Coffee at Starbucks Shangri-La...
Edge teaching Fran the proper way to enjoy coffee. But hey! That's tea!!!
This was the first-ever thing that Fran and Edge did together. :) Bonding over coffee. Followed by dinner at Chilis Greenhills, where we stuffed our faces 'til we were all on the verge of throwing up. And then bonding over coffee...again! :) I love hanging out with either of these two...And it was a blast to hang out with both of them at the same time!!!
I thought I'd have to deal with a whole lot of awkward silence, the kind when you introduce friends from two different circles...but I was wrong. :) Seeing them exchange kwentos as if they've known each other for a long time made me all warm and jumpy inside. :) I was reminded why I feel so comfortable when I'm with either of them. What made me think they won't get along? :)
And Frankie said "I have a feeling mauulit ito". :) I hope she's right. :)
There's this quaint little coffee shop at Morato (beside Kozui and Baang) called Kitchen of Cakes and Coffee. And I've always wanted to try their coffee and pastries. :)
After our Persian-shisha-pipe-bonding, we walked all the way from the Persian restaurant to KoCCo.
I was really stuffed but I still ordered a Mango Walnut Torte and a Kahlua Java. :) The Mango Walnut Torte was heaven, but the Kahlua Java was a disaster. It tasted like coffee made of burnt beans and rum. (-_-)' Note to self: never order spiked coffee.
Albeit the drink was a total disappointment, the night out with my closest friends was a good way to end that adventure-filled day. :)
LOL at the title. I just HAD to use that because last Saturday, I had dinner with friends at The Persian Restaurant. :) Other than the place being Persian, this post has NOTHING to do with 300...or spartan men in trousers and red capes.
Anyway, I wanted to try smoking a shisha pipe at the Persian restaurant in Morato so, after the coffee seminar, I asked Janice and Egde if they wanted to tag along.
We went home from Greenhills at around 6PM, dropped our shopping bags off and rested a bit. Then we all met up (Joseph tagged along) at around 8PM and took a jeep to the place.
Chogz joined us (she came from UP).
Karee was supposed to come with us too but she bailed out at the last minute kasi she had some other plans, I think. :)
Paul was supposed to join us too but he was stuck at his girlfriend's house, doing boyfriend duties. :p
They serve lamb chops, which is my favorite. And it was my first time to try a shisha pipe and it was really cool. I felt like I was the caterpillar in the Alice in Wonderland movie. We tried the strawberry flavor. I really have no idea how the thing works but it had water, charcoal and strawberry flavored something. :p
I'd like to go back there next time. 3 more flavors to try. :)
I attended a coffee seminar at Ash Creek, Greenhills with Janice and Edge last Saturday. :)
I never knew there was so much culture behind coffee and coffee-tasting. There were rituals pala in Africa for coffee. Much like the Japanese tea ceremonies. :) And I thought the flavors of each bag were artificial. Everything was natural pala and the flavor depends on where it's grown and how it's processed.
According to the Coffee Masters, there are 2 ways to process coffee: wet and natural/dry. The beans processed manually (wet) have a "brighter" acidity than the sun-dried ones.
While coffee can be enjoyed alone, the coffee masters suggested that food pairing is a good way to bring out the coffee's flavor. 
We tried 3 flavors that day.
1.) Ethiopia Sidamo
2.) Tanzania
3.) Arabian Mocha Sanani 
Ethiopia Sidamo
From the birthplace of coffee, Sidamo is highly prized by coffee buyers from around the world. It features a fleeting, floral aroma with a bright yet soft finish and, like the best Sidamo coffees, a wonderful hint of lemon.
Food Pairings: The key flavor to set off this coffee's charm is lemon - lemon poppyseed muffins, lemon blueberry biscotti and lemon bars.
Trivia: Sidamo is Ethiopia's southernmost province bordering on Kenya.
Tanzania (tan-za-nee-ya) From Tanzania, a medium-bodied coffee with unmistakably East-African characteristics. It has crisp, clean flavor with refined berry and bright citrus notes.
Food pairings: Tanzania has a wonderful fruity flavor that pairs wonderfully with raisins, currants, juicy, sweet fruits like peaches and berries, and tart, tangy fruits like citrus and kiwi.
Trivia: Grown in East Africa’s fertile Rift Valley.
Showing us how to use the coffee press and how much coffee to use when prepared with ice. We tried both hot and cold for the Tanzania. :)
And lastly, my choice among the three,
Arabian Mocha Sanani
Here's Starbucks' most exotic and unpredictable coffee, laden with flavors of deep port wine, berry fruit, warm earthen spices and cocoa.
Food pairings: A currant scone or a slice of spicy carrot cake are a good match for this coffee. 
That day, I tried The Very Berry Cheesecake and it really brought out the coffee's berry flavor.
Trivia: Yemen rests on the Indian Ocean. Coffee buyers use Sanani to refer to coffee growing region around Sana'a, the capital of Yemen.
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As we started the coffee tasting, they taught us 4 coffee-tasting steps to make coffee drinking an experience rather than just a ritual.
Step 1: Cup the cup. You put your cupped hand over the cup, leaving just enough room for the vapor to come out, then you take a whiff.
Step 2: Slurp, not sip. The noisier, the better. This way, you won't burn your taste buds and the coffee spreads all throughout your tongue.
Step 3: Locate the experience. Try to loctate which part of your tongue reacts to the coffee's flavor.
Step 4: Describe the experience. Each flavor has a story. And each person experiencing it has a different story for every flavor. What's yours?
When enjoying coffee with dessert that brings out its flavor: slurp the coffee, eat a very small piece of the dessert, then slurp the coffee again. This will help bring out the coffee's flavor.
We had a bit of a quiz at the end and I won nyahaha. :) Gave my prize to Janice. :)
It was definitely different from my usual weekend activities. Now I feel so cultured. :)
Hnyurnyur. :)
this is mom's french toast.
Last Saturday (July 11), I wanted to try making french toast like mom's so I got up early and left for the supermarket at 7AM to buy ingredients (which included cream cheese, and we all know how pricey that is. *sweatdrop*)
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Here's the recipe (mix everything in a bowl, except for the butter. dip slices of bread and cook on Teflon pan with butter over medium-high heat until golden brown. Serve with cream cheese and cocktail frankfurters)
- 1 loaf white bread
- 4 large eggs
- 1/2 cup all-purpose cream
- 5 tablespoons maple syrup
- about 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon powder
- about 2-3 tablespoon grated orange zest
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- butter instead of cooking oil
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They loved it!!! :) Yey! :)
