Shang Palace

My Lola's 90th birthday was celebrated at Shang Palace. It is Makati Shangri-la's fine dining restaurant offering Cantonese cuisine. Just from the entrance, you can already feel the luxurious ambiance because of the beautiful chandeliers, the red carpet, the wooden latticework designs and the beautifully-decorated walls. It felt like I was in an emperor's palace =) 

Our appetizer:

Crispy Roast Peking Duck with Chinese Pancake

This meal got my appetite rolling. The skin was very crunchy and the hint of vegetables was perfect and it added to the crispness. There was enough sauce to make it tasty. The chinese pancake (more like chinese style unleavened bread) was not too thick and not oily which I really liked. 

Braised Corn Soup with Chicken

Steamed Lapu-Lapu

Deep fried spareribs with fragrant garlic

This was a bit salty.

Deep Fried Boneless Chicken coated with Almond Flakes in Lemon Sauce

Minced Duck's Meat served with lettuce

This no-carb meal was very tasty and the lettuce cups were crunchy.

Hot Prawn Salad

This is one of their best-sellers and definitely my favorite. I love shrimps and they sure had VERY plump ones. It was topped with mixed fruits and it was covered with mayonnaise. I'm not a fan of pineapple in hot dishes so I just hoped there was none haha! It was a bit sweet and sour and some people may not like it.  

Chilled Almond Jelly with Fruits

It took a little while for our orders to arrive (because we ordered a lot) but their food was truly for royal guests considering the taste, their servings and the price haha! Good venue for special occasions as they have 11 private rooms and they have cozy booths (perfect for dates) =P

Shang Palace is located at Level 2, Makati Shangri-la Hotel 

Monday, Cheeseday, Wednesday...

It was actually Friday and I can't think of a place without meat. When a friend suggested to eat at Taco Bell, my saliva started to ooze out just thinking about burritos and tacos. But I had to control the urge and opted for something within the rules. Good thing they have Lenten specials.

They also have a new product: 5 Cheese Pocket Wrap which I ordered.

[Note: the chicked burrito was for my friend, it's not included in the meal =P]

The cheese wrap (right) is indeed pocket-sized. It was quite small but it was filled with so much cheese and tomatoes and what I believe is cilantro. The crispy nachos were filling and the dip was just enough. Their nachos were quite different because it wasn't the usual thick corn tortilla chips. I'm not sure, but I think their chips are baked which is a plus =) Since I eat in small portions, it was good enough for me. But if you're really hungry, I think you should order 2 =P Overall, I really liked it, for P99.00, it's a good snack =) 

Sneaky Sneaky

I would love to have this in my room being the sneaky person that I am (hihihi =P)

A perfect place to store my journals, my artsy stuff, old photo albums, scrapbooks and letters.

No more tangled cords, no phone slip ups and no charger stealers (haha)  

Shy (our dog) could have a spot in our room yey!

Mirror, mirror on the wall plus a hidden treasure chest of neatly hanged accessories =) 

Isn't this neat? Your room would not look overstuffed because everything is hidden.

Source: http://www.realsimple.com/home-organizing/organizing/bedroom/surprise-storage-bedroom-00000000006189/index.html

Beautifool

We all want to look and feel good. This is why we buy products and cosmetics that would make our skin look better, our hair softer and generally improve our over-all condition and appearance. But does it really help us? I got this from a kikay friend to remind me that not all products are safe and we should keep an eye on certain chemicals found in our beauty products which may cause harm.

  

 

So have you checked what’s your favorite shampoo made of? How about your gorgeous red lipstick? Better raid your dresser and check your make up collection and all your other beauty weapons as well. We may not feel the bad effects now but after prolonged use, the harmful effects could be slowly crawling in. Better be safe than sorry kikay friends. Use this chart as a guide to know the chemicals to avoid and its safer alternatives =)

Source: http://humanheartnature.com/product_not.html

 

Take a picture!

 

I used to take pictures of myself whenever I travel alone and during my vain moments (good hair day or good makeup day haha!). The end result: no beautiful scenery and just my enlarged forehead and high cheekbones occupying the entire photo. I know I'm not really photogenic to expect good results but sometimes it's frustrating not to have that picture that you would approve uploading as your profile pic. This video would surely give you tips on how to get that perfect shot when all you have is yourself as your camera man.

Bad Stamps

I just find them funny. Not cool if I see them on my work. =P

These self-inking stamps are from http://www.knockknockstuff.com/. Each costs $9.

Not an ideal gift for your boss or your teacher haha =P

Go Nude This Summer

Summer is not just for fun and vibrant colors but for fresh and cool hues such as Nude. I like nude because it's adaptable to any style and you can it match with any color. Its not too plain, nor too loud. It's girly, and the color reflects comfort and chicness. It's quite unique because it's hard to define what shade it is as it can have touches of pink or brown. Nude is also close to our skin color making it look more natural and clean.

nude summer  <Polyvore>

Scoop neck top
£5 - fashionunion.com

Closed denim top
£84 - matchesfashion.com

Plunging neckline top
$53 - romwe.com

YVY jersey knit top
$190 - notjustalabel.com

D G draped top
$235 - stylebop.com

Vince cuffed shorts
£395 - harveynichols.com

KATHARINE HAMNETT highwaisted shorts
$68 - theoutnet.com

H&M rubber soled shoes
£15 - hm.com

Anya Hindmarch leather bag
£895 - seasonsclothing.co.uk

Ariella Collection stack rings jewelry
$68 - nordstrom.com

Vince Camuto buckle belt
$48 - vincecamuto.com

Jimmy choo sunglasses
$232 - glassesonweb.com

Lip makeup
squidoo.com

Cuts & Colours Salon

 I needed to attend a semi-formal event (my Lola’s 90^th bday) and we’ll be having our official family picture taken that’s why I needed to look good. At first, I decided I would do my own makeup but I really don’t know the basics and I’m afraid I would look like a ghost in our family portrait =P. So my mom and I decided to have our hair and make-up done at a nearby salon. My mom tried to contact A Salon which she has tried before but they are now under the name Cuts & Colours.

Their place was very simple, spacious and clean. Also they have the most recent magazines which you can browse while waiting. 

The mua's kit included products from Bobbi Brown, Shu Uemura, Lancome and mostly from Mac.

They offer the latest Kerastase products as well.

This is me while having my hair done with no make up yet. So pale and eye bags galore =P 

That's Ms. Beth (the makeup artist), working on the base. 

After a few hours, tada!! My curled up hair and simple neutral makeup courtesy of Ms. Beth =) I really liked   it because it wasn't too heavy. She knew that she didn't need to dwell on my eyebrows because it was already thick haha. She didn't put too much eyeliner that would make me look old. I loved the shade of her Lancome lipstick and her Naturactor foundation which covered my small blemishes. Their hair and makeup services costs P1,200 and their place is just walking distance from Greenhills mall.

Cuts and Colours is located at Ground Floor LPL Building Annapolis St. Greenhills San Juan City.

Beaten Bieber

Sorry for the false alarm Beliebers, but this is just a magazine cover for Complex Magazine. JB just turned 18 and I guess he is also changing his teeny bopper image to a more mature one. Why the bloody cover? From the  statement "Growing Pains" I guess he already knows how hard it is being in the entertainment industry with such a young age. Anyway, he's just halfway there, there's more to come, so better be ready Biebs =P

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/19/justin-bieber-gets-bloody-complex_n_1363547.html

Jash Mart

We sometimes make our own sushi at home. Since we ran out of some of the ingredients, we tried going to Puregold to buy some Japanese mayonnaise, Nori paper, crab stick and Wasabi. Unfortunately, they didn’t have the rice vinegar. On our way home we decided to drop by Jash Mart along Wilson Street (San Juan) to check if they have our missing ingredient. When we mentioned the brand “Mitsukan”, the staff immediately knew what we were looking for. The store doesn’t just offer Japanese goods but Chinese and Taiwan products as well.  

They have a wide variety of products: from biscuits, chips and other snacks.

As I checked out the other aisles, I noticed that they also sell my favorite Nissin noodles from Japan which comes in different flavors. (I'll talk about it in a different post). But when I compared the prices, the ones in Jash Mart were more expensive by P 10.00 than the ones in Unimart.  

They have frozen goods if you want to have shabu-shabu and Meiji Ice Cream for dessert.

Jash Mart is your go-to Japanese store. If you're looking for certain ingredients for your Jap meal, or just craving for some Jap Ramen, try this place. 

Too bad they don't have Korean goods. =(