Brown Sugar Milk Tea Fix at Tiger Sugar, Bonifacio High Street

It's been awhile since I've had Milk Tea on my mind and in my belly. In my former life (aka Fatty Days), I can chug cups of Milk Tea in a week with no remorse whatsoever. Fast forward to the last 2 years wherein I've managed to cut down my milk tea intake to once a month to almost none at all (*pats back*). But I'm afraid because of new circumstances, I am now back to my milk tea habit and it certainly did not help that new tea places have cropped up. 

After having lunch at Bonifacio High Street, it seemed as good time as any to visit this newly opened Milk Tea place. First thought that came into mind? "Ang haba ng pila!" ("The line's too long!") See picture below.

Panoramic View

The line was snaking around the stall up until almost to the doors of Fully Booked; and it was already 2 in the afternoon. It seemed like drinking Tiger Sugar's Brown Sugar With Cream Mousse was in everybody's agenda for the day. 

Father-In-Law's 60th at Blackbird, The Nielson Tower, Ayala Triangle Gardens, Philippines

This isn't our first rodeo; we have been planning surprise parties/ events for countless of times already but I have to be honest, this surprise party for my father-in-law (FIL) by far was the most stressful of all. Because aside from the fact that we had to keep it a secret from the celebrant, we also had to keep it from his wife (aka my mother-in-law). Yup, instead of having her on our side & helping with the planning, she was kept in the dark as well. We chose to do this to prevent "leaks" of any kind.

It took a few number of late night talks; planning before we finally settled on the venue. There were a number of choices such as Gloria Maris, Umu & Mendokoro Ramenba (who unfortunately didn't allow rental of the whole place) but we felt for his 60th, we wanted it to be a unique experience; some where he hasn't step his foot in while still still keeping it intimate & classy. With that prerequisite plus good food, we knew we wouldn't go wrong with Blackbird at the Nielson Tower Ayala Triangle Gardens. 

We were able to try out some of their dishes during Hubby's birthday (click here for the link). Although there were a few hiccups in the service, the food was simply good enough to compensate for it all.

We decided to reserve The Cabin, their 2nd-floor 20-seater private room accessible through the spiral staircase.

Privacy such as this does not come cheap. There is a standing 30k consumable rate for lunch (an amount we were sure to be going well over); that's already hotel buffet dining rates right there (for those with hotel membership cards at least). So you can just imagine how much we wanted this event to go as smoothly as possible.

Blackbird offers a selection of a pre-selected tasting menus but we wanted to be sure that no guest of ours would leave hungry therefore we arranged our own 4-course ala carte menu.

After several emails with Jeffrey, it was finally The Day. Hubby was stressing over the latecomers (you know who you are); coordinating with the appointed contact person (Hi Carol) to prep the other guests and making sure that FIL & MIL would have no excuse but to come with us for lunch. Finally, the stage was set.

Lechon Fever at Zubuchon Makati, Philippines

The much awaited arrival of one of the lechon heavyweight contender from Cebu has finally come to Makati. A new lechon place right in our neighborhood? There's no way that we would let this pass and pretty soon, we found ourselves driving to Talisay Street near the Makati City Fire Station.

Welcome to Zubuchon.

Making reservations and coming early are definitely encouraged, especially when you're hoping to have their famous lechon. They do run out of this roasted glistening porcine and the next one takes at least 5 hours to cook. Also the parking lot gets filled up pretty quick.

There's a warehouse kind of feel to it; open-spaced and airy with wooden tables. The pop of red comes from the plates set on the tables.

#FoodStarsAtConradHotel: Bijin Nabe, S Maison, Conrad Hotel, SM Mall of Asia, Pasay City, Philippines

With shabu shabu on our minds, we decided to drive out to Conrad hotel and try the widely known "collagen soup". More than the health and skin benefits of the said soup, we were more intrigued to find out how it tastes like. 

The drive there was fortunately pleasant, roads were somewhat clear and traffic was minimal.

Each table is obligated to order at least 1 serving of their hot pot. Take note that the photo on the menu is 2 portions already. This particular hotpot is loaded up with vegetables of all kinds and the only proteins you get are the 2 pieces of chicken, handmade chicken balls and shrimps. Definitely a far cry from our usual hotpot which we fill up with lots of meat and balls.

After taking our orders, the server comes back and the unique Bijin Nabe experience begins.

They serve up the pot with this jelly-like substance which is actually the Golden Collagen Chicken Soup. This is what it looks like after several minutes of boiling.

The soup changes into liquid form and has a creamy yellowish tinge. We were quite surprised to see that hidden underneath the jelly earlier were the chopped chicken pieces.

Before serving you the soup, they let you taste it in its purest form. They ladle you a teacup-sized shot for tasting. Taking care not to scorch your tongue, tiny sips are highly advised. It is as creamy as it looks, with a large dose of chicken flavor that I like.