Jessica Choy: May 2013

5/27/13

Breakfast at Antonio's

Quattro Berries Smoothie PHP 240

This was really good and just thinking about it now's making me crave for it! The four berries that they used in this smoothie are strawberries, cranberries, blueberries and raspberries; if I'm not mistaken. It was refreshing and all the different berries went well together.

Smoked Salmon Benedict PHP 485

Eggs Benedict PHP 400

The eggs benedict comes with a roasted slice of pineapple and half a banana flavored with cinnamon. The presentation was a bit...off, if ya ask me.

Fresh Corned Beef, Swiss Cheese & Over Easy Eggs Roesti (Swiss Crisp Potato Pancake) PHP 350

The bottom reminded me more of a hash brown than a pancake because of the crunchy outer edges. I loved this and I'd order it again on my next visit! It is really quite filling though so this would be a good dish to share. I had my mind set on ordering dessert when we got to the restaurant but I ended up only finishing half of this and had no more room for dessert.

Breakfast at Antonio's

Website: http://antoniosrestaurant.ph/breakfast-at-antonios/

Telephone No.: 413-0738

Operating Hours: 7 am to 9 pm, everyday

5/26/13

Now Open: Cold Stone Creamery in Manila

Whenever I bump into a Cold Stone branch abroad, I never pass up the chance to get something. It's one of my all time favorite ice cream parlors and it's finally available in the Philippines! Their first and only branch in the country is located in Serendra, where Le Petit Artisan used to be.

Cold Stone Creamery

Address: Ground Floor, Serendra Piazza (between McKinley Pkwy and 11th ave.), Taguig City

International Website: http://www.coldstonecreamery.com/index.html

Local Website: http://www.coldstonephilippines.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/coldstoneph

Email: coldstonephil@gmail.com

5/21/13

Urban Decay Naked Basics Palette

The Naked Basics palette is the newest addition to Urban Decay's naked eye shadow palette family. This palette is a lot different from the first two (Naked and Naked2), it's a lot smaller and consists mostly of matte shades.

Instead of twelve eyeshadows like in the first two naked eyeshadow palettes, this only has six. One with a satin finish and five others with a matte finish.

I placed my iPhone 4 right beside the palette to show just how compact the palette actually is. As you can see it's slightly smaller than the iPhone, making it really great for traveling - plus it's light too!

This also has a mirror just like the first two naked eyeshadow palettes, but doesn't contain an eyeshadow brush like the first two. The size of each eyeshadow is the same size that is in the first two naked eyeshadow palettes.

I've had this palette since February and I've noticed myself using Venus, W.O.S. and Faint the most out of the six and Crave the least. This is the perfect palette to get if you're just starting to get into makeup, it's ideal for a natural everyday look and it's easier to play around with matte shades for a beginner.

Left to right: Venus, Foxy, W.O.S. (Walk of Shame), Naked2, Faint, Crave
These are all of the eyeshadows heavily swatched. The formulation of these are just like any of the other Urban Decay eyeshadows - velvety and soft.

Availability: Digital Traincase
Price: Unavailable

Digital Traincase
Address: Unit G109 Corinthian Executive Regency, 7 Oritgas Ave. San Antonio
Website: http://digital-traincase-makeup-boutique.myshopify.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DigitalTraincase
Twitter: https://twitter.com/dgtaltraincase
Instagram: @dgtaltraincase
Email: sales@digitaltraincase.com
Mobile No.: (0917) 565-0265

Urban Decay

Website: http://www.urbandecay.com/

Early Bird Breakfast Club

I love breakfast food dearly and see it as comfort food but I'm definitely not a morning person. During the summer I wake up way too late, and during the school year I'm always rushing out the door and never have enough time to have a proper breakfast. The fact that there have been more all day breakfast spots popping up lately (like IHOP) makes Manila, I believe, a happier place.

There's nothing serious about a breakfast joint, just good food and cheery vibes. The bright colors and cute patterns exclaims "happy," even on a stormy day.

Ginger Peach Lemonade PHP 125
The ginger doesn't have an overpowering taste at all, it balances with the sweetness of the peach and is light and refreshing.

Pineapple Sunshine PHP 125
I would have enjoyed this more if it was smoother and had less fiber.

Eggs Benedict PHP 420
"Toasted English muffin with arm honey roast ham, poached eggs and hollandaise sauce."

I played it safe for some reason and ordered their eggs benedict. I always enjoy a well executed eggs benedict and I thoroughly enjoyed this one. The english muffin was slightly crunchy (and not soggy from the hollandaise sauce) and the two eggs were poached perfectly.

French Toast Fondue PHP 210
"Served with cinnamon sugar, maple syrup and melted chocolate."

I don't like my french toast soggy so I really liked this. Having them cut up in a way where you can use your fingers makes eating french toast way more fun. The sesame seeds on the bread also added a nice touch to the dish. And how cute is the presentation? They were able to make use of the egg shells as dip containers instead of just throwing them away!

Whether you're a morning person or not, don't fret because they're open from 7 am to 10 pm on Sundays to Thursdays, and 24 hours from Fridays to Saturdays.

Early Bird Breakfast Club

Address: Unit C, Ground Floor, Fort Pointe 2 bldg., The Fort Complex, 28th st., Bonifacio Global City, Taguig (located below URBN,

Telephone No.: 808-9269, 470-8847

Mobile No.: (0917)859-4950

Email: info@earlybirdbreakfastclub.com

Website: http://www.earlybirdbreakfastclub.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/earlybirdbreakfastclub

Instagram: earlybirdbreakfastclub

Operating Hours:

7:00 am to 10:00 pm from Sundays to Thursdays

24 hours on Fridays and Saturdays (Friday 7:00 am to Sunday 10:00 pm)

5/18/13

Subspace's Big Bang Waffle

Big Bang Waffle

Fried egg, beef patty, bacon, ham, cheese, tomatoes and japanese mayo. It was good but for some reason not as yummy as I thought it would be? I guess Subspace just has a way of making everything look extra good.

Subspace Coffee House

Address: Unit 103, G/F Cityland Grand Emerald Tower, F. Ortigas Jr. Road,

Ortigas Center, Pasig City

Telephone No.: 655-7077

Email: subspacecoffee@gmail.com

Tumblr: http://subspacecoffee.tumblr.com/

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/subspace.coffee

5/12/13

Balesin Island Club Villages

Balesin is a private, members only island in the Philippines. The island consists of six different themed villages from around the world: Bali, Mykonos, St. Tropez, Phuket, Balesin and Costa Smeralda (still in the process of construction when I went there March 1, 2013). Each village has their own restaurant or cafe, and a swimming pool. Just wanted to share some photos during this amazing vacation that wouldn't have been possible without my relatives!

For more information on Balesin, check out their website and brochure. Also, click this link to be directed to my previous post on Balesin for more photos of the island.

Bali Village

Indonesia