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? 

First Bite: Va Bene's Business Lunch Menu

We all have love-hate relationship with lunch break. We look forward to that one hour where we could get our fill and be energized to last us the day but at the same time, we never feel that an hour is enough for us to enjoy our meal. Thankfully, several restaurants saw it as a challenge and opportunity to develop menus that are filling, quick and more importantly, delicious, to help us get the most of our limited lunch hour. And a few Saturdays ago, I got to try out some of Va Bene's Business Lunch Menu dishes.

Hello, Va Bene Pasta Deli. 

Va Bene is consistently named as one of the best Italian restaurants in town. Known for its delectable pastas, it has been patronized by foodies all over.

Night Cap: The Penthouse 8747

People close to me know that I'm far from being tagged as a party person. Born as a certified tita (aunt), I have now graduated as a full-fledged Lola(grandmother) of Manila. But such did not discourage me from visiting a Great Gatsby themed bar that offers a magnificent view of the city. Okay, it was also because I was intrigued with its bar chows. The foodie remains more influential than the lola in me. 

Hello, The Penthouse 8747! 

The place, as it is aptly named, is located on the topmost floor of Lepanto building. Though the lift would not bring you all the way to the bar's main entrance, you just need to take one flight up to reach the reception adorned with gold accents and chandelier. 

Freezer Burn's Latest Flavor: Lemon Chicken Ice Cream

We fell in love with Freezer Burn since it launched one of the weirdest desserts, Ketchup ice cream and Fries. Such unique and never heard of flavor raised eyebrows and made some dessert lovers iffy to try it. But for some reason, it worked and made us foodies nostalgic about our fast food runs where we top our sundaes with fries. But Freezer Burn’s latest creation got me very intrigued as I never imagined lemon chicken as a sweet treat.

Hello again, Freezer Burn. 

Chef Miko’s teaser message about its latest creation, Lemon Chicken, got me so curious that I kept thinking about it during my El Nido escapade. Yes, I was thinking about lemon chicken while snorkelling! 

First Bite: Kandle Cafe

I have been hearing a lot of good reviews about Kandle Café. I must admit, I was so curious and dying to visit the adorable café. But two words discourage me from going... Quezon City. As a self proclaimed resident of the South (self proclaimed because my friends refuse to believe that Fort Bonifacio is "south") I hardly visit that part of Quezon City. But a very tempting food crawl invite to Tomas Morato made me brave Manila traffic to join the well planned food trip. And of course, one of the stops was Kandle Café.

Hello, Kandle Café!

This is probably one of the few restaurants with ample parking space. We didn't have a hard time parking at all. 

We were greeted by a homey facade and an adorable porch with Kandle Café on it. 

As we moved closer to the dining area, I noticed the beautiful lush landscape beside the al fresco area. It was very charming and that sight made it clear to me why this place was named one of the best (affordable) date places in Quezon City.

Detox Time: Detoxify Bar

Just like most people, I love to eat unhealthy stuff. (Chips, cakes, ice cream, chocolates, pizza, fries… why are you soooo good???)  But there are times when I feel so guilty that I just have to cleanse myself. I still remember the first time I did juice detox. It was not as hard as I thought but it was still challenging. I avoided everyone with food and became anti-social for a day. (Why yes, all of the people I know and talk with always have food.) It was worth it though as I felt great after! Not really sure if it was psychological given I spent quite a lot for 6 bottles of juice I could do myself or if it really made me feel better. Anyway, I was convinced once again to try it out and this time, I tried Detoxify Bar.

Hello, Detoxify Bar!

Detoxify Bar offers juice detox at a friendlier price compared to Juju Cleanse. Ordering was easier too as I called them up one afternoon to prepare my order for pick up that same night.

One day detox is composed of 5 bottles (versus 6 of Juju) and you may mix and match the juices you want (though they also have sets). Each bottle costs PHP220 but if you get a detox set, you also get a thermal bag and two tea packs for an additional PHP250.

I chose the Green Vegan Detox, Minty Berry Detox, Lemon Detox, and two bottles of Red Vegan Detox.

Restaurant Love: Avi (Take 2 and 3)

I hardly visit a restaurant twice in a week but I made an exception last week.

It has been a few months ago since I last visited Avi. The place offers really good food at affordable prices yet I never see it packed with hungry foodies. I guess it is because diners have so many options in Kapitolyo. Anyway…

I had lunch at Avi two Sundays ago and I decided to go with my favorite Basil in Red (PHP165) and Lola Soledad’s Buttered Shrimp Agoile (PHP210).

While slurping my soup and munching on the nacho chips, one of the chips went straight to my throat and got jammed inside my esophagus! Yes, it may sound a bit disturbing (and Avi has nothing to do with this) but this sure reminded me to chew my food well.

The pasta was pretty good too. The noodles were al dente and the flavor was not that overwhelming. The shrimps were fresh too.

Happy Hour at 3PM

Happy Lemon Rockwell Branch is finally open to spread happiness!!!

I was thrilled when I saw a lady carrying a plastic bag of Happy Lemon while walking around Power Plant. That made me smile so big and I immediately convinced my friends to go to Happy Lemon with me while (ironically) burning some Ultimate Taste Test calories.

When we arrived, the first thing I noticed that there was ample sitting area. Customers can also sit on the couches in front of the clothes stores. However, the seats near the counter were not that desirable since it could be crowded when there are a lot of customers ordering.

We were lucky because the line was still pretty short when we ordered. After 10 minutes, the line became crazy. Service was quite quick though compared to its Greenhills branch.

New branch, new drink (well, at least for me).

This time, I ordered Lemon Black Tea with pearls since I was craving for something tangy (as I find milk tea too filling and our goal was to “burn” some calories for more of UTT concessionaires’ food).

It was quite different from the others I’ve tried before. Simply put, it was a sour tea.

At first, I didn’t like it. It tasted weird. Then after a few more sips, I eventually liked it. It now has my "less than three" a.k.a. heart stamp on it! Its distinct taste set it apart from the other milk tea stores.  

So give other drinks a chance. Take a risk and you might discover your newest love.

Happy Lemon is located at the Archeology Wing, 2F Power Plant Mall, Makati.