Monday, September 30, 2013

Corniche by Diamond Hotel - A Post Birthday Dinner


Day after my birthday, Adrin and I used the complimentary dinner vouchers we received together with our Diamond Indulgence card. We made reservations through our Indulgence Card specialist and learned from her that for the month of August, Corniche has an All American Feast theme. We got to the hotel earlier than our reservation because we also wanted to make advance payment for our hotel room reservations in January.

The wait staff that greeted us at Corniche asked for our vouchers, and then escorted us to our seat. Just like our usual practice in other buffet restaurants, Adrin and I surveyed the spread first. 

They have fresh batches of bread and soft rolls which we didn't try.


We also saw their salad station. Nothing special for the selection so we also skipped this. 


Next we saw the ham and cold meat station. Adrin sampled these items and he said that they're okay. 



I skipped the cold meat because I was more interested on their cold seafood bar. Here, I requested for a few shrimps to be cooked with butter and garlic. There's a little delay for my order and it's not as flavorful as I hoped it to be. 


We also passed by the Pasta and Risotto station where Adrin ordered a seafood risotto for sharing.



Our risotto was delivered to our table after a few minutes. It was good as it is and is not short of actual seafood. Our only comment is that the seafood flavor is a bit lacking.



They also have pizzas, but in limited choices.


I decided to have some soup, which I also shared with Adrin. I forgot it's name, but it was good and comforting. 


After the soup and dimsum station came the meat carving station. This is one of the dishes that I always look forward to when dining at buffet restaurants. Steak, back ribs, lamb, and turkey are all in display. Of all this, I'm only interested with the roast beef, while Adrin tried all of them.



The steak was cooked medium so it's still juicy and tender. No tugging with knife or gummy texture in the mouth. However, the sauce it was paired with is like an ordinary gravy and not the usual wine reduction sauce. I believe they skipped the wine reduction to cater to a greater number of guests since not all are a fan of it. Adrin enjoyed his lamb and turkey but found the ribs too tough. 

As we continued to survey the selection, we saw this small Fajitas section. 




Right next to it is the Grill Station where you can order various grilled dishes.





Separated from the continuous counter is the section for Japanese food. The wide selection of Japanese dishes surprised me since they have the usual rolls, tempura and sushi, and also the lesser popular okonomiyaki and other japanese cakes.

For me, the star of this counter would be their sushis and sashimi. Unlike with hotel buffets we've tried, their fish and seafood are clearly fresh and of good quality. It has a very rich color with no hint or traces of being frozen for a long period of time.




I skipped some sections since I'm not interested on those dishes and just decided to have second helping of
my favorites. =)

When it was time for dessert, we just chose the most interesting ones since we do not have room for all the sweets they've prepared. I must say, even the desserts we've tried were good.






All in all, dining at Corniche is a good experience. They have a wide offering of various cuisines and the dishes are actually good. It is comparable to the buffet restaurants operated by the top hotels in the metro. Thank you Diamond Indulgence for this complimentary dinner. Looking forward to our next visit. =)



Cheers!


Sunday, September 29, 2013

My Last Birthday as a Miss


Roughly a month ago, I celebrated my nth birthday which also happened to be my last birthday as a single woman. My day started early as I had scheduled morning meeting. I intended to take that day off, but as always, work got in the way. Lucky for me because despite the busy day at work, I have thoughtful friends and colleagues who prepared small surprises for me. 

From P&G Friends:
Red Velvet Cake from Karen's Kitchen


From ERS Colleagues:
Red Ribbon Chocolate Cake & Palabok


My loving fiance also took care of buying dinner for my whole family before picking me up from the office and heading home. As usual, we were greeted by balloons hanging from our ceiling as well as a banner in our dining area. My mom also bought a Peach Walnut cake for me while Adrin bought Black Velvet cake, both of which are from Conti's.


My Bithday Dinner: Bonchon Chicken Wings and Chops, Amber's Palabok & Pichi-Pichi,
Andok's Chicken, Conti's Cakes, and a variety of drinks. 

At the end of that day, I felt so loved by all these people around me, and so blesses by God to have all of them in my life. Oh what a simple yet very memorable celebration for me. =)

My Instagram post later that day. I had four birthday cakes!


Cheers!



Thursday, September 26, 2013

Our First Wedding Gift


In the midst of my crazy schedule, I'm squeezing in this entry to share with all of you that we already received our very first wedding present! =)

Four months before the big day, Kathy, Adrin's previous manager who went on a business trip here in Manila last week, gave us our first wedding gift. She brought that paper bag, which contained her gift to us, all the way from the US. It was really a good surprise for Adrin and I.



Adrin invited Kathy for dinner so the two of them can catch-up, and at the same time to formally introduce me to her. Dinner was at Pino/Pipino, and there we asked her to try our very own Kare-Kareng Bagnet. Yum!

After discussing work, she enthusiastically asked about our wedding and house preparations. I must say, she's greatly amused with all the effort we've been putting into our big day. She was even surprised and impressed that we're doing our own invites. Haha.

Before calling it a night, we decided to check out her present. We received a very elegant photo frame, as well as 4 sets matching place mats and table napkins. The place mats are so pristine that it makes one hesitant to use it. Haha. In any case, I'm just truly grateful for her thoughtfulness. 




Hopefully, Kathy will have another business trip here in Manila on January so she can attend our wedding. Crossing fingers! =)


Cheers!


Sunday, September 15, 2013

The New (but Old) Home


Pardon me for my 2-week hiatus, my absence here is due to my craaaaazy workload and the personal matters that immediately took our focus, time, and resources. We'll I'm talking about our new home! At last, after making rounds in and out of subdivions within our target city, we were finally able to secure the best property for us. 

I say BEST. Here's why:

  • It's perfectly situated next to my current house. Yes, they are actually adjacent lots! This means I won't be "parted" from my mom and I'll just move next door after the wedding. =) 
  • Since our new home is adjacent to my childhood home, years down the road, we can fully consume both lots and have a bigger and more spacious house. To answer your question, yes I don't have siblings so there's no competition over the childhood home. =) 
  • It's a pre-owned foreclosed property. This translates to a good discounted purchase price for us.
  • It has a current house structure, albeit dilapidated. There's the need to renovate, but we'd rather take that over spending our precious resources on renting right after the wedding as what we have initially planned.


So, do you agree with me now? Well even if you don't, Adrin & I still believe that this is the best deal that we could get given our personal and financial situation. =)

A great part of the past two weeks were spent on house transactions. We'd visit the office of the financial institution to which the property has been foreclosed, first to assess the whole process and if there is any legalities might complicate the purchase, and next to submit the requirements needed after we've decided to push through with the acquisition. We also did due diligence and validated with the Registry of Deeds the actual legal status of the property. Last Tuesday, after completing all steps that we felt we need to take, we released that hefty check to make a full payment of the property. Whew! No turning back now. 

And because a major renovation is in order, we deferred wedding errands scheduled this weekend to give way to house errands. Yesterday we met with my cousin's architect friend to allow him to inspect the property, and also to commission him to make a renovation plan given our requirements. Then, this morning Adrin asked his uncle who's in the construction business to also visit the property and make a quick cost estimate on the forthcoming construction. I'll share to you more on those once the plan gets more concrete (pun intended)! =D

Another series for you to look out for eh? 


Cheers!


Monday, September 02, 2013

DIY Invites Update #5: Final Mock-Up


Adrin and I dedicated the last long weekend to complete a few tasks for our invites. I had to sleep over their place last Saturday to cut up our ivory boards. Finalizing the size of our main invite and inserts was a pre-requisite so we can decide whether to cut out the board into letter size (8.5in x 11in) or legal size (8.5in x 14in). We're not the type to just cut and cut, and then make things work later on; we wanted to be precise and accurate. With the help of a mock-up, it was decided that our boards will be best maximized should we cut them into letter sizes first (to layout and print easier).




The following day, we made our trip to Divisoria to visit Michelle's Ribbons and Lace Center for some serious inspection of their laces. After some debates, we went home with a short strip of mustard yellow lace which we aim to use as a band for the mock-up invite. Adrin initially wanted to put some trimmings on the actual pocket but I voted against it since the lace is too wide for that. Neither can I agree to use another type of lace for the trimmings since it make the invite look uncoordinated. 

Come Monday, right after breakfast, I started working on the lace band for our mock-up invite. Next, I cut up a small sheet of paper to serve as placeholder for our monogram. To complete the look, I propped the entire set into its would-be envelope.




I was so happy with the overall outcome of the mock-up that by Tuesday, I already placed the order for the entire amount of lace that we need. Matches our classic-elegance theme nicely right? =)



Cheers!

Sunday, September 01, 2013

A Trip to Michelle's Ribbon and Lace Center


To make the most out of last week's long weekend, Adrin and I decided to schedule and visit to Divisoria and scout for the perfect lace or ribbon that we can use for our invites. Here are some of my inspirations.

Source: Pinterest

Source: First Impression Invitations
Source: Bridal Buds

Actually, we already have a specific store to visit and it's Michelle's Ribbon and Lace Center. This store is a family business by my colleague's in-laws. I asked for the address of their shop and decided to visit it so we won't have to wander aimlessly at Divisoria. 

Source: Michelle's FB Page
Source: Michelle's FB Page
Source: Michelle's FB Page


Upon getting there, we were immediately greeted by the rows and walls of ribbons and laces, as well as shelves of buttons, beads, and other scrap booking and sewing materials. At the back part of the counter I also noticed several rolls of fabrics. 

Printed Ribbons | Source: Michelle's FB Page
Washi Tapes | Source: Michelle's FB Page
Cords | Source: Michelle's FB Page
Tassles and Ribbons | Source: Michelle's FB Page
Scrapbooking Decors | Source: Michelle's FB Page

Since I prefer lace over ribbons, I first proceeded to this section. I scouted the walls of laces and looked for the right color and width that will match our invitations. Adrin and his sister would chime in for suggestions from time to time, then we'd nitpick on each item that has been put forward. In the end, we decided to go with this symmetric stretchable mustard colored lace. 


The remaining stock for this kind is not enough for our estimated  need and would still need to be imported should we place an order. With that, we just opted to purchase a yard and try it out on our invites first to see how it matches the motif and theme. This also gave us the opportunity to get the exact amount of lace needed before placing our order.

It was another productive day for us and we were able to find a new store worth visiting for all crafters and DIY brides out there.  =)


Michelle's Ribbon and Lace Center
G/F Tutuban Prime Block, C.M. Recto,  Metro Manila
Tel. No.: +63 2 2542935 | +63 2 2542968



Cheers!