Category: Lifestyle

Upcoming New Drinks from Serenitea

Posted by Rochelle Sy Chua On January 27, 2013

Serenitea introduces new drinks

It was 2010. For months, I would pass by a Serenitea branch every day to buy 2 large milk tea drinks for take out. It happened so frequently that my colleagues started to ask where the drinks were bought. I had this nagging feeling that they were thinking that “Roch was crazy and an addict!”. Imagine drinking two large milk tea everyday. Are they really that good? That’s the story of how I discovered Serenitea.

Fast forward to 2013, Serenitea is already a household name. While there are more and more teashops have opened in Metro Manila, Serenitea has held its place as the first teashop to utilize a tea espresso machine in brewing its tea.

As for me? Well, still a milk tea addict! You will always see me getting jumbo drinks whenever Serenitea celebrates its anniversaries.

Last night, I spent several hours drinking every single variant of Serenitea’s new creations. They are finally revamping their menu and will be introducing several new yummy drinks for tea lovers! Let me share with you what they are before Serenitea starts to offer them in all their branches by end February 2013. Exciting times!!!

Tropical Yakult

Serenitea Tropical Yakult

While the pineapple flavor is dominant, this drink is actually a combination of different tropical flavors added into Yakult drink. A very refreshing drink that is timely as summer is fast coming!

Lychee Yakult

Serenitea Lychee Yakult

My problem with lychee drinks is that the flavor of lychee is too much for my palate. However, this new lychee yakult by Serenitea just had the perfect recipe! It has the right amount of lychee and right amount of yakult. This must have changed my outlook and I may order lychee yakult a lot of times when it officially comes out in Serenitea branches.

Chaffe’ Milk Tea

Serenitea Chaffe

I’ve been wondering why Serenitea had not come up with a coffee-tea drink. I’m happy to know that they finally did with Chaffe, an innovative drink that brings together the goodness of tea and coffee! I tried this with 50% sugar. However, I would suggest you get this with at least 75% sugar to achieve the best yummy taste!

Cocoa Green Tea Frost

Serenitea Cocoa Green Tea Frost

If you love chocolates and you want to try something different with your drink then Cocoa Green tea frost is for you! This chocolate drink has a generous serving of matcha-flavored foam topping. The way to drink this is NOT to mix the ingredients. You just have to take a sip and let those flavors naturally mix while you drink it!

And oh, the Cocoa Green Tea Frost grows on you!

Chocolate Pudding Milk Tea

Serenitea Milk Tea Chocolate Pudding

this is a combination of Okinawa milk tea and chocolate pudding. If you’re a chocolate lover, you would love this new drink!

Cookies & Cream Milk Tea

Serenitea Cookies & Cream

I had to borrow this photo from Serenitea because I want you to see the cookie crumbs on top of the drink. You know what’s unique about Serenitea’s cookies & cream drink? They actually used REAL cream! They stayed true to the name!

So the next time you visit Serenitea, say hi to the server, smile widely and order one of their new drinks! You might have a new Serenitea favorite drink!

Serenitea Servers

——————–
Serenitea
Little Baguio, San Juan, G&L Bldg, J. Abad Santos cor. V. Cruz, Little Baguio, San Juan, Philippines
Sun-Thu: 11am-11pm, Fri & Sat:11am-12am
+63-2-3794166
http://www.iloveserenitea.com

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Les Miserables Movie Review

Posted by Rochelle Sy Chua On January 27, 2013

Les Miserables movie review

♪♫♪♫♪♫ I dreamed a dream in time gone by… When hope was high… And life worth living… I dreamed that love would never die… I dreamed that God would be forgiving ♪♫♪♫♪♫

Sorry, I still have a hangover from watching Les Miserables! It was so heartwarming! I didn’t even notice that the movie was 3 hours long! I had to take some tissues off my bag to wipe away the tears from my face.

Les Misérables was based on the 1862 French novel by Victor Hugo. It tells the story of Jean Valjean. He was an ex-convict who broke parole in order to live anew. In the movie, we get to see how Valjean lived his life. We saw how he was tracked down by prison guard Javert. We also saw how he fulfilled his promise to Fantine on taking care of Cosette. We witnessed the rebellion of France. Most of all, in Les Miserables, we’ll get to pick up a lot of lessons in life, love, friendship, loyalty, faith and selflessness.

One key takeaway for me is that showing kindness to people even if they don’t deserve it is worth it! It can change lives! I believe this should be applied to real life as well. No matter who the person is, we should show kindness and sympathy. That’s the true power of being a Christian.

The Cast

Les Miserables Cast

We went to a karaoke place as soon as we finished watching Les Miserables. You know, that made me appreciate the stars in the movie even more! Singing live is already hard but acting at the same time? All the stars in the film should be given credit for their awesome work!

Hugh Jackman – A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!!! I’ve renewed respect for this actor! Imagine being able to balance singing and acting PLUS doing both EXCELLENTLY! He was definitely a natural, it didn’t feel awkward at all watching him compared to the other stars in the film. Apparently, Hugh Jackman is an actor, singer and dancer in several stage musicals such as Carousel, The Boy from Oz, and a Steady Rain.
Anne Hathaway – I liked seeing Anne in the movie, and loved how she is an actress first and, a singer second. You can really feel the pain in her eyes! That was how effective she was. I never thought she could sing well too! (P.S. message to Star columnist Ricky Lo – you’ve done such a bad job interviewing the actress. Shame on you for not being humble enough to apologise and admit your mistake)
Amanda Seyfried – Amanda did a decent job portraying Cosette. While she isn’t a great singer, she did justice to the role. Cosette doesn’t have much of a character and was mostly only perceived to be attractive. Amanda executed well plus she also infused a bit of Fantine in Cosette. Very impressive!
Russell Crowe – A lot of people think that Russell Crowe was a misfit in the movie. I thought otherwise. The character he portrayed was heartless and stone cold and he actually portrayed it very very well. I would forgive him for singing monotonously as it fits the police inspector character!

Trailer

If you haven’t watched Les Miserables, please make some time in your schedule to watch it! Of course, bring some tissues as you’ll surely need them! Me and my cousin actually stayed at the theater for a few minutes after the movie was finished because our face were all red because we cried too much!

Here’s a preview:

Les Miserables, the film adaptation, is definitely one of the best films that came out last 2012. According to some friends, the film was better than the musical. My cousin even mentioned that she only understood the story after watching the film. I haven’t watched the musical and never even read the novel, but after watching this film, I now appreciate it!

My Rating for Les Miserables: 5 out of 5 stars

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Microsoft OneNote 2010 Plain & Simple by Peter Weverka

Posted by Rochelle Sy Chua On January 20, 2013

Microsoft OneNote 2010 Plain & Simple

Everybody knows that I’m a huge fan of Apple products & softwares. I use an iPhone, an iPad and a MacBook Pro for personal use. However, that is not the case when I’m at work.

Last month, I upgraded my Microsoft Office software into MS Office 2010. I then noticed a new application called Microsoft OneNote 2010. I never used the application and I totally had zero knowledge about it. I tried to open it and use it but I felt I need to do something in order to use the application more effectively.

I then scouted for different tutorials online. One book got my attention — Microsoft OneNote 2010 Plain & Simple by Peter Weverka. I like it because it’s colorful and easy to understand. I gave myself time to finish this book in one week. Last night, I finished reading the book and felt that I’m more equipped in using MS OneNote 2010.

In all honesty, I actually felt OneNote would be my favorite Microsoft application. Why? Because I take notes a lot. I do it during conference calls, when reviewing presentations, reading books and just about any time when I felt I needed to write down my thoughts.

Peter Weverka did an excellent job with the book! In less than a week, I felt that I already know MS OneNote 2010 inside and out.

Let me share my key takeaways from Microsoft OneNote 2010 Plain & Simple:
These are mainly items I do not want to forget 😉

Make use of the Notebook-Section-Pages Hierarchy
- Notebook – file where all information are stored.
- Section – subcategory of a notebook, used to store pages.
- Section Group – a way of organizing sections. you can store sections in a section group and be able to find and manage them easily.
- Pages & Subpages – a place where notes are recorded. pages & subpages are stored in sections.
Create a page from a Template
- choose a template from the gallery to use on a page
- create a page template with the text, font, page colour and other preferred specifications
Revisiting & Restoring a Different Version of a Page
- OneNote keeps back-copies of pages. After you open a version of a page, you can restore it, making it the primary copy, or copy it to another section. You can also opt not to keep page versions in a notebook.
Password-Protecting a Section
- in order to search password-protected sections, you must open them first and conduct your search.
- you cannot assign a password to a section with audio/video recordings.
- you cannot share password-protected sections with OneNote Web App.
managing notes
- paragraph alignment & paragraph spacing
- move several notes lower on a page by using the Insert Space button
- entering symbols & unusual characters
- applying styles to text only works for paragraphs and not individual words or letters.
- side notes are kept in the Unfiled Notes folder until you can decide where to store it.
- handwriting notes and converting them to text.
- ability to collapse/expand outlines
- attached files are not linked to original versions. editorial changes won’t appear in the attachment file.
- inserting file printouts and content from scanner/camera.
- placing images & screen clipping
- constructing math equations
- recording audio and video notes
Linking to other places in OneNote
- create links to paragraphs, notes, page, section and notebook
- squeeze in square brackets [[ page name ]] to create another page link.
- create links to web pages & files
- create linked notes to refer to an item you took notes about whether it’s a web page, MS Word document, MS Powerpoint presentation or another OneNote page.
running & customizing spell check
- spell checking foreign-language text
- correcting common misspellings
Drawing Notes
Tagging Notes for Follow Up
Restoring Pages & Sections from the Recycle Bin
Conducting Research & Translating Text
Saving Pages, Sections & Notebooks in Alternative File Formats
- OneNote 2007, MS Word, PDF, XPS, Single File Web Page (*.mht), One Note Package (for notebooks)
Using OneNote w/ other MS Office 2010 applications
- opening a page in MS Word
- copying Ms Outlook information to a page (Email, Calendar, Contacts, Tasks)
Sharing Notebooks with Others
- share via Windows Live, Network or Sharepoint Site
- Finding notes by authors & recent edits
Using OneNote Web App
- signing up for Windows Live
- using SkyDrive folders for storing notebooks
- inviting others to coauthor a notebook
- using OneNote Web App in Office 365

The only thing that I didn’t find in Microsoft OneNote 2010 Plain & Simple is a tutorial on the iOS version of MS OneNote & how to share between the desktop version and the iOS one. However, maybe it’s a different topic altogether or the book might be written before the mobile application went out.

If you’re new to MS OneNote or an experienced user who want to be sure you know all the features of the application, then you have to get the book by Peter Weverka. Microsoft OneNote 2010 Plain & Simple is a very good investment! Get it as a Kindle eBook or as paperback.

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Yabu’s New Katsu Dishes

Posted by Rochelle Sy Chua On January 13, 2013

Yabu's New Katsu Dishes

My friends and colleagues can attest to the fact that I’m a HUGE fan of Yabu – The House of Katsu. I started raving about it January 2012 when I first tried out Yabu’s Katsu set at their SM Megamall branch. Whenever people ask me where to eat, Yabu will always be my favourite answer. Ironically, I haven’t blogged about Yabu. I guess when you eat food that you truly like, you would just want to relax, eat and stop thinking about documenting it.

I felt it would be such a shame for me as a blogger not writing the food that I’ve been raving about for a year now. Yesterday, I went to Yabu’s newest branch at Mall of Asia, which opened officially last November 28, 2012 to try out their newest katsu sets. As usual, there were long lines outside the restaurant!

Yabu has established itself very effectively as one of the most sought after restaurant by foodies. You rarely will see a vacant table inside Yabu. That is proof how successful Yabu restaurant is!

Yabu Customers

Love manga? Then you will surely dig Yabu’s interiors! All branches have manga panels on the wall for your reading pleasure.

Yabu MOA ambiance

I’m not an alcohol drinker but boy, Yabu’s bar looked so slick with all those bottles beautifully lined up!

Yabu Soju

Since Yabu specializes on katsu, let me talk a bit about its beginnings. Katsu comes from the word ‘katsuretsu’ which means ‘cutlet’. Katsu is considered as one of the staple dishes in Japanese cuisine. When you see sliced pieces of meat that are deep fried and breaded, that’s katsu. Now, if you want to eat the best katsu in Metro Manila, then you should head on over to Yabu. You won’t get disappointed!

Here are the three new dishes by Yabu’s Chef Kazuya Takeda:

Menchi Katsu Set (Php 350)

Yabu Menchi Katsu Set

authentic Japanese minced meat, made with superior ground beef and pork, mixed together with Yabu’s special spices, and stuffed with creamy cheese.

Yabu Menchi Katsu

The menchi katsu might look the same as other Yabu specialties but when you start to take a bite, you are in for a sweet, cheesy surprise!

Yabu Menchi Katsu Closeup

Yabu put together ground beef and ground pork, quick-melt creamy cheese and wrapped it in Yabu’s fresh panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)! The result was a tasteful menchi which I think is a hit especially for cheese-loving folks. I, myself, was surprised as to how flavorful it was!

Yabu Special Sauce

Dip each menchi katsu slice into the sauce which we had a hand in preparing. Before we started our meal, a waiter handed out a sauce container with sesame seeds and a mortar. All we had to do was to (1) grind the black & white sesame seeds, (2) pour sauce over the freshly grinded sesame seeds, (3) mix the ingredients, and lastly (4) dip the katsu into the sauce. An activity I truly appreciate and made the Yabu experience even more exciting & fun!

With the uniqueness of menchi katsu, it’s definitely a good addition to Yabu’s already excellent menu.

Menchi Katsu Curry Set (Php 370)

Yabu Menchi Katsu Curry Set

Authentic Japanese minced meat, made with superior ground beef and pork, mixed together with Yabu’s special spices, and stuffed with a rich combination of creamy cheese and Yabu’s curry sauce.

Yabu Menchi Katsu Curry

With Menchi Katsu Curry, you’ll get the same ground beef/ground pork/creamy cheese/panko mixture. However, this dish was bathing in a thick Japanese curry sauce. If you dislike curry, you have to consider because Yabu’s version is different. The sauce actually felt like gravy with a hint of curry so it was pretty mild.

Soft Shell Crab Set (Php 480)

Yabu Soft Shell Crab Set

one luscious Japanese soft-shell crab, coated generously with fresh panko, fried to crispy perfection. soft-shell crabs are ordinary crabs harvested immediately after they’ve discarded their old shells, so their new shells are still soft.

Yabu Soft Shell Crab Closeup

Two of my ultimate favorite food items of all time are shrimps and crabs. As soon as I saw that soft shell crabs is one of the newest offering of Yabu, I immediately ordered it for myself.

Soft shell crabs are the ones that have recently switched their shells thus making it soft and edible. One order of Yabu’s Soft Shell Crab Set has one whole piece of crab.

Yabu Soft Shell Crab

When I sliced my order in half, I was in crab heaven! Those crab meat exposed was just smiling happily at me. It was sad that I can’t seem to stare at it any longer because I had to eat it immediately out of eagerness!

Yabu Soft Shell Crab Sauce

The Soft Shell Crab Katsu comes with a special Ponzu Layu sauce. It’s a special Yabu creation made of radish, lemon and some other secret spices. It gave a nice kick to the dish.. oh man, crabs! I can live with eating crabs all my life!

We all ordered the new dishes as a Katsu set.

Yabu Katsu Set Inclusions

Each Yabu katsu set includes unlimited Japanese rice, miso soup, japanese pickles, unlimited cabbage with sesame dressing and a bowl of fruit.

I just have to mention that the fruits we had yesterday were superbly fresh and sweet! We were actually surprised that even to the small detail, Yabu had to make sure that they gave us the best. 😀

Oh, and one more thing, the cabbage that Yabu serves is one of the things I always look forward to! I can eat like 8 refills of cabbage. It’s THAT good! If you’re on a diet, you can skip the rice and just bulge on the cabbage.

Yabu Cabbage

Of course, enjoying an excellent Yabu meal with good friends is a perfect way to spend a good lunch!

Yabu Roch and Maus

Yabu has definitely gone a long way. In just a short time, it has grown its brand beautifully and has expanded twice. I hope they open more branches, Makati & Taguig people are waiting for Yabu!

With the new katsu dishes infused into the menu, Yabu continues to delight us customers and our yearning tummies. I’ll see you again soon, Yabu!

——————–
Yabu – The House of Katsu
2/F SM Mall of Asia, Main Mall Atrium, South Arcade, Pacific Drive, Manila Bay Reclamation Area, Pasay City, Philippines
+63-2-5117202

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Pogi Points by Stanley Chi

Posted by Rochelle Sy Chua On January 2, 2013

Pogi Points Stanley Chi

Manila Bulletin cartoonist and a stand up comedian Stanley Chi has really gone a long way. I just heard that he made over Php 2 million worth for his books in just one year! It must be due to his two bestselling Suplado Tips humor book series. But my golly! That’s two freakin’ million pesoses!!! Considering his book only costs less than a Php 100, it definitely says a lot about his success. It shouldn’t be surprising because my book reviews about Suplado Tips and the follow-up Suplado Tips 2 have many page visits.

That said, Stanley Chi is on the roll! This time, he launched his newest book, Pogi Points, ‘The not-so-gentleman’s guide to looking good’. Guess what? Pogi Points was sold out only a few days after hitting the shelves last September 2012 and has gone reprinting. Wow!

Pogi Points is a book about being handsome versus looking good. Basically, it strives to help the love life of guys – despite having average looks. The book has compiled tips on how to get ahead in love through strategic behavior. It teaches a naïve boy on how to act around a girl he admires. Stanley Chi had written Pogi Points in a fun way, using his humor to drive the message across. Believe me, I’m a girl and those pointers that Chi shared in the book are real and MUST be taken into heart. The author must have gone through a lot with regards to serenading women, haha!

Here are some of my favorites:

“Kung nakipag-date ka sa babae at umuwi siya ng maaga, ibig sabihin nun… nagsisisi na siya kung bakit siya pumayag makipag-date sayo!”
katangian ng mga taong pinupulot sa kangkungan: (1) babaero (2) manyak (3) bastos (4) mayabang at feelingero (5) walang respeto sa babae.
Pogi Profile –> Confident (kailangan may bilib sa sarili; hassle makipagusap sa lalakeng nagse-self-pity. Iba ang confident sa mayabang!
sa date, dapat lalake ang nagbabayad sa bill. kahit mag-0ffer pa ang girl, huwag mo siyang pagbabayarin.
kung naging jowa mo na ang babaeng nililigawan mo, maging consistent ka.

Aside from tips on how to score pogi points, the book has photo comic strips featuring Filipino cosplayers, relationship facts, trivia about male looks, how to court religious women, how to court tsinoy women and self-help lists on how to look and feel good.

Here’s what Stanley had to say about Pogi Points:

Ang pagiging gwapo, inborn; ang pagiging pogi, napag-aaralan (Being handsome is inborn; being pogi is something you can learn)

You must be wondering? What is the difference between Chi’s Suplado Tips series and Pogi Points? I’ve read all three books. I must say that Suplado Tips is all about guys being more confident about themselves while Pogi Points is for guys who are in love or in search for the girl of their dreams. Net, Suplado is to know how to act around people in general while Pogi is to know how to act around the opposite sex. If you are both ‘suplado’ and ‘pogi’, then you are on your way to be cool (like Stanley, LOL!).

Pogi Points Stanley Chi Book

Want to get your hands on the increasingly popular book: Pogi Points? Then head on over to your favorite bookstore and grab a copy now. You might thank yourself for that bookstore trip when you get the love of your life! You even get a bonus of a certificate and a card!

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