Sage grill at Shangri-la

One of the restaurants that I went to twice this month is Sage.

Sage is a grill restaurant located at the 2nd level of Shangri-la hotel in Makati City.

The restaurant has nice interiors and is good place for a lovely lunch or dinner with friends or family.

My friend and I had the  rocket salad and the  ribeye steak with side dishes of gnocchi and corn.

For dessert, we tried the sticky toffee pudding, their signature dessert.

The food in Sage is good. Plus, their menu is simple but they offer a good selection of choices.

If you like to have a good steak in a nice and quiet restaurant then this is a good place to go to.

I was also told that their Colorado lamb rack is also good so maybe next time I will try that.

During weekends they also offer a weekend buffet lunch where one can have appetizer and dessert buffet and a choice of pasta and a main dish.

My friends and I consider this a cool restaurant find and we will definitely go back to this place for another fun get together. Cheers!

Staycation at Aruga Rockwell

Sometimes a good staycation is all you need to recharge.

During the busy Christmas holidays last month, I was able to stay at Aruga serviced residences in Rockwell, Makati City. The place is managed by the same group that manages Rockwell Powerplant mall.

It is fairly a new place that is conveniently located behind Powerplant Mall.

I tried the one bedroom suite and was pleased that I had a nice view and the room is quite spacious and cozy.

The view from my room where I can see the pool area.

The Aruga apartment units are fully furnished and has an  Asian contemporary style. The interiors and furnitures are comfortable and well designed.

The spacious living room area.

Bedroom with comfortable bed.

Bathroom

Kitchen area

Breakfast lounge area

Aruga by Rockwell is a nice place where both short  and long staying guests may opt to go to. Apart from the nice place, they also provide excellent and sincere customer service. Their apartment rates are also reasonable and can be booked online. To know more about Aruga, you may check their website: Aruga by rockwell

Starting the day with Breakfast

People have the wrong perception that by skipping breakfast they will lose weight. Based on studies, the opposite is true since breakfast actually helps one to lose weight.

Starting your day with a healthy breakfast actually helps one lose weight since results from research studies have shown that consistent breakfast eaters actually consume less calories all throughout the day. By eating breakfast, one is less likely  to be in a situation where he or she will eat more during lunch and dinner.

In my quest to stay healthy, I opt to eat breakfast since it gives me the energy boost that I need to start my day. Having eggs and some veggies is good or some low-fat yoghurt with fresh fruits is also nice. Pairing breakfast with a fresh cup of brewed coffee or a cup of hot tea is also good.

Start your day right and have a nice breakfast everyday!

The Pope Brings Hope to the Philippines

The Philippines is truly blessed as one of the most inspiring, passionate and well-loved people today, Pope Francis, visited recently(January 15 to 19, 2015). The theme of the Papal visit event is "Mercy and Compassion".

My friend and I joined the millions of Filipinos who have expressed so much excitement and gladness to see Pope Francis live and hear his messages.

In our minds, it is not everyday that we get an opportunity to see the Pope live and upclose in our own country. 

Seeing people line up and wait for the Pope in areas where he shall go to was such an unforgettable experience. He really had a rockstar welcome from the Filipinos.

On 15 January 2015, the day of Pope Francis' arrival, people gathered along Roxas boulevard, Quirino Avenue and Taft Avenue to catch a glimpse of the Pope as he rode the Popemobile to go to the Papal Nunciature in Manila, where he was accommodated during his stay in Manila.

My friend and I took an Uber ride to the farthest point we can reach close to the Papal Nunciature area and walked to the McDonald's branch located on the corner of San Andres and Quirino Streets in Manila.

Enterprising Filipinos sold various souvenirs during the event. My friend and I ended up getting our Pope Francis button pins which was sold at PHP20(around USD0.50) per piece.

Pope Francis button pins

We waited for 2 hours but we were not able to get a glimpse of him since aside from the fact that it was already dark when he got to the street near the Papal Nuncio during the time his Popemobile turned on the corner of the street going to the Papal Nunciature the people in front of us were all extremely excited that their mobile phones were raised up in the air to take videos and photos. It was like "people power" that night in Manila when people patiently waited for the Pope. Even the hundreds of people in front of us did not see the Pope as the vehicle he was on turned so quickly around the corner when it headed to the Papal Nunciature. The photo below shows people trying to take photos and videos.

The McDonald's branch where we went to wait for the Pope was so full that people literally had to squeeze in just to order. It took us 45 minutes waiting time to use the restroom at said store. What a way to test our patience ha ha ha. Here's a photo of the store that night.

The first day of the Papal visit was considered a practice run for me and my friend.

We did not give up. The next day, we tried to get a glimpse of the Pope again. The weather was not too hot on January 16th(Friday), the day that Pope Francis was scheduled to go to the Manila Cathedral to conduct a mass.

We took an Uber ride again to Luneta park area past 8:30AM and walked a bit to talk to some of the security personnel at the event to find out which road will be used for the motorcade activity. The policemen advised us not to go to Cathedral since it was already jampacked with people. They told us that we should just try to see the Pope from the street near us.

We positioned ourselves at P. Burgos street located in between Luneta park and near Manila Hotel area as we saw most of the policemen were deployed standing on this road.  After a few security personnel riding in motorbikes have passed us we were sure that this route is where the Pope will pass during his motorcade. 

We were lucky as we were at the frontline. People started to cheer louder when the security team for the motorcade passed by.

The crowd  raised their hands and kept on cheering and waving when the Popemobile was approaching us.

I just kept on clicking on my phone to take photos and was lucky that I was able to take a photo of Pope Francis when he was near us.

I felt so blessed that I was able to take this memorable photo of Pope Francis
 as he was approaching us.

I was not able to take a photo of  Pope Francis when he was right in front of us already since I ended up putting my phone down and started to use my hand, focus my eyes towards him and mindfully waved to him and smiled back at him. No regrets since I really preferred to see him upclose with full attention even if it was just a few seconds.

Pope Francis' aura was so radiant. There is a certain feeling of lightness and happiness that surrounded us when he passed by to bless us. I truly feel so blessed to have been able to see him at an arms reach. Honestly, if the Popemobile was not so fast my friend and I could have touched his hand since he  really makes an effort to reach out his hand to the people during the motorcade.

This is certainly an awesome experience that I shall never forget. I feel truly blessed to have had the chance to see Pope Francis upclose and the cool thing is that it happened here in my home country. 

The Pope truly brings hope to the Philippines as he connected to people and his messages have been heard and have resonated.

This is definitely one of the coolest and most historic event in the Philippines this 2015. Thank you for visiting the Philippines and blessing us, Pope Francis!

Mindful Eating

Part of my commitment to improving myself  this 2015 is to stay healthy. 

From August 2013 to September 2014 my great achievement was that I was able to lose a  very significant amount of weight in a span of one year. Prior to August 2013, I failed my annual physical medical exam since my blood pressure keeps  on shooting up. I was not in good health that time as I was also dealing with gout and was not living a healthy lifestyle since I was spending more time working at the office and less me time and time for having real workouts and physical exercise.

I was able to lose weight by changing my eating habits, making healthier food choices when eating out, cooking and eating more home-cooked, low-sodium and healthy dishes, avoiding deep-fried and processed food, drinking more water(drinking around 10-12 glasses per day), giving up drinking high calorie drinks likes sodas and sweetened drinks, and eating more vegetables.

There are so many salad choices you can have,  all you need to do is to be open to trying
 out new and healthy salad dishes and opt for low calorie dressings.

Losing weight is not such an easy thing to do considering that there are so many temptations around me and considering that I am also a foodie who enjoys trying out new restaurants it really was such a challenge for me. It really required a lot of patience, discipline and mindful eating on my part. Plus, I also had to deal with people who were not very supportive of my lifestyle change and were trying to persuade me to eat not so healthy stuff several times and I simply had to say "No" everytime.

I think the level of commitment I had to lose weight was similar to the experience of a person veering away from drugs ha ha ha...but in my case unhealthy food was the equivalent of it.

I have read a book entitled "Mindful Eating" recently written by Rachel Bartholomew and Mandy Pearson. The book focuses on Mindful Eating which helps one to fall in love with real food, which nourishes your health, vitality and well-being. After all, losing weight or staying at a healthy weight is also a "mental game" in such a way that you always have to remind yourself to be mindful in choosing the food that you will eat.

Through "Mindfulness", one is wide-awake in whatever he or she is doing and it also is about paying attention in the present moment without judgements. Mindfulness puts you back in control and enables one to live with purpose. This is linked to having a positive impact on one's health and well-being.

Another interesting part in the book is that you get to think about the type of eater that you are. There are several types.

1. Busy eater - who gulps down and rush everytime they have a meal
2. Fuel eater - who eat to live and are not interested in food
3. Convenience food junkie - who always get take-out food from convenience stores/ fast food outlets
4. Reluctant chef- who does not enjoy cooking
5. Social eater- who does not eat much when they are alone
6. Fussy eater - who only like certain food types
7. Grazer - who graze constantly for snacks and tends to taste the food while cooking
8. Problem eater - who has a constant battle with food
9. Comfort eater - who eats when they are unhappy
10. Habitual eater - who eats the same things at the same time on the same day every week
11. Yo-yo dieter - who tried every diet but could not keep off the weight
12. The chef - who lives to eat and whose life revolves around food preparation and eating
13. Treat eater - who treats food as a favourite way to treat oneself when they need a lift
14. Calorie controller - who knows the calorific content of every food that they eat

I think in my case I gained weight before since I  really did not work out much and I was both "the chef" type of eater and sometimes also a "treat eater" such that I like to go for really nice restaurants and sumptuous meals when I feel that I need to treat myself to de-stress after a long day at work. I also use to have lots of snacks at home and most of which were not really healthy treats.

Some useful tips from the book are as follows:

• Be in the moment and allow yourself to switch from "doing" to "being". 
• Focus on Gratitude as the true path to happiness is appreciating what you have.
• Enjoy the "Now" and pay attention to the present moment.
• Live on Purpose and remember that you can always choose your response. There is such a thing as "response-ability" or taking the ability to choose how you respond to a situation.
• Know that you always have the choice to change.
• Make the food choices you want and take control of your eating.
• Become fascinated by your food
• Understand what constitutes healthy food for you 
• Improve your relationship with food
• Connect with your inner wisdom

Mindful Eating as the authors have mentioned is about enjoying preparing food, cooking and falling in love with food again. It is also about you, your health and happiness and those around you.

Start your day with a healthy egg white omelet with veggies and a salad.

The book also reminds one that the following are key to achieving a healthy weight:

1) Set a GOAL - This could be the ideal and healthy weight you want to achieve or going down to a certain dress or clothing size.
2) Action Plan  - Prepare an action plan and take action
3) Measurement and monitoring - "What get measured gets done" so monitor your weight during the process of changing your food choices and lifestyle but do not obsess on losing the pounds too much as what matters is you lose the inches from the waist especially.
4) Get organised - This is important so as to stick to your action plan. Plan your meals, organise your kitchen cabinets and refrigerator and "spring clean your space" by taking out unhealthy food from your home pantry/ kitchen,

The very first thing I did when  I decided to go on a healthy lifestyle and lose the weight was to take out all the unhealthy food stuff from my house. Remember that if you do not see these unhealthy stuff then you are already helping yourself stay away from eating unhealthy food.

Creating  healthy dishes like a mixed greens, beets and pear\
salad would be a good start.

To start a journey towards a healthy weight you need to start by understanding your food, health and body. By doing this, you become more mindful of your eating habits.

The authors also mentioned that you need to "Plan for success". You need to let go of old beliefs and choose new, empowering beliefs. Positive thinking is needed and lots of it as it is not easy to lose weight especially if people around you are not healthy eaters.

Remember that your health is important. You need to make it a priority to spend time nurturing the things that are most important in helping you reach your goals and have a better quality of life.

Stay positive and choose to be healthy! Cheers!

Tala Manila

During the holidays, Salcedo Village was so quiet that it looked like a ghost town and not the usual busy CBD(Central Business District) area that it is filled with people rushing to go to work. Holidays and weekends are times when Salcedo becomes a quiet neighborhood and it is during these times that I enjoy walking around and discovering new places.

A few days before the end of 2014, I walked around Salcedo and spotted this shop at the back of Three Salcedo Place building called Tala Manila.

It was a pleasant discovery since the place is nice and carries good quality products.

Dresses that can be worn for a brunch. or a get together.

Hand made bags from Osaka, Japan that can be used for the beach,
the gym, or for travel.

Nackymade glasses which are hand made and bespoke glasses
from Kobe, Japan 

Wooden dolls which can be placed as cute and interesting
display stuff at a home.

 During the time I visited, they also have Anglepoise lamps, an iconic British brand lamp that was developed in the 1930's and is considered as a timeless classic.

Anglepoise lamps in different colours.

I ended up buying a simple but nice and comfy dress for myself. I also experienced good customer service since the sales person was attentive and even offered some good chocolates while I was waiting for the receipt.

The table set-up functions as the shop's cashier area.

Tala Manila is located at Three Salcedo Place building in Salcedo Village, Makati City.

If you often go to the Salcedo Saturday Market, it is the building right across the parking area where the Saturday market is set-up along Tordesillas Street.

It is a nice stopover for some easy  and stress- free shopping time or if you are looking for some gifts.

Hole in the Wall at Century Mall

I heard about the new eating place called Hole in the Wall located at the 4th floor of Century Mall in Makati City. It sounds interesting so I recently went there to check it out.

Hole in the Wall is a food hall that offers various types of food options. It is a good place to go for people who prefer different types of cuisine but want to stay at one eating place. The ambience is cool with its industrial look and feel interiors.

The food stations already open are as follows:

Kwong's offers Chinese food

Bad Bird offers Japanese style umami chicken with various
side dish options

Mister Delicious offers huge sandwiches such as pastrami and corned beef

Green Cheese offers Japanese cheesecake

Cheesecake with a smile. They sell a whole cheesecake for PHP350.

They also sell puddings and hot beverages like green tea and green tea latte.

Japanese cheesecakes are available in original,  Belgian chocolate
 and green tea flavours.

Green tea paired with Belgian chocolate Japanese cheesecake

Tiny Duchess offers eclairs

Eclairs in various colours and flavours

Spruce offers healthy cold-pressed fresh juices

Spruce has funky names for its juices. The best seller is
a green one called "Skinny Bitch"

Liberation Shawarma offers beef, pork and falafel shawarma

Scout's Honor offers various desserts,, milk and coffee, They also serve
pour over coffee that most Third wave coffee shops offer.

Various ingredients that can be added to ice cream
 or your customised cookie.

Variety of cookies

Here are some of the yummy looking cookies that Scout's Honor offers in their store:

I ended up trying the Liberation Shawarma, which is owned by Chef JP Anglo of Sarsa restaurant. The store has a food truck look which sort of reminded me of the movie entitled "The Chef".

I ordered the Falafel shawarma since the beef shawarma was sold out. I also ordered hummus since I like dipping the falafel in the humus.

  

The ambience of the place is casual but very cozy and the place is quite huge that it can accomodate 400 people at one time.

Some of the other food stores that will open soon will be a Vietnamese pho noodle store, a burger store called The Beef and one which serves Filipino food called Posporo.

I will definitely go back to this Hole in the Wall food hub  to try out other dishes.