Crumpler Philippines Squid Bag Giveaway

Follow Crumpler Philippines on Twitter and get a chance to win a Squid Bag!

Click here to go to twitter.com/CrumplerPH.

Like Crumpler Philippines on Facebook.

FREE entrance and FREE drinks at 7th High

Starting this week, for every P500 worth of purchases (accumulated) in Mercato, you could get a free entrance and free drinks at 7th High!

Like Mercato Centrale's Facebook Page for more details.

FREE Mooncake at Lucky Chinatown Mall 9/30/2012!

Lucky Chinatown Mall is hosting The Philippines' 1st Mooncake Festival Community Eating Ceremony on September 30, 2012 at 4pm. You can register for FREE and get a free mooncake plus a chance to win a roundtrip airfare ticket for two (2) to Beijing.

Claiming of mooncakes starts at 12 nn.

Like the Lucky Chinatown Mall facebook page here.

Dupé PH (Official) Freebies and Promo

FREE TRIAL of Dupé slippers while you shop!

Buy a pair and instantly receive 20% OFF, Roots Ginger Brew drink, Go Nuts Donuts gift certificates, and a chance to win AirPhil Express roundtrip tickets to a local destination for two!

October 6-7: Central Plaza, Market Market
October 13-14: Level 1, Robinsons Metro East

Like the Dupé PH (Official) Facebook page for more.

FREE Yogurt or Waffle at Red Mango GB3, just bring your Dell Notebook

Bring your Dell Notebook to Red Mango Greenbelt 3 on October 4 & 5, and you'll get a free yogurt or waffle!

Read more here on the Dell Facebook Page.

FREE Nescafe Dolce Gusto Coffee from R.O.X. Bonifacio High Street

Visit R.O.X. Bonifacio High Street today until sunday and get a FREE Coffee from Nescafe Dolce Gusto.

Click here to go to R.O.X. Philippines facebook page.

Chooks-To-Go Ipod Shuffle Giveaway

All you have to do is like the Chooks-To-Go Facebook page and get a chance to win an IPOD SHUFFLE in their weekly raffle.

Promo runs August 23 to November 8, 2012.

Read more here.

Flipped MNL's Pasta & Cheeseburger EAT-ALL-YOU-CAN

Flipped MNL, located at G/F One Archers Place Taft Ave. Manila, is having a Pasta & Cheeseburger EAT-ALL-YOU-CAN Promo with bottomless red iced tea and blue lemonade for only P299.00!

Like the Flipped MNL Facebook Page to read more about the promo.

EXCLUSIVE FACEBOOK OFFER! 10% OFF ON ZALORA!

Like the Zalora Facebook Page and claim this offer!

Free Drink from The Sandwich Guy

Get a free drink from The Sandwich Guy (SM The Block branch only).

Like their Facebook page and get a free drink!

Click here to see the giveaway!

SMART: Buy Smart Prepaid Cards & Get a Sodexo GC

SMART: Buy Smart Prepaid Cards & Get a Sodexo GC

Seattle's Best Coffee: Buy One + Take One on Javakula

Seattle's Best Coffee: Buy One + Take One on Javakula

ASIAN SECRETS GREAT GIVEAWAY!

Join Asian Secrets Facebook Page promos! 

Join and be the lucky one to win a P20,000 Shopping Spree with Solenn Heusaff!

Win an Asian Secrets loot bag by sharing your testimonials about our lulur scrub and Bengkoang soap. 

Click here to see the contest rules.

Goodluck everyone!

Get a chance to win magazine subscriptions from Summit Media! - Real Estate Promos

Get a chance to win magazine subscriptions from Summit Media! - Real Estate Promos

Freebies!

For more than 7 years now, I have been receiving all kinds of freebies through promotions of local companies here in the Philippines and also by signing up in websites from other countries. This year (2012) alone, I received a lot of freebies and giveaways. Take a look here:

Belle de Jour Planner, Nan Milk for Kids, Asian Secrets Body Scrub, Aqiva Milk for Kids, Enercal Milk for Adults,  Gift pack from Glad, Toblerone chocolates 

Progress Gold Milk

Cetaphil Cleanser

So last week, I received a registry notice from the Post Office. I knew right away that the parcel waiting to be claimed there is probably one of those freebies I signed up for, either in a Facebook page or a website that sends out freebies worldwide.

I dreaded going to the Post Office because I was thinking of the local tax that I will have to pay, and based on my experiences in claiming parcels from abroad, I had to pay hundreds of pesos for the tax plus the "tip" you have to give to the persons in charge there.

This is what I got:

A freebie!!!

The parcel is from Belgium, and luckily, I only paid 40 pesos for the tax. The lady in the parcel section is very nice and she didn't show any sign of hinting for a "tip"!

Inside is the free Drinking Straw Glasses I got from this site. Hopefully the offer is not yet expired! Go get it!

Wahvu loved it! He used it immediately when he saw the Drinking Straw Glasses. Although it's a bit hard to clean it afterwards, nothing beats the great feeling when you see that happiness from your loved ones.

And that is one of the reasons why I sign up for freebies!

Will post soon of freebie links! Good luck and leave me a comment when you get one.

Ninja Weapon: Not For Kids!

As a parent, I am vigilant about things that can influence my son in a good or bad way. Like my husband, I am very concerned about the media and community where he can be exposed to violence. 

During one of our trips to the mall, we found this in the toys section of a novelty store.

 My husband showed this to me, and I actually thought it's a plastic template or stencil that our kid can use in his Art Club. I looked at the label and then I realized what it is: Ninja Weapon!

It looks harmless right? But this is much like a brass knuckle that gangsters use when they get into gang fights. Yes, it's giving me shivers now just thinking about it.

 It's made out of plastic and very handy --- who will even think it can be a lethal weapon? What's scarier is that you can keep it in your bag and pass through metal detectors in airports and malls. If a security guard will see this in your bag, do you think he'll know it's a kind of a restricted weapon?

 It's just a small piece of plastic but try poking your arm with it. I felt a sharp pain when I did it, can you think of how much damage and harm it can do when it is used as an instrument of violence?

I'm hoping and praying that this will not get into the wrong hands and encourage violence. 

Cowhead Black Cocoa Biscuits with Hazelnut Cream

Imagine the delightful shriek I made when I saw this in the grocery --- Cowhead Black Cocoa Biscuits with Hazelnut Cream! 

Mmmmm! I love anything with hazelnuts, primarily because of my love for Nutella, a delicious hazelnut spread that I can eat with almost anything.

Its exterior looks like an Oreo cookie's - crispy and chocolatey. The filling tastes really good!

But unlike the Oreo cookie, you can't twist it and lick the filling! It will just break :(

Who cares about calories? Ha ha!

Now this, Cowhead Black Cocoa Biscuits with Hazelnut Cream, will always be included in my grocery list. It costs 150 pesos and can be found in the imported goods section.

And guess what? There is another variant of this. I came across the blog of Sassy Chef and she tells about the Cowhead Black Cocoa Biscuits with Cheese Cream filling. I can't wait to taste this too! 

Spicy Button Mushrooms

My husband and I follow this kind of diet: Meatless Tuesdays and Fridays, Cheat Days on Saturdays and Sundays (an eat-all-you-can day for us), and Healthy Meats on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays.

I don't know how or what you'll call this kind of diet, maybe I just came up with it due to my hubby's health reasons. If I were to choose, we'd rather go meatless and vegetarian all the way. But that will not be good for our growing and hyperactive preschooler's health, in my opinion. 

Anyways, it is a Meatless Tuesday for us last night. I wanted something different and my taste buds are begging me to devour something spicy. And I wanted to eat something with vegetables, maybe a Ginisang Sitaw (Sauteed String Beans) -- with a twist! 

Let me share with you this recipe I came up with last night. It's just an experiment (shhh!), but my hubby and Wahvu loved it!

Spicy Button Mushrooms with Sitaw 

Ingredients:

1 can of button mushrooms

1/4 cup butter

1 medium onion, sliced

1 bunch of string beans (sitaw), cut in 2-3 inches in length

1 pack Mc Cormick Spicy Spareribs Seasoning Mix

1. Melt butter in pan, then add the mushrooms. 

2. While simmering the butter and mushrooms, dissolve the seasoning mix in 1-1/2 cup water.

3. Add the dissolved mix, and bring it to a boil.

4. Add the sitaw and onions.

5. Turn off heat after 3 to 5 minutes. I do not overcook my vegetables so it will be crispy when served.

Serve hot with rice. Enjoy!

Taho po!

It was a rainy Sunday morning and just as when I have decided it's a good weather to sleep until late afternoon, Wahvu shook the sleepiness out of my head and body.  "Mommy! Mommy!" I sat up immediately, both adrenaline rush and panic attack pushing me. 

"Mommy there's taho!" I listened between sounds of dogs barking and a man's voice echoing outside. "Tao po!" When I looked, it's just the mailman delivering the bills to my husband in the gate. Hee hee!

Poor Wahvu is craving for taho that morning. So we decided to wait for the taho man to pass by so we can have a tall glass of warm and sweet taho!

Finally Mr. Taho man arrived, but alas! There's very little left inside his container.

Taho is a bestseller in our village. It's almost empty when Mr. Taho man passed by our house today!

Taho, as described here by Wikipedia, is made from tofu, sugar syrup with vanilla (locally called as arnibal), and pearl tapioca (locally known as sago). 

The sago mixed with the right amount of arnibal makes a perfect serving of warm taho!

Yum! Yum! Yum! I'm craving for taho again!

Who loves cheesecake?

And who doesn't?!

Right after we got married, I searched for many ways to be more creative with the dishes I cook, since my husband and I share a passion for eating. My mother-in-law cooks the best native (Filipino) dishes and my father-in-law can make international cuisines from experience when he worked as a chef on board shipping liners --  so just imagine the standards I have to keep up with my husband's palate!

Let me share with you this great cheesecake recipe that never failed to make me proud whenever I prepare this for my husband, my kid, and the whole family. Seven years ago, I came up with this after browsing through endless cheesecake recipes online. After studying the instructions and reading through hundreds of comments in her blog, I have decided that this may be the best recipe for an amateur like me.

I credit this recipe to Miss Lori Baltazar and her blog and Facebook page.

Simply Sinful Cheesecake

Ingredients:

2 cups crushed Graham Crackers crumbs

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter, melted

2 (8 oz) cream cheese, softened (I prefer Philadelphia Cream Cheese)

1 can condensed milk 300 ml (I use Alaska or Carnation)

3 eggs

2 teaspoons calamansi juice

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 300°F (150°C).

2. Combine crumbs, sugar, and butter. Press firmly on bottom of 9" pan. (I wanted to divide the recipe into 4 servings so I used disposable aluminum foil baking pans I found in the grocery).

Bake for 10 minutes, or cook until you smell the butter. Set aside.

Tip: If you're using a springform pan, wrap the bottom in aluminum foil. Brush foil with butter so the cake won't stick.

3. With a mixer, beat cream cheese in a large bowl until fluffy. Gradually beat in condensed milk until smooth.

Add eggs, calamansi juice, and vanilla extract. Mix well.

Tip: Soften cheese in microwave for 30-45 seconds. 

4. Pour into prepared pan, it doesn't matter if crust is still warm. Bake 50 to 55 minutes, or until center is slightly jiggly. Cool 1 hour.

Chill at least 4 hours to let flavors develop.

Tip: Don't freeze cheesecake with the toppings! The fruits will not taste as good when you take it out of the freezer. 

Lastly, wrap the cheesecake in foil or plastic before freezing. 

*Try this recipe and leave me a comment. I'm expecting that your cheesecake will be a success!