Grocery Find: Cheez Whiz Mild

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day but most of us usually skip this as we rush to the office (or school) to beat the unbelievable Manila traffic. Thankfully, there are a bunch of morning hacks we can use to avoid having to leave our homes with empty growling stomachs. One of which is making a fuss-free sandwich. And cheese is usually my go to spread. 

Hello, Cheez Whiz!

I still remember grabbing a jar of Cheez Whiz every afternoon to snack on when I was young. I'd have it on bread or snack on it as is while watching my favorite television show. I couldn't indulge in more than 2 tablespoon though with its strong flavor. But Cheez Whiz introduced a new variant that might make me finish half a jar in one sitting. 

When in Thailand: Krabi Island (Day 4 and 5)

Time sure flies fast when you're on a vacation. It felt like days went by as quick as a blink of an eye. Before we even realized it, we were about to leave Krabi and we were just not ready yet. But we tried to maximize our last full day with another island tour and checking out one of the highly rated restaurants in the island. 

Day 4 and 5 at Krabi Island

We decided to spend our last full day at Krabi checking out 4 Islands which is the tour recommended for those who prefer snorkeling over relaxing by the shore. 

First Bite: Cheesecake Stix

A meal is never complete without desserts. I've been used to having something sweet to cap my meal that despite being at the verge of bursting, I still find space for ice cream, cake or what-have-you. And last weekend, I had a mini food crawl with my sister which ended with feasting on cheesecake on a stick. Yes, on a stick!

Hello, Cheesecake Stix!

Cheesecake Stix became the talk of town when it launched its cheese cake on a stick.

The New Guy in Town: Delivery Guy

There's a new guy in town and he's a foodie too! 

Meet Delivery Guy.

Delivery Guy is the newest food delivery service perfect for those who want to stay put at home or wherever they are. Unlike other food delivery services in the market, Delivery Guy has three platforms to choose from -- landline (488-7676), website (www.deliveryguy.ph) and mobile application (Delivery Guy, available in App Store and Google Play). 

When in Japan: Visit Owl Family Hakata

My recent Japan trip was a dream come true. I have been dying to visit Japan for the longest time and it finally happened this year. And nothing would have been more perfect than being there during the time when cherry blossoms are in full bloom. Obviously, I went crazy over the cherry blossoms and dragged R towards every sakura tree I spotted. It was expected as I have always wanted to see those beautiful trees in real life. But I would have never known that I would also go crazy over… owls. 

Hello, Owl Family Hakata!

The Owl café was an accidental discovery and it happened when R and I were trying to find our way to visit this temple near Hakata Station in Fukuoka, Japan. 

After struggling to ask the locals for directions with my survival Nihonggo, we found ourselves walking along this sad looking shopping district. That was when we spotted a bunch of foreigners in front of this quaint café. Curious, we stopped and check the place out. And to our surprise, we saw several owls inside!

Owls of different sizes were all lounging around the small establishment. We were so fascinated by it that we thought of joining the group of tourists outside. But there is a limit with the number of customers who could go inside. Also, we wanted to wait for R’s friend to join us. 

We headed back to the place after a couple of hours and there were still a handful of people waiting outside for the next batch. We got scared that we might not be accommodated as the ones ahead of us made reservations. But we managed to get in. Yay!

We were first ushered to the second floor of the cafe where we were given instructions on how to handle the owls. It was a bit of a challenge as the server was speaking 95% Japanese and 5% English. We only understood the essentials through body language. 

Thankfully, they also have some reading materials in English for us which also explain the same things the staff was trying to convey. 

Before heading down, we placed our orders which were inclusive in our JPY1,000 per person café fee. R and I got hot chocolate while R’s friend, M, got coffee. 

Giddy to mingle with the owls, we didn’t drink our beverages right away. Also, the second floor was a bit too cramped to stay put.

We were given a quick rundown of the names of the owls but the one that got stuck to me is Sumomo, the adorable small owl with eyes that could melt the coldest heart. 

Promo Alert: Max's Chicken All-You-Can stars this July 17!

THIS. IS. IT. The wait is over. (Sort of.) Max’s has announced the start of its well-loved Chicken All-You-Can promo.

The chicken lovers have spoken and they chose Friday as the Chicken All-You-Can day! So mark your calendars now. The feast will start on July 17, 2015 and will continue every Friday until August 14, 2015 from 6 PM to 10 PM.

For only PHP229, you get served a quarter fried chicken with a glass of any Pepsi product. You could request for another fill of quarter fried chicken when you finish the one on your plate.  And just like any eat-all-you-can promos, sharing is not allowed. This is also not available for take-out, deliveries and conjunction with any other existing promos.

See you soon, fellow chicken lovers! I’m targeting to finish 2 whole chickens (8 servings) this time.

-Gluttonshopper

Love at First Bite: Scout’s Honor

I love anything personalized or customized. It shows that effort and thought were put into it and it makes whatever was made more special. Well, I always feel special when I receive one. I also find it fun to make one so it was such a thrill to make my own cookie! Curious where I crafted my own cookie? Scout’s Honor at Hole in the Wall.

Hello, Scout’s Honor!

This cute cookie and milk place is the first thing you’ll see once you enter Hole in the Wall. Scout’s Honor’s display of milk bottles and cookies will instantly make you salivate (if you love milk and cookies).

I was all oohs and aahs while checking the different ready-to-eat cookies, cookie dough, toppings and milk flavors. After much thought, I decided to get Cookie Inception (PHP95), Rocky Road, Peanut Butter and Nutty (PHP180 for 3 pieces—and yes, it has to be three pieces). I also crafted my own cookie (PHP120) and got Bamboo Charcoal Milk (PHP110).

For my very own Gluttonshopper cookie, I opted to go with the chewy chocolate chip cookie dough with almonds and marshmallow. The cookie master told me that the chewy chocolate chip cookie dough is one of their bestsellers and bestseller is a magic word with me. (UPDATE: They now have red velvet cookie dough! Get yours now as it’s a limited offering.)

True enough, I did love my cookie. It’s not that photogenic but the chewy dough and mallows with a slight bite from the almonds was divine! I love munching it warm with my cold milk.

Mystery Solved: Rebecca's Room

I get so excited every time I meet someone game to try Mystery Manila.  My first experience was fun and I didn’t mind being a third wheel at all. The second time around wasn’t as fun though when we tried Sinister Sensorium as I was one of the blind players. (The blind don’t get to do much and I didn’t even know that the game was over!) But things were about to change when we tried Rebecca’s Room.

I just could not contain my excitement when I read the reviews about Rebecca’s Room. It is like being in a horror movie. (Exciting!!!)

I realized though that the mystery was not a joke when “Sherlock”, our game master asked if any of us have heart problems. (Then again, I thought that he was just trying to scare us.)

So we did the drill… read an article to have a background of the mystery and be briefed on what to do inside.

When we got inside, several furniture pieces were covered in white cloth. I had fun making a mess until… WHAT THE ****!!!  (I won’t tell you what I saw!)

A  few minutes later, the lights were turned off so we relied on the flashlight that I found and the cellphone R discovered.

Tea Party: TWG Tea Salon and Boutique

The T3 (The Takaw Trio) is back and this time, we are a bit more posh! We decided to have lunch at this new tea place in Greenbelt 5 and it was the start of an amazing day.

TWG, does that stand for “The Wonderful Gastronomy”?

The place has a high ceiling and we noticed that it has this masculine look that Sherlock Holmes will not look odd in. N also noticed that the place has a lot of male customers as well. Tea party is just for girls? Nah!

When J and I arrived, N was waiting for about 2 hours already. But to my surprise, she was able to resist finishing the yummy raspberry tart she ordered. It was fluffy in the inside, tangy on the outside and the crisp yet creamy dark chocolate chip made all the difference. Sorry, no picture but just say, “one awesome tangy raspberry with dark chocolates on the side tart!”

It took us a while to decide on what to order. I was overwhelmed with the menu as it had a lot of yummy choices. In the end, I chose the first thing that caught my eye… Gourmet brunch set (PHP750).