Chocolate review: The Freefood Co. Coco Dolce 65% Dark Chocolate

Chocolate review: The Freefood Co. Coco Dolce 65% Dark Chocolate

We picked up a few chocolates at the Philippine products and souvenirs section of Rustans at the Shangri-la Mall in Mandaluyong. Among those were a couple of bars from The Freefod Co. We have tasted one of their Coco Dolce line but it was their milk chocolate with rice crisps.Coco Dolce 65% Dark ChocolateDetails [...]

Seifuku, Gil Fernando Ave., Marikina City

Seifuku, Gil Fernando Ave., Marikina City

We have eaten at Seifuku several times but that was when we were still residing at a subdivision nearby along Marcos Highway. We have not dined or lunched there in more than 3 years. And so when my father expressed his wanting to eat Japanese food, I took him to Seifuku where I knew they had a good [...]

Vietnamese dinner - Part 3

Vietnamese dinner - Part 3

I interrupt my series of art postings with a retro topic. I was checking how many drafts I had waiting to be completed when I noticed there seemed to be one missing from the more recent ones I started writing. It turned out I left out one draft from way back in 2013 so this is like something I started [...]

A living room centerpiece by Manuel Baldemor

A living room centerpiece by Manuel Baldemor

A major piece in our collection at home is one by popular artist Manuel Baldemor. We had wanted to own one of his classic pieces before but couldn't afford to buy even one of the smaller paintings we had seen at galleries featuring his work. He is perhaps one of the most in-demand artists despite the [...]

A family of three by Norma Belleza

A family of three by Norma Belleza

Another work of art is one that graces our living room and definitely one of our favorites in our small collection. This oil painting by Norma Belleza depicts a family of three among fruits and fishes. It is a typical scene in many of the artist's paintings. We got this one within about a year after [...]

Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, C5/McKinley

Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, C5/McKinley

Once a week, our daughter attends Kinder Musik. We usually leave our home early so that we will not be hampered by traffic along our usual route. We always pass by the roadside Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf (CBTL) just after the Shell service station across from the Korean Embassy. This is along the northbound [...]

Jeepney by Amador Barquilla

Jeepney by Amador Barquilla

It seemed appropriate for me to acquire a painting with the jeepney as subject. The jeepney is an iconic vehicle in the Philippines and a transport mode that has often been called the "King of the Road." I fancied one by Amador Barquilla in another auction for charity more than 2 years ago (we got the [...]

Art work by Antonio Ko, Jr.

Art work by Antonio Ko, Jr.

I remember the Clairvoyant first showed me a painting by the late artist Antonio Ko, Jr. when we were newlyweds. He had this series of bouquets of different colors that we liked so much we said we'd like to have one in the future. That future was not an immediate one as we couldn't afford to buy one [...]

Chocolate review: Villars Dark Orange

Chocolate review: Villars Dark Orange

Another chocolate that I remember getting at the Cocoa Tree shop at the airport is one from Villars. I had almost forgotten this chocolate and was pleasantly surprised seeing a bar of their dark chocolate with orange at the back of the refrigerator.Villars Dark OrangeDetails on the chocolate at the [...]

Melendres in full bloom

Melendres in full bloom

The melendres in my parents' home is in full bloom. The flowers are bunched into what looks like pom-poms. My mother gave us melendres on a pot as a housewarming gift and we transferred it to a larger pot so it can grow bigger.Melendres in full bloom with my parents' home where I grew up in the background.Close-up [...]