Nomnomnomnomnom

Who would forget the famous sound that Cookie Monster makes whenever he eats his favorite snack? Coooookies!!! Om nom nom nom...Yes, this popular munching sound has now become a viral internet meme that people use (i.e., "Eating my favorite chips! Nomnomnom..."). Point is, we apply the meme when we eat something we enjoy. And by enjoy we mean delicious food that's affordable at the same time. This is something Nomnomnom Happy Food at Tomas Morato can offer.

A quaint hole-in-the-wall restaurant, Nomnomnom has been creating a buzz to people who are looking for a unique and memorable dining experience. The place is quite hidden since the entrance is located in a small 'eskinita'. Hungry foodies like us, however, know where to find good food, and Nomnomnom is not an exception. 

With Serenity Comes Serenitea (and vice versa...hahaha)

Some people say that tea is for old people. We beg to disagree. You know, a little sip of this hot drink can actually cleanse your internals. And it's not only good for the oldies, it's also a great drink for us young 'stressed out' people.Some food establishments serve it hot. Some serve it cold. Either way, we can't remove the fact that tea is good for you. In fact, there's a place in Metro Manila that we think you will surely like, not just because of the cool business idea that they put up, but also because of the healthy product of theirs that is tea.

The place we found is at San Juan, in an area called "Little Baguio". The tea place known as Serenitea may be a small one, but the drinks they serve do pack a punch. What's cool about this place is that they maximized the potential of tea, making it a cool and refreshing drink with the healthy factor of tea still present in it. Younger ones wouldn't have doubts on giving this drink a try, since it's like a healthy version of your favorite Zagu (Yep, minus the sugar, minus the calories hahaha). In spite of the fact that it's more of a newer version of tea, it's still good for our old folks. Regardless of what age you have, you'll definitely want to have a try of Serenitea's drinks. Aside from tea drinks, they also have their delicious Taiwanese Chicken Chops that you can munch while you're there. You should go and give them a try as well.

We noticed that a lot of people are big fans of the place (people just keep pouring in). We also noticed that a lot of people order drinks to-go, probably because the place is not that big to accommodate a lot of people. The place, though, has an incense-like aroma. It really would give you that refreshing and detoxifying feeling.

You can experiment with your drink (this is what we both loved hahaha) in as easy as 3 simple steps. First, you have to choose your tea (that's obviously a given). Next, you have to choose how sweet you want your tea to be. You can choose if you want 100% sugar in your drink, 50%, or all the way down to no sugar at all. Of course, the 0% sugar has the least sweetness, but it is the healthiest version. Lastly, you have to choose your sinkers or your add-ons as we know it such as crystals, black bricks, or pearls, depending upon your preference. Whatever you choose and however you mix and match your drink, we guarantee it'll be a great one.






Here's what we tried:

Choco Milk Tea, 75 php (small), 85 php (medium), 95 php (large)


Glutton Guy: We were with a friend when we tried Serenitea, and this is what he ordered. He allowed us to try his drink (for blogging purposes hahaha). He ordered his drink with 100% sugar, so it was sweet and chocolatey. It was not too sweet, which is good since you can still assure yourself that it's healthy despite it having 100% sugar. You can really taste the chocolate taste, and I think that you will still be able to taste it without any sugar. It's like your normal chocolate drink, plus the health benefits. : )


Glutton Girl: I also tried my friend's drink. I was a bit skeptical about it having 100% sugar, since I think that the health factor is being removed. Nevertheless, after tasting it, I was assured that it was still a healthy drink. It wasn't overly sweet, not like the usual cold teas and juices we drink at restaurants. The chocolate flavor is really good as well. The next time I decide to stop by at Serenitea, I think I'll have this one.

Hokkaido Milk Tea, 75 php (small), 85 php (medium), 95 php (large)


Glutton Girl: I ordered this drink since the lady taking orders said that this is one of their bestsellers. It was a delicious drink for me. Not too sweet as well (probably because I made mine 75% sugar) yet it's not too bland. It had that delicious coconut taste, which was really good. I added some black bricks to my drink to have that coffee taste. Overall, for me, it was a really delicious and refreshing drink. Thumbs up for Hokkaido milk tea!

Okinawa Milk Tea, 75 php (small), 85 php (medium), 95 php (large)


Glutton Guy: According to the lady taking orders, another bestseller is the Okinawa milk tea. I decided to give this a shot with....get this...25% sugar (Unbelievable, right? hahaha Talk about being healthy hahahaha). Well, it's not that bad having a drink with almost no sugar. In fact, I think that it's very delicious. At first I thought having 25% sugar would be pretty courageous of me. But, I have to say I actually enjoyed my drink, especially because of the fact that it's healthy. It tasted somewhat like the usual Nai Cha, but a better version of it. I think that regardless of how much sugar you put in it, it would still taste as delicious as mine. The crystals worked perfectly with the drink itself. For me a medium sized drink would probably be enough. But, if you really want more of this refreshing drink, go and order a large one. : )



The greatest thing about their drinks is that they're light on the pocket. Serenitea's drinks are very affordable and are worth the price, not just because the servings are big enough, but also because of the health benefits you'll get. It's not like the usual drink products that we find in the market who promise us healthy benefits but never really deliver them. For Serenitea, it's real. What they say is what you'll really get. Aside from milk teas, they also have other teas such as tea lattes, fruit teas, and grass teas. So, if you're up for a refreshing and delicious drink that has all the health benefits that you're looking for, then Serenitea is the drink for you. There really is no harm in saying that Serenitea is not you ordinary cup of tea.

Rating: Buddhalicious!
(Serenitea has 3 branches: 1. G&L Building, J. Abad Santos Street, Little Baguio, San Juan, 2. Aguirre Avenue, BF Homes, Paranaque City, 3. N. Roxas Street, Banawe, Quezon City.)

Yogurt fit for Kings!!!

Becoming fit and healthy has been the recent trend in today's lifestyle. More and more people are now becoming aware and conscious of how they look and how healthy they are. Which is why most of us diet or exercise, to keep us fit and fab. Even in what we eat, we always have to see to it that what comes inside our stomachs are low in fat, low in cholesterol, low in carbs, and the like.

One of the most popular healthy and irresistible foods today is the "yogurt ice cream". It became so popular, that everybody now knows it by the name of "Fro-Yo". One by one, Fro-Yo stores have been popping out introducing different flavors and different toppings.

Since this Fro-Yo has become the new "in thing", we just couldn't let it slip our taste buds (Yes, we're avid fans of Fro-Yo). So we came across one Fro-Yo store that you'll surely love.

Located at Shangri-La Mall is a Fro-Yo store named GOLDEN SPOON. Sure, from the name itself it sounds like it's gonna be expensive. But actually, it's not. It's actually cheaper than you think it is. It's like an affordable version of Haagen Dazs. Plus, it's super delicious, you won't even notice it's yogurt. This is because normal Fro-Yo's would taste sour (The first time I ate Fro-Yo, I thought they used expired milk hahahaha - Glutton Guy). However, Golden Spoon's Fro-Yo's taste like original ice cream. What's even better is that they have different flavors to suit your sweet tooth. Actually, they have 50 Golden flavors (that's what it said in the ad inside the store). The best thing of all, they offer free tastes!!! (Talk about thinking on what flavor to buy) Yep, whatever you wanna try to taste they'll offer it to you for free. They'll even give suggestions as to what you might like. And they have different toppings, ranging from cold syrups to hot syrups. And of course, they also have the other toppings like marshmallows, cereals, choco chips, brownie chunks, and even gummy bears. The prices range from 85php (The "mini" size. Believe me, it's not that mini at all - Glutton Guy), to their biggest size which is around 475php (I have yet to see how big this actually is. For a price that much, it better be. - Glutton Guy). Other sizes are 155php-small and 220php-large. You have to pay additional 20php for each topping, but believe me, even without the toppings you'll surely be satisfied. Anyways, here are the flavors we tried and tasted:

Boysenberry

Glutton Guy: Best flavor, in my opinion. It actually is one of their bestsellers according to the Fro-Yo man there. It has a different flavor that I can't quite distinguish. I think it tastes like cotton candy, only better. It's not too sweet, so you won't easily get that feeling that you can't eat more of it. This is one of the flavors that's good and delicious even without the toppings. Be sure to have a free taste, in case you're in doubt of what it tastes like hahahaha (According to the very trustworthy Wikipedia, a boysenberry is a cross between a raspberry, a blackberry, and/or a loganberry. It is a large compound fruit, with large seeds and a deep maroon color.) : )
Glutton Girl: This Boysenberry flavor is actually my favorite. It's super delicious, yet it's not too sweet. It tastes like candy with a mix of strawberry and raspberry. It's really good and one of the flavors you have got to try at Golden Spoon. We ordered it without any toppings. And I have to say, it's really really good. We didn't actually know it was the bestseller, since we didn't know what "Boysenberry" was. So, we ordered Old Fashioned Vanilla and New York Cheesecake. If not for the Fro-Yo man's free taste, we wouldn't have tasted it.

Old Fashioned Vanilla

Glutton Guy: This was what I ordered. I asked Hershey's Chocolate Syrup and Gummy bears for toppings. (Yeah I know, the toppings aren't related at all... But, hey, it's still good. At least for me hahahaha ) It tasted okay. However, it only had a slight edge to the vanilla ice cream. It's healthier, though. It also had a similar taste to another flavor of theirs, New York Cheesecake. We tried both of it and it had the same taste. So, up until now we still do not know the difference between the two flavors. (Aside from their name, of course) : )
Glutton Girl: It was just the same as the New York Cheesecake flavor. However, it wasn't as sweet as the original Vanilla flavor, which is good for me. I didn't like Glutton Guy's idea of mixing chocolate syrup with gummy bears, though. Separately, I think they're good. But together, I'm not quite sure hahahaha Try it out for yourself. I have a strong feeling that you're all gonna like it (I meant the flavor, not the combination of toppings hahahahaha).

New York Cheesecake

Glutton Guy: Like I said in the previous flavor, it actually has the same flavor with Old Fashioned Vanilla. I didn't get the cheesecake flavor, much less the New York Cheesecake flavor. Nevertheless, it's still good. It's creamy and yummy, just like the other flavors. It's still a must-try though. (Actually, all the flavors are a must-try..Oooohh except for the...you'll see later on hahahaha) : )
Glutton Girl: I didn't get the real taste of the cheesecake. It's like more on Vanilla flavor. It wasn't evident that the flavor was New York Cheesecake. But, like Glutton Guy, I still liked it, especially with my brownie chunks topping. The combination of the Fro-Yo flavor with the brownie chunks was delicious for me. Unlike Glutton guy, I don't have a bad taste for toppings hahahahaha


Pistachio

Glutton Guy: This is Golden Spoon's epic fail. And I mean it. It really didn't taste good, not one bit. It tasted like Chinese medicine. Even the guys at Golden Spoon disliked the flavor. What's worse is that the flavor stays in your mouth for some time. I really had no choice but to ask for another free taste of a different flavor just to remove the Pistachio taste in my mouth. I don't know why they still keep this flavor, having 50 flavors and all. No offense meant, though. It really just wasn't good for me. : )
Glutton Girl: I really hate to say this, but here it goes. Pistachio is not a good idea for me. It wasn't good. It really really tasted like yucky medicine. It really had this unexplainable bitter flavor for me. I wouldn't order this if I were you. Simply put, I wouldn't recommend it, not even one bit. You have 49 flavors to choose from, so don't be dismayed hahahahaha If you're a fan of Pistachio, well, too bad because it would really destroy your admiration for the flavor. Still, you might like it depending upon your taste (or if you're really a fan of the flavor, no matter how bad it tastes). You have that "free taste right", though. So, I suggest you exercise it before you order the flavor hahahahaha

Cake Batter

Glutton Guy: Another best seller of the store. I have to say, it was also good. It wasn't as good as Boysenberry, though. But, it's in my number 2 position. It did taste like cake batter. Not to sweet, yet the flavor was there. Plus, it was very creamy. Another must-try flavor for you guys. Still, you can have a free taste of this flavor in case you're in doubt. : )

Glutton Girl: I can't quite recall the flavor (since it was just a free taste hahahaha). However, based on what I remember, it tasted like a real cake batter. I did wonder if they really use cake batter and just put it in the ice cream maker to chill. Maybe I'm right hahahaha Do try it out. It's good. I just wasn't able to eat a lot since we only asked for a free taste of it.

Those were the flavors we tasted. And we have to say, we were very much satisfied with what Golden Spoon had to offer. There's still a lot of flavors to taste. Some of them are also bestsellers such as Espresso, Cafe Latte, Strawberry, Peanut Butter, Cookies n' Cream, Chocolate Malt, and many many more. Truly, Golden Spoon is worth a trip for you Fro-Yo peeps out there, even for you guys who just want to have a nice chat back-to-back with a nice and yummy dessert.

 

 

Rating: Buddhalicious!

(Golden Spoon is located at Level 1 of the Shangri-La Plaza Mall. It's just near Starbucks and the big rotating entrance door below California Pizza Kitchen.)