Michi Photostory

Two years ago, we celebrated my husband’s birthday at The Bellevue Manila. And because it was a birthday celebration, I went to The Bellevue Manila Pastry Corner to buy a cake, I bought a mini cake and plain ensaymada. We really enjoyed the cake and ensaymada. 

Read: Staycation: The Bellevue Manila

Just last week, we went back to The Bellevue Manila to attend the Bellevue Kids Club Grand Launch. I did not leave without buying their yummy pastry. They have different flavors of ensaymada such as Malolos Ensaymada, Black Forest Ensayamda, Red Velvet Ensaymada, Leche Flan Ensaymada and Ube Ensaymada. 

Read: Bellevue Kids Club Grand Launch


I bought Leche Flan Ensaymada P85, Ube Ensaymada P85 and Cheese Roll P75. The serving was big and they did not scrimp on the ingredients. You can see the generous amount of cheese on top and the yummy filling inside.

The Leche Flan Ensaymada has slices of leche flan inside and the leche flan was not that sweet.


The Ube Ensaymada has ube jam filling and this is really good. Every bite is heaven because I also like ube jam too. Unfortunately, I only bought one. Maybe that is the reason bakit naubusan ako but I was still glad, may natira na isa. Lol


I was surprised with the Cheese Roll, I was expecting that it was a simple bread with one slice of cheese inside just like the cheese roll of Red Ribbon and Purple Oven but I was wrong. Aside from the generous cheese toppings, there is also cream cheese filling. Cheese na cheese talaga. 


As I mentioned, the serving is really big and I can’t finish it in one sitting because I’m full already. But it really depends on your appetite because my husband can finish it in one sitting. Lol 

I just hope the hotel is just so near so we can buy this every time we crave it. I just can’t hoard because of the expiration date. I bought it on June 19 and the expiration date is June 22. 

I’ve tried ensaymada of Starbucks, Cafe Mary Grace, Purple Oven, and other Pastry shops, they are all good but now my top one is Ube Ensaymada of The Bellevue Manila Pastry Corner. How about you, what is your favorite ensaymada or cheese roll? 

I received an invite last week to attend Bellevue Kids Club Grand Launch, the schedule was in time for Father’s Day so I asked my husband if it is okay to celebrate father’s day in Bellevue and he said yes. We had a staycation in The Bellevue Manila before and we enjoyed our stay. Their branch in Bohol is still in my bucket list. 

Read: Staycation at The Bellevue Manila



After lunch we went to the hotel, my son was not in the mood to join the event because he wanted to play Ipad (weekend = Ipad day) but when we got there, lumiwanag ang mukha. Hehehe! 



He got so excited and he immediately went to Faber Castell booth and asked for crayons and coloring paper. I told him to sit beside us but he prefers to sit in kiddie chair. He is not really fond of coloring so I was surprised that he chose this, ang hirap kulayan. 



Theme for that day is Filipiniana and we were entertained by watching different Cultural Presentation by Indak Lahi. 




The kids enjoyed the Shadow Presentation by Museo Pambata. My son can’t helped checking the back of the white screen. He was really curious what is happening at the back. 



There were games for kids and adults.




There is a raffle too but I was so unlucky that day and I did not win anything. My son had fun and he was so happy to take home his loot bag and toys which he got from Pabitin Game. I was teasing him, akala ko ba you don’t want to come with mommy. Lol! 



How to be a Member of Bellevue Kids Club

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June 13 was the first day of school and two days before that I was cramming to print labels and cover 9 books. My life would be easy if I just cover the books without waiting for my son’s section but I decided to wait for the section that was posted last June 10. Thanks to free printables online so I just edit the name and print.



June 13 

First day of school. I accompany my son in school so I can see his classroom, adviser teacher and classmates. We arrived just in time so I don’t have a nice picture of my son in the school. “Kukunin ko pa lang phone ko to take picture, the teacher said, mommy, pwede niyo na po iwan.” Waah! #buhaystagemother

Next time, di na kami sasabay sa school service pag first day of school. It’s been three years and consistent na buzzer beater kami. 

After school, we went to dentist for oral prophylaxis. I claimed my labtest result. 

June 14 

I printed school money stickers and labels for notebooks, I waited for the list of subject teachers. 



June 15 onwards

On our third day, I can really feel that we’re back to school because we are doing our assignments na. 10 months na ganito ulit. 

June 17 

We watched “Finding Dory” movie. My husband’s company provided free tickets so yehey for a free movie. We liked Finding Nemo and we also loved Finding Dory. #justkeepswimming 



June 18 

We went to the hospital for my routine check-up. 


We went home to prepare for my friend's wedding, we’re running late and it took us 3 hours just to reach the church. No thanks to traffic in NCR. Buti umabot pa kami sa “You may now kiss the bride”. 

June 19 

Third Sunday of June so it is Father’s Day, I got free father’s DIY card so I just printed it and let my son write his own message for his daddy.



After lunch we went to The Bellevue Manila for the Bellevue Kids Club Grand Launch, my son had fun.

Read: Staycation at The Bellevue Manila
          Bellevue Kids Club Grand Launch

It was a hectic week and I’m still adjusting with my wake-up time, chores schedule and tutoring my son.

The first time I tasted Royce Chocolate was last year when my husband went home from Brunei. It was love at first taste and I have no idea that there is a chocolate that really melts in your mouth.

Read: Royce Nama Chocolate

So when we went to Japan last month, I did not leave the country without buying Royce Chocolate. Good thing that you can buy this chocolate in the airport and it is tax-free.



I was so happy that Royce Chocolate is so affordable in Japan and I wanted to hoard but of course I have to practice self-control. I only bought three types of chocolate.


1. Royce Chocolate Bar 

This Chocolate Almond Bar is 450 yen. It is milk chocolate filled with crunchy, roasted whole almonds. You can really see the whole almonds and hindi tipid. Honestly, the taste is good but it is like other chocolate that has nuts.


My son doesn’t like chocolate with nuts but he finished this chocolate bar, halos di ko na natikman. Hehehe! The shelf life is 3 months.

2. Royce Pure Chocolate

Royce Pure Chocolate has different flavors but I chose the Creamy milk and White flavors. What I like in this chocolate is the packaging, each chocolate is individually wrapped so if you are on a diet, you can just get one at a time just to satisfy your sweet tooth. I love the smooth taste of each chocolate. Royce Pure Chocolate is 720yen. The shelf life is 3 months.


3. Royce Nama Chocolate without Liquor

Of course, my favorite chocolate is Royce Nama Chocolate. Among the three, this is the best choice. Like I said before, this is the only chocolate that is soft and melts in your mouth even you just got it from the fridge. I tried the Mild Cacao flavor before so I bought White flavor “Fresh cream is blended in white chocolate that is finished in a mild and fresh taste.”.


I like white chocolate so I enjoy this but my husband prefers the Mild Cacao flavor. My son said “Yummy Cheese”. Hehehe! Royce Nama Chocolate is 720 yen. 20 pieces in a box. The shelf life is only 1 month.

You need to store this in a cool place so I paid 100 yen for the cooling bag because I have to travel the chocolate from Japan to the Philippines. If you are going to Japan, don't forget to buy this chocolate. :)

My husband will be going back to Brunei so I’m still contemplating kung papabili ulit ko ng Royce so I can still try other variants. Though hindi na nga lang siya presyong Japan but definitely much cheaper compared sa Philippines price.

Read: Pasalubong from Japan 

Update January 2019

4. Royce Nama Chocolate with Liquor



My brother frequent Japan because of work, sometimes natetempt ako na magpabili ng Royce kaso North to South din kami so gagastos din ako sa gas and toll so baka wala din ko matipid. But last year, when I attended my grandmother's 80th birthday, my brother gave us Royce chocolate. Yey, another flavor that we tried "Royce Nama Chocolate Au Lait". It a blend of milk chocolate and fresh cream. It contains liquor but I did not notice it. The shelf life is 1 month.

5. Potato Chocolate Fromage Blanc



When my husband went to Chengdu China last month, he had a layover at HKIA. So while waiting for his boarding, he checked different stores and he asked me if I want chocolates. I was contemplating if I will buy the Royce Chocolate because it is expensive. But after several minutes, I asked my husband to buy one Royce Potato Chocolate Fromage Blanc HKD105.

A potato chips coated with cheese-flavored white chocolate. Fromage blanc is a type of soft French cheese that has a creamy sour taste. I was surprised by the taste, okay din pala combination ng potato chips and chocolate. The shelf life is one month. This is good but expensive if you will convert it to Philippines Peso.

I’m not a fan of Hello Kitty so going to Sanrio Puroland is not on my bucket list but when I was planning for our Japan itinerary, I learned that Sanrio Puroland is only 5 minutes walk from our hotel so I included this on my list.

Click here for the video

Trivia: Sanrio comes from "san" meaning three in Japanese and "rio" meaning river in Spanish. Sanrio means to join three rivers of the world.


Read: Keio Plaza Hotel Tama

I'm not sure if my son would love the idea of going there because I think it is a girly thing so prior to our trip, I already showed him the pictures on the website. He was not excited because he prefers Tokyo Disneyland or Tokyo Disney Sea but I told him that we will visit those places some other time. 

The hotel provided directions on how to get there. I really appreciate our hotel location because we don’t need to ride a train or bus just to visit this indoor theme park. It is big savings since train and bus fare is not cheap.



We left 15 minutes before 10AM and I was surprised to see the long lines. We were there waiting for the opening, only to find out na mali pila ko. Hindi pala pila yun sa ticket booth, pila pala yun ng may ticket na. Waah! So nasayang oras ko sa pagpila and I have to fall in line again in the ticket booth. 

Sanrio Puroland Entrance Fee 

Weekends and Public Holidays: Adult 3,800 yen Child 2,700 yen 
Weekdays: Adult 3,300 yen Child 2,500 yen 

To save money, I printed discount from their website. It is just 100 Yen discount per ticket but still a saving. (pwede na pandagdag pambili ng drinks). You can also buy your Sanrio Puroland ticket at Klook. 



I was glad that the guide and map have an English version but unfortunately, the programs and flyers have no English version so we missed some shows and were late for the parade show. 



The theme park is open from 10AM to 5PM, it was not that big but we were not able to tour the whole place. I was so sad because we missed the 2F of Sanrio Town. Among the attractions, we were not able to visit the Lady Kitty House and Kiki & Lala Twinkling Tour. 


Moving on, our first stop is Discovery Theater, I’m aware that there is no English version or subtitles but still we enjoyed the show. We just followed the people, so if they shake their phones, we will shake too. Hahaha! 


Then we rode the “Mymeroad Drive”, I bought a souvenir photo that you can design at 1,100 yen. The ride lasted for two minutes. We fell in line for some photo ops even though I’m not familiar with the name of those characters. Hehehe! 

Our wallet is very important stuff in our lives because it holds our money, ID’s, credit card, debit card, loyalty card and other things. Last year, my wallet already gave up on me so I was looking for a replacement but I could not find anything. When I find something I want, I don’t like the price naman. I don’t want to buy wallet na mas mahal pa sa laman, hehehe! 

1. Halo Phone Wallet

Then I remember the Halo Phone Wallet that I bought for my phone last year, I haven’t used it yet so ginamit ko na lang siya since I don’t have wallet pa. It has 4 card slots and cash pockets. 



Since last year, I’m using this wallet while looking for a new one but after using it for several months, naappreciate ko na siya. Now I don’t look for wallet anymore, I now love my phone wallet turned to slim wallet. 



I can put my money, cards, and even receipts in this minimalist wallet. It is not bulky so it doesn’t take much of my bag space. I have separate coin purse and card holder for my other cards (health card, membership card and others), which is dati ko na ginagawa para if ever mawala yung wallet, hindi lahat ng cards makukuha.

I’m pretty sure that you are aware how expensive of replacing ATM and Credit Cards. Di naman libre yan so I only put 1 ID, 1 ATM, 1 Credit Card and 1 Loyalty Card in my wallet. One more thing, the phone wallet is only P349 and available in different colors. 

Update: January 5, 2017


2. MINISO Wallet



I've been using Halo Phone wallet for more than a year, I thought that is the cheapest slim wallet that I've found. But I was wrong, I found this slim wallet at Miniso for P199. Amazing right. 

I like this because the color is more feminine, I'm not sure if it is a pink or old rose. I can put money and receipts. It has 6 card slots so I can add two more loyalty cards. You can put your coins or phone in the zipper part of the wallet



I'm happy with my new slim wallet. If you search online, almost 2k yung price ng slim wallet. How about you? Are you using a slim wallet?

Update: August 2017

3. MINISO Coin Purse

While waiting for our 11AM buffet at Four Seasons Hotpot and Buffet City, we dropped by at MINISO, then I saw this coin purse for P99. I already have a coin purse but I find this so cute. It matches my slim wallet. It also has a card case and additional slot at the back of the wallet so I bought it. 

Japan is famous for being one of the costly countries to visit. In fact, whenever people hear that you will travel to Japan, they will immediately say magastos or mahal. Yes, I would agree because it is the most expensive country that we ever visited in South East Asia. 


I realized this when I started to look for an accommodation and plan for our itinerary. Of course, there are still some ways to travel to Japan on a budget and not everything is expensive. 

So if you think that you cannot buy anything in Japan, you are definitely wrong. I’m sharing with you the things that you can buy for pasalubong that fits your budget. 

1. Cup Noodles - I have a friend who used to work in Japan and she said that cup noodles in Japan are really good so we bought few pieces so we could try it. And it is true, I'm not fond of cup noodles because I dislike the taste of the noodles but the one that we bought in Japan is good. One cup of noodles is 100+yen. 

2. Japanese Curry and Furikake - It was my first time to try the Japanese curry when we dined at C&C Curry Shop, the mild curry is different from the curry powder that I always use for our chicken curry. I bought a pack for this for my friend but unfortunately, it did not reach Philippines because I forgot to put it in check-in bag so it was confiscated. 



My sister in law asked me to buy this. It is a dry Japanese seasoning that you add to steam rice or fried rice. I bought this without knowing the name, I just look at the picture. Now, I consulted Google and it is called Furikake.

3. KitKat - this chocolate is very common in the country but there are flavors that are not usually available in the Philippines. If you find one flavor, I’m pretty sure it is expensive, the cost of KitKat ranges from 300 to 500 yen per pack. It depends on where are you going to buy this, I've read that some stores sell this for 200+ yen. 

I only bought my pasalubong at the nearest grocery store in Tama Center so I only saw few flavors in the grocery such as dark chocolate, chocolate, green tea and strawberry flavor. 

Green Tea KitKat is available in S&R store, I just can't remember the exact price but I'm sure it is over P200. 



4. Royce Chocolate - this is available in the country but I haven’t bought one because the price is so steep. The first time I tried this chocolate was last year when my husband bought Royce Nama Chocolate in Brunei.

Read: Royce Nama Chocolate

So I was really happy when I saw Royce chocolates in Narita airport, you can buy Royce Nama Chocolate for 720yen only. Waah! I wish I can buy a lot and hoard these chocolates. 

Read: Royce Chocolate



5. Daiso - again this is available in the country but I still bought some stuff here because it is only 108 yen. Malayo sa P88 sa atin. :) 

6. IKEA - I saw this store when we went to Showa Kinen Park and I was able to buy chocolate for 97yen and 130 yen only. 

Read: IKEA Tachikawa



Care to share your favorite pasalubong from Japan.

Last week I asked my husband for his birthday plans, our family loves staycation so I want to know if he wanted a staycation for his birthday but he said he just want to stay home so I did not bother to check hotel promos.

We celebrated his birthday at Crosswind Resort Suites last year but now he miss our house, hehehe! Maybe because he has been traveling for three weeks already at sawang-sawa na siya sa hotel life.

Read: Crosswind Resort Suites

He went back from Indonesia last Saturday and I was still asking him kung ano plan niya and wala pa din siya maisip. Since we need to pay bills, I suggested that we will just eat at Sambojokin so we can avail the FREE birthday buffet.

So we went to SM Southmall, we did not have any reservation and we were there at 11:12AM and pang 12 na kami sa waiting list. Sayang yung free birthday buffet so we just ate Krispy Kreme dough-nut while waiting for our number. It was 12:50PM when they ushered us to our table. It was really a long wait. I filled-out the free buffet birthday form and gave my husband’s ID. 



I dined here last December with my college friends so I was surprised that they have increased their rates. The P849 fee already includes drink all you can fruit shake, soda and juice. They also offer new dishes like Buta Hara Rosuto (Roast Pork Belly), Hitsugi Rosuto (New Zealand Roast Leg of Lamb), Gyuniko Rosuto (US Roast Beef) and Yakimono (Grilled Meats & Seafood). But we did not receive Kamameshi rice so my husband got plain rice. (I did not bother to ask kung wala na ba talaga) 



This was the second time that my husband celebrated his birthday in Sambokojin but first time to avail the free birthday buffet. We’re expecting for free slice of cake and birthday song for the birthday celebrant but we’re done eating after an hour and still no birthday cake and song. We got our bill and left the restaurant but at least we got the free birthday buffet so tipid celebration.

Read: Birthday Celebration at Sambokojin

Natatawa na lang kami kasi it happened to me before when we dined at Four Seasons Hotpot City, so pareho kami sawi sa free birthday cake. Hehehe! 

Read: My Birthday Celebration at Four Seasons Hotpot City

After doing our errands, I bought mini Tiramisu cake at Cafe Mary Grace for P300 + candles for P60. We just need small cake for the three of us. The cake is good, same sila ng Tiramisu ng Contis. 



Read: Contis Tiramisu
          Cafe Mary Grace

Then we bought pizza and went to my in-laws for pizza party. It was a simple and tipid birthday celebration. 

Sambokojin Rates

Monday to Friday Lunch Special Price P 649 (Regular price is P 849)
Monday to Thursday Dinner Special Price P 799 (Regular price is  P 849)
Friday to Sunday & Holidays Lunch and Dinner P 849 (Regular price)

Children's Buffet Price:

4′- 4’6″ P 380
3′ – Below 4 ft. P330
Below 3 ft. FREE NO SERVICE CHARGE

No Left Over. Add P200 per head for leftover

Only One (1) Promo Applies. Valid Only On Regular Adult Price. 

Free Birthday Buffet Promo 

1. Free Buffet for Birthday Celebrant who will dine in any of these Sambo Kojin branches :EASTWOOD •EDSA •SM MEGAMALL •SM SOUTHMALL •WEST AVENUE accompanied by one (1) full paying adult on actual birthday, within three (3) days before and three (3) days after that. 

2. Free Birthday Buffet may be claimed up to 14 times, lunch and dinner, within those seven (7) days. Only 1 Free Birthday Buffet may be claimed per visit. 

3. Prior to ordering, kindly present to any of our dining personnel any of the following valid documents stating date of birth: birth certificate, SSS ID, TIN ID, Voter’s ID, Passport, Driver’s License, PRC License, AFP/Military ID.

4. All Firstfoods Food Services, Inc. & Golden Reef Food Services, Inc., Kitchenjin Food Services Inc., Breakthroughs Food Services Inc. personnel and their relatives up to the second degree of consanguinity or affinity are not qualified to join the promo. 

5. Promo is not valid with any other existing promos. Not valid on Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, and Father’s Day.

Read: Sambokojin: Free Buffet for the Graduate