once a year or when my thoughtful "little sister" Misty Zara gets me a loaf or two during her family vacations (which was quite often back in the day).

In the recent years, however, I can only crave and dream about this raisin bread since I don't go to Baguio anymore and neither does Misty.  That is, until I heard that THE raisin bread is now available in Metro Manila!  At first I thought it was just some hoax or a copycat but when I asked Tempura Japanese Grill if the rumors were true, they confirmed that their raisin bread and banana bread are the authentic ones from Baguio Country Club.  I could just die of happiness!

Before I left for Hong Kong, Mama Jane of Sugar Spice & Everything Nice dropped off some treats from her friend Chef Anna Chua of Pink Wasabi.

Of course, I'm super low EQ when it comes to sweets so as soon as I got home, I opened the green box.  At first, I thought it was mochi.   Apparently, they're called  Rainbow Profiteroles which is Pink Wasabi's version of cream puffs.  I like the chocolate-flavored one the best!

They come in four sizes: 

Box of 4 (P155) 

Box of 6 (P195)

Box of 12 (P360)

Box of 15 (P 428)

Dutch brand TW Steel is known for its oversized watches but it raises the bar by unveiling the newest addition to its roster of bold and elegant time pieces, the TW Steel Slim Collection.  The grand Manila launch was held at Black Sheep, W Fifth Avenue in Bonifacio Global City under the theme #WhyNotBoth, a campaign that highlights three personalities in the social scene who have successfully balanced a multifaceted life: Nico Bolzico, Sebastian Ripoll, and James Younghusband.

Since I was little, I've always loved Max's Restaurant.  And even now that I'm older, T and I still eat at Max's every once in a while, especially when they had the chicken-all-you-can promo a couple of years back.  Oh, that was crazy!

Since I have a lot of travel posts in my drafts folder, I'll just publish one every so often for Throwback Thursday.   This is my birthday trip to Boracay last year.  I wrote this piece for a travel writing class I took at Gotham Writers New York so you might find it a bit different from my usual blog posts :)

Before I left for the States, Bio Oil Philippines sent me a 60ml bottle. Since my skin reacts whenever there is a change in temperature or humidity, I need a product that would help me counter that. So, I brought Bio Oil with me.

Bio Oil is an overall skin care product that helps improve the appearance of scars, stretch marks, uneven skin tone, aging skin, and dehydrated skin.  But when I asked them if it can act as a moisturizer, they said yes since Bio Oil is also good for skin rehydration. 

Teddy's Bigger Burgers, Hawaii's number one burger chain, is now in the Philippines. And to celebrate the grand opening of their first store on August 23, the first 100 customers will be treated to a 5oz. Original Teddy's Burger each!

But wait, there's more!  The first 5 people in line will receive 1 year supply of burgers*.  OH MY GOSH, FREE BURGERS FOR ONE YEAR?!  I can't get over this. So line up with your friends or family and you'll always have a sponsored gimik every week of the year.

Again, if you want to win this contest, you have to remember these details:

I remember that there used to be a Baskin Robbins in Alabang Town Center opposite Gourmet's.  I love Gourmet's make-your-own-salad section where you're charged per weight and their Chicken ala Kiev so we ate there often and then after, we'd have ice cream in Baskin Robbins because my little sister was obsessed with it.  But when Alabang Town Center began developing other parts of the mall, the area of Gourmet's and Baskin Robbins was forgotten, and the two left their spots much to our dismay.

But good news to all of us who missed it, Baskin Robbins is back!  

When I got back from Hong Kong, I got an invite from Pink Panda to dine in their restaurant.  I was leaving for the States in a few days and haven't packed yet (plus I had yet to unpack my Hong Kong things), but since I wanted to eat here with T even before I got an invite, I decided to make this our dinner date before I left.

I love coffee.  So when I received an invite to a Coffee Convention in Eastwood while I was in the US, I was sad that I missed it!  Fortunately, there's a similar event held last Saturday in Newport Mall Resorts World Manila called Coffee Appreciation Afternoon.

I'm sure Vern Enciso needs no introduction as she's one of the top fashion bloggers in the country today.  I met her during a Pandora event (read my blog post about Pandora's Spring Paradise Collection) a few months back and after talking for a bit, I learned she just finished her internship in the Senate.  Small world!

This Saturday, Vern and her twin are launching a book called "Life and Style Diary" in National Bookstore, Glorietta 1.

My mom was the one who told me about this relatively new cafe owned by a Korean in Molito Alabang called Mr. Park's Bread and Cakes.   We went here after our dinner in Ramen Yushoken.

Without me having to explain further, everyone can relate when I say it was TRAFFIC HELL yesterday.  During the drive home, I was tired and hungry, and the only thing I looked forward to is a hot bowl of my favorite ramen from Ramen Yushoken in Molito Alabang.

During my recent visits, I order the same thing every time... Karai Tokusei (P420/$10++) which is the spicy version of Tokusei with 24 ingredients, including miso base and several types of chilies.  I like it because the broth is served separately from the noodles and this is what it usually looks like:

Day 4

 
We took it easy today because it's our (me, T, Gene, and Gilbert's) last day in Hong Kong and went to places just near our hotel.

Actually, our original plan was to see the 1600 Pandas which arrived almost the same time we did in Hong Kong.  The fun part about the 1600 Pandas is their flash mob appearance, meaning they would make surprise appearances just about anywhere.. On buses, ferries, and even on the streets!  To find them, people look at the 1600 Pandas' Instagram account and follow them where they are.  But just when we had the time to go look for them, it was announced that the pandas are to be taken to PMQ and permanently housed there during its Hong Kong stint.  Since the fun was guessing where they are and going after them during their flash mob appearances, and not lining up at PMQ to see them as an exhibit, we decided not to see them anymore.  So if people say that they found the pandas in PMQ,  they really didn't "find" it.  The pandas were just.. well, there.

So we just started our day walking to the giant Iron Panda by Beijing artist Bi Heng at K11 Art Mall, which is near our hotel.

Day 3

The next day, Ara, Di, T and I went to Ngong Ping 360, a must-see tourist attraction on Lantau Island.