Vask

I'm back!  I was very busy the past 2 months.  But, I'm back!  Although, I don't think I'll be able to sustain this blogging thing (ang hirap maghanap ng time), but I'll try.

A few weeks back, we were in the BGC area and decided to try Vask.  We did not call for reservation (which is dumb of us since it was December, and Friday at that) but there was a vacant table for 7-8pm, so we grabbed it.  The interiors were nice and the toilet was well stocked (L' Occitane hand wash and white hand towels…nice).  As for the food, we tried their degustation menu.  It was pricey but we gave it a go since we don't know when we will be back in this restaurant (and in the area…being probinsyana and all…hehehe).

Degustation Menu

The menu composed of 3 kinds of appetizers, 4 main courses and 2 desserts.  Let me break it down for you…

The appetizers (from left to right): Foie Gras on Mango Toast, Txipiron Plancha, Mejillon Tigre)

These appetizers were all yummy.  The foie gras was soft and good (it was foie gras, need I say more?).  Txipiron Plancha is grilled baby calamari and caramelized.  I like that it was a bit salty and tasty and crunchy!  Mejillon Tigre was spicy crispy mussels…crispy on the outside but soft inside.  My ultimate favorite was the Mejillon Tigre.

Huevos, Hongos y Cebolla

This dish ultimately introduced us to the high-tech way the food was prepared in Vask.  The egg was cooked to 62 degrees. I tasted like egg but "sosyal" egg.  It had porcini mushroom, garlic, breadcrumbs, port wine sauce and onion foam.  This dish is refreshingly different and very good.

Pulpo a la Gallega

This is octopus with potato (I would say it was mashed potato but I couldn't because the potato was prepared to be so creamy…so I can probably say that this is potato cream), olive oil and paprika.  Again, another yummy dish.  The octopus is surprisingly not chewy.  It is probably because the octopus was cut in very small bite-sized portion.

Scallops and Blank Ink Risotto

Another very good dish, although the risotto was a bit salty.  This dish is composed of Carnaroli rice in squid ink with parmesan chips and green asparagus.

U.S Tenderloin with Mushroom Textures

And the very main course (I presume) was this beef creation.  I was pleasantly surprised that they used different types of mushrooms prepared in different ways (mash, foam, sautee and sauce).  Nice and yummy!  I can't say yummy enough in this post!

Chocolate and Cookies

Dark Valrhona chocolate cream, pink peppercorn, ginger hazelnut cookies, Nespresso Ristretto coffee ice cream…need I say more?  The multiple ingredients coming together in this nicely plated dessert was worth the traffic coming to this place.  Again, I was pleasantly surprised to see these ingredients in this setting.  And yes, you guessed it…yum yum yummy!

Extra Olive Chocolate Truffle

Lastly, this creation.  I was excited to eat it, so I wasn't able to take a proper picture.  Needless to say, this truffle was heavenly.

If you are in the BGC area and you have extra moolah (P1,950 that is), then I highly recommend for you to try Vask Restaurant.  Vask is located at 11th Ave corner 39th St. Fort Bonifacio, Taguig.  You can call (02) 2176563 for reservation.

That's it for now.  Thanks for reading!

French Baker

I had another macaron craving a few days back and I bought these...

Macarons from French Baker

From left to right: Orange with chocolate ganache, caramel, pistachio, raspberry, chocolate, mocha and orange with chocolate ganache

These guys are winners!  I paid less than Php 200 for these babies and they are worth every cent.  The macarons are on the small but big on flavor.  Definitely better than the over-priced, medicine-tasting Bizu macarons.

 

If ever you get a macaron craving, I recommend the French Baker macarons.  I hope they create more flavors.  More flavors, more choices.  Yummy!

 

Thanks for dropping by!

Janina for Jul B Dizon Update

Remember my excitement regarding my purchase from Janina by Jul B Dizon (read it here)?  Well, after only 2 months, my excitement has turned to disappointment.  The earrings I bought had poor quality, as evidenced by the picture below...

Back side of the main earrings

The right earring still has a small hook at the base (this is the thing that you can hook the next part of the earrings to make it dangle).  The left one has no more small hook at the base.  This is soooo sad because I cannot hook the next part of the earrings to make a dangling earring.  Haaaay...my friend told me that she had a not-so-good experience with Jul B Dizon jewelry.  She said that compared to the other silver jewelries she bought, the one from Jul B Dizon easily tarnishes (even for their gold-plated jewelries).  Maybe that's the reason why gold-plating or silver-plating from the store is free.

I really like this pair of earrings...the stones are nice and the design is great.  However, the setting is really of poor quality.  I plan to bring these earrings to Velayo Inc. so they can gold-plate it and maybe put in a small hook so I can still use the other parts of the earrings.  I'll update you once I consult the Velayo Inc. staff.

I will probably not buy from Janina for Jul B Dizon.  Or if ever I buy from them, I will probably ask Velayo Inc. to fortify and strengthen the jewelry setting.  Haaaay....this is a big disappointment for me.

Thanks for dropping by!  I'll talk to you soon.

Bizu

Hi guys!  It's a sweets review today.  I know that Bizu has been around for more than 10 years.  I have tried a few of their offerings (mostly cakes and macarons), so I thought maybe it's time to blog about it.  I tried their macarons before and I liked them.  Let me tell you my current experience.  Since I was craving for macarons a few weeks back, I purcahsed some from Bizu.  Since I liked them before, I was expecting to still like them. 

The presentation

I was disappointed in the taste of the macarons. I had high expectations from Bizu since I knew it was one of those fancy shmancy French resto. The macarons tasted like medicine. The only saving grace is that the outside parts are crunchy with a soft center.



Roll call (clockwise): Lime curd (light green), dulce de leche (beige), passion fruit (light orange with brown specks), rose lychee (white with red specks), raspberry (pink), earl grey (aqua), coffee espresso (light brown), caramel (middle macaron)

I'm still looking for my perfect macaron.  I'll update you once I find "the one".

That's it for today.  Thank you very much for reading!

Crowne Plaza Manila Galleria 2

Hello everyone!  I'm back.  When I started blogging, I had many ideas as to what I would like to put in this blog.  I still have the ideas, however, the time for blogging seems to elude me.  So, please bear with me if I stop blogging for 2-4 weeks.  I'm still here (probably stalking/reading your blogs), but cannot write my own blog post.  Anways, let me share with you another point of view regarding the Crowne Plaza Manila Galleria (read my previous blog post here).  A week ago, I was invited to stay in the Crowne Plaza by a business associate as part of a conference.  Upon checking-in, I was asked by the front desk personnel if I will be sharing a room with Mr. C____.  Whoa! What?!  Well, not really...I don't sleep with strangers...Teehee.  I said no and she gave me my card key for my room.  As I opened the door to my room...lo and behold...I was booked in a SUITE ROOM!  Yehey!  That was really unexpected!  Here are pictures of my room...

Bedroom

Inside the bedroom

Bedroom Closet

Seating area

Seating area

Spacious bathroom



Luxurious bathroom

The room is spacious and equipped with the usual hotel amenities.  There's no free wifi though.  However, you can use the free broadband internet connection.  All in all, I would say that this is a great suite to spend some time in.  Unfortunately, I get to use it for a few hours only (for sleeping then check-out before 12nn the next day).

That's it for now.  Talk to you later!  Thanks for dropping by.

Spiral

I'm back with a restaurant review.  I spent a night at Sofitel Hotel a few weeks back and I had the chance to eat at their restaurant, Spiral for the buffet breakfast.  I was overwhelmed by the choices in the buffet!  There were different stations and a wide array of food selections.  They even have a room full of cheeses, a variety of wine and even champagne!  I just took random shots since I was too shy to do the whole "blogger taking nice pics".  Maybe next time when I feel like a true blogger and when I have a nice camera.  Anyways, suffice to say that there were lots of food and it tasted good.  Here are some of the shots I took.

The cheese room

Champagne

Coffee and tea

I have heard and read good reviews for Spiral restaurant.  If you are in the area (and have the moolah), then try the buffet at Spiral restaurant.  Happy eating!

Thank you for dropping by!  Talk to you soon.

Hermanos

Hi everyone!  Let me share with you my dining experience at Hermanos.  Hermanos is a Mexican restaurant chain in the Philippines.  It serves the usual Mexican fare of tacos, buritos, chilis, and quesadillas.

Interiors

This was what I ordered...

Left - soft taco, right - chili, middle - quesadilla

Soft taco

Chili con carne

Chicken quesadilla

There were 3 of us who ate that night.  We completely finished all our orders.  It was yummy and the price was just right.  It's a pay-as-you-order restaurant, so don't expect fine dining attention from the staff.

All in all, I had a pleasant experience at Hermanos.  I will come back in the future.

Thanks for dropping by!  Talk to you soon!

Vanilla Cupcake and Bakery

Hi!  I'm back.  Remember my first experience with a cupcake place from my previous post (read it here)?  Well, I tried another cupcake place.  I really liked the cupcakes from Larcy's that I had a craving for one a few weeks back.  I did not want to travel far, so I decided to try Vanilla Cupcake and Bakery at Alabang Town Center.  The interiors are very fun and welcoming.  The cupcakes look really nice.

 

However, the cupcakes are not really good.  The base cake is dry and the icing tastes like old butter or bad margarine.  I really did not like any of the cupcakes I bought.  I'm sorry but I forgot the names of the cupcakes I tasted.  However, I have put in a little description/caption.

Chocolate base with caramel frosting

Coffee base and chocolate frosting

 

Left - coffee base and caramel frosting; Right - pink vanilla cupcake, vanilla base and pink sugar frosting

All in all, I did not like the cupcakes I tasted.  I would not go back to this store.  If ever I have another cupcake craving, I would go back to Larcy's where the cupcakes are moist and their frostings are yummy.  That's just my opinion.  I think other people really like Vanilla Cupcake and Bakery since they have other braches in Metro Manila.

That's it for now.  Thanks for dropping by!

P.S. My heart and prayers go out to all those affected by the floods.

Janina for Jul B. Dizon

Hi guys!  And this was what made my The Peninsula stay truly special...

Janina by Jul B. Dizon transformers earrings

I will be attending 2 weddings this September and I thought I'd buy myself nice earrings.  I had my gown made already and it is very simple.  So, to amp up the style, I wanted va-voom earrings.  And I got this.  This pair is really cool since it can transform into 3 different designs.  Take a look...

Studs

 

With green enamel drops

With Carnelian drops

These are made from different precious stones and set in silver.  The studs are made of citrine, amethyst and peridot.  The green enamel drops also has a tear-drop citrine in the middle.  The last picture shows the carnelian drops.  These earrings are really versatile since you get 4 designs in 1 set.  You can even mix-and-match studs and drops.  Janina by Jul B. Dizon sells multiple drops which you can anchor to to the base studs.  I'm so excited to wear these.  I actually wore the studs already and got multiple compliments.  I can't wait for the weddings so I can use the full set of earrings.

The price of the earrings are actually separate.  There's a different price for the base earrings and the drops.  The total price for the full set is pricey but worth it since you get 4 designs out of 1 set.  The quality of the stones are good but the setting is a little bit flimsy.  I kept fixing the "pakaw" after each use because it gets loose (probably because it's made of silver and very pliable).  The sales lady also said that they offer free gold-plating and cleaning.

All in all, I like my purchase.  I can't wait to wear these soon.

Thanks for reading!  Talk to you soon.

The Peninsula

Welcome back!  Here is another hotel review for today.  I attended a conference last week and the sponsor booked us for a night at The Peninsula.  I have attended multiple weddings at The Peninsula, but this was my first time to stay in one of their rooms.  Here's my room...

Bed	Office area

TV and bar

View from my room window

Bathroom sink

Bath tub

I failed to get a good picture of the shower area and the water closet.  The room was roomy (sorry for the pun) and the bathroom size was just right.  I didn't expect much from the hotel since I know that The Peninsula has been standing on the same ground ever since I can remember.  My mom used to work in Jupiter street and we would always pass by the hotel when we get the chance to pick her up from work.  I vividly remember the nice water feature/fountain in the corner of Makati Ave. and Ayala Ave.  Surpisingly, the rooms were well appointed and did not look old.  It actually was semi-modern (if there's such a thing...the decor was a cross between traditional and modern).  The room did not feel old or look old.  I actually liked the room.

My stay also included free breakfast buffet.  The buffet was not bad but I've had better.  Nothing beats my favorite Heat (buffet breakfast of Shangri-la Edsa Hotel).  The array for the breakfast buffet was limited but you won't go hungry.

All in all, I had a good stay in The Peninsula Manila.  The best part about my stay was that I had the chance to buy a very nice pair of earrings from one of their jewelry stores.  I'll blog about it next time.

Thanks for dropping by!  Leaving you with my requisite hallway picture...