John and Yoko Cosmopolitan Japanese Resto

Therese and I first ate at John and Yoko in November last year. We liked it so much that we vowed we'll eat there again. Well that vow was only accomplished just last August. Being busy and so many other restaurants to try we only got back just recently.

We ate at our usual spot in Greenbelt 5, Makati even to the very same table near the window. There were reviews before that when you eat at John and Yoko you'll come out smelling like food. I think they have fixed their exhaust system now because when we went there recently and being a full-house since it's lunch time we still came out smelling fresh. The other customers seem to think that way as well. The waitresses donned their usual mini skirts which nobody seemed to mind because their service this time was good. The last time we went there they had leggings or dark stockings beneath their skirts so it wouldn't be too revealing. There were reviews before that their service wasn't that good and put the fault on the revealing skirts making them too uncomfortable.

But overall Therese and I had a lovely time. She as usual ordered too much and had to take home some of her food. Below are the pics of food we ordered last November (the first four) and the rest the ones we ordered last August. As usual I'll come back again when I crave for some Japanese fusion.

Finding Nemo - this is good for 3 people. loved everything on it

Beef Teppan - Therese ordered this and she said it's so so. (I think beef is not one of this restaurant's strong points)

Chicken Teriyaki and Mango Pizza - this is their bestseller! and one of the reasons why we keep coming back. Yum!

Hehe there's actually three of us but the other person hasn't arrived yet. Also we recommend the 'green' iced tea if you're choosing between colors

Oyster Overload - I love this! I always loved tahong or oyster with cheese. this made me full very fast

Ocean's Eleven - Good for 3 or 4. I don't know why Therese ordered this but it's too much for two people. But still yummy. At the back you can see the Wagyu Rice. It's still so-so.

Crunchy Tuna Roll - since I liked Finding Nemo before, I ordered again one of the sushis in it. If you like spicy you'll like this one. I'll order the Philadelphia roll next time.

Mrs. Yulo's Strawberry Shortcake

I have mentioned this in my other posts and so it's just right I should have a blog about it.  Introducing my favorite cake: Baby Yulo's Strawberry Shortcake!!  I bought one for my birthday.  It's been more than a year I think since I last tasted it so it's high time I buy one for me and my family again.  I'm so glad it still tastes the same. Lol. If you love dipping strawberries in cream then you would love this cake. But this cake's icing is not just cream mind you.  It has strawberry bits in it as you will see in the pics.  With other cakes the icing is white and whole strawberries or strawberry filling or jam, or whatever, is just put on top of the cake.  The icing in this cake is pink because the strawberries are already infused into the icing.  I just love the way this tastes.  It's not too sweet and it's refreshing.  I read in another blog that it's like having ice cream and cake in one.  Hmm I guess the satisfactory feeling of it is the same as eating ice cream I agree.  Oh but if ice cream is heavy, this is fluffy and light.  It's like eating a cloud.  And the one thing I like about this cake is they didn't save up on the icing and filling.  They just give you the satisfying amount.  It's almost a sin haha.  Well actually for me it just satisfied my girlhood dreams about this cake.  I know when I was a kid this is what I thought strawberry shortcakes should taste like :).  So below are the pics. Enjoy!

You can visit this site, En Route, for more information on how to order.  It's where I found the contact info because I lost my price listing already.

Mrs. Yulo's Strawberry Shortcake (whole)

close up

more close up

Mrs. Yulo's Strawberry Shortcake (slice).  Two layers of filling! Yum!

Dragged at Café Breton, Westgate

I just accompanied my older sister to the mall one weekend to go to the salon and she going to have a facial. It's just one relaxing afternoon and after I'm done I just went to my sister's derma and was ready to go home. So while I waiting for her to come out I was quite shocked when I saw a friend of hers greeting me in front of the derma place. I thought what a coincidence but wait, is it? Then I realized we're both waiting for my sister. As it turns out they're going to hang out. Wow very nice of my sis not to inform me. She did give me a choice though, either she'll take me home first or her friend is going to treat us both out. I really wanted to go home and relax but of course it's kinda rude so I went with them anyway. Yes the treat didn't entice me at all, believe it or not. Hmp.

I'm glad I went anyway. It's been a while since I went to Cafe Breton. Too bad it's not my younger sister who went with them. She's the one who's been wanting crepes for the longest time. I didn't feel like eating dinner though since I'm hung up with this Scottish actor. *Sigh* it's one of my phases when I admire someone so much. So I went straight to dessert since I can eat sweets even if I don't feel hungry.

My sister's friend ordered Galette Paysanne, a whole Hungarian sausage, onions, egg, asparagus with cheese sauce, with Hungarian sausage slices; for my sister the Poseidon, Smoked salmon, dill sauce, sour cream, capers; and mine Strawberry Short Crepe, Strawberry preserve in syrup and cream, a generous serving of strawberry ice cream topped with whipped cream.

I tasted the sausage and salmon. They're both great. The salmon maybe a little too small for its price. I'm not sure if one will get full in that. But my crepe is humungous! It's not a camera trick. It's really that big. I mean the plate is big already and the crepe is almost covering the whole plate. I'm satisfied with my dessert or maybe it was too much for me. It's best when you're sharing it with another person. I love the quiet ambiance of the place. I love their food. I love Cafe Breton at Westgate.

Galette Paysanne and strawberry milkshake

Poseidon

Strawberry Short Crepe

Poseidon and Strawberry Short Crepe with white wine and mango juice

desserts

Cielin's Peaches and Almond Cake

Cielin's Cake House has a new dessert and it's called Peaches and Almond Cake. We were deciding whether to try their old bestseller, Mango Torte, or this one and decided to go for their newest creation instead. I have posted before about their Lemon Meringue Torte and I find this cake similar to that except it has peaches in it. I love this one better though because of the almonds! The 'something' missing in the Lemon Meringue Torte I found it here in Peaches and Almond and that is the crispiness! I love that there is a crunch to every bite. I love the cream and I love the peaches. My mom said it probably lacked peaches but I didn't mind. I felt whatever fruit you put inside this cake it will still be great! I really love this new creation!

Cielin's Peaches and Almond Cake

Close up Peaches and Almond Cake

Cross-section of Peaches and Almond Cake

Slide of Peaches and Almond Cake

desserts
cakes

Harry Potter 7 part 2 and Tender Bob's

 On the third Saturday of this month me and my friend Therese decided to have lunch at Tender Bob's after watching the last installment of the Harry Potter movie saga. We have planned this day for weeks knowing that there will be an early reservation for a Harry Potter movie. We've learned our lesson before not to take chances with Harry Potter or we'll end up falling in a very long line or not be able to watch the movie at all due to limited seats. So, we always reserve in advance a week or two before the showing. We didn't want to watch it in 3D. We wanted to concentrate more on the story than the effects. After the movie though I'm thinking maybe watching it in 3D would have been better since there's not much story to hang on to. Anyway I didn't cry during the movie. Only afterwards when I got home and my family wanted me to give detailed accounts of what I saw then did I start to feel a lump in my throat for Prof. Snape and also then did I realize what a wonderful story it is. But maybe I felt teary eyed also because I'm going to miss all of them. Just like Harry and the gang it's the end of our youthful days and it's time to move on. Someday I'm sure HBO or Star Movies will have a Harry Potter marathon in their channel. I'm sure I would be one to watch that.

After a very intense movie it's nice to know you'll be dining in a good place. Tender Bob's is known for their steaks and Therese had always loved them so this is where we had lunch. I ordered their USDA Prime Ribeye Steak (6 oz) because it's what they're known for and even though I rarely order steak I remember I'm always fond of them. My good experiences were at Stone Grill and Circles in Shangri-La Hotel. I loved both their steaks and I always ask for medium rare. So that's what I got at Tender Bob's as well. Therese didn't order their USDA because she was concerned of the taste. She even asked the waitress what they'll put in it and the response was just salt and pepper. Therese knew it will be bland for her so she didn't order it. I think it would be the same with most Filipinos. This didn't stop me though. Ever since my "less-carb" diet my taste had become sensitive and I started appreciating less salty and less sugary food. I'm glad for this because I really appreciated their USDA Prime Ribeye. As you can see it's not that thick but it made me full fast. It's so juicy, tender and you can taste the high grade meat if you're not using any condiments. I was racing against time because the room was cold and my steak was getting cold fast. I knew it wouldn't taste good if it's not warm. My mouth is watering now just by looking at it and remembering the taste. I would definitely go back to this resto again.

Tender Bob's USDA Prime Ribeye Steak - Hungry size 6 oz. - medium rare

Since Therese wanted medium well and more flavor in her meats she ordered their Baby Back ribs and Porter House Steak from their Domestic Premium Steaks line. I tried her Baby Back Ribs and it was superb. Very soft and tender unlike from other restaurants that seemed dry and overcooked. The Porter House was flavorful indeed perfect for Filipino taste. Since I only tasted these I'll definitely come back again and order a plate for myself.

Tender Bob's Baby Back Ribs

Tender Bob's Porter House Steak

harry potter
movie

Kindle 3

I've always loved books ever since college. Before that, I was just any normal teenager who would read teen novels like Sweet Dreams and Sweet Valley series. When I was in high school I always wondered what it's like to hangout in the library. I think I tried once or twice but got intimidated by the studious people there. I knew I wasn't one of them and don't want to be thought as one. How small my world is back then. It's those times I just wanted to be invisible. In college I moved and boarded in Manila, became a little independent... and lonely as well. I guess that's when I found books to be a good and patient friend, always there waiting to entertain when you find yourself in between classes with nothing to do or when your roommates went home to their provinces during the weekends. Of course I was eager to read novels than to study my texts back then. I even went to this cute little place in the mall. It's like a library but you have to pay for your membership and you can hangout there and drink coffee and tea. I love that little place and would go there during my free hours to read and to borrow books. When I started working that's when I started to buy books. It was a bit of a drag because most books aren't available in our country and you have to pre-order and wait for months. By this time the internet was already at full bloom so I know what are available in the market. Over the years I have come to buy less than five books a year because it was expensive. Of course I like watching movies as well and going out with friends so paying a small fortune for books is not a priority for me. And ebooks online doesn't interest me at all. I work on a PC all day and tire my eyes out so I don't want to spend my leisure reading time there as well. Until the Kindle came.

I was already hearing about e-readers but I thought they were the same as the tablets out there (iPad, Galaxy). Knowing that it's just a mini PC didn't entice me at all since it will hurt my eyes. It's only recently that a friend introduced me to the third generation Kindle. She told me it uses electronic ink so it won't hurt my eyes and will be like a real book. It also has Wi-Fi capabilities. I got interested but I didn't think of buying it at first. Then I realized I need something that has Wi-Fi so I can monitor my work wherever I go. I didn't want another cell phone. I still love my old pink one. The tablets are way expensive and useless for me. The Kindle was perfect. It's cheap, has Wi-Fi, it's an e-book reader and it's good looking. So, I bought my very first e-book reader. Now I have access to millions and millions of e-books now and they are so much cheaper than real books. I'm so happy!

So here's my Kindle 3. It's been with me for more than a month now and there's not a night I haven't slept without picking it up first to read. It's been a good companion and I don't have any reason to be bored anymore. I love its style and sleekness. I love the screensavers. I love the page turning buttons. I love the screen. It's any book lovers dream.

The Amazon Kindle box that was delivered to me

Opening the box. I already took out the Kindle and this is what's underneath

USB cable and electrical plug

The Kindle Third Generation

The current screensaver is the Hercules constellation

It's very light

Longer than a pen...

...but thinner than a pen

I've also ordered the Amazon Kindle Lighted Leather Cover as well. It's a bit expensive but it will be useful when I put my Kindle inside my bag for protection. The light inside the cover is so cute. It's very useful when there's a power outage or if you don't want to disturb your partner during his/her sleep.

Amazon Kindle Lighted Leather Cover box

Simple but tough

When you first open it there's an instruction booklet inside

Fitting my kindle in the cover using the metal hinges

My kindle with the leather cover

Leather cover with the light pulled out

When you wake up the Kindle you turn on the light as well

The light is pretty bright even on daylight

There's three LED light bulbs in there

I've also bought a silicon case to use when I'm at home only. It's great protection for your Kindle. I'm sure it'll absorb shock when you drop it. So far I haven't had an accident to test it yet and will not likely to do it on purpose. I tried putting an anti-glare screen protector as well but there were bubbles on it so I had to take it off. You cannot read with even the smallest bubbles. Many people say they like using the Kindle naked anyway since the screen is pretty tough and scratch resistant and putting screen protectors just add glare. The following pictures will show the silicone case as well as what the Kindle looks like when in use.

Kindle with silicone case

Kindle at Home screen showing my book collections

Kindle at Home screen

Kindle while reading a book

Kindle while reading

The Kindle I bought is the one with special offers. It's cheaper but it will have ads on the screensaver and home screen when you register your Kindle at Amazon. The previous pics shows that I haven't registered yet and the pictures below will show what the ads look like after registration. The advertisements only shows in the screensaver and the home screen only and will not pop up while you're reading. I wouldn't mind the advertisements at all if only they were more artistic like the screensavers before registering. But I am interested in downloading the latest ads. I'm hoping they would make it prettier and more Kindle appropriate though. I think if they just put some classic art on it and put a text somewhere about their product I would love them (the sponsors) more for it.

Home screen with ads

Screensaver with ad

Screensaver with another ad

Screensaver with an automobile ad

Home screen with the automobile ad

Kindle with browsing capability

bookbooksebookskindlereading