Food: My Experience at Slice in High Street

It was one fine Saturday morning, and we decided to try out Slice at High Street for lunch. We sat al fresco to enjoy the fountain view at High Street. I am so glad they built this. It reminded me of Atlanta's Centennial Park Fountains and Downtown Disney. No kids playing around though. It felt so lonely without screaming kids in their swimwear.

Slice is just right next to Jamba Juice. There was a cool breeze while we were there. So we figured we'd stay outside.

The waiter took our food orders, and we waited forever until my pasta arrived. It took 20 minutes after the pasta for my drink to arrive. I mean come on. How long can you blend a watermelon cucumber slush? I knew right then that the overall service was going to be poor.

When my drink came, the waitress apologized for the long wait because our waiter took a break. Do you think that that is a valid excuse? My husband's food was not even out yet. He ordered the Philly Cheese Steak.

When she brought out the sandwich, she asked if there was anything else we needed. I can't believe they forgot my husband's drink. His Rocky Road drink came out 10 minutes later. They charge a mandatory 10% service charge for this kind of service, too. But I let it go, because the food was good. The service charge, in my head, should only be meant for the chef/s.

I wanted to order dessert, but I did not want to wait another 20 minutes for someone to get it from their display. Sigh. Lots of good desserts to try out too. Sayang. It was a bad Slice experience for me and my husband. I guess that's what we get for sitting outside. We don't get noticed.

Is it bad that I didn't leave a tip? I just felt that they didn't deserve it. I give generous tips pa naman.

Crafts/DIY: Fishtail-Braided Bracelets

Crazy, crazy fishtail braids. I have always wondered how to make these on my hair. They look so nice, right? I really have a hard time following hair how-to tutorials. So I decided to use some spare raffia I have from last Christmas and make a bracelet instead. Haha.

Image from Wedding Chicks

I followed this easy-to-follow tutorial by MsKristina down at the Typical House Cat blog.

Here is the top part up close --

Since I used only raffia, I just tied the loose ends together.

Now, if only I have the patience to learn how to do it on my hair.

Food: Boodle Kaboodle

Last weekend, we tried doing a boodle feast at the farmhouse. You know, it was probably the second time I heard about it, and even then I didn't know what to expect.

Well, boodle feasts are military style dining (so they say) where rice, food and everything else are placed on banana leaves -- and, you eat using your hands. Yep, you got that right. Unhygienic, you say? Well, we put serving spoons on the shared food. But we still ate with our bare hands. I'm not new to eating with my hand, and I think that it is okay, as long as your hands are clean, and you know when and where to do it.

In an actual boodle feast, rice is mixed along with the food in the middle. But we decided to portion it on our banana leaf plates already, and just get additional rice (with a serving spoon) from the rice cooker.

The food lasted 30 minutes. :p

Food: Banana Avocado Cooler

Usually, when you say avocado, you think of guacamole. Who doesn't? Guacamoles are yummy especially those made in front of you, like the one from Rosa Mexicana. That reminds me, I need to blog about that soon.

Avocados in the Philippines are eaten as dessert. You can even eat it just with sugar. But this banana avocado cooler is my favorite. All you need are avocados, bananas, condensed milk, and ice.

There is no actual recipe for this, and you can never go wrong, as long as your avocados and bananas are still good. Try it and you'll believe me.

Design: One Farmhouse (Part 4)

One of the most interesting things about this one farmhouse is that it does not have an indoor living room. The dining room fully opens up to the lanai, which serves as the main entertaining area.

This is the lanai as viewed form the garden. Oh, that's my mom having her morning tea. Sliding doors separate the dining room and the lanai, which leads directly to the garden. See the railing and balusters of the stairs? Those are wood pieces from an old kalesa, or a horse drawn carriage, upcycled. Cool huh?

Not seen from this view is the koi pond to the left.

Here is the view from the lanai. You can see lots of trees around. The guest house is slightly to the right.

A tiny chapel is located on the left.

Here is my mom again near the chapel, and with her morning tea.

The guest house up close --

Like the main house, it is a mix of traditional Filipino architecture, with more modern elements. Capiz windows flank the corners of the house. Tinted sliding doors surround the whole house.

Festive fabric buntings adorn the wooden swing near the stairs going up the rooms.

If you'd like to read more about this one farmhouse, here are the links:
* Part 1
* Part 2
* Part 3