Starbucks Drive Thru

Starbucks Coffee is set to open it's drive thru branch in Fort Bonifacio on Wednesday, November 24.  As it maybe the only branch in the Philippines that will offer coffee on the go, it turns out that it's not the first one in Asia (Malaysia opened it's first Starbucks drive thru December of last year, see here).

Photos courtesy of Starbucks Philippines Facebook site.  Read more...

Muji in Manila - Afer The Visit

It was a year ago since I blogged about Muji coming here in the Philippines.  Now that it has finally opened its flagship store in Bonifacio High Street last October 16 (and after reading others blog about  their Muji experience), I couldn't help but check it out last week. Boy, was I disappointed.

Don't get me wrong. I love Muji (maybe because I'm normally biased when stuff are Japan made ^^) even if I don't actually buy a lot of stuff from there, Muji in Hong Kong has always been a happy place for me as I can spend hours just looking around.  A different case in Muji High Street as I was able to do the rounds in 30 minutes (or less).

Truth is, the look and feel is very Muji-like.  All of their merchandise have the same product sticker you'll find in other Muji stores abroad.  They have the usual areas: clothes (Japanese style, of course), bags, shoes, accessories, home and kitchen utensils, cosmetics, furniture and most especially, food and stationery (the last 2 being Rai and my favorite areas).  The disappointment came in when we saw what they have to offer in the food section as it  was almost non-existent.  (Look at what HK Muji has to ). And the pens and stationery... not as much choices as from stores abroad.  Too bad because I've always had this thinking that Japanese stores offer the most number of (cute) pens and stationery.

Aside from that, I somehow felt like every item was just too expensive. I don't know how it can be said that the products here are cheaper by 6%-7% as compared to HK prices. Believe me, as I looked at the price tags, I can't help but compare how much the items were sold in HK and how cheaper they are there (also maybe in Japan as I was surprised to see a foldable umbrella being sold here at Php1250 which I was able to get at half that price in Japan).  With that, it can be said that Muji's target consumers are those who can really afford (which is why they set it up in High Street).  Average consumers will probably opt to visit a Saizen store for more affordable Japan-made products.

With that said, I'm not so sure if I'll frequent this store as I thought I would. 

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Chung Kee Dessert is to Hong Kong, Caveman and Yeti is to Philippines

When it comes to Hong Kong dessert places, I used to know of only 許留山 Hui Lau Shan and 滿記甜品 Honeymoon Dessert.

But during my 3-months stint, we discovered and frequented the Causeway Bay branch of Chung Kee Dessert.

image taken from the official site

Although they offer different hot and cold desserts, my favorite will have to be their mango pudding, their shaved ice offering comes in second.  Here, you have a choice of which flavor of shaved ice you want plus 2 kinds of toppings plus your flavor of choice for the syrup for around 28HKD (good for sharing).  [I prefer their mango shaved ice over the chocolate with magic pearls (similar to tapioca except that it pops inside one's mouth) as one of the toppings. *yum*]

photo courtesy of emma n.

Apparently, Caveman and Yeti has brought the shaved flavored ice concept here in Manila, too.

image taken from here

Comparatively, Caveman and Yeti has more toppings to offer mainly because the store, unlike Chung Kee Dessert, is all about shaved ice although they also offer sesame mochi buns which are fried mochi.

Earlier today I ordered their strawberry heart (vanilla shaved ice with strawberry syrup) and a mochi bun. And boy, am I glad to have a place that can fill that void whenever I miss Chung Kee.

Where to find them:
Chung Kee Dessert 松記糖水 
G/F, G4-G5 Wing Tak Building, 15 Canal Road West, 
Causeway Bay, Hong Kong
 銅鑼灣堅拿道西15號永德大廈地下G4-G5號地下
(+852)3480 7222

Caveman and Yeti 
3rd Level Main Mall, SM City North EDSA 
North Avenue corner EDSA 
Quezon City, Philippines

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Just The Way You Are - Bruno Mars feat Erin Christine

There's just something with Bruno Mars and as it is, I'm currently liking his Just the Way You Are song.

Looks like there's a remix to include a girl version of the song (Listen after the jump *grin*)
listen listen

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Planetime with Yotsuba

Yotsuba has been accompanying us to most of our travels and her adventure usually starts (and ends) in her plane rides.

Oftentimes, she is well-behaved.

But there are times when she finds herself with a playmate, she can't help herself...

and be a little naughty.


Then again... that's just her, being excited.

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Shameless Plug

If you happen to be one of those (very few) people who check this blog every so often and gets disappointed whenever no new entry has been posted... you might want to check on this other blog we've started a couple of months back. It's still a work in progress but comments and/or suggestions are very much welcome there. :)

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Of Celebrating Birthdays (Semi Post-Birthday Entry)

We all have that one day to commemorate our being born. When we were young, we used to be excited and looked forward to that special day. Times are changing and as we grow older, the excitement fades little by little. In fact, I've heard people say they see their birthday as just an ordinary day. Some people also dislike having to grow older especially when they feel they haven't achieved their goals at a certain age.

I, myself, am not as how I used to be whenever my birthday draws to a near. I used to be uptight about it, expecting the world to celebrate, then I realized how I am putting myself in a position where I will be disappointed because of unrealistic expectations (i.e. expecting to be surprised with a celebration, gifts, calls or greetings). These days, I view my birthday as still a special day - one that is blessed because I get to receive the best gift of all which is Life. Also the very reason why I make it a point to celebrate the day with people I love.

Celebrating Rai's birthday is a different story.

During his first birthday after we became a couple, I gave him flowers (much to his embarrassment LOL), an original (came straight from Japan) Kon plushie because at that time Bleach was his favorite anime , and a bag (as I wanted to give him something of use). The next year, I tried coming up with 27 things to give him since the month of April started. Then, together with his college friends, we were able to surprise him at his house. Also, we threw him a surprise semi-kiddie party in the office. Last year's pre-birthday gifts were: a surprise dinner with his college friends and a surprise lazer tag game with his office friends. This year, I planned a memorable weekend getaway in Tagaytay with office friends and college friends (left here in Manila) altogether.

Even with him not expecting anything from me, it has become my goal to make his birthday always an extra-special day. I'm glad that even if Rai sometimes is hard to please, it doesn't take much to make him smile and happy on his day (that, or he just doesn't want to disappoint me? :p). :) Most importantly, it's my way of reminding him how blessed he is for having these many people around who care for him and love him.

And so, to Rai, belated Happy Birthday once again. I hope you're looking forward to the new year of opportunities to accomplish personal goals. :)

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Showing off my birthday card ^^

I haven't really posted anything for a looong time, but just to show that I'm still alive I'm posting my birthday eCard :)



Check Out this Birthday Card I Just Received!

Create your own!

Thanks to everyone and Ji!

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Giving in to Wanderlust

I can no longer remember when I started to have that desire to travel and explore the world. In fact, if only I have all the time and the money to spend, I probably would have been able to see Europe by now. Instead, I've just made it my goal to take on Asia one step at a time.

With that in mind, I made Taiwan next on my list (of course, with Rai) only because I've heard it offers inexpensive but good food LOL.


We definitely would want to come back because three days just isn't enough. More on the preparation details and the actual trip in our next post. :)

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Backlog

Such backlog.

Been really busy with work that we end up wanting our weekends to just be laid-back. Maybe I need more than just free time to update this blog...

Yeah... maybe being more committed is what I should be doing :p

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