Family Mart Crystal Charms <3

I've always wanted to get a charm bracelet. They just look so pretty and fancy and I like the idea of each charm having a special meaning. However, good charm bracelets are usually expensive, and I've got bills to pay, so I haven't gotten to getting one, because #priorities. 

Imagine my delight when I saw Family Mart's ad while walking home from work a few days ago! 

The charms caught my attention because they were travel-themed. :) There are ten charms available, and each charm represents a country. Each charm is encrusted with a Swarovski crystal. 

To get a charm, you need to buy Php100.00 (equivalent to 5 stickers) worth of products, and add Php89.00. 

You can get the bracelet with a built-in charm for Php199.00, and yes, you can also use this purchase to get stickers! :) 

The bracelet comes in a clear plastic. 

The charms come in a sealed pack and also comes with a velvet pouch. 

I got 5 charms that represent the countries I've travelled to so far; Philippines, China, Thailand, ISA, and Japan. :) 

I love my new charm bracelet. <3

The lady from Family Mart told me that the charms originally sell for Php900.00 each. She also told me that they're made from hypoallergenic stainless steel. The promo runs until November 30. 

Be happy!

<3 Missy

Happy Valentine's Memories with my BFF and Eats So Good! :)

It's official. I've been single for long enough for me to not *really* mind all the hullabaloo of Valentine's Day. Despite all my #hugot hirits, I honestly view Valentine's Day now as a happy excuse to celebrate whatever kind of love, because yes, love comes in many other forms than just romantic, cheesy, angel-butt-with-wings-and-an-arrow love.

This year, I decided to spend Valentine's day with my BFF, GT. :)

GT and I :D

GT and I go way back. We were carefully manipulated into being friends and ending up in college council together (inside joke, sorry :p), and became close when we ended up going to the same law school. Through the years, we've bonded over our common struggles which include challenges in our career, trying to live a balanced life, and of course, pageebeeg. 

Anyway, it so happened that Team Aldous's Monse generously gave me two passes to Spectrum, a lifestyle fair that was held during Valentine's weekend. She had a booth there for Eats So Good! and invited me to try out her food. I invited GT to go with me. He happily obliged, and also me invited to go with him to a concert afterwards. It was a date!

Spectrum

The fair was held at Whitespace Manila along Pasong Tamo. We didn't have any trouble finding the place. It was packed though, so we had to park elsewhere.

Whitespace Manila.

It was a very colorful fair.

Colorful entrance.

Just before we entered, we saw people munching on some interesting food. We were excited (and hungry).

Happy people enjoying their food.

Registration booth.

The event was so pretty and colorful that I forgot about my hunger and decided to look around a bit before getting food.

We found that a mini-stage was set up inside. Later in our stay, a singer went up the stage and serenaded all the guests. :)

A mini-stage.

We also found many interesting concessionaires that offered clothes, decors, food, and many other items.

After looking around, I looked for Monse so we could finally try out Eats So Good!

There she is! :D

With Monse.

It turns out that she was there with her beau, who was also her partner in her food business. Just awww <3.

Happy couple <3

Per my chat with Monse, Eats So Good! offers salads and pastas. Monse and her beau decided to start the business out os a passion for good food. They make everything from scratch, and they have carefully selected every single ingredient that goes into their food. 

Here's the menu they offered during the fair:

Eats So Good! does bazaars and catering for now. I have high hopes for them. :)

Their food was indeed, very good. In fact, they were sold out of pastas when GT and I got there. Thankfully, though, we still got to try their great salads.

I got to try the Classic Caesar, while GT got to try Eats So Good!'s Signature Salad.

The portions of their salad were big enough to stand alone as a light meal. Both were very flavorful and were obvioulsy made with fresh ingredients.

Classic Caesar.

Eats So Goods!'s Classic Caesar is honestlythe best Ceasar Salad I've had. When Monse's beau told me that I'd forget my name once I've tasted their homemade dressing, I thought he was just hard-selling the product. But he wasn't. It was close-my-eyes-to-savor-the-taste kind of good. The dressing was very rich and creamy. The salad also had garlicky, buttery croutons, and a generous helping of crisp bacon. 

Signature Salad.

I also took a bite out of GT's Signature Salad. Its dressing was more on the light side, and was sweet and sour. The whole salad had a sweet taste, with the mandarin oranges and corn, but was balanced by the earthiness of the almonds. The ingredients of the salad gave it a very interesting texture.

GT and I both enjoyed the salads, but since we were at a fair, we couldn't help but try out the other food booths.

GT enjoying Mr. Graham's Cebuano.

Sushi Nori's Sushi Samba.

Roasted Mallows from Pufft.

GT and I ha a nice time at Spectrum. :)

Later that day, GT and I also got to enjoy a South Border concert for FREE. :D

Luke!

Working our way to get nearer the stage :))

Luke and Jay! <3

All in all, it was a happy Valentine's Day. <3 GT and I totally slayed that day, friendship style!

Be happy!

<3 Missy

Tapella Tapas Bar and Restaurant

Generally, I'm not a fancy restaurant kind of person. To be honest, fancy restaurants intimidate me . I just like looking into their windows, and seeing the people inside, or the fancy decorations, or sometimes even the beautiful food that get served in them, while I walk around in malls. I don't usually go in. 

I don't know. Maybe I feel like fancy restaurants are too cold, or too quiet, or maybe I feel like someone like me would stick out like a sore thumb in one of those places. Basta. 

ANYWAY, this is why I appreciate people who reach out to people like me for the sake of sharing good food. 

That man in the photo below is Tapella's Executive Chef, Mr. Robert Spakowski. Last December, he generously invited our group of bloggers (Team Aldous) to try out their food at Tapella Tapas Bar and Restaurant in Greenbelt.

Photo grabbed from Tapella's Facebook Page.

I was excited to go. I've passed by the restaurant a couple of times during my walks around Greenbelt, and have caught a glimpse of some of their beautiful food. I couldn't wait to actually try them out. :)

By the sound of the name, you could tell that the place serves Spanish food. I like that their menu shows the Spanish and English names of their dishes. 

The place has a bar section. They seem to serve a wide variety of wines. I've just recently started to appreciate wine, thanks to my friends (hello, Jaimme, Alex, and Christian! :D). I think I'll bring them here one time.

The restaurant of course also has a dining space. It has a more of a warm feel to it as compared to the bar section.

However, what made my dining experience here truly warm and enjoyable was Chef Rob and Tapella's staff. From the way they entertained us that night, I could really tell that all of them have a passion for the food that they were serving. 

They would tell us bits of info about the dishes they served, like how they are made, where they are from, how other customers like them, and so on. Also, you could see that they were genuinely excited whenever they would share to us a certain dish. :)

But I'm getting ahead of myself here. Let's talk about their food.

Okay, a bit of a confession. I was late for this dinner (sorry, Aldous :'c). It was a work day and I was in a late meeting. So when I got there, my friends have eaten most of the appetizers already. Thankfully, I still got to try out two.

Chopitos Fritos (Php250.00)

Chopitos Fritos is deep fried baby squid served with aioli. Mmm. These were good. It really did its job as an appetizer because it definitely got my appetite going. Tender and tasty baby squid, deep fried in a lightly seasoned and crisp batter. It's good even without the aioli, but the aioli adds a bit of creaminess and extra flavor. One of the servers said that this is his favorite dish in the restaurant. I can see why.

Morcilla de Cebolla (Php450.00)

Morcilla de Cebolla is grilled blood sausage with onions. It was spicy and meaty, and I bet it would go great with some wine. 

Pote Gallego (Php175.00)

I was also able to have a taste of Pote Gallego, which is bean soup with pork, chorizo, and vegetables. Unfortunately, it was already cold when I got there. It tasted like a lighter version of Callos. Looking at it, I thought it would taste greasy, but it didn't.

Paella Party!

On to the main course! We were lucky enough to try three of Tapella's specialty paellas.

Paella de Marisco (Php700.00)

Paella de Marisco is Tapella's take on the seafood paella. The rice in itself is tasty, but not overwhelming. The seafood toppings were cooked fairly well, and were flavorful, but I think there could have been more of them in the dish. 

Arroz Sobrassada (Php375.00)

Arroz Sobrassada was something very new for me. It had spanish chorizo paella, and was served with a fine herb sauce. The sharp and salty flavor of the chorizo was balanced by the mellow flavors of the herbs. 

Arroz Mancchego (Php775.00)

However, my favorite paella for the night was the Arroz Manchego. It had tender bits of chicken, bits of grilled asparagus, and shrimp, and was topped with Manchego cheese (cheese made from sheep)! When the server was describing this dish to me, I couldn't think how this combination of toppings could work together, but they did. The chicken and shrimp made it meaty, while the asparagus gave a refreshing crunch, and the smokiness and creaminess of cheese just brought everything together. My words are not enough. You have to try it for yourself. :)

Looking back, I wish I could have controlled my eating better, because I was almost full when the stars of the night were served.

Boss Choco getting ready to cook us some Chuleton Villagodio (Php475.00/100grams)

Oh, this unforgettable, sinful, dish. Chuleton Vllagodio is certified Angus Beef prime rib, grilled, Villagodio style, right before your eyes. 

So what does "Villagodio style" mean anyway? It means you get these nicely marbled slices of meat, put them on a ceramic plate on top of a small flame, and season them a bit...

...and cook them until you are happy.

You can tell the servers how you want your meat to be cooked, or you can cook it yourself.

You can even ask them to put aside the fat and toast them a bit.

Needless to say, we all enjoyed this dish. We maybe enjoyed  bit too much, that we almost didn't notice that it also came with sides.

Just when we thought things couldn't get better, Chef Rob came out with this dish and said "You guys are going to love this."

Lapu Lapu A La Sal (Php210.000/100 grams)

Lapu Lapu A La Sal is Lapu Lapu fish baked in salt. When I saw this, I was immediately reminded of Master Chef. I saw something like this prepared in one of the finals of the show. Sure, it doesn't look fancy, but I remember the judges saying that this takes a lot of work and skill to pull off. 

We were all fascinated to watch how the server expertly cracked the salt...

...peeled of the skin...

...and took out the meat of the fish.

Taste-wise, the dish did not disappoint. It tasted fresh, and the seasoning really brought out the flavor of the meat. It can be eaten by its own, or with rice, or with sides.

Flan De La Abuela (Php75.00)

For a sweet ending, we were served with leche flan. Tapella's version of the dessert is lighter and more gelatinous than the traditional leche flan.

We had an enjoyable night at Tapella. As for me, I found out that fancy restaurants can be warm too.

Team Aldous with Chef Rob and Ms. Deigh Delantar-Navales.

Thanks for having us, Tapella! :)

Baleristas sans Claire.

You can visit Tapella Tapas Bar and restaurant at the Ground Floor, Greenbelt 5, Ayala Center, Makati City.

They are open daily from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 m.n.

You can get to know more about Tapella here:
www.tapellarestaurant.com
www.facebook.com/search/top/?q=Tapellarestobar


Be happy!


<3 Missy