Happiest Place in Hong Kong

Felt like a kid again when the BFF and I visited Hong Kong Disneyland. I may be almost 40 but, the Disney characters bring out the kid in me.

Teen-age flashback over good Filipino food

The BFF and I met our partner in crime during our elementary and early high school years, Nancy. She's in town for a few weeks to attend to some family matters and we seized the time to meet her and catch up on each other's lives.

As we were having dinner at Fely J's in Greenbelt, we talked about our jobs, Nanyc's life in Vietnam and essentially what happened with each other since the last we met up about four years ago. In between bites of Dilis Rice, Beef Morcon and Sauteed Mushrooms with Broccoli, we shared the joys of our lives and the many blessings that have come our way, the funny moments that we encountered in our travels, OCD tendencies, ideal men, food and every other topic under the sun. I love having moments like these with friends, catching up, gossiping and sharing hearty laughter that often leaves me in tears.







After finishing most of what we ordered, we were clamoring for more conversation and laughter. We headed off to Max Brenner, for some hot chocolate and churros. Max Brenner is quieter and less frequented by people, which provides an ideal atmosphere for reminiscing our elementary and high school days.

The collective memories of our childhood, weaved a tale of three young girls, enjoying life, childish adventures, pranks and the many naughty and funny things who did things together. We all had a childhood filled with laughter and adventure, although fraught with some setbacks and disappointment, we look back at it with fondness and gratitude that made us appreciate our lives even more.




We are only starting, there is more fun to be had, more adventures to try, more places to see. Ahhh, life only gets better and better.

Meeting my BFF

The BFF and I chanced upon each other by accident at the mall earlier. I was on my way home and she came from a meeting and was on her way home too when she saw me.

Funny, I was just thinking about calling her for an impromptu get-together and then there she was right in front of me. Do I have magical powers or what? :-)



We ended up having coffee at Starbucks and had a simple meal at the Glorietta foodcourt.

Spaghetti Factory with the BFF

The BFF and I met again for dinner today. We like to schedule a girls' night out at least once a month for some heart to heart talk and to unwind a little bit.

The BFF is very fond of Italian food, as you may have noticed if you regularly read this blog. Tonight, we dined at the newly opened Spaghetti Factory in Glorietta 5.



Spaghetti Factory offers a wide selection of pasta and pizza dishes. The place was full when we arrived. We were fortunate to get an al Fresco table overlooking Glorietta and Ascott as well as a small park below. It was a balmy night and very pleasant to dine outside.



The BFF and I are shared just two dishes in Spaghetti factory. If you order any pasta dish, you have a selection of the kind of pasta that you want to go with your order. A short description and picture are shown for each type, to help you choose.

We tried the Italian Sampler which consisted of two servings each of Tomato Bruschetta, Spicy Chicken Wings and Chicken and Mushroom Calzone. The sampler is very affordable at P149. The taste is nothing to rave about. Put quite simply, you get what you pay for. Nothing great, "lamang tiyan" (stomach filling) at best. The Calzone particularly wasn't very pleasant. The dough was fried (as opposed to traditionally baked) and despite being fried, the dough was still a bit chewy (raw?) inside. The filling was dry and tasteless.



Next, we shared Penne Boscaiola, a pasta dish with Shitake mushrooms and green peas in tomato sauce. Both the BFF and I were very excited about this dish, "Boscaiola" being new to our vocabulary :-) he he he. Boscaiola means that there is mushroom in the sauce, well, at least that's why good ol' Google says. There was hardly any mushrooms in the sauce and the peas were a bit under cooked. In fairness to Spaghetti Factory, the servings were quite generous, good enough to share by two women "pretending to cut down" on caloric intake. The Penne Boscaiola just doesn't have "craveable", the oomph and the "let's have that for dinner again next week" factor.



I'm not sure about their other dishes though. The place was packed when we arrived. I think some people actually may actually like the food. I like the outdoor area for al fresco dining though.

For after dinner drinks, we decided to walk to Gloria Jean's for some hot chocolate and tea.



Overall, it was a very fun evening filled with stories, funny jokes and a lovely walk around Makati's commercial district.

Heaven & Eggs

My best friend and I had another impromptu get together tonight. We met at our usual meeting place in Glorietta and decided to eat at Heaven & Eggs which we both haven't tried yet. I'm just glad that we're not eating pasta again! :-) He he he.



The restaurant used to have country style decor with doilies, wood furniture and maybe somebody's grandma in the background, he he he. They have since revamped the place for a more hip look. The interiors are a bit darker, with mirrors, murals, love settees in dark colors, dark wooden tables and chairs. They offer mostly breakfast fare (eggs), but have ribs and steaks on the menu. They do have very creative names for their dishes. The BFF and I ordered:

Head Bangers Tapa Omelet. Tapa Omelet with kesong puti served with garlic fried rice and atchara. BFF seemed to like this.



I ordered the Girls Gone Wild (very fitting for me, dontcha think?, he he he). It's a vegetarian omelet with asparagus, mushrooms and mozzarella cheese served with french bread and shoestring potatoes. I actually prefer to have some whole wheat bread or "tasty" instead of the crusty bread that they served.



For dessert I had the Tres Leches Cake. This is a nice cake, a little too sweet, best shared with someone. BFF said that it looked very feminine.



She had the Moonwalker (in honor of Michael Jackson). Brownies topped with ice cream, caramel and chocolate sauces. BFF said that she got the macho dessert because it looked so dark and imposing :-)



Heaven & Eggs' food and service may not be outstanding, but the menu is varied and reasonably priced. It is a great place for meeting friends. Finishing an entire meal will take at least a couple of hours because the servings are very generous. Neither one of us were able to finish what we ordered.

Girls' Night Out with the BFF

It's Friday once again. BFF had a pretty stressful week, to cheer her up, I invited her to have a spa girls' night out with me.

We're pretty simple ladies. All we need is a decent reasonably priced massage and we're good to go. I was craving for a Thai massage and I searched the web for an affordable alternative to the swanky spas in Makati. I came upon some decent reviews for Ton-Ton massage. All of the reviews that I managed to read agreed on the nice and soothing massage but gave low marks on the ambiance. Me, personally agrees with the review. Ton-ton is a straighforward, massage "parlor", no fancy frills, no designer tea, no comfy lounge and certainly no zen-like ambiance except for dim lights, soft music and a few slats of bamboo. That's it. Barring these, my best friend and I truly enjoyed our massage. After all, shelling out just P375 for an hour and a half of massage isn't bad, BFF even fell asleep and had to be shaken several times to wake her up, he he he. We tried the one along Pasay Road, right in front of The Residences. We'll probably try the one in BF next time. I didn't take any pictures because it wasn't very photogenic. For some images in the BF branch, I got these images from southbound.ph:





I personally prefer the Thai massage over the Shiatsu. Thai massage involves a bit of stretching and lots of deep massages using the masseus' hands, feet, elbows, knees and arms. It is dry massage (without any oils) and you are made to wear lose comfortable clothing for ease of movement, the massage is usually done on a mattress on the floor.

After our massage, we had a simple dinner at Pizza Hut Bistro. BFF is partial to pasta and is alergic to shellfish. We passed by the bistro on our way to another restaurant and decided to try it out instead. It was quiet and comfortable. The food isn't bad and the prices are reasonable.

The Fetuccine Alfredo is a favorite of my best friend. She ALWAYS has this when we go out. So, it wasn't a surprise that she ordered that. She mentioned to me that I actually introduced her to the "white sauce" spaghetti back in the day (maybe elementary days) and she got hooked since then.



I had a Seafood Pasta with Prawns and New Zealand Mussels in White Wine Sauce. I like this also. The flavor is light but quite filling.



We also shared a Salad of Cucumbers and Crabmeat (imitation) with some miso dressing wrapped in rice paper. It was also nice, light and refreshing.



What a lovely evening :-) Can't wait for the next one!

Azule Spa

Me and my best bud luuuuvvvvv going to the spa. Last Saturday was one of our many excursions in our quest for relaxation and girl bonding.

Our destination is Azule Spa in BF Homes, along Aguirre Ave., just a five-minute drive from my place. We’ve been there before. We like coming there due to its proximity and their reasonable rates.



What I like most about Azule Spa is their very fragrant interiors. I often wonder how much scented oil they consume daily to achieve such a feat. The interior is dimly illuminated by the occasional low voltage lamps and candles. They have a sea theme going on, from the color scheme to the stones on their hallway. This is not a very swanky spa but it's clean, quiet and the therapists are very professional.

We previously tried their Body Scrub service. The body scrub is wonderful because it gets rid of your dead and rough skin. After the salt and milk scrub, your skin is guaranteed to be baby soft and smooth. The only drawback is that Azule’s shower facility is not very good. The water pressure in the shower is too low and the lowest setting on their shower is scalding. They should improve that. That’s why we didn’t have the scrub, otherwise we would have gotten a body scrub AND a massage. Body Scrubs cost around P700 (US$14) .

They also have another service called the Aromafacial Massage. Therapists will massage your face and will apply some nourishing mask to make your skin soft and smooth. I wouldn’t recommend this because we’ve tried it. The massage only lasted about 5 minutes and the mask used was just the commercial mask that you would find in Watson’s. Although in fairness, we noticed that our skin was extra smooth that day.

We come to Azule Spa for the massage. When you get a massage, your feet will first be washed in a basin of warm water with tiny river stones to rub your feet against to help you relax.



Their massage rooms are air conditioned and illuminated only by low voltage lamps and of course scented candles and oil. BFF and I decided to have their signature massage, a cobination of aromatheraphy, reflexology and shiatsu. An hour’s massage costs only P350 (approximately US$7, yes seven dollars). One hour is not enough so we opted to avail of the 1 ½ hour package of P525 ($10.50). Sheer bliss. OMG, I specially love when they massage my head, I fell asleep in sheer happiness. Next time I’m gonna get the two-hour massage. Time flies when you’re having fun. I highly recommend Azule spa for their massages.



Comlimentary tea and biscuits are given after each massage.



Despite Azule’s shortcomings, I would still go back ther for their wonderful and ultra relaxing massage. They're open until midnight. Friday nights are usually the busiest, so be sure to set an appointment, you may call (+632) 825-38-98. You can bring your kids and get them a kiddie massage for 45 minutes at P350 ;-)