Hop to it!

Another SG trip, another discovery.

As a White Rabbit stan, this new place introduced to me by KaWei is a big check mark.

A White Rabbit store!

It's at the market behind Chinatown Point mall, and it's a small store with everything White Rabbit. Aside from candies in different flavours, they also have a lot of merch!

Walked out with loads of candies, a tote bag and stickers!

Will most likely hop on over to this place again during my next SG visit.

An apple a day

Looks like ijooz is getting a bit of competition.

During my last SG visit, it was just the ijooz fresh orange juice vending machine. But now, you also have. a fresh apple juice vendo!

Had to try it, and it was okay. 

But at P148 a cup, I'm better off buying a 1-liter carton of Ceres apple juice. 

For the fee

Banofeee, to be exact.

Here's another discovery from SG.

Yup, Nissin has Banoffee wafers!

While it's not as good and flavourful as the Banoffee pie of Banapple, it's a good snack if you want a lighter version of that.

Instant Indian

Our neighborhood supermarket - Daily Supermarket - might not be a big chain, but you can spot some unusually good finds on their racks.

Just like this:

Poppadoms!

As an Indian food Stan, this is such a thrill. I’ve tried this and the flavor is really close to the traditional Poppadoms that you can get in Indian restos.

Gotta buy more and share with my fellow Indian food foodies.

Magical

Here’s a recent discovery after a random grocery run:

The brand name is so apt because this milk is Magic!

The right amount of creaminess with that balance of sweetness from the brown sugar. And with the sea salt added, it has just a hint of saltiness.

And because it was limited edition, I just had to buy all the packs on the grocery shelves.

Now, I;m a believer of (Milk) Magic    

Cha Chance

Back when I'd frequent BKK - both for work and leisure trips - there were a few local places that were on my to-go-to list.

No matter how short or long my stay was, these were places that were not to be missed. It was a combination of malls like MBK, souvenir shops like Naraya, and Thai tea places like Cha Tra Mue.

It was at Cha Tra Mue where my appreciation for Thai Milk Tea started. And while there are stores in MNL that carried Thai Milk Tea, the original would always still be the best.

So, imagine my joy when they finally opened a Cha Tra Mue store in MNL! Not only that, they have Plum Green Tea in their menu.

Finally! No need to fly to BKK to get a chance to drink my fave Thai teas!

Mmm-Bap

No, this isn’t about Hanson’s song. And no, the title isn’t misspelled either.

This is about my newest discovery.

It turns out that the Korean Store at the corner of 20th Avenue also sells prepared food! Which led me to buy Gimbap for dinner. With Chili’s g Cider, to boot!

Mmm, this is good!

I Chouxs you

Whenever I’d pass through the Lotte Department Store food court, there was a shop that was noticeable because it always had long lines,

The shop was called OPS and is a French bakery. 

You can actually smell butter wafting from their area, making me very curious about the shop and what they had to offer. But from the window, you can see a wide array of breads and pastries of all shapes and sizes.

A day before we left, I decided to drop by and finally check it out. It turns out that their specialty is Cream Puff, and almost everyone in line had a few of them on their tray. So, that’s what I bought for Mark and me.

After taking my first bite, it was clear why this was their bestseller.

The Choux pastry is so delicate and it was so easy to bite into it. It was buttery and subtly sweet. The filling? Divine! Rich, creamy, but not too heavy or overly sweet. 

Was planning to bring some home, but our flight was in the morning and OPS was still closed when we left.

Next visit, I’ll definitely be back and buy more of the breads and pastries there. After all, there’s so much to choose from.

Gold. Finger.

Because of the articles I've been reading online about Cloud 9 Gold Caramel Nut Crisp, there was a lot of intrigue about the product on my part.

That's why when I chanced upon it at the supermarket, instinct led to me grab and buy a few bars.

Verdict: IT"S TRUE! 

This variant of Cloud 9 Gold is a lot like Butterfinger!

Of course, nothing beats the original. But in case it's not available in stores, this will be a good back-up.

Super Shopping!

I've been reading about this new concept store from the Robinson's Group called Super 50. 

Last week, after our onsite office meeting, I quickly swung by to see what it's about. Boy, I was impressed! 

It's pretty much like Daiso Japan, but all the items in store are P50! 

In terms of selection, they have a wide range of items from food to home essentials to toys to electronics to other knick-knacks that you don't need but will eventually buy because of the price. I'm speaking from experience since that's what happened to me.

After my less than 15 minute walk around the store, I left with a big box of items! The best buys for me include the plates, saucers, bowls, dishwashing liquid and snacks!

It was a super experience that I'll probably do again soon.

Home-tel

As an avid traveler, one of the things I look forward to is checking into hotels in different countries around the world. 

One thing noticeable about hotels is that they have a distinct smell. 

The Hilton in Mexico smells distinctly different from NH Hotels in Spain. Stepping into Hotel Ibis in France, then the Hotel Accor in Germany, and you'll notice the scent is different. The Washington Hotel chain in Japan smells different from the Mandarin Orchard in Singapore.

Even in the Philippines, when we check in a Shangrila Hotel, The Peninsula Manila, The Marriott and Sofitel - each one feels and smells different.

Now, it's been a year and a half since we last travelled or checked-in a hotel, whether for a vacation or staycation. And it's one of the things that I personally miss - that distinct hotel smell.

But as they say, if you can't go to the hotel, bring the hotel to you.

Et voila!

One of my online discoveries - Hotel Scents! These babies can be used in a humidifier, or can be sprayed on linen, or used as an air freshener. 

We're currently using the Shangrila one, and it's legit! Suddenly, our home smells like the lobby of Shangrila Makati!

So, until we get to go on a vacation or staycation again, we'll make our home smell like a hotel first.

Thai High

It was back in the 90s when I first encountered Maepranom Sweet Chilli Sauce.

During a visit to BKK, my friend and I ate at a street side restaurant at the infamous Khao San Road, and each table had a bottle of this bright red sauce that was filled with chilli peppers and chilli seeds.

Now, I'm used to Bicolano food, so spice doesn't faze me. After pouring the sauce over everything I ordered, it was like an epiphany for my taste buds. This sweet chilli sauce was all that. And more! I was on a sweet chilli high because of Maepranom.

Since then, each trip to BKK would include a search for a restaurant that had Maepranom on the table. Which was a lot, considering that this sauce is part and parcel of Thai culture. Heck, it was even there during my infamous backpacking adventure around Thailand!

When I lived in HKG in 2005, we would go to this hole-in-the-wall (literally) Thai restaurant which we fondly called "Thai Bedroom." The owner, a cheerful Thai lady, had a small store inside her flat and yes, she sold Maepranom. My 2 Thai colleagues - Prem and Golf - were surprised that I knew about the sauce. And even more surprised at how I'd hoard bottles of it. That's how much I craved for it!

So, what brought about this lengthy post about a small bottle of Thai sweet chilli sauce? It's the fact that it's available in the on-line supermarket that I frequent! And that's the reason why we now have bottles of these in our kitchen, and some more bottles about to arrive.

It feels like BKK in the 90s all over again!

Ride the Wagon

Oh, look! Another discovery from my Lander's on-line grocery shopping.

Arnott's is best known for the company who makes Tim Tam. We all know what Tim Tam is, and gosh, I miss their Salted Caramel and Red Velvet variants. But that's another story.

Apparently, Arnott's has a product called "Wagon Wheels." It's a biscuit, marshmallow and jam that's coated in chocolate. So, it's pretty much like Orion Choco Pie, but with fruity jam in between.

It's such a popular product in Australia that they turned it into a chocolate bar which is equally popular. Not in the Philippines, though, since this is the first time I've heard of it.

But since I'm into trying new things, I ended up putting this in my cart and trying it. Which I'm glad I did. It's super yummers!

It took me 2 days to finish the whole bar by myself! It's that good!

This is going to be in my cart again the next time I'm going to Landers. (On-line, of course.)

Choose Chios

There's a new version of "the joy of discovering a new product while perusing supermarket shelves."

In this time of Community Quarantine, it's now "the joy of discovering a new product while browsing on-line supermarkets on the net."

That's what I've been doing. Checking out on-line supermarkets like landers.com.ph, metromart, cloudmart, and the like, and looking for products that are interesting yet unfamiliar. It was through this exercise that I discovered Juss Juice and Real Handcooked Crisps.

So, I went on-line grocery shopping on Landers this weekend, and I made a new discovery! Chios Garden Lemonade!

What struck me first was the packaging. It's so artfully done, and is one of those botanical-themed designs.

The color, the sketch, the font - it's all so bespoke and beautifully done. And the packaging is one of the reasons why it suddenly went in my cart.

It arrived today, and the product is good as the packaging! It has the right amount of sweetness and tanginess, and a strong and authentic lemon taste.

I'll be choosing this again and adding it to my cart soon.

Hot Turkey

Presenting a discovery from today's TVC shoot.

Pringles has this limited edition flavour of Roasted Turkey!

I haven't tried it yet, but if it's really good, I'm going to be thanksgiving and buy a few more cans.

That's Fresh!

Clean, pristine and unassuming scents have always captured my olfactory fancy.

In a survey that was given to me ages ago, I listed "freshly-laundered bedsheets" as one of my all-time fave smells. It goes up there along with "freshly-opened balikbayan boxes."

That's why in terms of cologne or perfume, I've always gravitated to those unassuming scents that smell like soap, or fabric conditioner, or newly-ironed t-shirts. That's why "Clean" is and will always be my top pick. Their "Cotton" series (Warm Cotton and Cool Cotton) is still part of my repertoire. When they discontinued "Cotton T-Shirt," it was such a bummer for me.

Last March, when we had to buy liquid hand soap for the house, the Watsons branch I went to only had one scent left. It was this very plain, very clinical and very aseptic variant called "Fresh Clean."

When we eventually got to using it, I was just flabbergasted!

The scent was AWESOME! It was pristine and unassuming - just the way I like it! The scent was very mild, very quiet, and very clean. Heck, if they had a shower gel that had this scent, I'd buy it in bulk! They don't have it yet, but I'm hoping they will have it soon.

After this discovery, I'm not buying any other variant except this. Well, if I can help it.

Frutos of the Loom

My liking for sampaloc started at a very young age.

Our house in Tomas Morato had a sampaloc tree inside, and we'd often wait for the fruits to grow and fall from the tree.

I remember hanging out at the rooftop of the house, which was accessible through the fire exit in my room, then pick-up all the sampaloc fruits that fell from the tree. Quickly, I'd shake and tap the fruits, and if it had a hollow sound, it meant that it was ripe enough to eat. Then, while indian sitting on the roof, I'd finish my sampaloc haul.

After that, I've taken a liking to sampaloc in all it's incarnations. I've written about some of them here, and now, I'm writing about my latest sampaloc discovery.

Frutos Chewy Sampaloc!

This one tastes so good and so legit, it's hard to believe that it's not fresh sampaloc. It's so good, I'd usually go through half a pack in one sitting!

Thank goodness for new discoveries!

Mint to be

Discovered this on my way home yesterday, and it was definitely THE discovery of the week.

Yes! Mint M&Ms! In a bar!

Enough said.

Hotdog!

There's a new addition to my "so cheap but so good" list.

This!

'Nuff said.

Chicken it out!

Random runs to 7-11 often leads to interesting discoveries.

A few months ago, I came across Frabelle's Salted Egg Fish Skin which was a clear winner.

Today, I found this!

Flavored Chicken Skin sounds deadly! But we had to try it!

It was good. Really, really, R-E-A-L-L-Y good!