Tuesday, October 6, 2026

Chocolate review: Yummy Deserowa dark chocolate

Sharing another chocolate I picked up from one of my sorties at Clark.

The brand is Yummy. 'Deserowa' actually translates to 'dessert'

Details on the chocolate at the back of the package

Nutrition information

This is supposed to be a dark chocolate but ingredients state only 18% cocoa powder. Information here also states the chocolate to be produced in Poland.

The chocolate was okay but it is not at par with the finer chocolates we've tasted that were produced in Europe. This was more of the more basic types that I probably will classify with the local chocolates I've tasted from Bicol, Iloilo and other provinces that are not Auro, Malagos and Theo & Philo, for example. There are, of course, the small batch makers that I appreciate (and have posted their chocolates here before).

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Sunday, October 4, 2026

Satisying Thai food cravings? Disappointment at Thaiwadee, Robinsons Antipolo

I usually crave for the dishes that I regard as comfort food. These are usually Japanese, Italian and Thai (not in any order). I didn't include Filipino food because these are, of course, generally available so I can have inasal, grilled fish or molo in many places. While I have my 'go to' places for Japanese, Italian or Thai food, they are not usually easy to go to. Yes, there is the Grab or Food Panda option but it is usually a better experience to eat at the place rather than have them delivered. Mas masarap kumain ng gyudon sa Yoshinoya mismo imbes na via delivery. 

As we have tried the food at the Thaiwadee at the food court at the Robinsons Antipolo annex, we ordered there again. This time, I got the chicken kra pao and the mango & sticky rice. 

Mango and sticky rice at Thaiwadee, Robinsons Antipolo

The disappointing Chicken kra pao at Thaiwadee


I was disappointed with the chicken kra pao because they didn't use ground chicken, enough Thai basil, and chili. The rice also looked and tasted like it was cooked around lunchtime than dinnertime. You look at the photo above and perhaps the first thing you will think of is one type of silog meal rather than a Thai dish.

The mango and sticky rice was also not as good as I wanted it to be. I should have just gotten the one by Cha Tra Mue though it was across the other side of the mall. 

I hope they improve on their food considering they're the only Thai food option at Robinsons Antipolo. I am not sure there are good Thai food options around that will satisfy my cravings for Thai food. Some restos serve Tom Yum, Chicken Pandan or Chicken Satay but those are quite common like sinigang or inasal in our case.

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Friday, October 2, 2026

My Wilson Hyper Carbon 4.0 badminton racket

I got this racket in Bangkok, Thailand during one of my annual trips there a couple of decades ago. At the time, it was not difficult to handcarry rackets during flights even though these were post-911 travels. I believe I got this racket at one of the sports shops at one of the malls at Siam Square. 

Relatively pristine racket head and strings. I use Wilson strings for my Wilson rackets. I also am very conscious about scraping my rackets on the floor when playing.

Model printed on the racket

This is more like the between the common and state of the art materials back in the day; combining carbon fiber and graphite to produce a lightweight but also durable racket.

The racket had this somewhat shock-absorbing feature. I'm not really sure how it affected my game but for a relatively short racket, this one was a pleasure hitting shuttles with.

I have a good history with Wilson rackets. My tennis rackets have always been Wilson rackets though I was tempted to get a Yonex racket one time. This badminton racket is shorter than the usual rackets, which probably gives the user more control. 

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