#danielaeats: cafe voila, the second time around

My first time here was last December 12 for the anniversary dinner. The restaurant was just a few weeks (maybe a month) old, so it was pretty empty and the menu, limited in its dishes. If i'm not mistaken it might've still been on its soft opening. Anton and I ordered a Salmon salad for our starter (which we enjoyed a lot), and steak for our main.

This time around we, along with other friends, were invited to dine at Cafe Voila to celebrate the birthday of one of our most wonderful friends (and also the daughter of the owner of the restaurant), Carla.

We wanted to try a bunch of dishes so we agreed on having Carla do the orders for sharing. I'm not so familiar with the menu names of the dishes we were served, but of course every dish that landed on the table was just delicious. Scroll through to get a glimpse!

For starters: basic tomato, cheese and olives in olive oil. 

I got a Margarita for my drink. It was good but had way more alcohol in it than I expected. I thought I'd be needing another one but this drink lasted me the whole meal, and also got me a bit woozy.  

This was the same salad I got last December. It had salmon, mushroom, cheese and that good Japanese sesame dressing we're all crazy about.  

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to try this dish. I was only able to get a few shots of it before it was attacked by everyone in the table. 

This prime rib was delicious! Although I wish it was a tad bit softer, it was still good nonetheless. 

This shrimp came in the same mini griller that chicken up there arrived in. I only got a piece but I enjoyed it very much because it had all sort of flavours in it. If only I got to try the rice it came with. My friends loved it.

Salmon Eggs Benedict. To be honest, I think this is just the second eggs Benedict I've had. Ever. So I'm not quite sure about how awesome eggs Benedict should taste. I had a bite of this in the middle of all the strong flavours from the different dishes, so this didn't stand out for me that much. We also had one with ham in it but I wasn't able to get a piece.

Their Pad Thai, though. Definitely one of the dishes you should order when visiting this place! 

I just realised while looking at this shot that I didn't get to snap and taste the chicken pandan. There was just too much going on that I missed out on some dishes!

The meal ended with some coffee and the most delicious Apple Crumble Cheesecake I've ever tasted! Sorry for not having a photo, but it was just too delicious that I forgot to take a photo of it. Another dessert we were able to try was the Caramel Cheesecake, which was also super good!  

I absolutely love visiting this place not only because of the good food but also because it is so. freakin. beautiful. Carla's mom designed the place herself, and the style is a mix of their house and a bit of Flotsam and Jetsam in La Union (which is owned by Carla's sister). From the interiors and furniture to the small details, like placemats, pillow cases, signs, glasses, mugs. Everything is so well thought of that every inch of that place gets you marvelling and snapping away the whole time you're there. A lot of their pieces in the restaurant are hand picked from Bali, so you can just imagine the colourful prints and intricate patterns. It's also so homey (especially during December when the Christmas decors are up), so it's the perfect place to visit and enjoy the cold Tagaytay weather.

It has now become a must-visit for a lot of people in Tagaytay (the place was packed when we went and could no longer accommodate some customers), so I suggest you reserve ahead of time especially if you're going on the weekend. I promise it won't disappoint!

Until next time #danielaeats!

the crossroads of should and must

I don't know where you are in your life right now, but whether you're loving the work you're doing, trapped in your day job, lost and searching for something you're unsure of, I think this is a book worth reading to help you continue your journey or reevaluate the path you're in. It's a beautiful, beautiful book that stemmed from an article of pure honesty to oneself and courage.

I read The Crossroads of Should and Must online and found out that Elle Luna wrote a book after the amazing feedback she got from it. So I bought it that same day and it's now one of my favourites. And I'd like to share it with you.

nike women's run

Last May 9, Nike held its first all womens run in Manila. To join, you had to sign up in pairs. So when my sister decided to sign up, she asked me if I could be her partner for the run. Initially it was a no for me. I've been running for about five years now, but I wouldn't really call myself a runner. It's my cardio when I gym so I'm usually on a treadmill, and on days that I can't gym, I run around the village. I guess for me it was just more of a relaxing thing to do, my time away from the world, so once I plug in those earphones I zone out from reality. It was always at the back of my head to join a run because I knew I could, it was just the effort to prepare for it that sort of stood in the way (aka lessening the drinking, sleeping earlier, doing more 10ks).

Last May I decided to commit and sign up. The run was limited to only 10k, for women, and was held in Filinvest (another plus! close to my area).

It was a pretty awesome first run for me. I didn't reach my usual time and really struggled during the uphills, but I refused to walk and pushed myself to finish. In 58:59. I was the 245th!

- The registration was P900, and upon signing up you get a shirt. Once you finish, you get a shirt as well. And if you're part of the top 500 of the 9000 runners, you get another shirt! Being the freebee lover that I am, I was ecstatic when I was handed my third shirt. So I went home that day with three awesome Nike shirts which I now use to gym.
- Free braiding station! Of course my sister and I couldn't resist. We had to get our hairs braided and in unplanned matching braid styles. After we changed into our new Nike shirts we were twinning the rest of the night.
- There was a dome in the parking lot where they flashed the day's runners and their times, and some inspiring Nike videos, a DJ at the top floor, extra NTC classes after the run and a photo booth. Pretty cool!

Now that I finally experienced a run, I'm a bit more open to joining more in the future.
But only if my knees will cooperate!

#danielaeats: ble

I just realized I haven't had an entry in this blog for the month of May and it's already the 31st! May by far has been the busiest month of the year (travel, bazaar, work), extremely exhausting (the heat made everything ten times tiring), but definitely one of my favorites. I welcomed May in Taipei, joined my first 10k run, worked on Common Ware's second bazaar, surfed and chilled in Baler with the Seabiscuit Films Team, vacationed in a beautiful house in Matabungkay, and worked in between. I was a bit unsure as to how I would finish all my work and vacation at the same time, but I'm so glad I was able to pull it off. Now that the month's over, I'm feeling absolutely hashtagblessed! I had to.

I'll probably write about it in more detail in the following days, but to start, here's Ble.

It's a quaint Greek little restaurant in BF Homes, and you might have a difficult time finding it because (1) it's tiny, and (2) it's sort of hidden. The restaurant has two branches, one along Aguirre and one along El Grande. The Aguirre branch is quite small and can accommodate less than ten people at a time, so my friends and I decided to visit the newer one along El Grande which could sit more people.

Ble outside looks like a house. To spot it, just look for a Blue and White bungalow. There's a small sign outside with the restaurant name but since it's just a stand on the ground that's less than a meter tall, you might not spot it. 

Upon entering the place, you'll first see the outdoor area where customers could choose to dine (but in this heat, it might not be an option). When you reach the house you'll see this (photo above), cute small little place covered in Blue and White cabinets, walls, and furniture. A hint of Greece in an unexpected place, filled with the cutest nautical details, from ships, to ropes, to lamps, and patterned plates. 

To start, my friends and I shared the dip platter which had Hummus, Babaganush, Tzatziki and Olives, and pitta bread. We were five girls, so the pitta it came with wasn't enough. If i'm not mistaken we had five extra orders just so that we could finish the dips. My personal favorite was the Tzatziki with Olives. The garlic was a little overpowering (which I liked) and it was a good add on to the Beef Souvlaki I had. The flavours of the dips were strong but delicious, so having it come in a platter is perfect so that you could alternate it as you go. 

For my main I got a Beef Souvlaki. Upon ordering it I was thinking that maybe I'll be needing an extra dish because a wrap wouldn't really get me full. But as I was eating it, I realised how heavy it was. The Souvlaki was good and flavourful, but the wrap was way too heavy for me. It was actually the same pitta bread we had with our dips used as a wrap. It was thick and dominated the whole thing, so I got pretty full after just a few bites. I think I would've enjoyed it more if it was thinner so that I could get more of its contents with the wrap. Sayang, the flavour was already there!

Despite the heavy wrap, I'd definitely go back to try out more of their dishes. I enjoy Greek food once in a while and I think this place got it good!

If you'd like to try it out:
410 El Grande Avenue, BF Homes
0917 721 7488

 Until next time #danielaeats!

sushi ninja

Just a few weeks back I was finally able to try Sushi Ninja. It's been such a hype amongst friends and southern people in general, so I've been wanting to try the place.

Tsukiji Maki

I was surprised (in a good way) when this arrived because I didn't expect it to be a lot. I almost got this just for myself but it's a good thing Anton and I decided to share because it was more than I expected.

It consisted of 8 consistent rolls, all with the right amount of rice, tuna and cucumber. I love it when I receive food and see that hindi ako tinitipid. It's just sad when the rolls are small and are dominated by rice. Sushi pet peeve!

As a whole it was delicious, albeit a bit more spicy than I expected. I enjoy my wasabi a lot and can take the spice of it, but the spice from the mayo mix was a bit too much for me so I had to take breaks in between each maki just to make the spice in my mouth settle.

Spicy Salmon (Right)

Of course, it's never a Jap meal for me without my Spicy Tuna or Spicy Salmon. I must say that I'd consider this and Kessaku's spicy tuna to be my two favourites in Alabang. The fish comes in big chunks, the dish isn't too dry, the serving size is bigger than others and the flavour is just right.

Gyuuniko Sute-Ki Don

Once the steak dish arrived I was satisfied to see that it came with a good amount of rice and meat. I bit into the meat and found it too tough, probably overcooked a bit so it wasn't pleasant trying to eat the rest of it. The taste was okay but I was too bothered about it being tough so I didn't really feel like eating the rest of it. Anton though enjoyed his choice of dish (I forgot what, but it was meat too) and didn't experience the same thing, so it probably was just the one served to me.

Despite the disappointing main dish, I'd still go back to this place to experience the others they have on their menu. Their maki was delicious anyway, and their spicy salmon, one of my favourites!

the blues and the mean reds

travellingd: a glimpse of shanghai

Just a week ago I got the opportunity to go to Shanghai for 7 days. Majority of the trip was spent doing work, but I was able to sneak in a few side trips to the Bund, TienZiFang, a few malls, and the old French Concession. 

On the day we arrived, we decided to go to a mall and walk around our hotel neighborhood. We stayed in Caobao road, and in that area there were no shopping malls close by so we had to take a 10-15 minute cab ride to get to the closest one. We saw a lot of street food in our area being cooked along the sidewalks outside different stores. We wanted to try because the aroma of the food being grilled was very inviting, but our Chinese friend suggested we don't eat any of it.

This is one of the high end malls called IAPM we went to on our second day. It had all the good brands like Chanel, Balmain, Louis Vuitton, and also had shops like Nike, Mango, Muji, and others. 

I made a KFC run for 2 or 3 nights because I was craving for something non-Chinese (after all the Chinese dishes we had the whole day).



TienZiFang. A shopping area recommended to us by one of our Malaysian friends in Shanghai. If you're a fan of random cool stuff, accessories, kuchi-kuchi, and art, you might enjoy this place. A lot of the shops carry the same things so try to look for the shop that gives you the lowest price. You could bargain with them, though if you don't speak Chinese it's a bit difficult.

There were many eating and drinking places inside (which I heard are really good), but we weren't able to try any. Some restaurants had pretty cool and unique designs so I enjoyed looking around.

I fell in love with this leather store that sold everything leather--bags, wallets, notebooks, and small pouches. The store smelled of genuine leather and all the bags looked well made. If i'm not mistaken the bag prices were around Php 3,000 - Php 6,000 depending on the size.

On our 6th day, we wanted to check out The Bund (which is a must when visiting Shanghai). So we took the Metro from Caobao and got off at People's Square. 

We walked around a bit to check out some shops, then headed to East Nanjing Road. Usually people take the Metro to The Bund from People's Square, but our Chinese friend suggested we walk the whole East Nanjing Road from People's Square because the whole road is filled with shops and malls. 

East Nanjing Road

The view of LuJiaZui from the Bund.

My shopping buddies that day.

By the time we reached The Bund, it felt like a different place. The whole road was lined with beautiful European style structures (which held offices of banks and expensive stores). Despite the number of tourists there that day, it was still nice to walk around and take photos because the area's really big.

The Bund.

The day after we were able to explore the old French Concession, which was also really beautiful because it looked like Europe and had some really good eating places and unique stores in the area. Unfortunately I wasn't able to take photos of the place because we were rushing to do some last minute shopping. But there will be more updates of this trip to come!