Margarita is sooo gay

We'd love to jet away for a trip to somewhere exotic. Lounge at night on a tourist bar and snap our fingers to have someone deliver us Burmese rice, persian kebab, authentic pad Thai or anything foreign and exciting. But those are just vacation fantasies for now 😭

But vacation is not just flying across the world. Vacation could also be a day off with one of your coolest best friends to sip margaritas and have coffee after and you can call it a day! 

I am not a fan of alcoholic drinks. But I love margarita

And margarita is soooo gay! It tastes gay it looks gay and we felt sooo gay 😋

Fancy a cuppa rosy? TWG Rockwell

I never would have thought how lovely hot tea could be on a bright clear summer day of April. 

TWG Tea, the finest luxury tea brand in the world, was established in Singapore and celebrates the year 1837 when the island became a trading post for teas, spices and fine epicurean products. TWG Tea, which stands for The Wellbeing Group, was co-founded by Taha Bouqdib, Maranda Barnes and Rith Aum-Stievenard in 2008 as a luxury concept that incorporates unique and original retail outlets, exquisite tea rooms and an international distribution network to professionals. A veritable tea institution, TWG Tea is passionate about sharing its expertise and has become a point of reference for tea lovers thirsty for knowledge. (https://www.twgtea.com/the-twg-tea-story)

TWG Tea tasters travel thousands of miles across the globe every year, sampling hundreds of teas in search of the most desirable harvests direct from source gardens. Offering over 1,000 single-estate, fine harvest teas and exclusive blends, as well as tea patisseries and other tea-infused delicacies, TWG Tea is internationally recognised as a true innovator with the creation of new varieties of tea every season in collaboration with the world’s most renowned estates.

The TWG Tea team takes pride in shaping the aesthetic image underpinning all the brand’s products, constantly updating the notion of TWG Tea while respecting the Asian and European traditions of elegance and beauty on which it is based, now spiced with a touch of sensuality and originality. (https://www.twgtea.com/the-twg-tea-story)

We had the CHIC which includes our choice of Royal Moroccan tea served hot, Imperial set for finger sandwiches and baked muffins with TWG Tea jelly and whipped cream

In England, the traditional time for tea was four or five o'clock. Most tea rooms today serve tea from three to five o'clock and the menu of our choice is offered from three to six o'clock only. The menu doesn't just offer tea, bread, butter and cakes, it also includes Savories - Tiny sandwiches or appetizers and Scones/Muffins - Served with jam and Devonshire or whipped cream

Every sip would leave you recalling incidents from your astonishing life and the perfect steam was glorious.

Sophistication at its finest!

Tea cups with a handle are held by placing one’s fingers to the front and back of the handle with one’s pinkie up again allows balance.Pinkie up does mean straight up in the air, but slightly tilted. It is not an affectation, but a graceful way to avoid spills.

Our petite menu on a lovely trolley

Navigating TWG Tea's world collection of tea can be a daunting task.

TWG Tea’s collection – the largest in the world – numbers well over 800 different single-estate, fine harvests and exclusive tea blends from all of the tea-producing countries. Committed to offering teas directly from source gardens, TWG Tea understands the evolving tastes of the modern tea drinker, and has developed special varieties in collaboration with the most renowned tea estates. (https://www.twgtea.com/the-twg-tea-story)

Rich and thick pate sandwich

TWG Tea is passionately innovative in the conception of tea-infused patisseries of exquisite taste and uses only the purest natural ingredients. Each TWG Tea patisserie is entirely conceived, crafted and delivered by hand to ensure the very finest quality to customers. The TWG Tea executive patisserie chef and his team create these patisseries as ethereal desires – gastronomic images that are as delicious as they are fleeting, to bring you back, time and again, to the tea table and nostalgia of moments past.

You can also buy in grams :)

Cafe Maceo

Like countless other emerging cool restaurants in Lucena, Cafe Maceo has its own unique menu offers that are sort of more like american style.

I think this is soya milk drink? I couldn't remember, I don't write notes and I easily forget even if I knew I would be writing about it and I need to have the correct name and price of whatever food I eat. And old habits die hard. But this drink is a must try!

The pasta was bland. I even snubbed the name and I don't have the interest of recalling what this dish is called. Even with the parmesan, there was still something lacking. Maybe the mussels are just not really a match for thick white sauce, and without wine.

The burger meat and mushroom was yummy. But I just don't get why a loaf bread was used. I conjecture this is a sandwich not a burger.

Milo everywhere in Sabah

We had a reservation in Gaya hotel but last minute upon arrival at the airport we changed our mind. We paid an additional 50% late night surcharge for our taxi fare and it was expensive so we had to change our hotel We stayed 20minutes ride away from Gaya. And the area was a bore, it's for tourists who want some quite time. However there  are a lot of hotels around the area. 

First thing in the morning we looked for a convenience store and we found orange. Okay so there are no 7/11 stores around really. 

Everytime I visit another country I always check their 7/11. It's what other tourists do as well, there I can instantly find interesting things and food that I take home. 😆 But there was nothing interesting at Orange Store, what took my attention was the milo candy pack. It's my childhood favorite! 

And we found no artsy cafes around the area! We found a sort of eatery and they offer laksa a Malaysian dish you have to try. Signboards of their offers are noticeably displayed on walls. And we couldn't help notice the special inclusion of Milo on the layouts/displays. Are they selling milos too?

And  tables have milo ad stickers too! Not too mention every table has hard boiled eggs  ready served.

Days after we got to check Sabah's supermarket, aside from different brands of Malaysian coffee there were a lot of chocolate drinks too! If in Philippines people love instant juice, in Sabah they love chocolate drinks. I remembered my grandma, she used to send me loads and loads of Nesquick!

People can take a break from Milo and coffee, With Horlicks out in the market, which resembles the taste of ovaltine haha. 

Sosy Problems at Wild Flour, Da Fort

After some time, I've decided I want to quit my job and I needed someone to willingly support my decision so I asked my friend for a catch up dinner at Da Fort. We always share the same hang ups in life, and the same cravings for food adventure.

We've been planning for so long on dining at Wild Flour,the cafe where I see flood like posts of its delish offers on Instagram. They say that the place originally was just a bakery where you can find big hit cronuts and pastries that originated from New York. But their food offers are irresistibly and remarkably delicious that people came to love and frequent the place.

The correct twist and twang pronunciation of Wild Flour in English sounds like Wild Flower.

French bread with salt and butter

Macaroni and cheese with gruyere and cheddar. This is so delish with different complexity of flavors. Crispy cheese crust on top and creamy chewy cheesy macaroni under.

Kimchi Rice with well done Steak. I get it now why my korean friends love kimchi. I'd definitely be back for this 

Our dinner spread looks so romantic, funny how it slaps us with reality that we don't have any date and won't have any date. Our only option is to date ourselves and date our girlfriends. Oh enough of Too much date word

Ren had beef burger and bacon with fries on the side. 

Alvinos

Alvinos is one of the many innovative restaurants in Lucena. At night the place is frequented by mostly college students/barkadas due to the great ambiance, the spacious set-up and the affordable foods the place has.

It was our first time here and we were clueless on what to order. The server didn't suggest anything, or I think we didn't really bother asking, I couldn't remember.

Mango ice cream, I don't know how they did this but this is defo awesome

There's a japanese area with tatami tables. I asked if they offer Ramen or sushi or anything japanese and ironically they don't

The burger was lousy, there's nothing special they should put a twist or story to their burgers

Nacho chips, I wonder why put milk when there's no meat? I suggest they put cheese dip instead and salsa. I know it's cheap but come on find a way to delight the customers. 

 

While having a hearty conversation with my mates, we couldn't help but look at the group of teens talking so loud near our table. They ordered binalot,- a rice and viand wrapped in a banana leaf, and it comes with a plastic glove you can use to cover your hands. When they started eating they all suddenly kept quite, all busied themselves on eating using bare hands. We wanted to try their binalot, the dish looked appetizing plus its fun to eat kamay-style. But we were already full and there's always a next time.

Calea in Bacolod

On our last day of stay in Bacolod, all I wanted was to get to the airport asap. I was already exhausted and I didn't feel like eating. But my friend said she read that Bacolod stay wouldn't be complete if you hadn't tried cakes in Calea. The hell with social media and viral marketing, hahaha

Even if it was raining hard, we struggled to find where Calea is!

I didn't wanna try their cakes, I wasn't feeling sweet and I was not inspired. So I ordered turkey ham supreme. Not bad, 'twas delicious

Ren had Blueberry cheesecake, she was convincing me to try and taste it but really something's wrong with me that time. I snobbed her offer at first, but then she was like 'oh truly they are right, pastries are sooo good here.' Hmmmm that was contagious, so I finally had a a taste and yep, it was delicious there's something magical with every bite.

Ate chelle opt to eat siopao, she had a bowl of ice cream the other night. Enough of sweetness.

Cafe Quay and the Black Burger

R.I.P. to the money I've spent on my food adventures. Why can't good food be free? hehe 

When I'm bored at home without work, I tend to overspend. So I shouldn't be taking any rest or hiatus, someone or something should keep me busy so I could stop spending.

But I couldn't help it, when I saw a post of the famed black burger on my friend's facebook I had the sudden urge to find and try that burger. 

The black burger is one of Cafe Quay's best sellers. The place look like a posh food parlor and I love the lovely paintings on the wall. Most of the paintings suggest a scene of UK. Maybe the name of the restaurant, came from Quay Street - a street in Manchester city centre, in Greater Manchester, England.

Is it really black? It looks violet to me. In fairness, the beef patty is rich in flavor. I'm not a fun of burgers with pineapple, hope they change it in the future.

Perfect for tea time. Fancy a cuppa rosy?

Their menu

People who love to eat are always the best people. I should always have money to buy food for my love of eating. 

This place is highly recommended, their offers are actually cheap won't hurt your pockets.