Eastwood Mall Cinema Ultra 7

After almost 2 years of not watching a movie in a theatre,  my hubby and I treated ourselves yesterday in watching  Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen in the new Eastwood Mall’s Cinema Ultra 7! It’s such a great coincidence because the last movie that we watched in a theatre was Transformers 1!

Watching in Ultra 7 is quite pricey (Php 401/ticket) but the ambience is superb! You get to sit in their purple lazy boy’s reclining chair plus  unlimited drinks and popcorn! Unfortunately, they only have sodas & water for the drinks and have 3 popcorn flavors (plain, cheese and bbq). Honestly, we didn’t eat that much popcorn because we’re too engrossed watching the movie!

After watching, we took our dinner in The Old Vine by: Chef’s Quarters. We ordered for soup of the day (vegetable soup), french onion soup (not recommended), Churrasco Beef tenderloin, roasted chicken and  ube cheesecake for dessert!

Even if my hubby was not satisfied with the story, I would say the movie was awesome! It has great graphics and special effects though I have to admit the acting is not that good… :p

Tags: eastwood mall, eastwood mall ultra 7, eastwood ultra 7, lazy boy theatre, revenge of the fallen, transformers 2

It’s been a shocking day today when the whole world heard the news about Michael Jackson’s death! 

 He was pronounced dead at 9:26pm (EDT), June 25, after arriving in the UCLA Medicla Center due to cardiac arrest.  It has been reported that  the cause of death is still unknown so an autopsy would likely take place. He died at a young age of 50 (1958 – 2009) and left his 3 children Prince Michael I, Paris and Prince Michael II.

“His lifetime record sales tally was believed to be around 750 million. With his 13 Grammy Awards and boundary-breaking music videos he was one of the most successful entertainers of all time.” – Reuters

We have ALL of Michael’s albums saved in our iPod and here are some of my fave hit songs from the King of Pop:

Rock With You, Don’t stop ‘Till You get Enough, The Way You Make Me Feel & Man in the Mirror

Tags: cardiac arrest michael jackon, king of pop died, michael jackson died, michael jackson's death

My hubby and I went to Quiapo today to get my own Kitchen Aid. We were able to purchase a 5-Quart Kitchen Aid for Php19.8K. We purchased ours from Nazareno’s. This store is also located in Carlos Palanca Sr. St. near old SM Manila. You can find a row of suppliers on this street. From Nazareno’s to New Sin Kian Heng. We also went to Killion Merchandising but we were not able to buy anything there because it has the same price or small difference as where I’m getting my supplies. Killion is just behind Carlos Palanca Sr. St. If you will not notice the sign pointing to Killion, you won’t even recognize the place not unless you’re a local in Manila.

I wished for a new mixer because I’m too tired of using my hand mixer. Since I have a lot of orders for cakes, I told my hubby that it’s a good investment if ever we will push through with the business. Baking is a lot easier with my new Kitchen Aid!

Here’s a pic:

Tags: Baking supplier Quiapo, Business, Carlos Palanca Sr. St., heavy duty mixer, killion merchandising in quiapo, Kitchen Aid mixer, kitchen aid supplier, kitchenaid mixers quiapo, Quiapo; where to buy kitchenaid mixer in manila

I’m making this list for my personal reference and also to help other people who are looking for baking suppliers:

1. Chocolate Lovers
It’s the big castle along P. Tuazon Blvd.
Main Branch: 45 P. Tuazon Blvd. corner C. Benitez St.Cubao Quezon, City 1109 (use
Benitez St, main entrance)
Tel. nos. 411-7474 / 724-5752 / 724-4964

2nd Branch: Kitanlad St. cor. Quezon Avenue, Quezon City
Tel nos. 732-8576 / 741-7487

2. Chef’s Nook
Haven’t been to this place yet but some say the chocolates and nuts are cheaper than chocolate lovers.

Address: 20 Pilar St., Addition Hills, Mandaluyong (it’s the corner street of the Honda
showroom along Shaw, but you have to go around because Pilar is a one-way street)
Tel no: 724- 5812

3. Sweetcraft Baking and Confectionery Supplies
They sell KitchenAid 5 quarts mixer + KitchenAid Ice cream maker for Php27k. (as of May 2009). They also sell pans, nuts, glazed fruits, Valrhona chocolate bars, other chocolate brands, boxes, plastic containers and other baking supplies.
Address: 373 Boni Avenue, Mandaluyong
Tel no.: 532-1595

4. Ingrid’s Sweet Haven
I haven’t been to this place yet but according to their site they sell ingredients, pans & supplies.

Address: 363 Dr. Sixto Antonio Avenue corner Liwayway Street, Caniogan, Pasig
Tel no.: 641-2561
Websites: http://www.ingridsweethaven.com and http://ingridsweethaven.multiply.com

5. The Cocoa Pantry

Address: 130 Katipunan Road, Saint Ignatius Village QC
Tel: 4976957
Website: http://thecocoapantry.multiply.com

Opening Hours:
Mondays to Fridays – 10:00am to 4:30pm
Saturdays – 10:00am to 6:00pm

6. Baker’s Depot

Branches:
– San Juan: 188B N. Domingo cor Manzano st. Tel: 723-8810
– Waltermart North EDSA – Tel: 332-1281
– Waltermart Makati
– Victory Mall, Caloocan City

7. Cooks Exchange
Branches: SM Megamall, Shangri-La Plaza, Rockwell

8. Living Well
Branch: Podium

9. Gourdo’s
Branches: The Fort, Trinoma, Gateway Mall

Baking Suppliers in Quiapo:
1. Killion Merchandising
Address: 40 Orosco St., Quiapo Manila
Tel. #: 7338221, 7332093
Fax#: 7337036
Email: Killion@tri-isys.com

2. New Sin Kian Heng Corporation - They sell Kitchen Aid.

Address: 196 Carlos Palanca Sr. St. Quiapo (733-21-29)

3. Friend Ann Merchandising

They sell Kitchen Aid for Php 19500 (as of June 1, 2009)
Address: Carlos Palanca Sr. St. Quiapo
Tel. #: 734-84-20

Packaging options:
RM Boxes

Tags: Baker's Depot, Baking Suppliers in Quiapo, Chef's Nook, Chocolate Lovers, Cooks Exchange, Ingrid’s Sweet Haven, killion merchandising in quiapo, kitchen aid supplier, kitchenaid mixers quiapo, KitchenAid Suppliers in Quiapo, Living Well, Sweetcraft, The Cocoa Pantry; baking ingredients supplier manila

Following the Baking 101 class that I had last March 28, I had my Cake Workshop again at Heny Sison last Wednesday (April 29). It was very tiring but worth it!

Each class is composed of 12 students and each student will make 4 cakes! Good thing my hubby fetched me from class because I don’t know how to take home ALL 4 cakes! Among the 4 cakes that we made, I love the chocolate cake with ganache icing because it is not too sweet and the bread is moist. Aside from the chocolate cake, we also made Lemon Chiffon cake with boiled icing, Mocha Chiffon cake with mocha icing and Buttercake with whipped cream icing. I highly recommend this class because it’s hands on and your questions will be answered straight from the master. This class costs me Php 4000 for 8hrs. (9am – 5pm) but the knowledge that you will gain from this will help you a lifetime. 

Thanks to Karla for being such an inspiration!

Here are some of the pictures I took:

Left: Chocolate cake w/o the ganache icing, Right: Buttercake with whipped cream icing

(Sorry I wasn’t able to take pictures of the other cakes because I was so busy and tired to take pictures.)

Me and Heny Sison

Tags: baking class, baking class philippines, cake workshop philippines, chocolatcake with ganache icing, Heny Sison

My hubby is craving for the french apple pie from Sugarhouse. Since I don’t want to knead the dough for the pie’s crust, I searched for something that doesn’t require kneading! And I found the Apple Streusel Cake from Joy of Baking.

Here are the ingredients:

Streusel Topping:

1/2 cup (70 grams) all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3 tablespoons (40 grams) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

1/4 cup (70 grams) brown sugar

1/4 cup (20 grams) toasted and coarsely chopped hazelnuts

Cake Batter:

1 cup (140 grams) all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup (56 grams) (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated white sugar

1 large egg

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/3 cup (80 ml) milk

2 large Granny Smith Apples, peeled, cored, and cut into thin (1/8 inch) slices

Procedure:

Preheat oven to 350 °F (177 °C).  Butter an 8 inch (20 cm) spring form pan and line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper.  Set aside.

For streusel topping: In a large bowl, mix together the flour and ground cinnamon. Cut in the butter with a pastry blender or fork until it resembles coarse crumbs.  Stir in the brown sugar and chopped hazelnuts. Set aside while you make the cake batter.

For cake batter:  In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.  Set aside.

In the bowl of your electric mixer, with the paddle attachment, cream the butter.  Add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy.  Add the egg and vanilla extract and beat until incorporated.  Add the flour mixture, alternately with the milk, and beat only until combined.  Spread the batter into the bottom of the prepared pan, smoothing the top with an offset spatula. 

Evenly arrange the apple slices on top of the cake batter and then sprinkle with the streusel topping.

Bake for about 45 – 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.  Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool slightly. 

Serve warm or at room temperature with vanilla ice cream or softly whipped cream.

Makes 8 – 10 servings.

I didn’t had the chance to buy hazelnuts so I don’t have that in the finish product. The temperature in the oven also went up a few degrees that’s why the center rose. Although this took me 1.5 hrs. to prepare, it took 5 minutes to eat! Everyone in the house loves it! My hubby just wished it has more apples in it! So that’s what I’m gonna do next time I’ll make this recipe.

Tags: apple cake, apple cake recipe, Apple Streusel recipe, recipe with apples

I find it very hard to bake the perfect cheesecake. This would be my 5th attempt to make one. I’ve made an Oreo cheesecake, 3 blueberry cheesecakes and 2 cherry cheesecakes! My only problem is it’s appearance, there’s no complaint about the taste! During my first attempt, it was over baked because the center  drops and the sides cracks. I tried to google my problem and I learned that I have to water bath my cheesecake to prevent cracks so that’s what I did on my other attempts. I’ve been having a problem with our oven because the temperature doesn’t remain constant! So here’s what I have on my 5th attempt… Since I was afraid of getting cracks again, I turned off the oven early making it underbaked. But you can follow the instructions in this recipe because I already modified it.

The Finish product…

Here’s the recipe:

4 Philadelphia Cream cheese

1 cup Nestle sour cream

4 whole eggs

1/2 cup granulated sugar

Crust:

3/4 cup butter

1 1/2 cup crushed grahams

Procedure:

1. Pre heat oven at 325 deg. F.
2. Cream butter and crushed grahams. Press on an 9-in. spring form pan.
3. Beat cream cheese, sugar and add eggs one at a time.
4. Add sour cream and vanilla.
5. Bake for 45 mins. – 1 hr. until the center is set.  (The center still jiggles like jell-O)
6. Let it cool and chill for 24 hrs.
7. Enjoy!

Tags: blueberry, blueberry cheesecake recipe, cheesecake, cheesy cheescake, the best blueberry cheesecake

We went to Trinoma earlier because my hubby needs a new pair of shoes. He wants to get one from Dr. Marten’s or CAT. Unfortunately, it’s hard for him to get a size because he is flat footed! Finally, we got one from Merrell! Thanks to our office mate, Murphy, for the tip! 

While we were strolling, Nicole started walking on her own again. So far, this would be her longest walk. (This video was taken from my phone so please bare with the quality… )

We ended the day by eating our dessert in Conti’s. There were a lot of people so we decided to have it take out and eat it in Landmark’s food court! We ordered Bananalicious and and Mango Bravo. Many says that Mango Bravo is superb but my hubby and I think that Bananalicious is better than the latter!

Tags: baby walking by herself, Conti's Bananalicious, Conti's Mango Bravo, Merrell store in Trinoma, strolling in Trinoma

March 16 was my birthday. (Sorry, I’m not gonna publish my age!) hahaha… For the first time, my hubby surprised me with a relaxing spa package as my birthday gift! I’m not really surprised because I was able to guess it the night before…I’m just not sure (sorry hon!) Anyway, he booked a refreshing start package for me from THE SPA which consist of Aromafacial Massage, Choice of Foot Therapy (Peppermint Foot Rub, Oriental Foot Therapy or Thai Foot Massage), Choice of Deluxe Body Massage (Swedish, Shiatsu, or Deep Tissue). I chose Shiatsu because I’ve always tried Swedish and the Peppermint Foot Rub.My hubby took care of Nicole while I was in there.  It was 2 hrs. of bliss for me… Nothing to worry about!

After the whole body massage, I went to my locker and changed to my clothes. When I left the room, I saw my hubby sitting beside Nicole as she sleeps in the waiting area. They were there for about 30mins. already. We ended the day with a sumptuous dinner in Itallianis! As usual, we ordered our favorite herb chicken, the rib  eye steak (sorry  I forgot the name…) and Tartufo as the dessert!

Thanks for the treat Hon!

Tags: birthday, Itallianis, The SPA

We’ve been using the Popcorn Hour (PCH – 110) for more than a month now and here are some honest feedback:

Pros:

• Great storage device.
• plays MOV (H.264), MP4, divx,
• has HDMI which connects to our HD-TV

Cons:

• Hard drive gets too hot even if used for a limited time (like 1 hr.)
• Doesn’t detect files like .jpg, .mov, .wma
• Can’t connect to our home theatre. Only have 2 audio ports (left, right).
• No built-in wireless adapter

Tags: alternative to apple TV, networked media tank, popcorn hour, storage device

I mark this day as one of Nicole’s big milestone!

This video was taken a while ago while we were trying to take a video of Nicole walking because I’ve seen her walking by herself!

I was the one who witnessed her walk  without touching anything! I praised her for taking the big leap! To my excitement, I immediately informed my hubby and we both watched her do it again! After a few minutes of encouraging her to do it again, she did it! We we’re both excited! Even Nicole clapped as if it was a big achievement for her!

She’s not yet walking by herself full time but it’s a start.

Tags: baby milestone, baby walking on her own, baby's first steps, baby's firsts, first independent steps

We went to my baby’s pedia today to have her check up. She’s been having on/off fever since Wednesday, so this would be her 3rd day. She was diagnosed to have tonsillitis again. The last time that this happened was when she had Roseola. She had the same symptoms except for the rashes/spots on her body. The last time she had fever was around 10am and it didn’t return since. She was advised to take antibiotics (Amoxicillin) 3x a day for 7 days.

Tags: baby's health, tonsillitis in babies

Here are some of Nicole’s bumblebee studio pics. Isn’t she cute or what??!!

Tags: baby studio pictures, bumblebee costume, pic a boo

Revel bars is one of my favorite dessert! So last week, I made one for myself and my hubby. Again, this is my first time to bake revel bars.

Here are the ingredients: (taken from: All Recipes )

• 3 cups quick cooking oats
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 2 cups packed brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• I used 4 teaspoons of McCormick strawberry flavor because I don’t have vanilla extract 
• 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips (Hershey’s)
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup whole peanuts

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9×13 inch baking pan.
2. In a large bowl, beat together 1 cup butter and brown sugar until fluffy. Mix in eggs and 2 teaspoons vanilla. In another bowl, combine oats, flour, baking soda, and 1 teaspoon salt; stir into butter mixture. Set aside.
3. In a medium saucepan, heat sweetened condensed milk, chocolate chips, 2 tablespoons butter, and 1/2 teaspoon salt over low heat, stirring until smooth. Remove from heat. Stir in walnuts and 2 teaspoons vanilla.
4. Pat 2/3 of the oat mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan. Spread chocolate mixture evenly over the top, and dot with remaining oat mixture.
5. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes in preheated oven. Let cool on a wire rack, then cut into bars.

Here’s a pic.

Tags: revel bar ingredients, revel bar procedure, revel bars

Two weeks ago, Nicole had her first photo shoot in Pic-A-Boo, Megamall branch. It was hard making her smile or laugh. We were making a fool out of ourselves just to make her smile. We were so thankful there were still photos that did not go to waste!

Here are some of them:

Tags: baby pictures, cute baby pictures, pic a boo, picaboo megamall

Early this year, the successor of the previous DS lite was released in Asia. It is called DSi. This new handheld game console is 12% thinner (2.6 mm) than the Nintendo DS Lite and unlike Sony PSP’s optional camera, this one has it’s own built in!

Here are some of the new features:

• 2 VGA (0.3 megapixel) digital cameras (one on the internal hinge pointed towards the user and the second one in the outer shell
• has larger screens (3.25 inches, instead of the previous 3 inches) 
• improved speakers
• The power switch has been replaced with a power button, as the original DS had, now located next to the bottom left side of the touchscreen
• five brightness settings compared to the DS Lite’s four
• A new SD card slot is used for external storage of pictures and downloaded software and to play AAC audio
• 256 MB of internal flash memory
• has upgradable firmware

All of these features are cool except for for the removal of the front slot for Game Boy Advance (GBA) cartridges. This makes it incompatible with Guitar Hero: On Tour and Guitar Hero: On Tour Decades grip which makes the game exciting!

Tags: game console, handheld gaming device, nintendo, Nintendo DS lite

My hubby and I have been looking for a storage device because all of our drives are exploding with files and we already have tons of pudding full of DVDs!  We need a device that could store all of our precious memories recorded in our Sony HDR-SR10 camcorder. But when we saw the Popcorn Hour A-110, we immediately knew this is the perfect device that would fit our needs!  

Here are some of it’s awesome features:

• High Definition Full HD (1080p) video playback
• Playback support for most video and audio format
• stream or playback digital media contents from PC, USB, digicam, etc.
• Bit Torrent downloader
• connect a USB keyboard or use the remote to surf the web
• Web 2.0 Services – content streaming over the internet (YouTube, RSS, Internet Radio, Podcast, NBA, TV, Apple Trailer)
• P2P live internet video streaming powered by SayaTV technology
• Network Attached Storage (NAS) functionality 
• Has 2 USB ports so you could connect an external USB drive.

What we like about this device is you can connect it to your network through it’s ethernet port or use the WN-100 to make it wireless! What we’re planning to do is to put the device in our room, install a 1TB hard disk in the popcorn, connect it to our Samsung LA32R81B LCD TV then connect it wirelessly in our existing Linksys WRT100N!

The current price of the Popcorn Hour A-110 is Php13500. Pricey??!!! Nnnaaaahhhh… I personally think the price is just right with  things that it can do for you! Once the 1TB hd becomes full, we’ll connect 2 TB external hard drives and make it RAID!

Now we know where would our bonuses go this coming payday!

Tags: Bit Torrent downloader, HD player, Hi-def player, media player, NAS, network attached storage, networked media tank A-110, popcorn hour, Samsung LA32R81B

December 29 was Nicole’s 1st birthday! I didn’t have the time to blog about it because I’ve been busy lately.

We’ve attended several birthday parties but most of the time the celebrant is not enjoying the party. So my hubby and I decided to celebrate it at home to have unlimited time and accommodate more guests! We have the food catered by the same one who did her baptism (Christine’s Catering) and Claycakes by Karla Magbanua for her cake!  Our theme is pooh & friends in a safari setting but my hubby wants Lumpy to be on our cake so here it is! Isn’t it cute??!! Wait until you have it tasted! It’s so heavenly! hhhhmmm… I can still recall it’s chocolatey taste!

FYI: Karla also made our wedding cake and all of our guests loved it! The texture is so firm and rich! The taste is awesome! It’s all worth the price!

Tags: birthday celebration, claycakes, customized birthday cake, first birthday, karla magbanua, Nicole's birthday

Do you already have a gift for your loved ones this holiday season? Aren’t you done yet with your Christmas shopping? If you’re looking for unique gifts why don’t you try these personalized holiday gifts?! Flash drives are perfect for those who are  tech savvy like me but how do you want to have them personalized? Pexagon is offering 20% off from their personalized thumb drives and pens. You can get a personalized laser-engraved pen for as low as $1.59 after discount, Business Card Flash Drives and wooden USB flash drives for as low as $15.99 after discount. These drives are not just the ordinary flash drives that you’ve seen! They are also available as business card flash drives which is perfect for business people and administrators, the earth-friendly wooden USB flash drives (available in 2GB and 4GB capacities) and of course the ordinary thumb drives which is available in 14 colors and upto 16 GB capacity. You have the option to put anything that you want and they will engrave it for you. What’s great about Pexagon is that all of their products has fast turn around time, no setup costs and no minimum order quantity! 

Order now and give your loved ones a special gift this coming year!

Tags: Christmas gift, gifts, holiday, Pexagon

Our family (hubby and I) went to Trinoma the day after Christmas! These shots were taken in Iceberg’s. As usual, we ate our favorite homestyle spaghetti and Country – style chicken!

Tags: Christmas, food, iceberg's