Coffee Date

Me and my friends at work had dinner and coffee date last Friday. We invited Mark and Pao who already resigned from the company.

Few days before our date, I suggested that we eat at City Lunch and take advantage of the 100 peso eat all you can promo. I heard from an officemate there are few selection of viands from that buffet but the food is great. My friends agreed, however, when Mark and I got to the venue, there was an on going wedding reception in City Lunch and it's not open for public. So we decided to have dinner in Extremely Expresso in SM. We relished the Big Ben pizza and pastas.

After eating, we had a long chat as we wait for our tummys to digest the pizza and pasta to give room for coffee or frappe we intend to order. Unfortunately, we noticed a "closed" signage that was put on the door of Starbucks. They closed earlier than usual due to some on going repair in the coffee shop. Our friend Pao was so disappointed, she's a Starbucks Cafe Mocha addict. We transferred to Cafe Beatico and in all fairness, their Cafe Mocha tastes like the one in Starbucks.

We all had a great time even if there were changes in the venue. I thank my friends for being flexible, when it comes to food, who wouldn't be, right? We all had a happy tummy on a Friday night.

I look forward to our next date.

Highschool Batchmates

I was in Makati together with my son CJ and my brother in law the whole day last Saturday for something and I'll blog about it next time. We got home at 6pm, I rested for an hour and prepared to go to work. I had second thought of leaving because I haven't slept and was obviously tired from the Makati trip but I thought of the meeting regarding our grand reunion of my highschool batchmates we scheduled a month ago. I filed an undertime so I could attend the meeting before heading to work.

The meeting was at 7pm in Starbucks, I got to the venue 30 minutes late. I felt good seeing old classmates and batchmates. It was a productive meeting, we were able to tackle a lot of topics related to the grand reunion that will happen December of this year. We look forward to seeing other batchmates who will be coming home for this anticipated event. Everyone was free to give their suggestions to make the grand reunion unforgettable and enjoyable. One thing we considered is for our batchmates living or working abroad to realize it was worth coming home for the reunion.

I decided to take an active participation in organizing our grand reunion and I look forward to the next meeting.

Korean Dish: Healthy & Delicious!

I started to appreciate Korean Dish after dining in a Korean Resto a couple of times located inside New Well Being Spa & Hotel which is few meters away from our office. My officemates and I would go there for dinner when our palate would crave for veggies and something spicy

There are actually a lot of Korean Resto you can find in Clarkfield Pampanga. Koreans invaded our country and seems to enjoy their stay here. Anywhere you go, you will see them especially in malls. There is in fact a police station along Friendship hi-way dedicated for Koreans. Some of my officemates and friends enjoy a part time job by teaching Koreans to master the English language so they can easily communicate with non Korean speaking individuals

Ever wonder why Koreans have flawless skin? Have you noticed when watching Koreanovela, their actresses barely wear make up but still look fresh and radiant on cam? In my observation, it has something to do with the food they it. Their dish composed a little of meat but plenty of veggies. It is a common knowledge that vegetables are rich in fiber and helps to make you stay healthy. Also, they're fond of spicy food and whenever you eat something spicy, you tend to drink so much water, not to mention, they are tea drinkers of different kinds. So much intake of veggies and water helps eliminate regularly, in fact, everytime, I eat Korean dish, the effect is like doing cleansing diet the next day, I feel like all the toxins inside flushed out which made me feel clean and light. Because I like the effect, to eat in a Korean resto at least once a month is part of my new year's resolution

Below are pictures taken during our dinner date in a Korean Resto on different dates:

November 2010

December 2010

Korean Dishes we have tried so far:

gimbop sushi roll
Tukbokki rice cake
Dolsot Bibimbap...this is my favorite, a must try

samgeopsal grilled pork strips
different side dishes

Before and After Meal Photos

This is a continuation of my last post regarding "Early Dinner with Friends"where I posted pictures of the dishes we have eaten in New York Supreme. This time, I am sharing photos of ours taken inside and out of the said venue. Our pictures will describe how much we enjoyed the bonding...no amount of money can ever buy moments such as this, full of sweet giggles and loud laugh. For a while...work stress and personal worries were completely out of our minds.

Early Dinner with Friends

We decided to have an early dinner in New York Supreme after work yesterday. The last meal we had was lunch at work at 12 noon and we got out of the office at 4pm. We intentionally emptied our tummy's to fill it in with yummy panizza and various pasta from New York Supreme. It was my third time actually in NYS and I will go back again and again. I fell in love with their delectable and affordable menu. Because we were so hungry, everytime the waiter will serve the dish, it's gone in a snap!

I really had a great time dining with my friends at work, savoring the food with a lot of laughter and friendly love...it was HEAVEN! In between meals and before we head back to our respective homes, we took a lot of photos in and outside NYS, I'll share the photos of the dish we had for now. More pics in my next blog. Enjoy viewing them.

Spaghetti Carbonara (rich and creamy)

Pasta Putannesa (rich in tomato sauce, i love the pesto bread that that goes with every pasta)

Chicken Pasta Parmigiana (my all time favorite)

Panizza ( we asked for 3 orders of this)

arugula and alfalfal (place on top of the panizza before rolling and eating it)

I call this rolled panizza ( this is actally my favorite photo)

group pic after eating...allan, arlene, minette, me, vic, jovy and bobot

Happy weekend dear fellow bloggers:)

ZAPATA's again

As promised, I'm making a post about the dinner I had with my college friends. My girlfriends are fond of Korean food, something I can eat also but can't trade with Italian and Mexican food. I went with them one time to have lunch in a Korean Resto around friendship, I enjoyed it but not as much I enjoy my favorite Italian & Mexican food.

I told Michelle how delicious and tempting the Mexican servings in Zapata's, Josielyn second the motion. Michelle who happened to be a food lover and "let me try all" person like me, got curious and really made sure to dine in Zapata's was part of her itinerary in going here last Saturday when she visited her OB Gyne for a repeat papsmear. Imagine she had to travel all the way from Bangued Abra just to try the quesadillas and fajitas from Zapata's.

The Enchiladas Norte is a new discovery. I ask the waitress what menu she can suggest, something she can consider one of their best sellers and quickly suggested the enchiladas norte. A strips of breast chicken fillet wrapped in a tortilla served with Mexi rice. It was "oh so good"...you bite it with closed eyes while you relish it! Perfect! I'm actually craving for it as I write this post...wheeew!

Of course, this post is not complete without pictures taken during our dinner in Zapata's. Enjoy viewing them.

Reception at Abe's Farm Resort

Last weekend was a hectic schedule for me. I got home from work Saturday morning at around 7:30am, took a power nap and woke up at 9:00 am. My friends at work and I decided to attend the christening of our department manager's baby girl Samantha Sage on that day. Our meeting place was at Marquee Mall and I decided to be there an hour before our meeting time (11am) so I could spend it looking for a dress I could wear on my brother-in-law's wedding which is going to be next week, but I ended up buying Vidal Sasoon hair straightener.

Collyn came at exactly 11am followed by Mark. We bought a gift for the baby girl and while waiting for it to be wrapped, we did a pictorial in the next room where some of Marquee's furnitures are on display. We then headed to the reception at Abe's Farm Magalang. It took us more than 30 minutes to reach the destination. Some visitors were done eating while others just started coming in.

me

Mark

Collyn

Even if I'm from Pampanga, I didn't know about Abe's Farm until I saw it on TV last March specifically in the show "Ang Pinaka" of QTV 11 where they featured different resorts around the Philippines. Abe's Farm is a private resort with only one big pool surrounded by different plants and trees. It's cottages are made of nipa hut. It has a resto that serves native food. I specially like the fern salad which reminded me of my late mother-in-law who used to prepare such with matching fried fish. The ube macapuno dessert is my ultimate favorite. The halaya ube does not contain ingredient to cheat the taste and it's authencity.

If you want to have peaceful vacation for any season or just a quiet time with your family or loved ones away from city noise, Abe's Farm is the perfect place to be.


We left the place almost 3pm. On the way home, I received a text from Josielyn telling me that our friend Michelle is coming for a doctor's appointment and she wanted to have dinner with us, wanna know here we ate?...well, that deserves another post. Stay tuned...LOL.

New York Supreme

It's food trip once again and this time its Italian.

New York Supreme is a newly opened restaurant in Angeles City located along the hi way. It serves pizza and pasta. I've been to this resto twice already. The first time was when I treated my friends for my birthday and the second time was last Friday with my friends at work. I fell in love with their Panizza accompanied with pesto sauce, alfalfa and arugula and Chicken Pasta Parmigiana, red sauced penne pasta topped with fried chicken breast fillet and creamy/cheesy sauce. Their red sauced pasta has Italian flavor rich in tomato sauce and tomato paste. Pinoys are fond of sweet style spaghetti and having to try real Italian Style pasta is a delight to my tastebud. What I like most about New York Supreme is their affordable pitcher of iced tea. My friends and I had 3 to 4 rounds of glass of iced tea.

Eds, Pao and me (Marj was the one who took this shot)

Pasta Putannesca

Panizza

pesto sauce for the panizza

alfalfa and arugula

Chicken Pasta Parmigiana

Lasagna

Our dinner in NYS gave us bloated but happy tummy.

Thank you Marj for the photos.

Zapata's Mexican Resto

There are so many great restaurants in Friendship, Angeles City that caters to international customers. A lot of Americans, Australians and other nationalities are married to Filipinas and residing in Friendship and some of them have established businesses in Clarkfield Pampanga. Truly, there's no place like Philippines.

C Italian is being visited by celebrities because of its famous and unparralled Panizza. The chef/owner guested in "Secrets of the Masters" of QTV 11. Rumpa and VMW is usually housed by retired Americans & Australians, they offer steaks and various American foods and the servings is usually good for two (meant for a foreign customer with big bellys...LOL).

My friends at work had the chance to dine in Zapata's 2 weeks ago or so. This mexican restaurant was featured in WMN website and the controversial actress and host Kris Aquino raved about their quesadillas. It was my first time to dine in Zapata's and the ambiance inside was great...big and tidy. It will instantly make you feel you're in Mexico.

Our appetizer was quesadillas. This is my favorite among the 3 dishes we ordered. I love the simple taste and you can hardly guess what type of cheese they use. We finished this dish in a snap!

Fajitas was served next. It consists of chicken stips, grilled peppers and mexi rice matched with salsa and sour cream. It's up to you how much rice & chicken you put in the tortilla.

Finally, we had tacos with soft shell. It was okay but the taste of the cheese was too mild for me. I love anything with cheese...mozarella, parmesan, cheddar etc.

I love their refreshing cold iced tea.

me and pao

toots & collyn

We left Zapata's with a smile on our face, this Mexican Resto deserves another visit.

PS: Thank you Collyn for letting me grab the photos from your blog.

Chillax with friends

Aside from malling with my kids, CJ and Acey, having a moment with friends is something I always look forward to. Simply dine in a familiar or new restos and a lot of chitchat makes the bonding complete. I have different set of friends....from work...friends since college and when I get the chance find a long lost friend through social networking, I grab the opportunity to get in touch with them, eat out and catch up.

Yes, I am a working mom, I'm raising two kids alone because hubby is am OFW for several years now, but I make it a point I still have time for myself and go out with friends. I always tell my kids, there is always time for everything and I pity other people especially working moms and acquaintances who can not afford to spare 2 to 3 hours of their time to enjoy and chillax.

My college friends and I committed to have regular bonding moments and still do such even if we're senior citizens.

Life is short, make it complete and live it to the fullest. It's a matter of time management and it's a matter of choice.

Live and Love!!!

marlyn, josielyn, chelle and me(clockwise), korean resto, August 16, 2009

with college pals...marlyn, josielyn, michelle at coffee academy, jan. 18, 2010

with friends/officemates, SubDelicious pizza house, May 07, 2009

with eds and pao, the courtyard, jan. 25, 2010

with friends from work, extremely expresso in marquee mall, feb. 2010