Foodspotting in Tagaytay: Rowena's Half-half Cheese Tarts

This is our latest Tagaytay discovery: Rowena's!

I heard their cheese tarts are good so on our way back home last week, I begged my hubby to stop by and let me buy a box. He was a little bit grumpy that day so I summoned my "grumpier, bitchy" self ~pouty, crumpled face included, ready to throw a tantrum~ just to let him know how serious I was in getting my hands on these babies. he relented. He didn't come into the store with me though. He stayed in the car which means I had to be very quick about my business.

I jumped out the car, made a mad dash into the store and went straight to the lady stacking boxes of tarts and asked to be introduced to their bestseller. It looks like it wasn't the first time they were asked such a question because ~very calmly~ she handed me a box of half-half. That's half blueberry, half strawberry. 6 in total for 170Php. I also bought a piece of egg tart (40Php) as peace offering to the oh-so-grumpy-one [you know who!]

Rowena's Half-half Cheese Tarts. That's Strawberry and Blueberry, their bestsellers :)

Long story short, the egg tart was a success since it made the ogre [you know who!] happy and less grumpy. Their blueberry tarts are good too, but I fell inlove with the strawberry tarts *sigh* :) They are so convenient to bring along travels since they are something you could just pop into your mouth ~a whole piece. no crumbly crust so no messy car too. creamy and it has just the right amount of tartness in it too.

I suggest you try their apple tarts too, next to strawberry cheese tarts, apple tart is my bet (because we came back the next day to buy more egg tarts ~HAH!) didn't like the chocolate mousse tart that much though.

#bestever!

Foodspotting: Josephine Restaurant's Bulalo Steak

I think my husband is on a mission. I really think he's putting together his very own Top 10 *bulalo steak* list and hellbent on sampling every bulalo steak in existence. Good God.

So this one's from Josephine Restaurant up in Tagaytay ~we go there every week to visit Padre Pio, give thanks for blessings coming our way and offer prayers. Anyway, personally, I love their Mutya ng Cavite ~their house version of seafood chowder~ and would crave it every now and then. 

This bulalo steak looks dry. It's because the gravy was served separately. lol :) but it is good. I'm not sure but I think it's 500Php+ per order but it was really big and could feed 3-4. Sulit na :)

Oh and they have a killer view that you might want to check out while there. Last time I checked they still offer buffet lunch ~which I would like to try as well BUT the hubby is quite fixated on Dad's nowadays so it may have to wait a while

#takingabreakfromwork :)

Josephine Restaurant 
Km. 58 Gen. Aguinaldo Highway, Maharlika West, Tagaytay City

Random Tuesday: Taho, Facial Sponge, Kamay ni Hesus and Longganisang Lucban!

One of the many things I love about my husband is that he pays attention to the things I blabber about. He may not show it at the moment - he's the silent type, the complete opposite of me - but he remembers tiny details which I usually forget an hour or so after my "monologue".

Last week, I blabbered in passing about my wanting 2 eggs and 5 pandesals for breakfast and he supplied me the exact things in exact amounts specified for 5 mornings straight before going to work which indeed amused me. On the 5th day, I told him, no more eggs for me. I'm done with eggs.

Then one time after the egg diet, I whined about craving for taho. The next morning, taho was what i got for breakfast. lol :D

Sweet, little gestures that make me weak at the knees :)

I'm now developing a very bad habit of swatching every makeup product I see at the mall. I can now tell the difference between a NYX primer and a Revlon one, how it felt and how my skin reacted. You can throw me a question about dupes and I can throw back a reco or two and where to buy it. lol :D  After a month-long-makeup-buying frenzy, I've, once again, put myself into a buying ban. I now find refuge in swatching. lol :D 

A mindless PCX stroll led me to a wall-full of bath tool goodies and look what I found: Aqua Massage Naturale Demaquillage Cellulose Sponge! This is goood stuff, i highly recommend! Full review to come (as requested by my Instafriend @mzhellakitty ;)

2 sponge "cookies" for 52.75Php

My poor feet after climbing the very steep hill of Kamay ni Hesus. I was puffing and huffing and sweating all over but since I was there to ask for a "sign", I just take the struggle as a necessary offer, something I should give in order to receive better and clearer signs :) to be honest, I thought I would pass out after reaching the top and I resisted the urge to roll on my way down. gahh. it was that hard.

..and this would be the highlight of my Lucban, Quezon trip: Longganisang Lucban! Okay, not exactly, since the baby puked on me minutes before we reached Kamay ni Hesus, and my daughter managed to break the straps of her flipflops while strolling around. lol :D Nonetheless, it was a trip to remember.

My hubby is a shutterbug. Here below is a photo of my little boy and I while resting halfway the steep climb, taken by my husband. ^^

#letthegoodvibesroll! :)

Random Tuesday: Binagoongan, Glittery Bands, My Boys, Hawaiian Burger and Cambodia Goodies :)

Yey! I made it! I made it! ^^

I missed my Random Tuesday post last week - again - so I was hell-bent in making it this week. Whew. I almost forgot because of all those Corona hullabaloos (he was convicted by the Senate, btw, just a few minutes earlier as of writing)

Anyway, I think I found the BEST Binagoongan EVER! There's this quaint resto in Pagsanjan called Calle Arco that serves mean pinoy dishes (think steamed pla-pla, sinigang na baka and the likes) Look at the picture below and tell me if this doesn't look good to you:

Binagoongan na Liempo. yuuuum ;)

PS I swear I'm bringing indian mangoes with me the next time we visit! I bet, the shrimp paste in it will go really well with green mangoes.

I badly need a haircut! My hair is getting longer now and with the relentless heat, I need it to be up on top of my head, away from my neck ALL THE TIME. and so, I'm back to pony-tailing my hair again.

glittery bands, only 30Php for all these at SM ;)

I'm a trying hard photographer, did you know that? Sometimes I hit but most of the time, I miss. lol :D I  like playing with photo editing apps too so here below is one of my many edits featuring my beloved boys ;)

I've already told you that I'm not really into burgers. The only burger that was able to tickle my fancy was Jollibee's Aloha burger (the one with pineapple inside) so I was really disappointed when they discontinued serving it. I was pleasantly surprised though when I saw this at Burger King last Saturday! Meet BK's Hawaiian Whopper Jr:

hello pretty :)

I always think that "pasalubongs" are meant to tell the recipient that they were remembered and missed during trips, this is why I can't thank mommy D enough for these things she brought home from her very recent Cambodia trip for me :)

Cambodia goodies for me!! :)

Remind me to make kulit to her to make another travel post about Cambodia for us. he he ;)

#almostdinnertime.hungry -.-

NOT MY USUAL MONDAY: Guest Blogger D and Her Trip to Cintai by Corito's Garden

Today, I am going to welcome my first ever guest blogger and good friend D, with her featured blog post, discussed over  pizza and a slice of chocolate cake last week. lol. Didn't expect her to come up with something like this. This place is so amazing! I am pasting her article (text part), dispersed between these awesome photos she managed to take during her trip. So, let's start! ~g

Dear Ms. G,

For some reasons, I am not knowledgeable on using any domain to create my blog, nevertheless, I still took time typing my so called blog post using the Microsoft Word, so much to thank to our computer class back in HS

As promised, I took some time out from my busy schedule as a 30something mom blogger to bring information and even fun to your readers! More power and more blogs to come!

Please bear with me, I am just so scared cause I am not as a good writer as you! I just hope I can bring fair justice on this

Ms. D

NOT MY USUAL MONDAY

My Mondays are usually dedicated to running errands, checking bank payments and marathon meetings but this time around, I took a time off to my usual Mondays to be with my Family. It is also a great timing because it’s Summer naman! At least for a while, we can feel the Summer break and not only the Summer heat!

We decided to go on a road trip, not so near yet not too far, just an hour drive from San Pablo City (Laguna) via Lipa shortcut route. I have discovered this Balinese-inspired garden turned into its own paradise. 

The place is more on a relaxation, quiet time and “finding-yourself” peg! There’s no other activity to do than swimming and taking pictures with amazing and gigantic Balinese carvings!

A bit-pricey for a practical wifey, all-around mom like me but you can never go wrong with the ambiance and experience you will have inside the garden. (For a day tour package, including lunch and PM snack is at 1500 per adult and 800 per child plus the taxes. Villas for overnight stays are available, you can check their website!) At least we have sojourned once in Bali in Balete and not in Indonesia well, nevertheless it is still a lot cheaper than booking a flight to Indonesia! Hahaha

The sun was really up but daughter and I managed to look around the whole place. Took pictures of each and every angle of the garden.

We were amazed by beautiful statues and carvings!

Lunch is served at your assigned cottage. Food is pretty much ok, serving is good enough (actually more than) to fill our empty stomach. I haven’t gone to the food critic stage yet, for a 30something mom who doesn’t have the know-how in the kitchen, magrereklamo pa ba ako?? Whatever looks good and smells good, is still palatable for my taste buds! Wahaha Service wise is fair enough, staffs have been pleasant in accommodating us.

To sum this up, I can recommend Cintai Corito’s Garden for a quick escape from your ordinary, routinary, stressful Manic Mondays!

Btw, it’s open any time of the week, it just so happened we visited it on a Monday!


Below are some more photos I grabbed from Miss D's Facebook account, with her permission, of course. And since these are NOT my photos, EACH AND EVERY photo you can find within this post (watermarked and otherwise) cannot be used/reproduced as copyrights belong to Miss D ;) ~g

Thank you Miss D! I had fun sorting your photos (all 100+ of them!) and I wish I could post them all here as they are really really amazing however photo size limits got in the way. And, no need to be scared, you did really well on your first blog post! I look forward to more guest postings from you!

Miss D is a passionate traveler. Social events organizer by profession, she is the person behind Just For Fun. For inquiries re: social events needs, please contact her through this number: 09175004307. 

For more information about Cintai by Corito's Garden, please visit their website: http://www.coritosgarden.com/

#dreamingofbali.sigh :)

Random Tuesday: Skittles, Tokidoki Wallpaper, Kisses, Beauty Credit, Simsimi Nails And Some More Kisses :)

A trip to Subic will never be complete without chocolates and candies, methinks. My kids usually go on a chocolate and candy binge when in Subic and honestly, I don't mind since I indulge too. lol :) *bad mommy!*

Want some? :)

..I grew tired of my iTouch's wallpaper so I decided to look around the internet for a cutesy replacement. I was going for something kawaii, instead I found some Tokidoki wallpapers for iPhone (which is also suitable for iTouch) Oh my, how cute!! here below is my current wallpaper..

Tokidoki wallpaper for iTouch

I don't know about you but my ultimate comfort food would be chocolates. Hershey's Kisses to be exact.  :) They never fail to make me smile :)

..I was lucky enough to be reading Mommy Des' blog when she posted about Beauty Credit's store in Subic. Right in time too as we were just planning to go there the following week. Lo and behold, I found them (and the Korean store next to it that sells Lotte ice cream *divine*) 

Now the sweetest deal would be their 70% off on some products (toner, emulsion etc) , they also have 50% off on cosmetics (eyeshadows, lippies etc) and 20% on BB creams and haircare products. Sweet!! :)

..I painted my nails yellow before we left for Subic, only I wasn't really pleased with the result. Klik nail polish's consistency is too thin that even on 3rd layer, it didn't do a good job on coloring my nails. Good thing we stopped by my sister's place and she let me use her perfectly good Skin Food nail polish in glittery pink (i think it was meant to be used on feet. lol) I painted half of my nails with it and we laughed so hard when we saw the end-result :D

Simsimi nails :D :D :D

..for some reason, my little boy loves to bite me. Take note, only me. My chin is his favorite part of my face to  sink his teeth into. It used to hurt then when he was younger but not anymore since he doesn't bite too hard now. I think he's more conscious now not to hurt mommy too much :)

#holyweek!kisses! :)

Our Tagaytay Family Weekend Date :)

Guess where these feet went one February weekend..

We were up and about early as we wouldn't want to waste my precious day-off so before 2pm, we were already ordering milk teas from Serenitea - Solenad II. They were having some kind of  a Valentine's day activity there and had the place all dressed up for it. Of course, we didn't let a good photo op pass..

I was just holding hubby's milk tea okay?

..and this rose-filled wall was kind of hard to resist too, so..

R holding her win from their search-a-word wall. 

Lunch was here, as per hubby's request..

LZM restaurant Solenad II Sta. Rosa Laguna

..to feast on this humongous fried milkfish (about a kilo, I was told) nomnom..

..then we went further up to Tagaytay. Our first stop was People's Park In The Sky aka Palace In The Sky. Sad looking palace, i say. and I really wish their local government has plans to improve the place because there were lots of people visiting when we went there. not really expecting that. But the air up there was terrific! It was soo cold and windy up there, my fats didn't stand a chance! and the view's really awesome!

Not a place for "cute" photo ops, just look at my daughter's hair! lol

View from People's Park In The Sky view deck

I was negotiating with the hubby to bring us to the zoo but since he doesn't like going to places where animals run wild (see, he had a very traumatic experience with an ostrich back then when we visited Zoobic Safari.), he gave me 101 good reasons not to. lol. We went to People's Park aka Picnic Grove instead *this name changing thing gets a person terribly confused, you know* 

Kites! Kites! Kites!

My daughter wasn't really impressed with this "date", she was expecting a "mall" outing but the hubby and I decided to do something different that day so being the parent *and supreme beings of our house* we had our way. lol. She settled to checking out "Pasalubong" stalls around the area and bought keychains while we rested and had a little cuddle time with the little boy.. 

With all those walking we did at People's Park in the Sky, the little boy was dead tired and fast asleep by the time we reached Bag of Beans so I just grabbed a loaf of raisin bread and beef and gravy pot pie (their bestsellers). I hope to dine there another time so I could take lovely pictures of the place :)

All debates of where to dine were ended when we discovered the newly opened JT's Manukan (as in Joel Torre's Manukan. Yey they finally opened south!)

I was not really up for a photo op on this one.. 

Separate post on JT's Manukan soon :)

After dinner, the hubby was craving for something sweet and remembered Cafe On The Ridge, the one inside Taal Vista hotel. We ordered chocolate cake..

..and Choco Lava, and brewed coffee..

..we also went for a walk outside the Cafe, out back there's a park that provides an excellent view of Taal volcano but since it was already dark, not a thing could be seen there. I decided to practice lightology instead and took a picture of this tree, ending our Tagaytay Family Weekend Date tale!

#lovefamilydates!kisses!