Author: Rochelle Sy Chua

Lunch at The Tea Republic

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The Tea Republic
G/F, Pacific Star Building, Makati Ave., Makati City, Metro Manila

(02) 848-0270

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When my mom was still living here in the Philippines, this is her favorite hangout place in Makati. We always eat lunch & breakfast there.

When I go to this place, I remember how my mom loves this place. And this week, I was really craving for it so I invited Maus to have lunch with me there.

We ordered the ff.:

  • Prawn Thermidor (Php 255)

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When I hear or see Prawn Thermidor, I always remember the cooking class I attended years back. I guess it’s because it’s the only dish that I was able to cook before. But right now, I honestly don’t remember the recipe and I can’t replicate what I’ve done before. Anyway, I ordered this dish just because I want to remember how it tasted like.

this is prawns with cream based sauce of mustard, peppers & mushrooms. The prawn shells are also scattered all over the plate for decoration. The taste is just normal, if you’re extremely hungry, I wouldn’t recommend this dish. but ofcourse, if you’re hungry but not too much, then this is a must try..

  • Grilled Schublig with Onion Sauce (Php 250)

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Simply grilled sausage with onion sauce. Can be served either with rice or pasta. I’ve chosen rice because I’m not fond of pasta. I love love love love sausage, it’s very good. Reminds me of the restaurant Schwatzwalder, their sausage platter is extremely delicious. Juicy and super yummy.

  • Pasta Valenciana (Php 250)

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According to their menu, it’s their pasta version of paella. We used to know Paella as seafood with yellow rice. With this, it’s spaghetti noodles with garlic, chicken, chorizo, bilbao, shrimp & squid cooked in virgin olive oil (you can also choose to have it cooked in chunky provencal sauce). According to Maus, it’s a lil dry and not really that delicious.

  • Thai Iced Tea (Personal – Php 60, Grande – Php 85)

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I love Thai Iced Tea but Tea Republic’s version of the famous Thai Iced tea is blah for me. I didn’t like the taste, the coconut/almond/tea combination doesn’t really click well together. I was only able to drink a lil then I just can’t let myself drink it anymore, it was like torture. hayy.

I think the waiter know that it didn’t taste good coz he warned me that it has coconut powder. But I guess, I was curious how it tasted and I was a lil disappointed. huhuhuhuhuhu I wish I ordered Personal size

  • Black Lychee Fruit Pandan (Personal – Php 60, Grande – Php 85)

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This one was ordered by Maus, I tasted it and I loved it! I wish ordered this one!!! The taste is just like the pandan juice in Oody’s.

Fish & Co.

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Fish & Co.
G/F Streetscape, Shangri-la Plaza Mall, EDSA cor. Shaw Blvd., Mandaluyong City, Metro Manila

(02) 910-2140 to 42

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I love this restaurant. Though it’s a lil bit on the pricey side, I still feel that it’s worth it. I especially like their fish dishes. Serving is okay, food is definitely delicious and it feels healthy too.

Christina & I was craving for this and we decided to have our lunch there. We were so hungry that we ordered a lot! I think more than what we can eat hehehe

Here are what we ordered:

  • Lime Cola (Php 155)
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This is just cola with Lime. The lime’s taste is just too strong for me that I didn’t really enjoy it much. Though I think it taste good, just not to my taste. Christine loved it a lot (she ordered Pink Passion), so we switched.

  • Pink Passion (Php 155)
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My friend ordered this but I liked this better than Lime Cola. We switched orders and we’re both happy with what we’ve got hahaha. I personally love fruit juices/shakes, I guess that explains why I love this better.

This drink is a combination of Pineapple, orange, cranberry, grenadine & honey. A bit on the expensive side but I guess it’s because it’s fresh.

  • Fish around the World Platter (Php 795)
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A new menu & I really liked how they did it. Would you believe we can try out 4 different dishes in 1 order!!!

Combination of 4 different versions of Fish & Chips
Malaysia – topped with sambal sauce. This is the spicy version of Fish & chips. If you like spicy food, you would really love this version.
Philadelphia – this is the closest to the original fish & chips. Its fish has cream cheese in the middle since I’m not fond of cream cheese, I didn’t appreciate it much. But the lemon butter sauce is an excellent choice for a sauce.
Japanese – when you think Japanese, you think of what? Wasabi!! Its fish with wasabi & lemon butter sauce. But what I like about this version is that the fish is just like sushi.. the fish is wrapped like a sushi and it tasted so good.
Indian – If you love curry, you’ll definitely like this. Its fish with curry sauce. very tasty.

My favorite is the Malaysian version, I guess its because I love spicy food. 2nd place – Japanese, 3rd – Indian and last Philadelphia (solely because I don’t like cream cheese).

  • Calamari (Php 405)
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All-time favorite appetizer for all customers of fish & co. hehehe. Serving is also generous. I especially like this with lemon.

UCC Terrace

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UCC Terrace
SM Mall of Asia, SM Central Business Park I, Bay City, Pasay City, Metro Manila

(02) 556-0446

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I’ve always preferred UCC over other coffee shops like Starbucks, etc. I guess it’s because the ambiance in UCC is different over the others. They have more choices too when it comes to drinks and they also serve food.

Me & Christina went to UCC to relax as we were so tired because we shopped the whole day and we’re so thirsty!!!

Here are what we ordered:

  • UCC Iced Coffee (Php 129)
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This is just UCC houseblend coffee in ice. I really like its taste as I feel that it’s not artificial, I can still taste the freshly brewed coffee. I just like the coffee simple, we have the option to put syrup & cream. Simple, easy and yummy.

I especially liked how they prepared the coffee. They brew it in a special container and when it’s done, they pour it in a glass. Here it is in action:

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  • Japanese Macademia Cheesecake (Php 185)
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This is like bread that is just put in a plate and designed with a syrup. It tasted good, not too sweet and not too bland. Now, I know what a Japanese Cheesecake is

  • Banana Irish Cream (Php 169)
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This is ordered by Christina. She ordered this because she saw the advertisement in our table recommending the drink.

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When our orders arrived and she tasted this drink, she told me she didn’t like it. It was because she felt that banana and coffee wasn’t a good combination after all.

I didn’t taste it since I’m not really fond of blended coffee w/ cream but I’ll take her word for it.

One thing I missed in UCC is their food, I like their curry rice meals. I’ll definitely try this out one time when I have the chance

Paid Toilet Lounge

I really don’t get it why some malls charge parking fees and now toilet fees to their customers. It is just too much and I believe it’s just another way for them to make money which is really unfair to us customers IMHO.

After eating at Fish & Co. Shangri-La mall, my friend wanted to go to the washroom. We stumbled upon this paid toilet. The fee is Php10.00 per person. I kinda expected the washroom to be a lil better than normal since we are obliged to pay a certain fee.

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Much to my surprise, Shangri-La mall’s washroom is just normal. I don’t even see any napkins on the faucet (there is a toilet paper in the cubicle). No lotion, powder or anything. It’s not spacious too. So It’s just pretty normal & nothing special. So I really think they should not charge us for it.

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I don’t know if there is a toilet that is free for all within the mall. But anyhow, I still think this should be free. It reminds me of Glorietta washrooms but at least they have lotions, powders, etc in the washroom and there is also free washrooms beside the lounge which gives us customers choice if we want to pay or not.

I specifically like Powerplant mall coz I don’t recall them having any toilet that will need us to pay. Yet their washroom are super duper clean, spacious, complete with amenities. I hope other malls will follow Powerplant mall’s practice.

new Celine Shoes & Maldita Clothes

Me and my best friend Christina planned to go to a nail spa that day and pamper ourselves but apparently, the spa is closed that day or maybe not (they’re not answering calls). So we ended up shopping at Shang Mall & Mall of Asia.

I’m not really fond of shopping. It’s not my thing. If I’m at the mall, the shops that I want to enter are computer shops, gadget shops (especially shops that sell Apple products), bookstores & hardware stores (believe it or not hehe).

I just shop for clothes & shoes if I need them. And since we’re already doing girly shopping might as well try out and buy something for myself hehehee.

Here are what I bought:

  • Celine White Sandals (Php999)
I bought this at Celine in Shangrila Mall. I rarely buy flat shoes coz I’m not really comfortable with them. And I do have this big frustration about height. So I make sure that I buy shoes that are as high as possible (usually 3-4inches).

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This particular design however is soooooooooooo nice that I can’t help myself but break my rule and buy it.

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I don’t have any white shoes and I think it’s the safest color as I can wear it with any skirt or dress. It fits what I wore that day, so I ended up wearing it for the rest of the day. I really love it. It’s a good buy for Php999. I’m happy.

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  • Maldita Blazer (Php500), Pants (Php450)
I adore Maldita’s clothes a lot. Their design just fits my taste so whenever they are on sale, I make sure that I make a purchase.

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Their MOA branch had a big sale last weekend. As in big discounts, 10-70% on a lot of items. There were soooooo many people. When I arrived it’s already 6:45PM and I have to attend a premiere (Slumdog Millionaire) by 7PM. So I lack a lot of time.

So what I did was to get whatever I think is nice and quickly buy it.

Here they are:

A green blazer. Since I’m into yellow clothes right now, I think it’s best that I buy a blazer that would look so cool in them. That’s what I had in mind when I bought it.

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I soooo lack pants in my closet. And I especially don’t have much pants that I can wear in the office so I figured since this looked so cute, might as well buy one (as long as it fits me). Good thing it fits

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So another day of shopping madness hehehe. When will be the next? We’ll see…

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