Thinking mode

I've been like this since last night. Actually, yesterday afternoon.

I got a message from a friend that really got me thinking about something big.

Nothing bad at all. It's just something that needs to be carefully planned.

Meantime, we're really enjoy all this bed weather we've been having in Manila.

It's Sunday today, family day. But first, the DLSU vs UE game at 1pm in Araneta.

Meantime, here's a photo of my 5-year old Sabine, who decided to spend the early hours with a Math workbook that my Mom bought for her.

Take note, this isn't her homework. I'm so proud of the fact that at this young age, she has the initiative to learn. And of all things, MATH! Okay, I admit, she didn't inherit this from me.

Happy Sunday everyone!

Is it too late to go to law school?

There's a new show on the TV block that I'm really really loving right now

Currently filming it's 2nd season, SUITS is the story of Mike Ross (Patrick J. Adams), a young man who wants to turn his life around after getting himself tangled in a drug-related mess and miraculously ran away from it unscathed. He's an intelligent guy who dropped out of college and he somehow ends up working with one of New York City's best lawyers, Harvey Specter (Gabriel Macht). I'm only on the pilot episode and I can tell I'm in for the long haul. I'm hoping it does well in the ratings game so I won't have to deal with another disappointment.

What is it about the show that I like? Everything! If you're not convinced enough, please get the first season and see for yourselves.

It's the weekend, be safe!

NAV Modern Thai Cuisine

There's a serious shortage of good Thai restaurants in Manila.
I can only count a few ... Thai At Silk (Serendra), People's Palace (Greenbelt), Som's (Rockwell and Mandaluyong), Spices (The Peninsula Manila). These are the ones I go back to whenever I crave for Thai food.
For those who live in the Pasig/Ortigas Center/Mandaluyong area, really good Thai food is now within your reach. NAV Modern Thai Cuisine in Bo. Kapitolyo, Pasig is only a few months old but everytime I drive by, I notice that they're always busy. From outside, it looks a bit compact. I was surprised to find that there's actually an upper/mezzanine level.
I got to try the place out for the first time tonight. Unfortunately, I didn't get to take a photo of the restaurant's facade because it was raining a bit hard.

This is the ground floor

And this is where we positioned ourselves, on the upper level

This set of spices can be found on every table


Wine, too


To start us off on this palatable experience, we had these

Thai Iced Tea
Php95.00

Fresh Pandan with Honey

Php85.00

NAV's Pomelo Salad with Spiked Chicken and Coco Lime Dressing

Php300

Son In Law Eggs, deep fried with Tamarind Syrup

Catchy name! This one's a must-try!

Php180.00

Crab Cakes with Homemade Sweet Chili

Php230

Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce and Homemade Sweet Chili

Php235.00

Crisped Catfish Salad with Green Mangoes

Php245.00

Our Main Dishes for the evening

Wok Fry Fresh Vegetables with Crispy Noodles

Php230.00

NAV's Bagoong Rice

Approximately Php 280

Wok Fry Squid with Sweet Soy Chili Galangal

I LOVED THIS!!!

Php260.00

Red Curry Pork and Eggplants

Php255.00

Wok Fry Tender Pork with Lemongrass Basil

Php250.00

AND THE GRAND FINALE ...

I honestly have never tasted this in any Thai restaurant before

Bananas, Chocolate Ganache, Roasted Coconut Flakes with Coconut Cream on the side

To say that this was yummy is truly an understatement!

It was so good, I forgot to take note of the price LOL!

But I'm almost sure this doesn't cost more than Php200.00

Some personal notes I made that are worth sharing :

- although some dishes fall in the Appetizer/Starter category, they are actually big enough to be eaten as main course

- the main course servings are very generous, each of them is good for atleast 3 pax if you're not heavy eaters

- if you don't like spicy food at all or if the kids are with you (like mine were), you can request some dishes to not be spicy at all

I made sure to include the prices here to let everyone know that this place is really worth a visit. This is a very classy "hole in the wall", which I'm sure will soon attract nearby residents and corporate people.

NAV Modern Thai Cuisine is at

United St. Bo. Kapitolyo, Pasig

Beside Uncle Moe's and Slice 'n Dice

Open from Sundays to Thursdays 11am to 11pm

Fridays and Saturdays 11am to 12 midnight

Call them at 655 8395 if you wish to inquire or reserve a table

Favorite shoe style #1 - Wedges

I've come to terms with the fact that I can no longer survive a whole day in stilettos. I still have a few pairs though, which I keep mostly for formal/evening events when I don't need to walk much. But you can't NOT have heels in your shoe cabinet. So to break the monotony, I've always gone for the ever-reliable wedges. Not everyone likes this particular shoe style, but I always have.

I'm in the mood to buy a new pair because I've been busy getting rid of some of my "unwanted" ones on eBay. Here are just some of the pairs I have my eye on.

Sam Edelman Wess

Also comes in black

$135.00

Steve Madden Wissper

I also saw black, red and navy but a neutral one is best for me

$49.99 from $90.00 on Piperlime

Sooooo tempting at this price!!!

Tinley Road Capri

Also in black

$29.99 from $55.00 on Piperlime

Even more tempting! But the heel height sort of intimidates me.

Sam Edelman Randall

$99.99 from $140.00 on Piperlime

This shoe is classic w/ a twist. The twist is in the espadrille wedge. Just a warning though ...

this style spells trouble. Why? Because the front part of the shoe is flat. It screams pain for the balls of the feet. If your heel is higher than 1.5 to 2 inches, the front of the shoe should be platform style, in order to cushion the balls of the feet and create comfort when worn.

That's it for now. I'm gonna have to keep looking because I really haven't found THE pair yet.

(the one that screams at me from the laptop screen and begs me to buy it LOL)

When the network media player gives up

For the past how many years, we've been comfortably watching our favorite US TV shows on our flat screen in the bedroom. I've never had to use my laptop ever. Neal downloads everything on his desktop and moves them all into our media player. Yesterday though, what I thought was a slight glitch turned out to be a bigger problem. The player is no longer working. I was bummed, to say the least, because I can't be without "my shows". I watch them while the kids are in school and when everyone's fast asleep at night.

But you know what they say, when God closes a door, He opens a window. And He did.

I FINALLY learned how to download these shows myself and I'm now watching them on my Macbook. It's shallow but liberating LOL. I no longer have to ask Neal what's in the player or if he's downloaded the latest episode of this or that show. I'm no longer dependent on him for this. That is, until he replaces the player, which I think he wants to do immediately.

For now, I'm happy with this new-found "independence" and I successfully watched the latest Rizzoli and Isles and Switched at Birth episodes last night :)

Those highlighted in green are the ones I have lined up for this rainy day. I watch them all via VLC, which is really perfect for the Mac.

No school for the kids today, by the way.

Mine are still snuggled in bed.

Here's to a quiet Wednesday and I hope the storm doesn't cause much trouble for all of us.

These peanuts are the bomb!

There's a saying that goes

"If you pay peanuts, you get monkeys"

Or, in simpler terms ... "you get what you pay for"

I literally paid peanuts for these but

I definitely got so much more

The tagline, "when you pop, you just can't stop" could very well apply. That's exactly what happened the minute I unsealed the jar. My family agrees because they kept munching on it as well. I'm already on my 2nd jar (glad I got two instead of just one) and I'm still at it.

They're absolutely greaseless, just like what it says on the label

What I love most about it are those generous slices of garlic!

I have a tendency to seek them out so I won't be surprised if the jar runs out of them first.

I got this from Fran, who sells it at P160/jar.

Send her a message at Frannywanny.com if you wanna order.

I promise you won't regret it!

Garnier Skin Naturals Brightening Oil Control Scrub

I've been on the lookout for the best oil control products in the market for God knows how long! Seems that the more I age, the more oily my skin has become. I know, I know. They say oily skin is really a blessing as it's less prone to wrinkles. Modesty aside, even at the ripe age of 42, I haven't seen any signs of aging on my skin ... YET. That doesn't mean though that I'm totally happy with oily skin. It can be a real pain most of the time, especially with the kind of climate we have.

During a "quickie" trip to the supermarket a few nights ago, I happened to walk through the cosmetics aisle and spotted the Garnier display. This product called out to me so I grabbed the small-sized tube (for about P75 or $1.75) because I wanted to see if it will actually work.

I know that I shouldn't expect to see a change overnight. I started using the scrub today and my skin still became oily later on. But I'll keep using it just to see if it can control the oiliness, at the very least.

It also comes in sachets (about P50) and a bigger tube (for less than P200). Keeping my fingers crossed!

Dinner at Omakase

We celebrated two birthdays : my late father in law's and my nephew's

Omakase was our 2nd choice, after going to Bubble Tea (Tomas Morato) and seeing that the place was packed even at close to 9pm.

The quality of the food here hasn't changed. It still didn't disappoint.

We started out with the following

Spicy Salmon Roll

Salmon Sashimi - Anissa's favorite

Maguro (Tuna) Sashimi

My personal favorite, Spicy Tuna Salad

California Maki

And for our main courses...

Ebi Tempura (8 pcs)

You can order 4 pcs or 6 pcs if this is too much

What's a Japanese dinner without it? :)

Agedashi Tofu, another favorite!

Yasai Itame

Mixed Fried Rice

Seafood Dumplings

Stuffed Chicken

We spent around P450/head (or roughly $10.50), which is not bad for Japanese food this good!

Happy with their service, too (we went to the branch in Il Terrazzo on Tomas Morato, QC)

Happy birthday, Daddy Ben and Waymon!!!