Girls' Day Out: Mom & Tina's + Blue Water Day Spa + Yakimix

Today's gimmick was planned but not on schedule. I was really happy, Renee messaged me and asked if I'm available today, and YES I am! 


First stop: Mom & Tina's Bakery and Café
Since the spa salon is still closed, we ate first at this quaint café. I've heard good feedbacks on Mom & Tina's dessert offerings so I didn't hesitate to eat here even before our massage. :) I ordered White Toblerone Chocolate Torte. But then I realized that I am not a Toblerone fan so I shouldn't have ordered this. But it tastes really good and the sweetness is just right and Toblerone bits were aplenty. However, my satisfaction is not to the highest level as I am not a Toblerone fan. Next time, I will try their other dessert. They all look mouthwatering in the ref! Renee had a two-thumbs up Lasagna and it had a cute presentation served in a ramekin with two pieces of cupcake shaped bread. Too bad I wasn't able to take a picture of it.

White Toblerone Chocolate Torte at Mom & Tina's, PhP 105

Mom & Tina's Bakery Cafe

G/F Unit 104

Tropical Palms Condominum

Dela Rosa St., Legaspi Village,

Makati City

Tel No: 840-4299 or 894-3598

Second Stop: Blue Water Day Spa

As I was searching for a spa salon a little cheaper than The Spa, I stumble upon Blue Water Day Spa. Sam Milby and Karylle are their endorsers so I guess this is worthy of a try, plus, their services are reasonably priced. 

Renee and I availed the Treat for Two package, 2 Jasmine Body Scrub + 2 Volcanic Stone Massage. for PhP 3,200. We saved PhP 400 each in this package! It was my first time to have a body scrub now I know that there's nothing much special on this. The body scrub was just rubbed in my body, waited for several minutes for it to deeply penetrate on my skin and done! Nevertheless, my skin was left smooth and silky afterwards.

It was also my first to have a Volcanic Stone Massage. I kinda liked the idea of the stones massaging me. It was relaxing. Although, the massage doesn't offer much stretching. I prefer Thai Massage. 

The staff were courteous and accommodating so that's a plus that I will come back here but I will try a different kind of massage. :)

Here's a copy of their price list:

Blue Waters Day Spa

Ground Floor Tropical Palms Condominum

Dela Rosa St., Legaspi Village,

Makati City

Tel No. : 817-31-26 and 817-54-55
Cel. No. : 0917-8810092

Third Stop: Greenbelt

Window Shopping! Haha.. To kill time while waiting for our Dinner at Yakimix, we window shopped in Greenbelt 3 and 5. Super Like!

Fourth Stop: Yakimix, Greenbelt 3

Apparently, Renee is dying to try Yakimix after a number of failed attempts with her friends. They're always waitlisted daw.  So, we went there as early as 4pm to reserve seats. True enough, there were already reservations and we were at 12th-15th in the list! Dinner starts at 5:30pm so the guard told us to be there at exact time or else we might miss our slot. Okay. We were there even before 5:30pm and the entrance is already packed with people! The attendant started yelling the names of those who had reservations. Too bad for those not there when their names were called, they missed their slots and will be under the waiting list when they come back.

It's my second time in Yakimix. This time, I enjoyed the smokeless grilling more, both the meats and the cooking (last time I wasn't able to enjoy the grilled meats since I ate lots of other ulams already). It was again a FULLfilling Yakimix experience. And.... Renee was the happiest after! She had several rows of sashimi and three servings of ice cream! Haha!

Yakimix

3/F, Greenbelt 3, Ayala Center

Makati City

Tel No: 475-5153 to 54

Since Forever 21 just opened their Makati branch yesterday, I have to go there! I'll have a separate blog post on that. :)

Fun, Fun, Fun Day! But our pockets have a big hole already! 

Dwaejigogi Kimchijjigae at Seoul, Seoul Restaurant

I was craving for Korean food and so I ate at Seoul, Seoul in Alabang with a friend last week. We ordered Ojinguh Bokkeum or Stir-fried Squid and Dwaejigogi Kimchijjigae or Pork and Kimchi Stew. Ojinguh Bokkeum is 90% present whenever I am eating at a Korean restaurant and I say that Seoul, Seoul's version is not the best but passable enough. For the Kimchijjigae, it's my second time to eat this dish and I somewhat like this one better since the Kimchi is not dominating the taste but there is still room for improvement for it to be tastier. The price in Seoul, Seoul is a bit expensive compared to the restaurants in BF Homes, Parañaque and the taste is not even better as well.

Restaurant Review

Seoul, Seoul Korean Restaurant

Casa Susana, ATC, Alabang-Zapote Road

Muntinlupa City, Metro Manila

Philippines

Food:  ♨♨

Price: ♨♨
Service: ♨♨♨♨ 

*Five plates being the highest.

 

Dwaejigogi Kimchijjigae from www.seoulselection.com

Kimchijjigae tastes like Sinigang (Filipino sour soup), at least for me -- Sinigang with a twist. So I guess, that's why I like it. The sourness and spiciness blend very well and the taste is just right. Although, my Korean sonsaengnim said that most of his Filipino friends do not like this. Well, I am not one of them. 

So, now I am craving for kimchijjigae. I stumbled upon a recipe of it in My Korean Kitchen so I will try this out as soon as payday comes. Haha!

Singapore Food Trip

Amongst other Asian countries, I would say that Singapore Cuisine has the most diverse taste since its country has three major races, the Chinese, Malays, and Indians. So, I would say Singapore cuisine is a gastronomic fusion.

During the course of my trip, I was able to sample the "must-eats" in Singapore at the famous food centers.

Maxwell Food Center (near Chinatown)

• Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice - I particularly went to Maxwell Food Center just to taste the ever-famous Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice which was featured by Anthony Bourdain in his No Reservations show. I queued for about 30 minutes and the fact that the queue is that long, I know the place is really a must. The dish looks very simple with the chicken looking bland and all but the taste is just so right and sumptuous especially when you mix it with the condiments and the rice. The price of only SGD 2.5-3.0 is also a plus!

Note: Tian Tian opens at around 11:00am but Maxwell is already open by 8:00am

• Nasi Lemak with Beef Rendang - Nasi Lemak is a Malay dish meaning rice cooked in coconut milk. Along with the rice, it is served with fried dilis, sambal, and a viand of your choice. For my breakfast, I chose the uber hot Beef Rendang. The combination of crunchy dilis to rice and rendang is a nice touch to your every bite.

Nasi Lemak with Beef Rendang

• Fishball Noodle - We were a bit early at Maxwell and Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice isn't open yet (we were told to be back by 11am). So I scoured Maxwell for my breakfast and found this. Typical noodles with oyster sauce or soy sauce as the base. The fishballs are good, though.

• Drinks (Fresh Sugar Cane Juice and Grass Jelly Juice) - I love Singapore juices! They are so fresh, squeezed right in front you (at least for the fruit and sugar cane). It was my first time to drink fresh Sugar Cane juice. Sugar canes went to the presser or whatever you call that, and voila, fresh juice served for SGD 1.50. Grass Jelly Juice, on the other hand, is just another name of Gulaman for us, Filipinos. I love Pinoy gulaman and so as this one!

Grass Jelly Juice

Makansutra Gluttons Bay
behind the Esplanade Mall
opens at 6pm until 3am

Makansutra is a touristy place and so are the prices of the food. Prices are about SGD 1-2 higher than hawker centers. But I just have to be here. Never mind the price. The night was packed with both tourists and locals and it was hard to find a table. Anyways, we ordered Hokkien Mie and Seafood Rice for our dinner.

Hokkien Mie

Seafood Rice

Bedok Hawker Center and other Mall Food Courts

• Laksa - Malay noodle soup with coconut milk. Not really my kind of taste, or perhaps, its just this particular stall. Hmmm, I just realized that Malays love coconut milk, don't they?

• Char Siew Rice - Barbequed pork with rice. Simple yet bursting with flavor in every bite for only SGD 2.

• Ice Kachang - Ice shaved dessert similar to Halo-Halo. It has red monggo, sweet corn, jelly, and other ingredients I don't know. But this tastes like almond jelly. Good eat at SGD 1.5.

• Char Kway Teow - Stir fried noodle dish. I was really excited to eat this, looking so yummy, but the cockles burst my bubble! Set aside the cockles, this is good, though.

What I had was just a sampler. I am yet to taste the other Singapore must eats in the future, so I'll definitely be back, Singapore! Chilli Crabs, you're next!

'Till my next Culinary Adventure! :)

Singapore, Second Time Around. (Day 2 of 4)

Day 2: April 23, 2010

Itinerary

• Bedok
• Fragrance Hotel Balestier 
• IMM Jurong East (JKS Fan Signing)

Our day started with Arlyn's set homemade breakfast for us. We weren't able to bid goodbyes to their Dad, Ryan (their other brother), and Camille (Arlyn's BFF) since they have gone to work already when we woke up. By the way, their unit is quite big and is at the top most floor, so nice view! The unit, though, is at SGD 1,700 per month (almost PhP 60k)! Whew! Arlyn said this is the cheapest O_o

Some photo ops before we leave their unit. They sent us off at Jurong MTR Station.

Inside Bernabe's Flat with Ariel.

Ariel and Arlyn

We went to the other end of Singapore, Bedok, to meet Ico and Jen (Ico's fiancé) to get our Fan Meet Tickets and poster! Yay! :) They treated us in a Hawker Center. Finally, I get to eat here. This was my major frustration last time when the Hawker Centers are close due to Chinese New Year. I want to eat the authentic Singapore food, the common Singaporeans do, and that is, in Hawker Centers. Food here is a lot cheaper as well, meals start at SGD 2.00.

Anyway, I had Laksa, a Malay noodle soup with coconut milk. Not much my type though.

Laksa

Ate had Char Siew Rice. I should've ordered this instead. It was yuuummmmmmy!

Char Siew Rice, SGD 2.

Ico and Jen had Fried Prawn Hokkien Mie. Two thumbs up as well!

For dessert, I bought Ice Kachang for SGD 1.50. It's like the SG version of Halo-Halo but with different ingredients. It has corn and tastes like almond jelly? Basta masarap din siya. :)

Ice Kachang

After eating, we went to Ico and Jen's flat, from HDB as well. This HDB condominium, however, is newer compared to Jurong, hence, the interiors are more updated and contemporary.

Ico and Jen's Kitchen.

We checked in first in our hotel, Fragrance Hotel Balestier, we got the room on sale for SGD 75 per day. The room and bathroom were actually small but it was clean and decent enough. They even have LCD for the TV. Plus, the receptionists are Filipinos. :)

We travelled back again to Jurong for the Fan Signing Event of Jang Keun Suk. This event is actually for the VIP ticket holders (They are the only ones allowed to have his signature!). Thank God, this is held in an open-space venue so we were still able to see him. Will blog this event in detail in a separate post. :)

After the event, we roamed around IMM mall to do some shopping. Apparently, we found nothing. Cotton On sale was tempting though, but nothing fits me. We ate dinner at the mall's Food Court and went back to Fragrance Hotel to rest and prepare for the long queue the next day.