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Alabang Town Center

Chicdriven Women Empowerment Expo

March 10, 2014 by MrsC | Patricia Cuyugan 14 Comments

One of the most important roles that I play is that of Driver Sweet Mother to my son. I take him to school and pick him up every day, and while that totals only about 50 minutes of driving time each week, it’s still driving, something that I have never been super fond of doing, but have to do anyway. I am glad that I learned how to drive, though, and that MrC pushes me to go out there and get myself to where I need to go instead of relying on him all the time. It gives me a certain sense of freedom, and that feeling of empowerment, too.

Admittedly, my driving skills don’t compare to those of my friends who are in charge of road trips out of town or regular trips to Divisoria. I can’t even go past Estrella on EDSA. My driving limit is from Alabang to Makati/BGC only, and I’ve never gone south-bound on SLEX. But that’s still a lot more that those who don’t get behind the wheel at all, right? I know it takes guts and nerves to be a driver, especially a female driver, on our crazy streets, and that’s why, for me, driving is an empowering thing. This is also why I totally love the concept of the Chicdriven Women Empowerment Expo, which is happening on March 28-30, 2014 at the Alabang Town Center Atrium.

Chicdriven
Chicdriven

I got super excited when my friend, Michelle, invited me to join her at the launch brunch for this event a couple of weeks ago at Romulo Cafe in the super new Azumi Boutique Hotel. I was hitting three birds with one stone – attending a blogger event, checking out a new staycation prospect (which I will write about in a separate post), and trying a new restaurant (which I will write about after a second visit with the boys). Host, Issa Litton, welcomed us as we arrived, and after a hotel tour, lots of storytelling with my new-found south mommy blogger friends, and a really yummy brunch, she and Jeanette Tuason started talking about the upcoming event.

The yummy brunch by Romulo Cafe

What does it mean to be Chicdriven?

The whole Chicdriven idea sprung from Jeanette’s column of the same name, which basically is all about motoring but in women-speak. I love how she has been able to put something so manly – cars – into words that a girl like me would understand. Like, instead of describing a car based on how many cylinders it has, she would talk about how many strollers would fit into it. She describes Chicdrivers as women who can have it all. Being Chicdriven means striving for the best despite humps and hurdles and pulling it off, not necessarily in an effortless fashion, but definitely still keeping it chic. Don’t you just love it?

Issa Litton and Jeanette Tuason talking about Chicdriven

Here’s a bit more about the event:

In celebration of International Women¹s Month, Zest Asia Inc. has organized the Chicdriven Women Empowerment Expo happening in Alabang Town Center Atrium on March 28-30, 2014.  This community development event aims to arm women with the different tools, information and skills to help them achieve having it all, the Chicdriven way.

Inspired by the overwhelming response to the Chicdriven Column in Philippine Daily Inquirer Motoring section, this celebration of women empowerment is supported by Alabang Town Center, Bridgestone Tires,Toyota Motor Philippines.  The expo offers free seminars and workshops on topics such as road safety, auto maintenance, fashion, beauty, parenting, life balance, health and wellness.  Other highlights include the Electrolux cooking demo By Chef Bruce Lim, and a Makeover station by BYS cosmetics.  Partners including Standard Insurance, Marie France, Brabantia, Garden barn and Tuason Racing School will offer exciting booth demos and workshops during the expo.

“We wanted to make an event that will bring together different women’s group and advocacies in one celebration.  We want the community to be engaged as active participants and not just passive spectators,” explains Jeanette Ipapo-Tuason, author of the Chicdriven and organizer of the expo. “Each seminar represents an advocacy and is co-hosted by a civic or advocacy group such as Zonta Club Alabang, Mommy Mundo, and parent’s associations of the different schools in the south.” she added.

The Chicdriven Women Empowerment Expo will run from March 28-30, 2014 at the Alabang Town Center Atrium and will be open during mall hours. The event is also supported by Fringe Salon, Fitness First, Melissa and Doug, Ogalala, Safety 1st, Pigeon, and Gluta White, Has Travel.com.  Media Partners are Metro, Working Mom, Chalk, Lifestyle Chanel, E! and Motioncars.com.  

I am so sold on this, I tell you, and I’ve already blocked off the event dates on my calendar. I totally need to attend the sessions on road safety and auto maintenance. Not that I’d really do the maintenance myself, but it would really help if I could actually understand what my service adviser at Ford tells me when I bring the car in, right? I really hope to see you guys there, especially those of you who live in the south!

For seminar schedules and more info, you can visit Chicdriven on Facebook or email jnt@chicdriven.com.

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Filed Under: Events & Parties Tagged With: Alabang Town Center, Chicdriven, Events

The Best Thing About Dating Your Husband

February 16, 2014 by MrsC | Patricia Cuyugan 13 Comments

As the Valentine weekend is finally coming to a close, I’d like to share a realization that I had with you. Dating your husband really is a wonderful thing. There are countless reasons why, but this season of love, I’ve found one, very definitive one. Ready?

The best thing about dating your husband is being able to eat Paella Negra without worrying that you look like this practically the entire evening.

Smile!

At the same time, it also spares you of that awkward scenario where you have to figure out how to tell your date that he looks like this, without completely embarrassing him.

Inked

 

Because my husband knows that I am afraid of traffic and crowds, he took me out to dinner on the 13th instead of the 14th. This right here is another perk that comes with dating your husband – you don’t need to tell him what you want and don’t want to do. In our case, he knows well enough that an evening with good food and a bottle of wine does the trick, and that’s exactly what I got, so, yay!

Barcino Alabang

 

The food at Barcino is really good. I love Spanish food, and the chardonnay recommended by our server perfectly matched our meal. I’m curious to know if they still have their weekend brunch buffet. I’d love to go back and try that sometime.

We had Pan con Tomate, Gambas, Paella Negra and Croquetas with Jamon Serrano
And wine, of course

 

This was one of the few times that MrC and I actually did something to celebrate Valentine’s Day in our 15 years of togetherness.

February 14 was spent with my little boy. He and I went on an afternoon movie date. Of course, we went home immediately after, just so we could avoid the traffic that was already building up. Then we had a super yummy steak dinner at home, prepared by my mom.

I’m glad that I got to celebrate Valentine’s day with both of my boys this year. How did you guys celebrate hearts day with your loved ones?

Filed Under: Marriage Tagged With: Alabang Restaurant, Alabang Town Center, Barcino, Barcino Alabang, Date, Dinner and Wine, Dinner Date, Food Trip, Husband, Restaurant, Valentine's Day Date

Lunch Date At Press Cafe

January 13, 2014 by MrsC | Patricia Cuyugan 6 Comments

One fine weekend in December, MrC and I had the whole day to ourselves while the little boy visited Fishville with his grandparents. We took advantage of the alone time to run errands, do a bit of shopping and go for a quick lunch date. Our restaurant of choice that day was Press Cafe in Fully Booked, Alabang Town Center. I’d been dying to try the food there ever since my friend Joei posted about it on her blog.

Books, books and more books!

This is what attracted me to Press Cafe

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Filed Under: Food & Recipes Tagged With: Alabang Town Center, Fully Booked Alabang, Lunch Date, Press Cafe, Restaurant in Alabang

Date Night At Yabu House of Katsu

October 8, 2013 by MrsC | Patricia Cuyugan 8 Comments

I’ve had a really unusual week. It all started with being stuck in traffic for two hours on Monday because I scheduled a rare morning meeting outside of Alabang on that day. Obviously the week was already starting off on a bad note, then my computer display started acting up, not showing colors correctly. MrC and I had to take it to the repair shop on Tuesday, and I was told that I would be without a computer for one to two weeks. This obviously upset me, but I wouldn’t let the situation get the better of me. Instead, I decided to make the most out of my technology-free days and fill them with family fun and me-time.

I immediately felt better when I remembered that MrC and I were having dinner at the soon to open Alabang Town Center branch of Yabu House of Katsu that Tuesday night. I won one of those online contests that got us a complimentary dinner for two at a private tasting event before the restaurant officially opened to the public. This was our third Yabu experience, and prior to this we had visited their SM Megamall and Southmall branches. Each time, the entire family really enjoyed the food and the excellent service. I, personally, have yet to leave a Yabu restaurant unhappy.

I took a quick nap before dinner, which helped put me in an even better mood. At 7pm, MrC and I headed to ATC, all excited over our free meal. We were seated right away when we arrived, and were told to order whatever we wanted from the menu. We kinda went overboard and ended up with a P1,300 dinner for two. I mean, really,wouldn’t you have ordered a lot? We got a set of appetizers, a plate of katsu each, Rosu for me and Hire for him, in the larger sizes no less, plus drinks. We also got an extra Layu sauce which is this amazing chili garlic dipping sauce that’s nice to alternate with Yabu’s tonkatsu sauce. It may not sound like a lot, but I will let the photos show you that it actually was.

Yabu (1 of 10)
Appetizers – Baby Octopus in Sweet-Savory Sauce + Superior Egg and Potato Salad

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Filed Under: Food & Recipes Tagged With: Alabang Town Center, Dating, Dinner, Marriage, Yabu House of Katsu

Husband Date at Hossein’s Alabang Town Center

August 9, 2013 by MrsC | Patricia Cuyugan 15 Comments

MrC and I have been making an effort to spend more time together. More often than not, our bonding time involves playing video games or reading side by side, or watching a movie together at home. When we do go out, we usually try to squeeze a nice lunch or snack in between errands and grocery shopping. This lunch date at Hossein’s Alabang Town Center was our first stop before making a grocery run for things my mom needed to prepare dinner for my sister’s birthday.

We love Persian and Mediterranean food. Among our favorite finds over the years are Cafe Mediterranean, Arya, Mr Kebab and Cyma. This was our first visit to Hossein’s, and we were pretty happy with out meal. There aren’t many restaurants of this type in the south (that I know of), so it’s great to know that we have this place practically next door.

I love this light fixture. So pretty. I would like to have one in my walk-in closet someday!
I love this light fixture. So pretty. I would like to have one in my walk-in closet someday!

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Filed Under: Food & Recipes Tagged With: Alabang Town Center, Hossein's, Restaurant

Husband Date at Kenji Tei Ramen House

July 20, 2013 by MrsC | Patricia Cuyugan Leave a Comment

Like I said in my previous post, MrC and I have been making an effort to spend more quality time together. A few months ago (yes, I know, my post is soooo delayed!), my parents took Little MrC with them to Fishville for the weekend. The husbandry and I took advantage of our alone time with a movie marathon at home, a lunch date and a dinner date at Con Gusto in Molito. I remember that around that time, we were always craving for Italian and Japanese food, and we ate mostly pizza, ramen, pasta and sushi for maybe two weeks. Given the cravings, we decided it was a great time for us to try Kenji Tei in Alabang Town Center.

Welcome to Kenji Tei
Welcome to Kenji Tei
Condiments on the table. I am so addicted to that Japanese chili powder!
Condiments on the table. I am so addicted to that Japanese chili powder!

The restaurant is really pretty. I love the design of the ceiling, and how the place is really bright. I think the wood furniture fits the space perfectly too. MrC was still in a ramen mood during our visit because our family lunch at Ramen Yushoken really made an impression on him. At Kenji Tei, he chose to order the Curry Ramen. I went for my usual Sashimi, tuna this time, and decided to add an order of Ebi Fry too.

KenjiTei-5
Curry Ramen. Rich and a little spicy.
Regular Php258, Large Php348
KenjiTei-4
Tuna Sashimi Php256
KenjiTei-6
Ebi Fry. Two pieces left. One was already in my belly haha!
3pcs with tartar sauce Php248

The food was good, and I’m definitely coming back soon to try their other dishes. I love that they are located close to the cinemas. We now have another nice place to go for a meal before or after a movie. I think my date agrees with me.

KenjiTei-3
Hello, MrC!

For more yummy food photos and a great review about Kenji Tei, hop on over to my friend Joei’s blog.

Kenji Tei Ramen House
G/F Alabang Town Center (near the cinemas)
+632 511-8980
#/kenjitei

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Filed Under: Food & Recipes Tagged With: Alabang Town Center, Japanese Restaurant, Kenji Tei Ramen House

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Hi, I'm MrsC, a happy wife and mom, a help-less but not helpless homemaker, who is learning to live simply in this complicated world.

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