Lugang Cafe + Tous Les Jours

I have to warn you, this might not even be a coherent review as this is a super late post and it was all a blur of "Damn, that was good!" 

Love the modern vibe of the interiors

Notice the plastic bowls un the upper right corner? They give it to kids to use. Very thoughtful.

Seafood and Spinach Soup

The soup was good but nothing special. It tastes like the seafood and spinach soup from any other chinese restaurant.

Pork Xiao Long Bao

I think that perhaps this is the best part of the meal. Xiao Long Bao is an automatic order for me whenever I see it on the menu. The broth is good and the filling is very flavorful as well. It was served steaming hot and I didn't dig in immediately because I am wary of hot food and drinks because I had a traumatic experience when I was younger where I accidentally burned off my taste buds with hot soup and couldn't taste anything for months. I might have waited too long to eat it because the soup inside was lukewarm already. The skin is thicker than what I am used to so it is chewier than how I would like it to be but this makes it a bit more puncture-proof than most xiao long bao.

Roast Duck

The roast duck was amazing as well. The skin is thinner than what I am used to but it is better than the thicker skins because it is crispier. The seasoning was a bit on the salty side for me but my dad and brother didn't think it was. This was so good that my brother who wasn't hungry and only wanted soup when we were deciding what to order, finished one cup of rice with the duck.

Spicy Garlic Fish in Claypot

This was my favorite dish after the xiao long bao. The fish were soft and succulent but the sauce is really what made this dish. The sauce was a perfect blend of spicy and sweet which is my 2nd favorite flavor combination, the 1st being sweet and salty. Despite the name, it isn't as garlicky as I thought it would be. The gaelic was subtle but undeniably present and enhances the flavor. 

Garlic Pork Roll

This wasn't that memorable for me. It wasn't bad but it wouldn't rock your panties or briefs or whatever. It tasted like a meatier spring roll or a lumpiang shanghai with vermicelli.

I want to get inside that display case sooooo baaaaaaaaaad.

After our meal at Lugang Cafe, we headed to Tous Les Jours for me to pick out a birthday cake. Let me tell you, it is so hard to pick out one cake. They have so many types of one flavor. There are like 10 different chocolate cakes with minor differences. I decided that I wanted something fruit flavored so I looked at the strawberry choices. The differences were so minute that it wouldn't help at all with the decision making process so I went with what I think was the prettiest. Aaaaaand the winner of the prettiest strawberry cake award is, Kiss Strawberry!

They have at least 4 types of strawberry cake.

Kiss Strawberry

This is so pretty and the dried strawberries were so fragrant that our table smelled like strawberries. I love how it tasted as well. It tasted really of strawberries and the strawberry flavor was strong which I prefer unlike the subtle strawberry taste of other strawberry cakes I have tried. Coming from Baguio, I have tried a LOT of strawberry flavored everything. The chiffon cake was light and airy and just the right amount of sweetness. The taste could be likened to Vizco's Strawberry Shortcake which is THE BEST strawberry cake at the moment. It was so good that my dad, who isn't much of a dessert person, asked for two slices.

All cakes come with free cake knife and candles.

Cakes are one of the reasons my birthday is my favorite day of the year.

Lugang Cafe

The Block at SM North Edsa

Tous Les Jours

The Block at SM North Edsa

Braided Hairstyles :3

There are a lot of things going on right now and I feel that I need a distraction. Whenever I need to study, I would always do girly things like experiment with makeup or do my nails to procrastinate. This time, I played with my hair because it is currently hot. I was looking at an article at DailyMakeover about pretty braided hairstyles at Pinterest. I wanted to do braids because I think they're pretty and they'll make my uber long roots look forgivable.

This is my inspiration for hairstyle #1

What I did was simply french braid my hair starting from the side, above the ear. I continued on through the crown and ended on top of my other ear and continued on to a simple braid.

Nailed it?

My rooooootsss!

Right side. Ignore the hangers lol.

Left side.

Pardon my photography skills. Do you have any idea to take pictures of your hair from different angles by yourself? It was so hard I just kinda gave up. So anyway, I still want my hair out of the way so I decided to modify the hairstyle a bit. I undid the simple braid and continued the french braid until it reached the other side and did a simple braid to the rest of my hair.

Hairstyle #2

Top view. Aren't braids pretty?

Right side.

I love how the braid is positioned as if dividing my hair colors. It wasn't intentional though, I was practically braiding blind and relied only on my proprioception. I love happy accidents like this :)

Left side.

Check out the article responsible for all these shenanigans here.

Yabu: House of Katsu and the Best Foodgasmic Experience You Can Ever Have with Fried Food (+ Merry Moo!)

SPOILER ALERT: I AM IN LOVE WITH YABU

Some time back, Yabu had a giveaway where all you have to do is follow them on Twitter and Instagram and then comment your usernames on the post of the giveaway. I never win at these things so I normally wouldn't even bother joining but since I already follow Yabu on Twitter and Instagram and all I have to do is to comment my name and usernames then I joined. I went on with my merry way until I came across the announcement of the winners and this happened:

Winner #12 seems like a cool person.

We used the GCs I won when my parents picked me up from school last saturday for my birthday dinner since we didn't get to see each other much on my actual birthday. This will already my 3rd time eating at Yabu and I already knew that there will be a waiting period before you get seated. The past two times I ate there, the wait wasn't long so we didn't plan ahead and ended up being 21st in line to be seated. I really love Yabu and my dad wanted to try it out too so we agreed to wait.

We don't need no menu

We waited so long that we already have our orders by the time they sat us down. I must have looked like a rabid Yabu fangirl when I said, "We're ready to order." when they're not even done putting down the menus.

Menchi Katsu

I ordered the Menchi Katsu set because it is the only meat katsu that I am confident I can bite through with my new braces and all. Also,  because it is ground pork and beef stuffed with cheese. It was good. Soooo good. The crispyness of the breading, the juicyness of the meat, and the flavor with the melted cheese are perfect. I love the taste so much, I didn't want to dip it in the katsu sauce that I slaved on while waiting for the meal. 

Kurobuta Premium Set

My dad got the Kurobuta Premium Set and Yabu does not use the term premium lightly. It is the most expensive pork katsu available in the menu. 90g will already cost you about 500 bucks. It is made from Kurobuta pork which comes from the Berkshire pig and apparently is the Rolls Royce of pork. I did some more research and apparently, Berkshire pigs are so rare that in 2008 there are only 300 known sows in the world. Another amazing fact is that the ones available in Japan can be traced back from the gift given to Japan by English Royalty. You're basically eating royalty here! My dad really loved this one.

Close up of the slice of Kurobuta on the far left

In an act of paternal love that all fathers must do, my dad gave me a slice of the kurobuta and that was the best thing that ever happened to me that day. As soon as I took a bite, I felt like I was one with the universe. I felt like nothing else existed but me and that morsel of pork. It was the most tender, flavorful, and juiciest pork I have ever tasted. Even the fat was so good, I wouldn't mind if it created fatty deposits in my arteries. It was so tender, it was almost as soft as my menchi katsu! The flavor was so good that I wondered, "If this is pork, what have I been eating before?" So put eating kurobuta pork in your bucket list if you haven't yet.

Original Katsudon Set

My brother loves katsudon so it's no surprise that he ordered this one. I didn't get to taste it but according to him, it was good.

Seafood Katsu Set 1

My mom originally wanted the Seafood Katsu Set 2 (salmon, oyster, soft shell crab, and black tiger prawn) because she tried the Salmon Katsu before and she really liked it but wanted to try the other seafood options. Unfortunately, we were told that the salmon was already sold out so she opted for the Seafood Katsu Set 1 which has cream dory, tiger prawn, scallop, and oyster. The set comes with tartar sauce for the dory and tempura sauce for the tiger prawn. I only tasted the scallop which is good. It is soft and sweet. I really like how big it is too. My mom had no complaints with her choice.

Black and White Sesame seeds

You will not get bored while waiting for your food at Yabu because you will be preoccupied by these babies. You have to grind them and then add tonkatsu sauce.

Tis the seasonings

There was a new addition to the cabbage dressing since I last went to Yabu. I forgot to ask what it really is but it tasted like some sort of wasabi flavored dressing. I didn't eat much of the cabbage as much as I used to because eating it is such a hassle to the braces. My parents loved it though.

Why bother ordering a drink when you have unli miso soup?

The best change in Yabu since my last visit was the unlimited miso soup. I managed to finish two bowls and I only noticed afterwards that I didn't even drink anything during the meal. I love their miso soup, it makes miso happy. 

A set usually includes unlimited Japanese rice or organic brown rice. I originally wanted to try the brown rice but in my hurry to order food, I forgot to say that I wanted brown rice. My brother suggested I ask for brown rice on my refill but I didn't get the chance to as I couldn't even finish that one bowl of rice. There is also unlimited cabbage which was once my favorite unli something of Yabu (unli miso soup is now my favorite). You could put any of the three dressings I mentioned before. Of course, unlimited miso soup. There are also pickled vegetables and fresh fruits. For about Php350++ I think that's worth your money.

And yes, may baon akong nutella

Victory never tasted so good

I always have nutella with me. Always.

After declaring that I am about to go into foodcoma, I saw this in MOA:

Merry Moo!

I stopped in my tracks because it is my personal principle to always buy Salted Caramel from Merry Moo whenever I come across it. Merry Moo's Salted Caramel flavor is the epitome of sweet and salty. The first time I had it, it tasted like how I imagine heaven would taste like. So regardless of my full stomach, I soldiered on and ate my salted caramel. No regrets.

Famous Belgian Waffles is not only famous, it is also happiness.

This signed looked like the heavens parted and shone a single ray of light on it.

 I have been into waffles recently but there aren't many that are good. I love the ones at Bon Appetea but they don't have savory options and I am a sucker for cheese waffles. The ones at The Pancake House are decent but not oh-my-god-is-this-what-heaven-tastes-like kinda good. So one morning right after this jackassy thing that I did, I was roaming around Rob Manila looking for something to eat while waiting for the people I need to show up. I was going down the escalator ad I saw the kiosk (or is it stall?) of Famous Belgian Waffles.

Famous Belgian Waffles Menu

I looked at the menu and all options seem good. The choices weren't that creative though but at least you have guarantee that you won't get a weird tasting waffle because you were curious (happens all the time to people like me who immediately go for the weirdest sounding food in the menu). Since everything sounds delicious, it was a difficult decision for me right? No. If you were a good reader, you'd remember that I mentioned in the previous paragraph that I am a sucker for cheese waffles. Shaaaame. Just kidding, I'm not judging you. It's your life you could read whatever you want to read and however you want to read it. Please don't leave.

This is where the magic happens.

To ensure quality, the waffles are made to order so the waffles are fresh. I have found out that it is best to eat your waffle right after it is handed to you because it cools down easily and temperature drop really screws up the perfect texture of the waffle which crispy on the outside but soft inside. I was almost running towards the exit as I can feel my waffle quickly cooling down.

Is it just me or this looks like a shrine?

I couldn't wait to take  a pic before biting into it. Not even sorry.

It was a bit cool when I started eating my cheese waffle but it was still good. The sweetness of the batter complements the saltiness of the cheese which is perfect. I just wish I ate it sooner while it was still hot. Next time.

Double Date with Kenny and Bill

When Kenny Rogers announced this promo, I was excited to try it out since I love Kenny Rogers' (probably) healthy selections. My mom and I decided to have an afternoon date at the Matalino St. branch. My concern with this is that the food that you could buy one get one free are the types of food that are not Kenny's specialties and probably won't be that good. Nobody (that I know) goes to Kenny for their pastas or sandwiches. *Spoiler alert: I was right* 

Meatball Spaghetti

We ordered the Meatball Spaghetti because I love meatball spaghetti and I've been craving some recently. You could actually choose a different snack variant as your freebie as long as it is of equal or lesser value. Mom chose the same because she wants pasta and the Meatball Spaghetti seemed to be the lightest option. Overall it was so-so. It wasn't offensive but it's not something I'd crave. The sauce was okay with the right amount of sourness I want in my spaghetti sauce. The pasta was perfectly al dente. The problem was the meatballs. The meatballs were supposed to be the star but it failed miserably. It was tough which I find weird for a meatball. This meatball would make Chef Ramsay weep, methinks.

Ranch Pork Quesadilla

We ordered the Ranch Pork Quesadilla because we wee curious about it and it looks good. At first bite, it was a punch of flavor and the salsa goes well with it. After a few more bites the garlic became so overpoering that I couldn't finish it all. This is not something I can eat all on my own and must be shared with others. Would I eat this again? Only if I didn't have better options.

Sea Salt Caramel Javakula

Since SBC is just beside Kenny, I decided to get my drinks there. I ordered the Sea Salt Caramel Javakula because Salt and Caramel are keywords that prompt the order immediately reflex in my brain. I usually think SBC drinks are too sweet but this one was just right. I didn't get to try the version of Starbucks so I can't compare but it was good and the balance of salty and sweet was done just right. All flaws this drink might have were forgiven and forgotten because of the adorable candy starfish on it.

I decided to keep him and name him Bill.

Overall, the food we had was so-so. I don't see myself craving any of the food we ordered. I sorta expected that it wouldn't be that good because the items on promo aren't specialties of Kenny Rogers. Couldn't say I didn't hope either. It was a good experience still because of the savings we had. 4 dishes all in all plus one Javakula were all under 500 pesos. And Bill made everything better so it's all good :)

Sophie Bitchslapped Me Into an Existential Crisis

SPOILER ALERT IF YOU HAVEN'T READ SOPHIE'S WORLD YET.

Wrapping myself up in bubble wrap to ward off existential depression.

I am currently enrolled in a subject called Philosophy of Man and we were required to write a min. 3 page reflection paper on Sophie's World by Jostein Gaarder. At first, it seemed like a boring novel telling us about the philosophers but it is not. IT IS NOT. If you haven't read it yet, read it. Or not. I seriously don't know if I should recommend it or not. If you do decide to read it, make sure you have adult supervision. It is educational, fun, and enlightening at times. However, there are times that are unnerving and unsettling not unlike the queasiness one feels while watching a gory movie because it leads you on to think and question some things you consider to be truth. One of these moments was the revelation that Sophie is only a creation of Albert Knag's imagination. She was a character of a book in the book! Bookception! After I read this scene, I instantly felt panic. The book was written so well that the philosophy lessons woven into the plot led up to the intense panic one should feel. Before the reveal, I was introduced to Hume who questioned the unbreakability of our natural laws. He said that maybe things fall to the ground not because of the natural law but because we expect it to. Since we always see things fall to the ground, we believe it to be always the case. The things we hold to be true might be true because of us imposing our minds on it. With this knowledge followed by the reveal, made me feel bad for Sophie for a split second until I started thinking about my own existence. What if like Sophie, I am just a creation of someone's imagination? What if I'm still in the matrix? It might seem like an absurd premise but there's no way to prove otherwise. I desperately racked my brains for some philosophical assertion to affirm my existence and I remembered Descartes. He proved he exists by the mere fact that he doubted and it calmed me down a bit. Then I remembered that Sophie was thinking too, she was doubting too. What if I am only thinking and doubting because my creator wanted me to? And then at this point I started to cry. I know, I'm that weird girl (well, technically more drunk as I had 2 1/2 bottles of beer at this point already). I calmed down when my mom threatened to take my alcohol away and when I realized that it doesn't matter. I'm better off not knowing anyway because what if what I fear was true, what now? I do not want to take that gamble. It will be like one of those presents you see early during the year with the label "Do no open until Christmas". Whatever is the truth, I can not know for sure but the fact remains that I can think, I can feel, and I can experience things. Because I can do those things, I see no reason for me not to continue the way I live regardless on whether I truly exist or not.

"Stay hungry. Stay foolish." - Steve Jobs

Ermahgerd! : The Jean Padilla Braces Story

Creepy Psycho Smile: One of the hallmark signs of a braces noob

I got my braces last June 12 and I am only blogging about it now because well, I'm lazy. First off, many people are wondering why I got braces since I am usually categorized under "People with Good Dentition". 

Go ahead, bask in the glory of my good dentition.

Apparently like most fat kids' pictures on facebook (mine included), my good dentition was only an effect of angular deception. If viewed from a socially acceptable angle, my teeth look perfectly aligned and cute as fuck but if you look at my teeth from an angle medical professionals are only allowed to look, you'd see that my teeth aren't really that cute as fuck.

I have an overbite and the alignment of my teeth has a mild case of can't be tamed.

Since my dentist is also my aunt, she can't have it on her honor as a DMD that her niece has not-so-perfect dentition so I let her put some torture corrective contraption on my teeth. The process wasn't as long as I thought it would be which was just shy of 3hours. Afterwards, I felt like a cyborg and the OS for my mouth hasn't been installed yet. Everything about my mouth was suddenly awkward. What are teeth and how do they function? And my tongue suddenly became such an intrusive presence that I can't help wondering what was it doing pre-braces. After sometime, sores dominated my oral mucosa. As in singaw, singaw, singaw everywhere. The pain was initially so distracting that I had to be fed painkillers regularly to tone down my irritability to not-murder-everyone level. I wasn't able to eat anything solid for the first week because of the mutiny my oral area was having because of the annoying metal thing I forced on them. My diet consisted of only soup, tea, ice cream, and ortho wax. At first it was all good since I love the first three and ortho wax doesn't really taste like anything so meh but it got tiring to eat only soup after a while so I tried eating apple mash with honey which my brother called baby food.

I'd punch a baby for this heavenly baby food.

It was good though and my mom was really supportive of my temporary disability and made food that are easy to chew and digest. After the first week, I was able to chew a bit and I moved on to more solid food for my nutrition. Ice cream never went away though because well, ice cream.

Triple Threat: Delicious, Dulls the pain of mouth sores, and Leads you to the path of Type II Diabetes

Now, I can already eat most of my previous diet. I still can't bite hard food and I avoid leafy veggies because they enjoy hanging out within the nooks and crannies of my braces. I just had my first McSpicy last Thursday so I'm happy with my progress to regain control of my teeth. However, I ate my McSpicy in a way that cannot be described as poised or elegant so I still have work to do.

BTW Protip: Use Tea Tree Oil to treat your sores. Just dab some using a cotton swab on the sore. It hurts a lot upon application but it will be painless afterwards and the sore will heal in no time. And no matter what they say about good girls, DO NOT SWALLOW. Just spit the accumulating saliva that might have tea tree oil. It just takes 2-3mins before it is safe to swallow or ingest anything so it's not that hassle. Reapply when sore starts to hurt again. You're welcome.