office window

Late night at Starbucks

There’s nothing really special for me at Starbucks. I don’t drink coffee, and I don’t like mocha, and I grew out of the ‘frappe’ phase highschoolers tend to go through a long time ago. While their Cinnamon Swirl and Tazo tea drinks are pretty good, the rest are so-so. Still, the sheer number of branches everywhere and their availability for late night conversation makes Starbucks indispensable even for a person like me.

Oreo Madness

Right before the new year settled in, I had the chance to hang out and have dinner with my closest cousins at Bonifacio High Street. One of the things I love about my family is that the same-aged cousins/the younger group of cousins are close with one another, such that we actually do like hanging out with each other and do look forward to reunions and family holidays and such. What’s so great about it is that our family is crazy, and our times together equate into crazy-fun times together.  A large portion of my immediate family was going to celebrate the New Year at my house, so my close cousins from the province whom I rarely see were in town for a visit.

We met up in BHS and lollygagged about while waiting for my brother, who was also visiting from the US for the holidays, and another one of my cousins who was with him playing tour guide and chauffeur. When they finally arrived and we were deciding on a place to eat, I immediately suggested T.G.I. Fridays, since our uncle had given us cash to burn and one of my cousins had never eaten there before. (!!) Of course, I believed that this had to be remedied!

We nearly ordered too much, haha! But considering how many there were of us (8), we were able to finish everything. It was only until after one of my cousins suggested that we have dessert that I realized that, despite liking TGIF a lot, I’ve never had any of their desserts. So, we decided to try TGIF‘s Oreo Madness.

It doesn’t look as perfect in person, but oh, where do I begin with this amazing dessert?

To start, the ‘cookie’ is about 2 inches in size, and about 1.5 inches thick, and looks absolutely delish. I took the time to take a number of photos of it, and I was surprised to see that the ice cream didn’t melt much as I was admiring it. It’s drizzled with chocolate and caramel syrup with a dash of chocolate powder.

It had great texture: the ice cream was firm, yet the oreo cookie parts were chewy in a lovely way. The cookie didn’t fall apart, even though we were impaling it repeatedly with our forks. And even better, it wasn’t too sweet. It was ~*~perfect~*~. I’m daydreaming about it at this very moment.

At the price of 205ph for a single cookie and 354 for two, the Oreo Madness is definitely a must-try. One cookie is actually good enough for two people, though three of us ripped right through two. TGIF has a very lively ambiance and friendly waiters, and tends to usually fill up at around dinner. I’m looking forward to my next mealtime at TGIF.

You can find out more about T.G.I. Fridays in the Philippines at their website.

Hocus Pocus! : Halloween with Lipton Yellow Label Tea

The life of a modern day witch isn’t easy. Life simply isn’t as laid back as it was before. One can’t go around anymore in a black dress, a black cat and a black hat going ‘Hocus Pocus!’ like we used to. Well, you could, but it’d just be weird by ‘modern’ standards. As a nice consolation however we are surrounded by modern marvels: cars instead of brooms (not as earth friendly though), computers instead of enchanted mirrors (but the internet connection can lag so much…), and organic food instead of poisoned apples… well, modern magic isn’t as reliable as it’s all set up to be, and unfortunately, modern magic can’t take care of all of our problems, but there are still some old witch’s tricks that one can use in a pinch.

For example, a few days ago, I was invited to my uncle’s Monster Bash (or costume birthday party). I was excited, but had no idea what to wear, or what to go as. It didn’t help that I had no cash on hand to go out and buy a costume. (Unfortunately, there are no modern ways of instantly procuring money, and if there’s a spell for it, I don’t know it. Someone teach me!)

I was thinking about what I was going to do, when I had an idea. There are still a few tricks from the old days that modern witches such as myself can make use of; a concoction that would turn me into a witch. A little modern day magic: or as I call it, Hocus Pocus!

Hocus Pocus! Tea

Recipe:
One bag Lipton Yellow Label Tea
Hot Water
Cranberry Juice
5 Cloves (or more, to taste)
Dry Ice

**The dry ice will not only cool your tea, but will also make your tea bubble bubble toil and trouble much like a witch’s cauldron!**

I finished brewing the tea and stored it for when we got to the party. I didn’t want to turn into a witch too early! We arrived to a band playing and food sprawled out across a long table.

Everyone had come, revealing their true natures!

I took a sip of my tea, did a little ~*HOCUS POCUS*~ and…

*POOF*

I was a witch! And my mom was a She-Devil! (Explains a lot.) Dad had become a Military Man.

And my boyfriend had become a zombie! Yikes! Well, at least I was sure that our love would last beyond the grave. <3 I made it a point to stay away from my cousin, who had turned into a pastor and took every chance he had to throw Holy Water at me.

We danced and partied the night away, (I stuffed my face, as usual) and had a great time.

I had successfully released my inner witch, just in time for the best Halloween Party, thanks to Lipton Yellow Label Tea! Where oh where would this little modern day witch be without her tea?

With Lipton Yellow Label Tea, the PossibiliTEAS are Endless!

You can view the full set of photos on Flickr here!

lines