Virali-tea

So, there's a viral video about a HK Sprite iced tea recipe.

It's been passing by my feed for days, and even my friends are sharing the recipe with me.

As a former HKG resident, of course I had to try it.

Following the recipe on the video, the iced tea turned out a bit pale and light on the black tea flavour. So, I modified it and used 3 tea bags, and it made a world of difference.

The black tea taste is more pronounced, and the fizziness of the Sprite keeps it light and effervescent. Then, there's the kick of lemon after.

Some viral vids are worth paying attention to.

To calamansi is to believe

There's a potted calamansi tree at home, and since it's a fruit tree in a pot, I didn't have high hopes for it.

But lo and behold, seeing it this morning, it turns out that it's bearing a lot of fruit!

Now, we can just go out of the gate and pick a few if we need calamansi for juice or toyomansi.

Unbelievable!

Island living

The rains have been pouring non-stop the past few days, even Megamall has turned into an island.

Hope this lets up soon. I'm missing the sunshine.

Living the dream(er)

I've seen this video quite a few times already. It's an audition from the 2018 edition of "The X-Factor UK." Gosh! It means this video is already 8 years old.

This audition features a 50-year old singer named Jancie Robinson who did a rousing rendition of a very danceable ditty. (Two alliterations in a row!)

While she was being interviewed, there was a backstory about that song that she sang. Apparently, it was a hit song that was part of the soundtrack of both Robbie Williams' and Louis Tomlinson's lives. After doing research, it turns out that the song - "Dreamer" - was a song from an American group called "Living Joy." 

And guess what, Janice Robinson was the lead singer of that group.

The song reached number 1 in the UK charts, which explains why Robbie and Louis are very familiar with it. Looking at both videos now, Janice hasn't lost that beautiful voice and commanding presence on the UK stage. Whether it was "Top of the Pops" in 1995 or "The X-Factor UK" in 2018, she still has that power and presence.

No wonder her dreams - and dreamer - are still going after more than 2 decades.

Meals with Mark: Easy Aussie

In the continuing saga of "Where do we eat in One Ayala." 

 We've passed by Panco a few times, but haven't tried eating there. Panco is an Australian-inspired cafe that serves Australian coffee and Pinoy meals. Tried this at The Podium once, but haven't eaten here with Mark, so we decided to have lunch here last Saturday. 

 My go-to order here is the Salmon Cream Dip with pandesal.

This never disappoints. The creaminess and savoury salmon pairs well with the crunchy and soft pandesal. We also tried their rice meals - Mark having the charred longganiza and me having the fish tartare. They're both really good! 

 Looks like we have another winning discovery!

Send me one line

No, this ins't a Spyro Gyra post. But it feels like I'll have one of their songs as a Friday Magic Madness song soon.

This is about Toni's bazaar at One Ayala today.

Dropped by after school, and got there around 11am. And as early as that time, they already had this long line of folks wanting to try Sweet Tones cakes.

It's actually like this in a lot of the bazaars that she joins. And it's not surprising since the cakes are really good. Especially the Ube Bibingka Cheesecake.

Way to go, Toni!

FMM: Mx it up

While writing the title for yesterday's Mexican story, this song suddenly clicked and played in my head non-stop.

"Mixed-up World" is another catchy ditty from Sophie Ellis Bextor, this time from 2003. While it's not as overly popular like "Murder of the Dance Floor" and "I won't change you," this song is as catchy and danceable as the first 2.

And in true Sophie Ellis Bextor fashion, the music video was eye candy - filled with stunning visuals, great fashion, and signature moves.

Because of all these reasons, this song will suddenly be in the mix the next few days.

Mex it up

Since yesterday was a WFH day, thought of using my in-between-work-time doing something meaningful and memorable.

That activity is making Ham and Cheese Quesadillas for the usual Senior's afternoon merienda get-togehter.

It's memorable because quesadillas remind me of Tokyo and Mark. We would usually make quesadillas for Pinoy parties, like the GRIPS Hanami and birthday celebrations at IH2. It's meaningful because it's for the my folks and their friends.

Decided to use 2 types of ham - chicken ham and farmers ham. Also used 2 types of cheese - mozarella and quick melt cheddar.

The tortilla was brushed with a bit of butter, for that extra flavour and crunch.

And here it is!

Estoy ogrullosa de mi creacion!

Everything's coming up Rosie

It's one of those days when you wish there was a Target store here in MNL.

If they were here, I'd be there now, grabbing pieces from the Rosie Assoulin x Target collab.

Rosie Assoulin is known for her very feminine and fun aesthetic. She plays with colours, patterns, and executes them in sharply tailored pieces. And that DNA is easily seen in her Target collection.

The piece that caught my eye is this off-shoulder, button down denim dress.

It has a casual and classy silhouette, and the denim makes it easy-to-wear for every day.

Gotta find a way to get this.

Musinsa's scene

The Korean fashion invasion continues.

If it wasn't enough that we now have Top Ten and 8 seconds, Musinsa will soon be part of the Philippine scene!

The Ayala group is bringing in Musinsa, and understandably, their first store will be in Glorietta. I'm interested to see how big their store will be, and how much product they're carrying. If it's anything like their Seoul stores - filled with clothes, beauty products, and nutritional supplements, then they have the makings of a huge hit.

Question is: when will the bring in SPAO?