All Time Fave. Cafe Breton Dessert Crepes.

Rainy days and nostalgic yummy crepes.

Earlier in the day, I was doing some midweek errands and suddenly the June rain trapped me along Westgate in Alabang. Good thing I was near Cafe Breton and well it was almost merienda time. Does that sound like an excuse to enjoy some yummy crepes and brewed coffee? 

I have always wanted to try their other dessert crepes but I always end up with La Pinay (it is the usual sweet mangoes, vanilla ice cream with chocolate syrup) but since I was feeling a tad bit adventurous (not really) I ordered 'Fantastic Pinay' haha. It is filled with refreshing mangoes, chocohazelnut spread, chocolate sauce and whipped cream. Woohoo! Now who is dieting and counting calories? It was definitely not me at this time. lol

For Nutella lovers, super delish Fantastic Pinay (P255) and Cafe Americano (P100).

Cafe Breton surely brings back memories of the old Greenbelt Makati after the 9 to 5 grind way back in the 1990s. Just having good food while catching up with friends and waiting for the traffic to die down. Now, we have it conveniently in the Southern Metro. So anytime you are craving a decent dessert crepe or may it be a filling savory version (with mushrooms, mozzarella, or spinach), perhaps a full on 90s throwback Tuna Melt you can drop by their forever cozy branch at Westgate Alabang in Muntinlupa City.

Even Cafe Breton's signature white and blue dishes are so comforting as their well-loved menu. More reasons to come back and enjoy your good old fave cafe. Young and old crepe lovers may check out their full menu at Cafe Breton via zomato.com They also serve breakfast, wine and beer, and cocktails.

Easy Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe

This is an easy recipe from Food Network courtesy of Ms. Paula Deen which my daughter and I altered a bit to conform to our family's taste preference. We already tested this recipe a few times and we found out that we wanted it less sweet (compared to original recipe), so the quality taste of the cream cheese will pop up. And also, so that my diabetic mom can also have a taste. We did not have pecans on hand but you can definitely add a cup or so to your cake. Do not forget to chop it first ok? Coarse or finely chopped. Again, it is all up to your preference.

For this Easy Carrot Cake Recipe. 

You are going to need 2 (9-inch) round cake pans. Grease the pans and place parchment paper. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine the following ingredients in a large bowl. Use a hand mixer. Mix until ingredients are well combined.

2 cup of all-purpose flour
1-1/4 cups of sugar
2 teaspoons of baking soda
2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
4 eggs
1-1/2 cups vegetable oil
3 cups grated carrots
1-1/2 cups chopped pecans - optional

Pour into pans and bake for 35-45 minutes. It depends on your oven. Or you can just do the toothpick test to be sure. Once cooked, remove from the oven and allow to completely cool before frosting.

For the frosting you will need. Using a hand mixer, blend all the ingredients until fluffy.

2 packages of Magnolia Cream Cheese (225 grams)
125 grams or 1/2 package of Anchor butter, salted
1-3/4 cups powdered sugar


Spread frosting on each of the cake layer. Stack if you will. We did not stack this one but covered both layers with frosting. This serving size is what our family usually prefers. You can eat 1 or 2 anyways. lol

Enjoy your carrot cake slice with your fave hot beverage. I enjoyed it with a cup of green tea. Kirkland Green Tea Macha Blend.

Cersei, Long May She Reign

Cersei is back, b*tches!

The HBO series 'Game of Thrones' Season 7 Official Trailer has generated more than 29M views on Youtube and that is why July is going to be a hot month, lol pun intended. The summer release is quite opposite to its scary tagline 'Winter is Coming' or based from the last episodes of Season 6 - winter has come. Make sure to mark your calendars, Queen Cersei will be back Sunday, July 7, 2017.

If TV series creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss wintry backdrop does not give you the chills then I do not know what will. The HBO series is an adaptation of A Song of Ice and Fire, George R. R. Martin's series of fantasy novels, the first of which is A Game of Thrones.  We all have our fave characters and storylines, I have several, but crazy Cersei is my top fave. I pray she survives this season.

My other faves are Jon Snow, Jaime Lannister, Daenerys Targaryen, Ser Jorah and fierce sisters, Arya and Sansa.  And I am not forgetting the fiery bunch of Drogon, Rhaegal, and Viserion! A few more weeks and our Sundays will be crazy emotional again. Yes? yes!


"Enemies to the east. Enemies to west. Enemies to the south. Enemies to the north." Yes, baby!

 

"The great war is here" - J.S.

Personal Challenge. Serious Business.

Mood: Challenged? lol Whatever. I may generally be wishy-washy Charlie Brown but I know deep inside my inner Lucy van Pelt is bubbling to rise up. I can feel it. So...

So yes. I have been meaning to revive this blog for the longest time. If this blog was made of flesh and blood it may have been long been dead and gone to heaven. And I am guilty of abandonment many times over. I may have been starting my jail sentence and haha still mulling over 'might have beens'. Regrets over regrets. Why do I even want to blog? Sigh. Well because I miss it. I miss writing and sharing what is on my mind, my crazy thoughts. I may very well seriously answer that soon. When is soon? When this experiment is successful. When I know it, you will know it. Good luck to me. Ha!

Seona Dancing and Ricky Gervais

Mood: Energized.

It is Friday, let us start the weekend right and do a quick flashback. Do you remember Friday Magic Madness on 89.9 DWTM FM  back in the late 80s? Well, it is now called Friday Madness and they still play older tunes from the 80s. Yay!

Well, one of my favorite 80's song is 'More to Lose' by Seona Dancing. The song was by a British pop duo led by Ricky Gervais, 'The Office' creator and actor, on vocals. They released the song in 1983 and it became a local hit in Manila until 1987 and I believe, the rest of the 80's. I can still remember during freshman year in college, my buddy Lis and I spent one lunchtime just listening to the song over and over again to transcribe the lyrics. I guess we did not have extra money to buy a Jingle songhits.

 \

Gotta love Mandaluyong Boy's New Wave uploads. 

Looking back, we both felt that this was so emo to say the least. Back in college when the whole world is out there ready for you. You feel like an adult ready to take it all in. Full of dreams and idealistic. Then real life happens. lol

"And now we're moving to new beginnings 

But as we move we looked once behind 

To see what we might find out 

Lost loves and old thoughts of our nights of winnings 

That lunge, tear and grasp At lost wanting minds"
Full lyrics at lyricsmode.com

In this audio clip, Ricky Gervais, in a radio interview with Opie and Jim Norton, Sirius XM from last year. acknowledged that Seona Dancing had a hit in the Philippines. Ha! Around 0:26.

Jack Blake's YT channel
Quick glimpse of Seona Dancing performing 'More to Lose' on Razzmatazz.

Seona Dancing on Razzmatazz

Let this post also bring you back to your youthful days listening to WXB 102.7FM. Possibly listening with your friends inside your borrowed car in the parking lot of Greenhills Shopping Center and yeah munching on some French Fries dipped in Hot Fudge Sundae from McDonalds just around the corner. Intense, flashback huh? Happy Weekend! 

Blogger Back On. Visit to the National Shrine of Padre Pio in Batangas

Mood: Inspired.

Yep, posting again. I thought of getting back to a little blogging and I remembered that I still have this account which I started few years back and I just had to dig deep into my memory (err records, old notebooks) for my user name and access pass. I am still organizing my thoughts and how to formally start this, So, let me do that with a 'blessed' post. Ha!

Pray, Hope, and Don't Worry

One cloudy Saturday, two of my dear friends and I had a quick trip to Padre Pio Shrine in Batangas. There was no lengthy planning involved. We just decided that instead of our usual get-together lunch at our fave restaurant then coffee/chikahan. we would  do a quick Waze-guided drive south to Sto. Tomas, Batangas and have a little prayerful adventure. So, we did just that.

We did not have a hard time going there even if it was the first time for all the three of us to visit the Shrine. You can we were a bit excited about our little adventure. Trusty and ever-helpful, Waze was cooperative enough to navigate us through Saturday traffic with our on-and-off WiFi.  We drove down SLEX then exited at Calamba-Sto. Tomas, Batangas Exit and drove through the Sto. Tomas-Lipa Road for a little over an hour, We were glad to find signage and posters of Padre Pio along the road, as if He was telling us 'Do not worry. I will guide you'. We, then turned right to Barangay San Pedro. We asked a couple of friendly locals just to be sure we were on the right track. A few more minutes and we arrived at the Shrine.

The Shrine is beautiful and the place is serene. We arrived before 12 noon and there were already more than a handful of churchgoers and devotees in the area.  An old lady who is a local told us that we were lucky that there is only a small number people considering it was a Saturday. She said more people usually comes in the afternoon. There was ample parking space but I would assume that it would be harder for people to find a parking space later in the day.  The atmosphere was very peaceful even if some parts are under construction and men were working. One can really feel the holiness of the place. We prayed intently, took some photos, lighted candles, and got a bottle of blessed water each to take home.

The beautiful altar. The Church which is circular is made of bamboo and steel structures and it has no doors. It is open on all sides.

The Blessed Water Spring. You can buy an empty plastic bottle for PhP 20.00 at the store that also sells the candles. Or you can use any empty bottle you have. Candles are sold at PhP 10.00 each.

The different colored candles are symbolic for each intentions. I got all 9 and including the pink one, I lit it especially for my nephew and his wife who are having a hard time conceiving. 

If I knew I would be posting about this I could have taken more photos.  I already made a mental note to take more pictures the next time we make a visit.

St. Padre Pio (Francesco Forgione) O.F.M. Cap., (May 25, 1887 – September 23, 1968) was born in Pietrelcina, a farming town in Southern Italy. More about Padre Pio and the Shrine at NationalShrineofPadrePioBatangas

You can also check the daily Holy Mass and confession schedules at their official site.


How to get there

Via Public transportation. From Cubao, Alabang, or Pasay. Ride a bus bound to Lucena. Advise the friendly bus conductor that you are going to Padre Pio in Sto. Tomas, Batangas. Signage/posters of Padre Pio will guide you along the way.  After the bus ride on your right, near the corner of Barangay San Pedro leading to the Shrine, there are tricycles near the 7-11 Store that will bring you to the site.

If you are driving and is not equipped with a navigational app, you can take the  Calamba-Sto. Tomas Exit via South Super Expressway (SLEX) and drive along Pan Pacific/Sto. Tomas-Lipa Road. Again, signage/posters of Padre Pio will guide you as you drive along. Turn right at the corner of Barangay San Pedro leading to the Shrine, There is a 7-11 Store at the corner and an overpass walkway, you won't miss it.

Withdraw From Your Paypal Account. Your Dollars to Pesos

Mood:  Relaxed.

Oh man I cannot believe those 2 weeks passed by so fast. I missed being here. Work has been quite demanding, I couldn't even steal a few hours to do a mini update. I survived thanks to grande lattes and catnaps. So it's all good.

We're already halfway through the year. Before we know it, the ber months will be on our doorstep. I cannot wait!

Withdraw your Paypal $$$ to PhP
I have mentioned in my previous post that I discussed Paypal with my friend and that I should share it here as well.

From my experience, Paypal is the most convenient and safest way to transact business in the internet. I use it to purchase stuff on eBay, Amazon, Zalora, etc.

If you plan to purchase anything via the internet or set up your own business (selling or buying on sulit.com , eBayPH, etc) it is best to set up your own Paypal account. Just follow the easy steps at Paypal.com

Remember, starting a personal  Paypal  account is free. No monthly or cancellation fees. And your financial information is safe, you do not have to expose or give out your credit card details each time your purchase. Very important detail!

Once your account is set up, simply log in and add your bank account ( I use Union Bank - EON Card ) You can also try BPI ePrepaid Mastercard or inquire at BDO.com

Log in to Paypal. Go to Profile. Click tab Add/Edit Bank Account or Profile. Add/Edit Credit Card. Don't forget to input the bank code  List here @pinoymoneytalk 

Select 'Withdraw', enter the amount you want to withdraw, and select the bank account to receive the money. 

There is a minimum withdrawal limit depending on the currency which you want to withdraw. For US Dollars it is $ 10.00. Most withdrawals to bank accounts get processed within 5-7 banking days.

For complete details and updated guidelines @UnionBank PH / BPICards.com / BDO.com