Breads by Julie's Bakeshop

I fell asleep on a rainy afternoon and didn’t notice that my mom went out to shop, she just woke me up and said that she brought some loaf and some peanuts for snacks. She bought it from Julie’s Bakeshop for 40 pesos each, and because I still haven’t tasted their loaf breads, I was so excited to taste it. I knew that Julie’s Bakeshop is known for delicious bread, even if their goods are much expensive compared to the ordinary bakeshop. Actually, one of my co-workers always brings me the choco-german bread that cost 5 pesos each, so I knew that their bread is really delicious.


Ube Loaf (topped with sweet glaze).

You can really taste the ube flavor and with the blend of the condensed milk on the top, I feel that I’m eating a donut =)


Cheese Loaf

I was so amazed when I sliced the loaf because there was a thick stick of cheese on the inside. It was a simple cheese loaf, but because the bread was soft and the cheese inside was thick enough, I really didn’t need a spread for it. For the cheese lovers like me, I am sure you you will also like this loaf.

Their bread is really soft and can’t wait to taste their other products.

Hope your weekend is fun even if there was a storm.

Jesz

Espasol (Sweet Rice Cake)

{First up, let me thank Ms. Willa of Food Trip Friday for choosing my Pinakbet as the Featured Food of the Week.}

My friend Anne hailed from San Rafael, Bulacan. She now lives in Metro Manila with her Aunt because of our work, so there were times when she would miss her family. One time she went home in Bulacan, she brought us some espasol as pasalubong, and all of us at the restaurant where we used to work loved it. It was very tasty and it had a different taste compared to those being sold on the streets. I got to ask her to buy me some for my family last Christmastime, but even if I forgot to bring home the espasol the day Anne gave them to me and it had to wait for one more day before I was able to take it home, my family still loved it despite it's already "hardened" stage, because I left it in the restaurant's chiller.

Now that we both resigned at the restaurant, we seldom see each other, but we are still good friends. Whenever she would tell me she would travel back to Manila, I would always ask to bring some espasol, and last week, she bought me two boxes.





Espasol is a Filipino cake which originated in the province of Laguna. It’s made in coconut milk, shredded coconut, sugar and glutinous rice flour and dust it with sweet rice flour. Like most native delicacies, it is difficult to stir so much love is needed when making this.

Like what's printed on the box, this was made by Tessie's. Their factory is just near Anne's place, so whenever she buys some, I am sure that she gets the freshest espasol. Each box costs about 100php, and each box has about 48 pieces inside. My family loves it so much and my mom eats it like she was eating popcorn. My brother want to share this to his girlfriend living in Cagayan de oro, but Anne said the manufacturer only makes the espasol if they have a bulk order, so it's always not certain that I can get her to buy some whenever she travels back to Bulacan. I am just thankful that this time, Tessie's had an order and their family just added some more to the order.

Jesz

Mt. Pinatubo Trek | To the Crater

If typhoon Ondoy didn't ruin the sky way nearly two years ago, this would have been an easy trek. However, because of such unfortunate event, we needed to use the old trekking way would take us 3 hours before we could reach the crater. As if the thought of trekking wasn't enough, it also rained right before we started. It wasn't really heavy, but since my sister and I didn't bring umbrella, it became difficult for us to handle it. At that point, our tour guide said that we needed to hurry because of the water's current.





Even though it was raining and I felt tired already, I still enjoyed trekking because of the different rock and land formations right before my eyes.  However, part of me was worried because we (companions at the 4x4 ride) left sister behind. At my end, I knew I just have to keep walking because if I stop, it would make me feel more tired. Sister didn't at all mind that I had to leave her - she knew the trek would be a big challenge for her, so even with a heavy heart, I still went on walking.





After an hour and a half, the sun peeped through, and it got me more excited when the tour guide said we were almost there. Somewhere along the path, there was a rest area where we caught some breath, ate snacks and waited for other companions - including my sister. At one point, the guide received a message from the guide assisting sister and said that my sister had a leg cramp. It got me more worried, so I told my other companions to go on ahead and I will wait for my sister. It took a lot of time for my sister to reach the rest area, and when I saw her, I just clapped in happiness because she was able to pull it through.



The guide said the crater is still a few minutes away. When we saw this signage, we all laughed at the line, "Your trek STARTS here." Say what?!? So... what we did for the past two hours wasn't trekking? Actually, the signage wasn't at all wrong, because the guide said that if the Sky Way was open, the 4x4 ride would take us to this stop, therefore our trek would start here. The signage posed a challenge to us - giving specific time frame until we reached the crater. Now being in the "middle age," I thought I could reach the crater in 20 minutes, but it took me 30 minutes because at this point, it was already a subtle uphill climb, and because I was already tired, it was quite difficult for me to exert more effort.

Of course, once we reached the crater, it was pure paradise.

Jesz

"Beef Noodles"

When I was still working at a Korean restaurant, my supervisor was always having a difficulty budgeting our daily meals. December last year, the owner of the restaurant added more staff because it was peak season, and we need to budget the 600 pesos meal allowance a day for 15 people.



I learned this dish from our kitchen helper, it was just instant noodles added with some bony cuts of pork and bok choy. It was just perfect warm our tummies before we proceed to our duty.

Last Saturday, mom asked me to cooked “Nilagang Ribs ng Baka” for dinner. After I cooked the beef ribs in a pressure cooker, I set aside some pieces and added it in a bowl of instant noodles added with bok choy. It became my dinner that night, and it was really, really comforting!

Jesz

Early Dinner

Giligan's Island Restaurant and Bar
The Veranda - Robinsons Galleria
EDSA cor. Ortigas Avenue, Quezon City

Last May, my friend and I checked the newly renovated veranda of Robinson’s Galleria after visiting our former colleagues at Healthy Shabu Shabu (Shangri-la). We got there at 4:00 in the afternoon so all of the food establishments weren't busy yet. I guess these places are busy only in the evening.



My friend always suggests Giligan's Island Restaurant and Bar for their cheap price, so we decided to dine here. Even if the place looked lovely, it somehow gave us the boring atmosphere, maybe because we were the only guests at that time and it was so hard to call their server. Our main plan was to drink some beer but we ended decided to eat early dinner as well.



My friend was craving for some rice so we tried their Adobo Rice (124.00php).  It was good - no lumps in the rice... every grain was coated with the sauce, but I really wished they did not include the cartilage part of the meat because it’s really hard to chew or to discard it while chewing.



For our viands, we went for their Pinakbet (85.00php), just to be on the healthy side. I really loved the blend of the shrimp paste in this dish, the vegetable was not over cooked and it was a perfect combination to the adobo rice.



To balance things off (healthy-"unhealthy"), my friend chose the Sizzling Bulalo Steak (198.00php). We were both unsatisfied with this dish because the beef was so chewy and dry and no more flavor on the beef. The only consolation we got was with the sauce - it was seasoned well and quite delicious. However, the sauce couldn't save the whole dish and we did not finish it because our jaws were already tired from chewing the beef.

Despite the not so good dining experience, I think I would still eat here given the chance. They offer big food platters for groups, and maybe, we could try that next time.

Jesz

Mt. Pinatubo Trek | 4x4 Ride

I have been to many places and I can't wait to share them all, but since June is the anniversary month of Mt. Pinatubo, I decided to start the travel side of this blog with my Mt. Pinatubo experience.

Last June 4, 2011, I went to Mt. Pinatubo with some bloggers, thanks to my dear sister who told me about it. I also would like to extend my sincerest thanks to Let's Go, Sago for giving us a chance to experience this and to all the sponsors and to all those behind this gathering - it really made a dream come true.

There are different paths going to Mt. Pinatubo, but our group took the path from Capas, Tarlac. If you also want to take this path, you need to go first at Santa Juliana Tourism Council at the Municipal Hall where you can register and arrange for your guides and provisions.



After registering, you will ride a 4x4 jeep that can fit up 5 person travelers, your guide and the driver. I was a little bit nervous riding in the jeep because I still remember the accident happened here. But of course, the tour must go on, and I needed to conquer my fear.



We were given the privilege to choose the jeep we wanted to take (our group was given 5 jeeps, so we just chose from those), and my companions for the 4x4 ride were my sister, and new blogger pals Yodz, Alex, and Ed. The ride takes about an hour and you will experience some bumpy ride like riding in a roller coaster.




Riders choose whether they'd sit or stand, and because the five of us have our own cameras, we decided to stand. Like I said, this was one bumpy ride, so do take care of yourself and hold on tight. The time we went there, there were rain showers the night before, so it wasn't dusty... but, as much as you need to take care of yourself, you also need to take care of your camera (if you're using one) against the elements. We didn't encounter a whole lot of dust, but we sure had some mud splats, good thing we had some scarves to protect our camera.

From the foot of the mountain you will cross lots of streams, mountains, grassland, plain volcanic sand. You can also tell the driver to stop if you want to take some pictures.



More than an hour after, we reached our destination... but we still had to trek by foot going to the crater of the volcano. That story will be shared next post.

Jesz

Max's Chicken All You Can

Yes its true, the much awaited promo is back!

I am so happy to announce that Max's Restaurant is bringing back the Chicken-All-You-Can promo! If you missed it last year (like me), now is definitely the chance to experience it. On June 10 to July 10, 2011 from 6:00pm to 10:00pm we can now enjoy as much Max's fried chicken as we can handle. For only Php199 per person, it already has ice cold glass of any soft drink or iced tea that can be upgrade to bottomless drink for only Php28.





If you think that's already a good deal, read more. As an added treat to their customers, Max’s Restaurant will give Php20 money coupon for every Php200 spent during the Chicken All You Can promo. So if you are a group and you spent Php1000, they will give you Php100 money coupon. You can use your money coupon on July 11, 2011 until July 11, 2012. It's good as cash, so you can also use it to buy pastries at the Max's Corner Bakery, or maybe eat different dishes from their awesome menu, Dine in or take out. Only 3 money Coupon for 1 transaction only. The promo is open nationwide, so more foodies can savor the goodness of Max's Fried Chicken, too!





Last night, I was lucky to take part of the Max's Restaurant event, but quite sad as I only got to eat two chicken quarters. I really love the taste of Max's Fried Chicken, so I am already excited for June 10 to come so I can try to eat as much chicken as I can. I am thinking of visiting the store this coming Friday, tagging my whole family so we can try to beat each other and see who can eat the most chicken. This promo will run for the entire month, so maybe I can also tag my friends along. Hope to see you there.

Jesz

My Kind of Trip

Hello everyone. My name is Jesz, the author of this blog.

Before, I was already contented living my life as is - going to places if there's a chance, eating at different establishments... taking a picture or two on every occasion. Having two older siblings who are bloggers, I realized, I, too, have my own story to share, hence the opening of this blog. While the posts would be taken from not-so-distant past, I, of course will also share new adventures as I go on with my life.

"God didn't give us everything to enjoy life, He gave us life to enjoy everything."

One of the powerful things I heard during a mass homily. I came from a middle-class family - we are neither rich nor poor, and being so gave me the chance to enjoy both facets of life, where everything is a green pasture.

Welcome to "My Kind of Trip," where I share stories about my all sorts of trips - around the Metro, out of town trips, side trips, food trips, so on and so forth. I hope you'd enjoy your stay.

Jesz