Fab February 4th at Figaro 2017

Ely and Che went to cousin Vinny's school fair. There are fancy rides, clown shows, and other kiddy activities my angel will surely be over the moon with!

After dropping them off at the fair, was suppose to have a catch up with good friend Lily but was cancelled last minute due to a family emergency. 

I guess with the cancelled meeting,  it was a lovely time for me to  enjoy my "me time". I finally hied off to Figaro coffee shop here in Antipolo City. Been meaning to drop by here for years..aha...years. 

Enjoyed my brewed java, Jamaican pie and brushed up with newspaper reading.

Me Moments are

Nice.
Nifty.
Nostalgic.
and then, reality sets in.

Now it's time for the grinding board.  

Me moments like this count a lot.

Woohoo 2018 - Ozu the Picky Eater is in house!

Woohoo 2018! 

My goodness.... indeed it has been this long for me to write (count like more than a year. wink. wink ☺)

This is officially my first entry for 2018 and I vow to actively scribble a note here more often (with fingers crossed. wink. wink ☺)

Grab a copy OZU, The Picky Eater  at Amazon.com http://a.co/bF4Cho0.

I'm starting it off with "Ozu, the Picky Eater" , a picture e-book which I co-authored with Baby Jun Mallinlin and lovingly illustrated by our millennial lad Axl Santos.

Our passion project took six months in the making with challenges in between. It was officially launched December 31, 2017.  This is the first and there will be more!

What is this book all about? 
Ozu the Picky Eater is a fun tale about a smart and active little bear his love for berries. He loves to eat berries.  Berries for breakfast. Berries for lunch and even dinner.  His parents are worried about his eating habits.  As you read on, you will discover how Ozu will realize and learn to eat other kinds of food to make him healthier and stronger. 

Ozu is an active and adorable little bear who loves to eat berries.

Ozu and friends, Aldo the dog, Manny the chicken and Ela the elephant.

Vinny is Ozu's favorite cousin. Vinny likes to eat all kinds of food!

For Mommies, Teachers,  and even Daddies can learn a thing or two about Ozu's fun eating adventure. Happy reading and share the story! Sharing is caring!

Meet Papa Bear and Mama Bear.
 They are Ozu's awesome parents!

Chillin' Desserts at Cafe So Dam by 55 Chu

                                   

A luscious creamy mound you will love.

A friend and I spotted a new café by the name of Café So Dam by 55 Chu “literally” hidden from sight at  the 3^rd level of Robinson’s Galleria. Intrigued by its name, this Korean-themed café, (which by the way has a “notorious” ring to the name of to an Iraqi leader and an ancient biblical place).

This delightful Berry Bingsu is good for two

San typical Korean accouterments, Café So Dam did envelop the ambience  of a “wholesome” cosmopolitan bar. In fact, jazz music greeted us which made me smile; something that  I didn’t expect that.

Positioned as a “dessert” bar, it clearly targets the yuppie crowd.  Though college students and families could  hang around.   It could also be a nifty dating place for light coosome twosome fun.

 This charming café offers an appetizing flair of fun  desserts and coffees; from Bingsu  to churros (which by the way neasures 55 centimeters) to hot and ice coffee 

delights.

We picked Berry Bingsu which is the Korean version of our local halo-halo –  milky ice shavings with strawberries and gelatin bits.

The Berry Bingsu dessert was a lovely sight to see.  It’s a dessert good for two.  The milky ice shavings is light and delish to the taste.  Loved every bit to the hilt. Here’s to more Bingsus and Churros on my return...So Dam good!   

A Tribute to Good Ol Fashioned Coffee

Coffee.Java.Cafe.Caffeine Infusion.Brew... it may be called by some other name but it is the same ol coffee.

Hmmm...when did I start my love affair  with coffee? Eons ago haha. I think I had my first sip of this awesomely lovely golden  hot 'breakfast' liquid when I was 10 or 11.

I was blown away with the taste. It tasted totally different from milk or homemade chocolate. "Awesome" was all I could think of in my very young mind. No wonder, a lot of grown-ups like drinking coffee. I felt like I was an 11-year old "grown-up"

I stole coffee sips from my Lola's cup and of course, from mom's.  I was delirious with excitement when mom made me her official coffee maker at age 12.  Imagine that haha! And at that young age, it was sheer heaven to me, making the delicious brew day in and day out. Me and coffee. Coffee and me. What a piping hot perfect combination!

I guess the coffee-making task further heightened my  coffee appreciation. It became sort of a sacred ritual that I look forward to. On most days, coffee used back then was instant coffee - it was Nescafe, Great Taste or Folgers from relatives visiting from abroad. I  learned to brew coffee using the trusty coffee maker and my,  it was magical! The aroma of coffee permeating the air simply made me feel up in the clouds and comforting and homey...

As days turn into months and later years,  I realized Mama was an avid coffee drinker.  A mug [bigger than your ordinary cup] of coffee or two for breakfast.  She would take around 4-5 cups plus another two more when she is having  her "moments". Whether it was a plain instant kind, or  3-in-1 instant pack or brewed,  coffee would always be a comfort drink.

Just like Mama, I enjoyed the drink immensely.  Coffee became my constant companion through the years; a buddy that I could count -  in my zany victories, disappointments, stressful  bad hair days and fab hair days as well,  in my happy days and of course, my countless  "moments" with friends and family.

Even now,  I still regard coffee making a special ritual. And lucky me, this  ritual has been passed on to  my precocious and smarty four-year old daughter, Ely who has  learned to make coffee for her cooky mother [that's me] exhibiting the same sheer excitement when I was a kid. Hmmm....deja vu?

Care for a  cuppa?

On Bears and Starting Fresh in July 2014

Hello World!

Its the 12th of July 2014 and the weather's on the cloudy side - perhaps, a good chance of rain.
Its been yeaars.... oh, [thinking aloud]  has it been that long since my first official entry....
I have a lot of catching up to do.... lol. :-)

For starters, here's an image that simply blew me away ---

Mama Bear and Cub Huddle

COCO CLOSE TO MY HEART

When a friend of mine mentioned to me to try out this specialty restaurant called “COCONUT HOUSE” that serves food and drinks literally fused with coconut, I thought my friend has simply gone well, nuts. Pun intended.

My concept of using coconut is totally restricted to creaming vegetable or meat dishes like “Ginataang Gulay”,” Ginataang Manok” and used as dessert topping.

I’ve never imagined getting hooked on coconut. But my buddy insisted that I check it out first before making any harsh judgment.

One rainy Friday afternoon, together with my hubby and baby in tow, off we went to unravel the mystery behind COCONUT HOUSE. I definitely was up for a challenge.

We soon discovered that COCONUT HOUSE is a quaint little restaurant quietly tucked away inside the Quezon City Circle along Elliptical Rd. Quezon City. The restaurant is easy to find.

And judging from the façade and interiors, COCONUT HOUSE is an unpretentious and comfortable haven where you can have a very decent bite to eat and hang around friends. Professionals, businessmen, college students and even tourists frequent the place. The restaurant even has a distinct corner where a lot of coco by products such as Coco sugar, Virgin Coconut Oil, Coconut Flour and decorative items made out of coconut are conspicuously displayed. I’m getting ahead of my story. Let’s talk about the food first.

As soon as we set foot in the restaurant, we were warmly greeted and assisted by a friendly young man. This fellow turns out to be the Restaurant Manager named Jaime. I learned from Jaime and Winnie that the restaurant is a brainchild of restaurant owner Mr. Jun Castillo who is an advocate on coconut use and maximizing its full potential. The restaurant is n its second year and was originally set-up at Esteban Abada in Katipunan, Quezon City. On the food, he readily suggested that I try the “undisputed” crowd favorites like PANCIT BUKO, COCO OKOY, LAINGLY YOURS, LUMPIANG UBOD NG SARAP, CALAMARES and COFFEENUT. I also ordered fresh Buko juice to go with my first coco feast.

For my first entrée, I tried the famous PANCIT BUKO which tops the list of vegetarians and pancit fans. The uniqueness of this dish is the buko strips used instead of traditional “bihon” or “canton” noodles.

My first bite was followed by several more with gusto. PANCIT BUKO is definitely a very tasty dish. And it did taste like the traditional pancit canton only healthier. What an awesome dish!

Next, I nicely stuffed my mouth with a winner - COCO OKOY. It's OKOY with a twist - shrimpless but healthy, made out of shreds of coconut and other veggies, molded into a patty and deep fried. Simply divine!

After COCO OKOY, I sampled LAINGLY YOURS. The dish is COCONUT HOUSE’s version of the popular Bicol specialty “Laing”. It’s ‘Laing” with a twist. This Bicol dish is made out of taro leaves and gently simmered in coconut milk and added with spices. Tasty bits of pork liempo glazed with a coco-based sauce and organic rice are served together with the “Laing”. LAINGLY YOURS is altogether a great balanced meal wrapped in banana leaves. The “Laing” is excellent and the liempo, sweet and cooked well.

Along with devouring LAINGLY YOURS, I grabbed a bite of CALAMARES, fried tender squid rings dipped in a light batter made out of coconut flour. The CALAMARES is exquisitely tender.

And finally, I got my serving of LUMPIANG UBOD NG SARAP. It’s a healthy veggie roll made up of strips of fresh coconut, turnip, carrot, beans and topped with a special coco-garlic sauce. I loved every bit of it.

Now comes a top COCONUT HOUSE favorite: the ultimate HALO-HALO with ice cream which Jaime totally rooted for. It's made out of bananas, macapuno, leche flan, coconut cream and milk and it's simply...superb! Two thumbs up!

The HALO-HALO goes well with COFFEENUT. And true to form, the brewed coffee drink still is fused with coconut. Coconut water is added to the coffee and served with coco biscuits.

What an awesome gastronomical feast I just had with my family. I simply enjoyed every moment of it. And for sure, I will be a familiar face in this sweet casa de coco sipping COFFEENUT, eating a mouthful of COCO OKOY or LAING PIZZA any day.

Indeed, COCONUT HOUSE is not just a restaurant; the restaurant epitomizes hope in Filipino creativity, uniqueness and resourcefulness. It is a living showcase on the ingenious use of the “tree of life” from deliciously prepared meals to world-class coconut by-products.

Oh by the way, you can book the place for a party of 50 and they do home deliveries too. Let your fingers do the talking and call (63-2) 392-4115. Neat.

And with that said, I’ve simply gone loco with the coco.