Michi Photostory

For the last two weeks, my son has been bugging me to bake chocolate cupcake but I was so lazy to bake because of the summer heat and I told him that we have so many food in the fridge, ubusin muna.



After our trip in Cebu, we finally baked chocolate cupcake using Duncan Hines Devil’s Food mix P169.95. I’ve tried this instant mix three years ago and if I remember it right, the cupcake was not sweet so when I saw the ready made Classic Chocolate frosting of Duncan Hines P139.95, I bought it too. 



You need 1 cup water, 3 large eggs, 1/3 vegetable oil and instant mix. Just mix the ingredients and pour batter in baking pan. Bake for 18 to 21 minutes at 350F. 



The cupcake is soft and fluffy but as I mentioned before, it is not sweet so it really needs frosting. The classic chocolate frosting is so easy to spread and not overly sweet. My son enjoyed our chocolate cupcakes.



Read: Red Velvet 
          California Walnut Brownies  
          Devil’s Food

When I started traveling, I always buy fridge magnet, keychain or t-shirt with I love (name of the place) print for pasalubong or as a souvenir but after few years, I stopped buying those stuff because I realized, I don’t need a lot of magnet and keychain. Honestly, nakatambak lang sila.

Now, I’m more into foods, foods that are not usually available in our place. We were in Cebu last week and we did not leave without buying the famous pasalubong in Cebu like dried mango, dried fish and lechon.

You can buy pasalubong in souvenir shops, supermarket, market or even at the airport. Of course, price may vary. If we have time, we will go to Taboan Market just to buy pasalubong, mas mura kasi and mas marami choices. My husband frequently visits Cebu but he is always busy so he usually buys pasalubong at Metro or Airport.

Metro Supermarket 

To save money, I went to the grocery to buy drinks and snacks, then I saw dried mango in the supermarket. I know that you can see dried mango in any supermarket in Metro Manila but I still I bought few pieces at P75 each, I’m not sure if it is already cheap, I will compare it kapag nagawi sa supermarket.


My husband buys dried fish, dried mango and Shamrock Otap at Metro Supermarket too. He usually stays at Cebu City Marriott Hotel now Seda Ayala Center Cebu so it is walking distance to shopping mall. You can also buy sylvannas at La Marea Pastry Shop.




Read: Cebu City Marriott Hotel 
Seda Ayala Center Cebu Hotel 

Taboan Market  

Before leaving Cebu City, we went to Taboan Market to buy danggit (2 days before our departure). We visited the market during our last visit (2011). From Magallanes Cross, we rode jeep 06A (P7 fare each) then walk towards to the market.


I bought danggit at P500 per kilo at Nino and Kristy Store, you can ask them to repack your dried fish into 1/2kl, 1/4kl and 100 grams which I did so I have no problem in distributing my pasalubong. They will put your stuff in a box so no need to worry sa luggage space, pwede na icheck-in.

If you are thinking if it is worth the trip to Taboan market, yes, if you will buy a lot but if not, just buy pasalubong at the airport. 1/4kl of danggit is P300 and 1/4 kl of dried pusit is P350 at the airport.

Tip: Make sure that Taboan Market is your last stop because after going there, you need to take a bath. Amoy danggit ka na, good thing di naman kami pinababa ng taxi driver kahit amot danggit kami. Hehehe! P100+ taxi fare from Taboan Market to Cebu Parklane International Hotel.

Mactan International Airport 

On our way to the airport, my sister in law asked me to buy dried pusit so I bought 1/4kl P350 at the airport then I saw this dried mango at P300. I did not see this in the Taboan market o di ko lang napansin. Sayang, for sure mas mura dun.


Of course, we will not leave Cebu without buying lechon. Zubuchon are available at the airport. 1kl is P650. Update 2018: Price is P830 for 1kl My husband buys lechon at CnT, Cebu Ayer’s or Zubuchon, it varies depending on his flight schedule and budget.


Read: Cebu’s Lechon   

Other Pasalubong 

Aside from Cebu’s delicacies and products, we also buy some favorite delicacies like Vjandep pastel (Camiguin) and peanut kisses (Bohol). Peanut Kisses is famous pasalubong in Bohol but it is also available in Taboan so I bought few boxes of it, P80 and P50 per box. For Vjandep pastel, it is P200 - P250 for a box of 6 pieces at Mactan International Airport.



How about you, what is your favorite pasalubong in Cebu?

One of my favorite chocolates is Ritter Sport, it is not common and popular here in the Philippines and I don’t usually see this in the grocery or supermarket. If it is available, the flavors are very limited. One bar is not cheap too, the last time I bought Ritter Sport, it is P100+. 



I’m not sure what is the exact price now in the market so when my husband asked me if I want Ritter Sport, I was thinking twice if papabili ba ko. I said yes since it’s been awhile since the last time I asked for chocolate pasalubong. 

My husband bought this Ritter Sport chocolate last month at KLIA, Malaysia. The promo is buy 10 and get 2 for free RM99. It is a bundle pack so you cannot choose the flavor but the good thing is I can taste other variants which are not available in the Philippines. 



Among the 11 flavors, I’ve tried before the Raisins Hazelnuts, Whole Almonds, Whole Hazelnuts and White Whole Hazelnuts so I’m curious to try the remaining flavors.



I ate the Fine Extra Dark Chocolate and Dark Whole Hazelnuts and the taste is just ok for me since I’m not a dark chocolate lover. I prefer white or milk chocolate flavor so I was a little bit sad because the bundle doesn’t have Alpine Milk Chocolate or Extra Fine Milk Chocolate. 



My husband ate the Strawberry Yogurt and he said the taste was just ok, lasang strawberry. Malamang, strawberry ang lasa. Hehehe! My son likes the Butter Biscuit. We tried the Marzipan and we did not like it, there is an after taste that I cannot explain. The remaining two flavors that we haven’t tried are the Cornflakes and Dark Chocolate. 



I also like the snap-open packaging of the Ritter Sport, it so easy to open and close. In addition, I love the square size compared to other chocolate. If money is not an issue, I would love to visit the Colourful Chocoworld of Ritter Sport in Berlin. 

How about you, what is your favorite flavor?

My husband went to Cebu; we joined his trip because it is still summer vacation and my son has no summer classes or activities so we are totally free. In order to save money, I told my husband to use our Mabuhay Miles for our ticket so I gave him my Mabuhay Miles number. 

1. Call 

He called the hotline but he was advised that there will be a $34 fee each for rush processing. The processing of award tickets is free if you are booking 10 days prior to the flight departure. 8 days before departure kami nagbook. 

My husband informed me about the fee and I told him that we will just purchase the Manila to Cebu flight, sayang naman yung miles + $34 + P565 (taxes and terminal fee). So he just reserved a ticket for our Cebu to Manila flight. Click the link for the award redemption chart of

Domestic
International

For Cebu 

Economy 4500 
Premium Economy 7500 
Business Class 8500

Unfortunately, there is no available economy so it is either premium economy or business class, so my husband chose the business class for us para maexperience namin. Hehehe! Ubusan ng miles. 

Read: Economy Class vs Business Class Experience: Domestic Flight

2. Collect 

After calling the hotline, you have 3 days to collect your award ticket at any Philippine Airlines office. 

3. Go to PAL office

Fill out the form, show your ID and pay the necessary fee for domestic or international. In our case, we paid P565 each (domestic). 

This was our second time redeeming flight rewards and the process is still the same. Redeeming miles is so easy but it takes time to earn miles especially since we are not frequent travelers. Hehehe! Most of our miles are from Non-Flight (credit card rewards).

The Original AA BBQ is one of the go-to restaurants of my husband if he has a business trip in Cebu so during our last visit we had dinner here. The nearest branch from Marriott Hotel is on Salinas Drive, Lahug. We passed the Golden Cowrie on our way to AA BBQ. 


We went there before 6PM so the place was not crowded yet but I asked my husband if we are still in the Philippines. He just laughed because he also noticed na kami lang Pinoy dun. (except sa staff). There were a lot of foreigners there, as in group of 6-10 pax per table. 

I always watch Kris TV so that is where I learned about Rico’s Lechon. So every time my hubby will go to Cebu, I always tell him to buy Rico’s Lechon but he always buys different lechon kung ano yung nasa airport because of limited time. 

So when we went to Cebu that was my chance to try Rico’s Lechon. I faced my fear and took a cab just to go to the restaurant. It was an achievement for me because that was our first time to ride taxi na kaming 2 lang ng anak ko. 


Prior to our trip, I searched for the nearest Rico’s Lechon from Marriott Hotel and there is one near Ayala but the taxi dropped me here. It is not the branch that I’ve seen on the internet but it was fine with me, at least nakarating kami.

Ethan: Mommy, lechon na naman.
Me: Ikaw nga puro pork bbq sa dinner. :)


It was past 11AM so the restaurant was not crowded yet, I browsed the menu and I ordered 1/4 regular lechon P190, rice is P30 each and bottomless iced tea is P65. I was planning to buy dinuguan for my puto (yes dinala ko yung puto ko sa Cebu, lol) but I told myself na tikman ko muna food. 

Read: Puto with Cheese


At the table, you can see the plates and utensils. The server just gave us sili and calamansi for sawsawan but we did not use it because that is the reason why I love Cebu’s lechon, no need for sauces. 


They serve the rice, ang cute noh! One cup of rice is inside the small kaldero. I posted in IG kung makakailan kaldero kaya kami? Yun pala, hindi na. hehehe!

I don’t know why it took them so long to serve the lechon, e non-stop naman sa paghiwa yung staff. When I saw the skin of the lechon, I have the feeling na hindi siya crispy. True enough, makunat siya and my son who loves lechon skin said, ayaw mommy, chewy yan. 


I was so disappointed because the skin was not crispy and it is salty. The meat was dry, tough and walang lasa. So nasa skin lang ang alat? You cannot choose the lechon part and ayaw ko pa naman nitong part na ito. Malamig na rin yung lechon, tira na lang yata naabutan ko na pinagsama-sama para maging 1/4. (di maintindihan na hiwa) 


I just finished our meal because the price is not cheap. Napaisip lang ako kasi super puri si Kris sa lechon but there is nothing special about it. It is not bad but if I will consider the price, dapat mas ok siya sa iba. Mas ok pa rin yung experience ko sa CnT Lechon. And because of that, I did not order dinuguan anymore.

But in fairness, the service of the staff is good naman. Yun lang, I did not appreciate the lechon.

Read: Cebu’s Lechon
           CnT Lechon

Cebu’s Best Rico’s Lechon 
F. Cabahug St, Cebu City, Cebu

If you remember my previous post, during our first night in Cebu we were supposed to eat in CnT Lechon but it was already closed so I told hubby sa Hukad na lang but the restaurant was packed and we were told na pang-6 kami sa waiting list. Waah! 

We don’t want to wait anymore so we went back to food court to eat our dinner. The following day, we went back to Hukad by Golden Cowrie to have our dinner. My husband always eats at Golden Cowrie in Lahug, I don’t know if the two restaurants are sister companies.

Thank God, pang-1 lang kami sa waiting list and waiting time was not that long. I noticed that most of the diners were families and friends, as in parang kaming tatlo lang pinakakonti sa table. Hehehe! 

Hukad by Golden Cowrie serves Filipino foods. We ordered tinolang lapu-lapu, baked scallops, calamares, and pork bbq for my son. I can’t remember the exact price of each meal but the bill is P900+, mura na because we have 4 viands, 3 unlimited rice, and 3 drinks. 


The staff informed us about the buttons, “just say hukad some more for extra rice”. But I did not ask for extra rice anymore, sa laki ng sandok nila parang 2 cups of rice na yata yun. Hehehe! 


The plate is different too. 


The taste of the food is good except for the calamares, ang alat niya. When we asked for the bill, the staff asked us “kung pwede daw ba niya malaman kung bakit di naubos yung calamares”. We said, maalat! Itake-out sana namin kung di maalat. (sayang)


The service is good and fast, the staff will ask you if you need anything or how’s the food. If I live in Cebu, this will be my go-to Filipino restaurant, I just hope napaalat lang talaga calamares that time. Hehehe! 

Hukad by Golden Cowrie 
The Terraces, Ayala Center Cebu

Cebu is known as the Lechon Capital of the world so every time I visit Cebu, I always eat lechon. If my husband has a business trip in Cebu, he never fails to buy lechon for my pasalubong. After 5 years, I revisited Cebu so after dropping our bag at the hotel, off we went to Ayala Mall to eat our dinner. Unfortunately, CnT Lechon is already closed, waah! No more lechon. 


So the following day, my son and I went back to Ayala Center Cebu to have an early lunch. Pag naubusan pa naman ako niyan. Hehehe! I ordered 1/4 lechon P152.50 and puso P8 each (rice).


Ethan: Mommy, ayaw niyang yellow. 
Me: Rice yung loob niyan. Hehehe! 


I don’t know why it is called puso, maybe because of the shape. As always, I'm happy with our lechon, the skin was crispy and the meat was tender and flavorful. No need for sauce. 

Read: Cebu's Lechon

Few days ago, my son and I went to Bonifacio High Street to kill time. We’re going to Cebu but my husband needs to attend his business meeting first. At first, I was thinking to spend our time in Kidzania but since the rate is not cheap, sayang naman if we will just stay for few hours since we need to leave at lunchtime to catch our afternoon flight. 



So we just stroll and checked what’s new in BHS. We saw the replica of the Louvre Pyramid. According to Wikipedia, the Louvre Pyramid (Pyramide du Louvre) is a large glass and metal pyramid designed by Chinese American architect I.M. Pei. It is surrounded by three smaller pyramids, in the main courtyard (Cour Napoléon) of the Louvre Palace (Palais du Louvre). It was completed in 1989 and has become a landmark of the city of Paris. 



The Leaning Tower of Pisa was also there. The Leaning Tower of Pisa or Tower of Pisa (Torre di Pisa) is the campanile or freestanding bell tower of the cathedral of the Italian city of Pisa. It is known worldwide for its unintended tilt. Oh di ba parang nagtravel na rin kami. 

We did not see the Merlion, san ba banda yun? 



Then we had breakfast again at Starbucks, “wednesdate”. I ordered white chocolate mocha, french toast and chocolate dipped donut. We did not finish the food, too sweet for my taste. My son practices cursive writing to keep him busy.



After 1 hr and 30minutes we left Starbucks to check the different stores and Timezone, only to find out na late pala sila magbukas. Waah! Ang init tumambay sa labas, nakakahiya naman pumasok sa Krispy Kreme or Starbucks ng di bibili.

Finally, my husband called and we will go airport na. Yey! Finally, makakalabas na rin ng Luzon, it’s been two years. Lol

I’ve been cooking puto with cheese using pancake mix for the longest time. It is an easy recipe that I can prepare for our merienda. But for a change, I bought this White King Puto Mix P36 to check kung mas ok ba siya. I was surprised because there is no egg in this recipe. 



200g White King Puto Mix 
1 cup water 
1/2 cup sugar 
5 tbsp of cooking oil 
Cheese 

1. Boil water in a steamer. 
2. Combine the mix and water until well blended. Add sugar and mix for 30 seconds. Gradually add cooking oil and continue mixing until smooth. Pour into puto molders about 3/4 full. 
3. Steam for 15-20 minutes. Puto is cooked when the surface is shiny and bounces back when pressed.



Honestly, I can’t taste the difference between my puto using pancake mix and this White King puto mix. I already ate 4 pieces of puto, trying to find out kung ano pagkakaiba, lol. I was expecting na lasa siyang malagkit but no. So for me, you can use pancake mix or this puto mix and you will have yummy puto in several minutes. 

Read: Puto with Cheese using Maya Pancake Mix 

My son doesn’t like to enroll in any summer class or activity so we’re just spending our summer vacation at home. Napakaproductive ng summer namin, lol!

April 11 

My friend told me about their swimming plans and asked me if I wanted to join. Of course, I said yes, parang wala pa nangyayari sa summer namin. Nagsabi agad ko na daanan nila bago nagpaalam. Hehehe! I know my husband will say yes too ng makalabas naman kami. I messaged my husband about the swimming plans and he said yes. 

April 14

We woke up early and I asked my husband to drop us at my friend’s house then off we went to my friend’s condo for our outing. When my friend told me about the P200 fee (visitor), I said ang mahal naman parang resort na. Lol. But I realized, the price is worth it na rin because we don’t have to pay for the cottage or corkage fee. 


In addition, the place was not crowded, maybe because it was a weekday and the residents are busy working or sawa na sa pool nila. So if you have a tight budget this summer, makiswimming in your friend’s condo or clubhouse. :) We let the kids swim for a few hours. 

Boys love cars or should I say Hot Wheels! My son really likes Hot Wheels, it was his wish list last December 2014 and since then we’ve been collecting cars and race track. 



Hot Wheels

We’ve been buying Hot Wheels toys for the last two years but I hate to admit it was only now that I’ve learned the history of Hot Wheels. For your information, Hot Wheels is a brand of 1:64, 1:43, 1:18 and 1:50 scale die-cast toy cars introduced by American toy maker Mattel in 1968.

In 1950’s, Ruth Elliot Handler, founders of Mattel, brought the now-iconic fashion doll Barbie to life. Elliot was looking to invent another toy. Something that not only would capture kid’s imagination, but ignite as well. As he went to the parking lot of Mattel, he saw a designer’s custom ‘64 El Camino and examined, “Man, those are some hot wheels!” It was the spark of inspiration that led to a line of cars with a distinctive Southern California look, fast-moving wheels and redline tires.

Akalain mo yun, matanda pa sa kin si Hot Wheels. Anyway, last year we were able to attend the Hot Wheels Race to Singapore Grand Prix at SM Southmall, it just so happened that we were in that area and we saw their booth. We bought Hot Wheels so my son can use the race track and he had a blast. 

Read: Hot Wheels Race to Singapore Grand Prix

This month, I got an invite for the Hot Wheels Make it Epic Race 2016 and I was glad that we're available on that date so I said yes. 

“Make it Epic” is rooted in the overall Hot Wheels brand purpose: Exhilaration and Achievement for every kid.

“Make It” is the call-to-action to all boys to show what they can do with Hot Wheels through customization and competition, through imagination and hacks, through cool cars and a daring attitude. This encourages and enables boys to experience a sense of achievement. 

“Epic” is a challenge to boys to make Hot Wheels play bigger, faster, higher, cooler, louder, anywhere, anyway. It is the promise of Exhilaration. 

It’s more than just a tagline, it’s a challenge. “Don’t just make it awesome, make it epic” 

SM BF Parañaque South Qualifying April 16 -17, 2016



The booth is smaller compared to SM Southmall (2015) maybe because there is an event beside their booth. The setup is also different; if last year, there are ready race track that you can use, this time, you are free to build your own race track. 





There is Gravity Platform that you can use to play or try your winning cars. 



A living diorama is also onsite, it will give you an idea how to improve your race track at home. 



My son had fun in building race tracks and playing cars in the gravity platform. So if you have kids from 3-12 years, visit SM BF Parañaque to join the Make it Epic Race. Click here for the video

How to Join:

1. Purchase at least two Hot Wheels Basic Cars from the participating store. 
2. Maximum 2 trials car, the fastest speed will be recorded. 
3. Top 20 (fastest speed record) will be shortlisted to join the Area Qualifying Rounds. 

I suggest you go there before 3PM so you have more time to enjoy the race tracks and practice your Hot Wheels. 

SM San Lazaro North Qualifying April 23 and 24 
May 14 Semi-Finals at SM Mall of Asia 
May 15 - Finals at SM Mall of Asia 

Fun Facts:

1. Since 1968, more than 1,000 models and over 20,000 variations of Hot Wheels cars have been created. 
2. They make 8.9 million cars every week. That’s more than five times the worldwide production of life-size cars. 
3. Worldwide: 10.5 cars sold every second. 
4. 6,000 miles of orange track are produced and sold each year - enough to go from Los Angeles, USA to Rome, Italy. 
5. 1.1MM die-cast sold for 2015 in the Philippines. 
6. #1 selling sku at Toy Kingdom and Toy Kingdom Express for 2015 based on units sold. 
7. #2 brand of Toy Kingdom and Toy R Us for boys last 2015. (#1 Star Wars Movie)

Hot Wheels has Speedtropolis and Track Builder Set. I saw the video of the starter kit, you can build 4 different race tracks, nice noh!