Restaurante Pia Y Damaso - De Espadaña to Die For!

Is it obvious that De Espadaña of Damaso's is one of my favourites?

I only love these cakes - Chocolate Kiss' Dayap Cake (or what I fondly call the wedding cake), the Red Velvet of Classic Confections, and Damaso's De Espadaña.

What is in this cake?

It's basically queso de bola cheesecake topped with prunes - the combination may sound weird, but give it a shot, and you'll get hooked onto it too.

Do you know how much I love this cake? So much I don't mind paying PhP 250.00 pesos for it (more or less).

And the best proof that I love it so much? I researched how to type ñ on a Mac just to be able to type its name correctly!

If you haven't tried it yet - you are missing half your life. You have not lived until you've tasted this thing. Whoever made this - GENIUS!

I've been so busy in BGC the past couple of years, when I had an opportunity for dessert in Greenbelt last Saturday, I made a beeline only to Damaso's. Didn't even feel sorry that Sinfully is gone na pala.

The stay-cation for my birthday was so fun - because I was able to eat 2 of my favourite cakes in one evening. Guess which this one is!

Restaurante Pia Y Damaso
Level 2, Greenbelt 5, Ayala Centre, Makati
telephone number: 02.729.5511

The Joys of Blogging - Christmas Gift for A-List Manila Readers

I actually have so much more posts that I needed to upload tonight, however, seeing that I'm already at my 100th post, I decided to devote this post to reflecting on the joys blogging has given me through the years.

A-List Manila started back in 2011, because I had just come out of surgery and was recuperating alone in the condo with nothing better to do. After the first week of watching Grey's Anatomy, and after exhausting myself looking at the Facebook posts of my friends, I decided to upload some pictures that were still stored in my phone.

In uploading the pictures, I wanted to be able to tell the story behind the photo, and that's when I realised Facebook was not going to be enough an avenue for me to share these.

So I started to write.

I am no stranger to writing. When I was in high school in Ateneo, I joined Hilites Magazine. As a freshman, one of my proudest moments was in the first grading period, when the editorial board of Hilites chose my poem to be placed at the back cover of the magazine.

My poem was about a ride from school to the house, and getting stuck in traffic amidst a sudden rain outburst. I heard a tapping on the van's window, and I was face to face with a little girl getting wet in the rain asking for change from me. I was seated, dry and comfortable in the van, and she was soaked to the bone. What made me better than her that fate handed this card that afforded me this comfortable lifestyle?

That's when I wrote Tapping On My Window and it was used as the poem for the launch of Tulong Dunong that year.

I wrote for Hilites for 3 years, and on my 4th year in high school, I became the Editor-in-chief. I still remember my column back then, and it was entitled, Nite Lite.

But then, life took over. And here I thought I would take up Journalism, or Creative Writing, and finish a novel and become a Pulitzer prize winning author.

I did get to finish a novel during the summer break from high school to college, and I was able to share this with some of my friends - never been published though.

Lately, I've been playing with a concept for another novel about a dystopian society - but I haven't gone around establishing the proper ground work for it yet.

The closest I've come to publishing in the past few years is One Serendra's monthly newsletter, but that has ceased as well.

But I continue to write via this platform. Maybe I am able to reach out to people, mostly, I believe I just give basic information - stuff that I would want to see and know about, like where is this shop located, what is the contact number of the restaurant, what's the price-range for this bar. These simple things that I get to do, though, bring me a sense of fulfilment.

Really, I don't know what my audience reach is, and I'm not really aiming to be a well-known blogger - as long as I'm still able to share my thoughts, and my ideas, and my experiences through my words, then I'm good.

It is the Christmas season, and I want to be able to give a random stranger a nice surprise for this holiday season.

It has been a tough and challenging year for me - and whenever I would feel stressed, I would always look forward to going home, lighting up the oil burners and candle warmers, choosing a scent, and putting these on the warming plates.

So to celebrate my 100th post, I will be giving out a Scentsy warmer to a lucky reader who would like to contribute a post to A-List Manila. Email me photos from your favourite restaurant, store, or vacation spot, and tell me your story. The best entry will merit a post here in A-List Manila, and a Scentsy warmer from me! Don't be shy to share, and now is your opportunity to experiment with your writing skills. I'll give you guys until December 21, 2014 to email me your stories and photos. Send these to cruzgold@gmail.com. I'll choose my favourite entry and notify the winner on the 22nd, and post their blurb on my blog - and I'll ensure that you receive the Scentsy warmer for Christmas!

Tokyo Tonteki in Greenbelt 5

Kim and I had dinner last Saturday in Tokyo Tonteki in Greenbelt 5. Lately, we've been growing fond of the Japanese pork loin-places that have been sprouting in Metro Manila. We've actually tried quite a few already - Yabu, Ginza Bairin in UP Town Centre, Saboten in Serendra, and now, Tokyo Tonteki.

For that evening, it was really because I was looking for fiber in my diet, and Kim pointed out the cabbage salad that was included in the pork loin sets of Tokyo Tonteki. 

I ordered their signature Tonteki, and opted to get the 350g serving, priced at PhP 450.00:

I realised later on that I could have made do with the smaller portions, since the Tonteki was quite heavy. Kim ordered the Chopped Tonteki at PhP 375.00.

I had a feeling that the Stir-Fried Japanese Mushrooms would be interesting, and it did not disappoint. The side-dish had three different types of mushroom, although I was only able to identify the enoki and shiitake, but at PhP 250.00, it was so worth it:

Tokyo Tonteki's dishes come with unlimited servings of Japanese rice, cabbage salad, and miso soup - so if you were to really look at it, their prices really pack in value for your money.

It was a satisfying dinner, and should you feel the urge to try their juicy pork loin steaks, or the mushrooms, then their details are below:

Tokyo Tonteki
2nd Level, Greenbelt 5, Ayala Center, Makati
telephone number: 02.744.8652

Aomori Cafe in Northeast Square, Greenhills

While waiting for the staff in Garden Barn to organise the Philips Umbra shades that we purchased, Mommy and I decided to have something light for lunch - just having survived my birthday buffet dinner the night prior.

We saw a coffee shop at the ground floor of Northeast Square that was selling fine-bone china tea pots and tea cups, and bric a brac from London. They had cute character tea pots that would add colour to any tea party. What really sealed the deal for my mother to stay were their plush velvet seats - she's such a fan of purple velvet. 

We ordered their Gratinated Smoked Fish Pate, Gruyere, and Toasted Breads, reasonably priced at PhP 118.00:

My mom ordered the Beauty Tea which was only PhP 108.00, and was served in this tea pot and cup set, which they also sold in the shelves lining the walls:

And I ordered the Iced Lychee Tea which was only PhP 98.00. It had sinkers also:

The coffee shop also had sundry items for sale, such as clocks from London, which were priced at around PhP 4,000.00 to PhP 5,000.00, as well as salad dressings from Thailand. When we were there last November 28, some of the dressing was on sale at 40% off. 

Do visit them if you plan on going to Garden Barn. There's ample basement parking space in Northeast Square, but if I were you, I'd really make a beeline for multiple establishments there already - like hit Power Mac for repairs, then go shopping for Umbra items or Brabantia bins in Garden Barn, then have your hair or nails done in the salons, before deciding to relax in the coffee shop. 

If you're interested in contacting Aomori, their details are below:

Aomori

LG, Northeast Square, Connecticut Street

Greenhills, San Juan

telephone number: 02.724.1952

After Greenhills, Mommy and I decided to fetch Daddy and drag him to the original Philippine Pottery Barn - DAPITAN!

Here's a shot of a stall that we visited in Dapitan:

There, we went loco and purchased a tall clear vase and Mason Jars with handles!

Philips Umbra Room Stylers Shades in Garden Barn

Since my birthday fell on Thanksgiving this year, Mommy and I decided to go out on a Black Friday drive around Metro Manila the following day.

Whenever my mother feels ill, window-shopping (or plain shopping) always makes her feel better.

Our first stop for that Friday was Garden Barn in North East Square in Greenhills. I wanted to update several stainless steel lamps that I was able to purchase from Serendra's garage sale so I went around looking for Philips Umbra Room Stylers shades - which used to be readily available in your friendly neighbourhood Handyman store.

These shades, however, have been pulled out and are now only being sold directly by the importer, Garden Barn, in their showroom in Greenhills.

Now, I'm sure this information is going to be pretty useful, since I had gone around trying to research what options for shades I had available here in Metro Manila - and unless you want to get bespoke shades from Keystone (at bespoke prices of course), these Philips Umbra shades are actually quite an affordable alternative. Their prices range from PhP 325.00 to PhP 495.00, and come in a variety of shapes, sizes, heights, and color.

Above are some samples of the shades that are available in Garden Barn. They have these in beige, in grey, brown (both dark, bordering on purplish, and a light mocha shade) and red.

For the stainless steel lamps from the bazaar, I purchased a brown shade, sample of the color from their HK website borrowed below:

It only cost me Php 395.00 per shade. Coincidentally, it is the same colour and style I purchased for a mother and child lamp I had updated early this year.

I also bought a red small shade priced at PhP 325.00 for a colourful Brunei jar my mother had wanted to convert into a lamp:

I'm sure a lot of DIY-ers, like me, have probably asked this question: Where can I buy shades for my lamp?

If you want to update the look of your lamps, feel free to visit Garden Barn, and check out their assortment of Philips Umbra Room Stylers shades.

Garden Barn
UG North East Square, Connecticut Street,
Greenhills, San Juan
telephone number: 02.654.9068
opening hours: Mondays to Saturdays (10:00AM to 7:00PM)

Merced Bake House

When I was a child, I would throw a hissy fit if they didn't serve a Merced cake for my birthday.

Seriously, there was one birthday, I might have been 10 or 11 when some idiot (definitely notify parents since they know how pihikan I am) decided to purchase a Goldilocks cake for my birthday. I refused to go down for the birthday celebration, making the guests wait for me to blow the candle, unless there was a Merced cake.

Then I grew up and birthdays ended up being celebrated in restaurants where they usually have complimentary cake for the celebrant for the blowing of the candles - and Merced got pushed out of the picture.

I made a request from my mom this year, if they can source a Merced cake for my 7th Annual 25th Birthday Celebration. Mommy did not disappoint, and she bought me a cake from Merced!

Merced has been around since 1972, and they're still located along EDSA. They're right before Quezon Ave., in front of the Quezon Ave. Flyover.

They have quite a selection of cakes now, and my parents got a chiffon cake with mango-flavored icing - I guess their take on Mango Bravo.

If you're like me, and grew up to Merced cakes for your birthday, why not have a nostalgic birthday by ordering a cake from them, here are their details:

Merced Bake House
869 EDSA, Quezon City
telephone numbers: 02.924.2108
email: mercedbake@yahoo.com.ph

Scentsy Warmers in Manila

I was so psyched when I discovered a treasure trove of Scentsy warmers in Metro Manila. So psyched, I ended up buying - scratch that - hoarding so many Scentsy warmers!

I know, Scentsy is a multi-level marketing company, but you have to admit, their warmers are so beautiful. In a previous post, I was raving about Candle Warmers, Etc, well now, I'll be talking about Scentsy!

I don't understand why they still have no Scentsy Consultants here in Manila, their warmers would be such a hit. Price point of the warmers are comparable to those sold by Mia Maison in malls, although when I checked recently, the prices of Mia Maison are down almost 50%. The Scentsy designs I was able to plunder were:

Scentsy Hugs and Kisses Warmer

Scentsy Lotus Warmer

Scentsy Cascade Caldera Warmer

Scentsy Nod Warmer (from the Whimsical Collection)

Scentsy Give Thanks Warmer

I had such a challenge researching the names for the warmers online, and I am still unsure about the name of the cream-colored warmer. The rest, I would say, I am about 90% sure these are what they're called. Now, most of them are discontinued, and it seems that the factory that manufactures these designs might be located here in Manila, hence I was able to buy several of them. The Lotus warmer is what I'm using in my bedroom, currently, and  I was the one who took a picture of it, atop my antique night table.

Since we're playing favourites, my mother being a pastor, her favourite is the Give Thanks Warmer.

Now here, as I must have explained in my previous post, we don't really use scented wax - although Mia Maison also sells these. We use oil diluted in water, and it basically works the same manner.

To celebrate the beautiful discovery of Scentsy warmers at such affordable prices, I purchased a scent from Mia Maison. Currently, we're burning the Pine-scent at home, to give a Christmas-vibe.

I am so excited for the warmers, and for this week, since I will be celebrating my birthday! This weekend, I'll be checking in New World Hotel in Greenbelt to celebrate my 7th 25th birthday!

Kim and I also celebrated our anniversary in Crowne Plaza Galleria Manila a couple of weeks back, and he has gorgeous pictures of the room we had on the Club Floor. It was truly a relaxing stay-cation for that weekend. I'll be sharing the pictures in a separate post. I'll keep you posted for more!