In-Store Coffee Shop Spotlight: Folded&Hung’s f&h coffee

Salute to whoever came up with the idea of having an in-store coffee in retail shops. This concept has been acquired and applied by many brands.

Pancake House

 It was a Friday lunch out with the team when we decided to dine at Pancake House.

I was craving to eat here again so we spent our weekend munch at the place.

Mega Feb 2013 Cover – Betty and Veronica

                     It’s a cool idea to feature comic strip icons as cover of a glossy. The concept is new…fresh.

Papa John’s

We’ve been into pizza and pasta the past weeks but who’s complaining?  

Bulgogi Brothers

Bulgogi Brothers is part of the Bistro Group which includes Italianni’s, Friday’s, Fish & Co, and Krazy Garlik to name a few.

We were looking for something different that’s why “Bulgogi Brothers” popped out of our heads. How about a taste of something Korean?

Bake N' Shoot Workshop

 Style my cake and eat it too? Why not? My love for food and styling were the contributing factors that made me want to enroll at the Bake N' Shoot workshop by Carmela Agosta and Chichi Tullao. The goal of the activity is to create the subject - in our case, the cakes in their naked glory to look as interesting as possible and to style them in such a way that they are instagrammable-worthy.

Cold Stone Creamery (Archive)

To beat the summer heat, a trip to an ice cream shop is the next best thing to do. We have chanced upon this Cold Stone Creamery branch at Serendra...and so we tried.

Sunnies Face

From the same company that brought us Sunnies Specs and Sunnies Café, now comes Sunnies Face. I think it’s the way how Filipinos love skincare and makeup that makes the cosmetics industry boom like crazy – much more if prominent influencers and celebrities launch their own, supported by big names or otherwise. I am not much of a lippie person but when my mom told me that I looked so pale, I turned to some lipsticks to give me some color (though you would still see me with nothing but lip gloss on some days).

Kashieca's Beautiful Fragrance Line

Kashieca has launched a perfume line endorsed by Bea Alonzo. I am more inclined to use the cologne variants: Beautiful Mind and Beautiful Body.

Palatable Sizzling Pepper Lunch

 Eating at Pepper Lunch is always a hit. 

Obra Para sa Musika (OPM) - PSID

 The Philippine School of Interior Design (PSID) has launched an exhibit last about music and interior design.

Freezer Burn

 I tend to gravitate towards confections that look so decadent and taste just as delectable. Sweets that seem to be specially curated by the pros always get me. Great ideas also count too! So when Freezer Burn got in my radar, I knew I needed to check what they offer.

For me, the brand name on its surface means cold desserts and frozen treats. Only after getting in the store, chomping down a spoon or two and indulging myself with my order did I come to understand the concept behind the whole picture – pardon my buffering mind. 

Cupcakes by Sonja

The thing with cupcakes, you just can’t get enough of ‘em. So when I had the chance to drop by “Cupcakes by Sonja” at Serendra, I did not have second thoughts in trying their cupcakes. 

Pablo: The Cheesecake

I would like to try every cheesecake and cheese tart available as they are filling and satisfying with their creamy goodness and smooth, melt-in-your-mouth texture, not to mention, being a trend a few years back. But heck, I would still want to continue looking for these yummy treats, check out what else is out there and surprise myself.

Brew Your Best Food Feature

An early Saturday morning rise is like waking up to my favorite music on the radio. It is refreshing to know that it is the weekend and I try to linger and bask in the moment every minute and every second of it.

So let us rewind to the time when I was just casually viewing my Instagram feed when I saw a post from Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf (CBTL) Philippines about a food writing workshop in partnership with Writer's Block Philippines (WBP) featuring Beatriz Isabel Acosta, Features Editor of ClicktheCity, as guest speaker. Food and writing rolled into one? I knew I needed to attend the event.

Sephora PH x Guerlain

In this day and age, everything is so fast paced that we forget the more important things in our lives. We are so preoccupied at the tasks that we have to do that we forget to focus on ourselves. While we tend to our daily activities, we still need to look neat and presentable. If only I could blurt this "Oh, I woke up like <insert name of favorite model/beauty ambassador> today" statement whenever I look in the mirror everyday. But then, I was fortunate to receive this Guerlain beauty stash from Sephora PH. Now there is no excuse for me to look haggard but rather feel fresh and youthful all day.

Five Times that the Art Fair Mirrored Our Lives

Art has always been a means to express thoughts and feelings through varied aesthetic media. There are a lot of existing forms already from traditional to contemporary pieces to a mixture of both in terms of styles and techniques. They may come in as paintings, sculptures and even as narratives. For the creators, it is using resources to convey ideas with the desire of getting reaction from people. For the audience, it is having sensory encounters that stir the imagination.

Art Fairs have become a source of visual installations that make art less intimidating by making it accessible to all and by presenting a familiar culture albeit wandering to obscure territories sometimes.

Here are five interesting projects that reflected our way of life.

Excavated

The pieces are made with layers of paint digging deep to reveal an image underneath. We look for qualities beyond the surface. We see past through the physical appearance and consider the person’s character more. We look at situations from the inside out or sometimes from the outside in as we appreciate the beauty within as well as the colorful accounts and accents outside.

 

             

 

Movie Review: Christopher Robin

 You can pretty much tell that the Christopher Robin movie relishes on the plot similar to that of “Toy Story”, “The Little Prince” and “Alice in Wonderland”. The story is about Christopher Robin’s transition from juvenile stage to adulthood and letting go of insignificant stuff like child playthings to acknowledge grown-up responsibilities. In “Toy Story 3”, Andy had to put away all his toys in the attic in preparation for him going to college. In “The Little Prince”, there was much debate about how adults perceive things and how they lose their creativity as they grow up.

 

5 Ways on How to Wear Stripes

 There is something special about this pattern that people want to wear fashion items with stripes again and again. This is not called a wardrobe mainstay for nothing. It is always on trend and will never leave the fashion scene as it can adapt to every change of season. Below are some fresh ideas on wearing stripes.

 Colors

While we are used to the typical black and white or monochromatic stripes, you can infuse colors in your overall outfit. You can try subtle hues or pastels or bright and vivid colors however you fancy. For me, this is a quirky and fun way to don the stripes trend.

 

Tambai Yakitori Snackhouse

 It was one of the group's onsite meetings when the idea of food hopping popped out of nowhere - throwing in suggestions to go as far as Binondo to neighboring Mandaluyong. But then, why go far if we could simply go within Makati area, right? It was then decided that we explore Poblacion area - that part which houses hip spots that satisfy one's palatable cravings. But it came with a catch, which is, to eat on a budget. Those who would join need to share P500 as part of the resource basket.

Zark's Burgers

 I would really like to try all the burger joints in town. With all the hype about Zark’s Burgers, you must know how excited I was when we decided to eat here.

Mr. Pizza

A new pizza and pasta place discovery called Mr. Pizza, which is a Korean brand… and Korea’s number one pizza chain for that matter. Curiosity kicked in on how the food differs from those which Italian restaurants offer. Awarded by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy as a World Class Product of Korea in 2014.

A Taste of Paris in Manila: Laduree

I must tell myself to stop eating sweets as it has taken a toll on my weight gain already. But how can you resist splurging a little to have a taste of Paris here in Manila. Laduree is a high-end pâtisserie famous for their macarons (yep, you read that right; you should not confuse it with macaroons). To differentiate the two: macaroons are like golden brown cakes with an indefinite shape because of its texture made of shredded coconut while macarons are circular, smooth on both sides and come in varying shades.