Letters from Mari | Remember

Letters from Mari

 

♡, Mari

New Year, New Look for 2021

Fast forward to December, and here I am, very much excited to treat my hair!

Since I previously had my haircolor and treatment at Azta Urban Salon, I decided to return to them for just a haircut.

I arrived around past 10am, did the quarantine procedures before I sat and waited for my turn.

I was then asked what I wanted to do with my hair and told them that I wanted a trim and maybe treatment. They offer a 20% off for haircut and treatment and another 10% off if I avail another service such as haircolor.

In short, I availed the following services: haircut, keratin treatment and haircolor (touch up only).

Louie, the assigned hairstylist, was helpful (others were helpful too).
 

I left the salon past 2pm and very much satisfied with the result. 

I had late lunch and walked around the mall to check if I need to buy anything. 

No Brand - mostly sell Korean products such as noodles, snacks, ice cream and a lot more!

So much for snacking 🤦‍♀️🤣

Happy New Year 2021!

♡, Mari

2021

 Only You know my heart's desires 🙏

♡, Mari

Kape Local | La Cathedral Cafe at Night

We waited for almost 2months just for this dinner! We booked the 6pm slot but waited more than an hour  to eat (there were a lot of guests). 

Taste - 4/5
Food were okay - we ordered shrimp pasta, sandwich and sisig.

For coffee, I had butterscotch which was so sweet. I can't even tell if there's really coffee, hence, I'm giving it a 3/5 rating while my friend wasn't satisfied with her matcha drink too.

Ambiance - 3.5/5
I find the place so crowded that I can hear the other table's topics as well.

However, the Manila Cathedral as backdrop or 'view' at night, gave off a solemn vibe, with bell chiming from time to time. The lights too was relaxing and we felt sleepy 😅

Price - 3.5/5
The ambiance is one of the things that you paid for and the food prices were reasonable.

  

Mari ❤

Quarantine New Normal: Coffeeshops / Milktea shops

Due to pandemic, the cafes implements the following guidelines before you're allowed to order:

1. Sanitize your hand
2. Fill out the contact tracing form via online or paper
3. A staff will scan your body temperature

Physical distancing is also implemented, making the cafe less crowded than usual. I actually like it better than before since I find the situation conducive for thinking alone or 'Me' time.

  

TIM HORTONS
(Makati)

I'm out for an errand and it was too hot outside, so I ordered an iced latte with sandwich and fries.

This is the very 1st time that I had coffee outside home while the city is still in quarantine status (GCQ).

FRENCH BAKER
(SM North)

It took a bit of time to find a place for a quick snack and coffee. Back then, few cafes are open for dine-in.

Not happy with the danish bread.

COFFEE BEAN and TEA LEAF
(SM North)

Usual order: Hot Double Chocolate Latte

It was a good thing that we came around 3pm since seats were limited due to the implemented physical distancing.

BO'S COFFEE
(SM North)

A local coffeeshop, originated from Cebu, uses homegrown coffee.

Usual order: Hot Latte

We also ordered a slice each of cheesecake and  carrotcake.

STARBUCKS
(Trinoma)

A famous international coffeechain with a lot of branches all over the Philippines.

Usual order: White Mocha Americano (thanks to my friend for introducing this to me) and Soy Latte (I had tried it first during 1 of my travels)

My order at that time: Pumpkin Spiced Latte

It tasted like real pumpkin with coffee and had an aftertaste. It was very sweet.

I've also added two milktea shops for your reference.

TIGER SUGAR
(Glorietta)

I ordered brown sugar boba just to satisfy my craving for milktea.

Our first 'commercialized' milktea while the city is still in quarantine (MGCQ).

COCO
(Glorietta)

Once in a while I crave for milktea, so at that time, I bought one from Coco.

I got 1 order of 2 ladies, zero % sugar.

ALSO - 

Have you tried cola with caffeine?
I bought this at a supermarket, with hopes that it tasted good.

Sadly, I don't like the taste. 

              

YouTube Playlist: Food, Sweets and Drinks

Mari ❤

A day in Antipolo, Rizal

My friends and I spent a day in Antipolo. 

We actually planned to visit a bee farm but the place was fully booked, hence, we end up trying Yellow Bird Cafe x Kitchen for brunch. 

Here's a quick summary of our trip!

Yellow Bird Cafe x Kitchen
  

Book a table prior visit 'coz the place can only accomodate few guests(?).

We had sandwich, pasta and shanghai. We didn't order any from their specialty menu.

Pasta and shanghai tasted okay too.

Tried coffee (macadamia nut) and cold drinks as well.

Taste: 3.5/5
Food tastes not that wow but its okay.
I do have expectations when it comes to coffee since I always want my coffee strong. The coffee I ordered tastes more of milk.

Ambiance: 4/5
I was expecting an overlooking view but failed (I thought there is since social media photos showed a view or maybe if we went to the 2nd floor).

The cafe is inside a subdivision.

But credits to the gentle and relaxing interior of the cafe. The staff were accomodating too.

Price: 4/5
Affordable but I cannot say value for money since food tastes average.


Upper Sumulong Pasalubong Lane
Mangga, Suman, Kasuy - we bought suman and kasuy!

Kasuy were sold in adobo and plain flavors, per kilo or per 'takal.' I recommend adobo flavored kasuy! Once you start eating, you won't stop 😁

The vendor also offers free taste, so please ensure your hands are sanitized before taking a piece since you will get a piece directly from the container. 


Casa Santa Museum
Merry Christmas! 🎄

  

I totally agree! Everyday is Christmas here at Casa Santa 🎄

I recommend this museum for Santa loving people and kid at heart! The house is full of different types of Santa and decorations.

I just hope they added bits of information for each decor or maybe as a group 'coz that will make it more interesting, like where this came from, where they bought it, or any trivia. I hope they hire someone who would actually spend at least 15mins to show the visitors around and discuss a bit about what's displayed.

The entrance fee is 250php/person and it includes just the museum but you may roam around Jardin de Miramar.

Jardin de Miramar is an event place and Casa Santa is located inside. 
It will be nice to have a small cafe since Jardin itself has a relaxing ambiance.

Do not forget to bring your own water since there's no shop inside and you might get thirsty.

Visit their website for more details if you plan to spend a bit of time here.

Enjoy! Merry 2020 Christmas again!


Cafe Augusta

   

Last stop, merienda/dinner as we wait for the sunset. We're lucky to get a seat at the viewdeck area.

I've realized that I wasn't able to take a photo or video of the cafe itself since we were all engrossed with the ray of sun, sunset and view 🤣

Taste: 4/5
I like my spicy chicken and rice meal. We like the cold drinks too. It was refreshing.
I had cappuccino paired with cheesecake for dessert. I don't like the blueberry cheesecake since it tasted more of cream than cheese.
As for coffee - average but I like it better than the macadamia nut I had earlier.

Ambiance: 5/5
That overlooking view of the city (especially at night) and the sunset view in the afternoon is the selling point of this cafe.

We were there at around 3 to 4pm and waited until sunset. You'll see the clip and photos in the short summary video that I did.

It was indeed a nice place to cap off our Antipolo trip!

Better call them for reservation or arrive early to get good seats.

Price: 4/5
Affordable and value for money.
Taste of food and amibiance did not disappoint.


HAPPY HOLIDAYS! 

Mari ❤

Solstice 2020

A simple, short poem ♡

Mari❤