Cookbook Kitchen: Passion for Taste!

Last September 2011, a good friend of mine took me to Cookbook Kitchen in Mandaluyong. I was lucky to meet Chef Gen Capati, the owner of the restaurant. I told him that I’m gonna make sure that I visit all the three branches. Finally, I was able to accomplish that today!

At Cookbook Kitchen Eastwood City Branch

The interiors of all their branches have this homey and relaxed vibe that’s why I really enjoy staying for quite a while. It’s a really nice place to hang with your friends, family and significant other. Also suitable for professional meetings. But the best part about the place of course is their great food. I get really amazed each time!

Their Pasta Al Adobo is their certified best seller. It has lots of meat, plus the sauce in itself is very tasty, very flavorful. Truly a must try!

Pasta Al Adobo – Php260 | Photo by Joanna Armendez

Pasta Al Adobo – Php260 | Photo by Joanna Armendez

We also ordered their CBK Chicken. This is whole chicken breast fillet with cheese, ham and basil stuffing. The chicken is so tender and oh so delicious!

CBK Chicken – Php370 | Photo by Joanna Armendez

CBK Chicken – Php 370 | Photo by Joanna Armendez

They also have available deserts. I had their moist chocolate cake.

Moist Chocolate Cake – Php160 | Photo by Joanna Armendez

Jeanne ordered her favorite red velvet cake.

Red Velvet Cake | Photo by Joanna Armendez

Cookbook Kitchen never fails to give me a satisfying experience every time. Any of its three branches would make you feel that they really have this passion for taste. I would definitely visit them again soon and try their other yummy dishes!

Mandaluyong

Address: 8 Socorro Fernandez Street, Mandaluyong City 1550

724=3595 or 381-5935

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Pampanga

Greenfields Square, Km 76 McArthur Highway, Sindalan, City of San Fernando, Pampanga

(045) 455-1252 or 455-1259

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Eastwood City
1880-A Bldg., Eastwood City, QC.
709-3593

Visit their social networking sites:

Multiply | Facebook

The start of my modelling career. Chos!

Read my update about this issue here: The End of my Modelling Career

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It’s ze season to be jolly. Summer Vacation!

It’s ze season to be proud. Graduation!

However, aside from graduation and vacation, there is another highlight that comes to my mind during the months of March and April. Last year, March 2011, I got a call from my colleague, Kent. I was so puzzled when he asked if I ever lived in Roxas City, Capiz and if I have relatives there. I told him that though we have a few relatives there (whom I’ve never met), I never lived there. He explained the reason why he was asking. During fieldwork, he saw the poster below at a salon.

Joanna Armendez as model of Rudy’s Salon in Roxas City

Does the face of the mow-del look familiar to you??? Dapat lang.. Cos that’s me!  They probably got the copy from my blog. It was alarming in a way cos this could really happen a  lot if we’re not careful. If it wasn’t for my colleague, I wouldn’t have found out about this. Small world!

My colleague asked the staff about this madness course:

Kent: Anak ho ba ng may ari yang nasa picture?

Staff: Ay hindi po

Kent: Eh kakilala niyo ho ba yan?

Staff: Hindi rin po

Kent: Eh bakit siya ho yung model sa poster?

Staff: Nakuha lang ho namin yung picture niya sa internet

TOINK!!! Alarming cos who knows, your photo wearing your two-piece bikini during one summer getaway might have already been uploaded by some people who have nothing better do? Your revealing photo might have already been used by someone who pretends to be you and use it while chatting online with a D.O.M.

Joanna Macris Armendez | BA Organizational Communication Class 2010 | University of the Philippines Manila

Aside from the photo studio, they also used my photo to promote their printing shop. Hanep! Hitting two birds with one stone. *slow clap*

Joanna as model of Rudy’s Salon NYAHAHAHA

The lesson here?

If you’re into blogging, don’t make the hi-res originals of your photos available. You may do this my reducing the dimensions of your photo before uploading. If wordpress.com is your host site, you may remove the access to the hi-res originals of your photos by removing the link URL after uploading. You may also put watermarks on your photos.

In this time and age wherein sharing is as easy as 1, 2, 3, we have to be extra careful and learn how to filter what we expose to the world. Some people might take advantage of what is readily available online.

But don’t get me wrong. I was alarmed, but I’m not mad. Sobrang funny lang na out of all the graduation photos online, they chose mine. Hopefully one day I would be able to go there and ask them for a talent fee

Marry me, please? :)

Majority of the Filipinos who are watching this season of American Idol are probably rooting for Jessica Sanchez, myself included cos she’s really an incredibly great singer. I just couldn’t help but fall in love with Phillip Phillip’s amazing voice. So sexayyyy! Bonus pa na he’s also good-looking

On AI’s latest episode, he performed Usher’s You Got It Bad and he nailed it!!! I didn’t expect that he would be able to give justice to the song cos he and Usher have different voice range and genre. But it was so amazing how he sang it. So amazingly good plus his stage presence and good looks on top of everything!

Watch his live performance here:

Listen to the full version here:

Boracay 2012: Helmet Diving and Reef Walking

This is just a teaser post of our Under The Sea Adventures in Boracay. I was finally able to use my Lumix TS3 underwater camera!

 

Check out our diving instructor’s hairstyle!

 

Hello, Nemo!!!

Our athletic Sydney

Photo by Joanna Armendez

“Hello world! I enjoyed my early morning jog at the Fort with my family”

-Sydney

Turkey 2012: Istanbul Day 1

ISTANBUL DAY 1

It was a very cold and rainy afternoon when we arrived at TAV Istanbul Ataturk Airport. But our energies were still really high nevertheless cos finally, it’s Istanbul’s turn to amaze us.

Istanbul, finally!!! At Ataturk Domestic Airport

It snowed in Istanbul the morning before we arrived

Snow on the sides of the roads

Along the way, we saw GlaxoSmithKline Turkey. Hello, brothers! We found ya!

GlaxoSmithKline Turkey

We had dinner at Kanyon Mall. Though our tour guide boasted a lot that it’s very expensive here, to us it’s just like Greenbelt. Duh. We can afford it there!

Kanyon Mall

We were given just limited time to eat and go around the place. My teammates and I chose to eat at Meatball Kitchen cos at least we can be sure that we can eat MEAT here.

Meatball Kitchen, Kanyon Mall

Here’s a photo of me with some of my teammates and the staff at the back. He was also smiling!

From L-R: Don, Sir Pio, Mafe and Joanna

All of us ordered the same meal. The lamb chops are very tasty. Heaven sa bibig at tiyan! I missed eating meat!!! The taste and texture of the rice is also very interesting. Sarap!

Grilled Lamb for lunch

After our late lunch slash dinner and a lot of shopping at Kanyon Mall, our tour guide brought us to our hotel. We stayed at hotel Lamartine for one night. It was really nice there and I liked our room.

Hotel La Martine

We didn’t waste time anymore to rest cos we would only be able to spend one night in Istanbul. After we checked in at the hotel and brought our stuff to our rooms, we started walking along the busy streets of Istanbul. The feeling? Amusing. Amazing. Nostalgic! Pardon the kid in me. It was my first time in Europe and every second was just absolutely great!

Busy streets at night

We walked for quite a while at the Bronx-ish area of Istanbul. I wasn’t able to take much photos cos we were warned by Mete that the attitude and culture of people there are very diverse, and we can’t be too trusting. So yeah, I got scared to lose my camera.

After the tiring walk, we finally saw the light!!! Taksim Square is the heart of modern Istanbul. It is situated at the European part of Istanbul. It is a major leisure and shopping district. Truly a popular destination for both tourists and native population.

Read more about Taksim Square here.

Taksim Square, Istanbul | Photo by Joanna Armendez

With some of my female colleagues at Taksim Square

Taksim Square

With Ms. Luz and Serena

Food stands at Taksim

Taksim Square

Here’s my favorite photo of Taksim Square by Joe Chua Agdeppa. Really amazing shot! It really captures the vibe of the place, the way I saw it and experienced when we went there. Check out more of his shots here: Joe Chua Agdeppa Photography.

Taksim Square | Photo by Joe Chua Agdeppa

Taksim Square at night | Photo from Google Images

Photo from Google Images

Taksim Square | Photo from Google Images

Taksim Square | Photo from Google Images

Taksim Square | Photo from Google Images

Taksim Square | Photo from Google Images

Watch this video by Rick Steves about Istanbul. When I watched this, it made me feel as if I was in Istanbul again. If given the chance, I would definitely come back here to learn more about their culture in this largest city in Turkey and experience the modernity of this mainly Islam population. I’d also love to learn more about their rich and long history reflected on the sites, buildings and monuments.

Lumix TS3 Test Shots

Hello, world! Meet my new baby. Hugo if he’s male. Rogue if she’s female. Still undecided.

Photo from Google Images

Shot using my antique Nokia E63

I’ve always wanted to own a camera suitable for underwater activities cos even though I never learned how to swim, I love the beach as well as swimming pools. And even though I don’t particularly like touching sea creatures cos they’re slimy and they’re cold blooded, part of my bucket list is to try underwater activities such as snorkeling, helmet diving, etc.

I was so torn between this and Sony’s waterproof camera which is the TX10 for almost a month. Thanks to my friends who helped me decide. This camera made me feel as if I was using a DSLR camera!

Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS3 features  (from Steve’s Digicams):

• 12-megapixels of resolution
• 4.6x LEICA optical zoom lens
• 2.7-inch LCD screen
• iAuto exposure control
• Full HD, 1920×1080 video capture
• Built-in LED light
• Waterproof down to 40 ft. (12m)
• Freezeproof to 14ºF (-10ºC)
• Shockproof up to 6.6 ft. (2m)
• Dustproof
• Internal GPS unit
• Built-in Compass
• Built-in Altimeter
• Built-in Barometer
• SD/SDHC/SDXC memory card slot
• Li-ion power source (up to 310 shots)
• Available in four colors; Blue, Orange, Red, Silver

Here are some test shots on his/her first day. I didn’t have readily available interesting subjects. These are only what I had. We were so amazed by the features. I think that this is really a good investment. Kisses on this cool gadget!

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03/28/12 – Photos of the Day:

Start the day right with a hearty breakfast. Really glad that it ended well. Happy that the month and quarter will end as desired. Better late than very late. Haha. Thank You, Lord! Alam mo na yun

My favorite KK donuts just really melts in my mouth! Diet? What diet???

Krispy Kreme Favorites!

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Mazza Shawarma - Php120 (additional Php10 for the cheese

Bought a pure beef shawarma + cheese from Mazza Shawarma along C. Raymundo, Pasig for a quick dinner while on the road tonight. I ate it inside the car. Not the brightest idea ever. Now my seats stink and I don’t know when the smell would go away. Please don’t judge me in case you ride with me any time soon

I’ll never get over A Walk to Remember

Ten (10) years already passed, but I never got over the movie A Walk To Remember starring Mandy Moore (as Jamie Sullivan) and Shane West (as Landon Carter). In fact, I don’t think I would ever get over it. Will never get over Landon Lawrence Carter! Kapanahunan ko yan eh!  

The title of this song in the video above is If You Believe originally sung by Rachael Lampa. It’s my top 2 favorite song from the movie’s Original Soundtrack next to Switchfoot’s Dare You to Move.

Image from Tumblr.com

Image from Tumblr.com

Kung anu-ano pa introduction ko. Actually I was just really experimenting, and to record at a real music studio is part of my bucket list. I just recorded this using my cellphone. I realized my voice sounds thin when recorded. I’ve always thought that it’s “thick” and deep whenever I sing. There were some parts that are off key. I also didn’t include the latter part of the song cos I wasn’t confident about it and I felt lazy already to polish it. But I think it’s not that bad naman so try to be nice to me, please?

Cheers!

Joanney the Cookie

P.S. The I’ll never get over line is from Ana Arcega a.k.a. Katniss Everdeen

Photo of the Day:

Lolo Fred's Chicharon

Munching on Lolo Fred’s Spicy Chicharon before going to bed. One word: ADDICTIVE!!! Order yours by texting 09175598400. Available in Regular and Spicy flavors