Gaspi's in SM BF

We've practically tried all the restaurants in SM BF already, so we decided to eat here in Gaspi's for the first time one afternoon when we were craving for Spanish food.

First of all, I totally love the interiors especially those brick walls and that glass archway...

Here's their menu:

This is their free bread which was served at the start of the meal. The bread was soft and there was a lot of butter given as well.

For our appetizers, we got Croquetas and Calamares. Both were just ok for me, nothing special.

Croquetas
Chicken croquettes in bechamel sauce
P260

Calamares Fritos
P210

For our main dish, we got the Salpicado and Paella. If I remember correctly, the Salpicado came with rice but since we ordered paella already, we decided to get onion rings instead. However, the onion rings were not crunchy at all and also a bit cold. The salpicao was ok but for the price, the serving was definitely small.

Salpicado with Onion Rings
P450

closer look at the Salpicado

The best thing about our meal was the paella, but even that was just average tasting for us...

Paella de Arroz ala Cubana
P350

Overall, I'm sorry to say that the food was disappointing for us. I don't know if we ordered the wrong things but we definitely have tasted better elsewhere. And for the price we paid (about P1500) sana we ate na lang in Vikings or something hehe. ;p

Make your own colors with the Crayola Marker Maker

My kids have so much toys already that whenever someone asks me what they can give them as a gift, I immediately think of arts and crafts stuff. So for Miley's birthday, we gave her this Crayola Marker Maker. She loves to draw and write using markers (not so much crayons) so I knew she would love this.

I love the whole DIY concept and creating your own custom colors. And if you ever wondered how markers are made, I can now tell you that it's so simple and fun! :)

The kit comes with only 3 ink bottles - red, yellow, and blue. But you can make so many colors by using the mixing guide provided, or just creating your own.

Here's the "core" of the markers which will be filled with color later on. It's like a sponge so it absorbs the ink really quickly (reminds me of a tampon lol! ;p).

And there are all kinds of wacky tips to choose from!

Here's the assembled kit with all the parts:

At first, hubby and I were the ones putting the ink in the measuring tubes. But it really is so easy to do that after a while, Miley was the one doing all the steps!

look at that intense concentration

Our favorite part was putting the core in the tube and watching the ink get absorbed. You can see the ink quickly spreading upward the entire white core which was pretty cool hehe! ;p

After, you just use the tweezers provided to transfer the core to the plastic barrel. Then use the machine to snap it shut inside the pen.

You just have to wait a few minutes for the color to completely spread out, then the markers are ready to use!

I also love how the markers came with labels which you can write the color you made on. And there was also a box which you can further color and personalize.

Of course, this is so much cheaper in the States (almost half the price) but it is also available here for P1,700. I even saw a girl version in Toys R Us, which I wish was the one I had bought for Miley. But either way, I really think this is such a great gift idea for any kid since it's something the whole family can enjoy too. And don't worry if you finish up the ink or made all the pens already. You can buy refills as well! :)

Hole in the Wall

Hole in the Wall in Century City Mall is definitely not your average food court. In fact, this is probably the nicest, chicest, most sosyal food court I've been to in Manila hehe. We decided to eat here a few weeks ago after watching the Hi-5 concert and it was still on soft opening that time.

I just love all the designs and furniture in the different seating sections. Reminds me of the food courts in the Singapore malls.

Every corner is picture perfect, with lots of attention to detail...

the cutest taho vendors!

so many nice places to take pics

Love the table we got right behind this skateboard wall. And can I take home those chairs? ;p

There are lots of food choices, but of course everything was a bit more expensive than what you would find in a regular food court...

this stall had the longest line when we were there...

In the end, we decided to order at Bad Bird, since it had the longest line so we figured it must be good. This was the Dirty Rice Plate (P320). You can also choose the level of spiciness for your chicken so we got "Safe" (for me and the kids) and "Spicy" (for hubby). Although warning, the Spicy chicken was really spicy! Hubby has a high level of tolerance but he was sweating buckets after eating lol! The chicken was really flavorful and I enjoyed the rice too. Definitely a thumbs-up!

oops. someone's taking a swipe of the spicy chicken!

We also got the Street Tacos (P290) from Posporo. Flavors were Adobo Carnitas, Chiken Inasal, and Grilled Tocino. The taste was something different but definitely interesting.

Hubby also bought beer from Mister Delicious. It was good according to him, pero ang mahal lang diba? Kasing price na ng isang meal lol ;p

Overall, I loved the whole ambiance and experience. We will definitely be back to try the other food stalls. :)


HOLE IN THE WALL

4/F Century City Mall, Kalayaan cor. Salamanca St. Makati City

Facebook: www.facebook.com/holeinthewallPH

Saunter your way into summer

A girl can never have too many shoes. Or sandals for that matter. And with summer just around the corner, it's time to show those legs and let our feet do the talking.

My high school friend Patricia has just started her shoe business called SAUNTER (which means walking in a relaxed manner). And her brand's first offering is the Athena sandals, which come in tan and black.

Made from PURE LEATHER, the sandals are not only stylish but sturdy and comfy as well.

Sizes are as follows:

38 = 6

39 = 7

40 = 8

41 = 9

42 = 10

For orders and inquiries, please email patriciacgayo@gmail.com. And watch out for more styles and exciting things coming soon from Saunter!