Experience 3rd Wave Coffee with Coffee Empire

Coffee. I love coffee. There is just something about coffee that most people love. Most people depend on it to stay awake all night to finish a project or to wake them up in the morning. Some people like to enjoy a cup of coffee just for the relaxation it gives. 

But its most coffee shops are just the same don't you think? I was thankful to experience a new kind of coffee experience with the Coffee Empire a couple of weeks back. 

Their first branch along the stretch of West Avenue in Quezon City is from the brainchild Chef Ernest Joggler Martin and entrepreneur Anthony Lim. 

Their winning ticket for a new kind of coffee experience? The third wave coffee concept. This concept aspires the highest form of appreciation to coffee. 

The preparation of coffee has actually become an art in which each step is specifically calculated from the sourcing, roasting, all the way to its final brew. With this kind of experience, We will be able to experience the finest coffee of the world also with what our coffee can offer. 

The Coffee Empire offers a wide selection of high-grade, hand-picked coffee beans roasted to perfection and served at its peak where the balance of its tastes, texture and aroma is achieved. 

I was really amazed on their coffee bean selections from here to abroad. I was able to sample an espresso made from the best coffee beans from Baguio. 

The opening was really a great experience because they also held a competition for latte art which features some of the best in the metro. Of course the contest will not be one if there is no prize right? The prize for the best latte art is an iPhone 5! 

How envious I am for the winner but quite honestly I have never seen a pack of men oggle during a cafe latte art competition like this. It was something to be seen really. 

Please do visit Coffee Empire soon! They are located at 74 West Avenue, West Triangle, Quezon City (Besides Hap Chan)

Make sure to visit as well their Facebook page for more updates. 

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Coffee-Empire/232090526957737

Much Love!

xoxo Alice 

Beverage Find: OKF's Milky Be Happy

Hey hey! I'm back with a new post!

I haven't posted in a while..my bad! but promise I will do more soon! For now let's get on this baby ok?

I haven't been feeling well lately. I don't know why but I decided to try to move on and with that the best way is to look for new stuff! hehe! I am a foodie but I don't let that get to me because that will just make my wallet and tummy get a massive rage on for me, but once in a while they let me be...

Today's post will be all about OKF's Milky Be Happy!

I'm not particularly sure about where the drink came from since there is an English and Russian (I think) writing on it. But according to the manufacturer at the back it says its from Korea.. quite confusing to me HELP!

This is quite similar to Milkis which is the real deal that it came from Korea. Retail price for this is only about 5 pesos cheaper than Milkis. I bought mine for about 19 pesos at Ministop a piece.

Compared to Milkis, Milky be happy comes in three flavors: Peach, Strawberry and Orange. I only tried out Peach and Strawberry since the store I bought these doesn't have the orange kind.

Peach has has milky pinkish color. Kind of looks like dish washing soap according to my brother. Taste wise- it was okay, it was quite sweet but I wasn't able to taste the peach flavor. It was in the aroma though. It really smelled like peaches but the taste didn't get me.

Now onto the Strawberry flavor. If you noticed in the picture it has more of a saturated milky red color into it - kind of looks like strawberry milk. The aroma though was off for me because it smelled like medicine for me - the ones that has the strawberry flavor? you get the clue. Taste wise, I was able to taste the strawberry but it was not the one that I expected.

Overall I was quite disappointed with these. I know they are cheaper and has a variety of flavors than Milkis, but I think I will just stick with Milkis for now. 

Have you tried these? 

What do you think about it?

Make sure to let me know on the comments section and also your beverage suggestions. 

Much Love! 

xx Alice

Cool down with Arizona Green Tea and Fruit Punch

 

There are days that the sun is like beaming down on me that I can't help but buy something to cool down. Like when I was with my friend Denise a couple of weeks ago. The sun was so hot that I was sweating bullets even inside the mall! 

Thankfully Denise went grocery shopping that I was able to stumble upon these drinks. These drinks are retailed at around 50PHP each which is about $1 in the US. I tried out three variants but I was only able to take a picture of the two that I liked. 

Let's start first with the Fruit Punch. 

This is good for 1 serving only and it has 100 calories in it. Definitely good if you are watching your weight. It does have 10mg of sodium and 25g of sugar. 

Unlike other 'Natural' fruit juices I've tried, the ingredients on this one does not have those hard to pronounce chemicals or substances which means it is all natural! 

As for the taste, It is really a fruit punch but not too sweet. I actually gave my nephew and nieces this drink and they really like it. Its definitely good to give to kids since its fruity yet not overly sweet that you want to hurl up. I actually really like this because it reminds me of summer.

Now let's move on to the Green Tea with Ginseng variant. I've actually tried this one before on its canned version when I ate at Yellow Cab and I must say that this drink is more into the health buffs.

This drink only has 70 calories with 10mg of sodium and only 17g sugar.

Compared to the fruit punch, this one has not a lot of ingredients but it has high fructose corn syrup. 

The taste is still the same if you ask me. The thing I like about the Green Tea with Ginseng is that its quite good for the health since ginseng has a lot of health benefits. 

Overall both drinks are great but I think the next time I drop by the grocery, I would opt for the Fruit punch since its something that my nephew and my nieces would like more. 

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

Let me know on the comments section below. 

Much Love! 

xx Alice

Fall in Love with the Sweet Scent of Nescafe's Cappuccino

Coffee is something that I love. I don't know why but whenever I drink coffee I feel like I am in heaven. 

Don't you think the same?

Nowadays I have been drinking this new coffee from Nescafe - The Nescafe Cappuccino! 

Its a complete coffee mix with a cappuccino taste! - well according to the sachet that it. Basically it is a do-it-yourself Cappuccino! Personally I don't drink cappuccino since its a coffee that has some foam into it.

Here's a how to do it:

1. Pour the contents of the sachet in your cup.

2. Pour water halfway - but since I forgot that step you can pour the hot water at least near the rim of your cup.

3. Stir the coffee till your see the foam!

4. Put the chocolate sprinkles on top

And ENJOY! 

Quite frankly I like this drink since I don't have to add sugar into it. The only thing I don't like is its not that frothy enough EVEN when I did what it said on the instructions! But of course its not like something we can do on one try. 

Overall this coffee treat from Nescafe is something that I think I will really like more since the scent is actually quite relaxing. The process to make it is not as hard as you think since all you need to do is pour some hot water and stir - simple as that! 

Have you tried these? Let me know on the comments section below. 

And for now I will leave you with a picture of my dear cup of Nescafe Cappuccino.

Much Love! 

xx Alice

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 

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. 

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

Night out with my friends at Penpen's

Having a night out with my friends is a bit of a luxury if you ask me since I don't go out a lot. I may look like I party a lot but in reality I don't go out a lot since I was raised that way. 

I was really glad I was able to have a night out with my friends a week ago and we tried to check out PenPen's in Cubao Expo. I remember the last time I was in Cubao Expo PenPen's was not there yet. I think that was around a year ago if my memory serves me right. 

Penpen's is a restaurant owned by actor Pen Medina. I haven't met the guy personally, but from the stories I heard from my friends who are in the film and theater they said he is a nice guy. 

Penpen specializes in Filipino cuisines which is really cool since there are not a lot of Filipino restaurants in the market. They had a pasta all you can promo a couple of months back, unfortunately I wasn't able to try them. 

Their interior is very simple but you'll notice that their pillar has posters of old Filipino movies. Some of the posters were actually produced around 70's and 80's. I didn't spot any 90's film unfortunately. 

I felt a bit nostalgic looking at them because I was able to watch some of them, especially Oro, Plata, Mata which I watched 5 times when I was in Highschool. I'm a movie junkie so old film are one of my weaknesses.

When we got there at around 8pm or 9pm the place was packed with people in red shirts. There was I think a basketball game that day so most of their customers then came from Araneta Coliseum. Most of their regulars are college students since the prices of their food are cheap. You can say around 70php up till 300 php which is definitely a great score for college students that frequently go out.

But we weren't able to eat there since it was almost closing, we only tried their alcoholic drink called Malanding Margarita. I was quite curious with the name actually because why would you call a margarita malandi in the first place. Malandi in English is a flirt so meaning this margarita is a flirty one?

napaisip lang 

Malanding margarita consists of Triple Sec, Rhum, Gin, Tequila, and some fruit juices. Its a definite ladies drink although it does contain high proof alcohol the taste of the juice over empowers it. There are also other drinks such as the Asiong Salonga and other drinks.

We also ordered their Gabi chips which is around 70 php. We didn't order any other pulutan since I think the place was closing already when we got there. The chips were cut like the ones from Piatos but the taste is quite different. I like the taste but for some reason its not that crunchy as I like my chips to me.

Over all I liked our little night cap at Penpen's. I think I will definitely be back for more of their dishes instead so watch out for that.

Have you tried Penpen's before? What is your favorite dish from them?

Let me know on the comment box below!

Much Love!

Alice

Yakult: Another Definite Reminder of my younger days

When I was younger, Yakult is actually the drink that I have whenever I want something for my tummy. 

I have been drinking Yakult for a very long time and I think this has that nostalgic feel to it because it brings back lots of memories of my childhood. 

One such memory I have of it is when me and my family would go to Uniwide which was in Libis back then, and we would buy not one but 3 packs of these and drink it on our way home. As being the youngest, My older brothers would snatch my stash of Yakult on the way home and they would drink mine. I would eventually cry and whine but then they would give me two from their stash as a 'I'm sorry'. My brothers do that as a form of love - I know its weird.

The taste is quite sweet but not something that will overwhelm your taste buds. It is  mild and great when you put it in the freezer to refresh yourself on a hot day.

It is recommended to drink Yakult only once a day since it has live microorganisms. And too much of something is definitely bad for you.

I definitely love drinking Yakult during lunch time since its so hot and usually I drink it on my way to work to ward off the bad vibes that will come in the day. Trust me even if how much I love my work, there are still times I will have the urgency to smash... HULK mode lang teh? LOL

But anyway I really recommend Yakult for everyone for a great tummy.

Yakult is retailed at around 40 PHP per pack and around 8php to 11php for only 1 bottle.You can buy this at any supermarket and stores nationwide.

What is your fondest memory with Yakult?

Let me know on the comment box.

Much Love!

xx Alice