Coco Fresh Tea and Juice: 3 Buddies Milk Tea

There's this new milk tea place that opened just recently at SM Fairview and Terai and I decided to give it a try because... ewan haha, we like to try a lot of foods talaga, and this one caught our interest because it looked successful (as per the posters hehe) so their selections must be great! from the posters inside, we learned that it's a Taiwan based milk tea company which has branched out world wide, celebrating with more than a thousand outlets already! and the one at SM Fairview is their 1,960th branch lang naman haha. wow.

being that it's our first time, it's imperative that we try their bestseller so we ordered a regular 3 Buddies Milk Tea. It has 3 toppings (which ironically sits under the cup, as with everywhere else haha): grass jelly, pudding, and pearl, all swimming in the customary black tea... with milk. hehe

the grass jelly reminded us of the taste of seaweed or nori, the but the kind that is very very mild and not salty at all. it's a good contrast to the pudding which is only mildly sweet and is like a tamed leche flan, and the pearl which is the usual sweet and chewy sago. the 3 Buddies Milk tea is definitely a good mix, and it's only 90 pesos! they also have a 2 Ladies version naman which has pudding and pearl only as toppings, betcha it's as yummy!

it was awesome. bow. it's now my new favorite milk tea place, next to Cobo! actually, i find it unusual that the two stores are just a letter away. are they arch rivals or something? haha

there's not much room to sit around as their seats can accommodate around 10 people only but the place is cool and very summery. hehe

here's the menu on their LED screen, odiba mura lang? if you can afford Gong Cha, kering keri lang to.

that's it for my first visit, will definitely go back to try out more of their selections! if you have walked past this tea shop and haven't gotten around to trying it, i tell you, TRY IT OUT. their 3 Buddies Milk Tea is super haveyyy.

Coco Tea is located at SM Fairview UGF, Annex 1
https://www.facebook.com/CoCoTeaPhilippines
http://www.coco-tea.com/

Yoshinoya! a family favorite

i've been meaning to create a post entirely dedicated to my favorite fast casual restaurant, Yoshinoya, but it always gets hammered into my daily rants. i also almost called it a fast food restaurant, but it's all too clean and not too un-healthy looking to be called such, plus my sister confirmed that it isn't a fast food resto, the way main courses are made to order and all. okay. enough.

i must say, Yoshinoya has been a family favorite since yeaaars back before they decided to put on brighter orange walls, and totally eliminate free red ginger from the condiments area (sucks). i'm happy for the big changes they've been up to, only shows how they're growing bigger and bigger! yeyy! at least i'm assured they won't be gone, like my almost favorite italian restaurant Bigoli.

anyway, things just got better when they opened a branch at Fairview Terraces! that means more yoshi sunday lunches for meee!



as for my favorites, this is how it always goes for me:

 chicken teriyaki bowl, miso soup, 2 servings of red ginger, and green tea

my favorite. the chicken teriyaki is very flavorful and the contrasting steamed vegetables go along with it so well. the rice is sticky and yummy, it may look a lot for a bowl but it's more than enough to fill. you couldn't go wrong with this! all for 200 pesos, or 190 cos you can actually just ask for red ginger from the service crew, and that's a tip from the cashier herself. hehe <3

i've never really tried any other major course, aside from my sister's usual gyudon bowl and the occasional katsudon (which are booooth yummy) kasi i'm loyal to my combo. hahaha

anyway, here's a gyudon bowl:

it literally translates to beef bowl and has soy sauce marinated beef strips on top of steaming rice! it's worth php 119 and is the favorite of my sister, my dad, and my boyfriend. haha

i love their bowls. i thought we could apply this at home, you know, eating on bowls haha. i find it easier to wash bowls cos it's easier to hold haha wala lang.

if you haven't tried eating here, i urge you to try it! the food is great, the prices are affordable, and the ambience is bright and cool. although the bright orange walls don't give off much of the japanese resto feel (most japanese restos are full of blacks kasi), the food will! plus the service crews are dressed in kimono uniforms so there's more 'feel' points to it haha.

so far, Yoshinoya has the following branches at metro manila: SM North Edsa, Ayala Fairview Terraces, SM Megamall, Robinsons Galeria, Glorietta, SM Mall of Asia, and SM Manila.... aaand i'm proud to say i've eaten in 6 (out of 7) of them! talk about loyal! haha >XD

teaching at kids church: whatever it takes!

it's my official first day as a teacher! yeheyyy! after 3 sundays of observing, my co-newbie, terai, and i got to host this morning's service and what can i say, it was soooo fun! the night before i was really nervous like sana hindi matuloy haha, it was my first time to host in an audience full of kids and i didn't know what to expect haha. but then, keri lang! enjoy rin pala! i mean, the kids can be extremely magulo and makulit but i enjoyed it. they were all responsive. hahaha. it was exhausting but it was really fun.

i decided i'd serve at the primary level, that's 7-10 years old, because, uhm, i really don't know. haha. you know, i almost wanted to quit, not because i didn't like the job but because i get these regular bouts of laziness every time my phone chimes at 7:30am. i always think, man i haven't had enough sleeeeeep! but in spite of those, terai and i still get up, and rush to church, almost unwillingly. then the teachers converge, we pray, and i get excited again, realizing that these horrible lazy bouts are but attacks of the devil to a keep a teacher from teaching children about Jesus. naks. haha

every time i enter the kids church and get into prayer with the co-teachers, i feel like my faith is being reinforced. there's a sense of responsibility settling in. sabi nga ni kuya jaylord, there was a study which states that a person's acceptance rate of Jesus Christ is at peak (80-85%) when they're in the ages 4-14. this made me realize how critical it is to send the children to kids church or sunday school in their formative years, so that they get to know about Jesus at an early age. these kids are our future after all and we'll never know how they'll grow up to be! >XD


anyway... i asked my mom if she chose to be a Christian and wasn't just brought up as one (like i am), and she said yes, she chose to be one. i asked her what her choices were then, and she said it wasn't a choice between religions, but a choice between being a Christian or a non-Christian. and between the two, she chose the former because it has led her to a good life, a good set of beliefs, it brings out the best in her, and she's content with her faith. and while it's true that other faiths may produce the same good willed, and blessed person that she could be, she dare not explore on the possibility because she's happy where she is.

after being posed with the same question months back, i thought, yeah maybe i never really had a choice, i was just blessed to be brought up like this. but realizing what my mom had said, i believe i don't need to compare all religions to gauge which one's telling the most bearable truth. and, i did have a choice too. i could be a non-christian for all i care and still live happily ever after. but then, i can't imagine myself without God. so i made this choice.

as to ascertaining the rightness of the choices we made, the extent to which we believe that what we believe in is true, i have no concrete ground. but i guess as long as i live without regrets, i wouldn't have to worry about the choice i made. i'll leave it all to faith.

trying out Healthy Monsters salad in a jar

you know how i've always been trying haaaaard to put healthy stuff in my stomach right? but still cannot put off eating junk haha... i've tried juice cleanse and it works, now my mom regularly makes vegetable juices for the family! ngayon naman i want to try eating salads on a regular basis (naaaks regular daw!) because well, i kindof renewed my love for greens... last year i had a phase where i got so addicted to salads but found it hard to maintain on a regular basis cos mahal, and shopping for veggies is pain, tapos ma-effort talaga gumawa ng salad... yeah with all the cleaning and chopping involved. hahaha 

anyway this post is about a shop selling salads in jars! i learned about Healthy Monsters over at instagram while i was trying to search for juice cleanse/detox services and was curious for a while, so i decided to buy a set of 6 jars! >XD 

it was delivered this week and we consumed it in 2 days hihi pero after the first jar i was already fighting off the temptation not to finish the entire 6 jars in a day. bakit baaa there's breakfast, am snack, lunch, meryenda, dinner, pm snack hahaha >XD

2 caesar salads, chia salad, asian salad, nutty salad, and fiesta salad respectively

on with the flavors!



1. Fiesta Salad
mexican dressing, quinoa, cheese, grape tomatoes, romaine lettuce, corn

shared this with the family (along with the chia salad) for breakfast and we all loved it! the dressing was mixed with the quinoa (the small brown rice-like stuff) so there's no dressing cup included in the jar. i kindof complained about it cos i thought they missed to put the dressing but they clarified that it was mixed naman pala. kudos for entertaining my questions! they're really nice sellers to engage with. hehe

anyway, THIS IS MY FAVORITE. i could eat this all day, promise! it's like nacho salad without nachos, beef, and the fattening cheese. yumyum

2. Chia Salad 
chia seed dressing, cucumber, singkamas, arugula, grape tomatoes, romaine

it's my first time to try chia and i couldn't quite get how it tasted cos i'm confusing the dressing with sesame seed dressing haha. nonetheless, this is another awesome salad! we looooved the dressing!

after downing this one we all realized how important it is to prepare healthy and flavorful DRESSINGS.

3. Nutty Salad
strawberry vinaigrette dressing, walnut, almonds, grape tomatoes, arugula, romaine lettuce

no plate shot cos i ate this one right off the jar after shaking it! 

one thing i loved about Healthy Monsters is their innovative packaging! it's meant to be salad on-the-go so you can enjoy it anywhere! i had fun shaking this jar off, it's a good exercise specially if the cheese is kindof stuck at the bottom hahaha >XD 

it's my first time to try strawberry vinaigrette and mehn, ANG SARAP PALA NYA?! i was all OMG OMG NOMNOMNOM with this. i knew i couldn't afford to replicate this one cos walnuts and almonds are mahal but the strawberry vinaigrette is a new favorite for me! i think i saw some Dizon Farms branded strawberry vinaigrette at the supermarket hihihi will try if it fares well! 

4. Asian Salad

asian dressing, carrots, cabbage, corn, romaine lettuce

another healthy jar. ewan ko ba, whenever i eat greens i feel happy and healthy HAHAHA

again, the dressing is superb! you know how they say not to fool yourself with salads because the dressings are packed with murderous amounts of mayo and all the MSG in the world? the typical asian dressing is all that. but this one is different, it's very light, sweet and isn't guilt tripping at all! 

5. Skinny Caesar Salad

skinny caesar dressing, sunflower seeds, croutons, grapes, tomatoes, cheese, romaine lettuce

i was in a hurry to eat this cos i was so hungry na but i still took a quick snap for this blog haha i was at the office din kasi so mej weird if karirin ko pa ang pag picture nito haha. 

THIS IS MY 2ND FAVORITE! you can opt to have honey mustard dressing or the skinny caesar dressing (which is like sesame seed dressing), and i had 2 skinny caesar jars so they gave me both types of dressings for variety. yehey and thanks! >XD

i enjoyed this jar a lot because it's a different take on the normal caesar salads served elsewhere. i thought all salads are named after the dressing and everything under is all the same (salad staples will always be lettuce and tomatoes! haha). when i chowed on this one, it never tasted like the usual caesar salad because the dressing is different! pero grabe ang sarap pa din! >XD

aaaand that's it! 

if you want to start eating clean and healthy but doesn't have the money (yet) to indulge in a juice detox (like i do!), i highly recommend you start taking salad meals at least once or twice a day cos it's relatively cheaper!

but if you don't want all the hassle of picking the right greens and all, washing them and chopping them, and if you're unsure about the healthfulness of the salad dressings available commercially... IN SHORT (andami kong sinabi), if you don't want to prepare your salads yourself... then try out Healthy Monsters!

Healthy Monsters

Instagram: @healthymonstersph

Contact no: 0918-985-6323
Pricing: Php 190.00/jar

disclaimer: not a paid post

so much win!

super thank you Nuffnang Philippines for these awesome prizes!!!!

1) this afternoon i got an email saying i was one of the winners of  this blogger contest sponsored by Sky Cable! woohoo! i just won a month's worth of subscription from Sky Cable... with ALL channels! oh yeah! >XD exciting, in fairness! it has been decades since we experienced cabled TV and quite honestly i wasn't expecting the prize (#chos). i was expecting another prize though! i wanted the Sky Cable gift pack cos well, i'm imagining it's a loot bag of corporate giveaways like notebooks and pens and a tumbler and stufffff and sorina, i love freebies! haha

anywaaaaay... here's the complete list of winners! congratulations to everyone!!! we deserve it! yiii. haha

btw here's my contest entry in case you're interested lang naman no haha: Watch Be Careful with My Heart #TheWayYouWantIt

Thank you so much Sky Cable! >XD


2) also this week, won 2 tickets to a blocked screening of X-Men Days of Future Past tomorrow at Shangri-la Plaza!

looking forward to more contest winnings! i can feel it, sunod sunod na to. haha crossing my fingers on Maleficent next week! haha