Ben 10 Fondant Cake for Michael

     Before the year 2010 ends I would like to share the second birthday cake that I created.  Last December 26, our baby brother Michael celebrated his 5th birthday. Every year we make sure that he will have a small birthday party at home for him and for his friends in the neighborhood. And every year, we always order a birthday cake but since his birthday falls on the last week of the year its always hard to find a bakeshop or cake house that still  accepts cake orders and not to mention the prices of the cakes are soaring up because of the holiday season.

My First Fondant Cake: Dora

     Hi guys I am back. I was busy preparing for the Christmas day last week and the preparation was dreadful.  Last December 23, Ruel asked me if I can make a cake for Karylle, his cute little cousin.  We planned to give her a cake for her birthday since October but it slipped off my mind because that topic was not brought up anymore.  And two days before her birthday he sent me a message asking if I can make a Dora cake for Karylle, I said yes.

Merry Christmas To All!

I have not updated my blog for a time now cause of the Christmas rush! Wew! It's so hard if you are the only daughter in the family, most of the chores are assigned to you like planning for the Noche Buena, shopping for Christmas gifts, doing the grocery, household chores and cooking for Christmas eve. The list goes on... Thats why I was not able to go online for over a week. =( Poor me. Anyway, I will try to post a new entry on my blog this week. Promise.
For those who visits my blog regularly, a million thanks to you. And to all, merry merry Christmas and may all your wishes and heart's desire came true this birthday of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Crepes for Dessert

Who would have thought that this small cafe we often passed by in Shopping is where you can taste the most yummy crepes in the city.  I always thought that Simi's Pastries and Coffee is just like any ordinary cafe or coffee shops that sprouted in Bacolod not until yesterday when Eastern invited to treat us for dessert after we had our lunch at Pamilya Grill (Lil' Bobs as Eric called them). 

We told her that we want to try something new besides  Calea or Felicia's so she brought us to Simi's. She told us that they served the best crepes, so we ordered crepes of different flavor for each. I ordered Chocolate Almond with ice cream and Eric tried Peaches with ice cream. The prices for their crepes varies from Php 45-80 and if you want an ice cream

My 2010 Christmas Wish List

Went out to pay my credit card bill earlier. The streets of Bacolod City downtown area is once again heavy with traffic. I love Christmas and I always look forward for Christmas but I despise the traffic.
At this early people are flocking the malls or even the sidewalk stalls to shop for their Christmas gifts. Still haven't made up my Christmas list yet, I'm still thinking of what gifts to give to my family, boyfriend, friends, godsons and goddaughters and for myself.

Anyway, here are my top 10 Christmas wish list.
1. Good health for me and my love ones
2. World peace, world peace and major major world peace.
3. Notebook
2.  an SLR camera
3. a new wardrobe
4. to travel anywhere I want to go
5. of course money, to finance my travel, and for my savings
6. to trim my waist down to 26 (laugh out loud)
7. improve my baking skills
8  get  into a culinary school
9. get married by 2012
10. and lastly, have a baby after getting married

That's all for know. I hope I'll get most of them hahahah

      

Felicia's Pastry Cafe Sans Rival and Macarons

     Felicia's Pastry Cafe is another cake house in Bacolod is starting to gain popularity or regular customers. They have been in the pastry business for a couple of years but had not got a chance to check this place.      
     Eric was craving for their Sans Rival and Macarons like a pregnant woman but unfortunately they are close for renovation when we passed by their place but so happy to know that the pastry shop will resume business on the next day.

Pamilya Grill Sate Babe

      If you have been to Bacolod City and have eaten in Bob's Restaurant then you must be familiar with their best seller Sate Babe. Sate Babe is a grilled pork on stick with peanut butter sauce. An order of Sate Babe from them costs more or less Php 98.00.

     If you have recently become a fan or already fond of eating it you might want to give it a second thought before ordering a second plate. Don't worry, you do not have to wait for your next salary to enjoy your

Calea Cakes: My Guilty Pleasure

     After overfilling our body with cholesterol for lunch, we continued our mission to satiate our taste buds for something sweet. The nearest pastry shop would be Felicia's and a fifteen minute walk could aid in digesting the the food inside our stomach. Too bad the pastry shop was closed for renovation and will resume business tomorrow. Because our body was craving for calories and high sugar content nourishment, we headed to Calea Cakes & Pastry Shop.

Calea's Sans Rival

     Since college days, Calea has always been our number one destination if we wanted to eat desserts or just hang-out over a cup of coffee and their bestseller Chocolate cake. Not only the Bacolodnons came to love their cakes but also visitors from  Manila or from other provinces would make sure that they carry a box of cake from Calea for pasalubong. 

How could you resist this?

     A slice of imported chocolate cake costs  Php 85.00. You might say its quite pricey for one slice but as the name implies, "imported" chocolate cake. Yes, ingredients are imported from outside the country. It's the secret ingredient to their mouthwatering cakes. Try it and you wont regret spending a few hundred bucks, you might ask for another slice or two. =)

    For those who are planning to visit Bacolod, Calea is located in 14th St. Lacson just beside L' Fisher Hotel.

Conees Cansi House

     Had lunch with Eric of byahilo today. He was craving for a hot and steamy Cansi, a local beef stew, and I knew a place that offers the best Cansi in town so we decide to meet around 11:30 in the morning. Perfect time to have lunch but Eric arrived several minutes after 12:00 noon. We hurried to the place only to find out its already packed with people from the nearby offices having their lunch. Luckily, we were able to find a vacant table.
     The place I'm talking about is Conees Cansi House. Sandwiched between commercial and private offices in Narra Avenue Shopping. One look and you might think it's just like any ordinary small eateries but as the old Proverb goes "don't judge the book by its cover".

     We ordered a large bowl of super-high-in-cholesterol cansi, rice and softdrinks. One large bowl  costs Php 195.00 and can be shared by two or three persons. It also came with additional cups of cansi broth just in case you needed more. While munching our lunch, Eric kept on joking about the cholesterols as he gorge on the marrow from the bone. Saying he should take a tablet of Lipitor or he might have a heart attack.
     In Negros, our version of Cansi or Kansi is made of purely beef shank with bone marrow simmered for several hours, some pressured cook it to lessen the cooking time,  until the meat is tender. Then "Batuan", a local fruit abundant only in the Visayas area, were added for that sour taste.

Christmas Decorations for Less at 888 Chinatown Mall

The Philippines must have the longest Christmas celebration than the rest in the world. As early as September, homes and shopping malls are decorated for the holiday season. Radio stations are starting to play Christmas songs as early as that.
At home, bells and balls are still kept in the storage. We usually decorate our home on the first week of December. Mom wanted to add more ornaments to our tree so we decided to check out  888 Chinatown Mall hoping to find a good bargain. To my surprise, Christmas decors are super-cheap. They are the same items sold in the leading department stores and shopping malls but they vary in the price. 888 Chinatown Mall also offers ready-to-wear items and children toys at a very low price without compromising the quality. Therefore you can be fashionable without spending much.

After we bought the decors we needed and a few rounds inside the mall we decided to go home. I'm so excited  to decorate our Christmas tree with the new decors we bought and happy as well cause we are able to save several bucks. Next time when I will be shopping for Christmas gifts, there's only one place to go, 888 Chinatown Mall.

2 sets of  6 large silver Christmas balls @  Php 68.00 each

1 dozen of medium size silver balls for  Php 100.00

6 pieces silver and red poinsettia fabric flowers @ Php 34.00 each

4 packs of red and gold covered pines cones @ Php 20.00 each

Front door decor for Php 50.00

Star light for Php 130.00

4 boxes of Christmas tree lights @ Php 85.00

All sum up to Php 1,040.00 only.

  













Search Amazon.com for  your Christmas gift now.

November 30 : Andres Bonifacio Day

     Today, November 30, we pay tribute to one of the greatest Philippine hero Andres Bonifacio as we celebrate his 147th birthday. Since grade school we were taught that he was the Father of the Philippine Revolution and one of the founder of "Katipunan" or  "Kataastaasan Kagalang-galang na Katipunan ng mga Anak ng Bayan" (KKK). His undying courage became an inspiratin to all Katipunero's to fight against the oprressors leading to the country's freedom on June 12, 1908.

     In the present time, every where you look there are so many unnoticed heroes. People who would go beyond what they normally do just to help the country or their fellow countrymen. Some who have given a great impact on the soceity were given international recognition for their endeavor,  like Efren Penaflorida who have won the CNN Hero of the Year 2009 for his "pushcart classroom" to educate poor children who can not afford formal education. Our country, sad to say is still on a bondage, not from oppressors but from poverty. And we Filipinos are still waiting for the "hero" to rescue us from this enslavement and can bring the whole country to prosperity. But while waiting for this hero to come we should start being a hero to others and the country. Each one of us can be a hero in our own small ways. The traffic policemen on the streets, our teachers in school and overseas Filipino workers are some of our  modern day heroes. These people are working hard for their family and country are not looking for recognition or popularity.

     But how to be a hero? Do you have to die first before you become a hero? I think, being a good example to others, following rules and caring for others and the environment are some small ways but if several persons doing it, altogether, will have a great impact and effects to the world.

Photo Friday: Nature

Taken in Boracay Island last July while we are island hopping. =)  This is supposed to be my entry for Audrey Rose'  My Dysfunctional World photo Friday but I could not get the code for some reason its giving me error 404 not found. I don't want to bother Audz anymore, she's preparing for her trip to Iloilo tomorrow. Anyway, I still want to share it with you guys.

San Diego Parish Church in Silay

     I heard mass today. What's funny is that I traveled almost 30 minutes all the way from Bacolod City to San Diego Parish Church in Silay City just to hear mass. Silay City is 14 kilometers north of Bacolod.  It was raining hard when I left Bacolod and good thing that the rain stopped when I reached Silay and just in time for the mass to begin. One couldn't hardly notice this massive edifice as you passed by the main street of Silay.

Safety Driving on a Hot Weather

       Driving on an extremely hot weather is different from a normal weather condition. There are few things you have to keep in mind  in order to keep your self and your love ones safe while driving on a hot weather.
     Check your tires. Before leaving your house make sure that your car tires are in good condition for long travel. When driving on a hot weather, as air temperature rises, the pressure inside the tire also increases. Too much pressure could blow your tire to pieces.  Always check your tire every 100 miles or a couple of hours. If you think the tire gets too hot, stop over by the side of the road and allow your tire to cool down for a few minutes.

     Make sure you have enough engine oil.  Engine oil helps in keeping your engine cool for better performance. Go for synthetic oils for extreme temperature protection, durability, all round performance and longer oil change interval.

     Before going out on a long journey, make sure that your car's engine cooling system works perfectly well.  Keep an eye on your temperature gauge, if the gauge goes to high immediately pulled off the road to a safe place-- DO NOT! yes, do not attempt to drive any further. Driving with an overheated engine causes damage to your car engine. 

     Make sure that your air conditioning system is in perfect condition before setting out on a road trip. You don't want to find yourself sweating all throughout the journey.

     Extreme temperatures (hot or cold) affects the life of your timing belt. It is advised that if you change your timing belt have your water pump changed as well.

     Lastly, have you car regulary check in an auto repair shop. If you are residing in Arizona, given its hot climatic conditions, its best to have your card check by the experts like Houston auto repair. All you just need to do is visit their website, RepairPal.com, and they will give you the nearest repair shop in your area. You don't want to be stuck in the middle of nowhere with your new Ford Expedition or Lexus don't you?

Photos from Canon Shoot and Run 2010 Photo Challenge

Theme 1:  Beauty of Bacolod
We went around Bacolod's famous spots to shoot; the New Government Center and Provincial Capitol Lagoon

The newest seat of the government of the people of Bacolod City.

Shoot & Run 2010: A Photo Challenge by Canon dHUB

     Canon Digital Hub in SM City Bacolod held Shoot & Run photo challenge earlier today as it turned one year.  The contest was open to all professional or amateur photographers and I was lucky to be one of the participants.

     The event started at 12:00 noon with the registration of the participants. Audrey Rose of lagawan , Ruel of Surimi Goes To and Chino was already there when I arrived. We were given Canon T-shirts and ID to be worn during the competition. There were three categories given: Beauty of Bacolod, Cultural or Spiritual, Fashion in Motion and the bonus category SM Eco Bag.  On each category, we were given one and half hour to take photos including the download time. We can take photos anywhere we want provided we have to check in before the time ends and have the best photo downloaded as your entry for that specific category.  We have to be back on time or else we will miss the announcement for the next category. One  winner for each category will receive a Canon Pixma MP497 printer. Snacks and energy drinks were provided to the participants as well. Pretty neat huh.

Photo Friday : A Friday of No Theme

My entry for today's photo Friday is this.

This piece of scribble was drawn by my little baby brother Michael. He told me that the one on the left is our mom mopping the floor and the one on the right was me sitting in front of the computer. I couldn't stop on praising him for his small work of art.

Come & join Photo Friday and share your photos (related to the theme) with us. All you have to do is to leave the actual post link here and grab the code below and place it at your photo Friday blog entry. You can grab this code at My Dysfunctional World . Please note these links are STRICTLY for Photo Friday participants only.

Giant Christmas Tree in Bacolod Lighted Up

     It's the most wonderful time of the year.  Yes, christmas is just around the corner.  Some shops, offices and homes are starting to decorate their place for a festive mood.

     888 Chinatown Square mall is all set up for the yuletide season as it lighted its giant christmas tree on November 15.  The biggest tree in the city of Bacolod was set up right in front of the mall's main entrance. 

      Underneath is a nativity scene of comprised figurines depicting the birth of Jesus Christ with Mary, Joseph, three wise kings and the shepherd.  Not only the lights from the tree brightened up the place but the whole structure itself is a display of colors.

A Day in San Carlos City

     When Audz and Porsh asked me if I wanted to go with them to San Carlos City to watch the Pintaflores I did not give it a second thought. It is going to be our first time to experience it so everyone was excited to go including Ruel when I told him about the plan.

     We departed Ceres terminal in Bacolod at 8:30 in the morning, took the Don Salvador route to shorten our trip and arrived in San Carlos before 11:00. The paved road and the scenery along the way made the whole trip smooth and pleasant.

  

Photo Friday Entry

This is my entry for the Photo Friday themed Colours. Got this from the recently concluded Pintaflores Festival 2010 in San Carlos City. Probably the most colorful festival I've seen.

Come & join Photo Friday and share your photos (related to the theme) with us. All you have to do is to leave the actual post link here and grab the code below and place it at your photo Friday blog entry. You can grab this code at My Dysfunctional World . Please note these links are STRICTLY for Photo Friday participants only.

Traversing Don Salvador Benedicto Highway

     Last Friday I went to San Carlos City together with Ruel, Audz and Grace to witness their colorful Pintaflores Festival. We left Bacolod at 8:30 in the morning. We took the bus to San Carlos City via the Don Salvador route to cut down our travel time.  Don Salvador Benedicto is a municipality situated high up on the mountain. The temperature remains cool all throughout the year that is why the provincial government named it the "Little Baguio" of Negros. I can still feel the chilly wind even though its already 10 o'clock in the morning.

More photos from Pintaflores Festival 2010...

     As promised, here are the rest of the pictures that I took from Pintaflores Festival 2010 in San Carlos City. I'm already looking forward for next year's Pintaflores Festival.

Pintaflores Festival 2010, Vamos San Carlos

     Last November 5, me and Ruel with Audrey Rose and Grace went to San Carlos City to experience their very unique festival, the Pintaflores.  The concept of the costumes, props and body paints are all flowers that is why Pintaflores is called the "Dances of Flowers". I was overwhelmed by the colors and the beauty that I had seen. And I can say that this got to be the most colorful festival I've ever seen in my life.

     The highlight of the celebration is the street dancing and the ritual dance competition and the music came from the beat of the drums and other musical instruments. The street dance started at one in the afternoon under the scorching heat of the sun but that could not stop the people from flocking the streets witness this astonishing event. Since it is my first time, I took the time to take pictures from this amazing festivity.

     Here are some of the pictures from my camera. I hope you'll enjoy it like I did.

Remembering Our Departed Love Ones

     Every November 1 the whole country celebrates the All Saints Day or also known as Undas.  On this day the people goes to the cemetery to lit candles and offer flowers and prayers on the graves of their departed loved ones.
     Every year its has become a family tradition to visit our grandparents graves no matter how far they are.  This is the only time that we can visit out of town relatives too.  But why do we do this?  Why do we tire ourselves of long travel hours just to visit them?
     For our family, its a way of showing respect and to letting them know than even in the after life they are still remembered and loved.

Bewitching in SM City-Bacolod

     "Witches Brewing and Magical Spells" was this years Halloween theme which was held in SM City Bacolod last October 31.  Children ages four to twelve dressed as witches and wizards were treated an afternoon of trick or treating from the different shops in the mall. Not only that they get to go home with free goodies but three kids with the most creative, scariest and funniest costume will win Php3,000 worth of gift certificate.
     Since I was a kid I always wanted to experience Halloween. It's not commonly celebrated here in Bacolod but some malls or company are starting to make them a yearly celebration. I wish next year there would Halloween costume party for grown ups too.

Michael's First Trick or Treating

     Saint Paul Child Development Center, Michael's school, held their first Halloween party last October 27 in Mayfair Plaza. The students came dressed in their favorite fantasy or superhero costume.

    Michael wore a pirate costume that mom an I made from an old brown bathrobe, light yellow blouse and multicolored pants.  It took us  over a week to finish his costume. I got the design from one of the pirate pictures I saw on the internet. The costume turned out cute and our baby looked like an adorable little pirate.

     They play games like give-me-what-i-want, garter relay and number hunt. The clown showed some magic tricks that the kids enjoyed watching as well as the adults. Then the kids ate and shared the foods that they brought.

     After the exchanged of gifts, we all went home. All the kids went home with lots of treats they received from the party but Michael went home with an extra prize for winning forth place for the best in costume.

My First Cupcakeperience

     Our baby Michael will be having their first Halloween party in school. Aside from wearing a fantasy-inspired costume, they were supposed to bing something to eat as well. I have been experimenting on baking. Experimenting on the sense that I don't have any formal lessons on baking. I get the recipes and watched videos on  how to make them on the internet.
     We decided to make cupcakes since it's easier to make and the thought of decorating it would be fun.  I used the recipe of my chocolate cake for the cupcake. Like my regular cake its soft, moist and not too sweet. I can give you the recipe if you want to, just leave me a comment.
     I used boiled icing, marshmallows, coated chocolate candies and melted chocolates to decorate them.
One problem I've encountered is that my icing became soggy and the colors sank to the bottom. The culprit was the liquid food coloring that I used. So so not recommended for this kind of frosting. We'll theres first time for everything and I'm sure I'm going to do it right on my next cupcake adventure.
  

Batchoy Afternoon at Bar 21

     Last week my friend AudreyRose of Lagawan.info invited me for an afternoon snack. She was craving for some hot and tasty Batchoy so we headed off to Bar 21 where you can find the best batchoy in town. In line with the Masskara celebration they have their All You Can Eat batchoy promo for only Php80.
     Their batchoy is made of miki noodles, pork meat, sprinkled with spring onions, plenty of chicharon (deep fried pig skin) and steamy hot pork broth. Unlike the common batchoy that we knew, this one doesn't have pig internal organs on it like liver and small intestines.
     While waiting for Grace and Eric, we took some pictures of the place. If you have watched the Ilonggo indie film Namets this is where they shoot some of the scene.
     It was almost 7:00 pm but Grace and Eric didn't showed up, good thing Ruel was there so we decided to order something to eat. We tried their batchoy, clubhouse sandwich, soda, buko and buko lychee shake. We ended up eating one bowl of batchoy because the serving was so big that I was not able to eat all of it.
     Even though there were only three of us we talked over of planning where and when to have another get together and hoping Grace and Eric would be able to join us next time.
  

Enjoying our buko lychee shake 

Chinese Cuisine with a Negrense Taste

     I've always love Chinese foods because of the taste. Maybe because the different spices that are incorporated well on the dish that makes it mouthwatering. And in Bacolod only one restaurant comes on my mind if I wanted to eat Chinese food, that would be L'Sea Dimsum and Noodle House. The dishes here tweak so as it would approved the Bacoleno tastebud.

    After a long walk on the street of Lacson during the Electric Masskara night, my brother invited us to have dinner with them. They were planning to eat outside when it began to drizzle so they decided to eat at L'Sea instead. The restaurant is open from lunch to 10:00pm. The place is easy to find cause its situated beside the L' Fisher hotel in Lacson St.

     We ordered large yang chow rice, half soyed chicken, 2 shrimp balls (my favourite), siomai and shrimp dumplings. Too many for five people to eat eh. But because we were so hungry, finishing the foods is not a problem. After the dinner, we all went home with a full stomach and a happy soul.



Soyed chicken, sweet



Fried shrimp balls. A sweet dip goes together with it.

 

Siomai - rice or no rice its always perfect







Ruel already ate one shrimp dumpling when I remember to take a photo of it =(



More photos from the Masskara 2010 Dance Parade

     Too bad the parade had already started when I arrived so I was not able to get picture from all 20 competing groups. One thing is for sure, I'll be back next year on the street of Araneta.