Fresh from Singapore: Twelve Cupcakes

There's a new cupcakery in town! 

A few months back, Twelve Cupcakes, which first opened in Singapore in 2011, brought its cute and delectable cupcakes here in Manila. It features 12 everyday cupcakes with a few specialty cupcakes that vary each day of the week (I'm guessing this is why they called it Twelve Cupcakes?) 

So what are the Everyday Cupcakes? 

From what I gather, these are the cupcakes that you would find in their stores every single day of the week. They introduce new flavors every month, which are only available on certain days of the week, but these flavors will be available each day for you to enjoy. Call them the regulars, I guess. 

Someone couldn't help himself

Everyday Cupcakes a.k.a The Regulars

LaBora -- WHAT?! Nestea Beach 2014

We all know it's summer time when the bikinis come out of hiding, and the waxing salons are now by appointment ONLY. But apparently, the new definition of summer time means beach parties left and right, Ateneo de Bora for the seniors in Ateneo (whatever that means) and this thing they dubbed Laboracay or Labor Day Weekend in Boracay.

Photo courtesy of Victoria's Secret

So why am I writing about this anyway?

In about 10 days, I will be going to my first Laboracay trip. Yup, you read that right. My first. I was such a nerd (still am a nerd, only a bit modified now) back in college that I spent all my wonderful years in the Ateneo studying, sleeping in the library, drinking across the university once in a while, but rarely going to parties. I didn't even know Ateneo de Bora existed until a year after I graduated, and this was because my younger sister was going. Even after I started working, I've never heard of this Labor Day Weekend thing. Oh yes. I live a very boring life under a rock.

Since I am such a late bloomer, I have no idea what to expect, what to do, or where to hang when I get there. I'm usually with family when I go to Boracay and all we do is eat, swim, and have fun in the sun. Or go wall climbing. But since I'm trying out this whole labor day experience, I am clueless. I like going to the beach but I hate getting dark, hahaha. Ironic. So swimming 24/7 is definitely out of the question.

Thankfully, I stumbled upon this link on my blog. I heard Nestea is sponsoring an event in Boracay during labor day but I wasn't really sure what it was or when it was. Radio-mmercials are usually very short and not-so-detailed. I know there will be several beach parties and a lot of drinking during that week but being the not-so-risk-taker person that I am, I want to know more than just that. Is it free or do we buy tickets? When and where exactly will it be held? Boracay has a long stretch of sand and I don't want to get lost or be charged unexpectedly. Is it worth going to or should I just go to a nearby restaurant and order a bucket of beer? I'm going for the experience but I don't want to regret anything after that week. So for those of you who are as clueless as I am, here are some of the activities that you can do and events that you can go to during the Labor Day Week(end).

Better Late than Never: Ramen Santouka

One thing I really missed apart from writing was, eating. There was a time when I could try out new restaurants and discover new/interesting food items but with the budget of a student, I could no longer afford to go on a weekly, let alone, daily food run/binge/discovery. Thankfully, mother has her "generous" moments. One of them was dinner at this (not-so) new ramen place in Greenhills.

I heard about Ramen Santouka from Greg's sister, Gin. Her friend celebrated his/her (I can't remember which) birthday in the restaurant, and all she could say was how good the food was. I've been craving for a lot of different things, ramen included, the past few weeks and her praises for the food did not help at all. Fortunately, I was able to convince mom to have dinner there after her work errand.

I'm not a ramen expert so I don't know which constitutes one kind of ramen or not. I distinguish the types by flavor -- a different flavor meant a different type of ramen. Santouka had around 10 different types of ramen -- five original ramen flavors, and around 5-6 specialty ramen. 

Original Ramen

Forgive the way the photos were taken. We were all hungry at the time. This shows Santouka's original ramen varieties. One look at this and I immediately knew what I was getting. Hint: It's getting hot in here. ;)

Dang Dee Fast Food: Another Taiwanese Delight

It's been more or less three months since I last updated my blog. It saddens me that I haven't been able to manage my time well enough to update this blog and keep up with my studies. But I want to change all that starting now. I know I said this back in January but I really want to make this work so for my first blog entry under my new lifestyle, I shall write about this new food discovery I stumbled upon in my friend's Instagram account (thank you, Nadz To) -- an incredibly wonderful and unbelievable new food delivery/restaurant-ish along Salcedo Street in Makati. Yes, the food is really good and the price, unbelievable. Office employees, students, and anyone else on a budget, I present to you Dang Dee Fast Food.

Dang Dee Fast Food is a small, hole-in-the-wall type of restaurant. Nothing fancy. There are about 8-10 tables inside, a counter, a wash area, and a rest room. Pick from any of their value meals, order, and wait for it to be served or packed. What makes this little fast food so special is that their value meals are made of win. You can grab a really filling and delicious lunch or dinner for as low as P78, and that comes with a free drink already. So what does a Dang Dee value meal look like?