Drawn to it

Human recently had a collaboration with another street wear brand named Hamu, and they had 1 piece that caught my eye.

It's this white cargo skirt with an interesting detail. It's an embroidery, but it looks like a kid's drawing of a flower. It's this simplicity and purity that drew me to it.

Speaking of simple and pure, this knit top, also from Human, was the perfect pair. It's simple, but the scalloped neckline (which isn't too visible) is what makes it elevated.

See, simple can be chic!

Roast with the Most

The sight of roast items hanging from a window always reminds me of HKG.

Spotted this when Mark and I had lunch at Hawker Chan in One Ayala, and it immediately brought me back to my old neighbourhood in Tak Hing Street. There were a few roast restos around my building, and I've tried them all.

And of course, there's Cafe de Coral who also had a set-up like this.

You can never go wrong with roasts.

Being witty is chicken

Trust Pinoys to be clever and witty when it comes to product names.

Case in point...

Everyone knows KFC is famous for chicken, so this snack aped KFC's name to sell their chicken flavoured snack.

Admittedly, that name is what attracted me to this product. 

Honey, I shrunk the Chinoiserie

You know it's a trend when even kids clothes following it.

Thus is the case of the Chinoiserie that has been mentioned here a few days ago. During a routine visit to The SM Store, this super cute and super fashionable ensemble caught my eye.

The top is a Chinese-inspired denim polo from Just Kids. It''s actually a boy's polo, but it'll also work for little girls. I actually got this for my apo, Sab. Luckily, they had a skort made of a similar material, and that's what I got to pair it with.

This ensemble is a perfect example of "small in size, big in style."

I'll Melt-iez with you

Here's one reason why I'm thrilled that Valu$ is now in MNL.

Meliez is one of the products that's on my must-buy list every time my travels tale me to SG. This is simply so, SO good! 

The crunchy exterior, the rich, chewy caramel centre, it comes together wonderfully that it's addicting.

Here's to the first of many packs of Meltiez!

Bet your Valu Dollar

This was a pleasant surprise.

An SG icon where I'd usually buy pasalubongs is now in MNL. It opened quietly, and without much fanfare. But the shop, the promise and the prices speaks volumes.

Valu$ is a grocery store in SG that sells items for much less compared to regular supermarkets. This is my go-to place if I'm buying chocolates, cookies and other pasalubongs.

It's a very no-frills place. Wooden shelves. Cardboard signs highlighting the offers. Red and yellow signs everywhere. And the great thing is, they brought all that here, so going inside the Valu$ store in Starmall feels like being in the Valu$ store in Bugis all over again.

From now on, this is going to be my destination for value buys.

FMM: Rawls playing

After writing about fables, the word "imagination" suddenly came to mind. After all, you need a rich and vivid imagination to be able to come up with stories. Much more if you think up of fables.

And since today is Friday Magic Madness day, I'm digging up a song that I've written about more than a year ago. But it's such a nice song, it deserves a repeat.

"Pure Imagination" is a 1976 song from Lou Rawls. As kids, this song would be played a lot on cassette, whether it was at home or in the car.

True to its title, there's something very imaginative and fantastical about this song. It sounds so soothing, thanks to Lou Rawls' voice, and the lyrics were beautifully written.

So, as the song says: Come with me, and let's listen to this song again.

Aesop's fables

No, this isn't a post about kids stories. 

But as a kid, Aesop's Fables was one of the books that I'd devour.

What this post is about is this recent discovery.

After smelling Aesop HWYL, it was definitely a must-buy. It has this very green and earthy scent that's easy on the nose and not too overpowering. It also has good longevity and lasted more than 6 hours on my skin.

I'm not a big fan of perfumes, so this is a big deal.

Concrete Jungle

File under: "The things you find when you're not looking."

Was walking along the concrete pavements of 13th Avenue, and chanced upon this beauty:

It's so refreshing to see so many flowers and so much vibrant colours in least expected places. It's a nice breather from all the hustle and bustle of city life.

Wish they had more trees like this in our area.

Cool Cousin

Unprompted, this feature suddenly popped up on my FB reel.

What makes this reel special is that it features my cousin and their family restaurant in BCN.

Cristy is part of the 3rd generation of Bofarruls who are running Los Caracoles. And it's great to see how much they've embraced on-line marketing and advertising, but in a very authentic and organic way.

Proud cousin here.