It’s been 4 months since I’ve been on a work from home set-up because of this pandemic that our world is embattled with. To say that I’ve adjusted well is an understatement. The lines between work and personal space and time, literally, has blurred making it difficult to keep it balanced. Not to mention the added anxiety of not seeing the enemy in this vast battlefield. As they say, life happens! 🙂 Though, I just wish for it to be a different circumstance.
It was definitely not an easy ride but somehow I’ve managed unscathed. I was able to establish a routine which is a biggie for someone like me who doesn’t like routines, at all. During plate number coding days, I wake up and do some work, then run errands for an hour or two. It’s also during these days that I make it a point to treat myself some good coffee and food. One of the many ways in keeping my sanity in check in an otherwise chaotic situation.
Another way that’s keeping me sane these days is Netflix, probably one of the best non-essential subscriptions I’ve ever made thus far. 😛 As I have a lot of time on my hands these days, I’m able to binge watch movies and series both old and new which is so much better than sulking. So, here’s my list of movies and series to binge watch on (in no particular order):
Movies
John Wick 1 and 2 — for when you’re in the mood for action and revenge; and it’s Keanu Reeves duh!
Now You See Me 1 and 2
Kingsman Secret Service
Angels and Demons
Crazy Stupid Love — Ryan Gosling people! Need I say more? 🙂
Notting Hill
Little Women
Devil Wears Prada
We’re the Millers
Chef — to feed the foodie in me
The Old Guard
Kissing Booth 1 and 2
Extraction
Sex and the City
Two Popes
Series
Prison Break
Friends
Suits (US)
Queen of the South
Money Heist
Bodyguard — very short series and only 1 season; would have wanted for it to have more seasons but Netflix didn’t think to have more
The Witcher
House of Cards
Gossip Girl
and whole bunch of KDrama series which deserves its own post, so stay tuned! 🙂
My list can go on and on, but I choose to stop here. One might observe that I have an eclectic taste in the type of movies and series I watch. Well, I’m fickle like that.
Whether I consider myself as a movie buff, I’m anything but. I still want my books and stories over these any time, as I’m left with my imagination to visualize the story I’m reading. However, for now and in the near future, I might just stick to Netflix for a little bit longer since it only involves minimal thinking. Don’t get me wrong, but I like the part where I get to rest my mind from all the thinking, especially in these trying times. 🙂 I feel that if I read books now, it’ll really stretch out my brain (awww, poor brain) no matter how shallow the book is. In time, I can get back to reading.
Let me know what you think! Leave a comment below. Bye!
Hello! Hope you’ve all been well, both safe and sane in these trying times. We’ve been on quarantine for over two months now, with no foreseeable date of when we’ll get back to our normal lives, pre-Covid 19 days. Being at home 24/7 these past months, have evoked mixed feelings to some us. If you’re like me, there are times that I feel to just bum around and just be lazy for the whole day or two, binge watching series and movies on Netflix. Other days I feel like I want to be productive and do a lot of household chores even at night time. All these and more just to keep me sane while stuck at home.
As I have so much time on my hands, and considering I can’t go out to eat my favorite foods when cravings arise, I went to my kitchen to bring these food cravings to life. In the past 2 months, I was able to test out some recipes I’ve found online and in pinterest, or make some recipes of my own. Normally, I’m not the type to make my own recipes as I’m not skilled enough to do that. I guess, this is one positive thing that came out of this quarantine for me! 🙂 Achievement unlocked, they say!
I’ve been watching a lot of k-dramas lately and almost always they have scenes where the actors are eating Korean dishes. Watching makes me go hungry and crave which is sad given that majority of the restaurants are closed; and if there are open for take out or deliveries, it’s in another city where I’m unable to enter (border restrictions).
Here are some of the recipes and dishes I’ve made. Hope you’ll try and enjoy making them as much as it did for me. Don’t forget to leave a comment below once you’ve made them and what you think of them. Enjoy!
Kimchi Fried Rice
This first recipe is a Korean inspired dish brought about by watching all these k-dramas. All you need is a good and tasty kimchi, rice (day old is ideal but newly cooked rice would also do), red onion, spring onion, garlic, sesame oil and some paste (I used tomato paste). If you want more spice and kick like typical Koreans, you can add lots and lots of chili or use their gochujang paste. I typically don’t add chili or peppers in mine as I’m not that into spicy/hot food and sometimes, spicyness would alter the taste of the dish, thus I won’t be able to appreciate the food. So, if I can opt not to have a spicy one, I’d go for it. 🙂
Here are the procedures:
Mince garlic, red onion, and spring onion separating the white part from the green part
Chop the kimchi into desired sizes. I usually use a cup or two of kimchi which is good for about 2 to 3 cups of uncooked rice (about 4 to 5 cups of cooked rice?)
Prepare the cooked rice and set aside
Heat a pan/wok, add a little bit of vegetable oil or any regular oil
Saute garlic, red onion and the white part of the spring onion.
Add in kimchi, sweat the kimchi out a bit for infused flavors. Add the kimchi juice.
Add a generous amount of sesame oil. The more sesame oil, the more flavorful your kimchi fried rice is. Thank me later! 🙂
Add about 2 to 3 tablespoon of tomato paste or ssamjang or gochujang paste. Stir and simmer for a minute.
Stir in the cooked rice. Mix well, make sure to coat your rice properly or no white parts are visible.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
Cook to your desired consistency/doneness.
Sprinkle green spring onions on top and serve.
I love to serve mine with fried egg cooked sunny side up style and with crispy SPAM pieces. I’d say this dish is already creeping it’s way to my comforting food list. It may not sound or look healthy but comforting foods need not necessarily be a healthy one, right?
You can have this dish anytime of the day and pair it with other dishes or viands.
Just so you know, this is one of the few dishes or food that I’ve made from scratch, which is a success on a first try! If I was able to successfully do this, so can you. This is a type of recipe that’s easy to follow and need not require us with culinary degrees. 🙂
Pepperonccino Pasta
I was craving for pasta one day. Something that’s easy to make and with lesser time to prepare. A pasta that’s not too “heavy”, meaning those that’s not cream based or red sauce based.
I remember eating this kind of pasta dish from my previous workplace and just haven’t had the time to experiment and create one at home.
The recipe is simple and also easy to follow. You only need pasta, bell pepper, garlic, red onion, sili espada (Philippine chili variety), cherry tomato or regular tomatoes would do as well, and parmesan cheese. For the pasta, you can choose whatever you like spaghetti, penne, fusili.
When I made this, the only available pasta in the kitchen was spaghetti so that’s what I used. For the cheese, I think only parmesan would pair best with the sauce compared to mozzarella or cheddar. This is because mozzarella and cheddar cheese are on the creamier, runnier and heavier side.
First off, boil water with salt in a casserole. While waiting, mince garlic, red onion, bell pepper and the sili espada. Cut the cherry tomatoes into halves.
When the water has boiled, put the pasta in and cook until al dente. Make sure to not overcook your pasta so that it’ll not be soggy when you eat it.
In a pan, heat a tablespoon of butter and olive oil (or just enough for the pasta you’ve cooked). Since these are experimental recipes, I don’t have the exact proportions of the ingredients. I just estimate. 🙂 Saute garlic, onions, peppers, and cherry tomatoes. Add in your cooked pasta.
What I did was from the casserole I just took out the pasta and transferred them straight to the pan with the sautéed spices. Don’t worry about the excess water from the boiled pasta, it’ll actually help make your dish not dry and the water would also help bind all of them together beautifully. Add in salt and black pepper to taste. Serve it while it’s hot and sprinkle a generous amount of parmesan cheese on top.
This is my pepperonccino pasta. I served mine with margherita toasts on the side.
For the margherita toast, I cut up a baguettini into 4 parts (half then half). In a pan, I’ve heated up butter with crushed garlic and toast up the baguettinis. Once the toasted side is in a nice golden brown color, I took it out of the pan. I then spread some tomato sauce on the toasted side, topped it with regular medium sized sliced tomatoes. I then grated some cheddar cheese on top. I’ve used Magnolia Quickmelt cheese. Once done, I’ve put them in the oven for about 5 to 10 minutes or until the cheese melted and the bread is crispy or toasted.
This dish has no meat but still a very filling one. It would have been best paired with white wine or a moscato, but it’s liquor ban, so water it is!
Chia Pudding and Overnight Oats
I was able to buy a kilo of chia seeds a while back, which is a lot. Now I have chia seeds to last me a lifetime.
I usually mix it with lemon juice for a pick me up drink. But you can only use that much of chia for a drink. So, I looked at Pinterest for chia pudding recipes and other uses of chia. I was able to add in one of my butter cakes, and it was just so-so. As chia seeds are bland so it doesn’t have the umph feel when combined with cakes. It was from that trial and error that I’ve appreciated chia seeds in drinks and puddings better.
For my chia pudding, I used greek yoghurt instead of milk. I found that with yoghurt, the chia seeds will bloom/set faster compared to milk and I just love the sour taste of yoghurt. I just mix together 4 tablespoons of greek yoghurt or plain yoghurt, 3 tablespoons of chia seeds, and 1 tablespoon of honey or syrup. Mix them all together and make sure that every chia seeds especially those in the bottom of your mug/jar is included in the mix. Set it for about a minute. Top this with your favorite fresh fruits and nuts, and you’re good to go.
My version of overnight oats, I used 4 tablespoon of rolled oats, 1 tablespoon of chia seeds, 1 tablespoon of honey, and 1/2 cup of milk (fresh milk or low-fat or non-fat or almond). Mix them all together and put them in the fridge (overnight). In the morning, you can top them with fresh fruits and nuts of your choice and eat them up. The next time I’m making this, I might want to add in 2 tablespoons of greek yogurt and lessen the milk. Will see! 🙂
Chia Pudding
Overnight Oats with chia seed, almonds, and banana
Overnight Oats with chia seeds, almonds, and banana
It has been 2 years since my Mom joined our Creator. Around this time 2 years ago, we were in the waiting game for Mom to give up on her own and lose in her battle of cancer. It was a very stressful and difficult time for the family. No amount or period of preparedness will ever help in accepting and understanding the situation.
Children, no matter what age we are at, we’ll always be dependent on our Moms. Our houses are not homes without our Moms. They run the household with expertise and grace that only we can try to emulate. One of the first persons we call or go to for new or just any mundane stories we have, is our Moms. So, to say that losing Mom was an easy acceptance and a brief grieving period, is an understatement.
I had a hard time adjusting to the new normal that my Dad and I are faced with. I wasn’t ready to take on the responsibilities that my Mom left me with. It’s a very big shoes to fill and I can never be like her. It’s been 2 years and yet, I’m still adjusting. It’s really true what they say, adulting is hard and it’s a struggle, especially for me who was very dependent on my Mom for these things.
She left us, to be in a happy and peaceful place, where there’s no more pain. We were constantly telling these to ourselves, to ease the pain in losing her forever. Living our lives every day since then were no longer the same. I tried my best to bring some semblance of normalcy in living, especially at home for the sake of my Dad. I know we both have different grieving processes and it wasn’t an easy one too. I miss Mom, but I know Dad misses her more, being his lifetime partner. Eventually, we’ll be ok and we’ll learn to accept. 🙂
2 years since and I still haven’t dreamed of Mommy. I’m starting to get jealous of Daddy and my cousins, my Mom’s favorite nieces, because they’ve dreamed of her several times already. Maybe Mom knows and sees from wherever she’s at that I’m not ready, and that I’ll still breakdown. So, I guess I’ll just have to wait and be patient. All I can do is, relive her time here with us and my memories of and with her.
Mommy had a well lived and full life. She was very prayerful, caring, generous, helpful, and selfless. She loves to travel to different places, both old and new. Though she’s not the adventurous type traveler, she still knows how to make every travel she took, count and memorable. When she comes home to us after her every travel, she always had lots of stories to share. She was a wife, a Mom, a giving older sister to her siblings, a great friend, and a mentor. She had a lot of hats to wear every day, and she always tries to excel at it, and rightfully so. But to me, she’ll always be my Mom, such that even in the afterlife I’d still want her to be my Mom.
In this time of quarantine, I miss Mom more than ever. She would have been very busy at home, cooking for us and letting all of us do the chores. She would be constantly calling her brothers to check up on them, given that they’re both front liners. And since she’s very prayerful, I think we’ll be praying almost every hour for this pandemic to end. I believe in God, in the power of prayers, however, I have this theory that my Mom’s prayers will almost always be heard by God. They’re tight, like that and it’s so comforting to know and see. That said, I know I’ll be at peace then. 🙂
Mom, we miss you everyday. Continue to watch over us and guide us in everything we do. Please whisper in Jesus’ ears to heal our world from this pandemic. I do hope that you’ll visit me in my dreams one of these days. I love you! Thank you for being my Mom.
How are you guys holding up in this crisis? I do hope you and your family are all safe and healthy. Let’s fervently pray that this will be all over soon, so we can get back on with our lives, pre-community quarantine period. By the way, I would like to apologize for being quiet these past few weeks. There was just a lot going on in my life that I didn’t have the time to blog even if I wanted to. Add to that this pandemic we’re all facing, I used my free time to rest and stock up on groceries for the quarantine period.
Anyway, with the rise of the number of Corona virus disease 2019 cases (confirmed and otherwise) in the country and in the Province, our company decided to let all of us work from home/remotely. It’s for our own safety and our respective families. As a first timer in working from home (WFH) set-up, I really thought that I’ll be battling myself in resisting temptations like sleeping, Netflix all day, eating, what have you. Oh, how very wrong was I!
Day 2 into WFH, I had little time to stand up and stretch. I even forgot to eat as I was too busy, of which I didn’t know why. I’m already busy at the office, as it is, but at home, I’m so much more. I’m thinking maybe because it’s harder to collaborate (both discussing and arguing) with your Cebu team now, compared to when you’re all physically at the office? At the office you can just easily book a conference room or go to the person/s directly to talk or go have walks together. In a remote set-up, collaboration is virtual and you can’t help but ran into technology issues — internet intermittent connections, work applications not working properly, etc.
So now I’m wishing that my initial thoughts/feelings on WFH were true! I think I would have handled that well since I have anticipated it already. Anyhow, here are some tips for you in working from home successfully, based on my personal experience (a week into WFH):
Look for a place in your home to set up makeshift office space.
Make sure that the place is cool and conducive for you to work and immediately get in the “zone”. Having a cool place will also help your laptops / desktops from overheating.
Make sure that the place is ergonomically friendly, such that your posture will not be compromised.
Keep in mind the distance of your makeshift office space to that of your router or LAN cables.
Make sure to have a space where you can write your notes or put your headset, mouse and all other gadgets needed.
Stock up on water and some snacks. Just make sure to clean it up after eating so as not to invite unnecessary bugs and insects in your office space.
When taking a call especially with your foreign counterparts, make sure that you’re using your headsets. Doing such will help in cancelling / blocking off all other background noises like dogs barking, tv noise, crowing of the roosters, etc.
If you’re like me, I have 2 separate working stations: 1) for taking calls, 2) doing work/coding. I usually set up my station for taking calls 15-30 minutes prior to the actual meeting time. That way I have time to check on my connection and all my other things I need for the meeting are prepared in the station.
If your internet connection is bad and has been going on for days already, you might want to consider changing your internet service provider.
If your work applications are not working well, make sure you know who and how to reach out to your IT team.
These are just basic tips but it did serve me well this past week such that I could say that the first week of WFH was a success! 🙂 Do I want this set-up to be a forever thing, um No! I want to go out and meet people. Doing this for a long period of time would make me go “crazy-ier”, I’m already crazy as it is! Happy working from home!
As a kid, I’m not allowed to take coffee. I may or may not have asked my Mom her reasons then, either way I followed such “orders” and opted to have cold milk instead. It was only during college days when I got to take coffee, during “burning the midnight oil” sessions as they say. My Mom had no choice since I need to be up in the wee hours of the morning to do school work and drinking milk just won’t do it. I’m also not into carbonated drinks ever since high school as I just find these too sweet for my taste, so the next best thing is coffee.
Like any noob coffee drinker, I had undergone various effects from drinking coffee. I had to try out different brands (3-in-1), different level of sweetness/bitterness. Little did I know that these wouldn’t make much difference. I had palpitations then especially when drinking black coffee, I had hyperacidity, and I sometimes have diarrhea ( sorry TMI 🙂 ). Even then, coffee has no effect in making me stay awake. It’ll perk me up just for an hour or two, after I’m back to being sleepy which is such a struggle most of the time.
I could say that my coffee preference has evolved over time. If there’s anything that stayed up until now, it’s in how I take my coffee — iced. I started out with the sweet-milky types, then went on to sweet with more coffee infused ones, and now to bitter and black coffee ones. As to why the evolution, I have no idea! And I think it has nothing to do with age. But an interesting evolution all the same. 🙂
Here are my coffee preferences to date:
Iced Americano, no water, with mint syrup, and shaken
I usually get this at Starbucks since among all the coffeeshops, they are the ones who are ok with drink customizations. This drink was introduced to me by my cousin. She knew of this drink from her previous boss, whose go to drink at Starbucks is this. My cousin knowing my taste, encouraged me try this out. And ever since that day, this has been my choice. It’s very refreshing and it has the kick that I love!
Iced caramel macchiato or iced mocha, both have been ousted from my top coffee drink list (if there’s such a thing).
Iced Cafe Latte with Hazelnut or English Toffee
Whenever I’m at Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf or Abaca Baking Company, this is my choice of drink. If they have a non-fat milk option, I’d prefer that. Not because I’m health conscious (fat and sugars) but having it in non-fat milk relatively offsets the sweetness of the hazelnut or English toffee syrup. 🙂
White Cold Brew
In recent years, cold brew was the latest trend in coffee processing. For a novice coffee aficionado, I didn’t understand the cold brew process but I definitely love the taste. This drink was first introduced to me by my friends from Yolk Coffee and Breakfast. White Brew is Yolk’s own version of cold brew coffee.
I really love the taste, super milky and creamy, and still has that coffee taste. I tried other’s version/take on this, but it’s just not the same with that of Yolk’s. Either the coffee taste is overpowered by the milk and cream or it’s too sweet for my liking.
Dark Caramel Cold Foam Nitro
Just a few months back, one of our visiting US counterparts at work, got us (the coffee buddies at work club) to try this one out. It’s cold brew infused with nitrogen. A close descriptive association I can get you is draft beer. Both have similar dispenser and set-up, it’s just that with draft beer, carbon dioxide is used and with coffee it’s nitrogen. You can get this drink at select Starbuck outlets in Cebu.
I find the container a bit fancy compared to your regular iced coffee drinks. It has a hard plastic top lid and you’re not given a straw but rather you’re to sip on it. At first sip, you’ll feel the foam and the bitterness of the strong coffee outright. I would say that this one is an acquired taste and that not all will appreciate it. In fact, my coffee buddies didn’t quite liked it. As for me, I liked it, so much so that I would get one when in those select Starbuck stores. Heads up though, it’s a bit pricey compared to your regular Starbucks drinks and it only comes in 2 sizes (Tall and Grande).
Let me know what you guys think should you decide to try these drinks. 🙂 I’m not paid to advertise these but knowing that you guys like it would definitely make me feel validated on my taste preferences!
This is a story of how I came to be a foodie. A foodie, that’s a bit credible and legitimate (as I’d like to think) even without the formal chef educational background.
Growing up, I’ve been exposed to having my Mom’s side of the family to be well versed in the kitchen. My Mom and her siblings are the type, where each of them have their own specialties and that during family gatherings, they’ll always bring sumptuous food that they’ve made from scratch. By the way, my Mom and her siblings, like me are also not formally trained to be chefs/cooks. They’re all just very passionate with the craft and they really made time to learn and develop the skill over the years. So, can you imagine the pressure we’re faced with, as their children?
That said, my Mom will always let us help her out in the kitchen whenever she’s cooking/baking. Primarily because she needs the extra hands for the work to be done and for us to learn and become a great homemaker someday. She has this theory that since we are girls, we are expected to be a homemaker one day (that is, when we have our own families). To her, if we know nothing about cooking and managing a household, it’ll put her in a bad light, such that her upbringing methods will be questioned. A tad bit old school, eh?!
As a kid, I like these sessions with my Mom. But over time, it became tasking and annoying since my Mom is very particular — from the process to the slicing and dicing of ingredients. If the output is not within or same as what she expected and instructed, all hell will break loose! I usually prepare myself for the whole day nagging that will ensue. 🙂 However, it was from these nagging episodes that I learned. I literally learned the hard way and I wouldn’t have it any other way! 😛
My Mom believed that if you know how to eat, then you should also know how to cook. Such belief is actually logical but it requires a lot of patience and hard work to do it successfully. Ever since I’ve heard this belief, it sort of became my mantra. I think this is one of the reasons why I got hooked into cooking/baking and in becoming a foodie. That and the influence of social media and the internet, I was able to learn how to taste and describe the food, no matter how subjective it can get.
The Siblings and their Better halves
I know there’s still a lot for me to learn and hone, especially in making some of the family’s heirloom recipes. However, with time, drive and enough willingness, I’m optimistic that I’ll get to learn and hone this craft, and be at par with my Mom and her siblings’ skills.
Bye for now folks! I’m off to honing this craft or not?! 🙂
Anything Korean has hit Cebu, hard — from k-pop, k-drama to food! I guess, of all the Korean wave that’s in town, it’s the Korean food I’m more lured to. Because, it’s food! 🙂 Who doesn’t like food?
Whether you’re in the mood for a famous Korean’s samgyupsal or egg toasts or chicken and beer or their street foods, we now have it here in Cebu. There’s no need for us to fly to Korea and get these, though eating all these in Korea would also be great and a different experience altogether. There are a lot of cafes and restaurants that offer Korean cuisines; here are some of my go to places, for my Korean food fix:
Korean fried chicken
I was first introduced to this kind of fried chicken via Bonchon Chicken. When it first opened its doors here in the Cebu, a lot of people were lining up. I thought it was hyped up that much given how picky the Cebu market is. So, when I finally had the chance to taste it, I wasn’t so impressed by it. I found it a little bit bland, the breading soggy, and definitely something I wouldn’t go back for.
However, when a friend of mine brought me to Chosun Chicken, it was there that I came to appreciate the Korean fried chicken. Their fried chicken is really crispy in the outside, tender and juicy in the inside. What I like with their fried chicken, the breading is not that thick and even when aired out for a couple of hours, it was able to maintain its crispiness. It’s super tasty too. Their fried chicken comes in different sauces from just plain fried chicken to super spicy flavored one, and you can get the chicken either all wings, all legs, or mixed or boneless. It comes in 2 serving sizes as well, whole and half. I usually go for boneless chosun sauce chicken, since I don’t like the hassle of eating off the bones and there’s only a certain level of spiciness that I can tolerate. In my experience, sometimes with too much spice or adding spice would alter the taste of your food; and I want to enjoy the taste of my food. Thus, I go for the non-spicy ones most of the time.
Chosun Fried Chicken Wings
Ramyun
As mentioned I’m not that into too much spiciness. But it’s not Korean if it’s not spicy, right?! And all of their noodles, at least the tasty ones, are a bit spicy. So, Ramyuns are a welcome exceptions to me. 🙂 There’s something with Korea’s instant noodles that I like, it’s firm and aldente unlike our local noodles here in the Philippines. When cooking our instant noodles, we always have to be conscious not to overcook it since it’ll be soggy in no time. With Korean instant noodles, it’s so not the case.
If I cook ramyun at home, I usually go for this brand and these flavors (refer to the picture on the left). Recently, they have a new flavor (Shrimp), I’ve tried it and I’ve loved it — so another addition to my stash. It’s not too spicy and it’s still tasty even if spicy. I usually add an egg and a slice of cheese. This, taken on a rainy day, is heaven!
If I’m at Chosun Chicken, I also get their cheesy ramyun to pair with my chicken. To me, it’s a combination that can never go wrong.
Samgyupsal
We, Filipinos, are no strangers to grilled foods. So when samgyupsal was introduced, it was a no brainer for us, it was an instantaneous hit. Add to that the unlimited servings of pork belly and premium beef, plus all kinds of Korean side dishes — it screams winner, alright.
My top 3 samgyupsal places are Kaya, Samgyupsalamat, and Daega. Each of these restaurants has something unique of its own to offer that sets them apart from other samgyupsal places. Kaya has the yummiest steam egg as one of their side dishes offerings. Though their samgyupsal is not unlimited, but it’s of good quality pork and beef. Between the 3, Kaya is also the priciest and the fanciest. You’d be expecting a much upscale crowd when you get in, compared to the other 2.
Samgyupsalamat and Daega offers unlimited samgyupsal. With Samgyupsalamat, there’s no need for you to go get your side dishes from the buffet table like Daega is, since the servers will just give them to you when you request for refills. Another thing I like with Samgyupsalamat, they offer unlimited cheese and their drinks (iced tea) is also unlimited; and the fact that they close around 3am, is really perfect! Daega is the cheapest between the 3; they only have pork belly samgyupsal and offers 20 side dishes compared to the others with only 4 or 5 side dishes (these are also the common ones — kimchi, rice, etc.). This is one of the reasons I go to Daega, because of the side dishes. I love their tteokbokki! Other samgyupsal places don’t have this or if they have it’ll be an additional and separate order.
There’s a recently opened samgyupsal in IT Park, it’s Romantic Baboy. It has the same price range as Samgyupsalamat, however, they have a camote-cue (sweet potato fried in caramelized brown sugar) side dish that I love. They also have ramyun, tteokbokki, and kimchi fried rice, among others, that you can order separately from the unlimited samgyupsal. I might have to go back and try their ramyun! 🙂
Egg toast
It was around 3-4am and I was browsing my YouTube’s news feeds when I came across “Eat with Boki” mukbang series. Imagine my hunger pangs after watching her videos! In one of her mukbang series, I saw she ate egg toasts (eggcellent brand). Looking at that video, I was curious and interested to taste Korean egg toast sandwiches. I then searched if I can find similar egg toasts here in Cebu. Lo and behold, I found in instagram that Cafe Elim has their own version of these sandwiches.
Looking at their IG pictures, I then decided to visit their cafe and have a taste of this sandwich. It really didn’t disappoint. It tasted as good as it looks. There are several fillings that you can choose from for these sandwiches. I usually go for the spam and cheese or ham and cheese variety. These sandwiches comes in a box, that makes it easier for you to hold and take a bite. The box keeps the excess oils and dressing inside as well, such these messiness will not go to your hands or table or anywhere.
At first, I found the dressing a bit sweet to my liking but later on, the sweetness complemented well with the spam or ham and cheese’s saltiness. The bread or toast was buttery soft and the scrambled egg was fluffy and not overly cooked in which it was able to maintain it’s juiciness and softness. You guys should definitely try this!
Pongpong Cereal Shake
This is a Korean milkshake topped with Pong Pong (Korean cereal brand). The pongpong has a peculiar taste, it’s crunchy but has that little bit of sweet and spicy taste which surprisingly complements with the vanilla milkshake. I thought this will be a super sweet treat, but how I was wrong!
I usually get this drink at Cafe Elim. I don’t know if other Korean coffee shops have this, or if they do have, it didn’t picked my interest then in the same manner Cafe Elim did.
This drink could be a good alternative to milk teas or coffee based drinks. I believe it’s kid friendly too — cereal and not too sweet, eh. I would recommend taking this treat alone so as not have an unlimited sugar rush high. But that’s just me, I have a not-so-sweet tooth. 😛
All these food talk is making me hungry! And the cold, gloomy day is not helping either. Bye folks! I’m onto my next food adventure.
Currently, I have a self-imposed travel ban. A ban, I don’t see being lifted anytime soon. Believe me, I’m happy with this decision that I’ve made awhile back. However, I do miss the rush, excitement, exhilaration, and confusion that traveling brings — from the planning stages up to the actual travel itself. In the meantime, will just share with you stories of some of my most memorable trips.
I can’t specifically recall when and how I’ve caught the travel bug. I ain’t complaining though, since this is a bug that’s so rewarding and refreshing at any given time. Maybe my Mom influenced me to travel, as when we were kids we’d often go on summer vacations? Or perhaps when flights were made cheaper and affordable for anyone? Or that moment when I realized early on as a kid that I want to become a Stewardess/Flight Attendant for the free travels? Whatever the when’s and how’s, I’m still so thankful I got the bug!
Seoul, South Korea, December 2014
This is a trip I took with my parents. A first for us to travel during the Christmas season, first international trip after several years (17 years?), and first time for us to experience winter season. Back in the day, Christmas season in our family is very busy and always not a good time to be out of town, much more out of country. It is because, we have a lot of food orders (my Mom’s side business) around this time. We were supposed to take this trip end of November on the same year, in time for my Mom’s birthday to be celebrated out of country, but we got notified by Air Asia that time that the scheduled flight will have to be moved. Moving it to end of December was our last chance of availing our booked flights, otherwise forfeited. Don’t think that Mommy and I didn’t have an argument with this, we so did!
I was the only one planning this trip from the flight bookings, visa applications, up to the itinerary — a test in my travel planning skills. I’m the type of traveller who likes to explore and immerse in the culture, city, and food. But with this trip, since I’m with my parents and they are a bit old and non-adventurers unlike me, I had to consider a lot of things. I asked help from my friend who owns Green Earth Tours and Travel (visit greenearth.com.ph for your inquiries) to book us our hotel, airport transfers, and day tours. This trip was really one for the books. More than all the firsts I’ve mentioned, I got to see my parents enjoy the trip I’ve partially funded. It was my way of giving back to them. 🙂
Ilocos, Philippines, May 2015
May 24, 2015 was the 40th wedding anniversary of my parents. At that time, Mommy had a scheduled PAMET (Philippine Association of Medical Technologists) convention that she can’t not attend. So in order for us to have a celebration on their 40th wedding anniversary, I thought of me and Daddy following her in Ilocos. Thankfully, Daddy agreed of going as it was also his dream of visiting Ilocos someday. Upon hearing my plans, my cousins (maternal side) and Mom’s brothers and Sis-in-laws, didn’t think twice of joining in on the fun trip.
As there were about 14 of us traveling to Ilocos, it was difficult to make the trip a DIY kind. So I’ve asked help again from my trustee friend of Green Earth Tours for the transportation (airport pick up and transfers), tours, and accommodation arrangements. Majority of the group wants to drop by Baguio, but we’ve been there in the past, so Daddy and I decided to take a not so early flight to Manila and will just meet with the group in Vigan. It was this trip that I got to bond with Daddy more and a first for the both of us to be traveling on our own together. 🙂 This trip didn’t start off right since Daddy is very time conscious, we were so early in the airport like 2 hours prior to our flight, only to be delayed for 4 hours. Good thing when we arrived in Manila, we were then able to ride a taxi going to the bus terminal to take us to Vigan. I was able to book us for the last bus trip.
This trip was a memorable one for me, for a couple of reasons. 1) I got to bond with Dad alone in the trip from Cebu to Vigan, 2) I learned how super patient my Dad is. He didn’t complain at all even with the delayed flight, bad food for him (we were given Chicken Joy as a “sorry” for the super delayed flight) since he doesn’t like chicken, 3) first for us to celebrate Mom and Dad’s wedding anniversary out of town, 4) first trip/travel with my cousins outside of Cebu which catapulted a now yearly bonding activity, 5) in this trip, we were able to visit a lot of tourist attractions that either we only see in postcards, movies or in our history books in school, 6) I was able to taste the local food in these cities and got to appreciate Philippine history a little bit more.
Mexico City, North America, October 2015
This was my first International birthday trip. It was also my first time to join in a Pilgrimage (for Virgin of Guadalupe), and first time to travel to the US alone. I followed Mommy there since she had an Opus Dei event which started 2 days prior to my scheduled flight. We’ve been convincing Daddy to go with us, but he didn’t want to.
I remembered, I was so excited with this trip since I will be able to eat legit Mexican food, experience the Fall season, and meet with my Aunt, Uncle and cousins (Dad’s younger sister and her family) in Chicago, Illinois, after. It was also Mommy’s first time to be visiting my Aunt in Chicago. However, during my actual birthdate, we got news from Mom’s staff that Daddy was weak and that his speech was starting to slur. So they brought him to the hospital for him to be checked, just to be sure; only to find out that Dad had stroke. What was supposedly a fun escape and bonding for me and Mommy, it turned out to be an unpleasant experience, with Daddy at the hospital and we’re very far from him, from home.
Anyway, we still managed to be present so as not to dampen the mood of the other people in the Pilgrimage with us. We’ve prayed and prayed and prayed some more for Daddy to be ok and for Mommy to be able to go home ahead of schedule. Mommy was unable to rebook her flight from Mexico, so we went ahead to Chicago and meet with my Aunt. It was in Chicago that Mommy was able to rebook her flight home with no rebooking costs incurred — awesome God’s work! 🙂 She then went home ahead of me, while I was left behind for almost a week. Memorable, eh?
“Live with no excuses and travel with no regrets.”
— Adventure in You
See, this is what I love about traveling, every travel is a unique story on its own. I still have a lot of travel stories worth sharing. I guess this deserves a part 2. Do wait for it! 🙂
Indeed, it’s true what they say, “Traveling — It leaves you speechless, then turns you into a Storyteller.” It’s so fun remembering all that transpired in every trip you take. You’ll notice that you get to know and understand yourself more every time, and improve your views in life, other cultures and peoples.
I love me a good book. In my definition, a good book is something relatable (plot & setting alike), something that gets me hooked from start to finish such that skipping meals & losing sleep is acceptable, something that gets me to laugh out loud or smile in giddiness, something heartwarming and allows me to think. I know, my choice of books is a tad bit shallow. 😛 But, at the end of the day, we read books to escape our realities. It’s a reprieve! So, why would I subject myself to stressful books? 😛
I’m the type who’s more gravitated towards reading book series more than stand alone ones. I like the continuity of the characters’ stories. With stand alone books, especially if the author is great, I find myself asking for more, unsatisfied, and sometimes sad for the story has to end. Here are my top 5 book series, in no particular order:
Cocktail series of Alice Clayton
Sometime in 2013, I was going through goodreads.com’s Choice Awards for the year and I chanced upon the Funny as Hell! list of books wherein “Wallbanger” by Alice Clayton is listed as #1. This is the first book in her Cocktail series and based on the reviews from goodreads, it was really worth reading. So I downloaded an ebook copy and started to read it. Indeed it was funny as hell, like I was laughing out loud while reading it. The title itself will make you curious already. Suddenly, I wish I have a cat like Caroline, which speaks volumes for a dog person like me. The other books in the series are Rusty Nailed, Screwdrivered, and Mai Tai’d Up. Just like any series (tv shows, film or books) it’s best to read them in order. That way you’ll know all the characters’, main and otherwise, histories and interrelationships. Although, you can always read them as a stand alone too.
screenshot from goodreads.com
This was the first series I’ve read written by Alice Clayton. I like her style of writing and her way of injecting wit, humor, and romance in every page even if it’s only the female point of view. She’s one of my go-to authors now. She had another series which I also like, the Hudson Valley series. However, between the two, it’s the Cocktail series that I found so funny and the dynamics of the characters (the gang, Clive — Caroline’s cat) is so realistic. Here’s the link to the series’ summaries — https://www.goodreads.com/series/116285-cocktail.
2. FBI/US Attorney series of Julie James
screenshot from goodreads.com
To feed my legal fantasies, Julie James’ FBI/US Attorney series, did the trick. There’s something about intellectual conversations and arguments between a man and a woman that calls on me. Add to that a strong and independent woman and a hard to get/tough guy. A winning plot, right? It’s through this series that I understood, as it was described appropriately, intellectual conversations are sexy and steamy as hell, and is also considered as a foreplay to some.
What I like about Julie James’ writing style is that she also shows the point of view of the male lead characters. This way, we get an insight on the male lead’s thought processes in every situation in the story. With this kind of writing style, not everyone can achieve an organized story telling at the same time encourage the reader to empathize with the lead characters. To me, Julie James was able to do that. I think this male POV is what got me to continue reading Julie James’ works apart from the interesting stories she constructs. It’s like reading Julie Garwood or Judith McNaught books, but a more refreshing one.
The series has a total of 7 books. Set in a shared world of the Chicago justice system. The characters are either FBI agents, who investigates crimes and/or US Attorneys, who prosecutes the offenders. If you are someone who’s interested in US law or law in general, jargons and all, this series is for you. This is the link to the book summaries of this series — https://www.goodreads.com/series/62812-fbi-us-attorney. All books can be read as a stand alone but if you’re like me who wants to know the histories of the characters appearing in the later books, then you’ll read them in order.
3. Marriage to a Billionaire series of Jennifer Probst
I was in National Bookstore when I came across “The Marriage Bargain”, the first book in Jennifer Probst’s Marriage to a Billionaire series. I was just going through the aisles with no particular thing in mind to buy, when I spotted the book. I read the summary and found it interesting. I then checked goodreads.com for the reviews; satisfied, I then downloaded the book. I can say that going through the aisles was definitely worth it!
Jennifer Probst has a similar writing style with Julie James. She has the male lead’s POV as well. I liked this series because of it’s embedded love spell or magic. Not that I believe in love spells, but to be honest, I almost did what they (the lead female characters) did in the series — writing the characteristics you’d want for your future husband. Then, I realized that this is a work of fiction and that I don’t like the burning part of the ritual. So much naiveté! 😛
There are 4 main books in this series, which I suggest you read in order. It’s because the lead characters in every book are somehow connected — brother / sister of the lead character in the previous book. This is not your typical marriage of convenience or loving a billionaire kind of books as it has that magic/ love spell induced spice in the story and that the characters have different nationalities as well (American and Italians) wherein the innate characteristics and nuances of the differing nationalities have been aptly described by Jennifer Probst. If you read them as a stand alone, the story is still well written and how it was being told is still engaging, but you won’t be able to understand the dynamics of the characters that much and the process of the casting the love spell. Here’s the link to the book summaries — https://www.goodreads.com/series/78455-marriage-to-a-billionaire.
There’s a spinoff to this series, it’s called the Searching For series. This series still has that embedded love spell/magic spice but set in an actual matchmaking agency. In case you’re interested, here’s the link to the book summaries — https://www.goodreads.com/series/102328-searching-for.
screenshot from goodreads.com
4. Tangled series of Emma Chase
This is the first book/series I’ve read on a male POV the entire time. A very unique take on novels written by a female at that. It’s puzzling to me how Emma Chase was able to successfully write these kinds of books. How she was able to get inside a man’s head and be able to engage a woman to read her work and be empathic to the lead characters as well, is surprising. I guess this is what sets her apart from other authors and be able to carve a niche in the process.
The Tangled series revolves around the lives of playboy billionaire Drew Evans and a beautiful, brilliant, and ambitious Katherine (Kate) Brooks. The first book was in Drew’s point of view in its entirety while the second book was in Kate’s perspective. The third book was about their best friends’ Mathew and Dee Dee. The first book was left hanging as was intended by the author, thus, you need to read them all in order. Here’s the link to the book summaries — https://www.goodreads.com/series/104332-tangled.
screenshot from goodreads.com
5. Beautiful Bastard series of Christina Lauren
I discovered this series around the time I’ve discovered the Wallbanger, it was through the Funny as Hell! list. It wasn’t at the top but still part of the top 10 in the list. Ok, I’ll come clean, I ended up reading most of the books in that list. 😛
Christina Lauren is actually a combined pen name of besties. You’d think that with a combined pen name, the story telling would be a bit chaotic given that each has their own thoughts and ideas presented. In this case, however, it wasn’t. The story telling was great and well written. Like the Julie James series, this was written in dual(male and female) perspectives, which I prefer.
screenshot from goodreads.com
The series has a total of 5 primary books with 4 extended versions. This series revolves around the lives of 3 billionaire friends and how they’ve met their significant others. If you want a fun, filthy, and light read, this series is for you. It has the right amount of filthiness and sweetness that makes the each books a page turner. Here are the link to the book summaries — https://www.goodreads.com/series/90828-beautiful-bastard.
There are other book series that I’ve read and are also equally entertaining from different and/or same authors. However, I decided to keep the list to 5 so as not overwhelm you. Now is a good time to read them, as all the series have been completed. You wouldn’t have to wait for months or years for the next book/s in the series to be released. You know sometimes, waiting is a pain! 😛
To those of you who have read the series mentioned, do let me know your thoughts. I’m thinking I might be rereading them soon and your comments/thoughts might give me another perspective. Happy reading, everyone! 🙂
People these days have this notion that being single is lonely, boring, and desolate. Do I agree??? For all of my living years in this world, I’ve never had a boyfriend. It’s not a conscious choice of circumstance, but that is just the deck of cards I was/am dealt with in life currently. That said, am I lonely, bored, and desolate? Nope, definitely not.
I believe that happiness is a choice and that one’s civil status and/or preference has nothing to do with it. To each his own, as they say. In these crazy times, there’s always something that you can do such that there’s no room for boredom or in dwelling on your singleness. There are times that I wish I could extend my day; 24 hours a day is just not enough — it’s that crazy, I know. Try dwelling on adulting, instead — it’s tough!
A coined term or label or slang for those women, myself included, who are in this category, is NBSB – for No Boyfriend Since Birth. Folks abound, knowing you’re NBSB, almost always as if right on cue, will have different comments and opinions flying at you. Comments such as “you’re too picky!”, “you’re so career oriented”, “you’re not actively looking”, “you’re looking from all the wrong places”, “you’re not going out often and meeting new people”, “you need to have a new circle of friends”, “you’re not praying for him”, “you weren’t specific in your prayers”, “you’re too strict, intimidating”, blah blah blah!
To be honest, these comments don’t annoy me much, as I can always just tune them out or smile or have a sarcastic response. It all depends on the person who said such remarks. To a point that these don’t bother or pressure me at all since I’m contented with my life right now; and I feel that I just don’t have the time to take care of someone or build a relationship, and be responsible, as I have a crazy adulting life as it is.
image from zoosk.com
The only time I feel pressured and all these gets to my head is during the singles’ games in weddings. Maybe because with the comments, I know how to deflect, tune them out, and what/how to react, while the singles’ games in weddings, you have no choice but to be put on the spot (stage and center) for other people to see and judge. Oh society! Don’t take me wrong, I love games! It brings out the competitive spirit in me and hones my strategic skills as well. However, this is the only game that I so dread, as in DREAD! During this time, I always wish that if only I have and I’m with someone! Very loser-ish feels eh! Whatever! The hell I care! I hate to be put on the spot, especially for this reason. 😛 My cousin’s wedding is coming up in 2 days, can you guys help me in getting away from joining this game? Pretty, please? 🙂
image from spirit button.com
Will I continue to be an NBSB up until I die? Will I die alone? Will I ever meet that one man, God has destined for me? Do I have to start entertaining thoughts of dying an old maid, spinster? Should I be embracing single blessedness then? All thought provoking questions I need to ask myself and come to terms with, sooner or later. For now, I’ll just continue to enjoy being awesome, free, and seizing the day even though single.
Hey, Girl! The world doesn’t stop just because you’re single. And that being single is lonely, boring and desolate, are just mere misconceptions. You’re in-charge of your life, civil status and/or preference included. We have to make peace with all of these and learn to know and love ourselves more. Also, bear in mind that our love stories are yet to be completed. Who knows that special someone will just appear; by then we’re ready to love and embrace him into our crazy life.
SingleBakedMiss by KiaraC 