When people ushered in the Chinese New Year almost two weeks ago, this cappuccino tikoy or nian gao was something I was wanting to buy. It was commonly offered and recommended by those who were selling this at the Chinese food festival at the AMall.

I ended up just taking a photo of it before we left. It was just too big and the boys are not much into eating this so I decided to forego with the idea then and maybe just buy one some other time. I basically like eating tikoy or Chinese rice cake made from glutinous rice flour.

I remember that my Chinese classmates in college would treat us to free tikoy during Chinese new year. That was something we look forward to each year then. Well for now, I have found two suppliers who sells this cappuccino tikoy and I can just drop by their store anytime perhaps when I want some of this cappuccino tikoy.

This is the Morrisons Apple Squash Juice Concentrate that my mom sent to us from the Christmas package that my dear elder sister sent to us from UK. This is really sweet. At first I thought I could just drink it as it is even a little and I did not know that it was juice concentrate so you could imagine how sweet this tasted when I drank it straight without adding any water. Only a little of this for a glass of water will do for me but I was late to know that.

It is delicious and it is the first time that hubby and I have tasted anything like this with squash. I could not actually point out the taste of squash int his juice concentrate. It is more of strong sweet apple taste. the label says no added sugar from this concentrated apple juice drink with sweeteners. Yes it is kind of too sweet for me but I think my sister liked this that is why she sent this to us for us to enjoy drinking it as well.

This should have been our “wine” during New Year. There is still a few left of this since I don’t drink this anymore than hubby does once in awhile.

Brown rice (or “hulled rice”) is unmilled or partly milled rice, a kind of whole, natural grain.

With thoughts of a mom wanting to go for healthy options, I have been thinking of trying to use brown rice (also called unpolished rice) instead for our own consumption. It is actually more expensive than the rice that we usually buy from the supermarket but more nutritious than white rice. Hubby and I have tried this before a couple of years ago or so at one of the small restaurants in the city called Grub that serves brown rice with their meals served. We liked it though at first being not used to eating it, I was quite hesitant but went on to enjoy eating it as I remember.

One thought that I have in mind is also that idea I have read before that brown rice since it still have the nutrients and is not only a better choice compared to the more common white rice that we consume, but it is also better for the environment than white rice too. Almost 12 years ago, there had been such a brown rice campaign initiated but maybe because it is really more expensive then most Filipinos stick with consuming white rice more than the brown rice.

Well I still want to try cooking it at home. I hope later when hubby and I will go to the supermarket, he will go with the idea of buying even just a kilo and we’ll try cooking it tomorrow. I bet he will.

Now I just have to know how they cook brown rice. I have read that it is cooked basically the same as white rice. Just note that when you cook brown rice make sure that you allow the rice to soak in the water for around 25 to 30 minutes before turning on the heat since it is more tough and stiff. Well we will see if we get to try cooking it soon.

Christmas at Max’s

Found this Christmas themed paper place mats of Max’s to be simple yet nice! It comes in colors red and green too. They may not have much decors in their store but with the words “Sarap kapiling ngayong Pasko” written in the center of their Christmas paper mats, this serves as an invitation to Pinoy loyal customers to dine at Max’s with the family and friends this yuletide season.

I missed the Figaro Coffee Frost. I do remember I liked this one. I stumbled upon this photo among my photo files. This was taken almost six years ago. Yes that long ago hahaha!

The latest we have been to Figaro was in their Abreeza branch and the newest one in The Peak of Gaisano Mall Davao. I like the latest branch in the Peak. It’s a nice new place to hangout in the city. You also get a view of downtown Davao while enjoying your fave Figaro Coffee drink. They got sandwiches, pasta and other dishes in their menu.

Come December when more other restos open there it would be a nice opportunity to visit Figaro at the Peak after having lunch or dinner at one of the restos there.

My dear dad brought me and hubby one each of this hot chocolate from McDonalds. A simple treat for me that makes up my morning. He brought this to us this morning while I asked him to buy pancakes for the little guy. My daddy is so easy to talk to when hubby and I ask a favor and we are ever grateful he is one those people in my family that we can readily count on.

Thank you daddy for this hot choco! It is actually a fave of mine and hubby.

Craving for a chocolate cake at this hour at night just when I am about to sleep. I am trying to remember where I bought this chocolate cake two years ago. Surely I liked this one but I just can’t figure out where we bought this.

Oh well that may be good so I won’t be able to buy it and destroy my diet. Plus the last thing I need now is for another sore throat episode to happen. But who does not want a chocolate cake now? I do but just can’t have one.

Thinking about durian just as I came across upon uploading this quick snapshot using the GTab that I took of our suki durian vendor in the city somewhere in Torres Street. This is where we used to buy durian last year and before that. This year I tried to avoid it really for health reasons. Plus there were talks that I heard that the price this year of durian per kilo is higher due to limited supply unlike the previous seasons.

What happened to our durian supply during the Kadayawan Festival when it is mostly abundant? The price of durian fresh packed in styro at Robinson’s supermarket in Abreeza is around 70 pesos up (opened already with no more shell) depending on the weight. If I am not mistaken it was around 300 plus per kilo of fresh durian. Kind of expensive still.But for some, they don’t mind the price as long as they will be able to eat the so-called “king of fruits”.

When will the price of durian go down and more so when will it be abundant again here in the city?

When you get hungry, with not so much cash in your pocket and you see a Jollibee store nearby, well go for the Jollibee 39ers. This 5-pc Shanghai Rolls was my late lunch a few days ago. Well it was supposed to be just snacks yet I found the 39ers cheaper and heavier for the tummy since I just had brunch. I actually wanted to order another rice but had to stop myself coz it’s way too heavy for my tummy already.

Jollibee 39ers is a saver for the tight-budget-me that day. LOL! I’m saving for a trip soon. We’ll just have a food trip then.

4 Formaggi | Pizzeria Michelangelo

The boys and I went out just a few nights ago after hibernating at home after the busy weekend. We finally tried the Pizzeria Michelangelo at Damosa beside Hola Espana which seems to own the pizzeria too. Hubby ordered 4 Formaggi or their own version of four cheese pizza. It was good enough and I can say it was delicious. With eight slices of this 16 inch thin crust pizza that costs P360, I think that’s reasonably priced somehow.

We skipped rice during that time and just had pizza for dinner. I hope the effect of not eating much rice in a day is as effective as having taken diet pills. Though the pizza is still rich in carbo, I try to eat only as much as two slices and no more. I told myself if I get hungry later that night, I’d just sleep it off.