Our MAFBEX 2016 experience

June 12, 2016, Saturday. Manila World Trade Center. This is our third year to attend Manila Food and Beverage Expo (MAFBEX). Year 2012 was our first year, it was just the three of us--me and my sisters. We weren't able to attend on 2013 and 2014 due to schedule conflicts and budget constraints. Last year (2015) my sisters and I  went with my hubby and our daughter. Then this year, we went last June 12 (which also was the celebration of Philippine Independence), me and my daughter Mia met up with my sisters. Lucky for me, I won a complimentary ticket from the Facebook promo of WorldBex so we only paid for three tickets. We were not able to take a photo of our tickets this year but we got to exchange the tickets for eco bags where you can put your haul (flyers, product samples, bought products, etc) as you roam around the expo hall. Will share with your our take home treats in a separate post.

an eco bag in exchange for a ticket

It was the last day of the expo. The event was held from June 8. We saw Chef Boy Logro where he demoed whipping up dishes using Baguio Oil and on the other side of the hall, there was Chef Lau (Rolando Laudico) for the battle of fried rice and to promote Harvester's Rice variants, when we passed by that area it is already the Q&A portion with the audience. If you're a MAFBEX goer, and you stay and watch the cooking demos, you'll also have a chance to taste the finished product.

leaflets, flyers and small product samples; selfie with a mascot;chef Boy invited an audience to come up to the stage for a taste

If you like to try new things, taste new flavors, just like when you are in a grocery store--you'll get a lot of that by roaming around. Mia even went back not once or twice but a lot of times on one of the stalls for a cup of chocolate slushie--she can't help it, means it's really delicious.

had to pose at the entrance

Make sure to start from one side and go from alley to alley so you can check out everything. There are lots of stalls to see: new food products, gourmet food, favorite snacks, viands, drinks, food carts, food franchise, food business equipment, cooking utensils, pots and pans, food trucks, everything about food! We also got the chance to have selfies with mascots :)

see you again next year!

If you plan to visit next year, bring budget for food, food and food and other things too... and dress like you're going to a super sale. We enjoyed the experience. Hope to be able to be there again next year.

Finding Dory

Super late post. My sister recently applied for a Globe Broadband account and as a welcome freebie, she got invited to Globe Broadband's block screening of Finding Dory in Glorietta 4 Cinema 5 last June 18, a Saturday. She had four free tickets so we got to tag along too!

On the screening day, we also got free snacks and drinks after posting a picture online with hashtags #justkeepstreaming #globebroadband 
How cool is that?

Thank you Globe Broadband for the free movie and the snacks and drinks too!

Also happening on that day was Ayala Cinema's PlayDay! FunDay! at the movies--there were photobooth, face paint and coloring activity for the kids after showing (purchased) tickets for Finding Dory. Mia had Dory painted on her left cheek and we also had a souvenir picture from the photobooth.

I have to say, I enjoyed this movie more than Finding Nemo--well that's just my honest opinion. Maybe because there were lots of funny scenes in this movie and though the two movies are connected mainly because of the characters, they are two different stories all in all. It is okay if you have not seen Finding Nemo yet but it is a plus, of couse this time you know who most of the characters were already.

There are also heart touching scenes which after watching the movie I learned  that all my three companions each of them shed a tear.

I know TMI but I just had to share since it is my first time to watch in a Glorietta 4 Cinema... it was me who downed most of the drink that me and my sister shared, I had to go to the bathroom to pee buti na lang pati sa loob ng bathroom may speakers and the movie audio can still be heard. Kulang na lang pati sa bathroom mayroon ding screens para mapapanood mo pa din ang nangyayari sa movie. Amazing diba.

The Frozen dress--an online purchase

As I was browsing through my facebook feed, pictures of children wearing dresses printed with familiar Disney and other cartoon characters caught my attention. I browsed the whole album and there were two dresses with Frozen prints. I knew then and there that Mia would love wearing it--the blue dress with Elsa particularly. However, after going back and forth the whole album, I now had reservation with the skirt part. It's not bad though--I just don't know how the print would look in person that's when I decided to go for the solid-colored one--the other Frozen printed dress with Elsa and Anna at the blouse and purple tutu skirt.

This was my first time to order online from a seller on Facebook. I sent a message to inquire and got a reply after a few minutes. It was a swift transaction--I was sent the details on where to deposit my payment, the total amount including the shipping fee. The next day (which is also a Friday), I was lined up at the bank. From the bank, I sent proof of the payment thru fb messenger then an hour later, I got proof of the waybill. Monday afternoon, the small package arrived at the office.

The moment I got home and opened my bag, Mia was all smiles when she saw the dress--she tried it on right away. I ordered the biggest size by the way. I knew a size that is labeled just right for her age won't fit her and I was right--she's a big girl definitely.

Thank you Bluefish Closet for being easy to transact with. Guys if you want one for your little princesses, there are different designs and sizes to choose from. Order na!

She wore it when we watched Finding Dory last Saturday. We have one very happy (kid) princess indeed!

ps. this is not a sponsored post ha..

A Beautiful Mess and the Ginisang Misua-Patola recipe

I love it when there's this kind of mess in our kitchen/prep table. It means that afterwards there will be a delicious food to be shared by the family.

That afternoon, one of our neighbors harvested some "patola" from their backyard garden and my husband got to buy a piece of average size for twenty pesos--just enough for us three.

Then I bought two packs of "misua/miswa" from the sari-sari store a few blocks from our apartment and started prepping.

Ginisang Patola with Misua

Medium sized patola, peeled and sliced
250 grams pork, cubed
one medium sized onion, peeled and minced
some cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
one cup water
misua (noodles)
one fourth teaspoon ground pepper
a teaspoon salt
one half teaspoon sugar (optional)
one half tablespoon oil

Put oil in the slightly heated pan then the garlic and onion, sauté until the onion starts to caramelize or the garlic starts to turn a bit brown. Add the cubed pork, ground pepper and stir once in a while for around 10-15 minutes or until the pork is tender.

**You can actually use chicken or fried fish instead of pork--any meat flavor that you fancy. You can also use ground pork!**

Time to add the patola then the water (the amount of water will depend on how much soup you would like to have for your meal--also keep in mind that the dry misua noodles will absorb some of the water) and cook for about 5-10 minutes or until the patola looks translucent. Add the misua, stir, then the sugar and cook for about 3-5 minutes more.

**Sugar is optional--it depends if you want to add another flavor element to your dish. In fact, if the vegetables you are cooking are fresh or even fresh from the picking then you can assure that it has this natural sweetness. Sugar is my
substitute for MSG which I have seen being mixed with food for the longest time, when I was young watching folks cook in the kitchen and until now. I have nothing against MSG it's just that I like the sound of "sugar" when I hear it being mentioned and the taste too...**

**Also, if you do not want to add any meat in the dish then it is fine. Some people add flavored cubes instead.**

Hot steaming rice is also ready as soon as the viand was cooked. This is also best paired with fried fish! And some fresh fruits for dessert, yum! **makes me hungry as I type this** Let's eat!

Live with the King

Nowadays everyone is always on the go--everyone is mobile.

I for one as a working mom, should always be ready to take down notes during meetings, list down items for grocery shopping, to accept or make a call be it clients, friends or family members, to take pictures or videos whenever needed specially during special occasions at home or at the office.

My daughter Mia on the other hand sometimes borrows my mobile phone to play music, to play games/educational games, watch cartoons on YouTube, or audio/video chat with her titas.

We need a phone that can do all that and can keep up with our needs and with that I am listing down my top five favorite features (in no particular order) of the King of Android, Huawei Nexus 6P as I have recently learned about.

1. Front-facing speakers = clear sounds. As I have mentioned above, Mia loves to play music (me and her dad too!)--our family loves music

and having clear speaker sounds mean more fun and delightful listening experience.

2. Low-light loving, powerful camera. It's like we've lived for years under a rock! My current mobile phone has a 5 megapixel rear camera

and a 2 megapixel front camera. This one has 12.3MP rear camera and 8MP front camera. Very powerful indeed!

3. Stunning screen clarity. I do not have 20/20 vision so I would need a very clear screen to work at specially that I love to read blog

posts on my mobile phone. It is also a must when playing games and watching videos/movies.

4. Faster-than-ever performance. This I have to applaud the King of Android. My current mobile phone runs on 1.3 GHz quad core, imagine how

much more I can do with 2.0 GHz octa-core speed!

5. Fast charging due to its USB Type C charging port. Did I mention that we are always on the go and a mobile phone is now a necessity thus need faster charging.

I am hoping and praying I'd get to have one of this amazing phone... would make my online and offline life really exciting!

Free Krispy Kreme doughnuts anyone?

Just download the SM Supermalls Mobile App and get 3 Original Glazed® Krispy Kreme doughnuts

Yes it is that easy. Just download the SM Supermalls Mobile App free from Google Play Store and Apple App Store and you'll get a chance to win 3 Original Glazed® Krispy Kreme doughnuts.That's 3 Original Glazed® Krispy Kreme doughnuts each to 100 unique SM Supermalls mobile app registered users every day from April 30 to June 30, 2016.

Upon signing up in the SM Supermalls mobile app, you will receive a digital scratch card on the app. Scratch off the gray area to find out if you won. Get another shot of winning the next day until the end of the promo period. With some good luck and the daily habit of checking the app, you’ll be closer to sinking your teeth into those craveable doughnut treats for free.

You can also visit SM Supermalls website or follow them on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Viber Public Chat, and Snapchat to be updated with what's new.

Goodluck!

January 1, a new year and birthday kwento

This was more than a month late post but here we go...

January 1, 2016. Happy New Year! New year for everyone. New year for me. Happy birthday to me.

It was extra special, celebrated the day with loved ones. We had a party, a party not just to celebrate my birthday but also a chance to reunite with my family, our loved ones. We called it #TeamAustria2016.

Of course any celebration is not a celebration without a cake--two cakes! One of the two cakes did not have lettering in it so I made letters and numbers out of spaghetti noodles--good thing Tita Lily decided not to mix the sauce with the noodles.

It was raining the day before and became maputik (muddy) outside so we decided to have the party inside the house. We had raffle (prizes came from sponsors aka our aunts and uncles) and games like digital pinoy henyo, kantaririt and pop the balloon. The (cash) prizes are not extravagant, they're just for fun!

We also exchanged gifts, gifts worth one hundred fifty to two hundred pesos. What's important is that we all had fun. It was our chance to bond with the whole family.

It was our first time to gather on a new year like this. We will definitely do this again as we all have agreed. We all are now looking forward to the next new year!

How about you guys? How do you celebrate your birthday specially when it falls on a national or a worldwide rather holiday?