lunch on a rainy Thursday

Haven't seen Patty in ages so we decided to meet up for lunch at the Empire Deli & Restaurant at the Venice Piazza last week. I first found out about the place from my friend Nabs, I think she saw it being featured in a television show before. Anyway, to understand what all the buzz was about I recommended to Patty that we have lunch at Empire Deli to try out the place.

I wasn't able to take pictures of the interior, but I have to say that it is quite small inside. I like that the design etiquette's a bit minimalist. Honestly though, I didn't really notice all the details of the interiors because I was distracted by how cold the AC was haha!

On to the food, Patty had the Fried Chicken Fingers served with rice and honey mustard dipping sauce while I had the Reuben Sandwich (fresh corned beef, sauerkraut, cheddar cheese, thousand island dressing) served with a side of fries and salad. Wasn't really able to ask Patty how her food was. My sandwich was actually good, not amazing, but really good. Then again, maybe it was too cold in the restaurant for me to fully enjoy and appreciate my food. Will definitely have to go back to give a better review. Anyway, taste-wise the Reuben's not bad. I love the melted cheddar cheese. The sauerkraut was not overwhelmingly sour and it actually enhanced the taste of the corned beef. The balance of different tastes was spot on. The side salad was also good, although I would've preferred if they didn't put any olives in it. I mean, I'm obsessed with olives but I don't think it should be added in all salads.

My Reuben Sandwich served with salad and fries

See the melted Cheddar Cheese? :) soooo yummy

Patty's Fried Chicken Fingers

I want to try the other items on the menu, specifically the Truffled Carbonara and the Stuffed Cuban Sandwich ;) I will definitely go back to Empire Deli & Restaurant. But please, do turn down the AC a bit heehee :)

* Empire Deli & Restaurant is located at the ground floor of the Venice Piazza, McKinley Hill, Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City. It's right beside Blackwood Bistro. You can also check its website here

yummy yummy ramen

The first time I've had ramen (EVER) was at the HK airport back in 2009. Yeah, I know loser-ish. Anyway, finally gave in to my ramen cravings yesterday when my friend/diyosa-mate-at-work (haha!) Ren and I had lunch at Ramen Bar at the Venice Piazza in Upper McKinley. We got there just in time before the place got packed, since the piazza's surrounded by offices and everyone's out for their lunch breaks.

I must say, the food's really good! I'd definitely go back and bring my family/friends there. Of course Ren and I had the big bowls. I mean, what's the point of going to Ramen Bar and then end up not eating ramen? Helleeeew. Okay, so I ordered the Shoyu Ramen (Soy infused Tonkotsu Ramen, topped with tamago,naruto, negi, and chasyu) while Ren had the Sapporo Miso Ramen (Miso infused Tonkotsu Ramen, topped with tamago, naruto, negi, chasyu, butter and corn). The only criticism I have isn't really about the taste, it's more on how sorta messy eating it can be. I guess it's because of the chopsticks, since these weren't made of wood. The chopsticks you use are the washable ones, and it's hard to properly get a hold of the noodles because they slide off the chopsticks and soup ends up getting splashed on your clothes. If you're thinking of the price, I can say the food's reasonably priced. A big bowl of Shoyu Ramen costs about 280 pesos, while a big bowl of Sapporo Miso Ramen costs 320 pesos.

my Shoyu Ramen

Ren's Sapporo Miso Ramen

If you're in the Taguig/The Fort area, you can drop by Ramen Bar at the Venice Piazza, Upper McKinley. I think the first branch is in Eastwood, Libis Quezon City. You can also check out Ramen Bar's facebook page.

nothing like sweets and coffee to perk you up on a cold, rainy day

A typhoon just passed by Manila so it's been raining cats and dogs the past two days. Before going home, my brother Coby and I decided to drop by Chocolate Kiss near the Tomas Morato area (yes, there's a branch there right beside the main branch of Papemelroti). We had the Chocolate Kiss Suite, which has three sample slices of any cake flavor you want. We had Kahlua, Devil's Food Cake, and Carrot Cake--all three are TDF! I had a cup of cappuccino to satisfy my caffeine craving.

After Chocolate Kiss, I dragged my brother to the Papemelroti shop and I must say it's a really pretty store. Definitely eye candy! Papemelroti's main store deserves a post of its own and I will have to go back to take pictures of all the lovely items there. Of course I had to buy a few things, and I'll share this with y'all soon.

The week's almost up and I feel sad because I really don't want it to end, mainly because things have been happening so fast and it's as if I'm running out of time to accomplish the endless list of things I need to do. Workaholic, tsk tsk. Oh well, I'll be having a bit of fun this weekend. My friend's a member of the Ateneo de Manila College Glee Club (ACGC) and they have concert this Saturday which I'll be watching. I miss singing! Watching the concert will make me miss it even more. Hopefully former chorale friends will be able to watch as well.

I hope this week was awesome for everyone :)

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Work's been such a blast, but it seems like I've been obsessing over making sure things are running smoothly before I fly off to another project that I haven't been able to really go out and have a bit of fun. I have been able to go out for dinner or coffee with friends, but no out-of-town trips....yet ;)

So many things I miss doing! I miss:

- eating out every month, trying a new restaurant

- cooking

- having spontaneous Tagaytay ukay trips

- the beach!

- spa days, spending literally half a day in the spa getting a massage,facials, and what-not

- photo walks!

- doing laps on the pool; my body's aching for a bit of work out (harhar)

- blogging everyday

Work's been so awesome and inspiring that I've consistently been dressing up for work. Considering I can just go to the "office" wearing jeans, a plain shirt, and slippers haha! I'd like to think that I'm trying to influence my staff that dressing better for work influences how you do your job and how you feel about what you do. I seriously believe that what you wear affects the dignity of work.

It just started to rain, and I'm worried about tomorrow. I'll be surprising people on field tomorrow, so wish me luck that it won't be flooded in the area where I'll be visiting 0_0

silky smooth

The blouse, that is ;) I bought this lovely top during one of my thrift shop adventures a few weeks ago with my cousin. The fabric's silk and I just love the fact that even if it was disgustingly hot the day I wore this, I still felt fresh and not icky. The fabric of one's outfit does make all the difference as to how you'll feel the entire day. The only thing not thrifted in my outfit are my shoes and the bag (nude pumps from Lady Rustan's and ze bag's from Zara...me and my obsession with huge bags haha).

To explain my absence from the blogging world for the past two weeks, I have been extremely lazy to post about anything. I guess I've been so busy and tired with work lately that the creative side of my brain's a bit pooped as well. I am planning to go on a mini-vaca maybe two weekends from now as I really think I need to disconnect myself from the city and just relax. Am thinking of spending a night or two at the T House in Tagaytay or maybe just lock myself in a hotel room. Or maybe I could spend an entire day at the spa, haha! What do you suggest I do to relax on a weekend?

such a rarity

As most of my friends would attest, the color palette of my daily outfits would consist of white, gray, black, or brown. I've been trying so hard to inject a bit more color in my wardrobe, as I don't want people to think I'm old(er).

Here's the thing, my new job doesn't really require me to dress up. I can just wear jeans, a decent blouse, ballet flats, a pair of pearl earrings and I'd still look overdressed. Haha! Since I'm (sort of) the boss, I need to look presentable and respectable. Not really the type to care about what other people think about what I wear...so I decided to wear this to work just this Monday...

...so...so...colorful! :) I've had this red skirt since I was a junior in college so you can just imagine how long this has been with me. It used to be 4 inches longer, and I could have worn it before without having it trimmed but risk looking like a hobbit. Kidding. Anyway, I decided to wear the skirt with a plain, cream colored shirt. To add a bit of pizzazz (whatevs), I also wore my pink scarf which I got from H&M in HK almost 2 years ago. By the way, I have not worn those nude pumps in 2 years! Those babies have sentimental value as they were a gift from my late grandfather, Capt. Jake to many of his friends and colleagues, but Lolo Jake to me and my cousins.

It's been a while since I did an outfit post. Been quite lazy to post any, to be honest. Lots of outfit post-worthy get ups, but I haven't really been as patient with blogging as of late.

...I suddenly just realized I have quite a few backlog posts 0_0

Shout out to my fabulous friend Annick! ;) Please do check out her (mis)adventures in the land down under in her blog Annick in Aussie & Then Some :)