Singko* de Mayo @ TJ's

Forgive my title for its shallow humor, but you would be saying cheap jokes too if you experienced the de-centavo feast my girl friends and I splurged on last May 5th! Now, Cinco de Mayo isn't a big thing in the Philippines, and I'm pretty sure most celebrators don't even know why they're rejoicing. But that night, in that little nooky pseudo-Mexican resto: TJ's**, as I sipped my sixth frozen margarita, I praised our dear Mexican brethren for the creation of such an epic day.

I usually have endless reasons to describe awesome moments, but as exceptional as this day was, I need only two.

Reason #1: Frozen Margaritas...(wait for it) FOR P10 a glass!

There's a joy to knowing you can order three rounds for everyone without hurting your wallet. Or seeing ten glasses approach a table, confident that all will be set on yours. We all had that feeling, and it was blissful! Imagine, even before you finish licking off the salt from your current glass, two more are waiting. How that can get girls to a happier place quicker? Obvious. But how that cannot be heavenly? (Sorry. No Reason Available.)

*P10= a little less than US$0.20 aka for a buck you get almost 5 glasses. Happiness? Indeed.

Sadly, the promo was only for that day, but for under P200, their margaritas come in oversized glasses, and you will literally get drunk just choosing a flavor! They have flavors like Blackberry and Blue Lime? I'll be sure to post pictures after my next visit!

Reason #2: Baja Fish Tacos for P84!

The last time I had battered, deep-friend fish topped with a salsa of onions, tomatoes, and special cream sauce wrapped in soft taco was in a L.A. a good 5 years ago. Fast-foodish but cheap at 2 bucks a wrap, it's the kind of taste that haunts. The kind that will all of a sudden call a crave brigade in your stomach, and eating just anything won't calm it. You MUST have the fish tacos. And after that first bite of TJ's Baja Fish Tacos, (and a decent amount of slushy lemon joyfulness) I was a very very happy child.

We ended the night with a bunch of pitchers, some donated by "friendly" guys from other tables, baskets of salsa scented wax paper, and stomachs full of alcohol and love. And although the orders took too long, and halfway through the night, both blenders broke down, and we reached a point of warm margaritas, cigarette smoke perfume and tomato cheeks, we left as five sexy content ladies with wallets only slightly dented, but hearts laughing till the next Cinco de Mayo.

Thrift food is good, but thrifty celebratory happy food? One of the greatest blessings. :)

Maybe we can start Cinco de Junio?

<3 Katzybaby

*Singko is Filipino for "five", but is also used in expression to mean extremely cheap

**TJ's is located at City Golf, Ortigas Ave, Quezon City, Philippines :) VISIT MEEE!

as freedom is a breakfast food

Anyone who knows me should know that I love breakfast food. There's just something about breakfast food that gives me a sense of warmth and comfort; something that tells that 'yeah, everything is going to be okay'.

One of my favorite places to go for breakfast food is Real Coffee in Boracay. It's located in a little alleyway in the border of Station 1 and Station 2 and has kept the same charm and homeliness since I started going there 5 years ago. In fact, it looks like the only place that hasn't changed in Boracay.

After years of eating in Real Coffe, I've finally come up with the perfect meal to eat while I'm there.

The American Pancake: 

The perfect blend of fluff and sweetness that goes well with everything else on their menu.

Freshly baked Calamansi Muffins:

Who can resist freshly baked anything really? The perfect combination of sweet and tangy plus their light enough so they won't spoil your appetite

Cheese and Pesto Omelette:

I am a big fan of the cheese and pesto anything. This omelette is the perfect partner to the American Pancake. 

And a little bit of magic

love and breakfast, 

Sam

I think I just said I love you.

 wagyu beef potato rosti sauteed spinach daikon dressing, nom nom nom. the subtle saltiness of the beef's outside and the tenderness on the inside will make your mouth melt. 

Okonomiyaki, a satisfying vegetarian pancake 

complimentary sake, cheers!

If someone gives you apples, make some apple pie

You don't have to travel the world, get lost in an alleyway or travel for hours to find something good to eat. In fact, one of my favorite desserts in the world can be found, well, anywhere the world.

Something as simple as a McDonald's apple pie crushed and mixed into a plain sundae can turn into an awesome apple pie a la mode.

The Morning After: Pancakes

It's within reason to assume that given my love for beer and my keen interest in alcohol chemistry, that I do go through a fair amount of hangovers after a good night out. If I'm lucky, the morning after starts off with a blaring headache that subsides after a good session of YouTube karaoke, but failing that, I turn to food.

Food as a hangover remedy must be carefully selected. You don't want to feel more sick than you did when you woke up, and depending on the severity of last night's alcohol enjoyment, you don't want to eat anything that even remotely resembles your late night offering to the toilet, the sink, or the floor from point A to point B.

So today, the hangover felt like pancakes, and once that headache wore off at brunch time, I was off in search for the most perfect one.

I ended up at this place called DiBella's Social Roasting Warehouse off Raglan St. in North Melbourne (my 'hood) after my resident pancake provider was closed for ANZAC.

Beat that Anna Wintour

Ruth Reichl, the current editor-in-chief of Gourmet magazine, is officially my girl crush. I adore her. I love her. I wanna be her.

I recommend you read her book Garlic and Sapphires--about her time as the New York Times' restaurant critic. It's a joy to read. I only wish I could dress up in disguise everyday---genius idea!

xx Bear

White Rabbit Dark Ale: Tastes Like Crafty

There's just something so transformative about a public holiday. My favourite bit is when a Sunday magically turns back into a Saturday and I'm left with an extra day to lounge and loiter about in the City. Well, today was ANZAC day (don't ask me what it is) and I decided to celebrate by cleaning my room and doing laundry.

My hunger and need for an insane amount of laundry coins lead me to the city. After lunch at KFC, I decided to go into the next-door bottle shop for a good helping of Canadian Club until I realised that beer is my one true love and was much more my speed (and price range). Onto the beer fridges, I happened to chance upon this pretty little thing.

You call it obsession, I just call it love

It's no secret to most of my close friends, even maybe a few acquaintances that I love beer. If it weren't such a douche-y thing to do, I'd think I'd even call myself a connoisseur; but that's overstepping a little bit, maybe an apprentice of beer knowledge would better suit.

Now, a beer connoisseur (okay, beer apprentice) at nineteen seems a little intense, even a bit alarming. Rest assured, alcoholism is far from a concern. It's simply an active appreciation of the art that is beer, and since I'm using art metaphors, I'd like to introduce you to a masterpiece. If this is not the pride of Spain, it should very damn well be. Ladies and gentlemen, meet Rosita.

Can drunk people even fiddle with this?

How to Program a Message on Your MEDEA Bottle from Medea Spirits on Vimeo.

Things to take away from a drunk text-er
1. Mobile phone
2. Vodka bottle

original article

xx Bear

The odd find: kangaroo burger

Every time, I get up in the morning, I promise myself I'll head into the city---do what I have to do---then head back to bed. But the thing with Melbourne street shops and cafes, they always make you take a second glance. Today, I went for a house inspection along Smith St (one of my favorite areas in Melbourne). After, a little bottle shop I used to always pass stopped me in my tracks. 

So while you kiddos hooked-up, I did this.

I'm very fortunate to always be shuttling back and forth Manila and Melbourne. In my first year in Melbourne, I went home thrice. And, every time, It hits me that with more than 7 thousand islands---Philippines is a lot to stomach in. But once you do, it can be quite delicious and surprising. 

One of my favorite places to go back to is Boracay. Imagine, crystal blue water and fine white sand. Some say it has been trashed by teenagers like me and polluted by commercial shops like Starbucks. But still, crystal blue water and fine white sand!! Enough said. 

So here are a few of my favorite hook-ups:

That first bite

            My friends and I love to eat. Starvation is never an option. We would rather be naked or homeless. So starting a food blog is a brilliant idea! But somehow, there's a lot of pressure in writing a 'first' entry. It's like that first bite of a perfectly constructed cheesecake. That forkful goes down your throat so smoothly. Your body gradually tingles. And then at the end, you get that surprising texture of that little piece of graham crust. That first bite can leave you speechless. A good family friend of mine coined it as a 'food orgasm'. Great theory! I don't know if I agree though. How about a 'food stutter'? So before I stutter further, have a cheesecake. Happy eating and reading! If you ever have anything mouth-watering, feel free to contribute. (fatpeopleatheart@gmail.com) xx Bear/Bea 

Note: 

To Katz Caloy Coco Sam, you can start blogging now! :) Our eating habits will now be justifiable. 

To Adrian and Diane, thanks for helping us with setting this up! 

Photo: Cafe de Sol's cheesecake in Boracay 

The caramel sauce is the perfect finishing touch to a classic cheesecake.