August on Ibyangram

Ibyang + Instagram = Ibyangram

While my instagram photos are shared on my twitter page and sometimes on my tumblr and fb page, I would like to have a monthly dump of ibyangrams on AWCL too. It is thru instagram that I share everyday moments and random finds. I use instagram as my real time mini-blog. Every end of the month, I'll be choosing a couple of photos from my instagram and share it here because I have something more to say about a certain ibyangram.

We had a great start to August as the Husband and I came out of our semi-hibernation. The weather temperature had gradually gone up and we had been blessed with nothing but good weather almost everyday. I have resumed my weekly de-cluttering sessions in different areas of our home. We're working our way towards having the guest room as neat as possible in time for my Mother's vacation in October. Although work has become more busy for both of us, I have squeezed in time and spent a day with girlfriends. Below are a few more things that made up my August.

Ramen Lunch at Ippudo Sydney

Fri-date lunch was at Ippudo. It's been seven months since we've had our ramen fill at Ippudo so we decided to have lunch here after our Cherry Blossoms exploration in Auburn. It was already late, about 2pm, when we arrived so the lunch peak hour was over.  We each ordered a bowl of ramen and their famous pork buns. 

Ippudo Pork Bun ($4 each). Braised pork belly in Ippudo sauce with lettuce and wrapped in steamed bun. The steamed bun is soft and pork belly is flavourful. 

Shiromaru Motoaji Ramen. It's a classic Hakata-style ramen that comes in their original Ippudo tonkotsy broth served with thin noodles, pork loin, cabbage, black mushroom and shallots. This was the ramen that chose that day. It was so deliciously comforting. The porkloin is so soft. 

Miso Tonkotsu Ramen. This was their winter special ramen. It is made of a special blend of miso and Ippudo's signature broth, pork loin, egg, corn and veggies. It has a lovely flavour that brings warmth. The perfect ramen for Winter. The Husband's very happy that he got to try this before the season was over. 

It came with a siding of open Sushi and shredded Ginger. The staff told us that if we want to bring more flavour to Miso Tonkotsu Ramen, we can add more ginger to the broth. The Sushi was for dipping into the ramen. Cool, huh? 

A delicious brunch and a hearty lunch that filled us the whole day made our Fri-date perfect!

Ippudo Sydney
Level 5, Westfield Sydney
Pitt Street, Sydney NSW
Ph: 02 8078 7020

Brunch at Platform No. 8 Cafe (Parramatta, NSW)

Because I wanted to see the Cherry Blossoms Festival in Auburn last week, the Husband and I decided to take a day off and go on a Fri-date! 

On the way to Auburn, we had brunch at Platform No. 8, a cafe located conveniently near Parramatta train station where we got off to take the bus to Auburn. It is inside the Level 1 of Westfield Parramatta, a few steps from the entrance. 

The name Platform No. 8 refers to a train platform as it showed on the photo on their wall. I think it's a great concept as one gets to see what Parramatta Train Station looked like then. 

Coffee was the first order of the day. The Husband had his Latte while I had my Long Black. Their coffee was rich, creamy and strong. 

We shared a plate of Eggs Benedict with Ham, then just asked for additional Bacon and Hash Browns. 

The eggs were perfectly poached. We loved seeing the ooze coming out smoothly as we sliced them open. We loved how fresh the spinach was. A little thing to improve though was adding a little more hollandaise sauce perhaps. 

The meal we shared filled us up quickly and soon we finished our plate empty. The friendly staff bid us adieu as we left with full tummies and smiling faces.

Platform No. 8

Level 1, Westfield Parramatta

Ph: 02 98938818

LaMesa Philippine Cuisine (Sydney, Australia)

LaMesa was a known Filipino restaurant in Dee Why and now they have moved to Sydney. We've always wanted to visit the restaurant but it was just too far away. Now, it is located conveniently in the city where we can conveniently visit in case we're too lazy to cook but crave for Filipino food.

And so one fateful night in May, a few friends and I got together and tried LaMesa's offerings. We arrived and dinner was already in full swing. I recommend calling to reserve a table as it seemed that things get busy and full during peak hours. The place was cozy, dimly-lit and had nice looking furnitures. A few touches of Pinoy can be seen in the decors such as monochrome photographs of the Manila we once knew. 

We started off with Kwek-Kwek, deep-fried coated quail eggs. The taste of the coating was as bland as it looked (we're used to orange Kwek-Kwek).

The Okoy looked different as well as it seemed like the prawns were individually battered and fried. This was definitely more of an appetizer. I think we were used to the big Okoy which can be paired with rice. The coating was crunchy but did not leave any significant "Oomph" as we took a bite in.

The sinful and indulgent Sisig (diced meat from pig's face) was everything we hoped it too be. Sizzling and with egg on top, beautiful on its own or with rice. Best eaten with a bit of lemon and chili sauce. 

A cold night is often associated with Pork Sinigang at home. It was nearly winter then so we got ourselves a bowl of Pork Sinigang to warm our tummies. An enjoyable tamarind soup with pork, radish, okra and kangkong that tasted like the comfort food we enjoy at home.

Pinakbet was another dish we enjoyed. With just the right saltiness from the shrimp paste, the vegetables were tasty, fresh and flavourful. It also had a generous portion of meat. 

We resisted to order another pork dish but threw all health caution out the window and got the Lechon Kawali. Deep-friend pork belly with crispy crackling. The best partner to the Pinakbet. 

Over-all, we enjoyed our dinner at LaMesa inspite of a few misses with the appetizers. They have definitely nailed the true taste of Filipino food. Our only hope is that they add a little more to their serving as we found the pricing of their food quite on the more expensive side. 

Will we visit again? Why, yes! Once in a while we'll come back to try their other offerings and bring other friends to enjoy Filipino food with us.

LaMesa Philippine Cusine
Level 1, 19 Goulburn Street
Haymarket NSW 2000
Ph: 1300 880 835

Food Find: Mango Chocolate by Cebu Best

One of my great food finds in Manila this year was the Mango Chocolate by Cebu Best. I found this at Kultura in SM Megamall.

It's ingenious to put together two delicious things, dried mangoes dipped in Belgian chocolate, have them wrapped individually and packaged in a gorgeous box. It's a product worthy of praises both from local and international consumers. 

The dried mangoes were chewy while the generous Belgian chocolate coating was of good quality. I find that it is best eaten straight out of the wrapper (no refrigeration needed).

I bought a small box containing 12 pieces for P419.75 at Kultura (Megamall). I also found them available at NAIA 1 Airport (they were more expensive there though).

I highly recommend them if you love dried mangoes and Belgian chocolate. These are also a yummy gift to your family & friends who live overseas.

Want to try dried Mangoes covered in chocolate but can't find these in the market? 

Check out my blogmates DIY entries, Toni and Kaoko, as they recreate these yummy Mango Chocolate in the comforts of their home. 

Discovered Inspirations: Marriage Advice From A Divorced Man

The link to the article below was something I have shared on my twitter page two weeks ago (thanks to my dear friend, Mai for sharing it on her page) and I'd like to share it here on the blog too. It's a touching and enriching article for any one, married or not, who would like to make a relationship work. The tips Gerald Rogers have written rings true not only to men, but to women as well. It always takes two to tango when it comes to relationships, that is my belief. So whenever I come across marriage tips, I also check myself on how I am as a partner and what else I need to improve in keeping my relationship intact with my better half. I hope you find the article below as useful as I did. Happy Monday! :)

Beautiful Advice From A Divorced Man After 16 Years of Marriage

(by Gerald Rogers)

1. Never stop courting. Never stop dating. NEVER EVER take that woman for granted. When you asked her to marry you, you promised to be that man that would OWNHER HEART and to fiercely protect it. This is the most important and sacred treasure you will ever be entrusted with. SHE CHOSE YOU. Never forget that, and NEVER GET LAZY in your love.

2. Protect your own heart. Just as you committed to being the protector of her heart, you must guard your own with the same vigilance. Love yourself fully, love the world openly, but there is a special place in your heart where no one must enter except for your wife. Keep that space always ready to receive her and invite her in, and refuse to let anyone or anything else enter there.

3. Fall in love over and over again.  You will constantly change. You’re not the same people you were when you got married, and in five years you will not be the same person you are today. Change will come, and in that you have to re-choose each other everyday. SHE DOESN’T HAVE TO STAY WITH YOU, and if you don’t take care of her heart, she may give that heart to someone else or seal you out completely, and you may never be able to get it back. Always fight to win her love just as you did when you were courting her.

4. Always see the best in her. Focus only on what you love. What you focus on will expand. If you focus on what bugs you, all you will see is reasons to be bugged. If you focus on what you love, you can’t help but be consumed by love. Focus to the point where you can no longer see anything but love, and you know without a doubt that you are the luckiest man on earth to be have this woman as your wife.

5. It’s not your job to change or fix her… your job is to love her as she is with no expectation of her ever changing. And if she changes, love what she becomes, whether it’s what you wanted or not.

6. Take full accountability for your own emotions: It’s not your wife’s job to make you happy, and she CAN’T make you sad. You are responsible for finding your own happiness, and through that your joy will spill over into your relationship and your love.

7. Never blame your wife if you get frustrated or angry at her, it is only because it is triggering something inside of YOU. They are YOUR emotions, and your responsibility. When you feel those feelings take time to get present and to look within and understand what it is inside of YOU that is asking to be healed. You were attracted to this woman because she was the person best suited to trigger all of your childhood wounds in the most painful way so that you could heal them… when you heal yourself, you will no longer be triggered by her, and you will wonder why you ever were.

8. Allow your woman to just be. When she’s sad or upset, it’s not your job to fix it, it’s your job to HOLD HER and let her know it’s ok. Let her know that you hear her, and that she’s important and that you are that pillar on which she can always lean. The feminine spirit is about change and emotion and like a storm her emotions will roll in and out, and as you remain strong and unjudging she will trust you and open her soul to you… DON’T RUN-AWAY WHEN SHE’S UPSET. Stand present and strong and let her know you aren’t going anywhere. Listen to what she is really saying behind the words and emotion.

9. Be silly… don’t take yourself so damn seriously. Laugh. And make her laugh. Laughter makes everything else easier.

10. Fill her soul everyday… learn her love languages and the specific ways that she feels important and validated and CHERISHED. Ask her to create a list of 10 THINGS that make her feel loved and memorize those things and make it a priority everyday to make her feel like a queen.

11. Be present. Give her not only your time, but your focus, your attention and your soul. Do whatever it takes to clear your head so that when you are with her you are fully WITH HER. Treat her as you would your most valuable client. She is.

12. Be willing to take her sexually, to carry her away in the power of your masculine presence, to consume her and devour her with your strength, and to penetrate her to the deepest levels of her soul. Let her melt into her feminine softness as she knows she can trust you fully.

13. Don’t be an idiot…. And don’t be afraid of being one either. You will make mistakes and so will she. Try not to make too big of mistakes, and learn from the ones you do make. You’re not supposed to be perfect, just try to not be too stupid.

14. Give her space… The woman is so good at giving and giving, and sometimes she will need to be reminded to take time to nurture herself. Sometimes she will need to fly from your branches to go and find what feeds her soul, and if you give her that space she will come back with new songs to sing…. (okay, getting a little too poetic here, but you get the point. Tell her to take time for herself, ESPECIALLY after you have kids. She needs that space to renew and get re-centered, and to find herself after she gets lost in serving you, the kids and the world.)

15. Be vulnerable… you don’t have to have it all together. Be willing to share your fears and feelings, and quick to acknowledge your mistakes.

16. Be fully transparent. If you want to have trust you must be willing to share EVERYTHING… Especially those things you don’t want to share. It takes courage to fully love, to fully open your heart and let her in when you don’t know i she will like what she finds… Part of that courage is allowing her to love you completely, your darkness as well as your light. DROP THE MASK… If you feel like you need to wear a mask around her, and show up perfect all the time, you will never experience the full dimension of what love can be.

17. Never stop growing together… The stagnant pond breeds malaria, the flowing stream is always fresh and cool. Atrophy is the natural process when you stop working a muscle, just as it is if you stop working on your relationship. Find common goals, dreams and visions to work towards.

18. Don’t worry about money. Money is a game, find ways to work together as a team to win it. It never helps when teammates fight. Figure out ways to leverage both persons strength to win.

19. Forgive immediately and focus on the future rather than carrying weight from the past. Don’t let your history hold you hostage. Holding onto past mistakes that either you or she makes, is like a heavy anchor to your marriage and will hold you back. FORGIVENESS IS FREEDOM. Cut the anchor loose and always choose love.

20. Always choose love. ALWAYS CHOOSE LOVE. In the end, this is the only advice you need. If this is the guiding principle through which all your choices is governed, there is nothing that will threaten the happiness of your marriage. Love will always endure.

In the end marriage isn’t about happily ever after. It’s about work. And a commitment to grow together and a willingness to continually invest in creating something that can endure eternity. Through that work, the happiness will come. Marriage is life, and it will bring ups and downs. Embracing all of the cycles and learning to learn from and love each experience will bring the strength and perspective to keep building, one brick at a time.

These are lessons I learned the hard way. These are lessons I learned too late. But these are lessons I am learning and committed in carrying forward. Truth is, I loved being married, and in time, I will get married again, and when I do, I will build it with a foundation that will endure any storm and any amount of time.

If you are reading this and find wisdom in my pain, share it those those young husbands whose hearts are still full of hope, and with those couples you may know who may have forgotten how to love. One of those men may be like I was, and in these hard earned lessons perhaps something will awaken in him and he will learn to be the man his lady has been waiting for.

MEN- THIS IS YOUR CHARGE: Commit to being an EPIC LOVER. There is no greater challenge, and no greater prize. Your woman deserves that from. Be the type of husband your wife can’t help but brag about.

{Article Source, Image Source}

Magnum Pleasure Bar (Sydney, Australia)

For six weeks, the Magnum Pleasure Bar in Westfield Sydney gave Sydneysiders the pleasure of creating their own Magnum Bar. The pop-up store gave each Magnum bar creator a choice of chocolate (white, milk or dark) and and three to four of 18 toppings for just $7.

We went passed the Magnum Pleasure Bar on its last Friday and there were so many people on queue. As much as we would like to experience creating our own Magnum bars, we just couldn't sacrifice our time for waiting. With the line that we saw surrounding the pop-up store, we thought one would need to wait for at least 40 to 60 minutes. 

Nevertheless, it was fun to watch the staff behind the Magnum Pleasure Bar dip the Magnum vanilla bars in chocolate coatings and shower them with lots of toppings. The Magnum Bar creations look divine and pretty at the same time. Maybe the next time they do something like this again, we'd have our chance. Or better yet, this could be a sign that soon enough, we'll have a Magnum Cafe here in Sydney.

Were you able to create your own Magnum Bar at the pop-up store? What coating and toppings did you get?

New HOP Find: Crisped Rice Flavour

Another visit to the Asian Supermarket has brought me to my new favourite HOP (House of Polvoron) flavour, Crisped Rice.

My first taste of HOP happened not so long ago. My favourite then was the Cookies and Cream flavour. While I still love that flavour, I love Crisped Rice flavour more.

The Crisped Rice has nuts and pinipig giving this flavour a delicious crunch. It's sweet and more tasty than the Classic flavour.

Happy Hour While Watching Kdramas

We miss the night life in Seoul, particularly the kind where we had drinks at a market place on our last night in Seoul. We had a drink of Makkoli (Korean Rice Beer) and ate a plate of fried food. It was such a memorable travel and foodie experience--one of our best times in Seoul. After so many months, we got around to finding a liquor shop that sells Korean alcohol and that's where we found a lot of bottles of Soju and Makkoli (also known as Makgeolli).

We bought two bottles of Makkoli because there were two brands available...we bought one of each. On Friday night, we celebrated the end of a busy work week by opening one bottle while we watch episodes of a Korean drama we are currently finishing.

If you find Soju too strong for your taste, try the Makkoli. It's smoother than beer so it's easier to drink. We read the information on the bottle and found that it's healthy too! Its formulation includes Lactobacillus, the stuff used in the production of yogurt and cheese.

Happy hour won't be complete without munching on something. Last Friday's choice were flavoured popcorn from Korea.

We enjoyed two small tubs of flavoured popcorns: Creamy Caramel and Butter & Cheese. The Creamy Caramel is similar to Goldilocks Caramel Popcorn (from the Philippines) but only it's not too sweet and sticky while the Butter & Cheese had the right amount of saltiness. We got these at Tong Li Supermarket and hope that it will always be available from now on.

Having a drink of Makkoli and eating snacks from Korea while we watch Kdramas eases our longing to be in Seoul. We know one day we'll be back there again. But for now, we're happy to enjoy a Korean-inspired happy hour at home.

Thursday Spent With Girlfriends

Spent another Thursday off work with girlfriends. This time we celebrated the birthday of Jasper, one of my friends' beloved dog.

Jasper turned five years old this month and we're so happy he's still one happy, healthy dog. We hope he stays that way for a long time.

Food was abundant as per usual. We all brought something to share with everyone. We started off with Bruschetta for appetizer.

 We had Asian Noodles and Pesto Pasta--for long life! :)

I cooked Pork Binagoongan while one of our friends brought Charcoal-grilled Chicken (no photo). 

Dessert was special as well. We had Custard Cake and Cupcakes topped with Meringue which were perfect with coffee and tea.

Before we went home, we all had a cup of Taho (sweet tofu with caramel and tapioca pearls), a great finale to a day of fun times, great conversations and good food.

Beauty Stash: OPI Vintage Minnie Minis

Here's another cute find of mine.

OPI Nail Polish is one of the famous brands in the market because of its wonderful colours and safe formulation (no formaldehyde, dibutyl phthalate and toulene). I have tried OPI and found out that it doesn't chip easily. 

A few months ago, I found these cute-sized OPI bottles containing red and pink colours as a tribute to Minnie Mouse. 

They even named the colours in honour of Minnie.

From left to right:

RapiDry Top Coat. Non-yellowing, ends smears, smudges and streaks.

I'm All Ears. For those who love a shimmery magenta.

The Color of Minnie. The red that is the colour of Minnie Mouse.

If You Moust You Moust. For pretty-in-Pink nails in matte. 

The little bottles come in 3.75ml which perfect for someone like me who would like to try different colours and didn't want the trouble of finishing up a bottle.

Found these at CatchOfTheDay.com.au

Dinner at Won Jo (Strathfield, NSW)

I've caught the busy bug at work. My load at the office has developed into a slow avalanche that it's been quite a challenge to balance my time between home duties, work, blogging and time for myself. I don't mind busy times though. I've always welcomed challenges that keep me in my toes and problem solving situations that keep my mind active.

Sometimes I don't mind long days at work too as long as it ends up with dinner out with the Husband. Last Thursday, the Husband took me to dinner at Won Jo, our favourite Korean restaurant in Koreatown (Strathfield). We just had dinner in Koreatown the previous week but our attempt at dining at Won Jo failed then, we craved to go back.

A colouful Banchan. Won Jo serves several Banchan dishes and it's refillable too.

We ordered our comfort Korean food that night.

We started off with Seafood Pancake. Won Jo's seafood pancake has lots of seafood and little batter (just enough to hold the seafood in). Korean pancakes are usually eaten as appetizers but this particular Seafood Pancake has generous seafood in it that you can actually eat it with rice. It's huge as well. We only ate one-fourth of this pancake and took the rest home.

The Husband got himself a huge bowl of Pork Bibimbap. The pork was a bit spicy and flavourful. Perfect for the huge portions of vegetables and rice.

Since it was a cold night, I had a bowl of still boiling Spicy Beef Stew. So comforting to eat with rice with it's hot soup. 

With tummies full, we decided to walk around Koreatown. We found a liquor shop with Soju and Korean wines; a grocery store that sells Korean ice cream and a chemist that sells Korean cosmetics.

These were our loots that night: Makgolli (Korean rice wine), Binggrae Melona Ice Waffle and Binggrae Summer Crush. 

I was also fortunate to find a pencil lip colour on sale. It was a MISSHA Soft Crayon Lip Rouge and it even came with a sharpener. Can't wait to try it.

If we're going to end long days at work with dinner and a bit of shopping, I wouldn't mind. But of course, we can't do this everyday. But I'm glad for nights like this to occur in order to give us a break from our busy work.

Won Jo Korean BBQ Restaurant
33a The Boulevarde, Strathfield NSW
Phone: 9746 7041