Monday Foodstagram

Having router at home has allowed me to post pictures on Instagram... and because it's a slow Monday for me, will just share food pictures I posted last week.


Puto Pao 
My sister's friend sent some puto from Laguna... these puto pao and a box of Puto Binan, something I wasn't able to photograph. Not my type of Puto Pao, but this tasted good, too!

Kopiko L.A. Coffee
L.A. stands for "low acid," this coffee is for people who tends to get acidic when drinking coffee. Well, because my tummy can tolerate coffee, I didn't get to experience how was this different from other coffees, though this didn't give me heart palpitations, something I experience from other Kopiko coffee mixes (Brown and Kopiccino). It tasted okay as well.

Beef Caldereta Bites
I joined a contest and my theme was my everyday cooking at home. This was my first entry.


Didi's Breakfast
Sister was on a graveyard shift and I surprised her with this breakfast.

J.Co Donuts
Us three girls went to the mall, and we asked if mom wanted to try J.Co Donuts, because sis and I loved it since we first tasted it more than a year ago, but because mom didn't like Krispy Kreme, we were a bit uncertain if she would like J.Co Donuts. Glad that she gave it a chance, we just ordered a donut each... and we were so happy that mom loved it! Next time, we will order the dozen box.


Dinengdeng
Yesterday's food was mostly fast food, time to take in the much needed fiber. This Dinengdeng had String Beans leaves, Moringa leaves, and Jute leaves.

Maya Mixes
Something delivered to me... thank you, The Maya Kitchen!

Laguna Afritada
My dinner.


Choco Cupcakes
Mom attended a birthday party and came home with three cupcakes... one for each of us.

Tofu With Spicy Pork
My dinner last night. The idea for this dish I got from someone I followed on Instagram.

Jollibee Champ
Sister's choice of food when we dined at Jollibee.

Before, I used to do Foodie 365... I guess this is a good chance for me to go back to it, although with a different twist, as I realized it is really difficult to take (good) food pictures everyday. I guess this Foodstagram thing I can do every Monday here on my blog. :)

By the way, all these images were taken using my cell phone (I use Cherry Mobile Flare if you want to ask). Most are SOOC, but the others were edited using the Cymera app, which is a free download from the Play Store.

Cakes and Unlimited Coffee

My sister rarely travels to our paternal hometown in La Union, so whenever I come home from my La Union trip and I would share them stories and pictures from Thunderbird Resorts, she would always feel a little jealous about it, so when the her time to travel there finally arrived, she really wanted to check out the place.


Coming from the OTOP Fair, it was still very early when we arrived at the Thunderbird Resorts. I mentioned to sister that the last time I was there, Olives Restaurant was offering a slice of cake + a cup of coffee for p150. Weighing all things, we thought it was a good deal and seeing that they are still having the promo (this food trip was five months after my last visit at the resort), we decided to go for it.


Rocky Road Cake
Among the available cakes that time, I chose to go for this cake, mainly because of how good it looked. I truly am not that big of a chocolate fan, but there are times that I go for food that visually appeals to me, and this was one of those times.

The cake was moist and had the right amount of sweetness. The height of the cake also added points (as well as the frosting in between layers of cake), but there was a little lacking in the chocolate department. Sure, it tasted chocolate-y good, but not as rich as the other chocolate cakes I've tried.


Coco-Almond Cake
The combination of Coconut and Almond piqued my sister's curiosity, so she chose this cake. It tasted good... again, it had the right amount of sweetness, but what I personally didn't like was that the cake was a little dry and coarse.


We were happy to learn that our cakes came with refillable coffee. I didn't have that much expectations about it as I know all brewed coffee tasted the same, but this one was really delicious! It was served with milk and assortment of sugar on the side (white and brown), but the coffee itself tasted better than the typical brewed coffee I tasted. However, I only went with one cup because a cup of brewed coffee always make me go for two packets of white sugar, and I felt guilty about it. Sister went for two cups of coffee, because she, too, loved it.


The cakes and coffee was something to be thankful about - that even if this didn't really count as a food trip at Olive's Restaurant (because what we ate were cakes and not the restaurant's other offerings), we were glad that we discovered a place to have great coffee. Best reward for the day? Seeing the sunset from the restaurant's balcony.

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Olives Restaurant
Thunderbird Resorts – Poro Point
VOA Compound, Pennsylvania Avenue
San Fernando City, La Union
Tel No: +63 (72) 888 7777

McDonald's McSpicy

I spent my afternoon yesterday with my favorite girls - my sister and my mom. Sister had to do an errand, mom had to buy a replacement closet handle, and I... well, I just wanted to come with them. I got to see a kiosk selling second hand books and thought of buying a copy of "A Million Little Pieces" by James Frey, but I couldn't find another interesting book (it was buy one, take one at 99 pesos).

After doing everything they had to do, it was still early for sister to travel to work. Mom suggested we just use the time eating some snacks, and sister and I only had one place in mind to go - McDonald's. We don't eat there that often (although took part of the Despicable Me Minions happy meal craze), so we still haven't tasted the new burgers on the menu - Big & Tasty and McSpicy.


I chose to eat the McSpicy. I was amazed at how thick the chicken meat was... though I was a little disappointed at how small it was, compared to the patty in my sister's Big & Tasty burger that was bigger (in circumference) than the bun. Anyway, the McSpicy wasn't as hot and spicy compared to KFC Zinger, but it did have a good amount of spice that made me like my sandwich. There weren't much dressing, which was just fine with me, but I didn't like the shredded lettuce that seemed to fall off every time I take a bite of my sandwich.

If you expect a very spicy burger, you might not like this. As for me, I liked it because it had a kick of spice without burning my mouth. For 80 pesos, it was priced reasonably because the sandwich was able to make me full that I didn't have the need to eat dinner that night.


After the Minions, it is now the Smurfs taking the spotlight... and aside from the Happy Meal toys, which you can collect, McDonald's is also offering two Smurfs related food items - the Blueberry Mcfloat and the Blueberry McSundae. I loved the subtle taste of the blueberry mixed with Sprite, and I also liked how the sundae had a slight tangy taste.