Cup Noodle - another guilty pleasure

I was at another nearby supermarket yesterday to pick up some items before we go on a trip for this Undas break. They have an imported foods section there and on instinct, I grabbed a couple of the Cup Noodle there. This wasn't the plastic cup version that's manufactured out of Thailand or Indonesia but the one from Japan. It was also not the Curry variant that I still don't like.

A hot serving of Cup Noodle was one of my guilty pleasures when I was a student in Japan. It remains so today and I buy these from time to time for some sentimental snack or meal.

 

The university cooperative or Coop had their version of this and cleverly branded as Coop Noodle. I had several cups of these stashes in my home and lab caches. I even brought home a six pack when I finally went home after obtaining my degree in Japan. I know it's not healthy to consume these frequently but once in a while I guess is okay. I even gave some to our daughter who said it was good. Of course, I won't recommend she eat these instant stuff and make sure she eats healthy food.

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Max's food items at the supermarket - Max's, Yellow Cab, Pancake House, Teriyaki Boy and Dencio's

The Covid-19 pandemic really affected the food scene and many established restaurants' products have found their way to supermarket shelves and freezers. Among those I've seen available are Cibo and Shakey's products like their pizzas. Leveling-up is Max's food group, which includes the flagship Max's Restaurant, Pancake House, Yellow Cab Pizza and Teriyaki Boy. There's an entire freezer section at the supermarket near our home that's assigned for their products.

This freezer contains items from Max's Group including Max's (Fried Chicken), Yellow Cab Pizza (toaster oven pizza), Pancake House (spaghetti and tapa), Teriyaki Boy (teriyako chicken) and Dencio's (sisig).

Other items I've seen at the supermarket are frozen pizza from Cibo and mojos from Shakey's. At one time, I recall there were even frozen fries from McDonald's and Jollibee's burger patties and Chickenjoy. Will these be temporary or perhaps mainstays at the supermarkets or groceries? Perhaps that will be up to the demand for these items. For now, at least you can buy these and enjoy them at home. Of course, there's the assumption you can cook or heat them in ways that they will come out as if they were cooked at the restaurants.

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Chocolate review: Best Moments pralines

The wife met up with some friends from college. They were visiting from Germany after a long time of not making a homecoming mainly due to the pandemic.

The box pretty much gives away the pralines inside.

A more detailed description of each praline is found at the back of the box along with information on the ingredients and nutrition data.

The chocolate is fair trade.

Nutrition information and expiration date

The selection of truffle pralines in the box (close-up).

What the pralines actually look like

This was a good box of chocolates (or pralines to be more accurate). I wouldn't mind getting another box if this were available to me. I assume though that there are many of similar or superior quality. My first gift to the wife was actually a box from the Godiva's shop at the Landmark Tower in Yokohama's Minato Mirai 21 district. That was excellent according to her and I couldn't agree more as I've tasted a few from that same Godiva's shop while I was residing in Yokohama.

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Ramen Nagi in Antipolo

Finally, there is a very good ramen restaurant in Antipolo. Ramen Nagi formally opened last week after a few days of doing their version of a dress rehearsal. The long queue of customers show that there is a demand for Japanese themed restaurants in Antipolo proper. The city is practically a bed town to Metro Manila and many of its residents have to go to Metro Manila for their Japanese food fix. While there are Japanese themed restaurants in Antipolo, there are only a few I think that are noteworthy including Tamagoya near Masinag Junction and ABCT near the Rizal Capitol.

The restaurant currently has long lines that show the demand for these types of restaurants in Antipolo. Soon to open and just beside Ramen Nagi is a branch of Marugame Udon. Not in the photo but on the other side of Marugame is a future branch of Mama Lou's.

The menu is on the paper place mat. They give you an order sheet on which you're supposed to tick off your orders.

Wonder Chashu King

We are already looking forwards to more restaurants to open at Robinsons Antipolo. Aside from the restaurants I mentioned earlier, there is also a Mary Grace and Peri-peri Chicken restaurant that will open soon. And did I mention Viking's? Hopefully, these will open in the next few weeks leading up to December and Christmas.

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Bakkwa in Manila

One of the stores we "discovered" while in Robinsons Manila was a familiar one that we usually saw in Singapore - Bee Cheng Hiang. The store sells the very popular bakkwa, which my relatives fondly call Singapore's version of tocino. I wasn't able to take a photo of the shop as I thought I would look like a tourist but we did purchase some to take home including a pack of pork floss.

I made small talk with the vendor and asked him if they had any other branches in Manila. When he replied they didn't, I asked about the store in Binondo that was supposed to be located at a popular discount mall there (I had read about this previously and thought that was the branch in Manila.). I was informed that that was not a legit branch and that the only one is really this store in Robinsons Manila. We'll soon be traveling to Singapore, which would be our first travel overseas since December 2019. We'll probably purchase bakkwa at Changi prior to our return flight.

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Sunsets from the office

A friend and I were just talking about how she will miss the sunsets from her old office at the top of our building. This was a view I missed for the last 2+ years as I usually finished my classes at 5:30 PM - perfect timing for seeing the sunsets especially when the days are shorter. Here is a recent photo, my first sunset view from our office since early February 2020.

Sunset view from the 4th Floor of our building

 

I'm already looking forward to more of these glorious sunsets...

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Vintage Seiko 6139-6032 "Coke Pogue"

Outside the very common gold and blue varieties of the models collectively referred to as Pogues, there are three rarer models. One features the Pepsi bezel and a silver dial, the second a Pepsi bezel and teal dial, and another features a Coke bezel and black dial. The black dial is the more desirable for me and have searched for one that is affordable. These Coke pogues can be very expensive and its difficult to find one with the original parts. I found one but with a replacement bezel. This one's the Japanese release model with the Speed Timer under the Seiko logo.

The watch features a black dial with day and date complications. The sub dial is part of the chronograph and not for a second hand like other sub dials. The day feature is in English and Japanese (Kanji).

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Side view showing the crown and chronograph buttons

The other side view of the watch head

Case back showing the correct model number and a serial number indicating this to be manufactured in June 1972.

Close up of the dial showing the correct dial number. The lumes are no longer working for both the hands and hour markers.

Wrist shot after I replaced the leather strap with a stainless steel bracelet I got in reserve.

This watch has become a favorite and a regular in my rotation. I even use it for my walks on campus.

I currently have the blue 6139-6002, a true Pogue 6139-6005, and this 6139-6032. I'm not sure I would be able to get one of the silver or teal dial pogues who knows what the future will bring? Meanwhile, I am happy to have what I have in my collection.

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Wild flowers on the sidewalk

Last weekend when we were at my parents' home in Cainta, I noticed the wild flowers that grew out of the cracks on the sidewalk and wall of the house. They were in full bloom and the pink flowers matched the pink colored walls. I just had to take a photo of these and share the photo here.

My parents just leave these plants to grow and flower. The rains and occasional flash floods help nourish the plants.

I thought the wild flowers were part of nature's way of saying "life finds a way."

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The Chi Spa at Mactan Shangri-La

Whenever I was traveling, I try to check if there's a good spa or massage services at the resort or hotel I am staying at. The better hotels and resorts have the best facilities and these include Shangri-La, Sofitel and Marriott. With the COVID-19 pandemic still about, one has to be more careful about where to go for a relaxing, stress-relieving massage. And so we have not had our usual massages since 2020 as we had not traveled since the lockdowns of March 2020. One of the reasons we decided to stay at Shangri-La Mactan was the Chi Spa at the resort. We knew that it was already open and that surely they implement health protocols to ensure the safety of their customers. Here are a few photos taken at Shang Mactan on the way to the Chi Spa.

There's a walkway from the hotel to the spa.

Garden walkway to the spa

The resort's chapel

Quiet spaces inside the resort - I think this is basically part of its mini golf course.

The entrance to the spa is just beyond those trees

The gate greets visitors

Gateway

Main entrance to the spa grounds. For those who have difficulty walking, you may request the hotel staff for transport. They have electric vehicles to take you to the spa and back to the hotel/resort.

Gate, walkway, fountain and main building of the Chi Spa.

Inviting sight

Bird statues at the pond. The fountain was not activated when I was there.

A peak at the reception area at the main building

Welcome drink and hot towel to freshen up after the walk from the hotel

One of the gazeebos where customers may wait for them to be escorted to the villa where they will have their treatment/s.

Lotus fountain in the middle of the main building

Chandelier at the main building

Understandably, I did not take photos of where I had my massage. That is in one of the villas in the compound. It gives customers the privacy and quiet one needs to enjoy the treatment. The facilities are definitely well maintained and sanitized. The service was tops as expected. We'll definitely be back at Shang Mactan and the Chi Spa in the near future.

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Coffee rush, East Ridge, Binangonan, Rizal

This post is more than 3 months overdue. We went to East Ridge in Binangonan, Rizal with our "Morning Walk" group. We learned from our neighbor-friends about this place where you can have good coffee and breakfast, and with a spectacular view of Laguna de Bai. They had gone there several times after their weekend walks but we had not gone with them yet as we usually had somewhere to go or something to do after our morning walks. We finally had some time last June so we decided to head there for some breakfast and fellowship.

Coffee Rush is at East Ridge in Binangonan, not far from the Thunderbird Resort and Casino

It is popular especially among the young in what we call the 'east' (i.e., Quezon City generally being the 'north' and Alabang generally being the 'south'). They have popular artists over to play on certain evenings.

 

The main building has several levels. The morning we were there, th

Another view of the main building from the grounds

The view from Coffee Rush - hazy/smoggy Metro Manila in the distance. Angono town is in the foreground.

View of Binangonan town and the Laguna de Bai

Corned beef silog

Tapsilog

Believe it or not but it was just the second time I tried Basque burnt cheesecake. This was good and better than the first one I had many years ago.

Their sansrival is really good. It should go well as dessert or to complement your coffee.

Signature coffee

The breakfast silogs were okay. To be truthful, they were not spectacular or fabulous but were not so-so. I would say par for the course or a bit above average. The coffee is good according to my wife and our friends. The hot chocolate was good (according to me). Price-wise, there's value for money there. The ambiance is definitely there but it is already crowded. I guess that's also because it is the only place to go there for breakfasts, brunch or lunch. The other establishments open late or do not have a similar view as Coffee Rush. Parking is currently all along the roadside. That could be a problem in the future when there are other establishments that will not permit parking for their competitors across from their buildings. The place is not that accessible to public transportation so people will definitely bring their cars to get there. Will we go there again? Perhaps, but I am not in a hurry.

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