At Home With MrsC

A Dong Juan Lunch Date

February 27, 2013 by MrsC | Patricia Cuyugan Leave a Comment

A dear friend of mine celebrated her birthday yesterday, and I suddenly remembered that I had a post waiting to be written about a recent lunch date we had at Dong Juan in BF Homes, Paranaque. This was a couple of weeks ago before I went on no-meat-for-lent mode. Jonnah, who is a friend of mine from my Smart days, is a new wife and soon to be mom. She lives and works in the south too.

Their family business is called Ace Print Master, which in my opinion is the most reliable print shop in BF Homes. I’ve been going to them for all my printing needs since college, way before Jonnah and I even learned about each others’ existence. They printed my college thesis (which was a children’s book), countless tarpaulins, a life-sized standee of my grandmother for her 80th birthday, and even our wedding invitations! If you ever need to have things printed, whether they are simple documents or large-scale stuff, go and visit Ace. They are located near Ruins/Tropical.

Anyway, so Jonnah and I finally pushed through with our plans to get together after more than a year of scheduling conflicts. She suggested Dong Juan for our date. I’d been reading mixed reviews about Dong Juan. A friend and super certified lover of food, Joei, wasn’t too happy with her experience. Meanwhile, MrsMommyHolic seemed pretty satisfied with her visit. Opinions really varied. I wanted to check the place out myself, and so I immediately said yes to eating there. [Read more…] about A Dong Juan Lunch Date

Virtual Window Shopping at Zalora

February 21, 2013 by MrsC | Patricia Cuyugan 2 Comments

So, guys, my birthday is coming up. Yup, in just a few days, I will hit the big 3-0! Yikes.

Like I said before, I would really like to update my wardrobe to make it more age appropriate, and more suitable for a 30-year-old-work-at-home-mom-and-wife. I wish I could go to the mall and browse for clothes in my favorite boutiques, but I rarely have time to go out these days because work keeps me tied to my computer. Luckily, there’s Zalora, my new favorite for online clothes shopping. Know why I love them? Because they have a plus-size section!

I’ve been struggling all my life with the lack of good quality, pretty plus-sized clothing in Manila. These days, shopping for pieces for full-figured ladies has thankfully become easier and more convenient, and there are more styles and brands to choose from. Over on Zalora, all I have to do is click on Plus Size in the Women’s Clothing section, and voila, pages and pages of virtual racks of clothing are laid out before me. I just love it. [Read more…] about Virtual Window Shopping at Zalora

Valentine Lunch Date at John and Yoko

February 19, 2013 by MrsC | Patricia Cuyugan Leave a Comment

I went on my first ever Valentine’s Day date last Thursday.

Sounds funny, specially since I’ve not been single on hearts day since 1999. But I never liked going out when I know that traffic is going to be horrendous and that it will be crowded everywhere. And so, we usually just celebrate with a good meal at home.

This year though, as fate would have it, MrC, the little boy and I were all home for lunch on Valentine’s day. So we decided to go out to eat, hoping that there wouldn’t be that many people since it was a school/work day.

Our initial restaurant of choice was Yakimix, which just opened in Alabang Town Center. This was an ironic choice, I know, given that we were trying to avoid being stuck in a crowded place. True enough, when we got there at a little before 1pm, there was a line of about twenty groups waiting to be seated. Obviously we chose not to wait it out.

Since I already had my mind set on Japanese food, we ended up at John and Yoko. This was maybe my fifth time at John and Yoko, and my second at their Alabang branch. It’s not that I like their food that much, I honestly prefer Omakase over this place. It just so happens that I crave for fancy schmancy Japanese fusion food, and John and Yoko seems to fit the bill for me. This was the case last February 14.

Luckily, there was an available table when we arrived at the restaurant.
Meet My Dates
As if you don’t already know who these guys are. Lol, aren’t I so assuming to think that everyone reading this has been here before? I know, if you’re a first time visitor of my blog, please leave a comment below. I’d totally love to meet you. So anyway, here are the sweet gentlemen who took me out to lunch on Valentine’s Day, Mr C and Little Mr C.

Craving for Japanese food? Try Ramen Yushoken!

The Food
John and Yoko calls itself a Cosmopolitan Japanese restaurant. It has modern decor and a fusion menu, a sort of upscale version of its brother Sumo Sam. The menu is really heavy (as in it literally is hard to carry because it weighs as much as a hard-bound dictionary), and filled with photos. You won’t really see descriptions of the dishes on each page, so it’s a bit of a guessing game if you’re a first-timer. Here’s what we had:

John and Yoko (1 of 9) — Tuna Sashimi Php208.00

John and Yoko (6 of 9) — Philadelphia Roll Php248.00

John and Yoko (3 of 9) — California Maki Salad Php228.00

I’m not eating walking meat for Lent, and so you’ll notice that our order was basically made up of vegetables, fruits and seafood. Everything was good and fresh. My one complaint is that the mangoes used in the salad were sour, and I really don’t like sour mangoes. I also forgot to take a photo of the little boy’s Ebi Tempura order, so I’m borrowing one from John and Yoko’s Facebook Page.

Love Japanese food with a twist? Then you’ll love Tokyo Bubble Tea!

While I’m not a big fan of the restaurant decor, particularly the animal-print chairs, I love the earthenware that they use in John and Yoko. The place is spacious enough and the seats are comfortable. These are things I look for when dining out, and I believe that ambiance and comfort are things worth paying for.

I was pleasantly surprised when representatives from Alabang Town Center came to the restaurant to give roses to women who were eating there. I remember my experience working for a mall on Valentine’s Day. I was with a neighboring mall, and that year we gave away candied apples as tokens.

Thank you, Alabang Town Center for the sweet gesture.

John and Yoko also gave us a Valentine’s Day token. It was a butter cookie with sugar icing, and I had it with my coffee this morning. Yum!

Our little family. And I'm holding up the John and Yoko cookie with my left hand. — Our little family. And I’m holding up the John and Yoko cookie with my left hand.

I discovered this year that it’s actually fun to go out on Valentine’s Day, provided you choose your destination wisely. It also helps to go during non-peak hours to avoid the crowds, unless, of course, the Valentine crowd is part of what makes the experience fun and memorable for you. I hope we get to do something like this again next year.

For some of the best sashimi in Alabang, visit Cafe d’Asie at the Bellevue Hotel!

Oh, and Yakimix, I will get to try you eventually!

+Points
+ The restaurant was not crowded
+ Quick service
+ The sashimi was fresh
+ Sweet Valentine tokens

-Points
– Sour mangoes in the salad

John and Yoko Cosmopolitan Japanese
Lower Ground Floor, New Wing
Alabang Town Center
Commerce Ave, Alabang Muntinlupa
+632 478-7917

Back to Blogging Basics

February 17, 2013 by MrsC | Patricia Cuyugan Leave a Comment

I tried experimenting a bit with my blog style and content last year. I think the desire to do so was brought about by the excitement of being on a new platform with a new domain and layout. Since I’m still in the process of fixing glitches in my old posts that sprouted after I moved from Blogger, I’m also getting to back-read a lot of my old posts and compare them to what I’ve been posting as of late.

Read about my first few days of being on WordPress.

I figured I needed to really decide on a good, solid set of categories for my posts. Stuff I really like writing and blogging about. After all, every post on blogging 101 will tell you to blog about the things that you like. And so, after thinking about it for several weeks, I’ve managed to figure out the primary categories that I really enjoy posting about. If you scroll to the top of this page, you’ll see them laid out nicely on my menu bar. And yes, I am proud of myself for getting organized, at least online. [Read more…] about Back to Blogging Basics

Thai Night: Shrimp Pad Thai Recipe

February 15, 2013 by MrsC | Patricia Cuyugan Leave a Comment

A few weeks ago, my mom and I collaborated on a fabulous Thai dinner at home. She bought a pack of rice noodles during one grocery trip and decided that I would make Pad Thai. Since she chose the dish that I was going to prepare, I picked a recipe for her too. Her dish was Marinated Thai-Style Pork Spareribs, a yummy recipe I found on Epicurious.com.

I was originally planning to follow the Pad Thai recipe that was printed on the bag of noodles, but at the last minute I decided to search for a recipe online instead. I ended up on Cherry On My Sundae, and decided to go for her version of Pad Thai because it looked so good in the photos. It also didn’t contain any chicken, which is perfect since I quit eating chicken due to my eczema. It does, however, have egg in it, and that sort of defeats the purpose of being chicken-free. Oh well.

Click to see a rundown of all the yummy stuff I cooked in January.

Celebrating Chinese New Year in a Japanese Restaurant: Ramen Yushoken

February 13, 2013 by MrsC | Patricia Cuyugan Leave a Comment

Our family had lunch at Ramen Yushoken in Molito last weekend, and I forgot to bring a camera. Winner. Good think I had the spare, super low-end Android phone in my bag, the phone I use for Instagram. It has a much better camera than my high-tech BlackBerry. So yes,we had lunch at a Japanese restaurant on Chinese New Year. Ramen Yushoken is said to be the best ramen place in the south, and Our Awesome Planet’s Anton Diaz agrees!

We had to wait a while for a table, but we didn’t actually mind. While waiting, we took a glance at their menu, which was short and sweet – just ramen, a few side dishes and drinks. At the bottom of the paper menu, it states that they don’t pack food to go and that they don’t have any forks at the restaurant. Mommies and daddies, take note of this! You might want to pack a set of utensils for your kiddos. It was quite an experience for us trying to feed the little guy with chopsticks and a soup spoon.