Slappy Cakes

time check: 09:00 am

It's the first Saturday of the second half of the year!! I am cooped inside my room after an afternoon of jogging with Tanya and Theo (my brother's kids), the sky is somber and the rustling of the leaves warns the city of a possible rainfall tonight. I play along with the day's mood and listen to Spotify's Smart is the New Sexy playlist. I am thinking of switching to Songs for the Sunset playlist in a while - to lead the drama on. Haha! Oh girls, hormones, mood swings and all!

Moving on. 

My sister spent a few weeks last summer in the city and every time a family member visits, I make sure we go on a breakfast date. I love sharing my love of the morning with the people I treasure. It just makes my morning ritual more meaningful. So I roused us, Quezon City girls, early one Saturday morning to get our cute butts to the bustling Makati City. I've been salivating on Slappy Cake's make-your-own-pancake experience and I finally had the excuse to do so, with my sister no less. I instantly loved the restaurant's interior. It's serious-wood meets happy-yellow-lamps. I am so into contrasts!

oh breakfast love ❤ 

(1) Make Your Own Pancake

batter: buttermilk

fixins: apple and blueberry

topping/s: maple syrup and then mango syrup

(2) Seasonal Vegetable Scramble

everybody needs his green leafy fix!

(3) Classic Breakfast

the no-fail mix of bacon, eggs, potatoes and toast

After or sumptuous breakfast treat, we visited LRI nearby and got my fix of lovely home decors and interiors and arts. Oh! Breakfast + Interiors = Happiness!

All Sunshiny,

Tina

Slappy Cakes

Jazz Mall

Bel-Air, Makati City

IHOP

time check: 07:38 am

IHOP, SM MOA

IHOP without a long queue of curious diners, finally!!! :) I keep a list of breakfast haunts which I happily check after every successful visit and this restaurant has been lingering in my list, unchecked for over a year, until two days before Valentine's day 2014! Woohoo!! :) Nope, I am not overly excited about Cupid's play date because I firmly believe that the grand showcase of love should not only happen once a year but everyday. 24/7. For what is life without love? Hahahaha!:) 

I woke up two hours earlier than usual on a weekday for a breakfast date. A birthday breakfast date to be more specific. A birthday breakfast date for Alan the birthday boy to be even more specific. We are different in so many ways but what more than makes up for the gazillion differences is our love for mornings. Yay! :)

 

:*

To lovely mornings,

Tina

seattle's again!

time check: 8:50 am

I write this in the midst of a family loss, one which wakes me up in the middle of the night with frantic heartbeat and emptiness. We never saw it coming, in fact, two weeks ago, my tita and cousins came over the city to take a breather from the country life. Weird noh? I have always thought that the rural landscape was never much of a stress.

"Tita, I will treat you for breakfast at Seattle's", I texted. My intention was to share my usual Sunday morning with her, perhaps, with an older cousin for a grownup breakfast date over coffee, bacon and pancakes. I did not want to go too far, so Seattle's, my friendly neighbor will take care of us. But my tita and a supposed older cousin multiplied into nine hungry adults, that I needed to mentally compute in my head if I can still manage the next days before yet another payday after the treat. Thank you Lord for credit cards. Haha!

But really, I do not mind a long table of breakfast treat for the people I care for. I would love to be of service to them no matter what cost and besides, this is the only way I can give back to the family that sheltered and loved me unconditionally. Plus, nine hungry adults provide the necessary "sticker boost" for that dream journal I have set my eyes on for Christmas. Haha! :)

Lord, please look with kindness on the people I love.

Keep our family safe and healthy always.

Amen.

All Sunshiny,

Tina

pan de manila

time check: 8:30 am

The grand plan was breakfast buffet at Finio in Tomas Morato (buffet price is below Php 200!) then tambay time at Evers Cafe in the same area. But we were too lax with time that when we reached our breakfast destination, the rest of the Quezon City crowd was waiting in line to get in the restaurant. I was too hungry to wait so we headed to Bulalo Republic, a few blocks away from Finio, another host to an affordable breakfast buffet. Yep, Quezon City people likes waking up early thus the mushrooming of breakfast spots, me like-y! Good news, no line and a dozen available tables. Bad news, they have the worst service ever and refills take more than 20 minutes - and again, I was too hungry to wait. We were seated already, waiting for the trays of refill to be served on the buffet table, they came in painfully slow trickles (the refills), so we walked out of the restaurant.

Our life saver was Pan de Manila just right across the street. Realizing that it has been years since I have had bread for breakfast (I am an extra rice girl :p), we bought several pieces of medium sized pan de sal (sobrang siksik!) and peanut butter and herbed cream cheese (sobrang sarap!) and took them home. I was secretly heartbroken for not having the breakfast we planned for the day but rekindling our love with good ol' pandesal (and discovering new love with the yummy herbed cream cheese) more than made up for it!

All Sunshiny,

Tina

 Pan De Manila

with branches nationwide

Bayview Park

time check: 07:15 am

Worst breakfast buffet. Ever. 

I should be chronicling only about the sweetest and most beautiful morning stories, after all, this blog is about heralding the wonders of the start of a new day but that sad introduction needs to be written. You know, for drama’s sake. One stormy Saturday morning, I got to experience the sloppiest breakfast since I started this breakfast journal. The hotdogs were sweaty with oil, the tocino, too pink to be eaten, the scrambled eggs were swimming in oil. I eat like a construction worker and my mouth is a chronic chewer but for this morning, I ended up eating just the fruit and a teensy bit of congee to hush the growling tiger belly. But, as they say, when life gives you lemons, make lemonade. UPGRADE THAT LEMON! 

 

My lemon upgrade came in the form of a very rare breakfast date. For that Saturday morning, across the dining table was my father discussing his political views and insights on the pork barrel bonanza. While I oppose his views, the breakfast table is simply not the place for debate. I prefer to greet the morning with calmness, happiness and cheer. Maybe lunch can take care of that. My mother sat next to the lecturing father. She’s the reason we were at the hotel. The accommodation was her prize from having reached a sales quota. To my right was my brother, my ever willing butler. Paul, water please. Paul, fruits please. Paul, heat the bread please. And get us some spread please. I forgot that we were in a hotel café and waiters were present to do these things for us.

I rarely get the chance to share meals with my parents since college uprooted me from the northern hometown to the big city.  So I spent my morning with my father’s pork barrel speech while making sure he was getting his fruit fix and that he got to try the jam; with my mother who was basking in silent happiness that she was spending that morning with us (she’s based in Cagayan Valley and occasionally visits); with my brother who was just as happy that he got to stay in a hotel and has spent the last night on a bubble bath then slept like a baby after wrapped in a bath robe (I kid not) and a comforter.

Worst breakfast. Ever.

Best breakfast date. Ever.

Life is good.

All Sunshiny,

Tina

Bayview Park Hotel

Roxas Boulevard

Manila

Farmer's Market

time check: 06:14 am

Yesterday, we prepared our own breakfast! We took a break from scouting breakfast spots and decided to create our own "breakfast spot" in our Quezon City apartment. Oh, I cannot believe we haven't tried this sooner. You see, I am lousy with things which involve the hands (except for typing, haha!) - cutting, drawing, sewing, cooking, etc.; I think I am crafty in thoughts but not in deeds. :p Preparation of food and then the actual cooking intimidate me thus I'd much rather be the recipient of this beautiful process than be involved in it. But yesterday, I decided to finally get over this lousiness and weakness and face my fears. It's now or never. Do or die. Make or break. Haha! The next step after finally deciding which recipe to execute is of course, to shop for ingredients. I am tired of air conditioned groceries and pre-packed goodies thus we went to the real thing - the market! And because I live near Cubao, the obvious choice is the grandfather of all markets in Quezon City, the Farmer's Market.

My fascination with markets started with Neil Oshima's photos of all the markets in the world featured in a magazine (I can't remember if it's Rogue or Esquire). In the write up showcasing Oshima's photography, markets were described to be the microcosm of a particular country. You want to soak in all the culture of a place? Get a quick fix from its market. I have been to the souks in Dubai and I affirm this claim on markets. They are fascinating. The most alive "place" in the world. A mix of noise, smell, aroma, taste, feelings, commerce, routine and... - you can think of just about any word and for sure, it will find its perfect place in the basket of words to describe markets. Another wonderful thing about markets? They are at their best in the MORNING (except for night markets of course, haha, ang pilosospo). Products are freshest. Sellers gentler and kinder. Consumers have more bargaining power employing the buena mano magic. We woke up before 6:00 am, splashed cold water on our faces and went straight to Farmer's Market. People around me may think I am crazy jumping and clapping my hands. I was that excited. Seriously.

When the alarm sounded that Saturday morning, 5:30 am to be exact, my willpower was weakened due to the "luxury" of a soft mattress, a chilly morning comforted by a blanket, a body too tired from the five-day work week thus deserving of a longer snooze time. It is not fair to wake up this early on a Saturday, I thought. Being in the market erased all that thought, not only because of the excitement I felt with spending my morning in a place so alive even when the sun has barely risen but more so, the industry and perseverance of the people whose main source of income is anchored in the presence of a community market are infectious. This is not something a grocery and air-conditioned retailers can ever EVER replace. I think I learned a lot from my short trip to Farmer's. That Filipinos are industrious. That markets are indeed colorful. And aromatic. That we should be more vigilant with the people running this country (MOST people need to work hard for their everyday living - I think those in the senate and in the congress need this kind of field trip). You know the petition to make the public officials take public transport? Let's do another petition to make them work in wet markets, GARDEMET*! That asparagus is a pretty vegetable. :D

Hey you, good morning!

*Gar-de-met (expression): ilocano version of "God, damn it" as popularized by my dearest father. haha!