Purple-a Conchita

Purple used to be my favorite color. I just got old and boring so I switched to white. In remembrance of my purple-loving days, let me share with you my photo with Grimace. It was taken during Lei's birthday party.

So purple, don't you think?

Grimace was first introduced in 1971 as "Evil Grimace". He used to steal milk shakes and little debbies. In later iterations, evil was dropped from his name and was portrayed as a well-meaning simpleton with clumsy antics. Despite of his wide girth, Grimace took ballet lessons.

That is priceless.

You're so adorable Grimace.

Barely There: Essie's Hi Maintenance

I am on a painting spree.

The nail polish kind. 

This is Hi Maintenance from Essie. An extra light shade of pink. First and second coat render a sheer polish perfect for french mani/pedi or the barely there effect. Third coat would give the nails a very sweet shade of pale pink, perfect for most skin tones. 

I find it too girly for my taste but this will probably be my go to shade whenever I am in the mood to color my world pink.

Winter is Coming: HBO's Clash of Kings

Here's a teaser of HBO's Game of Thrones second season. It is based on Clash of Kings, the second book of GRRM's A Song of Ice and Fire series. 

I am excited.

Winter has come for me. 

First, I waited a few months after AFFC for the July release of ADWD. That's nothing compared to the 6-year wait of other ASOIF fans. I shouldn't complain. Second, ADWD tied a lot of loose ends but it has also created more. 

I can't wait for WOW and DOS!

GRRM, please don't torment me anymore. I can hardly take it.

I apologize for the non-GRRM fans, here's a glossary:

ASOIF - A Song of Ice and Fire

AFFC - A Feast for Crows

ADWD - A Dance with Dragons

WOW - Winds of Winter

DOS - Dreams of Spring

GRRM - George R.R. Martin

Down and Out

I was silent the whole week. I need to earn money so Maybe She's That Girl has to take a back seat to my day job. Meet the wonderful people I was with the whole week. The 2 other teams are also as awesome.

Project case was intense. Work hours were cuh-razy. Food was extremely spicy and we all went home thinking it was one of the best experience we had. I gained friends from at least 5 countries, so who am I to complain?

My accommodation has a curious pole in the living room. Are we thinking of the same thing?

Had some downtime last Sunday and took a walk around the camp, this is a lovely pedestrian lane.



Walking around in my trainers was just an excuse to head to the commissary to buy a Magnum

Selecta should start selling this wonderful ice cream bar in the Philippines.

And you know what the best part is, Fifi gained a new friend!

Meet Space Clam, Fifi's friend from down under. Space Clam also travels the world and used to have his own shrine in an office space of a mining company.

How cool can that get?

Khaki

I paint my toes from time to time, to get out of my boring cubbyhole of wearing thy nails bare. The reason why I rarely paint it is to prevent discoloration. I tend to choose neutral shades and sweet pastels although I do blood red when I am in the mood. 

The color is not me. Ang pangit lang ng paa ko dito.

In my latest trip to the salon, my eyes was hooked to this shade brown/gray.

Essie's Case Study, a rich camel beige shade. 

It's a very safe color, matches with most footwear color.

And a nail polish care tip I go by: Use a base coat before painting with any color to PREVENT DISCOLORATION. Neighborhood salons don't do this ( kwarenta lang naman ang manicure dun), so I suggest you bring your own and have it applied on your nail.

That's my Khaki infatuation for the week.

Are You Typical?

I am not.

Considering the typical person is a 28-year old, Han Chinese Man.

Whatever.

This video is informative.

P.S. I find this post interesting. We just hit 14,000 views. Yay! 14,000 and 7,000,000,000 just make sense. And if you factor in 28, these three numbers are all multiples of 7.

I am mumbling.

Life Is

And I am finishing a slice of Kitchen's Best Chocolate Obsession while watching Zooey Deschanel in New Girl.

That's life for me on a holiday Monday afternoon.

Cry Baby: Makati Med Edition

My posts are starting to get boring. No, I am boring to begin with so let me rephrase that "I am now twice boring". This blog is not a food blog but I love to eat and I am happy to share what I stuff inside my awesome < 90 lbs self so this non-food blog has turned into a food blog wanna be. Anyway, that's not the story I want to tell. I simply want to get out of this boring bubble so let me share a sort-of interesting thing that happened yesterday.

At 8:30 in the morning, I was outside the doctor's office waiting for my 9AM appointment. I am dreading this check up because well this could mean a million things and this could end hundreds of things that I want to do.  Plus I am really scared of my life-long bone deformity. (If I am speaking vague here, I am still not comfortable to share my medical condition so please bear with me. I might share it with you one of these days). 

I actually brought an Islander-wearing chaperone, nakakalamang lang yan ng kaunti sa Spartan at mas matibay yan sa Havaianas, because I need all the emotional support. Plus, Person A has been bugging me to go to the doctor for years... so this is it.

To calm my nerves and document what I feel, I took this photo and minutes later I was called inside the doctor's office.

After I finished my appointment, I approached Person A

Me: I am getting a second opinion. It's generally okay.

Person A: (confused) Why? How did it go?

Me: (Straight-faced) Let's go. Let's have breakfast.

Person A and I walked down the hall and seconds later, I cried. Major CRYola along the hallway - mugto mata, uhog and all. Good thing there was a row of vacant seats where I sat, cried my eyes out, calmed a bit and filled a confused Person A what was going on.

Person A: Bakit ka umiiyak?

Me: Kasi sinabihan ako ng doctor na "Wag kang makulit" 

Para lang akong 7 years old. Nakakahiya. 

I did not cry because of the prognosis. Thankfully, everything is well with me - that's according to the doctor. I cried because of one silly, probably innocent phrase that was uttered by the doctor when we were discussing my condition. He was dead serious when he said that after I gently and cheerfully mentioned to him the result of the test that he requested. The result was different from his interpretation of the data. 

So I cheered myself up with red-meat breakfast at Mercato

ManilaQ's Bagwang = Bagnet + Bawang

Angus Beef Tapa from the Tapa Lady

And later in the day, Kitchen's Best Purple Yam Cake

Again, it's all about me. 

Ako na ang umiyak dahil napagalitan ng doctor. 

Amoroma Ristorante Italiano: My Favorite Italian Place

While everyone rushed to get out of Manila last long weekend, I spent the 4-day break glued to my bed nursing a cold. It was too long a time to bond with my bed so I snuck a trip to Tagaytay with Person A to get his post-turnaround massage at T-House and try the Italian fare at Amoroma.

This is us before getting a massage.

That week, I suspended my sometimes-no-red-meat diet to aid my immune system and embarked on an Italian food binge which I find it appropriate to end with a meal at Amoroma. Why? Because the foodie community has been raving about this place for its authentic dishes served like no other.

Amoroma didn’t disappoint.

The Place

I don’t consider it a fine dining place. In fact, it’s your regular by-the-roadside-restaurant strategically located a few meters to the right of the Silang-Tagaytay junction.  

The place opens 11 AM to 2PM for lunch and 6PM to 10PM for dinner. So if you’re early, you can opt to sink in the cold Tagaytay air and pacify some angry birds. He's addicted to that game.

And take cheesy shots without knowing your companion is making a funny face. 

You are aptly warned that furry friends are not allowed inside, hence they can stay on the terrace enjoying the cold air some more. 

They have more warmth protection than us, so no worries there.

Inside, checkered tables can seat to about 80 guests and there’s a huge oven where you can view how pizzas are made.

Meal starts with dinner rolls.

Fresh from the oven and served a bit burnt. These taste good and have a nice texture.

Ravioli “Amoroma al Cartoccio” (PhP 340)

Spinach ravioli in cream, gorgonzola, vegetable and brandy sauce

This spinach-filled pasta is extremely good. The pasta is al dente but what sets it apart is the sauce. It’s thick and the saltiness of the aged-cheese with the tang of brandy made it a hit with Person A. I am not big on the dish but I have to agree that this is good. If you like spinach and cheese-salted sauce, then you have to order this.

Risotto Tartufo (PhP 445)

Black truffle mushroom and parmesan

Yes, that’s a slice of black truffle on top of my risotto. The distinct aroma and taste that the truffle renders on the rice dish is awesome. This dish is a winner! Another must try!

Petti di Pollo “Amoroma” (PhP 350)

Chicken breast stuffed with spinach, gorgonzola with gorgonzola sauce.

Noticed something? We were on a spinach and gorgonzola feast! The chicken is nicely done while the cream sauce takes the savory to a different level. It’s so good. What makes it additionally interesting is the aged-cheese after taste from the gorgonzola bits. And the potatoes have that grilled herb taste. No dish failed in our taste meter.

Tiramisu (PhP 155)

We ended our meal with tiramisu and coffee: cappuccino for the lady and latte for the gentleman. We order that all the time. We’re boring.

Another good tiramisu of the classic kind. It is made of espresso-soaked sponge cake with a generous layer of mascarpone.

In Summary

1. Amoroma is one of the best Italian restaurants I’ve tried. The dishes we tried are extremely good, in an authentic kind of way. This will be one of my default Italian restaurant to have a meal or to recommend to friends. Reason enough to drive to Tagaytay.

2. Price is reasonable. It is not as pricey as a fine dining restaurant and the serving size is more than enough for one person.

3. The place is practically for everything: dinner date, friends and family dinner and I fancy throwing a party in this restaurant. It doesn’t have the best interiors but the food will make up for everything. It is closely located to the Tagaytay junction making it very accessible even with heavy Tagaytay traffic.

Amoroma Ristorante Italiano

3575 Calamba Road

Tolentino, East Tagaytay

63.46.6963582

Siraan na ng Buhay: Kitchen's Best Purple Yam Cake

I once shared how Kitchen's Best Home Pattisserie whip up some of the best desserts in Manila. That's on top of having a quaint little place for hanging out and having a good selection of savories. To say that I love the place is an understatement. 

It's not surprising that #3 of Inquirer's 20 Best Desserts for 2011 is Kitchen's Best Purple Yam Cake. 

Yummy?

According to Inquirer "This irresistible purple yam cake is layered with creamy purple yam mousseline that highlights the crunchy and chewy nutty sheets of meringue. It is a uniquely rich Filipino treat decked with soft and velvety halaya for that real melt-in-the-mouth goodness."

This cake is heavenly: its several layers of meringue, nuts and ice cream-based frosting give an interesting dimension and texture as each bite melts in your mouth. It slides to the sweet side thus pairs well with tea or unsweetened brewed coffee. Btw, this is not on display (because the cake display is not cool enough to maintain the frosting?) so ask the waiter for this dessert. 

At last count, Kitchen's Best has at least 4 desserts which have won an award since 2001. I took home a slice of Chocolate Obsession, which I plan to have a bite in a few. Never mind the calories I have accumulated the past 2 weeks.

Siraan lang ng buhay. 

Kitchen's Best Patisserie

G/F Karrivin Plaza

2316 Pasong Tamo Ext.

Makati

63.2.8433847