October 10, 2024

Birthday Lunch at Yurakuen Japanese Restaurant

We just celebrated my son’s 16th birthday last week and I realized that I hadn’t shared his birthday celebration last year so let me reminisce about his 15th birthday. My son wanted to eat Japanese Cuisine so I suggested to my husband na sa Yurakuen na lang since hindi pa niya natry and I knew they have a promotion.

So off we went to the Diamond Hotel for his advanced birthday celebration. We arrived 30 minutes before the opening time so we just waited at the lobby. Before we went to Yurakuen, I checked their menu online and saved it on my phone so I already knew what to order. 

A few minutes before 11AM, the staff allowed us to enter and on our way to our table, my husband asked about the ongoing credit card promotion but the staff said, wala na daw yung promo, kakatapos lang last week. Toink. We were already there so we had no choice but to eat. 


The staff informed us about their promo meals, there are 3 choices which are Saga Beef Taitaki PHP950, Beef Sukiyaki (Solo) PHP333 and Gyu Tan Oden PHP255. Unfortunately, wala doon yung gusto ko kainin. My husband said, just order what we wanted to eat so we ordered Guresu Set PHP2,390, Shinju Set PHP1,750 and Beef Sukiyaki PHP333.

My husband ordered the cheapest meal because he said, for sure hindi namin mauubos yung order namin. Well, in our mind kasi, since the price is not cheap baka malaki naman serving but we were shocked when our food arrived after 25 minutes. Malayo siya sa experience ni hubby kapag nag aala carte order sa mga Japanese restaurant ng hotel like Kogetsu of The Saujana Hotel and Resort and Edo Japanese Restaurant of Hanoi Daewoo Hotel. Dito kasi isang tray lang talaga and nandoon na lahat ng food except sa fruits.

As of this writing, I can no longer see their menu online, good thing that I still have the photo of the set menu. 

Guresu Set PHP2390 + Service Charge 


Guresu Set Menu includes appetizer, stewed dish, grilled gindara teriyaki, beef shogayaki, shrimp tempura, chawan mushi, steamed rice, pickles and miso soup and fresh fruit slices. 

Shinju Set PHP1750 + Service Charge 


Shinju Set Menu includes appetizer, maguro tosazukuri, grilled salmon, mentaiko mayonnaise, slice grilled beef teriyaki, salad, steamed rice, pickles and miso soup, fresh fruit slices. 

Beef Sukiyaki PHP333 + Service Charge 


Individual Sukiyaki hot pot. 


My husband said, sulit daw yung order niya for PHP333. Kung may ongoing promotion sana, pwede na yung price sa kinain namin pero dahil regular price siya, naisip namin sana nagbuffet na lang kami. My son even said, sana sa Teppanya na lang. Anyway, charged to experience na lang. Lesson learned, icheck yung date ng promotion.

It was weekend pero 2 tables lang occupied or baka mas gusto din nila sa buffet or teppanyaki. And because of this experience, for my son’s 16th birthday nagbuffet lunch na talaga kami para sulit sa gastos. 

Yurakuen Japanese Restaurant 
11AM to 10PM

October 08, 2024

Lunch at Mama Lou’s Italian Kitchen

I’m currently watching “Pasta” Korean drama series so I was craving pasta. Last weekend, after our grocery, I told my husband that I wanted to eat pasta. So we went to EVIA and ate lunch at Mama Lou’s Italian Kitchen. It was funny because, meron naman malapit na Mama Lou’s sa Landers pero napalayo pa kami.


According to my blog, nine years ago na yung last kain namin sa Mama Lou’s Italian Kitchen so we take our time browsing their menu at hindi kami makapili. I was craving pasta pero nung nakita ko yung menu for main course parang nagbabago isip ko. Hehehe! At first, I wanted to order the Vesuvio pasta but the staff warned me na it would take a long time to prepare and since gutom na ko, I settled for Lucio’s Truffle Pasta PHP499. 


My husband and son wanted pizza but they wanted different flavors. Good thing the staff mentioned na pwede naman half order. So we ordered half of Mama Lou’s Special and half of Quattro Formaggi PHP670 for 12 inches. For dessert, we ordered Blueberry Cheesecake PHP275. I don’t like their infused water so I ordered Coke in Can PHP110


As far as I can remember, may complimentary bread sila before so nagtataka ko na wala na nagseserve. Gutom na gutom talaga kami while waiting for our food. The restaurant was busy so our orders came after 30 minutes including the complimentary bread. Kaloka. 




Lucio’s Truffle Pasta - Spaghetti served with creamy truffle sauce, brown button mushrooms and parmesan
Mama Lou’s Special - Tomato Sauce, Mozzarella, Prosciutto, Ripe Mangoes, Arugula, Balsamic Glaze
Quattro Formaggi - Alfredo sauce, mozzarella, cheddar, honey goat’s cheese, blue cheese 
Blueberry Cheesecake - A delicate balance of rich creaminess and subtle sweetness baked to perfection.

We enjoyed the food naman but if ever we will eat here again, early lunch na kami pupunta. 

Mama Lou’s Italian Kitchen -Evia Lifestyle Center 
Monday to Sunday
10:00 AM to 9:00 PM

October 07, 2024

Halloween Craft Countdown 2024

I joined Craft with Sarah’s Halloween Craft Countdown last month. Although I’m not fond of Halloween, I completed 14 out of 20 craft projects. I only chose the projects that I want and I like to try. Luckily, I won second prize via random.

Ghost Library Layered Design 


3D Slot Together Cauldron 


Halloween Hanging Decorations 


Werewolf Layered Design 


Coffin Card


Halloween Door Corners 


Halloween Owl Layered Design 


Cute Critters Zombie 


Gnome Layered Designs 


Stained Glass Ghost 


Spooky Toadstools Layered Design 


Starburst Cards 

I don’t have Halloween Pattered Paper so I used Digital Halloween Background for this project. I print and then cut all the card elements except for the card base. 


Happy Halloween Card 


Flying Witch Layered Design

October 01, 2024

Magnetic Bookmarks for Teachers

First day of October and just like that, we are now in the last quarter of the year 2024. Wow, ang bilis lang talaga ng panahon. 

This week is also Teacher’s Day Celebration. I finished the Teacher’s Appreciation Cards two months ago but last week, nagcracramming na naman ako because I made these magnetic bookmarks. 

This is the fourth magnetic bookmark project that I have done so far. The other bookmarks are the Love Bookmark, Faux Leather Bookmark, and Minimalist Bookmark.  


For my fourth craft project, I used two designs “C is for Coffee” and Teacher Educator, Compassionate, Dedicated, and Motivator. I attached and flattened the designs using basic shapes. You can manually cut the design and magnetic sheet but I used my Cricut Maker. 



Materials
Photo Paper 
Glitter Phototop 
Magnet Sheet 
E7000 Glue 

For my display card, I used this Back to School Digital Paper Textures. I printed the design using White Glitter Paper and manually cut the cards. 


September 30, 2024

Birthday Celebration at Cabalen Plus

We recently attended my Uncle’s 90th Birthday Celebration at Cabalen Plus. Wow, 90 years, 9 decades old, 1,080 months old, 4,692 weeks old, 32,850 days old, 788,400 hours old, 47,304,000 minutes old, and 2,838,240,000 seconds old. It is indeed a milestone kasi sa panahon ngayon, parang ang ikli na lang ng buhay. Yung Papa ko nga hindi man lang umabot ng 70 years old.

It was funny because when I posted this on my Facebook Story, some people thought that it was my grandfather’s birthday. Hehehe! We had a huge age gap kasi. Actually, his first grandchild was my classmate when I was in Kinder. Oh di ba, ka-age ko lang pamangkin ko sa pinsan.

The invitation said 12 to 12:30PM yung waiting time but we arrived past 11AM so nag-ikot ikot muna kami sa mall before we went to the restaurant. We just went to the restaurant past 12NN na and konti pa lang visitors. 


I also heard that my one of my uncles was there at 11:30AM pero hindi pa daw pwede kumain. So I don't know kung same sa Cabalen na may time limit yung buffet. Yung difference ng Cabalen and Cabalen Plus is, that there are additional Asian cuisines on their menu. 

We started eating around 12:30PM nung dumating na yung pinsan ko na nagpareserve. As expected, konti na lang servings ng food so hindi ko na kinunan ng picture yung iba. Nagkakaubusan nga sa dessert station. Buti na lang birthday party ito at hindi ako nagbayad kasi hindi ko talaga nasulit yung buffet.








But I am happy naman sa nakain ko, I am satisfied naman sa lechon kawali, kare-kare, dinuguan, bopis, biko and sweet saba. Pero yung iba na food na nakita ko sa vlogs, hindi ko nakita sa buffet spread or naubusan ako. My husband likes the sisig meal. Anyway, if ever we will eat here again, aagahan namin ang punta.



I brought cake and a birthday cake topper for my uncle. Unfortunately, wala akong picture nung cake + cake topper during the celebration but here is the 90th birthday cake topper that I made.


Cabalen Plus Buffet Rate 

Adult

Monday to Thursday: PHP598.00
Friday to Sunday & Holiday: PHP628.00 

Kids 

Below 3ft: FREE 
Below 4ft: 50% 
Above 4ft: Regular Rate 

Cabalen Plus 
Ayala Malls Manila Bay

September 26, 2024

Lunch at Marugame Udon

Life is hectic so I have no time to blog. I am busy with lab test, check-up, errands, and crafting projects for birthday celebrants and teacher’s day. How I wish, nakakapayat yung pagiging busy. Hehehe!

Anyway, last weekend after my laboratory test we went to SM Sta. Rosa for lunch. We ate at Marugame Udon, ang tagal ko ng nacucurious diro sa restaurant na ito kasi laging ang haba ng pila so when I saw na wala pila, dito na lang kami kumain. 



I did my research and found out that Marugame Udon opened its first branch here in the Philippines in year 2017 and now they have 50 branches. This restaurant is known for udon and tempura. But I don’t like udon so katsu na naman order ko. 

We ordered Katsu Curry Rice PHP310, Beef Ontama Udon PHP240, Pork Samurai Udon PHP230 and Gyoza (3pcs on stick) PHP125. 





I was surprised when my husband came with our food na so parang fastfood pala ito. Ang bilis iprepare yung order. My katsu curry rice was so big so pinaubos ko sa kasama ko. My husband and son finished their udon naman.

September 20, 2024

Farewell and Retirement Cards

Saying goodbye to coworkers is not easy, it is a mixed emotion of sadness and happiness. You feel happy if they take new opportunities or move to greener pastures. You feel sad if they get laid off or retire after years of service. Whatever the reason, giving them a farewell party or gifts is important. 

Last year, out of the blue, my husband asked me if I had a Retirement Card. I said “Wala, but I can make one, kailan mo ba need?”. He said, today. Waah! Kaloka di ba, so I was cramming to make a retirement card for his boss bago pa siya pumasok ng office. And because of that, I don’t have a picture of the card that I made.

So now, I make cards in advance for my future needs, para hindi na ko mastress sa paggawa because crafting should be fun. I’m sharing my finished farewell and retirement cards. 











I can’t decide on a color combination for this Hot Air Balloon Farewell Card again so I made three variations. I will give these cards to my husband for his staff na aalis na next month. 
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