Why you should NOT go to the PAL travel fair this weekend

I'm a travel junkie.  Besides food and shopping, traveling is my next hobby.  But before you go and think that I have unlimited funds, I assure you, I do not.  What I usually do is book early and make the best out of those piso-fare and travel fairs happening whole year round.  Hey, the less money you spend on fares, the more you have for shopping, right?  So when I read that our country's own flag carrier is having a travel fair, I immediately scheduled it on my calendar.  That day was today. 

See the ad above?  That was all it took for me to drag my butt out of bed early, skip work and venture to Macapagal on a Friday morning.  Thanks to Friday traffic, we arrived at 10am.  By then the line was already outside - they had stopped people from going inside for crowd control.  We patiently lined up for about 15 minutes, wondering how long it's going to take before we can actually step foot inside the Banking Hall.  You see, after the line outside, you'll proceed inside to line up again.  And after the line inside, you'll be directed upstairs, where there is (guess what?)  yup, another line.  Luckily, Mom had to go to the bathroom.  Why lucky?  Because of the way back from the bathroom, she got hold of the flyer with all the "promo rates" for the ongoing travel fair.  This is what it looks like:

International Flight Rates During Lean Season

International Flight Rates During Peak Season

We were supposed to get the tickets to London, and the dates we picked out happens to be part of the peak season.  1 "discounted fare" round trip ticket to London will cost you $1053.  I crossed check this with the current rates on the Philippine Airlines website (without the discount) and it comes out at $1228.  What was supposed to be a 50% discount on fares has just become 15%, according to calculations.  And there is no way I'm going to brave those lines for such a small discount.  Read the ad copy again (first photo) and tell me what's wrong.  Spot it yet?  It says "get 50% off on our domestic and international destination".  GET 50% OFF, not GET UP TO 50% OFF.  Those two words make all the difference.  Why stoop so low, Philippine Airlines?  Do you really have to go that low to dupe all your loyal customers?  Seriously, even if you're not going to give an all-out 50% off, you could at least give something more than 15%.  It's simply not worth it.  So yes, I am therefore boycotting ALL PAL-sponsored travel fairs from now on.  Please, count me out.  I'm better off in one of those legit travel fairs with REAL discounts.

Say "Aloha" to Teddy's Bigger Burgers! Soon to Open in the Philippines!

Hungry yet?  The very first time I saw this photo, I had to stop myself from eating my laptop.  Kidding!  But seriously, just from the look of it, who'd resist this rich, cheesy goodness of a burger?! And let me guess the very next question that popped into your mind:  "Where can I get this?!  Lucky for you, I've got the answer!

Teddy’s Bigger Burgers, Hawaii’s number one burger chain, marks its entry into the Philippines with the opening of its first store on August 23, at Level 3, Greenbelt 3, Makati City.

Awarded multiple times as the best burger in Hawaii, Teddy’s Bigger Burgers takes pride in its signature fare: its 100% cornfed ground chuck made-to-order burgers served with a sweet and tangy special sauce; and its super thick milk shakes.

A little trivia about Teddy's:  Teddy's Bigger Burgers was established in 1998 by Ted Tsakiris and Rich Stula.  They have 11 locations in Hawaii and recently opened mainland locations in Washington and Iowa, with stores soon to open in California and Texas. The Philippines is Teddy’s 2^nd international location, following Japan.  Hooray for the Philippines!

...and if the above photo has gotten you into a frenzy (like it did for me), then here are a few more details:

To celebrate its Philippine debut, Teddy’s will treat its first 100 customers with free Original Teddy’s Burger (5 oz.) on its August 23 opening day.

Early birds will also be rewarded as the first five in line will receive one year supply of burgers (one burger a week, for 52 weeks). The 6^th to 10th in line will get six months supply of burgers (one burger a week, for 26 weeks); and 11^th to 20^th in line will receive three months supply of free burgers (one burger a week for 13 weeks). From the remaining 80 in line, five lucky winners will also win a weekly supply of burgers of one month (one burger a week for 5 weeks), to be drawn via raffle.  Line starts at 7 am in front of Teddy’s Bigger Burgers Store on August 23.

And just when you think the freebies are over, here comes more:  From now until September 3, 2014, mall patrons at the Greenbelt Mall also have the chance to win a free burger from Teddy’s by taking a burger selfie with either the Teddy’s Bigger Burgers store board up or Teddy’s Bigger Burger standees around the mall. Participants must upload their photos on Facebook or Instagram account with the hashtag #teddysburgersph. The first 100 entries will win a free 5oz Original Teddy’s Burger.

For complete promo mechanics, and more information about Teddy’s Bigger Burgers PH, visit the official Facebook Page (www.facebook.com/TeddysBurgersPH).

Teddy's Bigger Burgers is at 3/F, Greenbelt 3, Makati City

Lugang Cafe

My love affair with Xiao Long Bao (steamed soup dumplings) started a decade ago on a trip to Singapore.  People were raving about Din Tai Fung's amazing Xiao Long Bao and I just had to try them out for myself.  Let me tell you, the moment I put that entire soupy dumpling in my mouth and the entire contents burst inside, I knew.  I will be eating this forever.  Over the years, I've tried numerous versions of Xiao Long Bao in different restaurants here and abroad, but nothing compared to my first encounter.  As they say, you'll always remember your first. *wink* 

If it's your first time trying out the Xiao Long Bao, let me share to you the secrets of what makes a good Xiao Long Bao.  First, let's start with the wrapper.  The wrapper must be extremely thin, but not so thin as to puncture the dumpling.  Then, the number of folds must be equal in size.  After that, there must always be soup inside when you bit into the dumpling.  I've tried bad ones that had no soup and I tell you, it makes a huge difference.

Ok done with the short 411 on what makes a good Xiao Long Bao.  Now let's move on.  There's good news and bad news, and I'll start with the bad.  The bad news is that Din Tai Fung is only available in our neighboring Asian countries (Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, etc).  But the good news is, there's a pretty good alternative to Din Tai Fung here in our country!  Any guesses?  If you say Lugang Cafe, then you're wrong.  Kidding!  Of course it's Lugang Cafe!  And as good as good news goes, I have another one:  for this month of June, they're having their "Feast All You Can" promo!  Yes, you've read that right!  Not only can you savor the goodness of authentic Xiao Long Bao, you can also consume as much as you can!  They actually had this promo last May, and I'm so glad they decided to extend the promo this June!

List of promo items

Rules!

Ok ok, enough with the blabbing, here's what we had:

Steamed Angled Loofah with Shrimp Xiao Long Bao

Pork Wontons in Spicy Chili Oil

Steamed Vegetable and Pork Dumplings

Steamed Vegetarian Dumplings with Truffle Oil

Steamed Chicken Xiao Long Bao

Steamed Kimchi Xiao Long Bao

Steamed Pork Xiao Long Bao

Steamed Crab Roe and Pork Xiao Long Bao

And since the promo allows one order of house specialty for each person, and there's three of us, here's what we had:

Hainan Boneless Chicken

Wasabi Mayonnaise Prawns

Sate Beef with Spinach

Nom nom nom... so good!  Another great thing is that they don't scrimp on their ingredients even if it's a promo.  You get the exact same great tasting Xiao Long Baos that you'd normally order ala carte.  Must have eaten something like 2 dozen pieces of those during the meal (oops!).  But trust me when I say they're really delicious!  Service was a bit slow though, and sometimes they mix up our orders but who cares right?  4.5 out of 5 stars!

Hungry yet?  No problem!  Go book yourself, your family and your friends a table at Lugang Cafe and start popping those mini pieces of heaven in your mouth!  Remember, promo is only good for this month of June.  So if I were you, I'd go there now.  Yes, NOW.  Stop reading! GO!!!

Lugang Cafe is at 116 Connecticut St. Greenhills, San Juan

Be Thankful for the Little Things

In our lifetime, things may not always go our way.  Some things will disappoint us, while some will go beyond our expectations.  But whatever happens, we should always remember that everything happens for a reason.  I know, I know.  You have heard it a thousand times, but really, it's true.  I myself cannot count how many times I've had a sucky day.  Days where no matter what you do, something always goes wrong.  And whenever you try to fix it, it just blows up in your face.  Like the universe came together and conspired to make your life a living hell.  Something like what happened on the day we flew back from Boracay, just last month.  Flight got delayed, traveled from Caticlan to Kalibo airport, waited 8 hours on the airport, found out dog died, got accidentally hit hard in the head with a laptop bag and burned my fingers. All in one day.  Yes I wanted to scream and shout.  I wanted to curse and kick and go bananas.  And I did.  Well, the cursing part.  You see, nothing is perfect, and it never ever will be.  Life is a spinning wheel, sometimes you're up, sometimes you hit rock bottom.  My point?  We should always appreciate the little things that makes us happy.  Like yesterday.  Yesterday was the birthday of my SIL (sister in law).  (Ach, if you're reading this, belated happy birthday!)  We were supposed to eat in Cyma Shangri-la Plaza, but when we got there, we discovered that the restaurant was closed (they were having a post-Christmas party for their staff).  Suddenly, we were lost; didn't know where to eat.  And time was ticking: it was already 8 o' clock.  We went through numerous restaurants in our heads but nothing seem to fit.  We really had Cyma on our minds, plus, it was one of the family's favorite restaurants.  One minute short of giving up and just going for whatever restaurant that's there, it was then that Hubby was reminded of what I told him earlier: HEAT Edsa Shangri-la Hotel was having a New Year promo. Php799++ lunch from Mondays to Saturdays and Php999++ dinner from Sunday to Wednesday, with a minimum of 5 diners.  It was a Monday and we were 6, it was perfect!  So HEAT it was, and we had a wonderful dinner.  Unplanned, yes, but we ended up enjoying every bit of it.  The most important thing of all, is that the celebrant is happy.  

Second little thing:  I was just browsing through Facebook in the middle of the afternoon when an online contest that RX 93.1 was sponsoring popped up in my feed.  They were giving out tickets to the premiere of the Tom Cruise movie "Jack Reacher".  Simply answer the question "Why do you want the ticket?" and the 10 best answers get a pair of tickets!  My answer?  "Barely saw my husband the past week because of work.  Watching Jack Reacher would be the perfect chance for us to bond and spend quality time together."  Simple, a bit cheesy, but 100% true and straight to the point.   Didn't think much about the contest since I rarely win these things and there were about a hundred entries.  It was when we came home from my SIL's birthday dinner that I remembered and checked Facebook again for updates.  And... I won!  I know, it's not lotto but still, it felt good!  Will definitely savor every minute of that movie later.  

Third little thing:  Have always been a fan of Cecile Van Straten aka Chuvaness, so of course I follow her on Twitter and Instagram.  Yesterday afternoon she posted to Instagram about Tonkichi, a restaurant I've been wanting to try in HongKong.  Being curious, I asked her if it was better than Saboten, the famous tonkatsu place at the foodcourt of the HongKong Airport.  And this is what happened next:

Yes, she replied!  To me!  Ultimate fan girl mode: on.  It was just a simple thing but it meant a lot.  See?  These are the little things that I am talking about.  Always find joy in the little things in life.  Learn to appreciate the little surprises that life brings everyday.  Because in little things, you will find great happiness.  And when I find myself stuck again in one of those nightmare days, I will always look back at this post; look back at the things that made me smile.  And I will know in my heart that there's always a rainbow after the rain, and everything will be alright.  And with that, I leave to you the lyrics to the song "Smile" by Nat King Cole.  

Smile though your heart is aching 

Smile even though it's breaking 

When there are clouds in the sky, you'll get by 

If you smile through your fear and sorrow 

Smile and maybe tomorrow 

You'll see the sun come shining through for you 

Light up your face with gladness 

Hide every trace of sadness 

Although a tear may be ever so near 

That's the time you must keep on trying 

Smile, what's the use of crying? 

You'll find that life is still worthwhile 

If you just smile 

That's the time you must keep on trying 

Smile, what's the use of crying? 

You'll find that life is still worthwhile 

If you just smile

Serenitea Jumbo Cups!

It's hard to believe that Serenitea, the one who started all this freshly brewed milk tea craze is now turning 4 years old.  FOUR years!  Yes, it seems like yesterday when I first had a cup of this milky goodness.  Their first branch ever (San Juan) will always be part of one of my best memories in life when one random afternoon 3 years ago, I had one of the best and longest conversations with a guy who was then just an acquaintance.  This guy turned out to be the love of my life and we are now happily married for over a year.    

Oversharing and gushing aside, Serenitea thanks its loyal customers (new and old!) by bringing back their famed jumbo cup promo!  See photo below:

Source:  http://www.facebook.com/iloveserenitea

Choose one (or all!) from their bestseller list to avail of the jumbo cup promo:

Source:  http://www.facebook.com/iloveserenitea

So guess who trooped over to Serenitea and had her milk tea fix?  Me!  My Okinawa favorite, we meet again!

Hurry though, the promo is only from today till December 19 (Wednesday).  So if you still haven't had your Serenitea for the day, I suggest to run over there and get it now! 

For their list of branches, visit their site here.