Banapple ATC

bff chel visited the country for a short vacation so we scheduled a meetup last saturday together with bff len, haven't seen them for ages! 

We went to ATC and ate at Banapple, taking our time to catch up with each other.

I had the mushroom pie (left most php75) and they ordered the best seller chicken parmigiana and hickory steak (php180++ea).

The mushroom pie is huge that I cannot finish it alone. It has a creamy and sweet mushroom fillings.

The other two plates are good for sharing.

We also made a round inside and outside the mall and had DQ for desserts. 

good food and good times with HS bffs 

I hope to see all of them again (with bff she) soon.

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-=jewel=-

IronMan 3 and Downton Abbey

It's May 1 hoilday today, finally i can sit down and update my blog.

 I chose to stay at home today and maybe just go out on weekend. It is sooo hot outside!  

Last Thursday, mike and I were in Eastwood to see Ironman 3.

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I think almost everyone already saw this awesome movie and had the Iron Man hangover.
I  just let myself be amazed, forgot critic views and everything else, even the fact that it was late at night and there I was, eating a large Mcdo fries.

It felt good seeing a light movie like this as compared to Oblivion that we saw last week which left me that heavy feeling. The IM3 trailer looked dark and stressful but it was not actually (IM2 is more stressful), maybe because of the humor, unexpected twist and Robert Downey dancing is just soo adorable and also maybe bec I saw this funny homemade IM3 trailer a month ago.

After credits scene? Yes we stayed and waited for it but it doesn't look exciting hmmm

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I don't know if Downton Abbey fans will be delighted on its short appearance on the IM3 movie. I only saw it a few weeks ago (can relate), just a few episodes when I was having a sleepover. Not really my type of series but it was an old English setting (which made me looked at the tv once in a while). It was a fast-paced drama with scandals and politics issue. It was interesting, I have to say. I thought my dear auntie will like it so I bought her a DVD, season 1 where she finished watching in just a few hours ;p

The month of April has a lot of really good movies.
For May, we are really excited to see Fast and Furious (I already forgot what happened in its 1-4th installment) and of course, Star Trek. (i'm excited to see Cumberbatch!)

Healthy Inspiration: Favorites

These are some of my eats for the past weeks .

My favorite breakfast - ampalaya with boiled egg, I like to add many tomatoes, sometimes it almost look like tomatoes with ampalaya  ;p

So after 3 consecutive mornings of eating ampalaya,

 I prepared this boiled Beans, boiled eggs and tomatoes = my new favorite.

 It is very filling even without rice.

I also love simple eggplant stir fried in soysauce with a lettuce or cucumber and sesame oil  on the side for weekend breakfast.

Cucumber with sugar cane vinegar, sesame oil and sesame seeds

 Another favorite, diced potato and onion stir fried in olive oil. Uhm it doesn't look good in my photo bec I want my version with lots of pepper and somewhat soggy. I tried it when I saw it on pinoycook.net, (i can't find the original post), it tasted normal on my first attempt, nothing extraordinary but as the days passed by, i'm kinda missing the comfort it brings ;p 

I stayed at home alone sometime last week and I just cooked Adobong Kangkong for lunch and I have still some left for dinner. I love that It is very easy to prepare, I think I had this twice in a week. I used Kikkoman soysauce and sugar cane vinegar.

One of my lunch, simple lettuce and carrots Salad, with my homemade dressing of sesame oil, honey and vinegar.

We have imported goodies that were kindly given to us and so we have some sweet treats in the form of chocolates and nutella.

one of my midnight snack, dark chocolates and banana. I love dark chocolates :)

I usually prepare banana and peanut butter (Joji's Delight) for snack but because of the very inviting nutella bottle, say hello to a not so healthy Bana-Nutella

We are using our Shake n Take a lot lately and I just noticed that our fruit intake is always in the form of juice/smoothies. Mangoes are our current favorite :)

Sometimes, I also add lettuce

The weather is more than a good reason to enjoy a refreshing cold fruit smoothies and wake up early to exercise.

Ahem, for many many years, I started jogging again. The last time I had a serious run was way way back college!

I feel sluggish, sitting all day in front of my laptop, taking a break only to eat or sleep. We then decided to go out and take a brisk walk or run in the morning, not everyday though, I think mike and I only jogged outside 3x since the beginning of this month. But I think it's a good start. 

\(^_^)/

Oblivion, Kanzhu

after jcuppacakes, movie time!

Oblivion setting is post war, inhabitable future earth where Tom Cruise as Jack maintain the area with his mission partner Viktoria. Memory erased prior to mission,  the story then unfolds what is it that haunts him from his past and what he is unaware of.

The story has the same effect on me when I watched Evangelion, Voices of a Distant Star or any space, futuristic anime related film. That sad, lonely feeling as you are separated from your love one with space and time, in addition to uncertain future...something like that.

The actress who played Victoria did a very good job in capturing her character emotions that I became her instant fan ;p I googled and found in IMDB, she won best actress awards in the past, oh thats why.

While she cries easily, the one who played Julia took some time to cry I find her boring despite her expressive face.

Overall, it was a brilliant story and was also nice seeing this movie in big screen because of the special effects/ amazing CGI, although I have to roll my eyes for the love story, yep love story/ scifi action, anyway that's needed naman ;p 

And of course, it's a Tom Cruise film, seriously, he seems to be forever good looking  and young.  :)

Kanzhu Hand-Pulled Noodles

Afterwards, we had our early dinner at Kanzhu Hand Pulled noodles in SM Hypermarket.

They served huge servings of noodles so we just shared one bowl and ordered siopao.

I just ate the siopao bun, mike said the filling is just ok. As for the noodles, we were both impressed, whatever herb/spices they use, it taste simple and natural. :)

free sweet peanuts

PS: I forgot to write about GI:Joe we saw weeks ago, breath taking action it was. :)  We intended to see Olympus too last weekend, if ever it'll be morgan freeman overload  lolz, but we're informed it wasn't that nice. hmmmm...

Anyway, I'm excited and hoping to see Ironman 3 next week... lots of good movies this summer!

\(^_^)/

-=jewel=-

JCuppacakes at Eastwood City

While waiting for Oblivion screening time last Sunday afternoon, we went to this cutie, shabby chic cupcake place in Eastwood Citywalk 2. It is located in the previous location of Haagen daz store.

The place is really inviting, it is cute inside and out.  I like the chintzy ceiling, the glass chandelier and  the pastels look and summery feel of those dessert stands.

I first tried their cupcakes when a colleague bought some from their stall in SM Megamall and they gave me this one with green tea frosting. It was moist and not overly sweet and I remember being happy after I finished it. :)

This time, we've tried their Red Velvet and also got intrigued by the White Choco Basil frosting Php65ea

Among the two, the memorable one is the white choco with basil.

Up close

This one was really, really, really good. It will be very sweet without the basil, so its presence balanced the taste. The crunchy bottom part also matched the frosting on top while it started to somewhat a bit runny. aylabit!!

It would be nice to come back here again for an afternoon tea treat and taste their other cupcake flavors. :)

-=jewel=-

Healthy Inspiration: Eating Out

And so I thought of having a topic here in my blog where I'll share some healthy inspiration, from my own  personal taste or habit , experiments or discoveries.

I'm trying to be fit and healthy again as much as possible as I know I'm not getting enough sleep lately and I'm living an extremely sedentary life. T_T

I'm no longer extremely strict in my diet. I have changed my views over times and 

learn to become flexible (flexitarian). I have now condiments in the kitchen, seriously, years ago, I don't put anything in my food except sea salt. ;p

But I think I'll share mostly veggies as I still don't really buy and cook red meat.

Let's talk first what options out there when dining out :)

Whenever I don't know what or where to eat at malls, I always end up going to Chowking. ;p

My usual order(s)  is/are their pancit or kangkong and rice/chowfan, or tofu with rice, or a combination.

The cafeteria has a vegetarian section so it is very easy to have some veggies for lunch.

But most of the time, I prefer bringing my own, it's cheaper and less hassle for me.

At ChicBoy, their Garlic Kangkong is not that uber yummy, masarap pa luto ko, but it's fine.

Corn cob from King Corn

Soy Yummy taho, i like mine with no syrup

and of course binatog with no salt

I don't have a photo but i also do frequent Sbarro, my fave is their Pasta in Tomato Sauce with garlic bread. Another one is Sandwich Guy, where I usually buy Veggie Sandwich. ;)

As for beverage choice, I don't order softdrinks or powdered juices, I just ask for water. 

Well,  as for milk teas, we still buy sometimes as a treat ;p

That's all for now, I hope to come back with a post like this on a weekly basis, perhaps sharing some healthy daily eats.

Happy Friday!

-=jewel=-