The Reliability and Allure of Starbucks Philippines

As a coffee drinker, I go to Starbucks mainly for their hot coffee, not for the frapuccino. It has gotten to a point that my favorite drink is the brew of the day because I love all their flavorful bagged coffee variants.

On a rainy night, stuck in a place with all coffee shops open and seats available, I would still choose Starbucks. Why? Simply because they have been around the Philippines for some years now and they have developed a keen knowledge on how best to serve the clients. Here are the things I love:

1. Baristas will try their best to remember your name and the coffee you normally order.

2. Baristas take the time to understand your order no matter how complicated or unique you want it to be. I would add flavored shots to almost anything and they don't give me that weird look. I would ask them to remove the whipped cream and make it a non-fat milk and nobody puts on an attitude that I am not enjoying Frapuccino as how it is naturally served.

3. I like the wrapped sandwiches, the bagel, and the corned beef pan de sal. Corned beef pan de sal seems to have a full serving of a solo can of corned beef inside the pan!

4. Baristas make small talk without sounding nosy.

5. The coffee cup's sleeve is good enough to protect you from burning your hands and just recently, I realized that their coffee cup lid top is the most reliable. I have never spilled a Starbucks on my white shirt or on my pants ever! The small opening of the Starbucks coffee cup, as long as it is securely placed, will not spill the coffee or produce any unnecessary droplets on your clothing.

6. Who cares about the City Tumblers? I do! I do! I Do! Everywhere I go, I visit a Starbucks branch (and this goes for other countries as well), and buy the city tumbler. The country tumblers will all have a brown lid while the city tumblers will come in different colors.

Macau- Blue

Chicago- Navy Blue

Hong Kong - Orange

Manila - Brick Red

Beijing - Sunshine Yellow

Kuala Lumpur - Blue Green

Singapore & Boracay - Violet

New York - Apple Green

7. You can stay in the coffee shop all day and no barista will ever give you hints to leave the place to make room for others.

8. The music is just lovely.

9. Trying to promote a non-smoking coffee shop, even for a just a few months, was a very brave thing to try.

10. I always get their very attractive Starbucks Planner every holidays, even if I don't really use it until the middle of the year! It is a perfect excuse to buy those really awesome holiday coffee flavors...and get to donate too!

11. The holiday flavors are just awesome especially Peppermint Mocha. Every December, I always order mine with extra Peppermint sprinkles for that additional mint!

12. The tumblers, even if they do not claim it, are spill proof. The double-walled stainless steel tumblers keep your beverage hot for more than 2 hours! I really recommend you to buy these double-walled versions as you can enjoy a hot coffee for a longer time.

13. The tumbler designs are elegant and fun.

14. Who did not go crazy with the tumblers copying the exact look of their plastic to-go glass with green drinking straw?

15. Have you ever been one of those lucky ones to get a longer receipt? This only means one thing: Free coffee! well of course after visiting their website and answering the customer survey.It has a code at the bottom which you will key in and then print your free coffee voucher!

I guess the best thing about Starbucks in the Philippines is the concept of choice. You can choose to have your food any which way you want: warmed, toasted, or as slightly chilled. Do you want a bag for your sandwich or are you having it now while you wait for your coffee to brew? Do you want a space for yourself or are you meeting friends over? Do you need a power source for your laptop? Do you want a natural flavor sprinkle (cinnamon, nutmeg, chocolate, vanilla) for your coffee or would you rather have the flavored syrups?

Needs improvement:

1. The cinnamon rolls are not their specialty

2. Not all stores serve the same type of pastry or bread

3. Wifi is not for free

Suggestion:

Starbucks should make their "statement tumblers" and "statement mugs" to make it personalized.

Even with tea shops being set up on every corner of the city, I still love my coffee. Sure, I do love those flavored teas, but I still would go back to my freshly brewed coffee... Morning, noon, and night.

Long-Lasting Eye Shadow: Shu Uemura

With the intent of breaking in the expensive eye shadow scene, I entered Rustan's Department store and decided to try Shu Uemura. All I had from this brand is my very dependable 5 year-old lash curler so I told myself, hey, why not test their eye shadows?

Two colors struck me:
1. G white gold 311 - has a large-sized glittery brilliance with a very light gold shade
2. G pink 135 - don't get intimidated by hot pink with shimmer because it actually comes on like baby pink fairy type with medium-sized glitter

There are other shades of course with pearlized glitter and matte ones.

white gold on top and pink as the bottom shade

Don't even worry about coverage. This is the longest running eye shadow I have ever tried! It stays on and stays glittery for as long as 12 hours (could be more).

How much : PhP 695 per color
Size : Approximately 1 inch x 0.8 inch x 0.2 millimeter

If you want a hard case with free double-ended applicator and a mirror on the inside top cover, it can encase 4 shades for an additional PhP1200. Yes, kinda pricey so I held myself from getting too engrossed.

Do I recommend it? If you do have the budget for it and looking for a one-sweep type of application with 12 hour stay put color, go ahead and splurge! The cost in use could be worth it as you only need a little and don't really need to retouch it after 4 hours or so.

It's fun trying new things! :)

Affordable Eye Shadow Alert: The Face Shop's Face It Styling Triple Eyes

As you can see, I've had more time to break in this eye shadow hahaha! It obviously has been used many times. Well, I just love it! It is very affordable at PhP595 for 3 colors, an applicator, and a mirror. It comes in 4 shade combinations to choose from! As for me, I started with the basic palette: The Brown Nuance.

I love the combination of this mini palette! It just holds the right light to dark shades. At Php595, I already got 3 shades. What's more, I actually bought this during a sale, for which I got the palette for less than PhP500.

As for the coverage, it stays on for at least 4 hours but the darker shade stays on longer. For my usual office make up, I can say I've heard nothing but praises for wearing these shades. I am planning to buy the other combinations since I just love the coverage and the color tones. What I do not make use of though are the applicators. I use my ring finger to apply it or a brush. In certain cases, I use a thick gold eyeliner to serve as my eye shadow primer and it pops up the color of the medium brown. Next, I apply the lightest shade on the inner corners of my eye. The darkest shade goes up towards the brow bone and under my lower lash line.

Try it! :)

Aling Sosing's Carinderia: Round 2 of Hawker style

Another hawker-style food joint which I can recommend is eating under a huge tree owned by Aling Sosing. That's at Zobel Roxas corner Dian street, Makati. Real carinderia goodness!

What I recommend: Adobong pusit (Squid sauteed, with its own black ink as sauce), and the nilagang baka (boiled beef served with pechay leaves)

What we ordered for a total damage of PhP640:
2 servings of boiled beef
2 servings of squid
3 servings of charbroiled pork
1 serving of pork adobo
4 samll bottles of soda

Belo Sun Expert: My Recent Sunscreen Discovery

My free tube, and I'm planning to buy soon!

In one of my running events, I had a free small tube of the Belo sunscreen for the face. It has SPF40 , and hypoallergenic. So far, since all Belo products I've tried did not make my pores act up, I tried the facial sunscreen. What I liked was that I can actually go with just this sunscreen dusted with some facepowder and it's okay :) I don't know but it gives that radiant glow on the face.

No eye make up or blush, just the Belo Sun Expert 40 spf and maybelline face powder in honey

No eye make up or blush, just the Belo Sun Expert 40 spf and maybelline face powder in honey

This product retails at PhP299 in drugstores. Nice product again, Belo!
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Kate and Kurt La Paz Batchoy

You wanted hawker style food place in the city? You got it! Last friday I went back to Kate and Kurt La Paz batchoy, near Dian Street, Makati. The exact address is Emilia corner Hilario Street, Barangay Palanan 1235.

It says on the name La Paz Batchoy so most probably, their specialty is the La Paz batchoy which is a soup that is originally from Iloilo, composed of pork and pork insides plus noodles (La paz batchoy is really awesome especially on rainy days OR if you happen to visit Iloilo, try it from there!). However, I am more inclined with their nilagang buto buto which is actually a slab of baby back ribs boiled to tender perfection with garlic, salt, and pepper. We also ordered a small serving of beef tapa, and a small serving of unripe jackfruit with coco milk and pork meat.

Total damage: PhP 400 for 3 people (2 girls and 1 guy = all with huge appetites) including 3 small bottles of sodas. 

We ordered one bowl each for the nilagang buto buto! It is definitely an affordable meal!

I am even surprised to find out that they serve our childhood favorite pop cola and sarsi rootbeer here! :D

Behrouz - Affordable and Authentic Persian Cuisine in the Philippines! (Since 1985)

Back in college, after having a few alcoholic drinks, staple food was Persian Cuisine. Not only is it affordable, it is very delicious! Fast forward to now, I found myself calling this as my comfort food all over again as I finally had the chance to try out Behrouz late 2011. It was that restaurant I kept looking at in Metrowalk area but never had the courage to try, and I sure did miss a lot!

Apparently, Behrouz is the first ever to serve Persian food in the Philippines! They had been around since March 1985 and has recently expanded to its fourth branch at Santana Grove, Sucat where I just had my pig-out lunch today! Other well-known branches are at Metrowalk, Wilson, and the oldest branch, Scout Rallos, Quezon City.

Here is a quick list of comfort food that I highly recommend you try:

Mirzu Ghazemi PhP100

Mirzu Ghazemi

o       Uniquely Behrouz menu (you won't find this anywhere!) which is pureed fresh eggplant, perfectly riped tomatoes, and garlic, topped with egg,  best enjoyed with bread or basmati rice, flavor-filled the natural way

Chelo Kebab Kobideh PhP270

Chelo Kebab Kobideh

o       Basmati rice with 2 sticks of beef kebabs, grilled tomato, butter

Vegetable salad PhP80

Vegetable salad

o       Fresh ripe tomatoes, crunchy onions, lettuce, cucumber with olive oil and calamansi; you’ll love that sweet combination of fresh veggies tossed in just the right amount of dressing. Seems such a simple tossed salad yet so delicious! It is really amazing!

Chicken Barbecue PhP120

 Chicken Barbecue

o       Charbroiled chicken breast, marinated to juicy perfection, definitely diet-friendly!

Hummus with BTO Php120

Hummus with BTO

o       Chick peas with best-seller garlic yogurt and tahini, topped with beef tomato and onion (BTO), an appetizer best enjoyed with pita bread

LTO (liver, tomato, and onion) PhP90

LTO (liver, tomato, and onion)

o       This is beef liver sautéed in onions and tomatoes

Chicken Kebab PhP100

Highly recommended Chicken Kebabs (Charbroiled ground Chicken)

o       Best for those watching their diet yet cannot let go of the kebab taste!

Lamb Chops PhP350

Mouth-watering juicy Lamb Chops

          o       Just that tender and huge serving of Lamb Chops!

 

Ox Brain drizzled with calamansi, sprinkled with salt and pepper PhP80

          Ox Brain

          o       Patrons just can't leave Behrouz without ordering this! So I dare you to try it! Just make sure you had your BP checked :)

My lunch today at their Sucat branch? Fehnnnntastic! (As always)

A quick look at my lunch today at Behrouz Sucat

Try the Ox Tongue! It is worth being adventurous for! Php 250

Wait, here is something not usually ordered but is really good too: Ox Tongue! Guaranteed tasty and worth getting adventurous for!



It is very fortunate that the late Mr. Behrouz Mojdeh passed on his expertise and love for cooking to his son Modj who is now the General Manager for all branches. You will often see him visiting from branch to branch, ensuring the taste and quality are maintained in all 4 stores. Mr. Mohammad "Modj" Mojdeh is 32 years old, a graduate of Biology in Far Eastern University, and has been cooking with his Dad at Timog Branch (the first location for Behrouz) as a kid since 1992, where he fondly remembers being trained to marinate, cook, skewer, serve customers, and attend to the cash register.  He is married to Joan with 3 lovely kids.

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/BehrouzPersianCuisine Twitter page: https://twitter.com/BehrouzPC Twitter Address : @BehrouzPC Location #63 Scout Tobias St. Timog, Quezon City...G/F Metrowalk, Meralco Ave, Pasig City...Wilson St. San Juan...G/F Santana Grove Sucat, Paranaque Food Styles Middle Eastern Price Range $ (0-10) Hours Mon - Sun: 11:00 am - 5:00 am Specialties Lunch Dinner Attire Casual Payment Options Cash Only Contact Info Phone 6872759 Metrowalk branch.. Email behrouzpersiancuisine@gmail.com.

What to order at Mom and Tina's Cafe

I love the mocha cupcakes at Mom and Tina's Cafe, and mostly the pastries are good, not to mention they serve really great tasting brewed coffee for only PhP65/cup. However, recently, I ordered from their All-Day Breakfast Menu and found myself loving the U.S.Beef Tapa with Rice and Egg (PhP225). You can ask them to cook the egg the way you like it: scrambled or sunny side up.

Mom and Tina's Cafe branches:

Mom & Tina's Bakery Cafe Pasig (02) 914-0833  

Mom & Tina's Bakery Cafe Katipunan (02) 990-2875

Mom & Tina's Bakery Cafe Makati (02) 840-4299 Perea Street corner de la Rosa Street Makati

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Autumn in Beijing

Two of my colleagues have decided to travel to Beijing for September 11-15, 2010. During this time, I wanted to do something different and since I haven't been outside the country, I decided to join them.

Luckily, September is the nicest time to visit Beijing because it is Autumn by then! Not too hot, and not too cold.

We left in the evening of September 11 from Manila. It is a 5-hour flight so we arrived at 12:30 am September 12.

Beijing Airport

My travel buddy's cousin stays in Chaoyang, so we were lucky enough to stay there for free. I cancelled my hotel reservation (which I booked via hostelworld.com) for convenience - in the morning, in order to save time, we should all leave from one place. So there, we all stayed in Li shui Garden, Liu Litun, Chaoyang.

In the morning of September 12, we had heavy breakfast at Jamaica Blue Coffee shop along yaojiayuan road. Then we set off going to Summer Palace.

Jamaica Blue Cafe, Chaoyang, Beijing

Now please forgive me as this was my first travel abroad. I do not have much details on how to get to places. We mostly hired cabs to bring us to a place then fetch us at a set time. We mostly split the bill of 100-200 RMB for the taxi. Hiring a cab was a bit tricky since we do not know how to pronounce the places well. Our host would ask someone to write down the place in Chinese characters, then give this paper to the cab driver. For the most part of our trip, that was the way we traveled around.

Okay so no matter what, don't ever miss the Summer Palace (Entrance Fee: 30 RMB + 10RMB for the Tower of Buddhist Incense). This is a place that just amplifies the goodness of Autumn! It's a huge park so you need a whole day for a leisurely trip.

Day 2 is again heavy breakfast at Jamaica Blue!

Every trip to Beijing is not complete without visiting the Great Wall of China, so here we go! Get ready when you visit. Autmun might be the best time but up at the Great Wall, it was really hot. You are right so close to the sun with no shade to run for cover.

What i did not know, because I did not make any research, is that a cable car (60 RMB) brings you up to the Great Wall, so cool!

After the cable car ride, you pay another 45RMB to enter the Great Wall. This is where history begins! We did tekken jump shots!

We still had time for the afternoon. So after a really nice chinese lunch by our host, we headed to Olympic village to see the bird's nest and the water cube. Guys, the bird's nest is one awesome structure! We spent 3 hours taking photos in front of it!

The Bird's Nest

The Water Cube

After dinner, we went to The Village at Sanlitun. This is also the place where you find the Apple store.

We already had dinner, but we cannot get enough of the chicken in McDonald's Beijing! The chicken wings have a different taste, not your ordinary fried chicken wings. They have the oriental flavor! See the chicken on the right as the left one would be the nuggets:

Day 3: Tian'anmen Square and Forbidden City
As usual, breakfast at Jamaica Blue. I know i know we should be appreciating Chinese food, but Jamaica Blue is such an adorable place. Not to mention, our host treats us there, so it is free breakfast, yay!

On our way to Tian'anmen, we passed by the Beijing Opera

We proceeded to Tian'anmen Square. I actually did not stay long because it was hot. I think the square is much nicer at night time.

Tian'anmen Square

Forbidden City

Forbidden City

We did not really enter the Forbidden City, we just went up to the entrance. Then we decided to return to The Village at Sanlitun where our host treated us to Chinese food at The Slim Taste Noodles and Bar.

 What's for dessert? Cold Stone!

After dessert, we did some shopping for souvenirs at the Sanlitun Clothing Market.

Sanlitun Clothing Market

She's a very nice Chinese girl who sold us many items on prices we asked for =)
She is also awed by huge dark eyes =)
You may buy souvenirs at Sanlitun Yashow Clothing Market

The Village

So after shopping, it was time for dinner before we leave... It was the birthday of one of my travel buddies so we had some cake and a wonderful dinner at our host's lovely home while watching Angelina Jolie's movie "Salt".

Beijing is totally a nice experience. Like a nice first trip abroad. Surely, nothing beats the tekken shots! :)