Sinfully Delicious

Hungry? Looking for a gift? Or you are simply craving for some sweets? Well, Love in the oven is the answer to your questions. Love in the oven offers freshly home-made baked cupcakes and brownies.

I first tasted the cupcake last December when Anna, my friend and the Marketing and Salesperson of Love in the Oven gave me a cupcake as a Christmas gift. At first glance you will be hesitant to take a bite because the frosting is beautifully perched on top of the cupcake that you do not want to destroy it.  Once you took the first bite, it will be hard for you stop eating the delicious cupcake. The bread is soft and very flavorful and the frosting, unlike other expensive cupcakes, is tall with edible bead toppers and sprinkles. And the aroma of the cupcakes tells you that they are freshly made.

Aside from the chocolate cupcakes, Love from the Oven also offers other flavored cupcakes like mocha, vanilla, oreo, banana, carrot, red velvet, crazy choco and dark chocolate chunks. They also have brownies, blondes and butterscotch bars, and cakes.

Price per individual cupcake is Php 20.00 for the basic flavors and the special flavors is at Php 30.00, brownies and blondes is also at Php 20.00. They also have cake & cupcake packages for birthday and special occassions, price vary depending on the number of cupcake and size of cake.

For more details and inquiry regarding Love from the Oven, you can check their Facebook Page or you may contact Anna at  09173529200

A Trip to Baguio Part II: Instead of the Panagbenga Festival

Since, our planned Panagbenga Festival didn’t go out well, instead of being sober of the incident, we decided to go to the Strawberry Farm in La Trinidad and the Lourdes Grotto.

All of my friends are eager to bring home some fresh strawberries, so we went to the Strawberry Farm in La Trinidad, Benguet. This is one of the activities that we failed to do last year when we went to Baguio. The farm is a 30 minutes drive from Baguio City, approximately 10km from the center of Baguio City.

We arrived at the farm at 3:00 in the afternoon. According to one of the farmers there are only few fresh strawberries left for picking. Luckily, the farmer is kind enough to pick-up some strawberries for us and gave it free of charge so we can taste it. According to the farmer the ideal time for harvesting is in the morning. Aside from the strawberry, the farm also has lettuce, broccoli and Malaysian mumps. This is where the tourist usually buys the fresh strawberry and vegetable wherein they harvest the crop and are weighed in by the farmers.

the strawberry farm

Malaysian Mumps at the farm

Lettuce

After almost an hour at the farm we, decided to head back to Baguio and went to Lourdes Grotto. The grotto is located in a high hill in the western part of Baguio wherein at the top you will see the image of Our Lady of Lourdes; but reaching the top is not that easy for you have to climb 252 steps of stairs.

Upon reaching the site, you will be welcomed by vendors selling multi-colored candles, each color representing different personal intentions. There is an altar below the image wherein you can light up your candle and pray. Aside from the image of Our Lady of Lourdes, you will also find an image of Jesus Christ just before reaching the top of the stairs.  Upon reaching the top, I and my friend decided to light up three candles for our personal wishes. It is just sad that there are people coming in the grotto that are not paying any respect and are vandalizing the place.

                                                         

going down the 252 steps

 After saying our prayers and being a photoholic we decided to go Burnham Park. Burnham Park is considered as the heart of Baguio, since can be accessed by the different roads in Baguio namely Harrison, Kisad, Governor Park and Magsaysay road; and it is surrounded by the other prominent landmarks of Baguio, like the Session road, Baguio Cathedral and Baguio City Market.

It is around 6:00 pm when we reached Burnham Park which is already filled by people watching a concert. We directly went to the man-made lake to have a boat ride. When darkness came upon the park, we were fascinated when all the lights from the lamp posts and rope lights hanging from the trees came to life simultaneously creating a Disney – fairy tale effect. Our boat ride lasted around 30 minutes.

Burnham Park 

When we finished our boat ride we decided to have dinner along Session Road before buying pasalubongs at the Baguio City Market. And since we also planned to watch the float parade the next morning, we decided to retreat early to our hotel.

A Trip to Baguio Part I: Lessons Learned

Last February 24, 2012, me together with four friends gear-up to experience the Panagbenga Festival in Baguio. And since, this is a huge event in the City of Pines we prepared early for the trip.

          

During the last week of January we are already inquiring different hotels in Baguio for a reservation on February 25-26. To make our search for a hotel accommodation easy, my friend got a list of all the e-mail addresses of the hotels in Baguio and send them a message inquiry. From the long list of e-mail addresses that she has only 2 or 3 replied for an available room.

The next task on hand is for a bus reservation. Luckily Victory Liner has an online reservation, so there was no hassle in reserving the tickets. You just need to go to their website and fill-up a form to make a reservation. Victory Liner will then sent you an e-mail confirming your reservation and instructions on how to make the payment. Here is the link to reserve online http://www.victoryliner.com/reservations/. Victory Liner charges an additional Php100.00 if tickets are bought online for the courier fee; but it's worth it than falling in line.

Though, we made early preparation for the Panagbenga Festival, unfortunately we were not able to witness the festival. Our departure from Manila was delayed by more than an hour (our scheduled departure is 11:50 pm, we left the Cubao Station at 1:00 am) and even at 3:00 am there was traffic, so the usual 6 hours became an 8 hours travel. Thus, we were not able to watch the street dancers perform on Saturday morning. The next day Sunday, the Float parade was scheduled at 8:00 am, we wake up early to witness the parade, but when we reached Upper Session Road, the streets was already jam packed by people. We tried to find a nice location but to no avail.

Because of the said experience we learned some lessons that we will remember when we returned again to Baguio for the Panagbenga Festival. Here are our lessons learned:

1.       Make early hotel reservations; start hotel inquiry as early as the first week of January.

2.       Choose hotels that are along or near Session Road or Burnham Park.

3.       Check the event or program schedule of the festival. Here is a link that you can check for the schedule http://www.panagbenga.ph/

4.       Make early reservations for the bus ticket. It is better to make two-way reservations already.

5.     Leave Manila early. Since the event is done every last Saturday and Sunday of February, file a vacation leave for Friday.

6.       Wake up early. According to a taxi driver, starting at 5:00 am people are already at Session Road finding a nice location to watch the parade.

7.       Best location to watch the parade is SM Baguio and the Post Office at Upper Session Road.

Dinner at Bon Chon

A recently opened Chicken Bon Chon branch in Alabang Town Center is making a big buzz. Since it’s opening last January 10, 2012 until today, the restaurant is always jam-packed with people craving to take a bite of the unique taste of their dishes.

Though the restaurant opened last January 10, it was only on the 31^st that we were able to step foot in their store. And since, we went there on a payday, the place is full of people and you have to be listed in their waiting list to be seated. It is nice that their staff are accommodating and are eager to help every customer find an empty table.

  

For our dinner we ordered a Chicken Wings Rice Box, Chicken Drumstick Rice Box, Chicken Chop Rice Box, Fish Fillet Rice Box and Caesar Salad. Though Bon Chon is very known because of their chicken, they also offer salads and sandwiches that is a must try as well. You can choose between hot and spicy or garlic flavor for the chicken. Their hot and spicy chicken has a very unique taste; at first bite it is sweet and has the kick of spice and hotness at the end. So even if the customers are exclaiming about the the spicy flavor they still cannot resist having another bite. 

Aside from the affordability the serving is also hefty. The rice boxes that we ordered costs Php 145 each and the salad is Php 125. The rice boxes have 2 pieces of chicken per order and the fish fillet is 3 big pieces of cream dory.

Overall, in my opinion, Chicken Bon Chon is one of the best restaurant in the Metro, wherein you can get value in every single centavo that you will pay, not just because of the food affordability but as well as the good customer service that they offer.  

Chicken Wings Rice Box

Drumsticks Rice Box

croutons and lettuce

Chicken Chops





I Love Bon Chon

  

A Venetto Pizzeria Ristorante

A Venetto Pizzeria Ristorante in SM Megamall

I first discovered A Venetto Pizzeria Ristorante when a colleague invited me to have a drink at Tiendesitas, and since I have not eaten any dinner or merienda we head first to SM Hypermart to grab something to eat. And that is where we find a pizza chain with a very foreign name – that is A Venetto Pizzeria Ristorante.

The nice thing about A Venetto is the cheap price of their food and their huge servings. The pasta serving is good for two-three persons and the pizza slice which is as big as Sbarro can also be shared.  The servings are so generous that we usually have something to take home. I remembered the first time I ate at A Venetto, me and my friend was so surprised at the huge serving of food (especially my friend who was watching her diet at that time). So, whenever I went to Tiendesitas with my sister, I always tell her to have our dinner at A Venetto.

It was January 29, 2012 when we eat at A Venetto in SM Megamall. The place is much bigger and I like the ambiance better than in SM Hypermart.

We ordered our favorite Baked Ziti with meatballs that costs Php 305.00 per serving and the Cheddar Munchers at Php 160.00. You might think that the we ordered few foods, but as I mentioned their servings is so hefty that it took us more than an hour to finish our food.

Baked Ziti with Meatballs

Cheddar Munchers

Aside fom the pizzas, and pastas, A Venetto also offers sandwiches, and salads. Appetizers price is from Php 135-300. You can get a pizza slicefor Php 80-100 and a whole pizza is from Php 230-615. Their pasta offers a wide range of choices from pesto to white and red sauces; the pasta price is Php 200-315. The salad price is Php 125-210; Hamburgers are all priced at Php 190, and the desserts at Php  90.

So if you have a big hunger but tight on the budget, I suggest that you go to the nearest A Venetto Pizzeria Ristorante.

inside the restaurant

my lemonade

Lights, lights, lights

This posts features lights - the glowing color that disturbs the stillness of darkness.

Light and Water

The lamppost above are taken while raining in Burnham Park in Baguio City. The white streaks are rain and the moon like image is water droplet in the lens of the camera.

Light the Way

The lamps along Burnham Park, Baguio City on a rainy evening.

Dance in the sky

Laser light show at Ocean Park

At the Wall

Light in a hotel in Tagaytay

My 2012 Bucket List

Last 2011, I attended a magazine launch, witness a bikini fashion show, watch 6 movie premiere nights for free, create a blog, experience a storm in Baguio City, set foot in a crater, rode a horse, watch a movie beside a famous actress, watch a hundred kites flew in the sky, be a model, read the Labor Code of the Philippines, know who Lourd De Veyra and Jun Sabayton of The Word of the Lourd, learned a new hobby,  and relived my passion to write.

So here is my bucket list for 2012


1. Discover a new career path.

2. Travel the Philippines. Destinations for this year includes the Ilocos Region, Palawan, Tambobong Beach in Pangasinan and try to discover a new resort.

3. Make 3-4 blogposts every month. One down 3 more to go.

4. To have an adsense.

5. Learn a new language. French and Japanese.

6. Travel in an Asian country.

7. Go to school. So much wanted to study again, a masters degree or a short course.

8. Join a medical mission.


9. Learn a new sport.

10. Read a book by Paulo Coelho. I once tried reading the Winner Stands Alone, but I was not able to finish the book. For this year I will read again the book from the start and hopefully I can buy Aleph and also finish reading it.

11. Learn to bake brownies. I already started studying baking brownies, but I cannot make the same yummy brownies that Cring (one of my staff) makes.

12. Join a fun run.

13. Buy a camera and study photography.


14. Get more sleep.

15. More time to find inner peace. I have been a workaholic for the past two years and now I promise myself to always find time for relaxation and meditation.


I am keeping my fingers cross that I can achieve these goals and accomplish all my plans for this year. And hopefully, I can also discover new adventures, find new interests that are not listed in my bucket list.