Secret Recipe and Mercato Centrale on my birthday

So last Sunday, your dear streetsmartgirl celebrated her 2xth birthday. This year, I opted to celebrate it in a simple way with my family.

I purchased five Secret Recipe vouchers from Ensogo and I used them to treat my family to a dinner J I called up Secret Recipe for reserve a table only to find out that the only branch that can accommodate us is in Fort Bonifacio Anyways for a change of location, I gave it a go.

Secret Recipe is café chain in over nine countries mostly in Asia. Its menu consists of Asian, western, pasta, chicken, and vegetarian dishes. They are also popular for their fresh cream cakes and beverages

One thing I liked about the restaurant is the ambiance with its white and red walls. You can just dine, relax, and enjoy your food with family and friends. It gives you a feeling of comfort which makes you feel at home.

Casual dining at Secret Recipe

Here’s what we had..

Pan Grilled Dory in Lobster Sauce (Php 345)

Known as one their bestsellers; I ordered it. The dory was cooked fish fillet style with fries and salad on the side. Quite honestly, I didn’t like it. The fish didn’t taste fresh to me.

Chicken Cordon Bleu (Php 265)

This chicken dish is served with fries and salad. My sister didn’t like it but my cousin  said it was average. So I’m not sure how it tasted.

Irish Lamb Shank (Php 485)

The lamb is served with mashed potato. Erick ordered an extra rice to match it. It’s one of their award winning dishes according to the menu. So I insisted Erick to order it. Well, to begin with the meat was soft and juicy. But I’m not so sure if it was really lamb or it was just beef. The sauce was okay but it tasted bland. You need to put more pepper to savor the taste.

At this point, honestly I’m not sure if everyone was enjoying his food. Off to the better dishes..

Fried Rice with Satay (Php 280)

The serving was small just enough for my sister’s pocket-sized built. Hehe I think what she liked about the satay was the peanut sauce.

Tom Yum Spaghetti (Php 220)

This tom yum wasn’t really spicy. This dish is a must try if you want to taste how spaghetti will taste with sour/spicy sauce on it.

Grilled Mushroom Chicken (Php 245)

Surprisingly, this dish is not on the bestseller list but it was actually the best tasting food of the night. The chicken was sliced proportionately with brown sauce and mushrooms on it.

Since we have a kid with us, we also ordered the Kid’s Burger.

Lemon slush, Apple Kasturi, and Fresh Watermelon shake

For our beverages, I had the Frosty Lemon Tea which is good. I’ve been craving for lemon slush since I had one in PNKY Café on my recent Baguio trip. This one’s quite a good alternative. They ordered Green Apple Kasturi which is a favorite drink in Secret Recipe and Fresh Watermelon.


Since I used five vouchers in a single transaction, we were given one whole round cappuccino cake which we all loved. Maybe the secret recipe of this restaurant is their cakes and not their entrée dishes.

with my family and my Capuccino cake

Aside from that, we also got free Secret Recipe VIP cards for discounts for card (10%) and cash (15%) transactions for dine-in and cake orders. Not bad eh? I was entitled to have 10 Secret Recipe VIP cards but since they ran out of stocks, they only gave me 6. The manager asked me if I could just return and get the remaining cards. But I don’t think I will go back there just to get the cards.

Secret Recipe VIP cards

The service wasn’t too bad at all but it can be improved. First off, I called up all the other three branches (Robinson’s Midtown, Shang, Megamall) to reserve only to get declined. They told me that the date I wanted to reserve is a mall-wide sale and they prioritized shoppers and non-voucher holders. Hokeeeey..I called up their BGC branch to see if I can reserve there. Good thing, there are available tables. Well, the restaurant wasn’t full actually; we were the only big group when we we got there J

We were told that the free whole cake specified in my voucher wasn’t available and they forgot to order it. They initially told us to return the next day to claim my free cake. It was disappointing because I reserved our table two days in advance . I told them that I am availing using the voucher which clearly stated that there is a free one whole Chocolate Cream Fudge Cake. So why are they telling me that it wasn’t available. Good thing that it was straightened out and I was given the Capuccino cake instead which wasn’t bad at all. 


They are attentive to our needs but I can’t help but feel this belittled sense that I am using a voucher. It turned out that I have to tell them everytime that it was said in the voucher.  Blah, blah. Blah.

The bottomline of all of these were resolved. So I give them a thumbs up for not getting us disappointed at the least. But as I said, they must improve on their service and food.

Our total bill amounted to Php 3420. I paid using five vouchers with Php3500 value in total.  I ordered a slice of Chocolate Indulgence cake (Php80) to consume the value left in the voucher. 

my take out which i remember is still in the fridge...remind me!

I would probably return but not for their dishes but for their cakes next time.

Since we were in the area, we decided to drop by Mercato Centrale to check the night food market. There were more food stalls now compared to our last visit. 

Of course, I wouldn't miss to check if there was a milk tea store. And yes, we found one! We found Bubble Tea Chills and ordered the Sweet Black Milk tea and Wintermelon Milk Tea. 

Bubble Tea Chills

At around 12mn, I was home blowing my birthday candle. HBD to me!

Birthday girl

Cheers to life! :D

Scoring Great Deals at the Philippine Travel Mart 2011

So last weekend, we went to the Philippine Travel Mart to see what we can buy. Erick was actually sick but still went to see the travel expo. Thanks love! The last time we went to a travel fair, we were able to get a good deal at La Carmela de Boracay. It was a 3D/2N stay with daily breakfasts plus 1night free. So we were really looking forward to get a value deal from one of the participating resorts and hotels. 

And we were not disappointed!

We’ve always wanted to stay at Thunderbird Poro Point in La Union when my bestfriend, Yana, arrives from Dubai for her vacay. It’s dubbed as the Santorini of the north. So while we don’t have a budget (just yet) for the real Santorini in Greece, we’ll be more than satisfied to experience Thunderbird Poro Point has to offer.

We booked a one night stay for 2 deluxe bedrooms since we will be 6-8 in the group. They only allow a maximum of 4 persons in one room. And yes, we got a 10% discount on the rooms.

Since we will be staying on a weekday, we got the rate of Php5998 plus 10% discount. That’s Php 5390. We had to add Php2000 for the two extra persons (with breakfasts) staying in the room. Yey!

There were really a lot of tempting deals at the travel mart including discounts offered by various hotels here in Manila. Really whooping discounts that made me want to book’em all! I wish! They’re actually cheaper than Agoda. I took advantage of this and I booked an overnight stay at a hotel in Makati for my birthday. Woot woot!

I can’t wait for October! And yeah, I want a repeat of this!

White water rafting!!

Philippine Travel Mart 2011

As I was browsing the net, I learned that the Philippine Travel Mart will be on September 2-4, 2011 at the SMX Convention Center, Mall of Asia Complex, Pasay City.

This year’s travel mart will feature Philippine’s travel and tourism industry from all over the country. I heard that that there around 200 booths of travel agencies, airlines, hotels. resorts, etc offering huge travel discounts. Really sounds tempting!!

I’ve been to the 2011 Philippine Travel Expo where we were able to score super discounted hotel rates from La Carmela de Boracay. See my full blog entry here. 

So I’m really looking forward to get more or less the same deal.  I’m marking my calendar! September 2-4 it is!

World Food Expo 2011

Last Saturday, we went to the World Food Expo 2011 (WOFEX) at the SMX Convention Center, Mall of Asia. The food show ran from August 3-6, 2011. It was the last day of the food event so we checked what it was all about. The WOFEX is mainly for the food & beverage (F&B) industry where they can source their supplies from the event exhibitors.

I am not in the F&B industry but was just plain interested to check the new products in the market. And who wouldn’t like the free tastes offered by the various booths?!

In conjunction with the exhibit, there were also culinary competitions, cooking shows, pastry and cake exhibits, and seminars.

Jurassic cake.. why not?

We also spotted PBA player Alvin Patrimonio cooking!

From the hard court to the kitchen

There were lots of food booths offering free food samples. I especially loved the mantau, stuffed paratha, and tofu pandan from the Malaysian booths. 

Some products are sold cheaper here compared in the supermarkets, so might as well take advantage of the promotion.

choosing the right pasta

And we met cute and interesting characters like Clyde while going around , a certified US angus beef..hehe

Clyde, are you a cow or a goat??

So next time you hear about a food expo in Manila, let me know!

Food Trip: Manila's Biggest Foodfest

Watch out for the biggest foodie event happening in Manila from September 2-4, 2011 at the Manila Ocean Park open grounds. This is another event foodie lovers like me always look forward to.

Experience traditional Pinoy fiesta right in the metro. Play traditional Filipino games, dance to the beat of Ati-Atihan, and indulge in good food.

Event activities include food warrior contest - a food eating challenge, battle of the bands, and culinary competitions.

I will definitely be there! See you!

Sunday Lunch out with friends at Krazy Garlik & SBC

Last Sunday, I went out for lunch and coffee with my college barkada at Greenbelt. Despite the erratic and rainy Manila weather, there was no stopping to seeing my dear college friends. I’ve kept in close touch with my barkada throughout the years after college. Our friend, Sweet, though currently lives in Davao where she is reviewing for the upcoming bar exams. When we learned that she will be in Manila last week of July to fetch Eelai, her French nephew, who will be arriving in the Philippines for the school break, I immediately set up a lunch date with friends. Well, Sweet actually re-booked her ticket to Manila to an earlier date to catch Incubus’ concert. That’s another story.

So anyways, we met around 12ish and decided to eat lunch at Krazy Garlik in Greenbelt 5. I’ve always been curious with Krazy Garlik’s food because of their garlic-themed dishes. Knowing that it is run by the Bistro Group which also runs Italiannis, TGI Fridays, Fish and Co., among others, I had high expectations, of course. 

We were there on a lunch time on a Sunday so we anticipated a big lunch crowd. We were seated in the al-fresco area of the resto so I can’t say much about their interiors except it was relaxed but I find it kinda gloomy because of its dull red walls. 

with my college friends

and my +1

We ordered Krazy Garlik’s house specialties. 

Garlicky Crispy Pata (Php 695)

Looks good right? Yeah, it was. We’ll honestly, I’ve never tasted a bland crispy pata. I expected more from this dish. But why did they named this Garlicky Crispy Pata again?! I didn’t taste a hint of garlic on the crispy pata except if you decide to eat the whole garlic clove on the side or the garlic crumbs. Even the dip was nothing to rave about. This crispy pata was overrated for its price. If there’s one thing I liked in their crispy pata, it’d be that it wasn’t oily and greasy at all.  

Mushroom Matsuri (Php 345)

The sautéed mushroom was cooked in Japanese style. The garlicky sauce was flavorful. The mushrooms are firm and it tasted well with the sauce.  

Hara-kiri Rice (Php 365)

This house specialty mixed rice was actually good with bits of bacon, shrimp, squid, and chili. The ‘for sharing’ serving was good for 2-3 persons according to the menu; that is if you are not a rice eater.  

Shrimp Maramonte Pasta (Php 450)

This is an al-dente spaghetti pasta sautéed in pesto sauce, baby clams, and shrimp. The pasta was perfect to pesto lovers. But personally, I’d still go for Cibo’s pasta.

The restaurant service was okay. Sometimes the manager would personally check if we need something. But they served our dishes late; we had to wait quite long and follow them up. We were ahead in ordering from the other tables but theirs came quite prompt.  

Overall, I would rate my Krazy Garlik experience 7 out of 10. It could have been a better customer experience if not for their overpriced food in small servings. For the bill we paid, we could have eaten buffet at Yakimix. To be honest, I was still hungry after eating at Krazy Garlik.. hehe Oh well! 

Hot chocolate and walnut chocolate cake

We went to Seattle’s Best Coffee for dessert and coffee and for more chikka. I had my favorite Signature Hot Chocolate with dark choco stick. Perfect drink during rainy days.

Six years after college: Ru, Nica, Sweet, and Azzy. We miss you Edgar!

Six years after college.. Azzy is now a lawyer. Sweet is reviewing for her bar exam. Edgar is a French business analyst. Ru is our Japanese-speaking friend and currently enjoying his bum life. And I am doing research and business intelligence work for an infrastructure company. We can’t believe it was that long since we left La Salle!

Incubus Live in Manila!

Last Thursday, I had one of the best nights ever! Incubus came to Manila again for their world tour to promote their new album, If Not, When? I watched the concert with Erick, Ru, and Sweet who came all the way from Davao. 

It was Incubus' third time in Manila in the past 6 years or so..They just love Manila so much! Don't they? :D Watching them for the second time was exhilarating. Incubus is the best band I've watched who gives a great live performance. Woohoo! 

Here's their performance of In the Company of Wolves. I really dig Incubus. Brandon is hotness! <3 He doesn't only have the looks but a great voice as well which makes my knees weak.

In the Company of Wolves

Eigai Sai: The Japanese Film Festival 2011

Last Saturday, Erick and I went to Shang to watch one of the films shown at the Eega Sai. Eiga Sai means film festival in Japanese. It’s on its 13th year already and it is organized by the Embassy of Japan, Japan Foundation, and the UP Film Institute in lieu of the Philippines-Japanese Friendship Month.

Eegai Sai: The Japanese Film Festival 2011

We wanted to watch Departures which won the Best Foreign Language Film in 2009 in the 81st Academy Award. Unfortunately,we didn’t catch the release of tickets. Apparently, the organizers released the ticket earlier than expected. So anyway, we settled into the next film, The Summit: A Chronicle of Stones which was also an award-winning movie.

The Summit features the story of a surveyor Yoshitaro Shibazaki and his guide Chojiri Uni along with their other companions as they conquered one of Japan’s highest peak in, Mt. Tsurugidake  to complete a map of their country. The mountain is known to be a “mountain of death” because no one succeeded by far to reach its peak. Those who tried failed and others even died on their journey to the peak. 

Journey to Mt. Tsurugidake's summit (from Wiki)

 “Embrace the snow as you ascend Mt. Tsurugidake  and embrace the snow as you descend Mt. Tsurugidake “ were the repeating words of the monk Yoshitaro and Chojiori met during their climb to the mountain. The mountain has the worst winter any mountain climber would find unbearable. To achieve something unimaginable, you must truly embrace the experience especially the challenges you encounter.

The movie ignited my plan to climb Mt. Kinabalu next year : ) Ain’t no mountain high!

Admission to the movie is free. Tickets are released an hour before the screening but better be early. All movies are shown with English sub-titles. Screening is at Shang Cineplex 4 at the Shangri-la Plaza Mall. 

To view the complete movie listings and schedules, click here.

KKK Weekend

If I would describe my weekend, it’d be with these three letters – KKK.

It's the KKK

T’was Independence Day weekend and we sorta celebrated it at KKK. We learned in our Philippine history class that KKK stands for “Katastaasang Kagalanggalangang Katipuanan ng mga Anak ng Bayan“ which is a secret revolutionary group against the Spanish led by Andres Bonifacio. 

Well, KKK Food Revolution (the resto) actually means Kainan sa Kalye Kanluran, because their first branch is located in West Ave. in QC. Good thing we don’t have to travel that far anymore to eat good Filipino food. 

KKK is my usual favorite when it comes to restos serving Filipino dishes. They have a wide array of Filipino cuisine from all parts of the country – Pampanga, Bicol, Ilocos, Iloilo, etc. 

My personal favorite is Ilokanong Bagnet with bagoong (fish sauce). I never fail to order this whenever we eat at KKK.

Bagnet + bagoong

We also love their Pinakbet with lots of chicharon. 

You bet, pinakbet!

After dinner at KKK and dessert at Red Mango, we waited for a few more hours for our friends to arrive. It was another drinking session with Accenture 25 team from Teletech. Two of our Teletech friends, Ferdie and Rj, are tying the knot in December. Congrats guys! RJ, the soon-to-be-bride, is on frenzy with all the things they need to prepare for the wedding – church, reception, gown, photo/video coverage, entourage, and all.

For those who love Pinoy romantic flicks, I’m sure most of you have watched Kasal, Kasali, Kasalo which is translated to “Wedding, Together, Partaker” by Wikipedia and which actually makes no sense. Anyway, it’s a romantic comedy film about a couple getting married and organizing their wedding with their parents meddling and eventually ruining the wedding preparations.

some of Accenture 25

Our topic during our drinking session mostly centered on marriage and wedding preps. Time flies so fast. A few years back, whenever we had get-togethers we would often talk about our good old days at Teletech, but now we’re talking about grown-up stuff and marriage!

Congrats RJ and Ferdie!

By the way, Arc, one of our Teletech friends is part-time wedding coordinator. Of all the people, I never thought that such a funny and mischievous guy like Arc would be in the wedding coordination business. It’s a family-run business as he said. Soon-to-wed couples may want to check Kasal Kasali Kami to organize their wedding so you can leave all you worries to the coordinator and just enjoy every moment of your wedding.

I Run for Integrity

Last Sunday, together with some of my colleagues, I joined the Integrity Run which is a symbolic run for good initiative, integrity, and fight against corruption. The Integrity Run is private sector-led campaign which aims to diminish or fully eradicate rampant corruption in the Philippines which we are very aware of.

This running event was organized by the Makati Business Club (MBC) and the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ECCP). As one of its members, Halcrow showed support to ECCP’s integrity initiative by sending 28 participants including moi :)

With Halcrow colleagues

I registered in the 5k category and got a race packet which included a red singlet, bib, and information brochure all for free since my company paid for it. Yey! Our office even had a Halcrow-design dri-fit shirt made for us. 

I love my Halcrow shirt

I ran the 5k race and finished it in ------. That’s because the race results haven’t been posted yet (hope the organizers will post it soon). My guess is I finished the 5k race under 30 minutes.

It was a well-organized run despite the fact that the race started a bit late. After the race, we even got free big breakfast meal from McDonalds. And yes, the raffle prizes were exciting such as the Manila Bay Cruise, overnight accommodation and tour at Corregidor Island, 3D/2N trip to Bellarocca (which I am dreaming of!), and an all expense-paid 4D/3N stay in Bangkok. For a wanderlust like me, I wish I could have won even one of these.

It always feels good to run. Will aim for 15k next time. lol. To running and beyond!

Da do run run

4.3.2011

A year ago

On our first trip together in San Juan La Union

After 365 days or so, here we are <3

Beaching in Bohol

Happy anniversary my love! Thank you for loving me unconditionally. Despite the uncertainties in this world, I am happy that we remain constantly more in love <3

Because it was a special day for both us, we indulged ourselves by going to The Spa for a relaxing massage. It was very timely since we just ran 10k at the Hyundai race the day before. My aromatherapy massage was very soothing; it pampered my aching muscles. I bet Erick’s Swedish massage was very good as well as he was silent or maybe sleeping during our one-hour massage.

We love seafood so we decided to try Red Crab’s dinner buffet. It was very satisfying as we feasted on chili crabs. Very satisfying… that we suffered from stomach ache after due to overeating =(

Dinner at Red Crab

I got beautiful and sweet-smelling roses from Erick. Thanks my love! especially for the letter. <3

Flowers for the lady love

May we have more travels and adventures together… Bora is next!