banapple

My friend Naomi is leaving for her sister's wedding in Paris this weekend so we decided to meet up and have dessert/dinner somewhere near my house. We went to Banapple, a neighborhood dessert cafe that me & my husband loves next to Gateau de Manile (White Plains QC). I love their food also but since I already ate dinner at home, I settled with two desserts for me and Tricia to share.


Banapple is located at Katipunan Ave, fronting Kopi Roti & Freska Restaurant. It's actually a house converted into a small cafe. Very cozy, it's like eating dessert in your very own kitchen.

They offer a variety of cakes such as Blueberry Cheesecake P700, Two-Nut Caramel Cheesecake P700 , Chocolate Chip Walnut P480 Banoffee Pie P480 (I love this!), Apple Caramel Crumble P500, Snicker Fudge Cheesecake P800, Strawberry Crunch Cheesecake P700, Cadbury Old Gold Oreo Cheesecake P1020, Classic Pecan Pie P800, Honey Carrot Walnut Cake P650, Old-Fashioned Chocolate Cake P650, Super Caramel Fudge Cake P700.

Other than their cakes, I love how their freshly baked cheese and mushroom pie as well & the signature banapple smoothie. My husband and I usually order this for merienda on Saturday afternoon.


Last photo with my foodies. Banapple coffee is not so good and pricey so we settled at home for brewed coffee & more catching up after.

BANAPPLE
225 Katipunan Ave. Blue Ridge Quezon City
Tel: (632) 439-2675
Open Monday to Sunday 7:30am to 11:30pm

My Happy Birthday

"when it rains, it pours" as quoted by my tita Lydia when I started getting worried because it began to rain so hard last Saturday . I started cooking & preparing after lunch, I even had candles lighted & teapots for my guest tables in the garage area- but you really can't have the best of everything.. it was a heavy downpour at 7pm when my guests started arriving so we had to rearrange and set-up inside the house instead. In short, nawala ang ambiance :( But inspite of the heavy rain, my friends and family were all there to celebrate with me. Am blessed because it rained :)


To my dear husband, thanks for helping Kyle with the surprise gift but next time don't forget to keep the receipt ha!?? hehehe! Love you & Kyle so much :) You mean the world to me. :)


My birthday menu (at least some of it :D wasn't able to take pics anymore of the other food kasi). Baked Rosemary chicken, Gateau de Manile's white chocolate mousse cake from my tita Lydia, Roast Pork and corn cob on the side and a pasta recipe from "No Reservations" :) Proud FYI: I did the cooking :)

With my loving family & in laws :) Kulang nalang talaga is another baby. Kyle must be excited. Sana talaga we can be successful this year :) That's my birthday wish (wink)

My highschool & college friends who made my birthday extra special. Thanks guys! I hope to have you in the house more often. Since I am the only married here, then sge I will do the cooking for now because I know all of your are busy with your gimmicks :) Come to think of it, I realized o nga lahat kayo single!!! :D


I love surprises & opening gifts! parang wedding at bridal shower ko ulit hehe :) Thanks for the wonderful & thoughtful gifts. Everyone gave me what I want & needed. 'goes to show that you guys know me that well talaga :)

It was a very happy birthday on a rainy summer! :)

Happy Mother's Day

I'm craving for Sonja's for about two weeks now. (Hubby, I really want one please xx) I hope I can drag my family on Sunday after our Mother's Day lunch. Meantime, check this out:

Sprinkles Cupcakes

The cupcakes looks so yummy and perfectly baked. I hope someone from LA can bring home some for pasalubing :D Oh well, nonetheless, I can settle for Sonja's :)

Photos courtesy of Sprinkles Official Website.

I am huge Sarah Mclachlan fan. I was influenced by a special friend back in 2003 and since then, I never grew tired listening to her songs. Her pop-jazz compilations are definitely my feel-good music & comfort songs. I'm happy she came out with a new album recently. B-sides, Rarities and Other Stuff was launched in the US and Canada late April this year. Can't wait to grab a copy of her new album.


My favorites among her albums are SURFACING, MIRRORBALL (1st row photos), FUMBING TOWARDS ECSTACY, AFTER GLOW (2nd row photos). My ever loved songs?? FALLEN (my super fave!!!), ADIA, BUILDING A MYSTERY, SWEET SURRENDER, ICE CREAM, I WILL REMEMBER YOU & BLACKBIRD :)

lovin' the songs of JAMIE CULLUM too particularly HIGH & DRY (TwentySomething) and EVERLASTING LOVE(CatchingTales) :)

can't wait for Sat! :D

oh yeah, it's moms' day on Sunday so just in case you want to be extra sweet to your moms, please check this out: www.cestcagiftworks.com


Life is beautiful :)

Lipstick Jungle

Lipstick Jungle! another series that will surely be loved!
'been wanting to cut my hair but I don't want it short. I think I wanna try Lindsay Price's (right most) hairstyle. What do you think trish?? :)

Sunday Cooking

(l-r) my mom, friend Tricia, Kyle, Jp & mother in law

I love Sundays.

I invited my mom, brothers and my friend Tricia who is in the city for her NCLEX review to have lunch with us yesterday . I get to practice my cooking only on weekends when Manang Linda, our cook is on a day-off. On a daily basis, I only prepare our weekly menu and she'll manage to prepare it very well and delicious for us.

My mom cooks so good and I hope to learn and master all her recipes. She's a "kapampangan" so her menus are very "pinoy". She cooks kaldereta, bulalo, sinigang, karekare very well. My friends who have tried her cooking will always leave the house with a thumbs up! One of our favorites at home is her buttered garlic prawns. Very Yummy! I included that in my menu last Sunday , only I made it spicy. The family said its sarap :)- except that it had too much sauce (husband said , mukhang spaghetti daw huhu) I guess I got too excited with the sauce recipe :D Nevertheless, everyone were busog and satisfied:)

Spicy Garlic Buttered Shrimps -tried mom's recipe :)

Peppered Rosemary Marinated Grilled Porckchop

Sweet & crispy indian mangoes. My mom's pasalubong from Ilocos.
My all time favorite fruit! perfect with sweet & spicy bagoong!

Creamy chicken & corn soup - Yaya Mila's contribution hehe!

These are the things that I love most about married life. Everyday is a challenge and inspiration. I feel happy seeing my boys very excited too! :)

Can't wait to start my baking :)

A Day with Chef Heny Sison

This is Chef Heny Sison herself, the instructor for this one-day baking class that I attended yesterday. She was very casual and it was like having this class in your very own kitchen. It's like mommy teaching me her classic "kapampampangan" recipes. I cook but I don't bake. I love desserts. I've been wanting to learn how to bake but I don't have enough days and opportunity to engage on it because my time is mostly devoted to my work and family. My husband is all support this time, told him I want to try this out and maybe start a home based business later on :)

learned 5 basic cake recipes from this class :)

Chocolate Fudge with Fudge Frosting

Butter Cake with Butter Icing

Sponge Cake with Whip Cream Icing

Mocha Chiffon Cake with Mocha Icing

Lemon Chiffon with Boiled Icing

A career that I always wanted but due to the fact that going to a culinary school is very expensive and I have other important financial responsibilities, I have to set this aside for now. Hopefully when my little boy gets older, I can still pursue this career.
It's not bad to dream after all :)

http://www.henysison.com/

What KRISTINE Means

You are a seeker of knowledge, and you have learned many things in your life. You are also a keeper of knowledge - meaning you don't spill secrets or spread gossip. People sometimes think you're snobby or aloof, but you're just too deep in thought to pay attention to them. You are wild, crazy, and a huge rebel. You're always up to something. You have a ton of energy, and most people can't handle you. You're very intense. You definitely are a handful, and you're likely to get in trouble. But your kind of trouble is a lot of fun. You tend to be pretty tightly wound. It's easy to get you excited... which can be a good or bad thing. You have a lot of enthusiasm, but it fades rather quickly. You don't stick with any one thing for very long. You have the drive to accomplish a lot in a short amount of time. Your biggest problem is making sure you finish the projects you start. You are the total package - suave, sexy, smart, and strong. You have the whole world under your spell, and you can influence almost everyone you know. You don't always resist your urges to crush the weak. Just remember, they don't have as much going for them as you do. You are a seeker. You often find yourself restless - and you have a lot of questions about life. You tend to travel often, to fairly random locations. You're most comfortable when you're far away from home. You are quite passionate and easily tempted. Your impulses sometimes get you into trouble. You are very intuitive and wise. You understand the world better than most people. You also have a very active imagination. You often get carried away with your thoughts. You are prone to a little paranoia and jealousy. You sometimes go overboard in interpreting signals. You are friendly, charming, and warm. You get along with almost everyone. You work hard not to rock the boat. Your easy going attitude brings people together. At times, you can be a little flaky and irresponsible. But for the important things, you pull it together.

What's Your Name's Hidden Meaning?

holidays

We didn't plan any out of town trips for the Holy Week. Sigh. Husband works in a company who follows the US holidays so meaning he'll be working until Friday, I work in a travel industry meaning holidays such as holy week is our super peak season so I gotta be working even from home, and chicken pox hit our little boy last friday meaning we really are to stay home for this long weekend.

That's all good though. This could be a good rest & quality for all of us .Probably we can finish cleaning up at home (long overdue from last January) Oh! My brother Mico is spending the long week with us. Hehe! Mind you that's WEEK not WEEKEND.He's been looking after Kyle since last Saturday. Super thanks to him, our little boy is that irritated with all this itchy pox that's coming out from his bod because my brother is there to cheer him up :)

Am excited to do wifey duties this Holy Week.. cooking sumptuous meals fro my family is one thing that makes me feel fulfilled. The look in my husband's "busog" face and Kyle's happy eyes just makes my heart melt.

Overdue books.. 'been wanting to finish these books for months now but sad to say I don't have much time anymore. Hopefully, I can finish 1 or 2 for the long weekend. I'm good if I finish all three hehe!
This is a gift from husband last Feb. wanted this book badly but it's been out of stock most of the time at Powerbooks & Fully Booked. Husband surprised me one day :) He got it from A DIFFERENT BOOKSTORE in Eastwood Citywalk.

A very special wedding gift from our Ninong Joey Santos. We are very touched because aside from the fact that Jp & I both love to read, we felt that our ninong thought of giving us this book bacause he really wanted to bring impact & guide us in our marriage life. Thanks again Ninong Joey!


From Fully Booked last weekend. 'have to finish this because I want to read BRIDA after !:D

Oh I almost forgot that we have an activity in the village on Sunday. I was asked to take part of the events committee in BRB, i'm excited to work with them. Our first project is the Easter Celebration on the 23rd. Met up with Ria & Tita Mona last Friday to plan for the games & prizes. I really hope Kyle will be well na by Sat so he can join the fun on Sunday. He's very excited because he saw me preparing the flyers etc. last week.


I finished watching 27 dresses dvd last night then Kyle watched Water Horse after. I fell asleep watching:P I plan to finish 2 dvds by Friday :)

Backlogs

have late entries to post...

hopefully next few weeks will be smoother easier , work and schedules are getting into me...

I feel sick today :(

Mandarin Weekend

02/23-24

Our Ninang Gaye gave us vouchers for an overnight stay at Mandarin Oriental in Makati. Yahoo! Alone time for me and hubby once again! We were supposed to use it last Valentines but unfortunately rooms weren't available anymore when I called 2 weeks earlier to make a reservation. Too bad, I was too late! Its either that or they didn't want to accommodate freebies at that time huh!?? Being a travel agent, I am very careful in dealing with the people in the travel industry - that would be the hotels, airlines and resorts . For one, I need their good services and appropriate assistance as much as what my clients expect this from me. There were instances that I experience complaints from my clients regarding the inconsistencies of the hotel rules and assistance. And now, we had to experience the same thing when we were checking in last Saturday. You see, I had my vouchers delivered 3days prior our check-in date as advised by the resa who got our reservation. I had everything settled weeks before as I don't want any hassles anymore when we get there. I reserved under Mr & Mrs Pimentel so that would mean we are a "couple" right? And couples sleep together in one bed not twin beds right? Surprisingly, the girl from the front desk said that she could not provide us with one big bed, she was actually giving us twin beds! hahaha! I wanted to laugh out loud and cry at the same time. We were there supposedly there to make use of a honeymoon gift and the hotel was offering us twin beds?!! Naman!!! Uuwi nalang ako :) Good thing husband was very cool that day unlike me who got kinda impatient already. Of course, I did not accept the twin sharing rooms. So they asked us to wait for another 45mins because they had to have the room cleaned up. Ok, so there was an available room with one big bed contrary to what the Front Desk Officer said earlier. Tsk!

We went out to watch Vantage Point at Greenbelt while having our room prepared... and for me to cool down. That was one hassle not so welcomed when you are very excited to spend some alone time with your partner. Hay naku! :D

Breakfast at Mandarin Deli

02/24

Our Mandarin room last weekend didn't go with breakfast so husband and I had to decide whether to grab coffee somewhere else or to have the hotel breakfast buffet. We were too lazy to walk or drive to Starbucks or Pancake House but on the other hand, I didn't want to have buffet for breakfast too. Since it didn't go with our room rate, I figured it would be too costly for us already. Too much expenses for the weekend budget! hehe!:D Oh! I was thinking too hard! I almost forgot that Mandarin Deli is just there! I remembered my mama brought home some of their ensaymada for pasalubong and it was yummy especially when heated. The cheese on top when melted is very good. Perfect with coffee or cocoa hot chocolate!:)



Our Sunday breakfast: 1st row l-r is Mandarin Deli's brewed coffee (quite expensive @ $130/cup seesh!) , & ensaymada. 2nd row photo is what my husband ordered. Its named "fresh from the farm" - 2 eggs, hash brown, sweet ham, roast tomato w Parmesan . This went with about 4pcs of brown bread and 3 kinds of jam (apricot,orange & strawberry). Our damage: Php650 :)

This is me and husband enjoying our Sunday breakfast at Mandarin Deli.

Mandarin Deli
Open Daily (7am-11pm)
+63 (2) 750 8888 Ext. 2415

They have another cafe in QC:
Mandarin Oriental Café & Deli
Upper Ground Floor
Gateway Mall, Araneta Center
Sunday-Thursday (10am-11 pm)
Friday & Saturday (10am-12am)
+63 (2) 913 5505

Late Lunch @ Bellini's

02/16/08

It was actually my third time to go to Bellini's but this is a new experience for me because I went there with really good friends and fellow foodies- not a bf. It was actually an "unplanned" destination and we were supposed to eat at Cibo in Gateway buy my friend Naomi don't feel like eating there at that time so her blogger mind was challenged :)

I so love the "feel" of this Italian restaurant. It was my first time to go on a daytime and I must say that it also does carry a cozy and romantic ambiance even without the dim lights & soft music usually played at night.

(l-r) naomi corpuz & tricia domingo are my highschool friends who I get to spend time every now and then lately :D Am loving every experience with them.. Next to my two boys, these two girls are the ones that I hope to travel and see more places with as we get older and richer!!! hehehe!:)

During our Bellini's experience, we had pizza margherita, risotto, toasted raviolli for our main course. The breadsticks for appetizer & the yummy orange cake for dessert that went with Italian coffee.

BELLINI'S ITALIAN RESTAURANT
Cubao Shoe Expo (front of the old Rustans)
+63 2 9132550

I am deeply saddened to hear about this sad news early this morning. Paulo Clemente, who hosted and sang for our wedding passed away the other night. I only learned about him on-line when I was doing my supplier-hunting for our wedding but because of his warm and happy attitude, me and my husband easily became comfortable with him the first time we met up. We right away decided to get him for our wedding :) Now, more than a month after our wedding, I can definitely say that I did made a good choice. He hosted our wedding very well and he made the details very personal. He even recorded a song requested by my husband for our First Dance ( I Will Always Love You by Taylor Dayne) which even made everything more perfect.

This photo was grabbed from Pau's blog.

Pau singing our First Dance song

The sampler cd (on the right) is a gift from Paulo and Ces of AWP. for our wedding which became part of our souvenirs. Love his songs! He even included the first dance song that he recorded & sang for me and hubby! :)

To Paulo, thanks again for being part of our new life together. You did a very good job for our wedding! You will always be remembered :)

I am dead tired with work this week. I need some time alone.
Excited for the long weekend.

on v-day

Valentines this year is a lot more special. For people who know me that well, I am a person who takes every occasion seriously. I don't know. I just feel that these are "one-day "events that one must look forward to and more-be treated special. Like birthdays, christmas, new years & anniversaries, I always look forward to celebrating hearts with my boyfriend (now my husband).

Ordered two bouquets of orange roses for valentines. One for my dear mom & one for my mother in law. I still like it when women are given flowers... super loved and special ang feeling!:) I hope our moms felt that way when they got the flowers :D

Initial plan was to celebrate v-day on a weekend since Jp & I are both working on weekdays.Call it lucky but my husband was scheduled for an interview somewhere in Makati and my boss asked me to go with her in a client meeting at Makati Shang that Thursday so... we went for an unplanned v-day date that night!:)

Me and husband ate in one of our favorite resto...
FRIDAYS on a Thursday! :)Superb!!! :)Our menu: strawberry chill, Caesar salad, onion rings and a valentines platter that Fridays offered that day- composed of grilled chops, baby back ribs , shrimps & oh yeah corn :P

Of course we had a little surprise for our little boy when we got home :) I spotted this uber cute stuff toys while waiting for hubby at g4. Got him his favorite: spongebob squarepants & patrick! I'm glad he loved it! Ginawang wrestlers hehehe :D