FOUND FOUNDER BAK KU TEH

My friends and I heard about another popular dish in Singapore called the Bak Ku Teh. It is a pork rib soup filled with strong and delicious herbs and spices. One Saturday afternoon, we headed to Rangoon Road to test this dish. We chose one of the most popular Bak Ku Teh branch in Singapore. The locals say if you want to try Bak Kuh The, go to Founder.  Bak Ku Teh is usually a breakfast meal but we decided to have some in a late Saturday afternoon anyway.

After  a few directions given by our google map app, we found Founder Bak Kuh Teh in Rangoon.

The place was packed with people. We were given a table outside. The restaurant wall is filled with pictures of (I assume) famous people together with Mr. Founder himself.

With the help of a very nice waitress in the restaurant, we ordered 3 Bak Kuh Teh, 1 Pig Trotter and Sautéed Vegetables.

BAK KUH TEH 6.50 SGD

Don't let this simple looking soup fool you. This soup packs a mean yummy punch! We all love it! It has a strong delicious taste but not too herbally to put us off. It has a bit of a sourish to mild spicy taste in it. It reminds us of our own Kansi in Iloilo but with thicker soup. The ribs was tender and tasty too.If you have slurp up most of your soup, the waitresses would be willing to serve you more (free) soup. Yes, kaldo, hehe.  We ate the Bak Kuh The with rice, of course. It also comes with you tiao, a fried dough, to dip in your Bak Kuh Teh.

YOU TIAO

We also love the pig trotter. It reminds us of the patatim in Iloilo. It is perfect when dipped in their spicy soy sauce.

PIG TROTTER 7 SGD

The meat was so tender. We are sure they might have the meat boiled for very long hours. We didn't even have to wrestled with out spoons and forks to shred the meat. It has a mildly sweet sauce and a serving enough for a group of five, even six.

We got sautéed vegetables to counteract the flavors of the Bak Kuh Teh and Pig Trotter. It was surprisingly good. And it perfectly neutralized the strong taste of the two dishes.

SAUTÉED VEGETABLES  3.00 SGD

We were very satisfied with the Bak Kuh Teh at Founder. I will definitely take my husband and sister there again.

 Any other Bak Kuh Teh in Singapore you can recommend for me?

Founder Bak Kuh Teh

154 Rangoon Road

Singapore 218431

+65-62920938

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HONEYMOON IN THREE COUNTRIES

J and I were psyched for our honeymoon trip. We both love to travel and it was our first time to travel together abroad. We decided to have our honeymoon in three places: HONGKONG, MACAU and SINGAPORE.

HONGKONG

We are a total geeks. We spent out honeymoon in a Science Museum, hehe. We also did a lot of crazy poses at the Avenue for the Stars and hang out for a bit of fresh air at Victoria Harbor.

We did a bit of window night shopping at Temple Street and Mongkok Market. We sampled the HongKong cuisine. Some we like, some we will never try again, ever, hahaha!

We went to Central and rode the tram to The Peak. We love it there. We also visited the Madame Taussauds' Wax Museum. We had so much fun there. I am so happy to be sitting beside my idol, Audrey Hepburn, even if she was just made up of wax, hehe.

Of course, even with a limited time, we dropped by Disneyland. Too bad, our flight was on the same day we went to Disney so we hurried to the airport and we weren't able to catch the fireworks. We will be back, HongKong Disneyland! We promise!

MACAU

Macau is just a ferry-ride away from HongKong. J and I visited this Asian mini-Las Vegas even on a rainy day.

Visiting and exploring the different casinos and hotels in Macau was cool. We get to transfer from one casino to another with the free shuttle buses of the hotel, not to mention free mineral waters in every hotel. People in Macau gives  away a lot of free stuff, hehe. Our favourite casinos are Venetian, the new Galaxy and The City of Dreams with their digital mermaids swimming about.

We give the Macau food with its Portuguese influence a four-thumbs up. We love their food. We love their egg tarts, their bakwa and other yummy dishes. If only we can bring a box load of egg tarts and it won't get spoiled.

Getting to know the history and culture of Macau, one must definitely visit Senado Square, The Ruins and The Mount Fortress. I love visiting these spots because it is what made me fell in love with Macau before, and of course the area near the ruins where vendors would shove free bakwa on our faces. Hahaha! I love it!

SINGAPORE

The last leg of our Asian honeymoon was in Singapore. My hubby was accompanying me back to the place where I am currently residing because of work. It was nice to walk the streets and the places I know in Singapore having him beside me. 

Singapore is a shopping city, so many malls and all the signature brands are crawling in this city. We took a stroll in the busy shopping center of Singapore: Orchard. I also made J try my fave Singaporean foods: chicken rice, prawn mee,, bbq chicken wings, etc.

By nightfall, we went to Marina Bay to see the wonderful lights that illuminates this Lion City. We also caught a bit of the nightly water fountain show on the decks of Marina Bay Sands.

Last but not the least, we have to experience the Universal Studios together. And it was awesomely-great! It was amazing to be trying all the rides, scary or not scary, with someone beside you who you know will be there for you in times when it may be scary in life or not. We had a jolly good time.

I find the Mummy ride still scary but since I am with J so I didn't mind. But we both find the Cylon roller coaster to be kick-ass! One more time? Yeah!

Can't wait for more travel adventures with my hubby.... :)

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WEDDING SUPPLIER: PIHO PRODUCTIONS

J and I initially have decided we don't want our wedding to be held in a hotel. In search for that 'non-hotel' wedding venue, we found the previously known as Wilfredo's Garden now reintroduced as Sheridan Boutique Resort to be the place for our wedding reception. Then the next step was to look for an event stylist to decorate the reception venue. J's supervisor has friends who does events planning and we decided to give it a try. We met up with these cool people who are behind Piho Productions. I gave them pictures of my inspirations for the wedding reception: a lamps, the couples nook and floating lanterns. Ice, the only lady of this talented trio, totally get me by saying, "Ah, shabby chic!" Yeah! That is totally want I was going for. From there, they bounce back with cool original ideas all on their own. I find creativity, personalised touches and simplicity better than expensive flowers, over-the-top lightings and breakable chandeliers.  It was fun working with them. They understand their clients and they also empathic & adjust to the clients' budget. Not only are these guys original and cool, they are also very professional and organised. Some wedding suppliers or business people should learn from these guys in how to deal with clients because they convey to their client clearly from their plans, execution and provide itemized details of materials & prices. The clients in turn will appreciate this so much. 

During the wedding day, the set was just what we wanted: laid-back, quirky & so shabby-chic! 

Outside the pavilion, a take-you-own-picture photo booth was set up with a big picture frame with strings of pictures of J & me hanging on it. It was my own  pink camera & tripod that was set up on the nook. The guest can take their own pictures using the self-timer with their messages on chalkboards provided. It is like our own remembrance from our guests.

Inside the reception area, there is a candy/chocolate corner, an open-bar that serves only green or blue cocktails arranged by my brother Ras and a yummy buffet catered by Mr. Wilson Esperancilla.

Piho Productions decorated the pavilion inside just as pretty as the outside. So many artsy crafts for guests to entertain themselves, pretty chalk board table numbers, large paper lanterns on the ceiling and hanging tea candles on the large tree.

Guests gets to write down messages for us and hang it on the twigs on their tables. As you could see, our friends got some weird sense of humor but we get it, hehe....

Thank you Piho Productions! You guys are awesome! Next time naman? Maybe for our baby's baptismal party? :) Best of luck!

Piho Productions

3rd Floor, Varca Centre

29 Jalandoni St, Iloilo City

+63-9163519071

pihoproductions@gmail.com

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BANAPPLE SUNDAY WITH MY LOVES

The day after I arrived in Manila, my sister, my fiance, (not-so) little bro and I planned to have brunch in Legazpi Market however, we are all sleepy-heads and slept-in instead. We just then decided to have lunch at Bananaple in Ayala Triangle. One of our fave food spots too. 

Bananaple is normally packed during midday especially during weekdays when officeworkers from neighbouring offices head to Bananaple for lunch. We are lucky to secure a table inside to shield us from the angry sun outside.

We ordered these:

Chorizo sausage with scrambled eggs for me

My fiancé picked this for me. I love their chorizo sausage. It was enough to share around. It also comes with an omelette that I presume has a bit of mayonnaise in it. That is how I like my omelette to be, a bit creamier and not dry.

Baked Creamy Cheesy Penne for my sis (P185)

My sis raves about this pasta. It is rich and very filling. Again, it has also a generous serving. Good for two! Love the melted cheese on top.

Baby Back Ribs for the fiancé 

Four-thumbs up to this! It is very soft and tender. You can easily take the meat off the ribs without any effort. It is also has that enough sweetness in its sauce that I like. I will definitely order this next time. 

Bacon Fried Chicken Steaks with Mushroom Gravy for my lil bro ( P175)

This is another recommendation of my sis. The winner in this dish is its mushroom sauce. It soaks the chicken steak nicely that makes it oh-so-appetising.

Desserts:

We were so full but we must have desserts. So we ordered two desserts to share.

Goblin Pie

This is the only goblin I would definitely eat. It taste more of a turtle pie to me. I enjoy the nuts inside and mocha frosting. It is fun eating the pie as its sinister smile fade in every helping in your mouth.

Banoffee  Pie

Since this cafe has a name of Banapple, we must have something with bananas or apples in it. We ordered the Banoffe Pie. It is a cream pie with bananas in it glazed with caramel and chocolate. This is  a very light dessert for those who doesn't want to have a heavy-on-the-stomach dessert. Unfortunately, I am not much of a fan of bananas so I would rather have the goblin pie than this.

Drinks:

Homemade Iced Tea

I recently have renewed my love for teas. I have been drinking more teas than coffee recently. I just love homemade iced tea rather than the instant chemical-laden ice tea in the supermart. This tea definitely have quenched our thirst after walking under the Makati sun on our way to the cafe.

I miss Sundays with these peeps!

Yes! My sis and I both wore yellow unconsciously, hahaha!

Happy Sunday everyone!

Banapple Pies and Cheesecake

Market! Market! 

Connecticut Greenhills 

Alabang 

Katipunan 1 & 2

Tomas Morato 

Ayala Triangle Gardens 

delivery 212-1212 

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NOLITA: A TASTE OF NEW YORK IN MANILA

A few weeks ago, I went home to the Philippines after 6 months of being in  Singapore, to do our prenup pictorial in Iloilo. But  before coming home to Iloilo, I made a one-night stop-over in Manila to be with my sister and also to shop for tuxedo with my fiancé. He needs his lady's "expert" opinion. Ha! 

My plane arrived late in Manila at around 11 PM. I was famished and craving for some carbs. 

We headed to Bonifacio High Street to find any open restaurants for 4 hungry peeps: me, my fiancé, my sister and little bro.

We settled into Nolita. My sister has been there before a couple of times. When she was there, she had several celebrity sightings who also comes to Nolita for a taste of their pizzas. 

Nolita borrows inspiration from New York by offering customer a taste of New York large slices of pizzas in white paper plates.  

I was too famished to take  a picture of how the dark-wood themed, dark lit restaurant looks like.  But it was pretty cozy and not pretensious-looking. We ordered 3 types of pizza. My favourite one is the one with a sunny-side up egg on it. There is a signage that encourages us to use our hands when eating. Hehe, I was an eager beaver to comply. Prices of one slice of pizza ranges from P130 to P190.

My sister suggested that we order the onion rings that comes in a creamy white sauce. The onion rings I heard are dipped in beer, my sister said. Is that true? We aren't going to get drunk eating these, right?

My fiancé wanted to order the honey-garlic wings. And it was a good call because it tasted divine. It reminds us a bit of Bonchon chicken without the rice. It was dripping in oil but we don't mind at all, hehe...

We left Nolita so full with greasy hands but nonetheless, happy and had appeased our hunger pangs and carbo cravings. I will definitely go back for more at Nolitas. 

NOLITA (North of Little Italy)
7th Ave. corner 29th St. South,
Bonifacio High Street Central, Bonifacio Global City, TaguigMobile: +63 917 532 2612

Email: nolita_nypizza@yahoo.com
Facebook: NOLITA Pizza

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LITTLE MISS HONEY IS A GUESTBLOGGER AT GEISHA INCARNATE

This is a very late post. I have been quite busy with wedding preps lately plus I went home to the Philippines for our prenup pictorial that I forgot to tell this: Little Miss Honey became the first ever guestblogger of Geisha Incarnate!

Click screenshot for the whole post

Geisha Incarnate is hosted by one of the women I admire a lot, Mrs. Jorvelyn Jaruda-Espinosa. It is a personal blog of her colorful multi-faceted life. I shared with Geisha Incarnate readers my previous summer adventure with my family in Balicasag Isaland and Virgin Sandbar just a ferry ride away from Panglao, Bohol.

For more of Geisha Incarnate blog, click on this link: Geisha Incarnate

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MORNINGS & EVENINGS IN COASTAL SETTLEMENT

I was told of this nice place, perfect for evening with friends or for a quiet brunch humbly set in Netheravon Road in Changi area called The Coastal Settlement. It can be tricky hard how to get there though and sometimes might even missed when you reached the area.

A colleague suggested the place and it is such a great discovery for us. Exteriorly, it looks like a humble establishment but inside we were in for a treat of a rusty vintage ambiance.

There were a lot of vintage stuffs, shiny vespas, comfy sofas and chairs hanging from the ceiling. It feels like I've entered into a time warp and any minute I wouldn't be surprised if an African-American guy would come out and serenade us with a saxophone. 

I went there with my colleagues from work for afterwork dinner. We got to sample some of their dishes.

I got myself the Cheese Burger ($26) made of 180gm Wagyu Beef, melted cheddar cheese, sliced mushroom, bacon strips, mesclun salad and fries.

Warning! This dish should be shared by two. But I was too ambitious I tried to finish it all off by myself, which I successfully did with an enormously distended abdomen, hehe....

And one rainy Sunday, I wanted to have a quiet brunch and do some bride-y prep duties. I went back to The Coastal Settlement armed with my bridal magazine and wedding notebook.

I wanted a bit of fresh air and sat on their patio. 

I had their Smiling Eggs Benedict ($17), Truffle Fries ($15) and Machiatto Long Black Coffee ($5).

I have to admit though, all their dishes are not that extraordinarily amazing. It is just okay but I guess people go to the place more on its ambiance than the food. It is a great place to unwind and be with friends and I will still love to come back to the place. I did have some bride-y work done there. 

The Coastal Settlement

200 Netheravon Road

Singapore 508529

Tel No. 64750200

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A BIRTHDAY PARTY FOR A CUTE LITTLE PRINCESS

My housemates'  youngest daughter, Zion turned 1 year a few days ago.  She is one adorable little angel.  

The Birthday Girl

Her equally adorable Ate Lat

The proud parents celebrated Zion's birthday in this cute 'hole-in-the-wall' cafe in Katong called With A Pinch Of Salt by Kyra.

The place is so quirky and cute, a perfect place for  a party for  a little princess. The place reminds me a lot of Milky and Sunny in Pasig.  I would love to hang-out there. They even have  a little bookshelf on the corner with children's book for the kids and magazines for the "older" kids. 

I apologized I wasn't able to take any pictures of the food. I was too busy having fun, eating, playing games and reading magazine (really, at a party! haha! I love glossies!). The food was served in buffet to accommodate the guests. They mostly served tapas, pastas, chicken fingers and samosas. Check out their menus here: With A Pinch Of Salt Menu. The cakes  were the only food stuff I manage to snap a picture, hehe....

I guess the kid in me was having too much fun in a kiddie party, I forgot to take pictures, hehe.

With A Pinch of Salt is  a great place for parties for the young and old that it brings out the sunshine in you...

With a Pinch of Salt

297 Tanjong Katong Road
Tel: +65 6348 2297

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