Hello Baguio!

daily wake up call: 06:05 am

It's Baguio Before Nine Breakfast adventures part two!! 

I have gazillion stories to share but for now - pictures!! :)

all our love,

Alan & Tina

Breakfast at Wildflour

time check: 08:00 am

I turn the sexy age of 28 this year. My birthday fell on a Monday so I celebrated it a day in advance in a quiet and simple breakfast date with Alan at Wildflour in BGC.

I have two birthday wishes:

(a) to be a GRACIOUS giver

To have the means beyond one's needs - to share, to give and not to count the cost...

(b) to be the right PERSON, in the right PLACE at the right TIME

Because it is wonderful to be so.

Happy Birthday to me!!

All Sunshiny,

Tina

Wildflour Cafe + Bakery

G/F Net Lima Building, 4th Avenue cor 26th street

Fort Bonifacio, Taguig

(02) 856 - 7600

L.E.S. Bagels

time check: 07:40 am

It was a hot Tuesday morning. My temper matched the humidity and I threw a fit when we wrongly navigated our turn and missed our breakfast destination. Oh boy, good thing you weren't there. There were childish stomping of feet, Nora-Aunor-tears and embarrassing throwing of bag on the ground out of unexplained frustration. The boyfriend just stared helplessly, as I transformed from the smart and stylish woman he got attracted to (naks), to a barbaric ogre ready to tear the flesh out of any human being who'll dare set foot in his territory. When alas we reached our destination, I felt a lot of shame and tiredness from my childishness and a lot of love to the guy who patiently saw me through my soap opera moves. I can't believe I was willing to lose shreds of my dignity for a BAGEL!! That bread with a spread Andy Sachs (Anne Hathaway) of The Devil Wears Prada ate before her Runway interview. 

L.E.S. Bagels in McKinley Hill was worth our travel from the provincial Quezon City to the metropolitan BGC. All the drama forgotten with our heavenly breakfast bites of plain bagel + jalapeno cheddar and sesame seed bagel + sun dried tomato and basil, Mango Salsa Chicken Salad and a cup of coffee.

To happy stress and drama free mornings!!

All Sunshiny,
Tina

L.E.S. Bagels New York Deli + Bakery

Tuscany Estates, Upper McKinley road

McKinley Hill, Taguig

(02)804-0423

Breakfast at Harina Cafe

time check: 07:45 am

The door tinkles every time somebody enters. "Hello!! Kumusta?? Hinde ko na naabutan yung orders kagabi...", exclaims the colorful middle aged lady. A friendly conversation between her and the bakers ensue. This is my kind of place. Simple. Familiar. It's Spiderman's friendly neighborhood. Minus the bad guys and Spiderman himself - haha! All sorts of cheese are lined up in the glass counter. And sausages. And the breads are seductively placed in baskets and crates. Oh, yum!

I sit by the glass window expertly calming my already excited heart. What to order? Should I take out cheese? Ohh, there's a garden across the street! Got Heart is right across the street too! Where is Alan? Is he already taking pictures? Be still my heart, I say at last.

The signage says Harina Cafe and then Monsee's Artisan Bakery. I say they have fabulous fresh baked breads!

oh breakfast love ❤

(1) Harina's Bloomin' Bread

melted cheese and pesto adorn one block of carbs goodness!

(2) Lucban Longganisa

i like 'em salty :)

(3) Eggs Benedict

Ciabatta topped with gruyere, Canadian ham, poached egg 

and hollandaise sauce

(4) Biscuits

all warm and lovely

To happy mornings!

All Sunshiny,

Tina

Harina Artisan Bakery Cafe

118 Katipunan AveWhite Plains, Quezon City

Breakfast Assignments

hello there!

While I would love to update this blog with several of our beautiful breakfast stories, I pause from worshiping the crispiness of bacon strips, the perfection of the 6-minute boiled egg and the glorious saltiness of tuyo with vinegar and tomatoes on the side for a simple post about my sidekick partner in 99% of my breakfast adventures. While I remain to be the queen designated writer of this blog, Alan has an equally important role as the photographer. It's challenging to be the photographer of a very important blog (nyahahaha!) not only because the writer-slash-editor-slash-visionary-slash-model is an intolerable nag but also, most of the breakfast adventures (restaurants) are in the northern part of the city (I live in Quezon City, that is why) and the poor guy lives in the faraway land of Las Piñas. To get up at the crack of dawn on a weekend morning to indulge in my breakfast cravings (although he swears breakfast is his thing too) is no easy feat. And I love him more for it. (cue music here, Jack Johnson's I got You.) Haha! :-) I have made it a habit too, to take pictures of him taking pictures for a little BTS (Behind the Scenes ;p) and also because I love to see him do what he does best.

This was taken just last Tuesday for our holiday breakfast in L.E.S. Bagels. Prior to this seemingly peaceful shot, I have gone childish and bratty with matching stomping of feet and tears only because we cannot find the restaurant in his map. "I trusted you!! How could you (do this to me)??!!" It was wild, man. Wild. He was all cool and patient with my outrage and calmly navigated us to this tiny heaven in Tuscany (McKinley). 

This was taken in Hatch 22 in Rockwell in the first quarter of the year. I felt all giddy to experience the restaurant of a celebrity (ang showbiz ko!), we were the first to arrive in the place (no surprise there) at 7:00 in the morning - on a Saturday! I was having a career-crisis at that time and was seriously thinking of changing companies for better opportunities. We talked a lot about the future that morning.

Same shirt as the first picture here! He told me his yellow striped polo is his official Before Nine uniform. Haha! This was taken in Harina Cafe (Monsee's in White Plains). We ordered (and ate) too much bread that morning, we even got to bring home some. The restaurant was right across plant/flower shops and Got Heart, a trailer transformed into a shop/store featuring  local products and organic produce. It drizzled a little so we squeezed under my blue and silver umbrella while waiting for a cab to get us home.

I look forward to beautiful mornings with him. :-)

All Sunshiny,

Tina