My First Lash Extensions with Ayumi

I've always wanted to have long eyelashes. But my lack of patience to put on falsies or  learn how to properly apply mascara left me with sparse eyelashes for decades! Though I had those moments of being made up with long lashes to boot, I never really considered having lash extensions because of my fear of having my already few lashes fall off. And it took a lot of research for me to finally give in. And the best one that came out was Ayumi. 

Hello, Ayumi.

Ayumi is one of the pioneers in the lash extensions industry in Manila. It has been around for over 5 years and have been known as a reliable fairy godmother in making one extra glam. 

Now Open: Hey Brew

There's a new kid in town and it serves some of the most beautiful food and drinks I've seen to date. And unlike its hashtag "hey stranger" the people behind this bar and eatery sure are no strangers to the foodie community. 

Hello, Hey Brew Eatery + Bar!

Hey Brew is the newest restaurant and bar headed by the talented Chef Niño Laus and Kalel Demetrio. If you've been out and about, you must have heard of these two shaking up the food and beverage industry with their innovative and refreshing concepts.

First Bite: ICHŌ Japanese Restaurant

I love how R's parents are always on the lookout for new restaurants to try. They're awesome foodies who would often discover gems in the city that are outside my radar. And one of the restaurants they stumbled upon was ICHŌ Japanese Restaurant. 

Hello, ICHŌ Japanese Restaurant. 

Located along the busy Annapolis near Greenhills Shopping Center, ICHŌ is a stand alone restaurant that took the place of a former Chinese restaurant. 

New Restaurant Alert: TenRen's Tea

New restaurants, cafés or whathaveyou attract me like fly to light. I just have to go nearer… and nearer… and… *bite/slurp* Well, okay, I have to order first and pay before I devour whatever I chose. Anyway, the point is, I simply could not resist new places especially if these places offer food or drinks. I am actually practicing intense self control not to go to S Maison to try the new restaurants there as I wanted to go with the awesome looloo group. So to distract myself, I headed to Greenhills and went to the new tea shop TenRen’s Tea. 

Hello, TenRen’s Tea!

I got lost finding this place. I saw the wrong and incomplete addresses in my food apps so it took me a while to get here. (By the way, it is on the second floor of the Promenade Mall, quite near Gourdo’s and on top of Starbucks.) 

The shop was empty at 3:30 p.m. and the server near the door gave me a free sample of their bestseller 913 King’s Oolong Milk Tea (PHP100). I liked it so I went with that one but with 50% sugar level and with pearls (additional PHP10) as I wanted to chew on something. 

The wait wasn’t that long as I was the only customer then. It took them 2 minutes to prepare my drink and it was ample time for me to take a few snapshots of the place for “documentation.” While waiting, I noticed that they did not design the place for people to linger around. There are only two tall tables and 3-4 stools each. There are no power outlets or washroom inside the shop as well. Oh, and it was hot inside! 

I guess, it really is just designed for take out and the store is to showcase its various teas. 

Love at First Bite: Dohtonbori

Thanks to the mouthwatering photos I see here, I had a few sleepless nights and experienced intense FOMO (oh yeah! I feel like a millennial) when looloo held a rendezvoos in this popular okonomiyaki restaurant along Missouri Street. And after months of drooling and waiting and more drooling, I have finally set foot inside... DOHTONBORI!!! 

PON POKO PON NO PON!!! (Did I get it right?) 

We were asked if we would like to dine in the tatami mat area and I immediately said YES. Let's eat Japanese style! Woohoo!!!

Water was served right after we sat down. (Plus points for that as the heat was too much!)

After browsing the menu, we settled with Deluxe Okonomiyaki (PHP360), Kalbi Yakiniku (PHP280) and Grilled Salmon Chanchan (PHP380).

The kale yakiniku was served first and the server prepared it for us due to our fear that we'll mess things up if we do the grilling and flipping. In less than 10 minutes, the kalbi yakiniku was ready to be enjoyed. 

It was good. Tender beef with lovely sweet sauce. However, it was a bit on the bland side. 

The deluxe okonomiyaki and salmon chanchan were prepared next and it took longer than the yakiniku. 

Love at First Bite: Carousel Creamery Handcrafted Ice Cream | 101 Flavors

It has been a while since my last lazy weekend. R and I have been out traveling for weeks and though it was fun to see new (and not so new places), it was tiring. (Oh how I hate unpacking!) So last Saturday, we decided to have a lazy day and napped the whole afternoon. But when I woke up from my slumber, my tummy was on a rampage. It was hungry and DEMANDS food ASAP. I then started to munch on the delightful Coco Banana Corn snack my officemate gave me for Christmas and I (well, with R’s help) finished it in less than one episode of Amazing Race. And since it was not enough to calm the grumpy tummy, I managed to convince R to go out (with a lot of cutie pie eyes which were not really cute) and head to Chili’s so that we could finally use the PHP 1,000 gift certificate I got from Looloo. (Stay awesome, Looloo! I love yah!) Buuut, this entry is not about Chili’s (which I will blog soon). The spotlight is on Carousel Creamery, a new ice cream place I spotted last weekend.

Hello, Carousel Creamery Handcrafted Ice Cream | 101 Flavors!

The bright black and white sign caught my attention as we brave the Missouri Street traffic last Saturday. Ice cream? 101 flavors? Oh yes please!!! Gimme all!!!

Almost all tables were occupied when we got there. But several chest freezers were still empty. Boo! That night, they had 21 flavors ready for us ice cream lovers and said that all 101 flavors will be ready in the next weeks to come. Apparently, they are still in their soft opening and last Saturday (the day I went) was their first day of operations. Sweet! I was one of the first foodies to spot this place.

They have a lot of interesting flavors such as Beer and Chicharon which have this nice malty caramel taste; Java the Hot Star Wars which was pretty much like chocolate until the spice hits you (surprise!!!); and Maple and Bacon which has real bacon bits! Bacon?!? *drooooool*

Love at First Bite: Rita’s Ice-Custard-Happiness

I have been eying Rita’s for a long time now. Ever since it opened, I have heard and read nothing but praises. They say that this Italian custard really is “happiness” and finally, I got a taste of it last week.

Hello, Rita’s!

The place was packed when we visited but we didn’t mind the long wait as we couldn’t decide what to get. We got giddy with the thought of combining our favorite flavors but we were not so sure if it would work. Eventually, it was my turn and I asked the friendly guy manning the counter for recommendation.

I chose Gelati (PHP130 for regular) which is a combination of Italian flavored ice (think sorbet) and creamy custard. Since I wanted Strawberry-Banana (coffee was just too sweet!), he suggested that I pair it with vanilla custard. But I want to try more so I opted for the twist (chocolate with vanilla).

Presenting… chocolate vanilla twirl with strawberry-banana ice.

First Bite: Hokkaido Ramen Santouka

It has been a while since I last went to Greenhills. I went crazy with the great tiangge finds. I even thought of hoarding stuff for Christmas. But the tummy had another plan… to eat. And since F wanted ramen, we went to Hokkaido Ramen Santouka.

Hello, Hokkaido Ramen Santouka!

The place was packed with hungry diners when I arrived a bit past 1 p.m.. F and I had to wait for around 20 minutes before the server approached us if we’re okay with bar seats. Since we were hungry, we said yes.

I ordered a regular Shio Ramen (PHP345) with Komi-Tamago (PHP50) and Kurobuta Gyoza (PHP240) while F went for a bowl of Shoyu Ramen (PHP345). Service was quick as it took them less than 10 minutes to serve our food.

First Bite: Frittery

I absolutely love comfort food. I find myself munching on it 3 to 4 times a week. Not only is it easy to prepare, it’s oh so yummy! Bacooooon, pancake, fried chicken, more bacooooon! A few weeks back, R and I were so lazy but still opted to go out to celebrate our special day. We wanted to visit Ooma then but after seeing the crazy line to SM Megamall, we went to Promenade instead and discovered…

Frittery.

This little kiosk is owned by Slammin’ Sliders + Fries + Dips and it specializes in hot dogs and fries. Its fries’ menu reminded me of In-N-Out’s animal fries. Yes, I’m referring to that messy goodness.

R and I chose to get Beefy Supreme Loaded Fries (PHP125) and a bottle of Red Strawberry Iced Tea (PHP35).  

After 10 minutes or so, our freshly dip fried fries topped with ground beef, cheese, onions and tomatoes was ready and the tray was handed to me with forks. Guess that made it clear that their fries are not exactly considered as finger food.

Restaurant Love: Omakase

I absolutely love Japanese food. I cannot count how many times I mentioned that in my blog but… who cares? I love Japanese food. It never fails to make me smile (especially with a plate of salmon sashimi on the table). And those random Japanese dinner dates are loooooove~~~ <3

Hello, Omakase!

It has been a long time since I last visited Omakase. I still remember the maki platter and the super friendly prices. I think I went crazy over the platters.

This time, R ordered Spicy Tuna Salad (PHP250), Soft Shell Crab Tempura (PHP550) and Dynamite Roll (PHP250) while I got Salmon Sashimi (PHP240) and Zaru Soba (PHP195). I wanted to order one more dish but R said that I always waste food. TT_TT

After a short wait, the spicy tuna salad arrived.

It wasn’t really that spicy. I loved the salad dressing on the cubes of tuna and the crunch of the tempura crumbs.

The salmon sashimi was pretty okay too. Not the best as it was not the type that melts in your mouth (or so how my former officemate calls it—party in the mouth) but it was still delightful.

Soon, the soft shell crab tempura arrived and R noticed that the serving size seemed to be smaller than before. (Or that the serving size is still the same but is now more expensive.) It’s best to ask for an additional sauce when you order this.  

Restaurant Discovery: CO/OP Manila

I just love quaint coffee shops. It never fails to make my heart skip a beat. Well, that and too much coffee.

After a quick and blooper-filled S&R trip, V and I decided to have coffee somewhere. V recommended CO/OP and I recall M mentioned that place when I asked for food stops for my San Juan food trip (which became a White Plains food trip). I quickly agreed and off we go to San Juan.

The place was slightly hidden (or was it because it was dark?) so you need to be somehow familiar how to get there. A big CO/OP sign though will greet you so you’ll know when you’ve reached your destination.

I instantly fell in love with the place. A huge MANILA signage was at the porch which serves as a cute backdrop for a few tables and chairs for the al fresco diners.

The counter is the first thing you’ll see once you open the door. With a simple menu, it wasn’t hard to decide what to order.

Since we were still full from our pizza, chicken and fries, we opted to have the Dessert in a Jar (PHP175), Cappuccino (PHP110) for me and CO/OP Iced Tea (PHP80) for V.

While waiting for our orders, we checked out the cute stuff CO/OP carries.

At first, I had the impression that the items they were selling were NGO products. Apparently, these items are from other countries like US and Australia. Most are priced about PHP900.

Foodie Alert: Unlimited Crispy Pata!!!

Unlimited. Eat-all-you-can. Overflowing. Those words never fail to make me smile!

Gluttons rejoice as C2 Classic Cuisine has a promo that is simply hard to resist. Just combine a sinful yet oh-so-good dish plus the word UNLIMITED… *happiness*

UNLIMITED. CRISPY. PATA. *twirls, jumps, and (if I could) somersaults*

The promo is actually simple. Just go to the C2 Classic Cuisine Greenhills branch, order the unlimited crispy pata and pay PHP299. But waaaait!!! For those with tight budgets but big tummy space, fret not as you could slash PHP100 off your bill by following these easy steps:

All-Time Favorite: AySee

I used to dislike food such as isaw, laing, and yes, even sisig… but now, I just can’t get enough of it.

Last Sunday (yes, that was the day after I ate one giant chicharon for an eating contest), my mom and I went to Tiendesitas for some pork isaw from Archie’s.

On our way to Chillers for some shakes, I noticed something familiar… AYSEE!!! The famous sisig-an near Ultra is in Tiendesitas (and they just opened a new branch at Greenhills). Okay, I hardly visit Tiendesitas and I found out that they were there since 2010.

I wanted to order Tuna Sisig so that I will feel less guilty (as my heart was screaming for greens ever since I ate that giant chicharon). However, they ran out of tuna… and I was still craving for sisig. So… I ordered Pork Sisig (PHP120) instead.

A sip of happiness

A trip to Greenhills is not complete without visiting Happy Lemon. I don’t know why but this little tea store seemed to have casted a spell on me that makes me go there every time I go to Greenhills.

That cute yellow place is really something else. Yes, even when the floor and windows are dirty, people do not seem to mind (the place was a mess when I visited it during Easter).

Since I made a vow to “order something else” every time I visit a place I’ve been before, I tried Lemon Honey with Seaweed Jelly… just because it seemed refreshing. My mom (who happens to be my complete opposite) ordered my so-far-favorite Crispy Cocoa Milk Tea with Brown Sugar Jelly drink just because I told her I tried it before and it was good.

My Tea. My Mom's Tea. Someone's tea.

The image of Lemon Honey with Seaweed Jelly (gosh, this is such a long name) did not fail my impression of it being a refreshing drink. It was a bit sour (since its lemon) but it is not something that will make your eyes go crazy. I was a bit disappointed with the Seaweed Jelly since it is just tasteless green jelly. It would have been nice if they just made it sweet or something… as long as there’s taste. Nonetheless, it was totally different from what I tried before. (It was more like lemonade than tea… or maybe because it is really lemonade. Not very sure here.)

Refreshingly goooooood.

I can’t wait to go back for more Happy Lemon happiness. I do hope though that the place will be cleaner by the time I visit it again.