Thursdate: Chelsea Serendra

During our wedding last year, our loving friends prepared a surprise video of their greetings and tips for us! One of them is to always have a date :) Mr. Panda and I have everyday dates, sometimes we do it at home and if we have extra time we go out even on weekdays. 

A good old favorite is Chelsea :) 

                           

complimentary! :)

Hickory Smoked BBQ Baby Back Ribs Big Plates

Slow-Cooked Herbed Norwegian Salmon

of course, may rice pa din! :)

Chocolate Chip NY Cheesecake

Peso Power

3.75/5 (bec of the cheesecake)

Mrs. Panda Foodie Views:

- the ribs sauce is too rich for my taste

- salmon is a bit bland

- NY cheesecake - meron twin sister at one of the restaurants in Greenbelt for a lesser price :(

I don't know what happened with Chelsea but I'm quite sad with their dishes from our last visit. I hope the next one will be much better.

Overdue Post: Fely J's @Greenbelt 5

Another overdue post :) we always passed by Fely J's at Greenbelt 5 and Mr. Panda will always ask me if I want to try it but the place is always crowded and I like to have my dinner in peace hihi :)

Nostalgic Menu :)

Sizzling Sisig

Lola Ising's Adobo

Plain for me, Garlic for Mr.Panda

Chicken Sate

Claude's Dream (nathaniels is much better tho)

Sikreto ni Maria Clara

Peso Power:

3.75/5

Mrs. Panda's Foodie Views;

- the area is crowded

- next table's chairs kept on rubbing mine :(

- hindi masyado attentive ang servers

- the adobo is like my lola's too....

- sisig is not crispy

- sikreto ni maria clara is the saving grace during our dinner but for vanilla ice cream,suman and slices of mango for 165.00?? :)

Shoebox love for my favorite bloggers!

Back in the days, when I was so stressed with my old job (palpitations, heart problems and sleep apnea ang naging sakit ko lang naman) one of my stress  reliever is reading my favorite blogs. My first three favorite blogs are the bright spot of leah, dapattylaurel and mommyfleur. 

Miss Leah of the Brightspot is like a big sister sa blogging world (nope, hindi ko pa siya namemeet personally hihi) when you read her blog kasi she's so warm and kind sa words niya. Her blog is very easy to read too. I totally adore her shopping finds from greenhills to landmark. I always look forward to her food reviews and out of town trips posts too. She's a doting aunt like me and I can totally relate when she's over the moon whenever she's with her nephew Liam. I stalked her blog sa wedding preps stage pa niya. And because of her blog, I found my dream wedding gown designer. :) :)

Miss Patty of Dapattylaurel is a celebrity blogger but she's so down to earth! I read her old blog pa...... and siguro sa tagal ko na nagbabasa ng blog niya feeling ko tuloy friend ko siya. When I read her sad blog posts years ago, I felt sad too... I whispered a prayer for God to heal her heart. When I read that she's happy with Mr. Filart, I thanked God for an answered prayer. And with her blog posts, she inspired me to improve my health and diet issues. And one of the best thing about her, her relationship with God. Her posts about her beliefs are heartwarming and not over the top. She's not self-righteous and will not make you feel na "ako lang save ni God sa judgement day kasi ako lang ang mabait" her blog posts about God will inspire you to be a better person. :)

Mommyfleur is one the most loved mommy bloggers in town! Her daughter Anika is a sweetheart and her pretty face always cheers me up. Mommyfleur is a working mom but she manages her work-life balance! Sometimes, I want to ask ikaw ba ang Pinay version ni Kate Reddy of "I don't know how she does it"  :)

A couple of months ago, I planned to give them a small Christmas token. Then Typhoon Yolanda happened, and I thought of preparing a shoebox love instead under their names. I know their generous hearts will agree with my idea. :) :)

A Blessed Christmas to my favorite bloggers and their loved ones too! :)

Overdue Post: Eatwell BGC

When I was still working at the fort, whenever I have extra time for lunch I will always go to Eatwell for yummy chinese food! then I moved to Makati for work, and I miss Eatwell :( then we started looking for our first home ni Mr. Panda and it must be a sign from Papa Jesus, the condo that we were eyeing is like 10 steps away from Eatwell (ok hindi naman 10 steps, baka 10 giant steps hihi). So for more than a year, nakatira lang ako sa likod ng Eatwell :) :)

Yangchow (without veggies)

Roasted Crispy Pork

Fried Prawn Balls with Sweet Orange Sauce

 Peso Power:
5/5
- affordable :)


Mrs. Panda's Foodie Views:
- favorite comfort food
- yummy chinese food na hindi MSG- flavored
- servings are usually good for 2

Overdue Post: Benny's @ Rustan's Makati

Whenever we do our quick grocery shopping on weekdays, we always end up Benny's. Do you still remember the good old Yum-Yum restaurant at Rustan's Supermarket? Same old spot. And after more than 10 years, I'm still sitting at the same spot. I love Benny's unassuming interiors, just simply classy and clean. :)

Calderetang Baka

Ginataang Puso ng Saging

Lechon Kawali in Lemongrass Sauce

Peso Power:

5/5

Super reasonable for the servings

Mrs. Panda's Foodie View:

- the food is very yummy reminds me of  my maternal grandma's cooking

- service is quick

Overdue Post: Cue Modern Barbecue

Early this year, my girl friends and I went to Cue for dinner. We were happy with our orders, so I asked Mr.Panda to visit Cue again. This time maaga pa, so na-appreciate ko ang interiors niya hihi :)

                           

Free Popcorn!

Crunch Baby Squid

The Baby Back Ribs

Peso Power:

- 4/5   :)

Mrs. Panda's Foodie Views:

- love the bulb-chandeliers!

- servings are ok for 2 pax :)

- cozy and perfect for casual dates 

Overdue Post: IHOP BGC

When IHOP opened in BGC, facebook posts and twitter were all about IHOP. I was dying to try IHOP, because most of my friends and relatives from US called it their comfort food too. Then my former boss told me "not sure if you'll like it, pancake house is way better" na-crash ang IHOP dreams ko, because I don't even like pancake house that much.

We live a few blocks from IHOP and we will always see the long lines of waiting customers even on weekdays! Mr. Panda and I decided to give it a try. Tama ang boss ko (no offense to IHOP fans)

I love that they have buzzers! ang hirap kaya magtawag ng waiter mangangalay na arms ko minsan.

Splashberry - 3/5

Tropical Island Twist - 2.5/5

Original Buttermilk Pancakes - 3/5

- dry ang pancakes

- if walang butter na sobrang konti lang ang lagay nila, wala talaga lasa

- mas ok pa ang maya pancakes and dairy creme combo

Double Blueberry Pancake 4/5

- sabi ni Mr.Panda ang score

Breakfast Sampler 4/5

- because anything with bacon deserves a high score haha :)

Peso Power:

- expensive for the food's quality

Mrs. Panda's Foodie View:

- the ambiance is very nice, the couches are a bit uncomfy

- i love the buzzers

- their waiters are attentive too!

- however, i might not return anymore. Ok na sakin natry na namin :)

IHOP Restaurant

W Global Center

30th corner 9th

BGC

Christmas gifts = Shoebox Love

I'm still doing my shoebox-es loves and I realized I have no more shoeboxes left.  I called my mom already to send me some so I can finish my shoebox loves in time. And since we have so many friends (yes, medyo marami din nagtyatyaga sa amin ni Mr. Panda hihi) marami - rami ako gagawin shoebox loves. Hindi naman po sila typhoon victims (thank you lord), but instead of giving them gifts, we will make shoeboxes under their names. As I've mentioned at my previous blog post, we reallocated our remaining Christmas shopping funds. We usually shop early especially for the kids. We usually start our Christmas Shopping with the kiddos gifts, its more fun to shop at the toys section hihi! :)


Here are some samples of our shoebox - es loves:

Our friends are really happy and touched :) We will be spending the next two weeks for our projecct shoebox love and we are thankful for this chance to help and give some love to the typhoon victims.:)

Its 31 Days to go before Christmas! :)