Neal's Yard Remedies: Ethical Organic

Neal's Yard Remedies is a line of beauty  organic product from babies to ageless beauties. Their products are quiet expensive but believe me it's very effective. As a matter of fact this is the second time I have the same product despite the expensive price.

A bag of goodness!!- Hubby's gift

I have a problem on my left side of my face near to the hair line. For some reason I'm having redness and sometimes  itchiness..good thing no rashes at all only redness. I already consulted this with a Dermatologist but the toner and creams he gave doesn't work. I even tried commercial products in the supermarket and drug store but nothing happened as well.

Until one time I saw this lovely store which sells large range of beauty product and when I checked the price..Oh my goodness!! I can't believe it..I badly need to convince my self to grab one hahahaha!! At last at the nth time of my visit I decided to get a moisturizer, a night cream and a facial scrub. I just brought them blindly..

And guess what??!!It works..I didn't regret buying them and this is the second time for my babies.

MOISTURIZER: Soothing Starflower Daily Moisture.

Starflower for Sensitive Skin. Soothe, cool and help strengthen and protect sensitive skin with calming starflower enriched with essential fatty acid-rich ingredients for ultra-comforting nourishment that's free from fragrance and parabens.

NIGHT CREAM: Vitamin E & Avocado Night Cream

I'm using the moisturizer by day along with my Pond's Age defying SPF 15 and it really tones down the redness and itchiness. The only thing I don't like was the smell - since it's organic they don't put any fragrant to their product. But as long as it works for me I don't mind the smell anyway it would fade away hehehhe.

The night cream is super good as well it makes my face well hydrated and when I woke in the morning my face still look fresh even though I only have few hours of sleep.

The SA gave me this tiny container with a sample of Soothing Starflower Daily Essence. It is a serum which you need to put after applying the toner then the moisturizer.

I have used it this morning but not yet quiet impressed. I'll be using it for  few more days and would see if it really helps.

As of the moment, these are my face essentials.

The total bill was AED.400.00 or 4,500.00 in Peso. This is not bad at all for I used my first items for 11 months.

Merlion King: A hint of Singapore in the heart of JLT

We're been planning a Singapore trip for a quiet sometime and for hundred reason it never materialized :( but visiting Jumeirah Late Towers (JLT) you will have a taste of Singapore.

View from Merlion's King

Merlion King is located in Platinum Bldg. adjacent to other eateries with a view of tall buildings and spacious park look a like. The place is not that huge..light, airy and clean with a nice chandelier.

I got to know the place when I saw the deal in Cobone - AED 49.00 for Singaporean Black Pepper Crab (400 grams), Soup and Prawn crackers. Since hubby has been craving for Laksa for a long time I didn't hesitate to take 1 deal..Laksa for him and crab for me :)

When we got into the place there were two tables occupied outside and since it's kinda windy and cold we just decided to seat inside.

We informed the wait staff that we have cobone deal and immediately she asked the cook. I asked the wait staff for the menu and I got overwhelmed with a lot of Singaporean goodness.

The Prawn cracker is perfectly cooked..served from the pan with chilli sauce. And the soup is also very tasty.

The Singapore Black Pepper Crab is so delicious..it's not  big but the meat was nice, soft and fresh. The spiciness is tolerable and you would wish for more rice.

Butterfly Prawn

I didn't enjoy much of the Butterfly Prawn..I was expecting of a little bit bigger and I was thinking of Japanese bread crumbs..oh that was my bad I was mixing Japanese with Singapore..lolz!! When you bite the prawn is kinda hard and chewy but the taste is so perfect.

KangKong

 And since I want some vegetable for our meal I ordered Kangkong Belachan and this is soooo good. I love the crispiness of Kangkong and the perfect spiciness.

Chicken Laksa

And the winner of all...THE CHICKEN LAKSA!!! we super love this one..the mild spiciness and the coconut milk plus the crispiness of bean sprout and fried tofu..it's so yummy!!!

For all of these we paid AED. 139.00 with good food and big serving this is reasonable enough.

You can check the menu thru their facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/merlionskingdubai

If you're in the vicinity why not have a taste of Singapore at Merlion's King :)

Late Dinner @ Dome Cafe

This was actually one week late post..and honestly I really feel bad I couldn't find time to make a review for this.

Last week we went out some kinda late for a stroll in Dubai Festival City and it's already in our plan to drop by to Dome Cafe in Burjuman Center for a dinner.

We arrived by 9:00 past and all the seats outside was occupied so we decided to just have a seat inside. By the way, there is a ongoing construction and you need to go out of the mall and walk like 10 mins. to reach Dome.

This is our first time to visit and honestly I'm more impressed in Jumana branch. The place is more bigger but kinda old but still the customer service is a winner.

The in-house bread with butter I didn't bother to touch these coz I'm sure when I finish this one I'm already full. I'm reserving my tummy to more healthy and real food. And there it is the tiny botton I find so useful to all customer - I super love this one!!!

And here it go...

I had Grilled Salmon with dill mayo and vegetable side dish which includes asparagus, broccoli, carrots and baby tomatoes..these lovely veggies are cooked perfectly crispy and sweet. The salmon is cooked perfectly as well it still moist and tender.

Hubby had Grilled Chicken with rice and veggies. He's about to order the chicken green curry but as per the wait staff it's kinda spicy..so he settled with this. As per him, when you put in the sauce it taste like "Chicken Afritafa" hehehehe!!

The overall experience with the real food of Dome cafe is superb..Healthy and yummy!!

It's Global Village Season

GLOBAL VILLAGE is Dubai's one of the most exiting and unique annual tourism and cultural destination..yes!!you read it right "annual" it only opens once a year during winter season and closes before the summer starts.

This is the 16th year since it was launched last 1997 and located in Emirates Road which now known as "Sheikh Mohamed  Bin Zayed Road" in Exit 37.

Clink here  for the location map.

Every year thousand of people are visiting these Dubai's unique attraction. For me it looks like a more of tradition to visit the Global Village once it opened. It's a place where in you can have shopping around the world!!! at the same time having a glimpse of different culture.

If you're like me who loves home decor, kitchen stuff, beauty girly thing and food you should not miss to visit the palace of China, Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand, Philippines and Africa.

Worried of getting hungry??!!!no need..there's a lot of food choices from fast food, restaurant to kiosk. Cotton candies, Thailand fruits, nachos, Turkish ice cream, drinks and a lot lot more are in every corner.

So if you're looking for a cheaper bonding moment with your friends and family..Global Village is a good option.

Timing:

Saturday to Wednesday: 4:00pm-12:00am
Thursday, Friday and Public Holiday: 4:00pm-1:00am

Review: Smashbox Custom Color for Light Skin

SMASHBOX!!!!!

This brand have been worn by fabulous faces such as Drew Barrymore, Charlize Theron and Madonna. It's a expansion business from Smashbox Studio to Smashbox cosmetic line.

Honestly, I'm getting addicted with make up from Philippines local brands to branded ones. But since, branded or designer's one is very expensive I'm just buying it when it's a good deal.

I bought mine I guess last six months ago during the Midyear Sale of Chalhoub in World Trade Center. Actually, I brought it impulsively..it's already when I got home when I noticed that this for light skin- good thing I'm not that dark.

The set is very cute- it's in a box in black and have the pictures of what is inside. The make up is fully secured which is wrapped with bubble sheet.

What's inside?

Blush on
Cream Eyeshadow
Powder Eyeshadow
Eyeliner - Black
Lip Pencil
and 2 lip gloss

They're very compact so it's so easy to bring along. And all the products are very pigmented and easy to blend.

When I tried it..this is what I got!!! Not that bad but my foundation is very bad hahahha honestly I didn't bothered to pay attention on blending it well since I'm just at home and wanna try this set..so my apologize for my foundation!!!

Review: Asian Flavors Restaurant

Last Friday, for some reason I'm so lazy to stay in my kitchen and I just told my hubby to try one restaurant I spotted in Damasus Road in Al Qusais which is so actually near to his office. The place was called "Asian Flavors Restaurant" as from it's name itself it caters from Filipino, Chinese, Vietnamese and Thai cuisine.

The place is actually not that big and I guess it can accommodate 50-60 people only but the place is clean and tidy. I love their color coordination and the semi-native motif of the place.

By the way, they have videoke here!!!nice one when you're in the mood to show off your talent hahahhaa...

The menu book is so nice it's like a wood book :)

And since this is our first time, we're not brave enough to try other cuisine aside from Filipino. I'm looking forward to try their Thai next time.

This is a in-house soup. I guess it's Bulalo soup!! Just right after we gave our order they serve the soup.

Here comes the food:

Calamares

Calamares is my all time favorite along with Shrimp tempura. This is always in my order whenever it's in the menu. They serve it with Tartar sauce and some leaves of romaine lettuce. I just wish they use Japanese/Panko Bread crumbs instead of only usual batter. It would make it more cruncher and will look the servings more bigger.

Price: 25.00 Dhs.

Bopis

The Bopis is so perfect in taste not that sour and not that spicy. The only down fall I can say is it's not appetising to  my sense- they should have use atsuete for more vibrant color coz that's the usual bopis  I use to have in most corners of the Philippines. And because I'm OC when it comes to food I just hope they cut the onion same in sizes honestly I'm so distracting with the sizes of the onion hehehhe.

Price: 30.00 Dhs.

Kare-kare

We love Kare-kare!!!! I'd tried Kare-kare from countless restaurant already and I'm so proud to say I cooked Kare-kare perfectly (well that's according to people who have tried it..). If I gonna rate Asian Flavor's Kare-kare I'll give it "8". Mainly because as per  hubby the meat is not that tender (I just eat vege's in Kare-kare, btw) and secondly the sauce look more "sabaw" for me. I like my kare-kare to be more saucy that masabaw.

Price: 35.00

Our total bill is 116.00 Dhs including 2 rice, 1 softdrinks and 1 big bottled water.

The price is reasonable enough for the servings. With the 3 courses we ordered I guess that is already good for 3-4 pax.

And before I forget, they have excellent customer service. The wait staffs are very attentive to their customers. I so love it!!!

Kutsinta Recipe

Kutsinta is one of those famous "kakanin" that is commonly sold along the streets specially early morning. I remember when I was young we used to go out to buy kakanin's for breakfast. Kutsinta is somewhat chewy and sticky and best paired with freshly grated coconut.

This is my second attempt to make kutsinta and I could say it's perfect from the taste to consistency. Even though the first one was not bad at all I just thought I'm not getting the right consistency and I already throw my remaining mixture when I realized that it needs to cool down to make it perfectly set.

Here's a perfect recipe to share:

Ingredients:

1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup brown sugar
2 cups water
1 tsp. lihiya/ lye water
atsuete powder (for coloring)
grated coconut

Procedure:

1. Mix flour and brown sugar.
2. Add water and mix properly making sure that there is no lumps left.
3. Dissolve atsuete powder in hot water then add Iye water.
4. Pour in the color mixture to your flour mixture. You can adjust the color as what you prefer.
5. Place the mixture into individual molds and steam for 40 minutes.
6. Serve with grated coconut on top.

Happy cooking!!!

Umami experience

The first time I heard the term "umami" was when I watched a cooking show hosted by Chef Rosebud Benitez - she would always say that umami was the fifth taste together with sweet, sour, bitter and salty. Umami is a loanword from japanese which means "pleasant savory taste". People taste umami via receptors for glutamate which is commonly found in it's salt form as the food additive MSG.

We're in Al Ghurair Center for a lunch in Liwan Restaurant when we saw this Umami store with a lined of people - a sign of a good food. Hubby and I agreed to come back the following day for his ramen session. Hubby is a ramen sucker and I'm a maki addict so we're really excited and looking forward for this.

Look at the plastic food menu!!!isn't so tempting???!!

This was our order the following day:

For him: CRISPY PRAWN TEMPURA RAMEN

Hubby ordered the Prawn Tempura Ramen because he knows I love prawn tempura..I can eat this for the whole day alone.

For me: CHICKEN CUTLET KATSUDON

Here comes the verdict: Are we satisfy with our meal??!! the big answer is NO. Both of us are disappointed in these 2 meals we had. The prawn tempura is not crispy at all not as what they're claiming to be "CRISPY PRAWN TEMPURA". And the noodles itself looks like the instant noodles we used to cook at home plus the vegetables are already soggy but to be fair the soup itself taste good enough.

And with my Chicken Katsudon the chicken was so thin and the vegetables were soggy as well, I'm expecting it to be fresh and crispy coz that is japanese food known to be.

My Umami experience is not umami at all or probably we just gave too high expectation for this.

Total bill of : 68.00 Dhs. with 2 small bottle of water.

Lunch Date @ Liwan Restaurant -Al Ghurair Rayhaan & Arjaan by Rotana

 Al Ghurair Arjaan & Rayhaan is part of the Rotana hotels. It is nestled in the heart of Deira and is linked to the new extension of the renowned Al Ghurair Center. You will never missed it when you're in the vicinity of the mall. And by far, you will notice a two building with one with "R" which stands for Rayhaan and one with "A" by Arjaan itself.

This lovely piece caught my attention when going to the 3rd floor wherein the main lobby is located.

Let's stroll around the lobby!!!

I got a chance to purchase a discount voucher for a International Buffet + unlimited mocktails  in Liwan Restaurant, it is their all day dining place...for only 89.00 Dhs!!!!what a good bargain...and believe me this is a great deal. And so far this is one of the buffet I enjoyed so much!!

Upon arrival I gave my printed voucher  and my name to the reception of the restaurant (btw, a reservation is required prior to your visit) and immediately a wait staff guided us to our seat and right after we seated a welcome drinks arrived.

Enjoying my "welcome drink"

Here's the simple yet cosy table set up.

And the menu for the mocktails was given for our drinks...I have mentioned it's "unlimited mocktails" right??!!just for the price of the mocktails..89 Dhs is such a steal!!!

Yes!!! we had two rounds of mocktails. They're freshly made with real fruits. For our first round, I had Chuck of Berry and he had Banananas. And before we left, we ordered for our second round which is Peach Pinacolada and Strawberry Nohito.

our lovely and yummy drinks

Let's start with the main event!!! THE FOOD

Cheese Counter

I'm not so happy with the cheese counter..the chooses was limited and there's no Brie on it :(

THE APPETIZER BAR

which includes all of these...

This is love!!!!

Honestly, with the appetizer counter itself + the mocktails I'm already solved with these goodness. I was telling my hubby I hope I still have room for the second round of maki's hahahhaa!!!

California Maki Roll, Spicy Tuna Roll, Sweet Potato Tempura Roll and Spicy Salmon Roll

My salad plate with baguette bread. The vegetables are fresh and crispy and btw, the corn was a winner not the thawed one nor the canned and the dressing was the best ranch dressing I ever tasted. I also took a sliced of toasted baguette with half cheese herb and half cheese salmon spread - and I loved them both :)

While I was enjoying my salad..hubby is having a seafood feast.

Fishing in a ice box

He enjoyed it a lot. I had tried a piece of prawn and a mussel and both are good - they tasted sweet which only proves that they're fresh and it also complimented the dressing which I guess is thousand island.

It's time for the main course.

Asian Counter

Creamy Spinach Soup

I didn't touch anything in the Asian Counter except for the soup. Aside from I'm already half full most of the dishes are not familiar to me or probably not just so appetizing to my sense.

This is where I got my main course meal. They do live pasta cooking  and Tempura but unfortunately they don't have Prawn Tempura that time. But what makes me happy was the "STEAK"!!!!! They have a corner for the steak which you can choose with different sauces and condiments and a pudding to compliment the meat.

In every buffet,  I was always looking forward for the dessert station. But since the place is already full when we finished our main course only few chooses were left in the station.

It was already past 3:00 pm when we leave our table. Imagine an almost 2 hours of satisfying our tummy and taste palette.

My overall experience is superb. And I'm looking forward to come back again soon. This one of the buffet will retain on my list.