Food

Hotel Review: Holiday Inn & Suites Makati

March 19, 2017 By Kathleen Leave a Comment

Last February and early March, we took advantage of Citibank Philippines’ promotion that offers 50% off published room rates at Holiday Inn & Suites Makati. Our family likes staying at Holiday Inn because aside from being affordable, they are very family-friendly – kids always stay and eat free! We usually book a club room with access to the executive lounge since we find it convenient and sulit (worth the money). Booking on this rate lets us check-in at an earlier time and fuss-free (no need to queue), and check-out at a much later time so we do not need to hurry when it’s time to check-out. Aside from that, we can get refreshments all day, have afternoon tea and evening cocktails on the executive lounge.

Holiday Inn & Suites Makati has its executive lounge on the 19th floor (club floors are 18th and 19th floors). Although it’s not as spacious as other hotels’ club lounges, it’s comfortable enough for families to enjoy snacks on weekends or for individuals to have work done during the weekdays. They offer an assortment of refreshments – sodas, juices, coffee and tea and light snacks like cookies, nuts and chips- ALL DAY!.

Afternoon Tea

The lounge serves pastries and sandwiches which pair perfectly with coffee or specialty teas. My husband and kids loved the cookies, Mika munches on those sweet little things with cold milk. Afternoon tea starts at 3:00pm to 5:00pm

Coffee and Tea Station

Sandwiches and Wraps

Pistachio Opera

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What to Buy to Help You in Breastfeeding Your Baby (plus my first blog give away!)

July 2, 2016 By Kathleen 33 Comments

One of the best decisions Michael and I made as parents is to breastfeed our children. We believe that breastfeeding is the most natural, most nutritious way to feed our child. So we researched, shopped and geared up to make our breastfeeding journey easier. Of course as parents, we know that even if we think we are prepared and have done our homework, it won’t be a guarantee that it will be easy. In my case, it was not easy at first – heck it was very, very, very difficult – but I was glad I did not give up. I breastfed Mia until she was 2.5 years old, and we only had to stop because I was having contractions when I was pregnant with Mika. Now with the little one, I have exclusively breastfed her until she was ready for solids.

Because I’ve been breastfeeding since 2012 – 4 years already! – I’ve had the chance to research, scout, and try different items related to breastfeeding. I’ve bought breast pumps, nursing pillows, nursing bra, cover, storage bottles and milk bags, galactagogues, breast creams, pads – you’d be surprised how much breastfeeding-related products are available in the market! Here are some of the items which I can recommend to moms who are planning to breastfeed:

Breast Pump

One of the most expensive breastfeeding product that we’ve invested in is an electric double breast pump from Medela. Although the Freestyle Double Electric pump cost us a few thousand pesos, I believed that it has returned our investment a hundred fold. I also bought a manual pump for back up, just in case the electric one failed or low in battery charge. Although moms can opt to manually express milk since this is the cheapest but most effective way to express, I found it very time consuming when I was still working (in a regular office) as I had to express more than 30 minutes during my scheduled milk breaks. With the pump, the time to express was cut in half as it can express at both breasts at the same time.

Now that I work from home, I do not need to express milk regularly and there was no pressure to build a milk stash since I can just let Mika latch whenever she wants to. I still use the pump though to keep my supply up, I express whenever Mika misses a feeding schedule or I feel that my breasts are full.

A related post on this breast pump can be found here.

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Mom’s Quick Cooks : Baked Chicken Cordon Bleu

June 17, 2016 By Kathleen Leave a Comment

Because this week was Mia’s first week – yes, she’s already a pre-schooler – I had little time to prepare dinner. This is no excuse though, I still had to prepare and cook dinner – moms don’t get days off!

Here’s one of my no-fuss dinner solutions:

Chicken Cordon Bleu

Ingredients

Chicken breast fillet (butterfly)
Quick melt Cheddar Cheese (cut into sticks)
Honey cooked Ham
Parsley
Salt and Pepper to taste
Lemon or calamansi juice (optional)
Paprika (optional)
Flour
Eggs, beaten
Japanese bread crumbs (panko)
Oil

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Shopping Mom Loves to Cook Too! Recipe: Fish Fingers with Tartare Dip

June 8, 2016 By Kathleen Leave a Comment

Aside from shopping stuff for our house and kids, I also enjoy cooking for our little family. We obviously love to eat (our physique is a giveaway!) and I’m happy that my family appreciates the simple food I make at home. Except from the cooking class I had back in high school, I just learned how to cook from my mom and relatives – so don’t be misled that I cook gourmet meals. 🙂

I usually try to cook healthy as much as I can, and it helps that the supermarkets we buy our groceries from have a variety of healthy options like lean meats, free-range poultry and fresh seafood. I posted our dinner the other night on Facebook and some of my friends asked me to share the recipe so I decided to post it here. I will try to post as much recipes as I can, and provide information where I buy some of the ingredients so I can share it with you.

Fish Fingers with Tartare Dip

1 whole Medium-sized Sole fish fillet (Dapa in Filipino) or Cream Dory cut in finger-sized pieces
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup flour
Japanese Bread crumbs
Salt and Pepper to taste
Lemon or Kalamansi juice
Vegetable oil for deep-frying
Dip:
5 tablespoons of mayonnaise
1 tablespoon of pickle relish
1/2 table spoon minced onions
white vinegar or lemon juice

How to prepare and cook:

Season the fish with salt and pepper. Put a little lemon or calamansi juice (just one calamansi will do), make sure not to put too much because the type of fish used is bland in nature and putting a little too much will make the fish taste sour.
Quickly dredge the fish in flour
Dip the fish in the beaten eggs
Dredge in the Japanese crumbs
Heat the oil in a medium-sized pan and deep-fry the fish until golden brown. Just leave the fish to cook, turning it once if needed. If you turn or move the fish too much, the coating will fall off.
Set aside the fish and drain in paper towels so it will not be soggy with oil
To make the dip, mix the mayonnaise, pickle relish, minced onions. Add in vinegar or lemon juice and salt to suite your taste.
Garnish with Lemon and celery

I usually buy our groceries at Rustan’s Fresh Supermarket at the Grove or Robinson’s Supermarket in Eaastwood. It’s because these two are the closest to our home and most of our staples and our favorite brands can be found there. For this recipe, I bought ingredients at Rustan’s last weekend – I had the fresh fish already cleaned and deboned in the store. If sole is not available, you can always opt for Cream Dory or Pangasius- there are lots of brands in the market but the brand we always buy is Sea King.

To make the fish crunchier and tastier, it’s best to use Japanese-style bread crumbs instead of just plain flour. I keep a few bags at home for quick-to-cook viands like Pork Tonkatsu, Prawn Tempura or Chicken Crispers. You can get this at any supermarket.

If you are pressed for time, try to cook this recipe, it took me less than 30 minutes to prepare this. I’m sure your little kids would love it – Mia loves these! Serve with coleslaw, or shredded cabbage with thousand island dressing for a balanced meal.

Happy cooking!

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Food

Afternoon Tea

Chicken Cordon Bleu

Ingredients