February 03, 2025

Lunch at Kuya J Restaurant

Last month, my friend sent me a message, informing me about the 50% off Set Meals of Kuya J restaurant and I told her, wala na si Echo diyan. Hehehe! Feeling naman lagi nasa restaurant si Jericho Rosales


A few weeks later, my husband and I had lunch at Kuya J and availed of the 50% off Set Meals. There are three choices, and we chose the cheapest set, Set C for PHP600. The set includes Grilled Pork Belly, Sinigang na Bangus, Crispy Pinakbet, Kakanin Trio, Plain Rice Platter, and Iced Tea Pitcher. 


While waiting for our food, we were surprised kasi may complimentary snacks na pala ang Kuya J. 






The meal is good for 2-3 persons and we thought, hindi namin mauubos yung food pero naubos pala namin. And my husband ordered Halo-Halo PHP68 pa kasi 50% off din. 


So far, kada visit ko sa Kuya J, paiba-iba yung menu nila pero sobrang sulit yung 50% off Set Meals.

February 01, 2025

Valentine Coloring Cards

Valentine’s Day is fast approaching so it is time to make cards. Insert card was my favorite project when I started to explore my Cricut Maker. I can no longer count how many insert cards I made over the past few years. 

But now, I am into coloring and converting my insert cards into coloring cards. I started doing this last year when I made my Teacher’s Appreciation Cards and Christmas Cards.

Materials and Tools: 

Cricut Maker 
Cricut Pen Cardstock 
Ohuhu Markers 
Glue 




I am joining the Cricut Philippines Made with Love and Cricut Challenge and submitted the Butterfly and Flower Cards as my entry.  Check my IG Reel. 

A few years ago, I purchased the Butterfly and Flower Card Bundle but if you have a Cricut Access Subscription, these designs are available on Cricut Design Space. I shared them on my profile, just in case you want to recreate them. 

Butterfly and Flower Card Bundle






I made the Valentine Insert Greeting Card last year but now I changed it into coloring cards. 


These two Valentine’s Cards are designed by The Bearded Housewife. It is part of the Made with Love Summit last year. These two are insert cards too but I changed it into coloring cards.


January 23, 2025

Lunch Buffet at NIU by Vikings SM Aura

We’ve been to different travel expos already but this was our first “Great BDO Travel Sale” experience. Actually, I had no plans of going to this event because I knew that I can book online pero nagpasama si hubby and since wala naman ako gagawin, sinamahan ko na. 

While we were waiting for our number to be called, we were busy checking flyers and watching ads on the screen. Then we saw the “30% Off Dining Feast Promo” of BDO. My husband told me na kakain daw kami sa NIU after magpabook. 

"From January 9-12, 2025, 30% off to CIBO, Greyhound Cafe, NIU by Vikings, Paper Moon Cafe, and The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf. Minimum purchase requirements, maximum discount, and qualified cards vary per restaurant."


Funny story, sa bahay pa lang sinasabi na niya sa akin, samahan mo na ko tapos date tayo sa NIU and I told him “Diet nga ko tapos buffet na naman”. Pero after namin magpabook, nagutom talaga ko sa pila so nagbuffet talaga kami kasi sayang ang 30% off. #marupok Hehehe! 

My husband knew na matagal ko ng gustong kumain dito kaso ang layo naman kasi and bihira kami sa SM Aura. Imagine, NIU by Vikings has been around since October 2014 so more than a decade di ba, bago ako nakakain. Well, my husband tried this restaurant for the nth time because of company events or celebrations and always positive ang reviews niya dito.

Anyway, based on my research, I found out that NIU means nine in Old Norse or Old Icelandic Word. NIU has nine different stations serving a variety of dishes that range from Chinese, French, Italian, Japanese, and Mediterranean cuisines. NIU by Viking is located on the highest floor of SM Aura so you feel like you are on a cloud nine. Oh di ba, puro may nine talaga. 

Lunch at NIU by Vikings 

We did not stay long at “The Great BDO Travel Sale” event because we were already hungry so after we booked my husband’s plane ticket, we went straight to NIU by Vikings restaurant. Since I’ve been to other buffet restaurants already, iba nga yung feeling sa NIU by Vikings, parang hotel yung setting.



In less than 5 minutes, the staff put a wristband on our wrists and ushered us to our table. No table number and the staff just wrote our table number on the placemat just in case we wanted to order something. 

When I saw the buffet spread, I felt overwhelmed, ang daming choices and hindi ko nga alam kung saan ako mag-uumpisa. Parang mas marami pa buffet spread nila kaysa sa Seasonal Tastes. Although, mas marami tao sa NIU, so depende sa inyo kung more food or less crowd. 










Overall, sulit ang pagbuffet ko. Naenjoy ko yung tempura station, meat station, and dessert station. Good food and good service. I hope magkapromo ulit para makabalik. 




Check below some of the Viking Group Restaurants that we tried in the past. 


NIU by Vikings Promo 

Celebrants Eat for Free 

Bring 1 full-paying adult on the day of your birthday. Bring 4 full-paying adults on any day within your birthday month. 

Celebrate Big! Up to 30% off. 

Discounts will depend on the day and number of guests. Available Weekday Lunch only. Not valid on Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Valentine’s Day, or holidays. 

NIU by Vikings - SM Aura Buffet Rates 

Weekday Lunch 

PHP1,138 - Adult 
PHP438 - Kids 3-4ft/4-7 years old 
PHP748 - Kids 4’1 - 4’6 ft/ 8-10 years old 

Weekday Dinner/Weekend Holidays 

PHP1658 - Adult 
PHP538 - Kids 3-4ft/4-7 years old 
PHP848 - Kids 4’1 - 4’6 ft/ 8-10 years old 

NIU By Vikings 
6/F SM Aura Premier, 
26th Street corner McKinley Parkway, 
Bonifacio Global City 
Contact: 478-3888, 0917-586-6888, 0919-999-6888 

Open Daily 

11AM to 2:30PM 
5:30PM to 10:30PM

January 22, 2025

Lunch Buffet at Guevarra’s by Chef Laudico

 A few months ago, my friend invited me for a lunch get-together and told me na ako na bahala sa venue kasi for sure daw pupunta na ako. Hehehe! It’s been a long time since I attended our org-get-together. Since we did not have any travel plans last Christmas Break, I said yes. 

Eight years ago, I suggested Hogs and Cattle Steakhouse and for our recent get-together, I suggested Guevarra’s by Chef Laudico so we could stay for 3 hours. This buffet restaurant started in 2013 pa, ganun na siya katagal but as usual, kapag nasa probinsiya, hindi natatry agad. Actually, I forgot about this restaurant, naalala ko na lang siya nung nagyaya yung college friend ko nung last get-together. namin.

Since we are a group of 16 people, we needed to make a reservation. I checked their calendar on their website pero walang weekend. Magchange na sana kami ng venue, good thing my friend called the restaurant and was able to reserve. To confirm the reservation, a 50% downpayment is required via instapay or bank deposit. 



Fast forward to our get-together, we left early para iwas traffic but surprisingly, walang traffic so ang aga tuloy namin. Quarter to 11AM, the staff announced na pwede na daw pumasok yung mga may reservation and they opened the buffet table 5 minutes before 11AM. For our group, two separate tables kami. Okay sana kung nasa isang room. 



Anyway, you need to wear a face mask before going to the buffet table and this is a managed buffet pala so kailangan ko pa sabihan na konti lang ang ilagay. Take note of the “Clean Plate Policy” - PHP100 for every 100-gram leftover. 


Late ako sa pagpila so hindi ko nakunan ng maayos yung buffet. My personal favorites sa buffet spread are kare-kare, lechon belly, shrimp, honey glazed ham, and yung dessert station.








My friend paid for our get-together meals but looking at the buffet rate, I can say that it is budget-friendly compared to other buffet restaurants so it is not surprising na marami talaga kumakain. 

Guevarra’s by Chef Laudico 
87 P. Guevarra Street cor Argonne St. 
1500 San Juan, Philippines 
0998 881 3200 
guevarrassales@gmail.com 

Business Hours and Buffet Rate: (Daily) 

Lunch 11AM to 2PM = P879 
Maagang Salu-Salo 5PM to 7PM = P799 
Dinner 7:30PM to 10:30PM = P879 
Weekend Late Lunch 2:30PM to 4:30PM = P799 
Weekend Breakfast 7:30AM to 10AM = P599 

Delivery (Daily) 
9:00am - 6:00pm

January 21, 2025

Chinese New Year Cupcake Topper

After finishing my 3D Nativity Craft Project, I took a break and told myself, sa February na ko mag-craft. Napagod ako kakagawa ng Christmas craft projects but I spoke too soon, hindi ko pala kaya. hehehe!

I have so many Valentine’s craft projects that I wanted to do pero mas mauuna yung Chinese New Year so yesterday, I made these Chinese New Year Cupcake Toppers using glitter, foil, and smooth cardstock. 


The SVG files are from the Bearly Art website. At first, I wanted to make a wall decor but I had so many paper scraps so I decided to make a cupcake topper instead. 


This was my Lunar New Year entry for Bee Happy Crafts Weeklies 4 and Cricut Philippines Flex It Friday.

January 17, 2025

Christmas Breakfast Buffet at Goji Kitchen + Bar

We usually go to Tagaytay for our Christmas Breakfast but for a change, we had a Christmas Staycation at Clark Marriott Hotel. We only used our Marriott Bonvoy points for our accommodation so breakfast is not included. 

Upon check-in, the staff informed us that we could avail of the Breakfast Buffet at PHP1200/per person, kasi kapag sa restaurant PHP2,100 daw ang rate. At that time, I had no idea about their rates but as of this writing, I checked their page and saw their lunch and dinner buffet rate so okay na naman pala yung rate ng breakfast for check-in guests. 

Buffet Lunch: ₱3,295 
Dinner Buffet: ₱3,595 



Goji Kitchen + Bar is an all-day buffet at Clark Marriott Hotel. The buffet restaurant has a live kitchen so you can see how they prepare the dishes. We went to the restaurant around 7AM and I thought mga tulog pa yung mga guest pero marami na pala nagbrebreakfast. Hehehe! I gave our Breakfast Vouchers and the staff assisted us to our table.



I browsed each station and marami rin naman choices like bread, soup, noodles, dim sum, rice meal, salad, fruits etc. 







May Filipino Station din. 


For drinks, I ordered Hot Chocolate kaso hindi ko type yung chocolate nila. Buti na lang marami pa options like juices and shakes. 


Nagserve din ng turon yung staff and masarap ito. Hindi ko lang alam kung saan station oorder kasi wala ako nung binigay sa table, kulang tuloy ng isa. Buti na lang hindi mahilig anak ko sa turon kaya ako kumain. Hehehe!


Same with Wu Xing Chinese Restaurant, okay ang service ng mga staff dito. Nakapagpaslice pa nga kami ng mango. May naexperience kami sa ibang hotel na yung foreigner binigyan ng platter of mango pero nung kami humingi, for display lang daw. Waah! 


Anyway, we were done eating in less than an hour so we went back to our room na. 

Goji Kitchen + Bar 

Open Daily 
6:00 AM-10:30 AM 
12:00 PM-2:30 PM 
5:30 PM-10:30 PM 

Lobby Level of Clark Marriott Hotel 5398 
Manuel A. Roxas Highway Clark Freeport Zone, 
Mabalacat, Pampanga, 2023, Philippines
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