Early Summer Getaway

Summer season has officially started. It's the best time to visit the country, and there's no better place to go and enjoy the beautiful season than at the beach.



I hope you'll have a great summer vacation this year. Take a break from work and leave the city life for awhile. If you have plans to travel abroad and the escape the cold weather in your country, choose Philippines. It's the perfect summer destination. Bring along your family and friends, explore the country and enjoy Filipino delicacies. Most of all, don't forget to apply sun protection, because I'm telling you it's pretty hot in here. :)

Life Lately On The Tasty Life Diaries

So how was your Valentine's Day? I hope you had a good one. Mine was fantastic. Celebrated it with my friends. We went at Classic Savory. Nothing fancy this time 'cause we were on a very tight budget. :) After that, we hit the cinema to watch a movie. Like a real date huh? We were also very lucky to see a local singer serenading the local people. But we didn't stay long. We grabbed some Belgian Waffle to end our date.

Well, it doesn't matter how you celebrate your V-day. No one cares if you're single or not. Valentine's Day is about expressing love to the people we care.

Apple Crumble Pie + Old Cookbook

 
I'm not an expert in cooking or baking, but I'm trying really hard to learn. I found this recipe at the packaging of M.Y. San Grahams Honey. Very simple and most of the ingredients are in our fridge, so I decided to make one yesterday afternoon. I let it stay in the fridge overnight to get the firm result of the crumbs. I must confess I never perfected it. I paired it with green tea this morning, and it tasted a little salty because I used salted butter instead of what was recommended. Anyway, here's the list of ingredients and easy steps on how to make this Apple Crumble Pie.

INGREDIENTS

For crumbs:
1 1/2 cups or 15 pieces whole M.Y. San Grahams Honey, crushed
3 tablespoons sugar
1 cup (225g block) unsalted butter
1/2 cup quick cooking oats (optional)

For filling:
2 pieces apples, thinly sliced and cut into pieces
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon powder
2 tablespoons flour
4 tablespoons water

PROCEDURES

1. MAKE CRUST - In a pan melt butter. Add oats, M.Y. San Grahams Honey and sugar. Cook for 3 minutes or until combined.
2. Press half of the crumb mixture evenly onto the bottom of an 8x8 square pan. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
3. MAKE FILLING - Combine apples, brown sugar, white sugar, cinnamon, flour and water in a saucepan. Cook covered for about 20 minutes or until apples are tender and sauce is thickened. Cool.
4. CHILL AND SERVE. Spread the apple mixture over the refrigerated crust. Spread remaining half of the Grahams mixture over the apple filling. Press crumbs firmly. Cover and chill before serving.

My Mama's cookbook. Old, yet still in very good condition. I almost forgot about it. It contains hundreds of recipes from simple breakfast to perfect dinner dishes. And lots of food photographs, you'll mouth will water just by looking at them. I think I'll be spending more time with this book for the rest of the week.



Valentine's Day is coming. Hope you have a good one.

January Weather + 26th Birthday

At this moment, we are experiencing below 20 degree Celsius temperature. Quite unusual but I love it. Not everyday we experience weather like we have now - cold and sunny. So I wanna enjoy it with a sip of coffee while writing this post. :)

On my last post, I did mention that I am going to Cebu City for this year's Sinulog Festival. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to go due entirely to a very bad storm. Real bummer! It would have been a fun weekend if it wasn't because of the weather. Oh well, there's always "next time".

Anyway, I've just celebrated my 26th birthday. Frankly, I didn't feel like celebrating this year for personal reason. Then someone made me realize that birthday is a God's blessing. That alone is worthy of a big celebration. I'm just very thankful for giving me another year to live. It's probably the greatest gift.

My friends and I went to Bourbon St. Bistro in its new location at J.R. Borja Street. They brought American, French and Southern cuisine to Cagayan de Oro. I love the food and the place.


Titanic Ice Cream Treat at Bigby's Cafe and Restaurant. Good for 10-15 persons, I think. Truly a refreshment before we ended my birthday celebration.


If you ask me what's my wish this year, only one... a JOB. Wish me luck! xoxo Chema, not Chima.:D

Kuyane

It's a lie if I say I don't love anything about Korean. I do. But NOT EXTREMELY. I just find Korea, the people and the culture interesting that I want to visit and explore the country in the future. Understanding their language, I think, is the only problem. Maybe this is the right place to thank those interpreters behind those drama series and TV shows. They make my life easy. I mean easy to understand Korean. ;)

Speaking of which, a cousin of mine discovered Kuyane and introduced it to me. I have no idea what it means. I'm not even sure if it's a Korean word. But they serve Korean dishes like Kim-chi and Kim-bap, so maybe it's Korean. It is located in a food court inside a mall. I don't know in your place, but in the city I live in, it's very uncommon to find Korean dishes serve in a food court. Mostly Filipino cuisine. So for me, it's like a K drive-thru, because I don't need to go to a Korean restaurant to enjoy Korean food.


My cousin said that woman above is the owner. Judging her smiles when we took our orders, I can say she's friendly. I didn't hear her talk, but my cousin said she heard her say something in English. Anyway, they only serve 4-5 kinds of Korean dishes. We ordered sweet and chili fish fillet, beef steak and Kim-bap. They also gave us a free Kim-chi. Delicious! ;)


We both love Korean food. :) I remember the first time I went to a K restaurant was a year ago.



Kim-bap is not only a pretty dish but also very healthy. So happy I can eat it anytime I want without going to a Korean restaurant where Korean food are usually expensive. Thanks to Kuyane. I can buy and take it home for only 70 pesos. Very affordable indeed.

I'm actually excited to blog about this discovery considering this is my first food trip for 2014. Glad I have this day to finally share it to you all. I have a new target for my next post. It's a new restaurant near Xavier University where I studied Nursing. Hopefully I have the time to go and have lunch in that new restaurant this week. If not, maybe after Sinulog Festival. Yes, I'm going to Cebu this coming Friday, and my family and I will be staying there till Sunday night. Before I forget, I will be celebrating my 26th birthday on the 23rd of this month. Yay! Time to say goodbye to my 25 year-old self soon. :)

Happy 2014 + 2013 Favorite Food Trips

Happy 2014 everyone! How was your new year's eve celebration? I hope you had a good one. Mine was pretty lame. Just at home with my parents. No fireworks display. Went to church with my Mama which I don't usually do every last day of the year. Felt like I have a lot to pray for 2014. Good thing the mass started before firecrackers set off on the street. After the mass, I spent the rest of the hours preparing this "comeback" post while waiting for the time to strike 12 mid-night. Of course, welcoming the new year would not be complete without food on our table. We had Mama's macaroni salad (as requested by me because it's my favorite), mango float (which I made), spaghetti, cake (my brother brought), fruits and sparkling wine. Although, for me, it was lame, I'm still very grateful that I welcomed the new year with my family.

So glad 2013 was over. It wasn't a good year for me and my country. Hopefully, this new year I will be able to redeem myself. That is why my ultimate goal is to secure a job. Also, be a responsible citizen and serve the people the best way I know how. Just as I hate to look back on the past year, I realize that not everything that had happened are bad. Moments like meeting new friends, the opportunity to travel alone, the chance to work in the hospital again even in the shortest time, visit new places and happy hours with my family and friends are still worth remembering.

Along with this new beginning and new hope brought by the new year is this new blog "The Tasty Life Diaries". Inspired by watching a lot of food shows like Tasty Road and Eat St. on TV and all of my previous food trips with my friends, I've decided to return to blogging. This time I will concentrate more on food, best local food spots and discovering recipes. I'm not a food expert nor a food critic. I just love to eat and discover places and stuff. I hope that is crystal clear. :) Here are my top 5 favorite food trips of 2013. Enjoy!

CHINGKEETEA, located at Marfori Compound CDO. It's a Taiwanese restaurant filled with cute, vintage stuff. They serve milk and fruit teas. One of the best, I think, although my first drink of their milk tea was not memorable. I still recommend you to go to the store, grab their best seller "Wintermelon Milk Tea" and have an "Alice In Wonderland-like" experience. Also, visit their Facebook page here. 
 
T.G.I. Friday's, first in CDO. For me, a new restaurant to enjoy good food and company of friends is a go-to place. What I love about it was they still inject Filipino style to American cuisine and I love their signature red and white stripes. The crew were really cute in their uniform, and they were very entertaining. :)


Candy's Cafe, very pretty right? One of the pricey restaurants in the city but so worth it because their food tastes heaven. It was originally located at Lim Ket Kai Rosario Arcade, but because of the bombing incident last year, it is now in Centrio - Ayala Mall. They serve Italian, American and Filipino dishes that you can enjoy with your family and friends. Aside from the food, I also love the interior design of the place.


Love seafood? Order and enjoy Tali Beach at Blackbeard's Seafood Island. Composed of grilled squid and fish, shrimps, crabs, oyster, pork BBQ, rice, roasted chicken and fruits. When it comes to seafood, Seafood Island is my pick next to Panagatan Restaurant (in Opol and soon to open in Centrio - Ayala Mall).


Italianni's Restaurant, another expensive restaurant and first in CDO. Fantastic for formal dinner or occasions like Valentine's Day or anniversaries. So if you plan to take your girlfriend for a special dinner date, I recommend Italianni's. Cozy, service is fine and the food is great. 


Whew! I didn't mean to make this first post too long, but the photos are too many I want to share them all. :) I hope you enjoyed reading and looking at the photos as much as I did. I'm really excited about this new blog. Can't wait to post more. 'Til my next food adventure!