our tango in SANGO!

Shangri-La mal is just really one of our favorite places to go to. After a loooooooooooong time, Jhing and I were finally able to visit the place again and stroll a bit while we wait for our movie to start.

SO...I think it was an hour or an hour and a half of time to kill and we really weren't there to shop. :)

Since my boss suggested (or spruced up) Sango Burger and said it's a must-try, Thank God he was into the same thing that i was at that moment and we hopped to Sango Burger at the 5th Floor of Shang to see if it'll live up to our expectation.

So we ordered our drinks...

Honey Dew Melon for Jhing and Milk Tea for me. The milk tea was so-so and their honey dew melon soda tastes like the DYNAMITE candy (melon flavor).

HoneyDew Melon Soda and Milk Tea

In all fairness, they have free wifi!! because unlike Ayala or SM, Shangri-La does not give you a mall-wide free wifi.

Since it's made to order, they give you magazines or you can surf the net while you wait for your food. Makes you forget how hungry you are...

The wifi was free but we didn't use it because we preferred talking and we tried to imagine how the food will turn out plus we people-watched a bit).

 FINALLY! Our food arrived. Lo and behold the awesome burger and meat-sauce and the yummy fries that you order separately (but is served as a "combo).

Master Burger with Regular Fries

Close-up...see the oozing meat sauce

Jhing's BLT Burger. You can see the tiny patty vs. the GIANT TOMATO SLICE. 

Well, the FRIES were delicious. It was a cross between NYFD and Mcdo. The salt content was just right and was perfect with the ketchup. Although their fries are fat, it wasn't as oily as i expected it to be plus I couldn't stop munching on them until i realized that the pack is almost empty.

The burger, on the other hand, didn't do well on my scale because it lacked the OOMPH and MMM factor I usually look for. The meat sauce was a bit bland and tastes like normal saucy meat and not as salty as I'd want it but the serving size is definitely a plus for a P145 burger since i sprained my jaw trying to bite the whole thing.

We wanted to spice it up a bit but their "chili powder" wasn't spicy enough or was maybe stale because we almost poured the whole bottle on our food and we didn't even break a single sweat. A few slices of Jalapeno peppers did the trick and gave a bit of kick for a price of (just) P15. I thought maybe i should've went for the Master Chili Burger or brought my own chili powder (c/o Pepper Lunch) to get the hot satisfaction i wanted.

Jhing and I vowed to give it a second chance because we love the drinks and the fries. It could be just the case of ordering the wrong food.

Next time, hopefully, we tango to Sango and dance our way out with much full bellies and 100% sated cravings. :)

KOPOLS!!!

temporary picture. hi-res images to follow
L-R: Anna, Ceska and Kirk

KOPOOOOLLSSSS!!! 


a.k.a. a couple of drinks, credit goes to Kirk Kaiser (half German, half dick). It's one of those days that I just really really need to de-stress and let go of all the negative vibes from work. 


As you can see, work has been hellish for the past few weeks. I love my job but sometimes it's just too much especially when you notice that it's been a while since you got out on time while the rest vanishes by 6:05pm. (lead time of 5 minutes but the day usually ends at 6)


Dinner at Pancake House, as suggested by Anna Talens, then went straight to Tia Marias for one round. We had a pitcher of margarita and Kirk, being the only male, had four bottles of beer.


Not enough to get us drunk, just right to detox and retox.


I definitely missed the Dentsu team tonight. Leon, Mike, Sandy, Kina and Pilar :) 

At least no rice!

the FEAST...not all are captured.

This is what greeted us when we arrived at our Lola Thelma's 60th Birthday party in their cozy home at Jem Homes, Tandang Sora.

Such a feast, I should say, and no attendee was conscious about their diet. What's wonderful was everyone just let go of their inhibitions and tried to eat ALL that is served. Gluttony. Gluttony at its best.Even after finishing a plate, we'd return to this table and see what else we haven't tasted.

I commend the lechon. (see the head of the pig saying hello? yes, he was good. your death was worth it mr. piggy. You're the best!) The lechon is the best and the star of the table. Crispy skin, oily meat but migosh..unlike other lechons, it's so savory. This coming from a non-lechon fan because I find the others taste like it's not properly cooked.

In my haste to eat and try all, I forgot to take a photo. This is grabbed from my cousin's, Martin Bautista, twitpic of the table.

Other notable dishes? Their infamous fish fillet and tartar sauce. Only yesterday did I find out that that was the dish they've been bringing to our Christmas reunions except for last year when I requested for Lola Thelma's carbonara.

For dessert, an ice cream bar was set-up near the drinks bar in the patio/den of the house. They had the usual, Vanilla Ice Cream and Chocolate Ice Cream, and rare ones, Buko Sherbet and Buko Lychee Sherbet, which my cousin, Mikey, said looks like the ice from inside the freezer. But he too, despite having compared the sherbet to an inedible substance, loved it and went back for seconds which he rarely does.

The cakes served (because there were others but were kept for private consumption) were Estrelle's Caramel Cake and a Contis' chocolate cake creation. Estrelle's never fail to give you that heavenly caramel buttery icing and a melt-in-your-mouth cake after devouring fatty and oily foods. It makes life make sense, after all. I tried a slice of Contis's cake and it gives you a feeling total opposite of Estrelle's but equally good. This makes you feel so devilish and evil that you know it will end up in your ass but just can't stop at one bite.


After engorging and a cancer stick or two, we just propped ourselves on the couches and watched Burlesque. Buhay Baboy (The pig's life) eat and sleep.

Until the next family affair.

Au revoir. 

Welcome to Good Burger

"Welcome to Good Burger. Home of the good burger, can I take your order?" was my favorite line from the (classic) Nickelodeon show All That with the original cast. And this was portrayed by none other than Kel Mitchell.

Good Burger from All that 

During my growing up years, around 10-13 years old, All that was my favorite show and always look forward to the Good Burger sketch. 

Imagine my excitement when I heard that in ever so famous Maginhawa street, there is a Good Burger joint! It's not the exact same one being served fictionally on tv, but this one is really good because you get to choose your patty.

CHICKEN or VEGGIE?

Not beef. Not pork. but CHICKEN or VEGGIE PATTY. Jhing and I both tried the Chicken Patty burgers. They have size choices labeled as Good, Better and Best. Their Good size is (as the servers claim) about 1/4 lb, the Better size is a bit bigger (+20 insertunitofmeasurement here) and the Best is 1/2 lb. 

Their "ASHTRAY". oh no it's a trap! 

The price isn't over the top but not as cheap as Angel's either. 

huhu i think this was their spicy chicken burger and the potato wedges

LOOK AT THAT CHEESE

(because i've put off writing this entry for a long time...i lost all my words. so now behold the burgeeeeeeeeeer. not just any burger...THE GOOD BURGER!)

North Park's hidden treasure

 Jhing and I used to eat at North Park after gym (or Subway, but most of the time it's north park).
After trying out their ULTIMATE NOODLES (i forgot when), it was the last for me. I've sworn off North Park for an indefinite time because frankly...I have too much MSG already.

THE ULTIMATE NOODLES 

Today being sweldo day (payday), I invited Jhing to eat dinner out and we both craved for Army Navy's burrittos. We were already at Glorietta 5 then when we made our choice. Unfortunately they're only open until 9pm unlike their branch at Solaris One which is open for 24 hours. So we loitered a bit, hungry and disappointed, when we saw a Golden Spoon store open at the ground floor of G5!!!! Imagine our excitement!! And the nearest restaurant of our choice was North Park so we grabbed a quick bite there so I can have my yogurt fix after before it closes at 10pm.

Jhing had his usual order, NS 12 Wanton and 3 kinds of mushroom noodle, and I tried something new. I didn't get to take a picture of it but I would recommend it for those who are having Prichon cravings!

It was instant Prichon goodness. Although the pork was a bit tough, but the chili hoisin mayo sauce made me forget just how tough it was and made me bite into it after bite after bite until my temples started to hurt.

Lechon

plus wrap 

looks something like this...

And it only costs P88!! WHATTABARGAIN! :D So if you're looking for something light but wouldn't mind a bit of fat, go try this different wrap. 

Instant Prichon Goodness (I think it would've been better if their Nai Cha was available too!)

slacking

It's march and i haven't remained true to my word, that is to write down everything  i've eaten to keep track of my intake/consumption so i can reach my weight loss goal.

Work and the office firewall is to blame, but really, it's me. When I get home, I attend to my facebook games first and stare blankly at unfinished and unpublished entries.

This does not prove to be helping me in any way. I eat and eat and eat. I don't exercise that much these days (except for my morning walks).

How can I be a good copy writer or achieve a career in writing now if I fall behind my blogging duties? I'll keep up with this.

So sorry world. I'm so sorry self.

Boys Night Out

I really really really missed my boys. They're the ones I hanged out with most of the time during college. There was a drift during junior year but that just strengthened our friendship come senior year...and it even brought us closer once everything was on the table. Forgiven and forgotten. 

my half-bitten Chicken Shish Kebab Sandwich

But that night was not about that fight, or whatever issues. It was a time to catch up and I haven't laughed that heartily for a long time.

We had dinner at Mister Kabab, our group's favorite after-classes-dinner-before-heading-straight-home venue, and we all live in QC too. I opted for a very humble Chicken Shish Kebab Sandwich while Ramon went for the usual Keema with eggplant and two bread. 

Julius, who gained the most weight among us, got embarassed with what he's supposed to order. He even actually asked "Yun lang talaga kakainin nyo?". Times are different now, we eat more than our metabolism can give credit for and I said I was on a diet. So he just got the "Keema with Eggplant" too and "Sige na nga, Tatlong bread na LANG".  HAHAHAHAHAHAHA. 

When we were in college, he was always the "practical" one and excused himself whenever we splurge on restaurants and expensive coffee. Now that he's working and making his own money, he justifies his fat by "Ngayon, kaya ko na bilhin yung mga gusto kong kainin". I wasn't able to take a full body picture of Julius but he really gained a lot of weight. He now has DADDY fat, but he's not yet a really a father.

just like the old days but with fatter chins

Afterhours ...

Even if I said that I won't have any beer for this year, just wine, their biddings got to me. "Bukas yang taba mo nandyan pa, pwede ka pa magdiet ulet, eh kami? Bukas kanya-kanyang buhay na naman tayo." Being the easily-persuaded little girl of the group, I drank beer after a glass of wine, which by the way got a looooot of comments and remarks such as "baka gusto mo ng keso nyan?" "naaaks, talagang feel mo ang candle light ah." (The tables had small candles in each table for ambiance chorva)

Julius Dolor, the Daddy

Ramon, now out of his "no beer" diet.

The highlight of the night? Anton joined us even though he has a girlfriend. He was notorious in college for being watush*, as we fondly call it, by his ex. The one he's with now is a lot more lenient with him and you could actually see that he's blooming and more relaxed. Congrats, Anton!

*Watush is derived from the sound made by a slashing whip to the butt. It is the term we use whenever our respective gelps/boyps did not allow us to go out or we have to attend to boyps/gelps duties

Even though I'm considered as "one of the boys", these boys still respect me as a girl (we've settled that years ago) and are actual gentlemen amidst the mockery and insults they throw my way.  Ramon even brought me home right in front of our gate, which is a first, and it surprises me that they're driving for me not the other way around. 

I really missed these guys and I could easily put up their jokes and their kabastusans any day. Hopefully we could have more of these kinds of get togethers because the regression I go through is always positive and the usual work issues I share with them are lightened with the inside comments and discreet advises.

notice my glass of wine? It was served in room temp and i hate it but what the hell for all i care.

next stop: 8064 Bagnet...Pag-usapan na yan!

not quite

I haven't been true to my pledge.

You see, I'm out of the house for more than 12 hours and I really love Sundays because it's the one of the only days I eat at home. Home-cooked food will always be the best and it does not just satisfy my appetite, but also the heart (especially when we're complete).

the DYNAMITE lumpias

Lunch

N pieces of "Inihaw na baboy" (Grilled salted pork)

A scoop of Ensalada

1/2 cup of rice...okay fine...1 cup of rice

...

We weren't complete during dinner but the food served deserved better. This should be the meal we are having when everyone's around but Sunday dinners together are rare because Gino and Maegan are part of the church choir and their mass is at 7pm. Mama, Papa, Garrett and I prefer going to mass at an earlier hour so we'd have the time to do our own thing before hitting the sack and before Monday starts. 

Dinner

1 pc of ribs (my brother's recipe)

N number of baby potatoes 

I got from my office mate, Macky, the idea of replacing white rice with baby potatoes. These are  marinated in olive oil, seasoned with garlic and pepper, then baked to perfection.  

the baked baby potatoes. I bring to work the excess and i still have 2 plastics of these.

This photo does not give the ribs justice because it is the best ribs ever!

I just hope that every Sunday won't be as sinful as today. 

A bright week ahead!

au revoir.

A good start then PARTY!

Saturday worked out fine for me but as every weekend goes, I don't get my breakfast because I sleep late on Friday nights and wake up late Saturday morning. 


It's a bad habit I must correct. 


PROMISE NEXT SATURDAY I'LL WAKE UP EARLY TO EAT BREAKFAST!


So, my first meal was lunch and mama prepared our ever so famous TAPA with egg and just plain rice. 


LUNCH:
1/2 cup of rice
1 egg (sunny side up)
3 slices of Tapa
1 pack of Poker


Actually, that poker pack was a secret (since mama will be reading this and you now know, ma, that I ate one of the kids' snacks sorry. I've already opened one when Gino told me that we can't touch/eat it). 


My exercise for the day was supposed to be at the gym in Makati yet I remembered that I left my gym bag in the office and who would want to go to the office on a day that you aren't required to. I opted to swim at the village pool and walk to and from there for my warm-up and cool down. 


EXERCISE
WalkingThe distance from my house to the pool and back is roughly less than 1km but you have to give credit to the uphill and downhill roads of Filinvest 2. IT'S HARD climbing up the steep Cyril St. 


Swimming
12 laps. Just 12 laps but it took me an hour to finish those 12 because of my bad lungs and unconditioned body. Also, the binatilyos are annoyingly noisy and rowdy the Lola in me can't stand it. The Lola in me is growing strong everyday, I'm afraid.




After all that successful attempt to exercise and not binge eat...I met up with Jhing at Makati. It is Jhing's mom's birthday and I thought that there's just dinner and I expected myself to be disciplined in my intake.


When we arrived, we were already very very hungry and we found out that it's a party, pinoy-style. Pinoy style meaning, lots of food, lots of drinking and the pinoy favorite -- KARAOKE/VIDEOKE. 


DINNER

(not my photo) Kilawing Bangus. magutom ka, takaw-mata. 

1/4 cup of rice 
1/2 serving of Dinuguan
1/4 plate of pansit bihon
5 pieces of Dynamite 

(not my photo) Dinuguan. The one served last night was swimming in oil. 

(Dynamite is a dish that consists of Siling Tagalog, rolled in lumpia wrapper. Optional: giniling or a slice of cheese inside the siling tagalog. I'll take a photo once ours are cooked. Too busy eating it last night I forgot to take out my camera)


5 pieces of lumpiang shanghai
a serving of Kilawing Bangus
a slice of White Forest cake from Red Ribbon


it gets worse...


His dad arrived and more beers were passed around. I HAD 3 bottles of San Mig Light and had INIHAW NA (INSERT FISH HERE)  and KILAWING BANGUS for pulutan. Jhing was telling me to let myself go because it's a party and a saturday therefore cheating was allowed. I can't stop the kilawin but I feel so heavy after those beer. Remember, I promised myself to stick to hard drinks this year or better yet...JUST WINE. haaay, how can you resist good food at a party especially when it's his parents are offering? 


Note to self: develop self-discipline first before allowing yourself 2 cheat days in a weak. ;) 








Savoring my sore muscles from yesterday's exercise routine,


Au revoir. 

unexpectedly off track

This is the first entry and must be those that I will shake my head at when by December. I brought a pear and my own lunch to save money and myself from temptation. But the announcement that our salary is in,we just have to get out of the office and eat lunch somewhere...rewarding. 


Breakfast:

Al Fresco dining at The plantation (but we opted to stay indoors)

1/2 glass of C-lium (30 minutes prior)
Adelina's Ham and Queso de bola sandwich (white bread)


Lunch @ THE PLANTATION BAR + RESTO (C. Palanca St, Makati)
Pinoy Puttanesca (longganisa, tuyo, kesong puti, 1 cup pasta, and toasted foccacia bread)


The Plantation is those kinds of restos in Makati that makes Makati a foodie haven. The pasta was al dente and the tuyo replaced the anchovies but it didn't make the dish as salty. Longganisa was grilled perfectly and added that smoky flavor to the dish. I suggest more kesong puti, though. The garlic and pepper overpowered its flavored when it is not as strong to begin with.


Price range: 200-600 (exclusive of VAT)

Pinoy Puttanesca from The Plantation

Grilled Mediterranean Pork Chops. A good choice. 

Cajun Chicken Pasta which my officemate, Rei, commented was very good.

Peppersteak. I think the serving is too small. 

Dinner:
(using a small plate)
1/2 plate of Pansit Malabon
2 sticks of pork barbecue
2 pcs siomai
a slice of cake
Grande Breve Latte (Starbucks)
3/4 can of San Mig Light Beer


Pak! There goes everything. Our print producer is leaving and yesterday was his last day so the office had a small party or "salu-salo" at the conference room. They insisted I drink a beer to join in on the fun and partying. Coffee at starbucks was taken an hour after while waiting for our movie screening time. 


I had a loong session at the comfort room between my lunch and dinner meal and yet, after eating that much during the latter I feel heavy still. I was suppose to exercise at the gym but since I'm dressed up for a night-out, tomorrow will be a better day to burn all these calories and fat. :)




Looking forward to a thinner neck! 


au revoir.