Have you tried Max's Merienda Mixes yet?

It was last year, I believe, when I first learned about Max's Merienda Mixes, which, for just P95, allows you to create your own merienda set and gives you a choice between pancit canton, pancit luglug or champorado; ensaymada or cake (banana or carrot at present, previously chocolate or quezo); and coffee or softdrink. My reaction? Too good to be true! Food at Max's, as I 've known, doesn't come cheap so how could that possibly be? Just a cup of brewed coffee at Max's costs P75! 
Last month, I finally tried the promo. My daughter and I were at SM North Edsa and we were famished. When we walked by Max's Restaurant, we decided at once to step inside and then ordered our Merienda Mixes. We had: 

Pancit canton 

Pancit luglug 

Carrot cake

Banana cake

Potato salad (not included in Merienda Mixes)

Brewed coffee

Everything we had was delicious, leaving both my daughter and I full and satisfied. 
Max's Merienda Mixes indeed gives you more bang for the buck. Delicious too!  

Vanilla Cupcake Bakery: Sugar and spice and all things nice

Last Wednesday, my friend Pammy and I were like little giggly girls once more as we stepped into Vanilla Cupcake Bakery & Cafe at Trinoma Mall. The whole place is so cutesy and artsy, with its interiors and furniture all bathed in pastel colors and lovely flower and check prints. Going through its door was almost like stepping into a fairytale land! We looked at the cupcake display and we were mesmerized. Ogling at all those yummy-looking things, it was hard to choose! Finally, we decided.

Mine:  A cup of cappuccino and banoffee panna cotta in a jar, which was so cute I took it home.

 

Lovely cup and teaspoon.

Pammy's carrot cupcake...

...and red velvet cupcake.

Pammy's kiwi and passion fruit drink 

Cupcakes here..

...and there!

The panna cotta-in-a-jar is both an eye candy and yummy treat.

Don't all those cupcakes look delish?

See how cute the mismatched furniture here are.

Polka dotted mini porcelain bowl

I love the pink bike.

My only problem during our visit was that I couldn't taste and smell a thing because of a bad case of cold. Thus, I cannot say whether my cappuccino and banofee panna cotta were good,. But Pammy, who had a taste of my jar-red dessert, said it was delicious and I trust her. Haha!

Anyway, I discovered Vanilla Cupcake when my hubby brought home one a few months ago. I found the box and the cupcake itself too cute that I had to take pictures:

I used to not really like cupcakes but this one changed me.  :-)

Vanilla Cupcake Bakery & Cafe serves pasta and rice meals, too. And by the way, I learned just the other day that the cute cupcake shop inside the Kamiseta boutique in Trinoma was actually the Vanilla Cupcake Bakery that I know today. I'd seen that at Kamiseta last year but I don't know if they already carried the name then. Anyway, Kamiseta-Trinoma doesn't have that cupcake store now anymore and they'd opened a separate store for the yummies recently, which we visited. Yup, Kamiseta and Vanilla Cupcake Bakery have the same owners.  
Vanilla Cupcake Bakery has six branches at present - two in Glorietta, at UP Town Center, Trinoma, Alabang Town Center and Fort Bonifacio (not sure if this one has opened, though).

I.I.B.B.'s 'bulalo' to remember

I love bulalo (that irresistible soupy dish made out of boiling beef bone marrow or pata or pork leg).  What Pinoy doesn't? Especially on a rainy day when it's cold, a steaming bowl of bulalo best offers warmth and comfort. But there was a whole week last month when I wanted bulalo for a different reason apart from the weather. I was having so much trouble because of a bad tooth and had difficult time chewing food. If I wasn't having lugaw (congee), I'd look for bulalo so I could soften my rice with the soup and just swallow without having to chew. 

One Saturday just before finally being able to go to the dentist, I, in the company of two of my kids, dropped by this eatery near the UDMC hospital in Welcome (Mabuhay?) Rotunda, that I had been curious about for years. Posted above the entrance was four letters: I.I. B.B. It was only when we got inside that I learned what it meant: Ihaw-Ihaw, Balot-Balot. Hmm.. interesting..barbecue and eating on banana leaves on my mind. I read the menu and almost shrieked in delight. Bulalo! Just what I hoped for! I've forgotten if they had beef bulalo but it was pata bulalo that I ordered. My son had chicken barbecue that was served with rice, boiled egg and tomato, all wrapped in banana leaves. My daughter settled just for pizza roll, which was something new to us. All that we ordered tasted good, especially my bulalo. It was the best bulalo I've ever had! The soup was very hot and sooo flavorful! Made me wonder how many hours the pata had been left to boil to make the soup very savory. Plus, there's a lot of veggies! Definitely worth daydreaming about. Haha! 

Pata Bulalo, P110.

Chicken barbecue binalot, P79.

Pizza Roll, P39.

Sago't Gulaman, P30.

Buko Juice, P35.

Inside I.I.B.B.

Check out this I.I.B.B. They serve Filipino dishes like dinuguan, fried crablets, sisig,  tapsilog and many more. All at pocket-friendly prices that allow having a feast. :-) 

More Pinoy food faves at Amber

I've been to Amber thrice this year. During the first time at the Tomas Morato store last April, I very much enjoyed their Pancit Malabon and pork barbecue (not to mention their very affordable prices!), that I included this very simple resto in my personal list of favorite Filipino food places. Last week, our family was at Amber-Kalaw in Manila after worship service at the Cathedral of Praise for my son's birthday lunch. Pancit Malabon, my Amber staple, was of course among our orders plus other dishes. We feasted on:

Pancit Malabon, P330. (good for 5 pax)

Pretty pancit! 

Doesn't that look sooo yummy?

Soy fried chicken, whole, P370.

Pork barbecue, P20 per stick.

Pork sisig, P140.

Pichi-pichi with cheese, P110 (20 pcs)

 Amber's Pancit Malabon was delish, as usual, and so was the barbecue and sisig. The soy fried chicken, however, was bland. The pichi-pichi, which is one of their best sellers, is not my favorite for nothing. It's yummy and perfect for dessert, but not too sweet as to overwhelm your taste buds. Would have been best with a cup of brewed coffee, but sadly, Amber does not serve it. Why don't they, and soon, please?

I've enjoyed food at Amber not only with my family but with good friends, too. Last July, one of my best buddies and his family were at Amber-Kalaw before Saturday worship 
and we ordered:

Cream of asparagus soup, P120.

Fried chicken wings, P190 (8 pcs). This is good!

Chicken Lollipop, P20 apiece.

Sotanghon Guisado, P65, solo. This is delicious.

Pancit Malabon, P65, solo

Pichi-pichi with cheese, P66 (12 pcs)

The counter

Inside Amber-Kalaw

Amber has branches in Paranaque City, Makati, Pasig, Mandaluyong, Quezon City, Muntinlupa and San Juan aside from Manila. They deliver, too!