Food Finds: Sweet tooth goodness with Dole's Mandarins in Orange Gel

Happy Wednesday! 

On today's food finds I will be sharing this sweet tooth goodness from Dole, their Mandarins in Orange Gel cups.

Lovin' Every SiP

For a couple of weeks now I have been drinking SiP which is a milk tea establishment near our office. 

 They specialize in chilled tea drinks. For one thing that I noticed in their drinks is that its not that bitter since they steep the tea.

As a tea drinker for quite some time there is a big difference when a tea is steeped or brewed. When it is steep, there is the taste of the tea leaves but not bitter after taste while if you brew your tea it still has the same taste but has the bitter after taste.

I have tried a couple of their drinks which are strawberry milk tea and their raspberry yakult tea which tastes soo good!

You can also choose to add on some toppings besides the typical tapioca to egg pudding, coffee jelly and even aloe vera.

Their drinks are quite refreshing since they are not too sweet due to their natural sweeteners. They are also affordable since one large milk tea is about 100 pesos which is great if you are a student that has a penchant for milk tea.

I really recommend this drink to everyone since its refreshing and also its affordable and you can choose your own toppings with it!

You can get yourself some SiP at Robinson's Galleria, Pearl Plaza in Ortigas, Dr. Quintos St. in Malate, and in SM Sucat.

I will definitely be getting more SiP in the future for sure!

Much Love!

xx Alice 

Get Close with Birds of Prey in Manila Ocean Park

Birds of prey or raptors are avian predators or flying predators that use their powerful talons, hooked beaks, and acute sense of sight to hunt and feed on their prey which includes fish, small mammals and reptiles. 

There are two orders of raptors which are the Falconiformes and the Strigiformes.

Falconiformes are diurnal avian predators which mean they hunt their prey in the daytime. Among these are the eagles, hawks, falcons, ospreys, and vultures.

Strigiformes are in the other hand nocturnal which means they hunt and feed on their prey during night time. Most common animal in this order is the owl.

Would it be a great if you get to interact with these magical birds? You can actually do so! 

Manila Ocean Park's newest attraction called the Birds of Prey Kingdom features one of the most stunning coastal raptors in the country, The Brahminy Kites or commonly known as Lawin. 

A little trivia about these birds: They can commonly be seen in Bohol, Mindoro, Palawan, Cebu, Marinduque, Guimaras, Leyte, Lubang, Sarangani, Masbate, Tawi-Tawi and other parts of the country.

A Brahminy Kite or Lawin has a pure white head and chest contrasting with chestnut back, wings, tail, and black primary feathers. These bird feeds on dead animals, insects, reptiles, amphibians, crustaceans, and also fish. 

Last January 15, I was very fortunate to be able to experience interacting with them. It was a bit scary since they would be flying above you. But the birds are very comfortable with humans around them. 

One of the exciting traits of this attraction is you are able to have a picture taken with these birds while feeding them. This is a great experience and also educational for the children since you will be able to show the children these wonderful creatures up close and personal and also share to them that if we take care of our environment, we will be able to see them more. 

Thanks to Mac for this photo! too bad the bird was looking the other way

If you want to experience this wonderful attraction you can visit Manila Ocean Park to see these wonderful Birds of  Prey in action. 

Hey! I love this pic!

Much Love! 

xx Alice 

Starbucks: My Sweet Addiction

Hello there! 

Did you ever had a starbucks addiction? if you do then welcome to the club!

When I was working in the call center industry, Starbucks is like one of those establishments that you just have to go through so you can get your fix for the day. Back then, I would definitely go for a mocha frappucino or a coffee jelly one- but my definite love is Starbuck's Dark Cherry Mocha Frappucino. 

I don't really know but back then I was just in love with this drink. Don't get me wrong - I still love it but its not the same anymore since I've heard that this drink is only available during the holidays (boo!). One thing that I love most about this is it is not an ordinary drink for me. The drink is full of surprises for me since you have a mix of cherry, dark chocolate, the whipped cream and of course the coffee.

I just love this drink that back in December I got this drink at least three times that month. I think of this as a luxury drink for me for a job well done. I have worked my ass off so I think I deserved one...or two..or three of these haha!

Starbucks here in the Philippines is a bit steep in price for some, but if you really want one you have to shell out some cash. There are some that would buy one almost everyday - I was one of those when I was working in the call center industry. I don't really blame them since they have a higher salary unlike the average salaryman.

But overall I think I will still grab one of these babies if I get the chance.

How about you? Do you have a Starbucks addiction?

Much Love!

xx Alice 

McDonald's Coffee Float: My two cent (or more) about it

Happy Monday! 

How do you start your week? with a cup of tea? Frap? or with coffee? 

With me its either way, I don't really get myself settle with only one drink as my go-to one since it can be bad for you. But if you ask me the most common item I reach for is coffee. I don't know specifically, but coffee just gives me that jolt to help me through the day or night. 

End of the World Dinner with my office mates + quick review of Gilligan's in Megamall

Hello there! Happy New Year! I'm so sorry I wasn't able to blog as much last year about food since well..I haven't been out and about but I promise I will be able to blog more this year since I promised to give you guys lots of food treats for 2013! 

Nomnomnom moment with BonChon's KoYo!

Last Christmas, I was able to try this treat from BonChon which is their KoYo!

KoYo? What is that? -- That is my first reaction to it since it was my first time to try it. My friend said that KoYo is a contraction of the words Korean Yogurt. 

Bonchon is a restaurant here in the Philippines which serves Korean style food in a fast food setting. They have Japchae and other Korean faves but infuses it with a western kick. Their best seller is their chicken which I am yet to blog next time. Dieting is hard and I need to set a time for them TT_TT

So going back, I chose their blueberry cheesecake KoYo which consists of Yogurt, and blueberry cheesecake. This currently retails at 75 pesos which is quite reasonable. 

Quite honestly, I found it more on the blueberry tasting than being blueberry cheesecake. I don't know maybe its just me but it was a tad too sweet as well. I like that it has real blueberry bits and also the crust but the taste didn't mixed in well for me. I still love this if you ask me but I think the next time I would buy this I would get a Special Order asking them to put a less blueberry syrup and more on the blueberry bits ^__^

I will try the banofee one next time I drop by Bonchon! 

Have you tried this? Let me know below! :) 

xx Alice

Drinkin' It: Arizona Peach Iced Tea

Hello everyone! I'm back with a new segment in this blog and it is called Drinkin' It. Basically I will be reviewing some drinks that I am really curious to try out.

On this edition I will be reviewing Arizona Iced Tea in Peach. I have actually seen this at Yellow Cab when I bought spaghetti for my dinner. Quite honestly I was curious what it would taste like and also the size of the can. Its pretty tall so it contains a lot of iced tea.

Besides from coffee, I actually like iced tea as well so I'm game to try this out. I think this is available in SM groceries and also Yellow Cab. I was able to see this at Bread Talk, Starbucks and Krispy Creme but I'm not sure if this is available anywhere else. Prices may also vary with this one since I bought this at Yellow Cab for 75 php so expect that this product could be a bit expensive for some but this is great for sharing.

I was a bit surprised with the taste of this since it tastes like C2 but the only difference is this has more of the iced tea taste than the peach taste. The peach actually comes as an after taste which is quite surprising.

Over all I like this iced tea, I just hope they really incorporate the peach taste into it. I give this 4 out of 5 stars in my rate chart. I will be trying out the other variants of this iced tea next time so watch out for it! ^_^

Have you tried this drink? What do you think about it?

Let me know on the comments section below!

Much Love!

xx Alice