A (California) Berry Hot Afternoon

Since the Old Chinatown Kopitiam was closed for the holiday afternoon, my sis and I headed to the recently opened California Berry. Only a few chairs are set up inside the store but more people can be seated outside. My sis was feeling chocoholic for the day so her toppings for the days were Crunch, Oreo and Butterfinger (actually I was the who chose her toppings! hehe). My toppings, on the other hand, are granola, almonds and Twix. I love Twix but it didn't mix well with the yogurt. I don't know if it's the weather but somehow their yogurt melts too fast. =( Their yogurt flavor at that time was green apple. I've tasted their blueberry yogurt and it was yummy!

Chillax at Capreal Ristorante

One hot holiday afternoon, we were headed to Old Chinatown Kopitiam for some kaya toast and kopi but they were closed and will open by 6pm. So we headed to the recently opened California Berry to cool us down (will post a separate entry). After a healthy yogurt fix, my sis was still hungry so we decided to try Capreal. The owner of the restaurant is an HRM graduate from my alma mater (UST) as I discovered in a Manila Bulletin article written some 8 years ago that was posted on the resto's wall. That was cool so I was eager to try their food.

First up, we ordered the Onion soup. It was topped with a slice of bread that has melted mozzarella cheese. The bread with the cheese was yummy and it complements the soup. The onions in the soup were underdone. My sis and I prefer it be caramelized so we can taste the onion. But I couldn't taste the onion in this dish too well although they used butter which is a plus for me. My sis couldn't help regretting that we should've ordered the pumpkin soup instead (oh well, there's always next time).


We also ordered the Curry Seafood Pasta as our main merienda dish. I simply love it! Although it's on the oily side but they really have a generous amount of seafood in their pasta. Great value for the price, really.


They even have free iced tea or coffee with their pasta (from 2pm to 6pm).


And my most favorite part, dessert! Their Fudge Brownie ala mode is the best dessert I've had in weeks! The brownie was fresh from the oven and topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream (they use Big Scoop which is my absolute fave!) and drizzled with chocoloate syrup. The brownie was not too sweet which makes is not subject to umay. I can't believe that it has walnuts in the brownie and this is only for 70 bucks! Too sweet a deal! =D


Definitely, I need to go back and try other items or I wouldn't mind going back for their fudge brownie ala mode. ;)

Late Dinner at Mien San

As a late celeb of Steph's b-day and on the eve of Edward's b-day, we went out to eat at Mien San. I couldn't remember the names of each dish but all were delish! =)

"Clear the Stage" -- Clear Your Heart and Make Room for Him

What is worship to you? Ross King reminds us that worship is not just about singing praises to the Lord. It is not limited to the 'Praise & Worship' portion in church every Sunday. Worship is more than a song; more than uttering glorification to the Lord. It is a way of life where it reflects what is in our hearts.

Clear the Stage is a great song by Ross King. It is a reminder for me to put God first before anything else. A reminder to hate sin and live a life for Jesus. Every single day is an experience to witness God's love in our lives. Let the love of the Lord be the inspiration to do all things and let it be that our mission in life is to glorify Him in every single thing that we do. It is also a reminder to focus our attention not to the world but to our Creator whom we will be reunited some day. Thank you God for your grace, mercy and love. =)

Anger Management

What should we do when we are feeling angry? When our blood begins to simmer then boil over that turns our faces bright red and our head swimming, what do we need to remember? Hmmm..

"Anger exposes foolishness and lack of discernment" -- Hugh Hefner

Proverbs 14:29 - A patient man has great understanding, but a quick-tempered man displays folly.

Ecclesiastes 7:9 - Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger resides in the lap of fools.

Proverbs 19:11 - A man’s wisdom gives him patience;it is to his glory to overlook an offense.

Proverbs 16:32 - Better a patient man than a warrior, a man who controls his temper than one who takes a city.

* Anger produces STRIFE.

Proverbs 15:1 - A gentle answer turns away wrath,but a harsh word stirs up anger.

Proverbs 15:18 - A hot-tempered man stirs up dissension, but a patient man calms a quarrel.

Proverbs 30:33 - For as churning the milk produces butter, and as twisting the nose produces blood, so stirring up anger produces strife.

Take note that not all anger is bad. Anger towards sin is good because in that way, we reject sin in our life. But more often than not, we can't control our anger. So we should avoid having dissension/conflict even if it resulted from 'righteous anger'.

* The Bible makes it clear who is in control

Ephesians 4:31 - Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.

Ephesians 6:4 - Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.

Colossians 3:8 - But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.

Psalm 37:8 - Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret—it leads only to evil.

Here, we see it clearly that we are commanded to remove any anger and rage from our life. As discussed in the first point, anger just exposes our foolishness. Even if it is a good anger, we may not be able to control our emotions which can lead to evil (Ps. 37:8). The Bible also tells us who is responsible for our anger. Usually, we blame other people for it, we blame our situation, we blame life and sometimes we blame God. We can say that it's not our fault since we were only provoked that's why we went crazy mad. But God tells us that we, ourselves, are the who should get rid of all emotions of anger and bitterness in our hearts because we are the one responsible for our actions. How do we do that? Read on..

* Wrong ways how to handle it

1. Ignore it

2. Just let it out - dangerous

3. Store it - explode or death

These three are the common misconception when it comes to dealing with our anger-related conflicts. Ignoring it doesn't resolve anything. Letting it out is just as useless, once we've lashed out hurtful words, it would be difficult to take it back. Keeping the anger to ourselves and not letting it go is like a sleeping volcano waiting to erupt.

Matthew 5:23-24

23 “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift."

* Value of Man's Anger

James 1:19-20

19 My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, 20 for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.

* Bible's golden principle

Ephesians 4:26 - “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry

What to do: Be honest with yourself and God (Example, Jesus in the garden)

1. Identify sources of anger

2. Determine to settle it

3. Release it

a. Spiritually - pray and seek answers in the word; seek for Godly counsel

b. Mentally - accept the situation and leave in God's hands

c. Emotionally - forgive and let it go

d. Physically - exhale, sports, time alone, sleep, movie, laughter, shop, clean

The next time that you feel that you will be angry, remember how you can release it (spiritually, mentally, emotionally and physically).

God bless!

Dinner at Cafe Juanita

At the heart of Kapitolyo, Pasig is Cafe Juanita -- Filipino food at its finest. We dined at the new Cafe Juanita, very elegent with its East Asian decors and endless antique pieces. The old place, as we were informed, is only opened when the new place is already full. So we need not worry of not getting any tables here.


First on our table is the catfish with green mango salad. The catfish on top is fried and needs to be broken down and mixed with the tangy green mango. The dish was deliciously crunchy and sour that will stimulate your appetite at the start of the meal.


I wasn't really a fan of Laing when I was a kid because my sister and my mom told me that it was leaves that was chewed by the pigs before it was cooked (how mean). Anyway, I love Cafe Juanita's Laing because the gata was so creamy and I love anything cooked in gata.


I love the Laing paired with their garlic rice (see picture below).


The next one is new to me, Corned beef and Chorizo Sinigang. Like the usual sinigang, it had lots of veggies in it. Before it was even served to us, our server brought us a sample of the soup to have us taste it so they can adjust the flavor. This was a nice touch so that we didn't have to complain when the dish gets to our table. When we sampled the soup, it lacked the sourness. We were trying to get the attention of the waiter to tell him our finding but he was already carrying the Sinigang dish and putting it on our table and told us "pinaasim na po yan, ma'am". Wow, they're either mindreaders or just really good. LOL.


Lastly, a dish that will make us even younger (as the saying goes), their famous Bagnet. This crispy and oh so delicious bagnet is served on a bed of red and green tomatoes that were tossed in bagoong. This dish was perfect, no complaints.


To end the meal, we had to sample their bestseller desserts. This is the Sticky Toffee Pudding that I've heard so much about. It was served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side (no doubt, they use Big Scoop) and was drizzled with caramel sauce. A sweet ending to a fine meal.


We also had their special cassava cake. A very smooth and creamy cassava cake that's warmed just right so that the cheese on top will also melt in your mouth. Mmmm, so good!


This is definitely a place worth coming back to. Wonderful food and great ambiance. =)

Ristras' Hunka Burrito

Hungry for Mexican food? Let Ristras' huge serving satisfy your craving!


We had a little get-together slash food tripping in San Juan (along J. Abad Santos St.) in a little resto called Ristras Mexican Grill. I've heard about their humongous burrito here that weighed more than a half a kilo.


It's just a little almost crowded space that can accomodate around 60 pax. We also had to wait in line for our orders since there are a lot of people dining on a Saturday night.


This here is their burrito with a side of salsa. Doesn't look big from this angle but believe me, it's huge. We had it sliced into 4 so 4 of us can share a burrito. This is really meaty and generous with the fillings. I also find the tortilla not floury (as some burrito tend to have) which I loved.


We also had nachos that we dipped in salsa and cheese. Try dipping it on both the salsa and the cheese, it's really a delight!


Next, we also had their quesadilla. I think this needs a little more cheese. It doesn't have a really distinct flavor from their burrito aside from the fact that it doesn't have rice in it but this is still yummy.


On the other side of the table, our other 4 friends had the chimichanga which is the fried version of the burrito. Looks yummy though I didn't get the chance to taste it. Maybe next time. =)



They even have burrito shirts for record-holders who can chow down a two-kilo burrito in around an hour.


Dining here at Ristras would be ideal if you have a big group of friends or your family so you get to share and eat more on their menu.

I had fun with you guys! Sa uulitin! =)