We're Inlove with Chuck's Deli

Oh yes! Hubby-to-be and I love to eat! And nothing beats a good dinner that's affordable and remarkably flavorful. This is what we love about Chuck's Deli. We ate there a few times and we instantly fell in love with their slabwiches. We love the Ciabatta bread and the deli meats they have to offer. The salads are also amazing! I personally love their Buffy Salad with boneless Buffalo wings.

Well, enough chit-chat. I will just show you what I am talking about. ;)

We're greeted by nice servers and then they gave us this bucket of knives, fork, and napkin. I really like the dips and sauces they have. Really delicious!

And this big boy here is a full slab of goodness. Francis loves their Reuben so he got himself a whole slab!

And with this photo here, I am hoping that you can at least imagine what we loooovvveee about this. Just look at all the home-made Angus corned beef, gooey Swiss cheese, sauerkraut, complemented by mustard and spicy garlic sauce. Mmmmm...

And of course, my favorite starch is here, too.  Double Fried French Fries!

By the way, they have a set menu they call the Lunch Bag. You can get to choose your own 1/4 slab, side of soup or salad or both, and drink for only 199 to 299 pesos each set. And this is what I got here. It is a 1/4 slab Hamsome Threesome, a Waki Salad, and Raspberry Tea Slush. All this is only 249 pesos.

We got a coupon from our last visit. It's a buy 1 take 1 milkshake. Francis got the Salted Caramel and I got the Bailey's (photo below) for the price of one. :)

I tasted them both and they are delicious!

The Tea Slushes are good too. I personally liked the Raspberry over the Peach but it is really about your preference.

Are you ready to take on a Challenge?

Another thing I find interesting about them is their Chuck's Challenge. They have two challenges that brave eaters can try to conquer.

To win the Slay the Buffy Challenge, all you have to do is to finish a full slab of The Buffy in under 5 minutes. And the reward? You get The Buffy for free. You get a 250 pesos worth of GC. And you get your name on their Wall of Fame (which I wasn't able to get a photo of as I was too excited about the food. Promise, I will take a photo when we come back at Chuck's).

The Mother Chucker Challenge works the same way. All you gotta do is to chew down a Mother Chucker in under 2.5 minutes for you to get a 250 pesos GC and the Chucker is free. You also get your name on their wall of fame.

(Update: Photos)

Overall, we really love the food. I find the place small and cozy - perfect for a conversation. This place isn't fancy so don't expect ambiance. There are no fancy chairs and tables, just good food.

Chucks Deli Serendra

G/F Serendra Piazza (Along the driveway, across Market! Market!), Bonifacio High St., Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City, 1634, Metro Manila

Baking for the House Blessing Party

My bestfriend since gradeschool is having their(hubby and her)  new house blessed today. So yesterday, I took the time to bake some goodies that I'd bring to the event.

I made banana bread with dark and white  chocolate chips. And with the same batter I made muffins topped with crumbs. 

It is so easy to make! If you have all your ingredients ready, it only takes a few minutes to combine everything into a great batter.

Ingredients: (Get Complete Recipe)

125g bread flour

4g baking soda

4g baking powder

67g milk

67g vegetable oil

125g mashed bananas

1 large egg

100g brown sugar

25g white sugar

1g salt

30g chocolate chips

These set of ingredients makes for 1 loaf of banana bread. I tripled the quantity to make 1 big loaf, and 15 muffins.

To make the batter, simply combine all the dry ingredients except for bananas, choco chips, sugar and salt. In a separate bowl, combine all wet ingredients including the sugar and salt. Gently mix in the wet ingrediets into the dry to make a smooth batter but do not over mix. Fold in the bananas and choco chips.

Except for muffins and cupcakes, I always use parchment lined pans. And I lightly grease and flour them before I pour in the batter.

When everything is ready, just put them inside the oven which should be preheated to 350 degrees F for about 30 minutes.

You will be able to see and smell it once done. The color should be golden brown and when you insert a toothpick in the bread, it should come out clean.

Loaf

Muffins

I added my wishes to the bread once it is cooled :)
I have a choco hazelnut spread lying around so I used that just as I would an icing on top of the cake.

She's loved it =)

When You See Hair, It's Time to Lay Bare

Today, I can see hair.

I envy girls who can just shave their underarms and still keep it milky white and smooth.

But if you are like me who gets icky chicken skin and darkening in that area when shaving, you probably would want to check out Lay Bare Waxing Salon. 

I DIY my waxing before so it's my first time to go there and try their professional waxing services.

I live in the south so I tried to find a branch nearby. There have 5 branches in the South and I went to Alabang Town Center. You will find the address online in their website. But just so you know exactly where you are going when you are there,I am sharing you this map.

Their branch is at L2A Lower Ground Level, Service Town, Alabang Town Center, Alabang-Zapote Road, Muntinlupa City.

It was a good surprise to find out how affordable their services are.

I opted for the underarm and half leg waxing. It took only about 30 minutes for both.

And how painful was it? It wasn't painful at all!

Their method was unlike the hot or cold wax which you pull off your skin with a cloth. What they do is put cornstarch and then they have a cold wax on their hand which they stick to your skin and then pull it off with the hairs. Expect some pain in some more sensitive areas like the inner part of the leg. Other than that, everything is a breeze.

Their ATC branch is quite small so expect that it is packed all the time. You can book an appointment or you can wait in line. They get done quite fast so you don't really have to waiting a long time.

Please do not look for "ambiance". It is not a spa. It's like fastfood in there. You come in, get what you came for, and go. The staff are nice so don't be afraid to ask if you have questions. 

Definitely, I am going back there again for their services. :)

I almost forgot, if you wax a lot, here are some packages that you might like.

Branch: Alabang Town Centre

Address: L2-A Lower Ground Level, Service Town, Alabang Town Center, Alanbang-Zapote Road, Muntinlupa

Phone/Fax: 823-2669 or 0923-720-5662

Email:info@lay-bare.com

Bon Voyage Dinner at Tong Yang

We bid farewell to one of our close friends who's also my fiance's colleague. Bren is going to Dubai on the 16th and his last day at work was the day we celebrated friendship and wished him good luck with his new endeavors.

It was also a chance to sample another buffet in Makati. 

We went to Tong Yang to celebrate despite the heavy traffic and bad weather last Friday night. The traffic was so heavy it took us an hour from BGC to Tong Yang Makati. But it was all worth it when we got there as we are greeted with friends who started their chinese and japanese dinner already. 

They alreay have meats in the smokeless grill and something boiling in the shabu-shabu pot.

Tong Yang has a limited spread. They only have japanese, chinese, and some Filipino desserts. They have small tables for salads and japanese rolls and same goes with the chinese dish table. 

What they lack in options in Japanese and Chinese dishes, they have made up with a good array of marinated meats and seafood for the grill. Their options for shabu-shabu are quite wide too. I really like the broth. It's delicious.

Marinated meats, seafood and some veggies

Stuff for your shabu-shabu.

The dessert was quite limited in terms of options. You only have the make-your-own halo-halo, fruits, and an ube cake which I think is store bought.

Another thing I like is that the drinks are unlimited too. You can have as much as you want with the choice of beer, iced tea, mango juice, orange juice, pineapple, juice, and sodas. 

The ambiance is okay. There are many people eating so it is quite noisy. But we stayed in a room so we have privacy and were able to talk and have fun. 

Overall, Tong Yang is a good place to eat with friends if you love non stop eating for an affordable price.

Finding Relik!

Last Friday, Sancha and I agreed to de-stress a little bit and try something new for lunch. We had our eye on Pasta Roni but on our way there we saw another place that looks quite cozy. The place is called Relik Tapas Bar and Restaurant.

We ordered their Caesar salad and it was great! It is served with a couple of crostini and a soft boiled egg. 

We wanted some quesadilla but it wasn't available.

I ordered Shrimp and Aligue Linguine and it was also delicious. By its name you probably already imagined what it looked like.

Sancha ordered boneless chicken with tomato puree and rice that we were not able to take a photo of, unfortunately.

Overall, Relik has a very good ambiance that's great for talking so catching up with friends or having a meeting will not be a problem. The design is a combination of many different things. There are cushioned seats paired with a totally different one, photographs on the wall, and wall with cushion combined nicely for a good overall look and feel.

They have a good selection of cocktails and drinks too. 

The servers are nice but it took a while to get our orders. Aside from the delay, it is a great place to hang out.

Smoothie Experiment No. 4

This one is a great energy booster to perk you up and us also tasty.

You may notice that my smoothies here are thicker than usual and have quite some pulp in them. That's because these smoothies can be a replacment for snacks or small meals. 

Here are the ingredients for today's smoothie experiment:

2 oranges

1 ripe mango

2 tbsp ginger tea

1/4 cup or non fat milk

I prefer my ingredients cold so i don't need to add ice. But if you like your smoothie not as thick, you can half the ingredients and add some water, ice and sweeteners(optional).

Put everything in your blender and the end product is a beautiful yellow colored smoothie =)

Braided Bangs! =)

I've been all about braided bangs these past few days, so I thought I'd share them with you.

I like because easily turns your hair into simple but fabulous do. It is a simple, dainty and unique way to upgrade a hairstyle.

There are different ways to do it. You can do a French or Dutch braid it in different angles to the side. Keep it tight or loosen it up to make it look different. You can also combine it with other styles to make it even more interesting.

Side Braided Bangs

For this style, side part your hair and start the braid where the part is. Do a french or a dutch braid on the side where there is more hair. I did a lace braid in this photo. It is a french braid but I only get the side most part of the hair to add to the braid each time.

The next one is a simple side dutch braid. I do have a side part and i started a little beyond to make it look unique. You can also start a little bit farther to the side to hide the starting point of your braid. 

This one is the same as the above but I did a french braid instead of a side braid.

Braids On Top

I had this one when my bangs were shorter. It is a bit more difficult to braid a shorter hair to it came out messy. But hey, messy is sexy baby. So I went with it. Many thought it was cute. :)

This is a dutch braid, more not-messy version of the one above. It is just a straight braid from the forehead back.

Braided Bangs Combo :)

Now my favorite. I really like to combine different kinds of braids or do them differently to make create a totally different look.

In this style, I try to cap my head with the hair that is going to the dutch braid I started at the part of my hair. I only add hair from the top my head and continued to do so until I reach the length I wanted. I was quite happy with this even if it is my first time to try it :)

What  I did in the picture below is my take on the "boho" look. I made a dutch side braid for the bangs and continued to braid to the end of the hair. I hid it under a little bit of hair on the side and showed it again at the back then hid it again on the other side pinning it near the other ear. Then, I got a clump of hair from the back of my head and made it into a rope braid making sure that the start will not show. I used the rope braid to form another "headband" and pinned it behind the other ear.

Last, but not the least, is this loose dutch braid the starts from the part of my hair to the side. To do this, just make a normal dutch braid and when you're done, you can loosen it up to make it look pretty. Then I gathered my hair to one side and braided normally to have the effect that the braid continuous to the tips of my hair.

There are lots of ways to do braids and these are only a few. I hope you liked these designs. :)

Happy Braiding! =)