the canDIshhh tales

02/27/2014 10:13PM UPDATE:  I received an email from Cebuana Lhuillier Cares.  Please see the screen shot at the bottom of the post. ----- I've been hearing a LOT about the Cebuana Lhuillier Pera Padala through my helpers.  They tell me that this mode of money transfer is very convenient for them.  All they need to do is to go to a Cebuana Center fill out a form and send the money.  Their relatives are able to claim the money sent through any branch provided that they give the control number and present a valid ID to which the pera padala was named for.  It was convenient because all you needed to do is give them the control number and voila, money can be claimed. Yesterday, for the first time - I tried it.  And it was a weird and different experience.  I am so used to transacting in banks that I find the procedure quite tedious and unnecessary.  Here's what happened I experienced: When I entered the Cebuana Lhuillier branch, I asked the man behind the counter (with a LO

Oyster Cake is a favorite dish that I order in Coral Garden.  Its THE best Oyster Cake if you ask me.  Its crunchy and has a LOT of oysters.  So, last week, when I saw at Fisher Mall's supermarket that they were selling shucked oysters - I had an idea. 1)  Make my version of the XO Oyster by Tian Pao Wan 2)  Make an Oyster cake 3)  Bake them On my first try - I cooked Oyster with Tausi because it was requested by my Panget.  It turned out okay.  On my next attempt - I tried the XO Oyster - and instead of it being crunchy, it came out makunat.  So on my third try - I wanted to do an oyster cake.  So I looked for a recipe online.  Looked and looked and wasn't satisfied.  All recipes I saw used an egg, and I didn't want an egg in my oyster cake.  I finally came across a recipe I liked a few days ago.  The problem was that - it asked for a particular starch - Tapioca Starch.  I started to look for it, but all my efforts were futile and so I settled for Potato starch.  And

Let me be honest, when I was invited to this food event I had no expectations whatsoever.  Well, I guess there was one - that it was about food.  Hahaha!!  Kidding aside, I honestly had no clue what it was all about.   So when I got there, I was quite confused.  There were fellow bloggers and then there were artistas !  I instantly recognized Bettina Carlos and Chynna Ortaleza. What welcomed me were boxes of cupcakes, pastries and savory dishes.  In delight, I asked who made the goodies and was surprised to learn that these artistas made them - ALL!  Wow!  So one by one, Fel pointed to me who did what - and I must say, I admire these actresses for being able to bake that much goodies despite their busy schedule! I sat down beside a handsome fellow.  My first thought was ' Uy! Gwapo ha. .'  I initially thought he was a blogger, I was telling myself - 'such a handsome blogger naman!'  Then when we got to talking, I learned that he was Ben Alves.  It then occurred t

Honestly, when I still didn't have a kid - I thought it was such a bad a idea to travel with kids below 5years old.  For one, they won't remember anything right?  Two - the logistics!  Three - gosh, the packing! But when we had Kailee - well, it was still sort of the same.  I hated the packing.  We only I think had one just one out of town trip and that was to Subic.  We packed so many things for her that we laughed and said that we packed the whole house!  To think that Subic was just nearby - and it has supermarkets and drugstores.  What were we thinking?  Well, I guess we thought, that it was better to be safe than sorry right? Fast forward to when Kailee turned two.  My Panget and I were at the Travel Fair - and he decided that he wanted to bring Kailee along to Tokyo.  I argued otherwise but when he put his foot down and declared that he wanted to bring his kid along - I agreed (what could I do right?) - in one condition, that we bring Yaya with us.  I told Panget

I was looking after Connor when I heard Kailee say 'Mommy!  I draw an A!' Kailee likes to write/doodle.  The first thing she was able to draw randomly was a spider.  Well, technically it wasn't a spider, but it looked closely like a spider.  An oval shaped thing with feet!  I was so proud of her when I saw that. So, when I turned my attention to her, I was shocked, amazed and oozing with pride. She did draw a letter A! I exclaimed in delight and told her that I was so proud of her and that I was so happy!  She immediately ran to me and gave me a hug!  I was telling her how proud I was of her and that I was going to cry - she looked confused!  Hahaha.. I am so proud of her.  This is considering the fact that this was the first time she attempted to draw/write letters!  I was actually going to start teaching her to try and write in the next few weeks.  Well, she beat me to it!  Now, what do I teach her?  Letters?  Shapes?  Numbers?  Help!! I made her draw the lett

Ahh, the age old tale of helpers.. I've written my fair share of up and mostly down on this blog. Can't live with them, can't live without them. So when I was invited to another #BetterMe session with Coach Pia - I knew I had to attend.  I wanted to learn and have some insights. You see, I was beginning to doubt myself when it comes to my relationship with my helpers. I can't seem to find an all around helper that stays and is competent. I was beginning to think that, maybe it was me. But then again, how come my yayas have stayed with me. Again, this session enlightened me so much. And these are what I took home: (they are in no particular order) Consider the birth order of your helper I honestly never thought about this.  I would not consider this important but it is quite a relevant matter. Coach Pia said that depending on the birth order - you would be able to gauge the capacity of your helper. Let's say for a first born, most often than not, th

Last year, I won two of these bags at Tita K's giveaway on Live Love Lolz.  I fell in love with them as soon as I got them.  The two bags that I got I brought with me to Tokyo (May 2013), one I gave to a friend together with her pasalubong, and she loved it!  She even texted me back to compliment on the bag, she said it was so roomy, lightweight and different from other eco bags because it folds flat. The other one I used everyday in Tokyo, and I was so proud lugging it around!  I remember reading on the flyer of the bag that the material is actually the same material used in parachutes!  Cool right? Naturally when we got back, I was uneasy of having just one (1) piece, so I trotted to True Value Trinoma (because I was told that they carried these babies) unfortunately, the stocks haven't arrived yet.  But I knew I had to have one, luckily we went to Shangri-La Mall the next day and the True Value there had it, so I bought two more.  I placed on in the kid's bags and ano

FINALLY got to try Ramen Nagi aka Butao Ramen (Manila) in SM Aura last Friday! :)  I have been really excited to try this place since it opened late last year.  Everyone who has tried it in Hong Kong has been raving about it and it got me curious. Most everyone I know who have tried this place (abroad) has been telling me to head on to Aura when the mall opens so that we won't need to wait that long to get seated.  Well, as luck would have it, we got there at 11:30am and luckily, since we were six, we immediately got a table.  Just a note, I found it really funny and odd that some patrons REFUSE to share a table.  There were two groups ahead of us and both refused to share a table with others.  They wanted a 'private' table thus, they needed to wait.  I admire the management of Ramen Nagi for insisting that patrons in 2s or 3s share a table, makes it more practical.  You're not there for the ambiance anyway - you're there for the food.  I like that the management