The 8km Challenge

The Philippine National Bank had their 97th anniversary fun-run last Saturday at Macapagal Boulevard in Pasay City. Of course, my husband (a PNB employee) and I, together with some our friends, who didn't want to miss out the opportunity to test our endurance and speed, joined the event. The registration fee was quite cheap and the route was easy to follow. We were given two choices: 4km or 8km. I initially signed up for the 4km route since I'm just starting out with this new sport that I realized I enjoy so much. So 2 weeks prior to this run, I prepared myself physically and mentally for what I thought was the only distance (I'm talking about the 4km here) that I will conquer after the 3km that I did. Little did I know that peer pressure will get the best of me. 

My sister-in-law, Therese, Me and Alison's girlfriend, Jessica

The event was said to start at 6:00 am so we were there at around 5:00am. We camped out the night before at Alison's place with no electricity. We were lodging for free so we have no right to complain! Haha (FYI: Alison's place was unoccupied for more or less 2 months so that explains the lack of electricity. But because our friend here is so clever, he was able to provide 3 decent fan running and one lamp to lighten up the night. Talk about being resourceful!) The lack of electricity was also the reason why we were up early that morning and found ourselves nervously stretching and warming up.

The Sevillas

We were given free singlets and ribbons to indicate the distance that we'll be running. Blue ribbons for PNB employees who would be running 8km, red ribbons for PNB employees who would be running 4km, yellow and blue for non-PNB employees who would be running 8km, and yellow and red for non-PNB employees who would be running 4km. Madz and I had the red and yellow ribbons. 

Alison together with the husband

The twist of fate: See the picture above? Alison asked me to keep his ribbons (blue and yellow) for a while as he pose for the picture. I absentmindedly hand it over to Jessica and she wore it on her neck and later on forgot about it. When Alison went looking for it, we concluded that maybe someone mistakenly took it so we told him to ask for another set instead. Few minutes before the start, we later found it around Jessica's neck. That's when the peer pressure began. They all encouraged me to try the 8km since we thought the that only identifier are the ribbons and no proper documentation was being made during the registration. So I hid the red ribbon and prayed hard that I can make it to the finish line alive!

Me halfway along the route. Photo grabbed from Running Photographers.

The 4km route was Buendia - Roxas - EDSA - Macapagal Boulevard while for the 8km route, you need to make 2 rounds of the 4km route. I was actually thinking of changing my blue ribbon into red during the first round. But after seeing the finish line, I felt ecstatic and energized that I eventually continued. Fueled by determination (and pride), I was able to finish the race at 1 hour and 13 minutes. It was a good record, I think, considering that I wasn't running the whole time. There were periods in which I tend to walk or jog slowly, but nevertheless, I was not the last one to reach the finish line.

Me nearing the 8km finish line. Yahoo! Photo grabbed from Running Photographers.

After the race, we were served with super yummy (or was I just waaay too hungry?) Chicken Arrozcaldo and some overflowing supply of mineral water. The PNB annual bazaar officially opened after the event. We didn't try to look around since we were all exhausted and FULFILLED.

The husband and me after the run.

Madz and I.

The siblings.

The lovers. Photo grabbed from Running Photographers.

Photo grabbed from Photo Options.

Staying Sober at Tipsy Beans Coffee Shop

Last Friday night, Madz and I did a little trip to Mandaluyong to visit a new coffee shop owned by Sybil's (a friend and a co-worker) husband and brother-in-law. This place is not your usual coffee shop, if you ask me. Their unique blends and dishes are so interesting that they had the tendency to blow your mind away! Well, not really, but you can either end up wide awake or a little TIPSY! Yep, you heard that right. They have liquor all over the place. From their wide selections of coffee, to their pastas, down to their desserts! Boy! What a good place to hang out for people like me who prefers the quietness of a coffee shops, rather than the noise and  the crowdedness of the clubs, on a weekend night while still enjoying some alcohol fix and chatting the night away.

The set up and the design of the place is amusingly simple. Look at how they cleverly decorated potential eyesores.

I love the robot design.

They have this little art corner where in you can leave drawings and notes.

I'd love to copy this concept at home, too. The photographs and coloring pens are so cute and Pinterest worthy.

Wonderful choice of wall decal and restroom symbol.

I'm no interior designer nor have a keen eye for interiors but to me this place is cozy enough. I love their table centerpiece. I was so close to bringing home one of the little bottles. LOL!

I told you liquor was all over the place. Check out their pastry section:

Zooming-in to the lower part...

See the word "Brandy"? Even this one contained liquor in it. So amusing! Too bad I wasn't able to taste this one. But there will be another time for that. For now, let me show you what my friend and I ordered.

I had the classic spaghetti made out of ground chicken. You have no idea how happy I was to be able to satisfy my spaghetti cravings.

Sober Pasta: Classic Spaghetti. Php 108. 

Madz had their Gin Margherita Penne. According to her, it tasted a little sweet.

 Tipsy Pasta: Gin Margherita Penne. Php 128.

Sybil made us try another pasta. It tasted a little like Carbonara with a twist. I bet you already know what twist I'm referring to, but to be more specific, the liquor in it is a combination of white wine and  whiskey.

 Tipsy Pasta: Drunken Hungarian Sausage and Mushroom. Php 128.

Now came the sandwiches. I had Good Ol' Chicken Pesto while Madz had their Breakfast Cup with a side of Potato Nuggets. The Chicken Pesto was great and the cheese proportion was good. Definitely a must-try! I wasn't able to try Madz's sandwich because, hello, bacon. But admit it, the presentation is very appetizing!

Good Ol' Chicken Pesto. Php 95.

Breakfast Cup. Php 95.

Potato Nuggets Php 50 (Php 20 for add-on's)

For our drinks, I ordered the Shark Infested Lemonade which has a little blue curacao and some rum while Madz went for a sober drink and opted for the Bacon Milk Shake. I wasn't able to try that one, too, because what can I say? The girl must be really loving the bacon.

Shark Infested Lemonade. Php 55.

Bacon Milk Shake. Php 95.

Sybs also made us try their best seller, Irish Cream on Coffee Rocks. The actual serving size is much larger than this. Although I'm allergic to caffeine, I still didn't want to miss out on this home made Irish cream with whiskey. The little sip I made was enough. It reminded me of the mocha flavored mudslide but with a stronger coffee flavor.

Irish Cream on Coffee Rocks. Php 80.

For desserts, we ordered Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate Mint Brownie and Blueberry Cheese Cake. I'm a Cheese Cake kind of girl but I found myself munching on the brownie instead. The brownie is super chocolate chewy bursting with mint flavor. I so love it I'm actually planning to order a box sometime this week.

Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate Mint Brownie. Php 45/ pcs (Php 250/half dozen Php 495/dozen)

Blueberry Cheese Cake. Php 45/ pcs (Php 270/half dozen Php 540/dozen)

Will I visit this place again? Definitely! I can't wait to try their other items. Try it too! It will surely "Redefine your coffee experience".

Tipsy Beans Coffee Shop
#50 Doming M. Guevara, Highway Hills
Mandaluyong, Philippines 
Phone numbers:
0917-4188747 / 0922-8200082 / 621-3660
Open Daily from 10am - 12mn

Hashtag NOTD

Excuse me while I blog about this but it has been Jurassic years since I last painted my own nails. Ever since I became pregnant and eventually bore a son, I relied only to manicurists to do my nails. Last Monday, however, I braved this long time untouched territory, grabbed some new nail polish and painted away. I'm pleased to say that I haven't lost the talent yet. LOL. Here's a shot of my nails together with my brand new pink Power bank I bought from CashCashPinoy.

We found this cheap local brand at Watsons last week called OMG (Oh My Golly) and I bought three colors: Demure, Tiara, and Naked at Php18.00 each. Demure and Tiara are a bit disappointing because you need to apply 4-5 coatings before you can actually attain its solid color. Naked, however is great! 

It's been long since I had a selfie-slash-restroom shot so forgive me if this looks too vain for you. I took this photo to show you my nails as seen from afar. I really find it neat and neutral (plus I think I look cute at that moment. LOL)

Chicken Spring Rolls and Fried Rice: My Chinese Meal Attempt

So I've been craving for some Spring Rolls lately but unfortunately all I can find are mostly made out of pork or beef. I went ahead and found a recipe for a Pinsec Prito (will try this next time) and this gave me an idea to use ground chicken instead. 

Here are the available ingredients I was able to find at home.

I know I could have added more extenders but this and Kraft Eden Cheese will do for now. I added some salt and pepper and then mixed them all together. 

Here's the tedious and crucial part: wrapping. Worst than chopping the carrots and the onions.

I carefully rolled each wrapper and 'sealed' them properly with water. I later set them aside in the fridge while I prepare my fried rice.

It's getting boring but I wanted to use up the remaining tidbits of carrot, corn and green peas and added a little Maggi Sarap. I didn't make any major grocery shopping the weekend before so no new ingredient can be found here. I'll try to be more creative next time. When my fried rice was done, I then proceeded frying my spring rolls. I was afraid they would unwrapped themselves. Based on experience some becomes loose during the frying process so I laid each rolls carefully in my semi-deep fryer. Fortunately, it turned out better than expected. 

Presenting, my version of Chicken Spring Rolls and Fried Rice.

Til my next adventure in the kitchen! 

Food Diary: Home Made and Take Outs

1. Tablea Cheesecake from Chocolat. Php115. Very 'nakakaumay'. Cravings a month ago.

2. Chicken Curry by yours truly. Made one for dinner last week.

3. Chicken Sisig of Chic-Boy. First time to eat chicken sisig and it didn't fail me. Php99. 

4. Tuna Casserole by yours truly. Inspired by 7/11. 

5. Lemon Chicken from The Sandwich Guy. Complete lunch. Php105

6. Home made cheese sticks because I didn't wanna throw away the remaining 4 sheets left from my shanghai.

From an old entry:

7. Home made waffles. My second attempt and way more better.

8. Chicken Vegetable Stir Fry by yours truly. I just made up the the name because I refuse to call it Chop Suey.

Holy Week Get-Away at Catanauan Cove

This post is waaay overdue but I'm posting this now because I believe that this resort is somehow promising. We found this place over the internet days before the holy week. We got a little lucky to have secured one dorm type cottage, since you know, almost all of the resorts in Laguna were fully booked. 

I'm not gonna lie, Catanauan Cove is located in the farther side of Quezon and it took us around 5-6 hours, with lunch break and couple of restroom breaks, just to get there (considering that we only came from Los Banos). But I'm telling you, the serenity of the place pays off the long travel that we took! 

The cottages were located uphill and going down you'll have a panoramic view of the sea. Upon arriving, we learned that guests on dorm type cottages were not allowed to bring food (or even cook) inside because rooms come with free breakfast and they expect their guests to eat at their restaurant for the rest of the day. It was a bit disappointing as we excitedly prepared everything we planned to cook during the entire stay. We even brought pans and cooking utensils because we wanted traditional 'luto-luto sa tabing dagat'. But as if luck wasn't done with us yet, later within the afternoon, we were informed that they had one guest who checked-out from a villa sooner than they were expecting, thus we can transfer. Villa cottages were furnished with gas stoves, rice cookers, microwaves and refrigerators - the only cottages that allow guests to cook and bring their own food. Was it perfect? Yes it was! Considering that the villa available had 3 bedrooms and we were 7 all in all! 

 The Villa

The living room and the rooms. 

The kitchen and the bathroom.

For the whole afternoon we only got to try the infinity pool and the Jacuzzi. Catanauan Cove has a large pool and was strategically situated uphill to give a full view of the sea. 

At night we tried their grilling station and eventually ended up eating at one of the tables around it. It was exciting, except for the fact that you know mosquitoes are just around the corner waiting to join the feast. 

Panoramic view of the grilling station.

After dinner and after putting our son to sleep, the husband and I went strolling around the resort. The quietness within our area was a little scary, but walking around farther going to the direction of the sea, we heard some upbeat music. 

There was a little bar set up in the sand where they also serve dinner buffet.

On the left side of the bar we saw some massage kiosk. We stayed there for a couple of minutes before trying out some drinks in the bar. It felt good sitting and drinking with the sound of the waves at the background. Truly a relaxing evening indeed! A good way to wrap-up a night at the beach.

The next morning, I went straight to the Jacuzzi.

We then had our son experience the beach for the first time. He was a bit cranky after feeling the sand for the first time. He didn't like it at first but was then distracted with shells.

Catanuan Cove offers other services like horse back riding, snorkeling, beach football and volleyball, message and much more. They have playgrounds and a lot of excellent scenery.  

The little dragon spying on other guests while trying the swing. 

The little dragon afraid of the horse. 

 The little dragon on the seesaw.

Should I recommend this place? Yep, definitely! And as I've said, the place is really promising, but then again, I'm not really that fastidious.