Trying Out Soul Kitchen

I always make it a point to try new healthy restaurants and culinary destinations in the city, so when I learned that Soul Kitchen opened in the heart of the city (was it last year?), I really wanted to try it.

I follow Soul Kitchen on Instagram and have encountered their products (juices, salads, even overnight oats) at different bazaars, but somehow, I was never able to try them.

Serendipitously, our brokerage class takes place in a venue near Soul Kitchen. However, our class starts early, and they're still closed whenever I pass by. Also, we don't have to go out for lunch because we already have lunch provided for us. But last Saturday, our morning session ended a lot earlier than expected (10 am!), so we decided to go out and take care of some errands.

We went first to Brokenshire Hospital, which is in the same compound as our venue, to set an appointment with a doctor. Then, because the doctor was out, we went to OMF Literature bookstore because I wanted to claim my membership card. As luck would have it, my card wasn't available yet. Because it was still early and lunch wasn't served yet, we proceeded to try Soul Kitchen.I really liked the ambience of the place. It is not a restaurant, just to be clear, but more of a posh takeout counter. They serve different kinds of cold-pressed juices, which they make themselves, salads, overnight oats, meat loaf, etc. The prices of the food range, I think, range from 180- 300.I wanted to try their salads and the meat loaf, but I know lunch will be served at our venue (and we do have generous servings there), so I settled for a bottle of juice to drink during class. Because they offer a lot of blends, I found it hard to decide which one to get. In the end, I followed the lady's suggestion and bought a bottle of Cleanse juice.Here are the ingredients. I liked how it tasted. You will taste the acidity of the fruits first and later, the kick of celery and spinach. It actually reminds me of the smoothies I used to make at home, only it's easier to drink with the pulp removed. It's P180, by the way, and according to the label, no preservatives were added. In fairness, I felt energized throughout the afternoon even during the dreaded siesta hour! 

PS: Sorry for the extra watermarks on my photos. I'm doing this post entirely on my phone, and I experimented with watermark apps. I didn't know the app would also watermark itself, and I'm too busy to repeat the process hee hee. 

Lunch at Probinsya Buffet

Photo from Probinsya's Facebook page

Yesterday was my parents' 32nd anniversary and they planned to eat lunch at Vikings. However, I opposed because I am on a diet and may not enjoy it anyway.

Before anything else, OOTD as usual haha:

On Yuri: department store polo shirt, Circo shorts, and his new Oshkosh loafers 

Since everybody was still busy, Yuri and I just used the self-timer of the camera. We kept running back and forth, which Yuri enjoyed. No wonder I forgot I was still wearing pambahay slippers.

So anyway, they compromised and started to look for another restaurant. But Papa really wanted to eat buffet so we agreed to eat at a cheaper buffet where I can still eat without feeling sorry for wasted money.

Thus, Probinsya.

This is my only photo of the restaurant's facade because it was blazing hot outside. It is still January, isn't it?!

This is how cheap Probinsya is:

Food Photos and Fail Stories from New Year's Eve

I'm currently working on tracking my food intake again and incorporating workouts into my daily routine. Why? Because I just checked my weight on the scale: I'm now 10 kilos heavier than last year and around 15 kilos heavier than my breastfeeding-peak weight. Ugh!

So now, as I'm depriving myself, please indulge me by joining me in looking at these food photos from New Year's Eve:

The story behind the M&Ms: I just picked it up from the grocery store. Upon arriving home, we discovered that it expires on January 4, 2015 (that was December 30th). So we hurriedly ate everything. When we were down to our last pack, we discovered that the expiration date was actually April 1, 2015. #FAIL

Waiting

Woken up before midnight

My version of May's No-Bake Choco Banana Cream Pie (recipe from Fully Housewifed)

Above is the uppermost layer, right below the crushed graham topping. By that time, I only had a few banana slices left while the lower layers had banana overload!

All covered up

Not-yet-baked macaroni

Our humble spread

We couldn't find our corkscrew so this happened #FAIL (We did find it the next morning though.)

That's all, folks. Have a great year ahead!

_________________________________________________________________

Do you like this post? Never miss out again when you click on the cute bunny below:

Or by entering your email here:

Enter your email address:


Delivered by FeedBurner

You can also follow me on Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest for daily updates on my mundane musings.

Christmas Luncheon with Friends at Belito's Vineyard

Did I really write "Christmas Luncheon"? My friends would surely laugh at the term, but the old lady in me is pleased haha. So let me call it that, and besides, it's not as if I could call it a “party," and “get-together" is too generic a term. Riiight?

Photo by Christine Mata

So thank you for reading that totally pointless opening banter hee hee. Anyway, today, I'll tell you about this Christmas luncheon (stop trying to make luncheon happen) with my friends at this new discovery called Belito's Vineyard.

We had other options including Sea Green and Gogi Gui, but the night before our date, I suddenly craved for paella. Which, in hindsight, was weird since I am not a fan of paella. Still, I searched for the best paella in town. Tiny Kitchen wasn't an option since we didn't see it as toddler-friendly, but I stumbled upon a review of Belito's Vineyard.

No one among us was familiar with the place, but the photos of the food and the ambiance were effective enough in enticing my friends. Aha, paella, here I come!

Before I talk about the place, let me force upon show you adorable photos of us (Warning: Photo overload):

Photos above by Christine Mata

Photo Story: What Christmas 2014 Was Like

Hello! How are you guys? I can't believe it's already the weekend after Christmas. Wasn't it just yesterday when we were scrambling for gifts for family and friends? Now, it's nearing New Year's Eve and we're gonna say goodbye to 2014! I'm not yet ready!

So, because I'm still in a Christmas mood (itis still Christmas, right?), as usual, in tradition of documenting my Christmases with Yuri (hopefully soon with Job!), here are photos to show how I spent my Christmas. I hope you could tell me about yours, too!

Christmas Decorations

Trying Out Sunburst Fried Chicken at Abreeza

Yesterday, I took a quick look at my blog drafts folder (which contains photos, not actual drafts - who else does that?) and challenged myself to post all of them before the year ends.

So let's begin with another restaurant post, this time, featuring Sunburst Fried Chicken, Abreeza.

I have only one memory of eating Sunburst chicken, and that was when I was still working in the office. Our boss arrived from Manila, wanting to try Sunburst again. So she went to a branch in downtown Davao and brought back a box of yummy chicken for our midnight lunch (nighshift life).

And after 4 years, I was finally able to try Sunburst again a couple of weeks ago!

We were in Abreeza, looking for somewhere to eat, when we spotted a banner saying that Sunburst Fried Chicken had just opened, and since the elders love it, we decided to eat lunch there.

Here are some photos of the place:

Lunch at Bistro Selera

My sister celebrated her birthday last Sunday and we made a reservation for lunch at Yakimix. We didn't go to Abreeza right away, though, because we had a couple of errands to do at SM Lanang.

However, after staying in SM for a while, we decided na nakakatamad na to have to go to Abreeza to eat (then back again to SM for groceries). So we cancelled our reservation at Yakimix and decided to just eat at Vikings.

However ulit, when we went to Vikings (it was just around 10), there were already several people in line. We asked the staff if there's an available table, and he said wala na. Everyone without a reservation is waitlisted and for a table pa talaga outside.

No thanks!

So we went to look for another restaurant since my sister and I were already hungry (#boa). Long story short, we decided to try Bistro Selera.

Since we were there early, they were actually still closed when we got there. The waiter immediately flipped the Closed sign upon noticing us though!

Click here to read Bistro Selera review.

_________________________________________________________________

Do you like this post? Never miss out again when you click on the cute bunny below:

Or by entering your email here:

Enter your email address:


Delivered by FeedBurner

You can also follow me on Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest for daily updates on my mundane musings.

Cheesy Sweet Potato (Camote) Balls

I'm always up for a healthy, easy-to-make recipe for my picky toddler. I'm not sure how he had become picky, but since I'm sure he would outgrow it anyway, I just focus on letting him try new foods all the time.

I first learned about this recipe from the Facebook page for BLW or Baby-Led Weaning Philippines. Actually, the recipe called for potatoes, but since we also have sweet potatoes (camote), and they're much healthier anyway, I decided to use them. Here are the ingredients:

An Afternoon at Cafe Annabelle's

Credits to Christine Mata

I've been noticing Cafe Annabelle's for a while now. It's this quaint and dainty cafe right in front of Ayala Abreeza mall's Robinsons grocery; it's hard to miss it in its pink and white glory!

I'm not sure when it opened exactly since I rarely grocery-shop at Abreeza, but the first time I saw the cafe, I knew I had to try it sometime! You know naman, anything cute and pretty with food thrown into the mix piques my curiosity. :-)

Finally, I was able to try Cafe Annabelle's last Sunday with my super-friends.

Read my review of Cafe Annabelle's here.

_________________________________________________________________

Do you like this post? Never miss out again when you click on the cute bunny below:

Or by entering your email here:

Enter your email address:


Delivered by FeedBurner

You can also follow me on Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest for daily updates on my mundane musings.

My Expo Mom 2014 Fun Finds

I try my best to be a wise shopper. If I pass by a clothing store sale, I can easily ignore it. Promise.

But I have two shopping weaknesses: food and kid's stuff. Biglang bumababa ang financial IQ ko jan. So when I received an email last week about Expo Mom coming to Davao, I knew I had to mentally prepare myself to practice restraint. Haha!

Looking back, it was a good thing that there weren't too many booths so it was not so overwhelming. Because of that, I was able to examine all products and decide 3x whether I absolutely needed to buy them or not. Which was not hard because I came with a checklist!

Yes, ako na ang prepared. Anyway, I promised to talk about my finds today so here they are:

1. Kiele Anti-Mosquito Cologne

Upon entering the expo, I made a beeline to Kiele's booth for two reasons. First, our last bottle of GIGA insect repellent is almost gone, and second, I'm curious to use a good-smelling repellent. Relate?

A bottle costs P199

Verdict: Woah I didn't know a mosquito repellent could smell this nice! And the scent lasts long ha; in fact, you can use it as an actual perfume. As for its mosquito repelling power, I'm glad to report that Yuri hasn't gotten bites since he used it last Sunday. I'm definitely buying this again!

2. Human Heart Nature Loot

Kuripot Finds from Sunday

Aside from the "injury" Yuri had gotten (which has now totally healed by the way! Praise God!), my weekend was also a weekend of shopping.

Kuripot shopping that is!

To be honest, my priority last Sunday was to buy Yuri some new shorts and jeans. Kasi...

Tumaba sya!

Finally! Hahaha. Some of you may already know that Yuri has always been on the slim side, and though he grows taller, since I buy long clothes (to accommodate his lanky frame), he barely outgrows them. Some of his clothes he's worn since he wasn't even 1!

Now, a couple of weekends ago, I noticed that one of his jeans didn't fit him around the waist anymore. They used to be long pants, but Yuri now uses them as clam-diggers. This time, I the Velcro (in lieu of the zipper) can't stay closed!

But since the outfit looked cute, di ko na binihisan. Di naman halata.

What's Up Wednesday

Yes, I have chubby, baby hands. You can say it to me - just not to my face, okay?

If I were asked what my secondary needs are, I'd probably say the first is an internet connection. If you work from home like me, you understand why!

But I lost internet connection yesterday. And my backup internet, my SmartBro, was very weak and wasn't much of a help. So even though I wanted to work, I had to be absent yesterday.

Which actually turned out to be a good thing. Not the missing-work part but the away-from-the-laptop part! Because yesterday, I was able to do three things for the first time: make moonsand, play with Yuri, watch a fun movie, and attend a focused group discussion (the details of which I won't divulge).

When I realized the SmartBro wasn't getting me anywhere, I knew I had to miss work. So I turned the TV on and tried to "relax." But even though there was an interesting show, I couldn't sit still. In other words, aligaga. I wanted something to do and remembered the sand we collected from Samal last summer. I checked our pantry and saw cornstarch. I thought I'd finally do the project I've been meaning to do all summer.

And boy do I not regret it! The moonsand was very easy and fun to make and Yuri had a blast playing with it.