Parks and Recreation

It's the weekend. This week just flew by so quickly, don't ya think?

I've finally started watching Parks and Recreation (Season 2, Episode 9 now), and each episode just gets funnier and funnier! It's high-larioussssss!!

I'm also really starting to root for all the characters, especially for Leslie Knope (played by Amy Poehler)-- loopy but loveable Leslie Knope -- and I am looking forward to seeing more of the show. 

So, there goes my weekend! :)

Cheers, 

Binky

Foodtripping @ Eastwood

Ate Star and I went to Eastwood last Sunday afternoon, and were supposed to watch Ruby Sparks, but eventually decided against it. Watching movies has gotten so expensive!

With nothing else to do, we went ahead to eat. A LOT A LOT. You'll see! :)

First stop! Starbucks.

I tried their new Tapa and Mayonnaise Sandwich. Ate Star ordered the one with the Forest Ham. We also got our very favorite Very Berry tea to go with our sandwiches. 

Then... a barista came to our table and gave us two tiny cups of Salted Caramel Mocha to drink for free. Yum yum yum! :)

Oopsie, all gone! 

We strolled around Eastwood Mall, and tried our hardest to keep ourselves away from the Weekend Gourmet Market stalls. After a few minutes though, we finally gave in. 

1. Choco Atbp., where they sell the best Dark Chocolate-Orange Brownie Bar in the world. I think this picture is enough proof. 

Let's just say we got wild after this, and it was one sweet treat after another after another after another. What I find great and irresistible about this market... the vendors are all very kind and spoil you and give you a free taste of everything, and when you decide to not buy anything at all, they still give you a friendly wave and smile. :) :) 

2. Rosemarie's, where we bought a slice of velvet cake. One of the best I've tasted. 

2. Nutsyriya, where they offer a wide selection of nuts and dried fruits and veggies. Ate decided to buy Dried Veggies instead-- a break from all the sweets. 

3. Cakes and Bakes. When we were younger, we used to buy from their kiosk inside Cherry Foodarama in Shaw Boulevard. Now that Cherry is gone (huhu), it's nice that Cakes and Bakes is still around to sell their goodies. We took home a  Carrot Slice for Mom. 

4. Monfort's Kitchen. Affordable and delicious baked treats! We bought a small, 7-piece box of chocolate crinkles for just 70 pesos. Sulit! :)

We decided to stop at five stalls and moved on to look for a newly-opened store called Mr. Bean (again, to eat!). 

Originally from Singapore (Ate Star said), Mr. Bean sells soy milk, taho, and other soy-based drinks, soy ice cream ...and pancakes! :) I love soy, but there was nothing special about the milk, and it was a bit pricey (75 pesos). But I do want to try their pancakes next time. 

Time passed fairly quickly after this and KB finally arrived to fetch us. He still wanted to eat dinner, and I had room in my stomach for something savory. None of us had enough money anymore, so KB chose to eat at Goodah (at the Food Junction), where it's inexpensive. I ordered tapsilog, and it was pretty good(ah)!!! :) 

I just realized now.. I started my foodtripping with Tapa Sandwich and ended it with Tapsilog! Full circle ba?

Hay. When we decided to forgo watching a movie, we thought we would be saving a whole lot of money, but we ended up spending more. Haha! But it's ok, I guess. 

My tummy was happy. :)

'Til next time, 

Binky

Teeth & Tea

I celebrated teeth-cleaning-day with Gong Cha Matcha Milk Tea (with pudding)-- the drink which my dentist specifically asked me to stay away from. :P

Cheers, 

Binky 

Weekend begins + panorama cam

It's the weekend, finally!

Work sked was hectic, as usual, but I always find the time to do silly things in the office, like... take this panorama shot of my area (see pic below).

I finished downloading IOS6 for my iPhone last night, and KB told me to first explore my camera's panoramic settings. This tool is so nifty, i can't wait to use it outside, where there is actually a nice view. :p

Happy weekend everyone!

-Binky

I need (more) fun in my life

So here I am at Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, Shangri-la.

Ate, Bernard, and our friend Del hard at work. So serious! May be next time, I can tell you more about the very busy lives of my Ate and her circle of food-friends. Hehe!

And I'm just here watching them. We are waiting for KB to pick us up. He gets off work at 10PM. I'm a little sleepy and tired from my day at the office, but really, if I were at home, I won't be sleeping too.

Though this is not my idea of a fun evening... there is, fortunately, free wi-fi connection here and I get to blog and browse through my favorite websites :)

Also, CBTL's music playlist is kinda cool. I've already heard Jose Gonzales, Camera Obscura, Passion Pit and Sia.

Woohoo!

Binky

A Day in Brugge

Brugge was the first major European city we visited. Like Roeselare, it is part of the Dutch-speaking region of West Flanders, Belgium. It is most known for its historic city center -- a UNESCO World Heritage Site. 

Brugge is an hour from Bee's home by bus, and it can also be reached by train if you're coming from other Belgian cities like Antwerp, Brussels or Ghent. 

Hmm.. where to start? 

Like I said, what draws tourists (like us) to Brugge is its very well-preserved medieval city center. I think it was here, that moment when I stepped onto the vast Market Square, when it sank in, "Wow, I'm really, really, really in Europe."

Even Bee, who's been to Brugge seven times, excitedly took pictures. 

We did not have an itinerary when we were there, so we basically just let our feet take us where ever. 

Welcome to Stad Brugge. 



The streets -- open to pedestrians, cars, bikes, and the occasional horse carriage. 

Some are busy.
  

Some are quiet. 

A few landmarks:

The Provincial House

The Belfry Tower

In Europe, al fresco is the best way to dine. We ate at a restaurant called Friterie 1900.

Belgain fries, when there's no rice. 

Burgers, fries and nugget-y things. 

After lunch, we were in the mood for dessert. We shared one chocolate-coated Belgain waffle, with bananas and strawberries and cream on top. 

Speaking of chocolates...

There was a chocolate shop in every corner of Bruges, each one with a delectable display... in every shape, size and form you can imagine.  

Assorted.

The truffle-kind.

Blocks and blocks of chocolates.

Hours of walking, in and out of these sweet shops, we didn't know where to go to next. 

Nasan na ba tayo?

But there was an upside to getting lost. We stumbled upon this quiet, quaint spot. 

We spent a bit of time here. We sat on a bench and took lots of pictures. Like Amsterdam, Brugge is a canal-city, and is dubbed as "Venice of the North".

These trellises and flowers, so romantic! 

  
A labrador, sleeping by the window (he even has a pillow), undisturbed. No noise...

...save for the oohhs and aahhs of tourists on a canal boat ride.

Quiet time always ends with Bee being silly. He didn't fall off, thank goodness.

After our own little tour of Brugge, we went to visit one of Bee's grandmothers. She lives a few minutes away from the historical area. Bee calls her Tantaje, which means 'Little Aunt' in Dutch. Indeed, what a sweet, little lady. She offered us coffee and pastries and chocolates and lots of incredible stories about her family. 

We were beat, but it had been a truly, truly awesome day. 

Now, all that's left to do was wait for the bus to take us back to Roeselare.

Until our next destination (hint hint: city of lights), 

Binky

~~all photos by star, bernard and binky

Slow Day

Why is this day so slo-o-o-o-w?

Today is a Thursday, so obviously it's a work day. Hehe! I actually have lots do, but they are all just piled up on the side of my work station. 

Here's a picture of my super messy desk. On my cork board are not my to-dos, but wrappers, sticker labels and postcards of my favorites things, just to keep me inspired especially during days like these!  

Today, all I've been doing is pm-ing Cai, my BFF (and making blog entries!). 

I don't think I've mentioned her before. But yeah! Her name is Cai. I met her at university, and we hit it off pretty easily. She's incredibly feisty and wise for her young age and I just love everything about her! 

I'm really hoping to get through today (quickly!) because tomorrow, Cai and I are going to have dinner. We haven't been able to see each other regularly (since she moved back to Manila, long story! hehe), but we hope to do so now, starting this September! So excited! :)

Binky

Conti's with the Siblings

It's very rare that Ate Star, KB and I get to go out with just the three of us. You know, conflicting work skeds.

But each time we do, we make sure to spend it at a place we really, really like. 

So last Tuesday, KB picked us up from the office (in the case of Ate Star, Megamall is her office! Ahaha!), we decided to eat at our old favorite --  Conti's. 

We love Conti's because their food is simple -- nothing too pretentious-- and all very, very tasty. They also have a good mix of Pinoy and continental dishes. 

We went to their Katipunan Extension branch, because we pass it by on our way home. I like this branch of Conti's a lot. The interiors are pretty, the place well-lit, and very, very spacious. The servers are all very friendly and attentive. The only problem we had was the parking space. But, we managed.

So, here's what we ordered: 

Mango Royale Salad. Mangoes, chicken and Conti's special house dressing.

Entrees: 

For Ate Star: American Grilled Ribs with Mashed Potato. Pork was super tender! :)

For KB: Chicken barbeque, with java rice and atchara. Classic kasi ang taste ni KB. 

Me: Chicken Marsala. Chicken breast with mushrooms and creamy Marsala wine sauce. This is served with Russian potato salad and rice. Ang sarap nung sauce.

What's a meal at Conti's without their fabulous cakes, right?

A slice of Viennese Mocha Torte. Five-layered cake, like the choco-mocha version of Mango Bravo. Hehe! It's just quite difficult to describe! But it's yummy.

And! 

Conti's newest: Tiramisu Cheesecake. You heard it right! Grabe. Separately, these two are already my favorites... but combined! Heaven!!

Great meal. Even more awesome dessert. And super fun conversations with my Ate and Kuya.

Syempre, we wouldn't forget about our parents. Strawberry Shortcake for them. 

The cakes! I would stay here and never leave. Hehehe!

Until next time, 

Binky

Date Night with Ate Star + Phantom of the Opera

Last Wednesday was Phantom of the Opera night. 

But before watching the spectacular show, Ate Star and I whiled away the afternoon at Milky&Sunny in Kapitolyo, then afterwards, we went to Greenbelt for dinner.

We decided to eat at Italianni's because... a) I love Pizza; b) that Wednesday was the last day of the half-off promo of their regular-sized Sicilian Chicken Salad; and c) I am a proud owner of the super handy Bistro Circle Card, which gives me 20 percent discount on my tab everytime I eat at any Bistro Circle resto. Weehoo! 

Anywayzees, here's what we ate: 

Sicilian Chicken Salad. Really big plate for two, but I love it so much, especially  the mangoes! Ate Star said if all salads were like this, she would definitely eat salads everyday! :)

 Tropicale Pizza. Pineapple + Bacon. I like my bacon crispier, though. But still very yummy. 

Shrimp Penne Mascarpone. Light white sauce, zucchini, shrimp and creamy mascarpone cheese.

We ate for five people that night! We didn't finish all of it, so we had to doggy-bag some of our leftovers. 

We finished eating at about 6:30. We were already running late, but the meal was just so good.The show was at 8:00, and braving the rain and Makati/Manila traffic, we finally arrived at CCP 15 minutes before the start of the play. 

I think Bernard and Don got really stressed out waiting for us (especially Bee, who's never, ever, ever late. heehee.).

We were led to our seats (right-side balcony), and from there, I could clearly see the orchestra members ready themselves for the show.

The curtains opened, and it was the prologue (auction scene), exactly as I remembered it from the Gerald Butler movie version (hehe). Then, the Phantom of the Opera Overture was played-- familiar to me, but never quite this loud, pounding, or chilling-- as the impressive Opera House chandelier flickers, sparks, and slowly, oh so very slowly, rises over the audience.

You can't take pictures during the show, but I stole this one shot. 

I don't want to give any more details because I guess a lot of people haven't seen it yet. What I can say, though, is it's absolutely phenomenal (the costumes! the props! the singing and the dancing! the actors!). I enjoyed every minute of it. If you have the chance to watch it, please do!

Tickets are still available --> Ticketworld

And now that they've added 16(!) more shows, you can you can!

Phantom of the Opera is shown at the CCP Main Theater, from August 25 to October 14, 2012.

See ya, 

Binky