FOODIE THOUGHTS: Cocoa Rock Salt & Cheese at Happy Lemon = LOVE at first sip

I wondered what the fuss was all about. It took some time before I finally tried this very popular beverage place. I thought it was just another one of those overpriced places that I really dislike but can't help but to go to everytime I hit a craving moment for sweetness.

So when officemates and I were at the Eastwood Mall, the moment that I have been waiting for has finally arrived and I will finally get to taste what the conundrum was all about. :)

There was a short queue so thank goodness for that. I followed suit on what my friends ordered and that is their Cocoa Rock Salt and Cheese. Sounds weird. Happy Lemon was right beside Starbucks but I guess both places are confident with their market as well as knowing that what they offer are different. Starbucks was filled with customers, so does happy Lemon. Both have their own 'happy' market. Then we're just waiting for our names to be called and get our drinks.

I love my drink! No other feelings but pure bliss while sipping it. The cocoa drink was not sweet but the creamy topping was a bit on the sweet side that really made me happy. After all, I'm bone tired but I forgot that tiredness for a while while indulging in this drink. That's all I can say.

My first time so I guess it deserves a well-deserved snap :)

YUM! That's all I can say :)

Love Love it!

For its rich taste, I guess the price is worth it. 

If it's worth mentioning, after a few days, I have already tried Happy Lemon's Yakult Green Tea at Trinoma because, unfortunately, Rock salt and Cheese variants are all sold out. Darn!  And my take on this, I will not be trying this drink again, ever! And to think that this is a recommended drink on their list. I love Yakult and maybe I should just have bought Yakult and put it in one mug and drank it. I find this drink bland for my taste and expensive at its price of P85 (large size). Well, charge it to experience.

Also, would like to share that I have also tried another variant of the Rock Salt and Cheese which is the Green Tea (another recommended drink) but I find it too bitter for my taste. But I loved the foamy & frothy topping of course, but not the green tea part.

Important: If you are ordering the Rock Salt and Cheese variants (Green Tea, Cocoa & Coffee), never ever mix your drink up. Chug it the normal style, straight up. I did a wrong move and used a straw to mix it up so I can mask the bitterness of the green tea and suddenly, the frothy and sweet goodness of the rock salt and cheese was no more. Lesson learned. :(


RESTO FACTS:
Happy Lemon
- Greenhills Promenade
   477-0934
- Eastwood Mall
   921-7050
- Powerplant Mall
   822-2277
- Trinoma Mall (4/F)
- SM Megamall Bldg A (3/F)

FOODIE THOUGHTS: Jatujak @ SM City The Block

Bone tired? A nice dinner always does wonders for me. Especially if you dine with a friend that you can really talk to. That's what I had earlier.

My friend and I met at SM North and good thing was that she hasn't eaten yet; same with me. We were thinking out loud some names of restos but then she remembered a place where she and her family recently dined in but she forgot the name..luckily I knew what she was referring to though I haven't eaten there yet. It's JATUJAK! =)

My brother gave high praises to this place last year and now I have the opportunity to experience it. They offer Thai foods. Let's see how it fares. Check it out!

The elephant is cute!

CRISPY PORK (P245.00) Mayen, my friend, recommended this one and she said that she wanted a repeat so we ordered. This dish is quite simple, like the Lechon Kawali, but the sauce is so goooood! The waiter said it was made of calamansi, sugar and patis. I hope he did not leave anything out, after all, this is supposed to be a trade secret. Haha! Its sweet yet a bit sour and spicy. And you can ask for extra sauce so you'll have plenty around. It made a world of difference. The presence of some veggies--lettuce and cucumber were a welcome sight in this dish. Lessened the guilt just a little bit. Haha! =) 

BAGOONG RICE (P160.00) Just the right taste, not too salty, just enough to tickle your taste buds with the saltiness and  a bit of sweetness from the sliced mango. Just this dish alone is a full meal in itself. It's packed with flavor and a full tummy is what you're going to get as soon as you dive into it. 

CHICKEN PANDAN (P240.00) A simple dish as well, but perfectly cooked. It's boneless, seasoned  perfectly and cooked tenderly. You get to dip it in their sweet chili sauce but me, I prefer to put in the sauce from the Crispy Pork. So good! This is also one of Jatujak's bestsellers as well. 

Me and Mayen..sharing stories and good food for the night

Loved the meal! All of it! =)

For my first time? I rate it a 4.5 out of 5. I enjoyed the food and the quiet ambiance even if we sat outside. Good thing there's not much crowd around this time so it was a relaxed atmosphere there. I know, on busy days, it can get pretty crazy at this area especially since it's near the cinemas.

I will definitely come back to try their other offerings. =)

RESTO FACTS:
JATUJAK 
SM City North Edsa The Block
North Ave. cor. Edsa, Quezon City, Metro Manila
(02) 442-0354

The Puerto Galera Experience

I know almost everyone has already went to Puerto Galera in Oriental Mindoro but not me. This is my first time. I was not interested in going before because I've heard lots of not so good stories like the beaches are not that great nor clean and that prostitution was rampant. So if I was going to spend money, might as well try other, and much farther, places here in our long list of provinces.

My former teammates, Bongbay, earned some money as part of their incentives and I was still part of the team when that prize was earned. So they decided to do something else this time around aside from the usual eat-out at buffet spots like before. I was informed that they are shouldering P1,000 and I just had to add P500 more so of course I agreed! I thought that it was time to give Galera a try and especially with my old teammates around, even if the place would be a drag, I would surely enjoy it still because of them.

Our trip was for 3 days and 2 nights. See below for our experience. =)

Arrived at the Batangas Port around 10am or 11am

We brought along homemade meals to save on costs, thanks to Melvin's(green shirt guy) mom,Priscilla

Everything was arranged already so we just waited for a very short time

Our boat was like a very big outrigger that should seat only  50pax but we were near 100 at that time. We should've minded it but we didn't because of the excitement.

DAY 1: Official start of our trip! Upon arrival, I slept at our room and  recharged my 'batteries'. Then thus we started the exploration.  

It's confirmed, I can't be a mountain climber, I tried climbing this rock and I couldn't. Haha! 

Beautiful sunset!

Of course, you got to go out the room and enjoy the nightly entertainment

Love these!

Fun! Fun! Fun!

Fire dancers alight!

I always imagine this scenario..just lying on my back in the sand and gazing at the skies (it was a beautiful  starlit sky that night). Life's a beach!

DAY 2: Start the day right by swimming. And the water was so cold but we jumped right in. A good way to get our blood pumping!

Brrrr!! So cold..

Done swimming. Off to our next destination..Tamarraw Falls! 

If i remember correctly, we rented this jeepney at around P800 for the round trip. Since we're a large group, that amount is a big savings already and made the trip comfy also

Tamarraw Falls..sure is beautiful

For these cheap fees, the view inside was priceless

There we were, trying to climb up those big boulders. It was easy to climb it but getting down was so difficult. I thought I was going to fall straight in the deep water and I'm not a swimmer! Lucky we got down safely. :)

The water was much colder here..way, way colder than at the beach

Love this shot! It was nice to hang out just like this

Melvin the scary creature..hahah!

What a wonderful second day!

Looks like we rode this really..but not! The operators for the banana, or in  this case, 'pencil' boat were in shambles. One was saying yes while the other was not to our request. The ending, we were pissed,especially Lani who threw a bit of a tantrum scene at the beach (priceless! haha!), then we ended the conversation by not continuing with the ride. It was their loss, not ours. Imagine losing income over a very small concern. Tsk Tsk.

A well needed massage by the beach. Loved it! For only P150-P200.  That's already for an hour.

Pink ladies of White Beach

The Galera experience would not be complete without experiencing  their famed local alcoholic cocktail drink aptly called "Mindoro Sling". Some say its made of rum, mango , lemon, orange, grenadine and lime soda while some say it is made of tequila with four seasons, orande, pineapple and mango. Whatever it is, it sure is potent. You will never know it has already hit you until you stand up and you feel yourself feeling a bit tipsy. Beware! But try it! :)

Overall rate, I give it a 3.5 out of 5. It sure erased my past opinion of this place and replaced it with a new, and positive, opinion. We all had fun, except for that instance at the banana boat rental. We explored the island and liked it. Day and night were filled with happy memories.

Not to mention that the expense per person was just less than P2,000. And that amount already covered our round trip van rental to and from the Batangas Port, the boat ride to Galera, the food, accommodation, etc.

Till the next trip, Bongbay! :)

FOODIE THOUGHTS: Kopi Roti @ Katipunan Ave.

Online buying sites are so cool! It gives the consumers the chance to try different things, eat at different restos..for a fraction of the original price. In the end, the buying community still comes out as the big winners.

Take this voucher that we had, it was for Kopi Roti. We were so hungry already after work and also because of the heavy traffic so my boss offered us if we still have time to avail of her voucher. We said yes, of course. Haha! We parked at Kopi Roti Katipunan Ave. branch and came inside and gave the voucher, chose two variants of their Toast Selection then waited for our order. We just added siomai and soft boiled eggs and we were good to go.

For P105, our voucher stated that we will be having 2 choices from the Toast Selection and 2 glasses of their home-made iced tea. We saved 50% from that voucher! Winner, right? After all, if you buy it without the voucher, that'll be P210 charge to you.

The toasts were good, just enough sweetness to tickle your tastebuds and the iced tea was so refreshing! We did enjoy our 'late merienda' and we went home satisfied.

I bought a voucher for the same price at Kopi Roti but I haven't availed of it yet. =)

Blueberry Toast (that does not look like blueberry, hehe)

Choco & Milk Toast

Toast Selection choices

Home-Made Iced Tea

Siomai for P60.. yum!

Soft-boiled eggs for P35

What's your choice?

RESTO FACTS:
Kopi Roti (Katipunan Ave.)

226 Katipunan Ave., Blue Ridge A

Quezon City, Metro Manila

Philippines

(02) 439-1546