Is FRNK Milk Bar More Than Just A Pretty Shop?

Instagrammable. That word has been the focus of most food and drink establishments and sadly, fail to deliver what's really important... taste. This is the reason why I often avoid pretty food and colorful drinks. I'm always scared of getting duped by its beautiful appearance and leave my taste buds miserable. But when most of my friends say that this new hipster drink brand offers nothing but goodness, I just have to give in to try FRNK Milk Bar. 

Hello, FRNK Milk Bar. 

FRNK Milk Bar is one of celebrity Isabelle Daza's business ventures. And just like all the other brands she's involved with, FRNK is a beauty in all aspects of marketing. All of FRNK's drinks are worthy to be part of anyone's Instagram with its sleek presentation. 

Beat the Heat 101: Honey Lemon

Living in the city could take a toll on the body. With traffic seemingly getting worse each day, I often find myself going for the short route when it comes to grabbing meals. Fast food, canned goods, you name it. As long as it's just a call or few clicks away, you got my attention. But I end up compromising health with convenience. However, not everything off the shelf is bad. In fact, a new product found its way to our shores and would make summer extra fun and healthy.

Hello, Honey Lemon.

R and I are big fans of honey. We'd often drink honey water to start up our day and to help boost our immune system. Though we'd enjoy honey with a wide variety of beverages (even food), we hardly have it with lemon. But who knew it is a winning combination and a very healthy one at that? 

A Peanut Lover's Dream: Fix & Fogg

Moving out has been one of the boldest moves I've done my whole life. Though it's something expected when you've reached a certain age, my decision to go solo was more of because of work and not because I felt it was time to spread my wings. And it was tough at first. From being used to having everything ready for me, I had to do things on my own and that includes breakfast, lunch and dinner. And as a person not fond of eating out that often, I learned to cook and love making a mess in the kitchen. But on lazy days, I'd often find myself grabbing a slice of bread and spread. And my go to spread? Peanut butter. 

Hello, Fix & Fogg.

Fix & Fogg is an artisanal brand from New Zealand. Known for pushing the envelope when it comes to peanut butter flavors, it became a popular choice for peanut butter lovers and adventurous foodies alike. 

Summer Is Not Over: Pinkberry

Despite the regular drizzles and afternoon rainfalls, summer is definitely not over. The sizzling summer heat is here to stay in the form of humidity. Thankfully, one of my favorite cold treats decided to add a few new goodies to their list of offerings and we celebrated its launch last week. 
 
Hello, Pinkberry!

First Sip (and Bite): Backyard Coffee

My foodie college friends and I decided to roam around San Juan and pig out. We had a game plan ready. Sadly, a few of the stops on our list were closed as it was a Sunday. I was running late (thanks to the crazy Uber surge) and my friends were getting hungry. They then decided to go to a coffee shop nearby named Backyard Coffee.

Hello, Backyard Coffee. 

The coffee shop was quite full at 10:30 a.m. with studious youngsters. It was actually pretty quiet there and seemed perfect for those group studies. For a coffee shop, I didn’t get a whiff of coffee beans. 🤔

I approached the counter and read the menu. Since we plan to have around four to five stops, I decided to just have a Grillled Cheese Sandwich (PHP200) and a cup of Cappuccino (PHP120). I had to call the server for my order who was just sitting and texting or tinkering with his gadget. After placing my order, I asked if I have to pay there and he said yes and that was pretty much it. He didn’t even repeat my order or tell me how much I have to pay. Yes, it was just simple math but isn’t that some sort of SOP? In short, customer service sucks! 

At least my cup of coffee and sandwich arrived in less than 10 minutes. 

My cup of cappuccino had a light taste. I feel like I was drinking half a foam of milk. I was only able to gulp down the slightly bitter coffee when my cup was almost half empty. Nonetheless, it was a good drink if that’s the first thing you’ll drink in the morning. My tummy didn’t hurt at all! 

The Grilled Cheese Sandwich was something else though. I loved it!

Bacon Steak Heaven: Balboa

Friday traffic never fails to discourage me from exploring other places. Just like last Friday, R and I were supposed to visit Xocolat near UP. But since traffic gets more intense on Fridays, we decided to go to Shangri-La instead. And I find it tough to choose where to eat there since I already tried all the restaurants. (Good thing my favorites such as Spätzle, Kettle, Balboa, Brotzeit, and Duck & Buvette are there.) R let me choose where to eat and I chose…

Balboa! It has been a while.

I still remember how much I raved about its roasted chicken. I told my family, friends, and colleagues how much I love Balboa’s roasted chicken. I’m a fan. (Okay, enough of the chicken.)

This time around, R and I ordered the following: Cream of Squash (PHP209), Bacon Steak (PHP448) and Lasagna (PHP319). For drinks, R got the Salted Caramel (PHP175) while I chose Lychee, Lime and Honey (PHP138).

The drinks arrived first and my drink was quite refreshing. It wasn’t that sweet and it has a slight citrus taste from the lime. The lychee taste was faint though.

R loved his salted caramel. It was quite milky and surprisingly not as sweet as I thought.

The Cream of Squash had a light texture making it a good appetizer. I loved the slight sweetness of the soup.

A New Breakfast Lovers' Hotspot

I just love breakfast and I get grumpy when I miss the most important meal of the day. We Pinoys just love food that most of us eat 6 times a day (breakfast, brunch, lunch, merienda, dinner, and midnight snack). But nothing beats breakfast. A great breakfast is the perfect way to start the day. 

Another restaurant I would love to try is π Breakfast and Pies by Chef Ed Bugia. 

Photo from Pepper.ph

Yet another gem waiting to be flocked to by (since it has been discovered already), it has a lot of reasons why it should be your next breakfast destination!

Photo from isabelladepano.tumblr.com

Aside from the typical Eggs Benedict (called Eggs Benny in Breakfast and Pies), they have interesting gourmet waffles such as Salmon and Waffle at a very friendly price of PHP155! Topped with Salmon gravlax and fried capers, this will surely hit the tummy's happy bone! (Okay, that sounded weird and not just because the tummy doesn't have bones.)