Happy Lemon in Davao!!

-mobile blog post-

After 48 years, I'm finally here in the newly opened (just 2weeks+ old) Happy Lemon in The Peak - Gaisano Mall of Davao. I've been craving for their Rock Salt & Cheese green tea since I heard of it last December 2010 as I'm sucker for sweet-salty foods ;-) Yeah, 2 years have passed before I finally had a chance to taste their signature drink. No, I'm not a loser, just a patient fan from faraway Davao :p

So how was their Green Tea with Rock Salt and Cheese? IT WAS freakin' WORTH THE WAIT!! The (not so) sweet-salty combo was a riot in my mouth, and I was in gustatory heaven! The foam (see the drink on right in the pic above) was to die for, hehe! ^__^ Anyway, the drink on the left was hubby's order- Deluxe Milk Tea with Grass Jelly. It's also good, comparable to the yummiest milk tea we had in Taipei, just a tad heavy on the green tea taste.Ü

www.happy-lemon.com

lil red riding hood in Buda!

Yep, that's Iya in the red jacket :-) We're currently in Seagull Mountain Resort in Buda with my family. I've passed by this place since the early 2000s but it's only now I explored the resort. Highlights: new restaurant that serves affordable and tender steaks, freshwater pools (waterfalls run off), pretty chapel with a view, the cold climate!! :-) Right now my parents and bro are in the pool area while Labsie and me (with Iya of course!) are resting in one of the resort's wooden swings. We're enjoying the cold cold wind slapping our noses red. Hehe! Anyway, we were walking towards the pavilion at the edge of the resort and got tired- the result of thin mountain air + our aging bodies- thus we rested for a bit here in the swing (and I live mobile blogged) ^__^

Coffee Cat bonding ^_^

That’s us, the early birds above! And that’s me in the middle, wearing pink of course. Hehe! Despite getting stranded in various places in the city due to strong rains and winds, we three managed to get to the meeting place (Coffee Cat in Torres St.) first =) Of course, we were all wet! Didn’t matter though, we jumped right in to chatting and updating each other with our lives. Here are more photos when the other doctors arrived last Friday night:

Thank you to Ate Grace for organizing this meetup! And to Aura for the pretty mini-birthday cake you gave me. It was delicious! =) See you soon guys!

our foodie weekend!

We had a very stressful Friday as I wrote HERE. The next two days weren't much different. We were traveling to and fro, rushing here and there. The good thing was Labsie and I were stuffed with food the whole two days of Saturday and Sunday! LOL! June 6 (Sat) was my brother's birthday and my hubby's grandpa's birthday too. Since my bro resides far, far away from us, we just contented ourselves with greeting him on phone and the web. As for Daddy Bert (the grandpa), we went to Panabo (Labsie's hometown) for a lunch feast. My hubby had a graveyard shift the night before so badly need sleep but still off we went! At Panabo, we had super-fresh grilled panga, fried lumpia and the requisite noodles for long life. Then Labsie went to sleep and we went home by 7pm, another 2 hour ride.

Sunday we were just catching our breath in our home when Labsie's dad called around lunch saying we will eat at Cafe Marco buffet in Marco Polo Hotel. Yeah, the only 5-star hotel in Davao! Tired as we were, we couldn't say no to this gastronomic opportunity. Hehe! Off we went to downtown and stuffed our selves with gourmet food. I tell you, I can barely walk after. I was too full!! I was even making gagging sounds, LOL! :p My father in law then announced that there's a dinner feast with his relatives later that night. Of course we were required to attend. We then went home, slept for 3 hours and went to the party. As expected, Labsie and I ate sparingly. We were still full from the buffet! LOL! Yup, it's definitely"what a weekend!" for us ;-)

1 week to wedding day..

..and still so many LIL things to do!! =I I'm halfway done with our AVP (audio-visual presentation), still gotta add gift tags to our giveaway wines (finished sticking our customized wine labels), email Amore Musicians with our song choices, give Kent Photography our chosen prenuptial pics, talk to church florist, confirm our Palawan tours, finalize guest list and make table guest plan, etc, etc. I know brides should not dwell on the small details but I revel in it -- I just hope I won't run out of time!

Already, my relatives are telling me to relax and sleep so that I'll be radiant on October 8. However, my mind just refuses to cooperate! Back when I was reviewing for our board exam, I was asleep by 10-11pm -- but now, I'm up til 2-3am. Wahhh! Definitely not good for my skin! And no amount of makeup can hide dull, tired and old-looking skin =(

Anyway, here are some pictures of our food-tasting in Grand Regal Hotel a few days ago. The cream puffs (photo above) were sooo cute! Hehe! ^_^ The butter and choco moist cupcakes (flavor tasting for our wedding cake) are from Mam Joy of Cake Temptations. I looove their butter cupcakes!!! But Labsie wants the choco rocky road.. Hmm..

sneak peek: our prenuptial pictorial ^_^

Patikim lang mga pare! Hehe! =) We're still busy choosing from the 750+ prenuptial photos we have, andami noh?? Our prenuptial pictorial was a free service (for photo/video packages P28000 and up) from Kent Photography. We had two costume changes, 7 mini-locations, and lots of doves! It was so much fun! Labsie and I realized how gruelling modeling can be, hahaha! ^_^ Anyway, can you guess where we had our prenuptial pictorial?

post-birthday blogpost

So, I just turned 27 years old last July 18 -- no big earthquakes as "predicted" by that Brazilian "seer" (was he Brazilian? I forgot!), just more news of increasing gas prices. Blech! Anyway, to all those who greeted me via Friendster, email, text and phone call -- THANKS! You made my day guys! ^_^ So what did I do during my birthday? I still reviewed for my August board exam in the morning, watched The Dark Knight (must-see movie!!) with Labsie during the afternoon, and had dinner with the family in El Torro that night.

El Torro is a Spanish restaurant in Habana Compound, Rizal St., Davao City run by the owner of De Bonte Koe (a European resto next to it). I was longing for a Paella that day so where else could I go?? =) The service in El Torro was impeccable, the food tastes authentic, and I had the most fun time -- the servers sang Happy Birthday to me and presented my dessert with sparklers and a lighted birthday candle! I can't even remember the last time I blew a candle! ^_^ Yup, the 27th celebration of my natal day was certainly memorable!

Ted's LaPaz Batchoy!

Morning guys! After shopping the whole afternoon in SM Mandurriao (one of the 3 SM malls in Iloilo!) yesterday, we just rested in our hotel. SM was having a 3-day sale and since my lolas are shopping addicts, SM was a priority. Hehe!Ü We just finished our breakfast in Ted's LaPaz Batchoy here. There is also Ted's in Davao but the batchoy broth there was oily, salty and MSG-laden :-S The broth here is almost clear, flavorful but not salty and with a hint of sweet taste. I demolished my special batchoy in 10min, hehe!

was able to join Davao Food Trip #8!

Read all about it HERE and HERE! =)

my parents are back!

And we're having dinner right now in Jack's Ridge per Mama's request. As usual the air is refreshingly cold, there are many people, and the food service is slow. LOL!Ü So far, after 30 minutes, the only food that arrived is Chicharon Bulaklak. Hehe! But, as they say, that meant more time to enjoy Jack's Ridge's ambiance :-)

can't post via my phone!

THIS POST IS NOT FROM MY PHONE =)

For the past few days, I can't blog from my SE K800i phone. I don't know what's wrong -- or from what end the blog posting error is coming from. Is it from my phone? Or from Blogger/BlogSpot's end? It's so darn infuriating since I have lots to share. Yes, the past few days of my life have been quite interesting, well at least to me. Hehe! Last Sunday (December 9), we went to Kidapawan for my grandfather's death anniversary and as usual, there was a handaan (food feast) full of Pinoy dishes. Yum yum! =)

Then the next day (December 10), Labsie brought me the first book (Scorpion) of L5R's Clan War series. I'm addicted to Legend of the Five Rings (L5R) and this is the first time I've read it again since college. Man, I totally missed Rokugan! =I And then just today (December 12), we went to Q Resto in Damosa where they served EAT ALL YOU CAN greaseless fried chicken, rice and iced tea for only P150! Too bad Labsie was too full to get a second serving of the yummy chicken! He was served half of a very plump chicken for starters and apparently, that was quite enough for him. Hehe!

I can't wait to photo blog again! Once everything is okay, look for the individual posts of the stuff I mentioned above below this post. I saved the posts and its corresponding photos on my phone already. I only have to publish it here. Anyway, here are more Christmas surveys from dNeero:

AHFAT!

Finally I get to taste Ahfat's super yummy Chinese cuisine again! It's been a long while since our family ate here, more than 3 months I think.Ü As usual we ordered the family favorites of eight treasure soup, fried spicy spare ribs and sea cucumber with pork tendons :-) If you're a foodie who's been to Davao and never ate in Ahfat, shame on you! Hehe!

SALUTTI

The title is in italian but I don't know what it means, hehe! For a food lover living in Davao, Salutti means a whole lot. Why? Coz its the home of the tenderest, flavorest (is there such a word?? lol), yummiest SALPICAO in this side of the world! And I'm not exaggerating, swear! Hehe!Ü Labsie and I are celebrating our 98th monthsary, and tonight we're treating ourselves to Salutti's Eggplant Dip with Crostini, Alfredo with roasted garlic, and their (word of mouth) famous Salpicao. Mmm good! :-) Oh yeah, the pic above shows the Parmesan cheese shaker (the red container) and do you know what that means? UNLIMITED Parmesan on our dishes! The best!Ü Salutti is located in the Habana Compound, Rizal St., Davao City.

lunch at Tatut's

Looks homey huh? Nope, this is not our kitchen. Though I wish ours is like this, full of cutie country knick-knacks and what-nots :-) Labsie and I are here in Tatut's, a new food place in front of Shakey's Duterte (near JS). We're having lunch and I can't help but admire the place. I actually took lots of photos coz there were no other customers. Yay!Ü Food rating? GOOD! Do try their pancit malabon and spring chicken -- yummy! Damage? Only P150!

P.S. Yup, that's my bf in the photo =)

Zakoya Japanese Buffet

Hi guys! Today is the 26th wedding anniversary of my parents and to celebrate it, we had buffet dinner at a Japanese resto. Super yummy!Ü This is also where we celebrated my birthday last July. For more food pics, go to TongueTemptations.us -- my food blog. Will post the full story of our Japanese culinary adventure there soon! =)

~Hagar's Place~

Its our 95th monthsary today and as per our custom, we eat out somewhere fancy. For tonight, we dine in a place that was in Davao since we were kids. I often pass by this bar before but now its more than just a bar- its almost like a family place! The kind of resto where you dine with your family on Sundays.. As im typing this on my SE k800i, there's a family reunion happening on its grounds. FUN! :-) You might have guessed from the title of the post that we're in Hagar's Place, this resto-bar is located in Lanang. Would like to tell you more about it but the food's here, so ciao for now! Mmm, the T-bone steak smells good!Ü