Newest Online Shopping Site Kasha
Posted by Rochelle Sy Chua On July 3, 2012
My best friend and I spend quality time shopping for clothes and shoes. We usually schedule it on a weekend and we spend the whole day (10AM to 8PM) at the mall. We go through stalls one by one, rummaging through tons of items in the store.
Sometimes, I dread the travel time and the influx of shoppers in the mall. I also have to worry about the queue in the dressing room plus the availability of the clothing sizes.
So when I heard about a new online shopping site catering to Filipinos. I got excited!
Imagine not having to go through all the hassle of going to the mall, parking the car, walking endlessly around the mall, fitting through clothes, queue on the cashier, and carrying a lot of shopping bags! All we need to do is just go to the shopping site, choose among the available items for sale, pay online, and wait for the delivery to arrive at your place. Everything is done at the safety of our own home or anywhere for that matter 🙂
The site is kasha.com.ph, an online shopping site that promises to bring the most wanted items, signature apparel/accessories and special collections from some of the popular fashion brands in the country.
I know most people are fond of foreign brands, but I still prefer local brands. That’s why Kasha is a welcome news for me! Kasha is actually a term from a Filipino word Kasya, which means fit.
When I browsed through the site earlier, I learned the reason why the site was named as such. Kasha is really all about fit. They pulled away from the norm wherein only a photo of the clothing plus the prices & shipping details are there. What Kasha did differently is that every piece of clothing has actual measurements indicated in the site.
Take note that it’s not as simple as extra-small (XS), small (S), medium (M) or large (L). Kasha not only provides the standard size, they also give actual measurements of the clothing in inches. I like the idea considering I always struggle as to how big a size is.
The Filipino retail brands behind Kasha are Freeway, Ensembles and Solo. To celebrate this breakthrough, Kasha is giving 20% off on all items until July 15, 2012. Isn’t that such a treat?
Here are the major features of the Kasha:
- Convenient and Safe Online Shopping – credit cards, bank deposit and GCash payment methods are available. A flat rate of Php100 shipping fee applies no matter how many items we order! Php 100 is a small amount to pay if we compare it with the parking fees, gasoline and the time we spend when shopping at the mall 😛
- Fit Guide – the best feature of Kasha as this sets it apart from other shopping sites. The sizing illustration (which I posted earlier in this post) helps ensure that we get the right measurement from the clothes that we order in Kasha.
- Product Reviews – we can write a review of the clothing or accessory in the site. I do hope they add an option wherein we can rate them from 1-5 stars, that would get them more reviews for their products.
- Wish List – I always love wish lists because this organizes my thoughts and plans when it comes to buying clothes. If you want to see mine. You can go to my wish list page.
Congratulations Solo, Freeway and Ensembles! This is definitely a step to the right direction! Thanks for giving us more options in purchasing your products. I do hope you feature more sale items in the future.
Cafe Monaco
Posted by Rochelle Sy Chua On June 24, 2012
My mom loves to dine at Cafe Monaco. I remember when she was still here in the Philippines, she would go there every single week just to have her share of Kimchichige, pita pockets or daing na bangus. Since she was so addicted to the food, I was influenced and ended up loving Cafe Monaco too!
It wasn’t too long till I became friends with the owner of the restaurant. She’s Sofia, a Korean who moved here in Manila and she’s definitely a charmer. In fact, I see her mingling with her customers every single time. It felt like all her customers are already her friends. I guess that’s one of the secrets why Cafe Monaco is very successful in Banawe avenue. Topnotch customer service plus the warmness and the hospitality of the owner herself! Of course, the food was delicious too! (more on that later).
I wasn’t surprised when Cafe Monaco opened its second branch at Ortigas Avenue in San Juan. The Banawe branch is nearer to my house, but I wanted to check out the Ortigas branch anyway, at least to support the owner.
The Ortigas branch is definitely bigger than the Banawe branch (approximately twice as much space!). Business is doing good as I saw several people dining at the restaurant when we visited. However, I think a lot of people still don’t know about the new branch so here I am, sharing the good news! If you live in San Juan area, you don’t have to drive to Banawe avenue anymore when you’re craving for Cafe Monaco’s specialties 🙂
I noticed something on the wall when we were dining at Cafe Monaco in Ortigas. I didn’t see it in their other branch but I was curious what it was so I asked Sofia. She told me that it’s a verse in the Bible.. Psalm 23:1 which says, “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.”
I really feel happy whenever I see establishments showing signs that God is in their lives. Coincidentally, I was with my friends from the church then 😛
While we waited for our orders to arrive, we were given Kimchi and radish as appetizer. Kimchi, a favorite Korean food, is a vegetable made with napa cabbage fermented in ginger, garlic, scallions and chili pepper. I’m not really fond of Kimchi but I loved the radish!
We were eight in our group. We had been planning to dine at Cafe Monaco. I really wanted to blog about it so we tried to order differently. Every single item we ordered tasted so good, just as expected! There’s really no difference on the menu between the two branches of Cafe Monaco. It’s just the location so take your pick.
- Mushroom Soup (Php 170)
My church friends were raving about the mushroom soup since we’re on the rightmost side of our long table, I decided to share it with them. I must agree that it was flavorful yet a bit spicy. The good thing was this. The spiciness was just right (at least for me). I have in mind that when rainy days come, I would drop by Cafe Monaco to order the mushroom soup.
- Kimchichige (Php 170)
Kimchichigue is my mom’s favorite! This is always part of her order whenever she would visit Cafe Monaco. I can’t eat it though as it’s just too spicy for my taste. I remember when I tried it out before, I was sweating like crazy! hahaha! I guess that was the point 😛
- Bibimpop (Php 140)
Bibimpop is another Cafe Monaco bestseller! Everyone just loved to order this! Well, why not? The price is only Php140 for a huge serving of this beautiful Korean signature dish. In order to enjoy Bibimpop, you have to mix the ingredients altogether. If you’re afraid of spicy food, then you have to request in advance for the chili paste to be served separately.
- Daing na Bangus (Php 210)
The first time I tried the bangus in Cafe Monaco, I was shocked as to how big the fish was! You cannot eat this by yourself! I think the fish was from Dagupan (I’m not sure). This was sooooo good! If I’m hungry, I would definitely order this alone without rice. I dip the fish in vinegar but Cafe Monaco also serves mayonnaise with it.
- Curry Beef Rice (Php 150)
- Gyu Nikuyakidon (Php 150)
Bibimpop is Cafe Monaco’s bestseller. For me though, when it comes to rice toppings, my fave has got to be Gyu Nikuyakidon. It’s basically beef with egg and rice. I love the sweet flavor of the beef, so tasty!
- Fruit Shakes (Php 65)
I never fail to order fruit shakes in Cafe Monaco because I saw how they prepared it. They were generous with the servings and I don’t feel like drinking water with their fruit shakes. You have to be a bit patient though if you’re in a big group or if there are a lot of people ordering shakes. They only have one blending machine but not to worry, it’ll worth the wait 🙂
- Halo Halo (Php 150)
The most unique Halo Halo has got to be the one by Cafe Monaco. Theirs is a combination of different fruits with red bean, chocolate powder and ice cream. If I have to choose between the numerous types of Halo Halo available here in Metro Manila, my choice would be Cafe Monaco’s version. Delicious, refreshing and uber fresh!
Cafe Monaco for me, is like a hidden gem in the Metro. Not a lot of people know about it but once they discover the restaurant, they would definitely go back often.
I’ve been a loyal customer of Cafe Monaco since year 2002. I never blogged about it until now. I have to stop keeping secrets and inform people about this restaurant that serves good food and a place I always frequent to.
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Cafe Monaco
368 Sekai Center, Ortigas Center, San Juan City, Philippines
Rock of Ages Movie Review
Posted by Rochelle Sy Chua On June 24, 2012
I was in the mall and I didn’t wanna go home yet. I decided then to just watch a movie since it has been a few weeks since I last saw one. Good thing my friend was available or else I could have watched Rock of Ages alone. I saw the trailer and I knew I would love the movie especially since it was about Rock and Roll!
Also, with a superb cast consisting of Tom Cruise, Alec Baldwin, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Mary J. Blige and Paul Giamatti made it much more exciting to watch! I wonder how they can rock the movie and sing those songs which are obviously not in their comfort zone.
The movie revolved around 2 characters – Sherrie Christian (Julianne Hough) and Drew Boley (Diego Boneta), on their journey to reach their dream to become famous rock singers. Love, Talent, Friendship, Music and Loyalty are things that you can see in the movie.
The movie stars that I was looking forward to watching in Rock of Ages were actually supporting cast members. However, I love that every character had its own unique qualities and special moments in the movie. I appreciate the flow of the story and how all the characters fit into it. Rock of Ages will really make you remember your love for rock and roll. I, myself, did!
While I recommend the movie, I do not think it’ll suit children or even young teens. They might follow what Stacee Jaxx (Tom Cruise) was doing in Rock of Ages, hahaha! Considering the multiple tongue action, breast fondling and sex that rock stars do, we don’t want the youth today to be doing those things. However, we wanted to preserve Rock and Roll! Let’s just concentrate on the music and not follow what rockstars usually do behind the scenes, alright?
The music blew me away (featuring the music of Bon Jovi, Guns N’Roses, Def Leppard, Foreigner, Journey, Poison, Pat Benatar, Reo Speedwagon, Whitesnake, Night Ranger & Twisted Sister). I realized how I missed listening to beautiful rock & roll music. Actually, I ended up searching for the soundtrack of Rock of Ages in the iTunes Store as soon as I came home! I must say the soundtrack is just as awesome as the movie! Even if you haven’t watched Rock of Ages, the soundtrack itself will make you sing your heart out! I never even thought that Tom Cruise could sing!
If you watched the movie and bought the soundtrack, it’ll double the fun! Rock on! 😀
My Rating for Rock of Ages: 4 out of 5 stars
Casa Ibiza
Posted by Rochelle Sy Chua On June 18, 2012
Last month, my friend Jen called me up if I wanted to stay overnight at Casa Ibiza Antipolo with her and another friend. She told me she availed of a promo, Php 3,500 for a one-night stay with complimentary breakfast for 6. The coupon was expiring already so she wanted to use it. She asked if I have any friends who wanted to go with us, but considering we were planning to stay on a weekday, I couldn’t get anyone. We pushed through with only just the three of us.
It was a 1.5 hour drive from Quezon City. Our friend knew where Casa Ibiza is so the ride was pretty quick and smooth.
When we arrived inside the resort, we went to the first unit among the colorful villas to register. I loved the design of the exterior that I took my camera out to take some pictures. Surprisingly, the place looked so much better in pictures. If we can describe people as photogenic, then Casa Ibiza was picturesque.
We all wanted to just relax so I didn’t really plan on blogging about this. I actually didn’t plan to take pictures too. However, blogging is already in my system so I took a few photos just in case I wanted to write about the experience.
The villa was good for 6 people. It had 3 floors: 1st floor just had a bathroom, 2nd floor had the living room and kitchen while the 3rd floor had 3 bedrooms. The villa was okay, but nothing spectacular. It wasn’t even hotel-like so if you’re expecting ‘wow’ interiors, I don’t think Casa Ibiza will be your place of choice. Casa Ibiza grand villas would be a good place for group of friends who wanted to hang out, play cards, drink alcohol and chit-chat the whole night away. It’s like a townhouse you can rent for yourselves.
We spent the whole night playing cards – poker, tong-its, pusoy dos, name it, we played them! We made it a bit exciting by gambling a bit of money. I shouldn’t have agreed as I was the biggest loser then (I wish we were playing for number of pounds LOL!).
Breakfast was served at 10AM as we woke up so late. We went to the pool area where the food was served. I noticed the consistency of the design of Casa Ibiza. Apparently, the resort’s theme was Mexican.
I was obviously disappointed with the food. I guess we really got what we paid for. It’s a good thing, we were only three people because we got ourselves, two servings of those breakfast meals (since we paid for 6 pax). The serving was like so small, imagine two spoonful of corned beef, and the egg seemed like just a half-egg. The drink was powdered orange juice. Nothing to rave about but the food was decent. I hope they improve this a bit as the food was really, really disappointing.
Anyhow, I didn’t concentrate on my disappointment as I was in good company. We got ourselves double serving anyway so it doesn’t matter 🙂
Casa Ibiza has a spa room which can also serve as a conference room. It was a pretty neat room. I don’t think anyone availed of their spa services as no one was around when I went in to check it out. I didn’t bother trying it out too as we didn’t have time left for a one-hour massage.
The pool was really nice and I must say Casa Ibiza had great ambiance. The beautiful garden and the way the cabanas were positioned around the pool area was pretty cool too!
My key takeaway from my first visit to Casa Ibiza is that it’s a perfect place to have pictorials. Really, the place was just built for photographers. I guess engaged couples should consider this as one of the destinations to have their pre-nup pictures.
Group of friends who are camwhores would love this place! I assure you your pictures will come out really really good especially if you have a good photographer with you.
I was surprised myself when I saw the photos I took of Casa Ibiza. It was astoundingly beautiful there, much more beautiful than it is in actuality. I’m not sure if it’s a good thing for the resort. I guess if guests had seen the pictures from Casa Ibiza’s website, they might be surprised when they see the place in person as it wasn’t the same. We can’t blame the resort though because Casa Ibiza was just too photogenic 🙂
I now believe that some people OR places can transform in photos. Casa Ibiza indeed is.
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Casa Ibiza
Sapang Buho Road, Barangay Dalig II, Antipolo City, Rizal, Philippines 1870
+632-4823487
management@casaibiza.com.ph
Yurakuen Japanese Restaurant
Posted by Rochelle Sy Chua On June 13, 2012
I once tried out Teppanyaki Eat-All-You-Can at Guangzhou China when I was on business trip last year. I couldn’t get over how delicious it was. So when I found out that there is indeed that kind of restaurant in Manila, I couldn’t contain my excitement! The place is called Yurakuen Japanese Restaurant and it’s located at the ground floor of Diamond Hotel Manila.
Be ready to splurge about Php 1,970++ per person when you avail of Yurakuen’s Teppanyaki Eat-All-You-Can. If my memory serves me right, it’s Php 2,500 net per person. Price is already inclusive of free flowing standard drinks (iced tea/softdrinks), local beers and kirin beer. You can order anything from the menu. However, if you want premium food items like spine lobsters, black cod, chilean sea bass, black sea bass, US black angus beef tenderloin, US wagyu beef sirloin center cut, US wagyu beef striploin & US wagyu short ribs then you need to shell out Php500 for each on top of the standard price. The price is a bit steep I know but this will be all worth it. This has got to be one of my most memorable dining experience in Manila. I’m already planning my next visit within the year with my friends.
I find it sad that I only found out about Yurakuen Japanese Restaurant now in spite of it being around for several years. It’s actually one of the award-winning restaurants in Manila having been awarded by Asian Tatler Dining. But it’s better now than never, right? 🙂
Yurakuen is indeed a Japanese culinary paradise having three different kinds of dining experience to choose from:
- Main Dining Room
- Yakiniku Room
- Teppanyaki Eat-All-You-Can
While I was curious to find out the other offerings of Yurakuen Japanese Restaurant, I still prefer the Teppanyaki Eat-All-You-Can for my next visit. I guess after having sampled most of the Teppanyaki menu, I wanted to go back for more!
I was greeted by Yurakuen’s kimono-clad food attendants as I entered the restaurant. I was escorted to one of the four Teppanyaki tables available. The first thing I noticed was the beautiful view that I could see from the room. There was a rock garden full of plants and cherry-blossom tree. Having seen the costumes of the server plus the wonderful view reminded me that I was in for a Japanese treat!
Each Teppanyaki table can accommodate up to a maximum of 8 people. This is especially perfect for small groups since they can enjoy their meal in privacy. This is not the same as what I have experienced in Guangzhou. I actually prefer Yurakuen, it has a personal touch in it.
One of the reasons why I loved my first visit at Yurakuen was the nice, cheerful and talented chefs in the restaurant. We enjoyed how the chefs in our respective tables cooked the food in front of us complete with flare-filled presentation.
There are a lot of items in the Teppanyaki menu but considering we only had 2 hours to eat and our stomach can only take so much. We were able to try out some items..
Appetizers – Sashimi, Sushi, Temaki, Maki, Salad
I skipped the appetizers as I wanted to have more space for seafood, hehehe! I wish I was able to try the crab stick salad, tuna salmon sashimi, california temaki & tempura temaki served to us though.
Vegetables
I was like a kid excited to watch the chef cook the veggies in front of us. The chef was all smiles and was even dancing at certain point when he was cooking. I was so looking forward to eat those food that was fondly prepared by him.
We were able to sample asparagus, spinach, enoki mushroom, shitake mushroom and vegetable jelly. Surprisingly, I’m starting to love mushrooms more and more. I guess it really depends on how the food was cooked. I’m now a convert (I used to hate eating mushrooms)! The spices put into the veggies plus the right amount of time it was cooked made us like the first batch of items we tried out at Yurakuen Japanese Restaurant.
We could have more servings of the veggies but the portion given to me was more than enough as I knew there were more items to eat later on.
Meats
For some people, I believe meats especially lamb chops would be a favorite food item at Yurakuen. Considering you can have unlimited servings of those premium quality meats are just divine! I was drooling just by seeing the raw meat platter at the table, hahaha! Yeah, I’m a foodie and I’m always so giddy and ecstatic about food! 🙂
I loved it when the chef did the flaming trick! Such awesomeness!
US Beef Rib Eye, US Beef Tenderloin, Baby Lamb Chops and US Wagyu Beef Striploin (additional Php500) were among the items we tried out.
Food were neatly served to our plates. We were so spoiled 🙂 Loved the awesome service in Yurakuen!
Of course, I had to give special attention to the lamb chops as it was the item that I loved the most in the meat platter. The chef was very cautious of what the guests prefer as he asked us first if we wanted to have the mint sauce combined or separate from the meat.
Fried Rice
I felt that I can’t just keep on writing my thoughts about my experience at Yurakuen so I decided to take a video of the chef while he was cooking our seafood fried rice. I wanted you to see it for yourself how cool the chef was. The video also gives you an idea what to expect in Diamond Hotel’s Teppanyaki Eat-All-You-Can.
And this is the finished product! Nothing beats a newly cooked, fresh from the grill fried rice!
Trivia: Japanese eats their fried towards the end of the meal.
Seafood
The seafood was the main reason why I can’t wait to go back to Yurakuen. I actually already told my best friend that we would be having dinner at Diamond Hotel for their Teppanyaki Eat-All-You-Can on Christmas. I’ll make sure that I would just have those yummy seafood over and over and over and over again till I can’t eat any longer.
We had black cod/gindara(additional Php500) and salmon. I know my companions that night would have wanted to eat the salmon raw. For me though, I hate anything raw so the fishes cooked teppanyaki way was preferable for me.
Tiger prawns – just one word DELICIOUS!
the winner of the night for me was scallops! It was huge! And boy, when eaten right after it was just cooked? Oh my gosh, heavenly!!!! H-e-a-v-e-n-l-y!!! I must go back to Yurakuen for this! I don’t care if this is the only item that I’ll eat the whole meal!
Lobsters
Among the premium items that Yurakuen Japanese Restaurant has, I believe the lobsters has got to be the item of choice. I wouldn’t mind shelling out additional Php500 just to be able to get unlimited servings of spine lobsters,
I think made a lil shriek when the chef started to cook the mouth-watering lobsters! I couldn’t contain my excitement! Luckily, noone noticed hahaha!
I appreciate that the chef removed the meat from the shells making it easy for us to eat the uberly delicious lobsters!
The group was also able to try out Lobster Miso soup. It’s miso soup combined with lobster head and shells resulting to a unique soup experience.
Dessert
Last, but definitely not the least, dessert. Unfortunately for me, I was too full already to eat any of those. We were served with assorted fruits and pancakes w/ black beans & ice cream.
I think for my next visit, I’ll still skip the dessert. (Sorry, I have my eyes on the scallops)!
I’m really thankful that I was invited by Diamond Hotel to try out Yurakuen’s Teppanyaki all you can. Because if that didn’t happen, I wouldn’t even know that there is indeed a Teppanyaki all you can here in Metro Manila.
Oh boy, this post literally took me ten hours to compose (no kidding!). My gosh, reliving the experience is really hard especially remembering how nice the dining experience was. Uggghhh… Such punishment and I shall avenge by eating more scallops when I go back! 😀
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Yurakuen Japanese Restaurant
Teppanyaki Eat-All-You-Can
Php 1,970++ per person
11:00 am to 10:00 pm
G/F Diamond Hotel, Roxas Blvd. corner Dr. J. Quintos Street, Manila 1000, Philippines
+63-2-5283000