Rainy treat? TABLEA DRINK!

So the rain's pouring very very hard today. The sky looks dark when the sun should be burning my skin now. So as not to ruin my day I made this Tablea drink!

It is the Filipino version of hot choco. I once saw a documentary about the Tablea industry. I was fascinated how this cocoa can provide a living to many housewives. The Philippines is such a rich counry and if we can only harness its true potential, we can become better.

However with the fast-paced world we have today, everyone needs everything to be instant. Thus this quality homemade products are at risk. I hope our people's brilliance can come up with something to revive our dying products.

Once in a while, all we need is a break from this world and enjoy a hot tablea drink like this!

What to do with over ripe bananas?

A few days ago, my mom was invited to speak to one of our church outreaches in Amadeo, Cavite. In return, they gave her 3 types of bananas and one of them is the senorita. These are small bananas with very thin skin and it has a bit bitter aftertaste. Nevertheless, they're sweet when they are over ripe already. Since my dad suggested to throw it away beacause it will eventually spoil and I don't want anything to be wasted, I made it into a smoothie!

Here are the ingredients:
> over ripe bananas
> evaporated milk
> sugar (bananas are already sweet so you may not add any sugar)
> ice
> vanilla extract (optional)

NOTE: The tricky part is peeling the banana. The more over ripe it is the more the skin sticks to the banana itself.

Procedure:
> Peel the bananas
> Blend the bananas (I tried to make the smoothies by batch)
> Add enough milk to achieve the right consistency. If you want your smoothie to be thicker, add less milk.
> Add ice, sugar and a few drops of vanilla extract.
> Pour into a nice glass and enjoy!

A Birthday Gift from Super Bowl of China!

Guess what arrived in the mail today?

An advanced birthday card from Super Bowl of China!

Our family loves Super Bowl of China. 

My mom got a lot of discount/promo cards from them but never got to use them. I am not sure if it's just a coincidence but Steamed Fish Fillet with Garlic is MY FAVORITE dish :) 

I will sure have a Super Birthday at Super Bowl.

P.S. My birthday is NOT in April but I appreciate the correct spelling of my name. :)

SB Planner Giveaway

Although this doesn't count as FOOD entry (well, almost), I think having a planner (for the year) when 3 months already passed is just fine. I had Witty World Save the Day planner in 2011 and HOPED they will produce another this year. Unfortunately, they didn't. And I wasn't able to search for other planners or it's too late since most were out of stock already. And also, I wasn't able to collect SB stickers and in short, I don't have a planner this year!

Last week, I went to National Bookstore to buy boards for the upcoming medical mission and saw this planner I wanted. I thought it's weird to sell or restock them in April. Who would buy it right? When I reached the cashier, I saw two girls who bought the planner. One guy with them asked the question in my mind, "Bakit pa kayo bibili ng planner eh April na?" One of the girls answered, "It's not just the planner, it's a collection". And she was right.

Since Starbucks had this planner, my mom was able to get one (or two) almost every year. The first one se got was still the bulky and thick one. And every year I thought it's just a waste since I am not used to using a planner. But I realized, it's still a collection. So, having this planner will complete my mom's "collection" whether or not she considers it as one.

If you STILL want this year's planner you can join Trips and Travel's Starbucks Planner Giveaway!

Checkout their site and follow them! :)

Red Mango: The Best Place on Earth

This post will be more of a story than a review of Red Mango. 

When Filipinos became more health conscious, frozen yogurt suddenly became a hit. With lesser calories and more benefit especially with your digestion, one can easily consider having frozen yogurt than ice cream to beat the heat.

Stackers Burger Cafe

Since we're fond of eating burgers and I accidentally left my wallet when we went to Eastwood as you can read here,we ended up having Stackers Burgers. The place looked nice and cozy. Although there were available tables inside we opted to stay outside where, of course, smokers usually eat.

Bubble Tea - SM North EDSA, The Block

In search for the best milk tea in town, we came across this at SM North EDSA, The Block: Bubble Tea. This place also offers a number of dishes and cakes. What separates them from the other milk tea shops is, as the name implies, their "bubbles" or the pearls. While most milk tea shops use the large sago, Bubble Tea mixed the large with the small (like the ones you get from taho) sago. However, their drink is a bit pricey considering their tough competition in the market. A medium-sized (but really small in actual) drink costs Php 115.00. It's the first milk tea shop I saw that uses a machine to mix the drink and ice. Most shops do this by hand. The milk tea itself is not too special. The milk overpowers the tea and it's not that sweet, or there's just too much water. The pearls were also too chewy. But the place looks nice and perfect for an evening meeting with a friend.