GASTRONOMICLES 0002: MARCHE

I suddenly missed Marche Restaurant right now after walking on my way to work. Marche is a Swiss market restaurant that originated in well, Switzerland :)

Unfortunately, they only have branches in the US, Europe, Indonesia, Korea, and Singapore. I hope they finally put up a branch here in the Philippines.

My sister took us to the Marche branch in Vivo City.

Foursquare: https://foursquare.com/venue/351794

Upon entering you will be given a guest card which you have to give to the staff every time you order.

 Be sure not to lose your card because it will cost you SGD100 (around P3500) but if you are generous enough you could since it will be donated to a charity of your choice :)

What I like about the restaurant's concept is you have the liberty to choose your food and have it cooked the way you want it.

Mom checking out the salad section :)

my sister explaining to Daddy how to order :)

this hit me on the head by the way...ouch!

Swiss decors everywhere :)

They have sections for salad, for meat, for drinks, for desserts, for ice creams, and so on.

crepe with meat and veggies

Swiss rosti (grated potatoes), sausage and cream cheese sauce(?)

this Strawberry Shortcake is to die for :)

get a slab of meat too while you're munching fresh  veggies

Grab a mint in the checkout cashier on your way out :) 

For four, I think our meal ranged from SGD100-SGD200 (P3500-P7000). It's actually not bad just don't think about the forex :)

This is my favorite resto in SG now... can't wait to go back :)

PICTOGRAPHICS: HOLGANIZER

I'm a sucker for film photography but I have to admit that I don't have the patience to wait for my pictures to be processed at times... Yep, sadly our attention span is getting shorter by the minute.

Good thing, I stumbled upon HOLGANIZER. It's your "friendly neighborhood" online Holga with film strips, light leaks, and controls on vignetting and contrast, how cool is that?


WHAT IS A HOLGA?

Holga is a cheap chinese plastic medium format camera, and even the lens is in plastic. It creates distortion, light leaks,...
There are many different Holga models :
- Holga 120S : The original Holga. Fixed shutter speed, plastic lens, hot shoe.
- Holga 120N : Same, with tripod mount, B mode.
- Holga 120SF : A standard Holga 120S, with a flash.
- Holga 120GN : A Holga 120N with a glass lens.
- Holga 120FN : A Holga 120N with a flash.
- Holga 120GFN : A Holga 120FN with a glass lens.
- Holga 120CFN : A Holga 120FN with a color flash.
- Holga 120GCFN : A Holga 120CFN with a glass lens.

photo from: http://theanaloguestories.wordpress.com/lomo-families/

So if you want to give your favorite pictures an extra oomph Holganize it. For Photoshop geeks, it's also available as an Adobe Photoshop™ action to download, with more presets and more effects than the Holganizer online tool, and hi-res image outputs. 

Here are samples of my Holganized shots - http://holganizer.net/gallery.php?user_id=3639
:)

Will talk more about toy cameras soon :)

TRAVELBITES: SG 2011

here's our recent family vacation...

on buses, trains, cabs, trams, while eating, sightseeing, learning, and lots more :)



Music: Sweet Disposition by The Temper Trap

*details on where we went soon...

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the sound of packing :)

Is it just my weirdness but whenever I walk around I play a song in my head and I'll imagine that I'm in a music video...Yup, that's how twisted I am! haha

But enough about my weirdness, coz I know you'll agree that soundtracks get us through the day and even some of the most boring tasks.

Like right now, I'm about to pack again... so I'll try to share some effective packing songs. Read the idea in Patty Laurel's blog and it hit me... oo nga no (by golly your right!)...it makes packing bearable. I love to travel but I hate packing, I'd rather not bring anything and ride a bus than pack. One time we ended up buying clothes at a thrift store in Tagaytay just because we didn't plan on spending the night. haha!

But since I cannot do that for my upcoming trip...I have to get my packing skills and songs on :)

Pardon my schizo taste:

1. Empire State of Mind (Glee version) - maybe you're not going to New York, but it feel good to feel like you are :)

2. World Hold On (Bob Sinclair) - it's like saying "watch out world, here I come!" :)

3. Viva La Vida (Coldplay) - one of the sweetest things in life is traveling so feel it through this music :)

4. My Arms Keep Missing You (Danzel vs. Dj F.R.A.N.K.) - perfect for the 80's babies :)

5. On the Dancefloor (David Guetta feat. Will.i.am & Apl.de.ap) - doesn't hurt to dance while rolling those pants :)

6. Shooting Star Remix (David Rush feat. LMFAO and Kevin Rudolf) - another shake your booty song to finish that packing :)

7. Beat It (Fallout Boy feat. John Mayer) - that groovy 80's MJ hit only with more drums! perfect for pushing those shoes in that little footwear pocket haha!

8. Halo/Walking on Sunshine (Glee version) - makes you want to choose your sundresses over those oh so tired pants :)

9. 2012 (Jay Sean feat. Nicki Minaj) - makes you remember that packing is just the beginning, traveling and having the time of your life is the main event :)

10. Green Light (John Legend feat. Andre 3000) - cap off your packing with this song! :)

So remember, when you feel like packing's a drag, just turn on your music player and blast some music to get you through it...it really does wonders :)

Toodles! :)

DRINKATHON 0001: GONG CHA

Since I'm not a coffee person, I drink tea to keep me awake. I love drinking milk tea in the morning and when I want to feel good :) 


I happened to pass by this new tea place in SM Sky Garden one night. Gong Cha which means "tea fit for royalty" was first launched in Kaohsiung, Taiwan in 2006. There are over 100 outlets worldwide spreading from Taiwan to Hong Kong, Singapore, Macau, and China, and now it's starting to make a mark here in the Philippines with branches in SM MOA, SM North, and soon in Makati. 


Thankfully, the Philippines is currently going through a milk tea craze (for some unknown reason) so a lot of tea places are popping up :) 

The Gong Cha Milk Black tea has a "dramatic mode" of cream and tea merging when served :) 

Gong Cha's Milk Wintermelon Tea is by far the most interesting tea I've tasted :)  



PRICE RANGE: P60 - 110 ++ if you want pearls :) Pretty affordable for a tea for royal bloods eh? 

Plus points coz they have friendly staff :)


I'll try their Ice Cream Tea next time :)


visit their website: http://gongcha.ph
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/gongcha.ph
FourSquare: https://foursquare.com/venue/24577777

GASTRONOMICLES 0001: HAPADOG

I was walking with my best friend one night at SM Sky Garden, and I noticed a new signage near Cello's :)

Turns out it's a new signature Japanese hotdog joint called HAPADOG. 

HAPADOG - adj. 1. Slang. of mixed racial heritage with partial roots in asian and/ or pacific islander ancestry.

n. 2. Slang. a person of such ancestry. {der./hawaiian: hapa haole. (half white) }

craving for something new we ordered a hapadog for our late night dinner :)

I ordered a Kokkore Dog - a hotdog wrapped in mashed potato topped with teriyaki sauce, japanese mayo, and nori flakes. If you want an extraordinary hotdog, this is it. It's a refreshing new twist to this old comfort food. Their hotdogs are also big enough for 2 (although my friend ate hers and half of mine), and served in an interesting wood tray :)

This is their version of a Chili Dog, which is also topped with nori flakes.

I also liked their french fries called, "furaidopoteto" which has like a sour cream taste.

If not for my poor health, I would eat more of their food and if not for my work the next day, I'll try their cocktails (they have a HAPA Hour! :) )

Take note that they don't have ketchup in case you are that "ketchup with anything" person. :)

PRICE RANGE: For 2, We only paid more or less P400, not bad :)
Visit their website: http://www.hapa-dog.com/

Foursquare: https://foursquare.com/venue/19228069