From South Africa, with love.

Random sweetness from Paolo after his trip.




I love mashed avocados with condensed milk. Sweet potatoes don't make me feel bad as much as French fries do and Bio oil really does wonders. My skin's no longer afraid of winter or summer! White chocolate and almond, two of my loves in one bite. Happiness doesn't have to be pricey! :)



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Home is everywhere!

My job takes me around the world. It's not always easy. My relationship with my job is like any normal relationship, it's a hot and cold kind of thing. And like any long term relationship, though there are those not so good days, there are so many wonderful, happy memories that I've had with my job, I really do not see myself in any other industry right now.



The most remarkable I guess, from the whole experience I've had with my job is that I have become more independent. I have learned to appreciate time with myself-- being alone does not necessarily mean being lonely.


I don't feel awkward having a meal at a restaurant on my own, have learned to take subways and buses in foreign countries-- some of which don't even have English directions. I have enjoyed meeting people from all walks of life, and have enjoyed the company of people, whose country I only hear of when I watch Ms. Universe! :) I meet hundreds of strangers every single day, and have realized that strangers aren't strange after all. They can be the kindest people, even if you don't share the same language. I have realized that yes, the world can be mean sometimes, but there's enough goodness. You just have to be more open. I also have learned that it's possible to feel 'home' everywhere.


I just came back from a week long trip. My body's drained, having endured massive timezone changes! However, I'm really thankful for yet another opportunity. I was able to visit my high school classmates/friends who are now permanently based in Australia. After a week of stuffing myself with oily food, I was able to have a home cooked meal at Kris and Sheila's place. Love to Shei's mom who took me back to Zambales with her cooking :) It really felt like home. They even packed my dinner! I requested for dried fish and boiled vegetables and got so much more! We had danggit, pinakbet, fried fish, fried eggplant, bagoong, lots of rice and my favorite salted egg. It was so yummy!


So cute to see my high school friends enjoy being first time parents.


And so inspiring to see that their love brought the super adorable and doll-like Kaley.



Yes, I'm always on the go, always on the move. Thanks God, I have a choice! I can either wallow on the fact that my real home has a flight distance of 4,000 plus miles, or I can help myself by trying to find 'home' everywhere I go. Naman, being human, I sometimes wallow.
But most days, I try to help myself and make it more simple. Home can be a lovely set of pillows and a comfortable bed in my hotel room,


It can be as simple as a cup of Milo on a cold rainy weather or a soft poached egg, sandwiched between toasted multigrain loaves (after a 14 hour flight, this almost defined happiness! Ang babaw! Haha! :)


It can be watching my favorite tv show or reading my Yes magazines when I prefer to stay in.







It can be having McDonald's fries, coke and a Mcflurry, too when I wanna be bad! It can be having a carbo overload of pasta in the middle of the night when I can't sleep and definitely, it can be having a home cooked meal with people you grew up with (this is really comforting, I don't think it's even necessary to describe).

Indeed, home is everywhere! With determination, luck, and a little bit of help from your friends, it is achievable. So if you're somewhere in between, or is not exactly at home right now, I wish you luck in finding and creating your 'home'.


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Pizza Pazza, would ya?

It's a small pizza place, unassumingly tucked in a small street, walking distance from Mall of the Emirates.


Photo by Martin Escober

I guess most of the people who come here have heard it from friends or have read the Time Out Dubai article. Well, that's how you make your business solid, anyway. By getting free advertisements from people who truly love your product. And we do, Pizza Pazza! We first tried it when my friend, Sabs, brought us there for her birthday. Apparently, it was recommended to her by a colleague from the Mediterranean region. It was a hit!


The place is casual and cozy.


They prepare and cook the pizza in a wood-fired brick oven right next to the dining tables. Here's the friendly chef in his kitchen.



Paolo's cousin, Martin, came here 2 weeks ago for a short visit and during a random conversation, he mentioned that he likes pizza so we brought him to Pizza Pazza. We all enjoyed it! My all time favorite pizza is the Napolitana. I love anchovies!


Photo by Martin Escober

Because Martin also liked Napolitana, I ordered another one, the Rustica. The braesola, ruccola leaves, mozzarella and parmesan cheese went so well together.



Paolo chose the pasta, his favorite... Carbonora! Not too creamy, just right.



Here's a picture of Paolo and Martin, playing around with Pizza Pazza's bike




So if you live in the UAE, you don't have to fly. Sicilian food is one short ride away! Pizza Pazza? Of course yah! :)


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Glutton in Bangkok

I was sick but duty called for it so I went. Besides, Bangkok is so close to my heart, I was able to find enough motivation to gather myself together and survive the trip. With pleasure. :)

Across our hotel, there's a small restaurant which I have come to love. Mr. Lee's! I did not eat the whole flight so in my mind, I deserve all the calories I could take.

Tom Yum Soup. If you haven't tried it, now's the time. It's almost like our beloved sinigang plus the spice and aroma that Thai food is known for. I had sore throat and the hot and sour soup was a relief for me.





I wanted something simple and comforting so I also ordered the humble salted fried chicken. How can you go wrong with that? It's almost like Max's, if only they had Jufran Ketchup.




To pick up some vitamin C, I had pomelo for dessert.




These, a glass of pepsi, 2 bowls of rice, my vitamins, a couple of meds and an hour and a half of aromatherapy massage sent me to 14 hours of sweet lullabye. Burberri Spa's tea reminded me of The Spa's Ginger Tea. Bangkok makes me feel like I'm in Manila. Almost.




I usually do serious shopping in Bangkok. I love Platinum Mall! Last November, I went on holiday with my parents and Paolo in Bangkok and almost everyday, for 5 days, we were at the Platinum Mall. My parents loved it, too. It's literally a shopping mall of non branded clothes and they do wholesale! Treasures are everywhere, just take your time to look around.




And treasures can also be found at the 6th floor of Platinum Mall! The food court!! I have noticed that Thai peeps have a love affair with food. Even the cheapest food are presented so well, you know it's yum even before you eat it. The food were fresh and cooked on the spot, not like the usual ones you see where the food are displayed from morning til night. I did not feel like shopping because I was not feeling well so I compensated myself with a big lunch! This is my staple order, mussel omelette! Sometimes, I order oysters instead of mussels, just as good!




Rice with Stirfried Kai Lan and crispy pork! Spicy, salty and sweet. I'll order this again next time!





I'm including my colleague, Me-ann's side dish. The bagoong was so yum!





I ordered tomyum again, but it tasted weird so I snubbed it :) I was with two fellow Pinays who loved food as much as I did so I did not feel bad eating so much. :)

After platinum, we went to MBK and went grocery shopping at Top's. My favorite past time! I bought some mangosteens and lanzones, plus a couple of household necessities. I also bought my lunch at the supermarket. :) The whole trip we were talking about fried fish and I really craved for it so, hello tilapia! I also had rice, Thai omelette, stir fried kangkong and fried pork strips. It's disgusting to think how much I ate! I could have eaten more if I was not sick. :)



So that was it for my Bangkok. I planned on doing more but because health is more important, I decided to take it easy. I shall return for some unfinished business haha!


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Korean hangover

My recent trip to Seoul led me to further cravings for Korean food. I brought home 2kg of kimchi and I've been having kimchi soup almost everyday. I wanted to make my own kimchi using a recipe which I got from www.maangchi.com. However, I got lazy and just decided to buy another kilogram of kimchi. That's a lot easier. I also bought a big jar of red pepper paste. Today, I decided to make use of it. From maangchi's blog I found a recipe for fried chicken using the red pepper paste and... Tada!


If you're familiar with BonChon then it's something like that. I used maangchi's recipe for the spicy one. For the garlic soy, I just used garlic, light soy sauce which I got from Korea and honey. Not bad... I actually think it's super yummy! :)

The other day, we had lunch at BonChon. So cute to see post it notes all over the wall.


Our friend, Nur, was with us also.



I ordered a combo meal of kimchi fried rice, fried dumplings and garlic soy chicken wings. The chicken was yummy and so are the dumplings. Finger lickin' good at BonChon! LOL!


My only comment is that the kimchi fried rice could be better. It was more like red pepper paste fried rice. I want more kimchi in there pls! But nevertheless, it was one yummy meal perfectly downed with a glass of ice cold pepsi. Burrrrp! I shall come back. :)

Fruits of technology

I never thought I would ever fall into this black hole but here I am, free falling and enjoying it!

Yes, I admit my defeat. I'm now an official slave of technology. It started with the Blackberry which I've only started using this May. I thought it's really great to be connected all the time with BBM. Then I went to New York. Paolo asked me to buy for him a MacBook Pro so I went to the famous Apple Store in NYC. The place was cool, staff were amazing so I also ended up getting an Ipad2 for myself. Then that's it! It's at least 3 hours less from my precious 24 hours, I'm glued to it! I'm no techie but even for a non techie person like me, this gadget's a joy! God, I love these fruits! I spent so much on accessories already and AppStore's my best friend now. My favorite application's photoforge2... beautiful pictures with just a few tap. Grand!

So obviously, it follows that my virtual life is on the roll, too! I'm more active in Facebook now, I have an Instagram account and heck, I signed up for twitter, too! And yes, this blog's resurrected as well. Suddenly, I'm so busy! My twitter's still a work in progress. Looking for people who are worth following and people who will follow, too. :)

The truth is, I'm trying to keep track. I realized, there's nothing wrong with opening yourself up to technology and embracing change. It can be entertaining. I'm taking baby steps and I guess, that's all I can manage for now. After all, it's still best to hang out and be in touch with people we care about. :)


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Welcome to New York City!

Even in black and white







Or sepia







New York City is still a beauty.


Welcome to New York City, where the police officers are friendly (and hot! Lol)







Where you can see people lining up for a halal chicken rice meal at 53rd St and 6th Ave (and when I say, lining up, I mean a long tail of people patiently waiting, it's really exaggerated, I wish I have a picture). I have lined up a couple of times, too and will still do so when I go back because this meal is worth every single penny to sum up my 6 dollars :$








Welcome to New York City, home of the famous Central Park






and the Wholefoods Supermarket is just nearby, the supermarket of the stars! Lol! I love having my breakfast here after doing my rounds in the grocery store. Hands down to their maple yoghurt. Add some fresh fruits and I'm all set!





Where everything is colorful, just look at the yellow cabs!





I feel welcome in New York City... You can find the Philippine center right in Manhattan






and you can buy your Team Pilipinas jumper at Modell's in Times Square.







And welcome to New York City, where you don't have to worry about Apple Store's business hours, anytime's a good time. :)







They say New York City is either-or, either you will love it, or hate it. I have nothing but pure love for you, New York! I don't mind working my a** off anytime just to get there, I forget how tired I am when I see your beautiful lights.






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