Maple Shangri-la: A Second Time

Early last month, we spotted Maple as an intriguing and new restaurant, and took the risk of trying it out. We enjoyed it so much that when two of my high school friends were looking for a place to celebrate their birthdays, I immediately recommended Maple.

Related post: First time at Maple, Shangri-la East Wing

I got to the venue early knowing that the place has become quite popular. Up to this day, reservations aren't allowed during weekends. I was there from 11:45am to around 2:30pm, and there wasn't a moment when the restaurant had empty seats lying around!

To keep me busy while waiting, I started with soup and a shake.

Served with a warm, toasted baguette, the Clam Chowder was rich and thick, with huge chunks of clams and bacon. It was so heavy that I left half of it to share with the rest.

New England Clam Chowder [Php 250]

Chunkiness!

To wash down the thick soup, I had this refreshing Mango Banana Shake as recommended by the manager. 

When the girls finally came, we ordered a series of food that started easy and quickly turned heavy. 

The first dish served was this plateful of Drippin' Baby Back Ribs. I got this highly recommended dish in advance since it takes a whole 20 minutes to prepare. The meat was tender and falling off the bone, slow roasted to perfection. 

Drippin' Baby Back Ribs [Php 850]

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Ninak at Kapitolyo Pasig

We agreed to celebrate my "decent" weight gain the past month by having a scrumptious and heavy meal at Ninak. Kanin (rice in Filipino) spelled backwards, the name suggests a great food adventure ahead.

Opened just last month, the restaurant is starting to gain popularity along the East Capitol Drive foodstrip.

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GrandMomma's Kitchen at Il Terrazo

Various blog reviews such as this from the Pickiest Eater's Richie urged us to line up GrandMomma's Kitchen the next time we were in the area. When we finally had the chance, we passed by last April and tried it out. 

The homey ambiance gave us a warm welcome as we entered.

The place was rather small, and on that Friday evening, the lack of traffic in Il Terazzo didn't help in filling up the restaurant. 

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Pepper Lunch Diner in Yodobashi, Akihabara

We finally spotted a Pepper Lunch branch in Akiba, right at the Yodobashi building before heading home.

Neon lights welcome customers to the diner vibe. Opened just this year, this is the second Pepper Lunch with this concept in Japan.

Similar to the branches here in the Philippines, a teasing instructional video showcases how the dishes are best prepared and enjoyed.

A menu outside easily distracts waiting customers from turning impatient.

After a good 15 minutes of waiting, we finally entered the land of fast-steak!

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Happier Pregnancy Days with Fitflop! ❤

If there's one thing that has helped me the most during this pregnancy, it's my pair of Walkstar 3 Fitflops. I used to have a trusty pair of black leather Walkstars, until they got swapped with fakes during one of my yoga classes in Quezon City. Walking and mild exercise is not only great for pregnancy, but is highly recommended to promote wellness. However, as I reached my 6th month, I can no longer enjoy the shopping trips and long walks I'd usually take advantage of, due to the additional weight I've gained so far. The unforgiving heels and balls of my feet start complaining after only a few minutes of walking, thereby limiting me from strolling about.

Walkstar 3 in Mink [Php 3,290 / $78]

My trusty Walkstar 3s in Mink, giving me both additional height and freedom to walk for hours even while pregnant. Gone are the days of me sticking to flat flipflops that don't provide support, or overly high versions that may be unsafe for pregnant women.

When my mom-in-law went out to buy several pairs for her friends and herself last week, I contacted my friend Melody, who's the brand manager of Fitflop here in the country. It has been quite a while since we last chatted, and it was when we invited her and her husband to come to our wedding. The new mom and career woman (whom I called "super mom" during one of our chats) and her team were recently awarded "Shine in Retail", following their last year's "Country of the Year" award. Wow!

A few days after chatting with her, I was surprised to receive two packages from Fitflop via mail! I was looking to buy a darker coloured one to alternate with my Minks (the beige coloured ones), but didn't expect to have two new ones at the same time. To be honest, I felt really spoiled. ☺

Upon opening the box, I saw a note from Melody saying "Enjoy! ☺". Enjoy?! I'm going to go nuts with these! Haha.

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Balboa at the Shangri-la East Wing

I met up with my MOH (maid of honor) / winglady Lieza last May 3, and selected a restaurant to share some quality time within the new East Wing of the Shangri-la mall. 

Walking through the corridors with mostly boarded-up outlets, we scanned unfamiliar brands and and went for trial and error. Our efforts to try out Ikkoryu Fukuoka went in vain, having us at 9th on the waiting list. We hungry girls couldn't wait any longer so we strolled and went for trial and error.

Then we stumbled upon Balboa. They had an appealing store look that spelled casual yet classy. Not to mention the vacant two-seater staring straight at us at the entrance. 

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Naokyu Ramen at Shinbashi Station, Tokyo

Train stations in Japan are great spots to find good food. Heading home from Odaiba, we went through the Shinbashi station, an interchange in Tokyo's Minato Ward.

It is said here that Naokyu has been long established (as long as 100 years ago!), producing traditional ramen in pork and chicken broths.

Their Japanese menu

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Mu Noodle Bar in Greenhills

There's no place more fitting than Mu Noodle Bar to spend Mother's Day lunch, as the character "母" basically means "mother" in Chinese.

We invited my folks to come over to the Greenhills branch, not knowing that the Glorietta 2 branch has already opened.

We were glad to have (1) come early and (2) made a reservation because an attempt to have lunch here the previous week was a total failure. 

When my folks arrived, we started ordering and had the following:

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Odaiba お台場 Tokyo Part III: AquaCity and Sega Joypolis

As we hopped towards the Fuji TV area, we passed by Decks Tokyo Beach, with restaurants, shops and indoor theme parks.

Here's the view as we went towards Aquacity first.

It showcases the Rainbow Bridge that connects Odaiba, an artificial island with Tokyo and a replica of the Statue of Liberty.

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Burger Bar Greenbelt

A rare meet-up with the some Eco friends called for a fast-casual restaurant at Greenbelt. These guys are always on time and prefers early dinners, similar to how Nikko is (and far from how my Eng buddies and I are.. lol!).

Jaime and Nikko were in charge for selecting the venue. As soon as we got there, I was immediately transferred elsewhere with its vibe and style. Was I in Malugay at The Collective? Somewhere at City Golf? I loved how it's so different from other Greenbelt restaurants.

We eyed this interesting dessert and promised to have some if our tummies could accommodate after.

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