Kikki.K: Paper Love

I love paper with the same passion as I love food. Pen and paper were my constant companions growing up.

My parents bought our first desktop computer when I was in junior college, but hardware could not take the place of my usual pen and paper.

In high school, like most girls my age, I collected stationery. I would swap pages with friends. I would buy journal notebooks regularly and wrote on them using scented pens. I spent hours browsing paper products at Learner’s Shoppe across my school, St. Louis, or at Co-Ed near St. Paul. Every time we went to Manila, I would go to Gift Gate and National Bookstore to add to my collection. It was only in college that I discovered Tickles and Regina’s.

So you can imagine my delight when I discovered Kikki.K. I must have read about them in Chuvaness’s or Daphne’s blog since those are the ones I follow regularly. I also remember Kim Jones mentioning the brand in one of her Instagram posts. So when I came across their store at ION mall Singapore last year, I went crazy. I bought notebooks, stamps, pens and what-nots for my nieces.

When I got back to Manila, I started watching videos at the Kikki.K Planner Love  page and was completely entranced. It was then that I decided I would get a real planner for the new year. I stopped using planners years ago, making do with Google Calendar and Evernote. I also keep a Moleskine notebook to write on.

Months passed, a lot of things happened, but I couldn’t get Kikki.K out of my mind. So, in December, I ordered my peach-colored Be Brave planner along with a Paper Lover’s Book, a mini stationery kit and a vision board kit. Since I met a certain minimum order, Kikki.K threw in a free accessory pack loaded with goodies, namely a sticker book, gold and silver washi tapes and gold spiral paper clips, nicely presented in a cute drawstring bag.

My package arrived in Manila in the first week of January but was held by Customs. I finally got hold of it this week, just in time for Chinese New Year. Not funny, Customs people.
 

I started customizing my planner as soon as I got home. Here’s a glimpse of what it looks like.

 

 
 

 It's almost Valentine's Day. Tell me what you love.

Hotel Room Review: Marco Polo Hotel Ortigas

 I celebrated a special family gathering at Marco Polo Ortigas recently and stayed for two nights at a Premier Suite.

Prior to this stay, I’ve had the opportunity to visit three times, twice to dine at Cucina and once at Cafe Pronto. The attentiveness of the staff made a great impression on me. So did the tastefully decorated check-in lobby at the 24th floor. Other common areas are equally well put-together.

Even more impressive were the rooms. The Premier Room is 51 square meters, with floor to ceiling windows, a king size bed (you can request for 2 doubles instead), a lounge chair, a bench chair at the foot of the bed and a round glass table with two chairs for dining.
 
The water closet has separate bath and shower areas, lavatory, and double basins so you and your companion can get ready at the same time. So much space!

The room is also equipped with a cute Nespresso machine and three capsules in a variety of flavors.



Even better are the price points. Because we were booked for an event, I got the room at P7,500 net. The most affordable rooms are the superior rooms, which were offered to me at P5,000 net. All rates are inclusive of buffet breakfast for two at Cucina. The buffet spread, both for breakfast and dinner, has a substantial selection of continental and Asian fare that has enough variety yet is manageable and well curated.

We booked a total of four rooms for our family but, as expected, my nieces invaded my room. JM loved soaking in the tub. I had to request for housekeeping service three times to keep my OC self sane. The staff were always obliging.

The banquet services attended to all our needs without any hassle. I expected to be badgered with paperwork and approvals but, to my delight, there was none!

The most trouble I had was figuring out which elevator led to the parking since there was no direct lift from the rooms. But I got the hang of it eventually so it didn't dampen my impression of the hotel.

A Long Overdue Thanks to 2015

It’s already three weeks into 2016 but I have yet to bid 2015 a proper goodbye and give it the recognition it deserves. This early, my 2016 is turning up to be quite eventful, largely because of the curveballs 2015 threw my way.

Here are the highlights of my 2015:

1. My Mama’s 70th birthday

We celebrated the occasion with a small gathering of family members at Heat restaurant in EDSA Shangri-La. I enjoyed the food as usual but nothing gave me more joy than seeing my Mama’s beaming face.

2. JM’s Junior Prom

My darling niece JM went to the prom so we went agog getting her prepped for the ball and welcoming her escort.

 

I panicked when the makeup artist applied heavy foundation on her that was at least two shades darker than her skin tone. I had to call it out. Thank God, it was fixed just in time, although I still think I would have done a better job doing her makeup myself. But I am happy that she had a superb time.

 

3. Madrid Fusion Manila

With Asia's Best Female Chef, Gaita Fores

What a feast! And a proud moment for Pinoys! Read the highlights of my Madrid Fusion experience here.

4. Travels Near and Far

We took a respite from the Pope Francis fever with a stay at Domicillo Hotel in Tagaytay. Nothing restores the spirit like some quiet time and a priceless view.

For the first time in a long time, Badette and I were able to travel together again.

I enjoyed my moment in the sun with Casa Artusi and Gaita Fores.

I had a rare chance of bonding with relatives in Tuguegarao including those based abroad for Uncle Angel and Auntie Linda’s wedding anniversary. We all had a lovely time.

A most wonderful time in Tokyo and Kyoto with our dearest friends, the Sarmiento couple.

5. The Most Unexpected Birthday Gift Ever

6. A New Home

7. A Tiring But Joy-Filled Holiday Season

It felt like Valentine's Day in December.

8. The Best Gift Ever, to be unwrapped soon

Thank you, 2015. You won’t ever be forgotten.

Discovering Asakusa in Tokyo, Japan

When I first went to Tokyo in 2010, I did plenty of research on where to stay, and, consistently, Shinjuku came out on top, with Ginza a close second for its proximity to Tsukiji Market and to high-end shops. I loved the energy of Shinjuku but we didn’t get to do our hotel booking early enough this time. We ran out of rooms in the places we were considering.

A store selling those popular rice crackers

I started looking for options in AirBNB. I opted out of Shinjuku because I was afraid we would end up at the red light district. I saw some promising apartments in Roponggi, Asakusa and Ginza. Mon, who lived in Tokyo for some time and was conversant in Japanese, said we were better off staying at either of the latter two neighborhoods.

We opted for the apartment in Asakusa because it looked really promising in pictures. The posting indicated that it could accommodate 10 people so there should be more than sufficient space for four. The first time I came to Tokyo, I stayed in a highly recommended hotel in Shinjuku where the room can hardly accommodate two people with luggage.

What a fantastic choice it ended up to be. We had a hard time getting our bearings from the Asakusa train station but once we figured out where we were supposed to go, transportation became less of a concern.

There's plenty of small, quaint restaurants but they fill up fast so come early and be prepared to wait

The historic district of Asakusa has a more traditionally Japanese atmosphere than other Tokyo neighborhoods. It has plenty of small, family-run restaurants and shops in narrow streets that are a pleasure to get lost in. It also has the oldest geisha district in Tokyo, although we didn’t see one during our stay.

Yuka’s Apartment turned out to be a great find because it’s right on the fifth floor of Rox 3G, which is one of three annex buildings of Rox, the only shopping mall you’ll find in the area.

The building and unit were both spotless. It must be obsessively cleaned because there’s not a spot of dirt even in the hard-to-scrub grout. The apartment was a great model of Japanese aesthetics—clean, well-structured, understated. I loved how storage is built into the walls, and how the different areas are partitioned with sliding doors so that you can enjoy the open structure and still have privacy when it’s called for. The entire place was equipped with necessities for cooking, bathing and cleaning, and stocked up with supplies including rolls of toilet paper, towels, beddings, etc.

Tokyo SkyTree

Senso-ji Temple

 From the balcony or through the glass doors of the living room, you can enjoy a view of the Tokyo SkyTree and Senso-ji temple. After an entire day of walking, we loved sitting together in front of the television with our munchies to relax. To get all that at half the price of a tourist hotel in Tokyo was a big stroke of luck.

One of the best things about it is its proximity to Nakamise and Shin-Nakamise Shopping Streets. Nakamise is lined with small vendor stalls selling items and local snacks. Shin-Nakamise or new Nakamise is a shopping arcade with interesting shops and restaurants. It runs perpendicular to the old shopping street. You can spend and entire day there because there’s plenty of interesting things to see.

Local snacks

I could spend all day sampling bites at Nakamise

A cluster of street-side bars where you can drink all night

Shin-Nakamise

Asakusa is small enough to discover on foot but if you don’t have enough time or want to discover the neighborhood comfortably seated on a high perch, book a rickshaw tour. Asakusa is the only place in Tokyo rickshaws are allowed to operate. Tours are offered in different languages.

One of the unexpected benefits of riding a rickshaw was getting an insider recommendation to a fantastic yakiniku place, which I will feature in the next post.

Ultimate Taste Test 2015: A Verdict

I’ve been a reader of Anton’s blog for years. I love that he has almost every restaurant in Manila covered, and then some.

So when he announced that he was holding an Ultimate Taste Test 2015 (UTT15) event in September, I immediately informed the foodie family and friends. Our group of 13 trooped to Glorietta mall on September 12 to sample the offerings of over 40 food purveyors.

After getting our names verified at the registration counter, we were provided a map to the venue as well as a “Passport”, a score sheet with the names of all the concessionaires whose food we were supposed to rate and comment on. The vendors signed the sheet after handing out their dishes. Most booths offered two items for the participants to sample.

Since Judd, my nieces Joanna and Jenna, and I were the last to arrive in our group, we went straight to eating. Our bigger group claimed the peripheral area of the stage as our own so after sampling and/or collecting our food items, we would take a break, go to our spot, and write down the scores on our individual sheets.

Truth be told, we didn’t really use the map. We sort of intuitively agreed to cover the outer circle first and then the inner cluster. But we didn’t strictly follow that rule either. Mostly, we were following our nose.

One of the first things we tried was the beignet of Kapeng Mainit. I am a beignet fiend but it is so hard to find a good one here in Manila. We made quite a scene while having a taste of these doughnuts because we were making unintelligible sounds of appreciation.

 Kapeng Mainit’s beignets have a light crunch, with a puffy, chewy interior that oozed green tea cream with every bite. I didn’t mind that I was covered with powdered sugar after finishing my piece. I wanted another one.

I cannot quite forget the tiny bite of fat-rimmed, beautifully crusted roasted Angus U.S. beef at The Beef Barn’s station. Dipped in the wild mushroom sauce, it was quite fantastic. They are set to open in Eastwood Citywalk in October so that’s something to watch out for.

 

Some of my friends regard Hainanese chicken as nothing more than just tinolang manok. Maybe they have a point but, in good Hainanese chicken, you get a bird that is perfectly moist and silky, something I’ve never quite experienced with tinola. Being a fan of this dish, I was thrilled to find Chivy & Co.’s Sous Vide Hainanese Chicken Rice. It was difficult to truly appreciate the subtle flavors of Hainanese chicken rice in a single mouthful, and it was hard to tell if the sous vide process made a marked difference, but the taste was sensational. I look forward to having this as a meal and comparing it with my favorite Stevie’s Hainanese chicken.

For me, callos is always a reason to break bread. It’s a family favorite and I am happy to report that the one purveyor who offered it at UTT15 did so exceedingly well. Tarlaquena’s callos was melting with tripe and tendon that seem to have been braised forever.

Other noteworthy bites included the following:

The flavor-packed Al Pastor taco of Su Casa Grill

The salted coco caramel of First Harvest, a social enterprise under the Gawad Kalinga Farm

Actress Maricar Reyes’s uber-moist choco-liquor cakes

Poco Deli's juicy kielbasa classic

Of the more than 40 food stations, I was able to cover only 15. Next time we join the UTT, we’ll make a day of it. It’s a fun activity for the family and a group of friends because you get to discover new things together, play food critic for a day, and interact with food entrepreneurs whose passion for their products are inspiring and infectious. On top of that, it was a well-organized event. It helped that Anton published a Survival Guide days before so we knew exactly what to expect.

‘Looking forward to the next one.