Serenitea

I have been a frequent visitor of Serenitea for years now and I find it quite odd that I have not written a thing about them until now.  Maybe because I take my Serenitea time as something personal, something close to my heart. So instead of thinking to write about it, I always ended up savoring the beautiful memories first. It will always be a place where I could meet up with some friends and talk about the most random of things and those which matters to us most.  After all, it was Serenitea which started my love for milk teas.

From time to time, amidst all the milk teas which satisfy me all these years, I still find myself craving for my favorite Hokkaido Milk Tea and Malt Milk Tea at Serenitea.

This photo was taken during my first ever visit at Serenitea in San Juan around 2009. Hokkaido Milk Tea for me and Okinawa Milk Tea for my friend.

Teas in general may induce calming effect.  But this calming effect plus unforgettable memories of best bonding time and conversations are something that Serenitea never fails to give me.  For this, I will always go back.

Mango Tree Bistro in Greenbelt 5

I’ve been hearing raves from my friends about Mango Tree Bistro in Trinoma and I was already planning to visit the restaurant in the coming weeks when I got an invite to their soft opening at their branch in Greenbelt 5 last September 6.  Unfortunately, my schedule for that day was pretty loaded and so I had to decline, much to my dismay.  Weeks after, I got an invite again for dinner at Mango Tree Bistro.  Luckily, I got a clear schedule, so I was able to attend the dinner last Wednesday, September 21, 2011. 

Mango Tree Bistro Greenbelt 5

It was one of the most unique experiences I had so far because while I was expecting to see familiar faces of my fellow food bloggers, I wasn’t aware that I’ll be spending the dinner with gorgeous fashion bloggers. 

Lechon Degustacion at Pepita's Kitchen

If there is one time that I did not mind not having a car with me, it was definitely the night when I attended the Lechon Degustacion at Pepita’s Kitchen with some of my favorite foodies.  Not because of a heavy traffic, not because of oil price hike, and not because I’ve got plans of getting drunk.  Reason was that walking our way out of Magallanes Village paved way to sanity after downing 4 kinds of Pepita’s Stuffed Lechon de Leche plus 11 other dishes.   

Dedet Dela Fuente-Santos of Pepita’s Kitchen opened her home and invited us foodies to experience a wonderful night of great dining experience.  As Manila Boy Spanky Enriquez aptly put it, “one of the best dinners of the year”.  (Thank you so much Spanx, you’re the man!

I was thankful that I listened to Glenn's advice not to bring a car anymore for some reason.  Good thing also that B'ley did not bring hers too.  Little did I know, they already had an idea that after the dinner, we could really use some walking.  They were right.

Homemade Cheesecake by Treasure Oven

One thing that I am always grateful about is that I grew up in a family of foodies.  In particular, my elder sister Eichel happens to share the same passion with me when it comes to trying out and discovering whatever source of food we could get our hands on.  She introduced me to Gel Sebastian’s Homemade Banana Loaf with Chocolate Chips and Walnuts way back, and recently, she brought home one of the most affordable and best tasting homemade cheesecakes I’ve had so far.  She bought it from a colleague who happens to be a home baker at Treasure Oven,  Anna Balao-Bunda.

In appearance, the cheesecake may look downright simple, unpretentious, and unapologetically homemade.  In terms of taste, it was surprisingly the bomb.   We are talking about pure cheesecake here as there was no gelatin used.  In my book, it was way better than the cheesecake we can buy at some shop. 

Jollibee Hash Brown Burger

Truth be told, I like Jollibee Yum Burger.  It’s not the type that I would usually crave for, yet, it’s not the type that I would say no to when I am offered one.  Maybe because it brings a lot of childhood memories.  Of the times when school Christmas parties were held on a budget.  Of the times when every children’s party in our neighbor was held at the nearest Jollibee store.  Of the times when a wound can be healed by a loving touch of my mother and tears can be put into a halt just by a mere presence of a tray full of Jollibee goodies. 

Although I may have encountered and fell in love with different burger joint while growing up, Jollibee will always be well acquainted with my memories and my palate.