Healthy Lunch @ Black Canyon-Thai Cuisine

When we feel like eating healthy outside hubby and I always ended up in Black Canyon. Nothing beats a rice and viand for lunch :) . I love Thai cuisine coz they use a lot of spices and vegetables for their flavor and their taste and  aroma is acceptable to Filipino's preference. Patis/ fish sauce and vinegar  is one of many ingredients Philippines and Thailand have in common.

Iced tea for him and Green tea Frappe for me :)

Hubby is in love with soup. We shared with this bowl of Tom Yum. One of the  most popular soup in Thai cuisine.

Main course:

Garlic Fried Rice

Stir-fried Chicken with Cashew Nuts

Pad Thai

Pad Thai is always on my list!!! I just asked them to add more beans sprout and nuts. I ordered for Sweet and Sour Chicken but it's not available by that time so we ended up in Stir-fried Chicken w/ Cashew nuts and guess what??!!it's a HIT!!! hubby and I instantly got in love with this dish. The chicken is so tender and flavorful. And the sauce compliment well with the flavor of the chicken.

Dining in Black Canyon is a guilt free indulgence with the fresh ingredients and mix of spring onions, ginger, lemongrass, turmeric and all. We truly had a balance meal.

Menu here:http://www.zomato.com/dubai/black-canyon-festival-city/menu

Breakfast date @ Butler's Chocolate Cafe

lovely entrance

When I first saw this lovely cafe - I have told to myself this is a must try!

After our errand that day and  our tummy is already calling for food. We decided to take a breakfast to this fancy cafe - have a mentioned I'm a breakfast eater??!! I can skip lunch but never my breakfast.

Complimentary chocolates when you order a coffee. what a sweet treat!

And as usual Cappuccino for me and Latte for him.

Here comes the breakfast:

The eggs were perfectly cooked and hashbrown is sooo good as well. But when I tried hubby's filled croissant it's "nakakaumay" with the butter croissant and the richness of the egg I don't think  it's a perfect match.

Cheese Omelette

Filled Croissant

Butlers Chocolate cafe is perfect for a coffee and a good chat with someone. They have a very limited menu and the service is very slow. We waited for like almost 15-20 mins. for a omelette and hashbrown to be fried and the bread to be toast.

I'm happy with the coffee and chocolate though :)

Total Bill: 86.00 Dhs.

Filled Croissant: 25 Dhs.
Cheese Omelette: 25 Dhs.
Cappuccino: 18 Dhs.
Latte: 18:00 Dhs.

Amazing Drug Store Cosmetic - NO7 Protect & Perfect Foundation & Lipstick

This is my first time to try drug store cosmetics which I got from Boots Pharmacy. And it took me almost 30 minutes looking and reading on the each labels- I’m sure the assistants were wondering if I will really buy :D

I was looking for a foundie which is not too heavy on my face and when I saw this anti-ageing foundie which promises light to medium coverage.

I got the shade of Cool Beige which is perfect for my skintone which I believe is best suits to Filipinas.

The consistency is a little bit watery which make it easier to spread on the face but difficult to hold on the finger. What I really love with this product is - it is lightweight and you can hardly tell you've got a foundation on plus it has SPF 15 to protect my skin from the sun.

I'm using this together with my concealer to cover the uneven color.

Me with the foundie for 5 hours with no retouch

I have no plan of purchasing a new lippy since I still have a bunch of stash in my drawer but when I tried this  one.Oh mg God I can't resist!!hahahaha

I love that this lipstick feels almost like a lip balm and doesn't dry my lips at all. The color is simply gorgeous.

Overall I'm so happy with my first drug store brought stash.

Weekend Dinner out at Texas Roadhouse

I'm been craving for steak for the entire week so I push this to my husband to take a dinner at Texas Roadhouse but this time in Dubai City Center branch.No way that I'll go to  Dubai Mall branch  specially on weekends otherwise before you have your food you might collapse already hahahha..no kidding, the line is like a blockbuster film during weekend.

As a starter, they will serve a a bucket of peanut and a super heaven bun with butter cinnamon spread

I'm so addicted with this bun..outside is like coated with melted sugar and really good specially when still hot and the spread is like cream with butter and cinnamon. And actually every time I passed to Texas Roadhouse I'm buying a 1/2 dozen for take out - just microwave for 20 seconds viola I have a bun breakfast :)

For main course:

Country style Fried Chicken

New York steak with BBQ Ribs with Rice

Side Dishes: French Fries, Sweet corn and house salad with honey mustard dressing

The serving so hugeeeee..we only order two main course but I guess it's good for 3-4 persons.

Since it's weekend and there's a lot of customer the service is quiet slow but the quality of the food doesn't sacrifice.

Chinese New Year Dinner @ Chopsticks

We must admit Chinese had a big influence in Filipino's life - their culture..believes and practices. We normally say "wala naman mawawala kung gagawin..".  And celebrating Chinese New Year is one of their occasion we're also awaiting for - nakiki-chinese ika nga nila. Everything in the name of luck and good fortune for the entire year.

And since I'm ordinary Filipino hubby and I celebrated Chinese New Year in a chinese restaurant named Chopstick - this is my second review for this restaurant.

When we arrived as expected the place is clean and cozy. We were given a shot glass drinks together with menu.

I want to order a whole fish but at that time it's not available. So we ended up with one chicken dish and noodles and a bowl of fried rice.

Seafood Noodles

Crispy Orange Chicken

Fooden Fried Rice

The food is so delicious and we ended so full. The noodles was so great as well as the Chicken Orange - it's crispy and the orange sauce was not that sweet nor sour. and the rice is complemented well with our viand.

Oh and I must mention the Iced tea..one of the best iced tea i had!!!

Our total bill for this is 103.00 Dhs. since I have a entertainer voucher for one main course free.

Petals Restaurant @ Rose Rayhaan by Rotana

After Christmas and New year there is one event we're  still looking forward too - our Wedding Anniversary!!! In our 7th Wedding Anniversary we decided to take a dinner date in Petals Restaurant at Rose Rayhaan.

Rose Rayhaan along Sheikh Zayed Road is very near to Financial Center Metro Station and standing tall at 333 meters. It has been declared by Guinmes World Records as the tallest hotel in the world.

Petals Restaurant is located at the 1st floor of the hotel. The floor size is not that huge but it has romantic ambiance with romantic music - really idea for a date.

Upon arrival we're guided to our reserved seat with a great view of busy and loaded Sheikh Zayed Road.

Monday theme is "Surf and Turf" meaning a combination of seafood and meat.

As a starter, I go straight to the Soup and Salad Station.

Seafood Gumbo Soup

My Salad, Bread and Cheese plate

The Salad Station is beautifully arranged. I'm a Thousand Island fan but unfortunately what they have is not the taste I'm looking. But I'm so happy with their cheese selection.

Hubby filling up his plate for the main course

A glimpse to our main course plate.

My Plate. I had a little bit of everything of I want.

Gnocchi in White Sauce, Buttered Vegetables, Duck Adobo, Kebab, Beef Stroganoff, Mashed Potato, Grilled Fish w/ Dill sauce, Mixed Seafood Casserole and some tortillas

His plate.

His first plate: Roast Lamb with gravy, Bread, Gnocchi in White Sauce and some tortillas

Look I'm already on my dessert but he's still on his second plate..hehehhe

The Dessert Station:

Create your own Ice Cream

My dessert plate

Hubby is not actually a  fan of dessert so it's just me who indulge in this sweetness.

Buffet rate is AED 145.00 per person but we paid AED.198.00 for two because I got a special coupon from facebook.

If you're planning to drop in Petals Restaurant you can refer to the below theme:

Welcoming 2014..Happy New Year!!!

New Year is one of many occassion how I wish we were back home with our loved ones and with our traditional celebration - who wouldn't  miss the noise and smoke from firecrackers..the torotot..the barbeque in your yard..the tambols and kalampagan of batya and palanggana.

Media Noche

It's been 6 years we're celebrating Christmas and New Year away from our home country and for two consecutive years it's only me and hubby. And despite it's only the two of us we still preferred to welcome the year at home with our our traditional foods and practices.

Same as last year New year's day  falls on weekdays where everyone needs to go to work and no enough time to prepare for Media Noche. So ahead of time we did the grocery for items that need even not fresh.

Since I usually reaching home by 8:00pm everyday it's much better for me to prepare some dishes ahead of time but making sure to maintain the taste and quality.

Let me share with you how I prepared our Media Noche- one day ahead I usually do my desserts.

Leche flan

Biko with caramel toppings

And since tomato based pasta sauce are more better when cooked ahead of time I cook it also one day ahead so that what I need to do is just reheat and tossed it with freshly cooked pasta in the day of the event.

I also boiled to tenderness the pata ahead..and put it in the oven 2-3 hours before the event and viola you have a crispy tender Crispy pata. This is a healthy alternative way of cooking for our sinfully delicious Crispy pata..instead of increasing the fat from deep frying you're minimizing the fat which drips from the pata.

And since we just brought the meat for the Bulalo I cooked it at the same night. For approximately 3 hours. Fried fish and Fried Rice should be cooked at the same night as well.

This is how I prepare our Media Noche stress free with limited time.

Anyway, whatever food we have every New Year the important is we're with our loved ones and be thankful for all the graces we received from Almighty God.

Wishing you all a good year ahead!!!