Jalapeño Cantina Mexicana- Food Street Ortigas Home Depot

We decided to visit Jalapeño one last time before the year 2011 ends. Just located along the Food Street in Ortigas Home Depot, it has been a favorite hangout place of some Mexican food lovers in the area.

Upon entering, a distinct smell of Mexican cuisine welcome us. We were guided to the second floor where some Mexican pictures are framed on the wall and a map of Mexico could also be found.

A casual Mexican pub was characterized by the use of wooden chairs, brown and yellow hues, and the dimmed lights effect. 

The Noel Discovery Bazaar Experience- Dec 9-18 at the PICC

I'm back! I've missed blogging about our food adventures lately because of the Noel Discovery Bazaar at the PICC.
For 10 straight days and nights, I have been hands on manning our booth in the said bazaar.

It was really tiring and I must say exhausting too. I've never felt this tired in my life. Seriously. Never in my college life did I felt this exhausted.

Everyday, I must wake up early to check if the supplies and our products are all set. We must arrive before 11am since the bazaar starts to open for public at 11am.

We joined the Noel Bazaar as a food concessionaire selling Quezon products such as Pancit Habhab, Uraro, Banana chips etc.. We also sold some siomai and wintermelon tea. It was hard at first especially since I don't have any experience in doing this kind of stuff. But as days pass by, I got the hang of it eventually. Still, it was really tiring. At this moment, I'm thinking that never again will  I join bazaars as a food concessionaire. As I always say "Lugi pa ako sa pagod." and "Mahirap talaga kumita ng pera. "

This is just a quick post about what I was up to for the past 10 days as I still need to do some documentations about the bazaar.

I think I'll be able to blog again regularly next year since we will be in Cebu and Bohol this Christmas season.

For now, I'm looking forward to more hours of sleep and some ways to relax.. a spa perhaps. :)

See you! :)

A Starbucks Christmas Blend and Tumbler Giveaway Winner

I love online contests that are not complicated to do. Normally, I would join contests that involves liking a page and commenting on a post. 

Last month, I joined The Peach Kitchen's Starbucks Christmas Blend and Tumbler Giveaway. Her mechanics were easy to do and follow. I tried my luck and surprisingly, I won the giveaway. 

Of all the 43 entries who joined, my name topped the list via Random.org.

I was so happy when I got an email from The Peach Kitchen telling me that I won. I sent my details immediately to her and got even happier when I learned that a coupon for a complimentary beverage is included inside the tumbler. Double yay! :)

And here it is.. A pack of Starbucks Christmas Blend and a Starbucks Christmas Tumbler.

Crave Burger- Good Burger. Good Place. Good Times @ Congressional Ave.

After trying out O'Railey's Cafe offerings, we also got to try Crave Burger since it is managed by the same owner. Crave Burger is just beside O'Railey's giving customers more choices when dining.  People having coffee at O'Railey's could grab some burgers from Crave while diners from Crave could also have some cup of coffee or milk tea from O' Railey's. 

Bienvenidos! Alba- Restaurante Español since 1952

We would always pass by Alba in going to Tomas Morato but we never really tried eating there. One reason is that I'm not really into Spanish cuisine and a Spanish buffet is something I think I would not enjoy. I also thought that I would not be able to eat a P765 worth of pure spanish cusine.

But when Deal grocer came up with a buffet deal from Alba for only P425, I immediately purchased one. I was supposed to get 2 but when I tried purchasing another one, it was sold out already.

Luckily, I was able to get another 2 vouchers from someone selling hers online for the same price.

We invited my brother to join us the night of our reservation.

The place had dimmed lighting and ancestral interiors. Think of the Spanish Era and Intramuros.. It was like dining in Jose Rizal's house.

We were served with a bowl of Onion Soup before heading to the buffet tables.

O' Railey's Cafe- Good Things Start With A Cup of Coffee

I received an email from Sumi of The Purple Doll inviting me to join her and other bloggers to try out O'Railey's Cafe in Congressional Ave. Quezon City. I was not yet sure if I could go so I got her number and was able to confirm my attendance on the day itself. I was on my way when Sumi texted that she can no longer go due to an emergency. We'll still see each other next time Sumi. Hope you are ok :)

Kay of Life is Kulayful texted me instead and gave me the address where we are supposed to meet. I arrived around 2:45pm at O'Railey's but they were not yet there so I took some photos first.

Sweet Nothings: Jigsaw #2 - The Yellow Brick Road

Sweet Nothings would be a title post for things D and I do other than Eating, Restaurant Hopping, Foodtrips and other things related to food.

I've mentioned in my post before that D and I have been addicted to Jigsaw puzzles. In fact, we just bought another 1000-piece from Greenhills yesterday. It was a glow in the dark puzzle which we thought was already a bargain for its price of P300. Most 1000-piece puzzles we find in malls are prices at P800-P1000. I am so excited to share the puzzle we bought since it was like the first puzzle we made called the Tricycle Kiss.This one is better since it was glow in the dark.

But, I want to blog about that when we have finally completed the puzzle.

So this post will be about our 2nd completed puzzle called The Yellow Brick Road. This time, an additional 50 pieces were added to our first completed project.

Gelatissimo-The Real Taste of Italia @ Greenbelt 5

After our heavy lunch in John and Yoko, we went straight to Gelatissimo to have dessert. I received a Buy 1 Get 1 flyer from Gelatissimo since I subscribed in their mailing list and all I have to do is print the flyer out and present it to their staff. 

The promo is still running until January 8, 2012 so start printing this flyer now. :) 

John and Yoko- Cosmopolitan Japanese @ Greenbelt 5

After a tiring but fun run at SM Mall of Asia, we went home to clean ourselves up and prepare for a lunch at John and Yoko in Greenbelt 5.

We had 2 vouchers of 1k worth of food and drinks that needs to be used before November ends so we decided to use them after the run.

I love the fusion of red and purple colors inside the place especially the latter color which was the evident theme of John and Yoko. The chairs were also painted in purple with some pictures of different Japanese warriors and princesses. 

HSBC Anniversary Fun Run 2011- SM Mall of Asia Grounds

Last Saturday was an action packed day. We had to wake up early for the Hsbc run at the SM Mall of Asia grounds.

We arrived around 5:30am and the sky was still dark but most of the runners were already there warming themselves up. 

Gun start for the 10km run was at 5:45am while the race category which we joined (5km) started at 5:50am. 

We ran, jogged and walked our way from the starting point to the finish line.