Chez Karine Macarons

A macaron is a sweet meringue-based confectionery filled with ganache, buttercream or jam filling sandwiched between two cookies. Its name is derived from the Italian word maccarone or maccherone. 

Over the weekend, I and a girl friend tasted the best macaron in town, Chez Karine's macaron.

It's chewy and very flavorful. It's not crumbly unlike the macarons available in Manila. At PhP 50 a piece, it's smaller in size and a tad pricey but the quality is really good. I tried the dark chocolate, salted caramel and earl grey. These flavors are worth a second order.

The packaging is also very dainty. Justifies the premium pricing.

If the macarons taste authentic, Chez Karine is owned by Pastry Chef Karen Yang. She graduated from Le Cordon Bleu and was an intern at French Pastry Chef Pierre Herme. The name of the shop is french for At Karen's Place. 

Chez Karine

1/F Serendra, Taguig

63.2.804.1889

63.917.323.2845

orders@chezkarine.com

Chismosa: October Issue

My first magazine purchase for October: Yes! November issue. A far cry from the four magazines last month. Yay!



I wanna see Ogie and Michelle's girls.



Magaganda!



I want to take a look at MVP's Hong Kong home .



He even showed his closet. I wonder why he's opening his home to a showbiz magazine...

And of course, I can't resist the latest chismis about John Lloyd!!!



Angelica seems like a nice girl, in spite of the what you see, what you get behavior.

And speaking of November, I joined the Trick or Treat happening in the mall and would like to present my loot.


Treat for the self-esteem and trick for the budget.

Financial management fail. Must work hard the entire year this week.

I Don't Believe in Make-Up: Shiseido White Lucent Eye Treatment

Since Shiseido's Skincare line works great on my skin, I tried one of their eye treatment creams to see if it can manage my perennial dark circles. In this I Don't Believe in Make-Up series, I tried a bottle of Shiseido's White Lucent Brightening Eye Treatment (~ PhP 1950).

A highly-moisturizing anti-dark circle eye treatment that addresses both melanin formation and poor local microcirculation—two major causes of dark circles. Brings a brighter, more vibrant appearance to eye areas. Formulated with Dark Circle Targeting Complex which reduces melanin while diminishing the appearance of melanin pigments.

The cream is thick and feels like it richly moisturizes my undereye area. It is also in a pumped container, minimizing bacterial contamination and reaction with the atmosphere. After consuming a 15-mL bottle,  I can say that it probably minimizes dark circles and I don't have crow's feet yet. Although, just like all eye treatment I've used, when I lack sleep it does little to salvage my vampire-ish look. I still need to use another bottle to see if I really do like this.

I am so sorry for the poor photo quality. My camera died a natural death last week and I am working on getting a replacement. Hopefully in the next 2 weeks.

The good thing is Oprah seems like a fan.

Shiseido takes a three-pronged approach to treating dark circles. Vitamins C and E stimulate circulation (to help diminish shadows), beech-tree-shoot extract promotes collagen production, and a luminizing powder instantly makes the skin look more radiant.

Shiseido has a periodic weekend sale when you can get the items 15% off the price. Kiehl's has a weekend sale currently happening. If you want to take advantage of this opportunity, have your number listed in the store's customer events list (or something like that)

Shiseido

Powerplant Mall

Glorietta 4, Greenbelt 5

Breakfast @ Apartment 1B

To kick-off the long weekend, Person A and I enjoyed leisurely brunch at Apartment 1B, about 2 in the afternoon. That's how lazy we are we roll on non-work days. Good times! I already shared with you how we love Apartment 1B. Food tastes great, ambiance is very relaxed and the restaurant serves comfort food. 

Since it was both our first meal of the day, I started with my favorite breakfast pastry: pancakes!

Pancakes (PhP 380)

3 medium-sized, soft, fluffy pancakes with fruit compote, in this case, strawberry. Define compote. Compote is a dessert originating from 17th century France made of whole or pieces of fruit in sugar syrup. What I like about the pancake is it's not sweet and very fluffy hence it goes well with a generous topping of butter and oozing swimming in syrup. Person A likes his with butter and compote.

Personally, I think this serving is a bit expensive considering the size. 

Egg Breakfast (PhP 390)

2 eggs (scrambled), smoked bacon, home fries and toast. In lieu of the bacon you can have a choice of Canadian ham, English bangers, corned beef.

I like the scrambled egg, it's fluffily and delicately done. Not salty. Bacon is bacon. You can rarely go wrong with bacon. The fries or potato cubes are heavenly. And I haven't tasted the toast. 

We washed down our breakfast with coffee. 

Vittoria coffee is an Australian manufacturer of coffee products. Founded in Sydney in 1947, it is the largest and most well known Australian coffee company. 

Latte (PhP 90)

The coffee is served warm (not piping hot) and has a very delicate, non-strong taste. I like how the barrista prepares the coffee meticulously. The cup has a curious steel handle.

Cappuccino (PhP 90) 

This is one of the better cappuccino. Similar to the latte, it has a delicate taste and it's good even if you don't put sugar in it. I also like that the froth/foam is rightly done.

And because we are still hungry, we had dessert!

Apple Pie (~PhP 200)

I wasn't able to get the price, so I am not sure. This is crumbly and tastes like it has oats. The pie itself is not sweet and heavy so goes well with the vanilla ice cream. It's not to die for but will do for an apple pie.

Tea (PhP 80)

And because dessert pairs well with tea, we washed it down with a pot of Twining's green tea.

And with that, I head off to an English Afternoon Tea Bridal Shower of a friend from SFC. 

Excellent food by Renee, dainty set-up and awesome pieces of advice for the bride-to-be. Good times!

In Summary

1. Apartment 1B's food quality is consistent whether you visit for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Food tastes great, fresh and serving is enough for one person.

2. Breakfast price is mid-range to expensive. 

3. Ambiance is great if you want a very relaxed place to start your day.

Aparatment 1B

Unit 1-B, 132 L.P. Leviste cor Sedeno St.

Salcedo Village, Makati

63.2.843.4075

My Everyday Conversation

Me: I think I need nude pumps.

Person A: Centrifugal or positive displacement?

Me: *purses lips* *gives him THE stare*

 

I was actually drooling for these

While he's teasing/mocking me with this

And that my folks is a glimpse of my daily conversations with the Person A. -(",)-*wink*

Have a lovely evening.

Ich scho Schticky

As the advertisement goes "I am a Dove Girl and I love it!" I agree with this line as shared in this blogpost. I also shared with you my lotion addiction. I am still on a quest finding that perfect lotion: leaves skin smooth and silky at a grocery price. About Php 0.75/mL. I do have my preferences but they come at a this-better-work-or-else price aka mamumulubi-na-ako-nito price: Loccitane and Kiehl's.

Among the body creams I tried, Nivea fits my category of perfect lotion.

It leaves my skin smooth without going over budget. Last month, I tried Dove Go Fresh body lotion and it works! It's perfect. 

Now you can get that skin tingling, just got out of the shower feeling to stay with you, thanks to Dove go fresh Nourishing Body Lotion. With menthol & a refreshing cucumber and green tea scent, it leaves your skin thoroughly nourished & revitalised from morning to night.

My skin feels silky, smells fresh, not sticky and the price is within the set range. I now have 2 go-to lotions!

Inspired by the find, I tried the other variant, Dove Indulgent Nourishment Body Lotion with Shea Butter.

Nourishing your skin has never felt so good. Dove Indulgent Nourishment Body Lotion is a rich blend of nourishing cream & shea butter extract that melts into your skin, enveloping all your senses. Turn your daily care routine into a daily treat.

It's so sticky! I applied the lotion this morning and at 7:59 PM, my skin still feels sticky. This won't work especially in our humid environment. 

Lesson learned.  Will go back to the green variant.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

What's In My Bag

What's in my office bag, that is.

One morning this



Please take note of that green, hairy thing

The next morning that yellow, oval thing



And another morning, the blue rectangle and the return of the green, hairy thing



Yes, parang bayong lang ang bag ko. 



Milk and kiwi!

So this got me thinking, maybe some time, I should put this in my bag



And enjoy this awesome goodness. Folks, meet the Marang, my favorite fruit. Kinse pesos lang sa amin, wan-handred-pipty sa SM. 



The random things you think about when you are an absentee blogger.

With that, let's all welcome ze weekend!

Coffee Break

My nail polish for the next two weeks.

Orly's coffee break. 

A contrast to my Pentel pen blue polish last month. Back to my usual neutral shade, I can say the color brings out the healthy glow on warm skin tones. This is the closest to nude yet not quite shade on my skin. 

Hence, this will be a go-to shade. Next time, I'll try Coco Beach, two shades darker. I think it will work if I want a dainty, brown polish.  

Tiwi's Famous Halo-Halo

When Person A and I were interns in the same company in 2006, he brought halo-halo from Tiwi, Albay. It was the best I've ever tasted. At that time, I was based in the main office and he visited the the work site in Bicol for his internship project. The famous halo-halo flew all the way to Manila in an icebox and I was able to enjoy its awesome goodness in the concrete jungle of Makati.

Fast forward last week, the halo-halo and I met again sans Person A. This time, it was on the halo-halo's turf: Tiwi, Albay. 

DJC halo-halo.

It was an awesome reunion. The ice is flavored with (carabao) milk or to be more accurate about it, cooler is frozen milk! This alone makes the dessert a winner.

The ingredients are very flavorful: generous serving of langka, ube, banana, just enough sago to provide texture and their secret weapon: cheese, lotsa cheese! Notice how milky and creamy the dessert is.

Awesome, like no other!

If you're in Bicol, specifically Tiwi, please try this. Head to the town center, near the church and municipal hall (?), the place should be within the vicinity. Unfortunately, I haven't asked the price since this was served during a meeting I attended. It shouldn't be that expensive. 

I now want one!

Catch Up Weekend

Breakfast today... at 7 in the morning. 

Yummy Guinobatan longganisa. Compared to Vigan and Lucban longganisa, this local ground meat delicacy is smaller but with less oil and spiced with garlic. If you are in Bicol (Albay, specifically) please try to order.

To add, I had this gorgeous view while enjoying the longganisa with friends. I enjoyed the Guinobatan longganisa at Legazpi Airport while waiting for my flight back home. For PhP 100, you can enjoy longganisa, egg, fried rice and instant coffee. 

Majestic Mayon finally revealed itself to me. Street talk has it that if the volcano is covered with clouds on your first visit, it means that the mountain doesn't welcome you. Well, when I arrived Thursday morning, the peak was shrouded but the base with its lava gorges presented itself so I am claiming that Magayon is half welcoming me! The stratovolcano cone is perfect (it's the world's most perfect cone, anyway) and can I add breath-taking? I'm coming back to see you closer and hopefully ascend your slopes. Located in Legazpi, Albay, it is the most active Philippine volcano having erupted 48 times in the past 400 years.

Awesome.

When I got home and yearning for my bed (I slept for 2 hours! Good times -(",)-*wink* ), the little guy surprised me, hours before he's expected. 

You're home, I missed you terribly! I am most excited to catch up with the person who sneaked you in, Sweetie. -(",)-*wink* Yikee!

With that, I should be logging in some sleep, I still have an activity-filled weekend ahead. 

Cheers to awesome weekends!