Ayala Triangle Gardens Christmas Lights Show, Golden Spoon

In the last couple of months I've lost my urge for frozen yoghurt, perhaps due to the emergence of Serenitea . However, due to some Facebook posts, I've noticed the growing popularity of the Christmas Lights Show in a new place called the Ayala Triangle (which is actually the field behind Makati Stock Exchange). After Christmas, I went with J and some friends to check the area out. We were supposed to eat at Wee Nam Kee. Sadly we were No. 45 in the waiting list, and after an hour the queue has moved from No. 11  to No. 15! So no dinner at Wee Nam Kee for sure! To think we were there by 6PM!

Anyways, here are pics of the Christmas Lights in the Ayala Triangle. It shows every 30 minutes form 6-8PM everyday, until when in 2011 I'm not too sure. It's really nice to watch, laser and fog and music are involved, though nothing super fabulous. But it's really great for photo ops! Check it out!

It's much prettier in person =D

My friends and I were able to take a lot of nice shots with that as the background. A lot of people were there, and most of them walked from Glorietta (it's about a 10-minute walk. I walked there a few days later with our staff). But not uncomfortably full. Near it, at the center of the Stock Exchange Building, was a ginormous Belen, also great for photo op purposes!

Anyways, let's talk about Golden Spoon. As I was saying, I haven't had Fro-yo in a really long time. While waiting for a table at Wee Nam Kee, we walked the restaurant lane along Ayala Triangle.  Restaurants there include Omakase, Bfast by Chef Laudico, Bon Chon Chicken (I'm dying to try this!), Banapple, Kanin Club, Momo, Cara Mia, Pho24, and Amici. And of course, Golden Spoon! The only place that had a free table at that time was Golden Spoon. I mean, come on, who has fro-yo at 6PM when you're starving right? *Raises her hand.*

Golden Spoon is the first stall you'll see, because it's right by the Christmas Lights. In fact, if you have some Fro-yo, you can watch the show from inside (sans the music). This is actually great for girls who die in their heels, like me.

At first I thought that Golden Spoon was your typical fro-yo place, because the counter makes it seem that way. Apparently, the specialty of Golden Spoon is the yoghurt itself, not the toppings. "Cake Batter" is their best-seller.

Calorie Info

I got the kiddie size (P85) of the Simply Tart and Cake Batter. With the Cake Batter I added Candied Pecans, which is like Pecans with caramel syrup. I just wanted to check if the Simply Tart was good compared to the others. Here are the shots (excuse them for sucking, I couldn't help myself, I ate from both though I was supposed to share.)

Notice the "Golden Spoons"?

The Simply Tart was okay, it was as good as the other fro-yos, nothing super duper. But the Cake Batter is another story. So good! So good. So good. If you're not into it being super sweet though don't add the candied pecans because it's really sweet. But I really loved it, hubby too!

The place is small but very clean and nice. It's really a great place to chill out in. They sell Golden Spoon merchandise, in case you become a fan =D

Simple Setup and Signage

A couple of days later I chanced upon the newly-opened Golden Spoon in BF Homes, Paranaque. It's located at Pergola Mall at Phase 1, beside Via Mater. I wanted to check out if the quality is the same. It was! The Cake Batter was equally delicious. And for P85, not bad! So here's your chance South people! Go give it a try!

Yahoo Philippines using Microsoft Outlook

Epic Headache of the Year.

I've always prided myself as a quick techie learner. Even after losing half my brain to pregnancy anaesthesia (yes, it's true!) I was pretty good in learning HTML stuff and computer stuff.

But my epic struggle of the years is getting my Yahoo email to coordinate with Microsoft Outlook. OH MY GOSH! I tried it again this time because J and got Blackberrys and would love to coordinate emails with staff via Outlook instead via a Browser.

What a headache. I swear. I tried using alllll kinds of setups BEFORE I figured out one IMPORTANT THING.

Guess what? Yahoo Philippines Email can't be used with Microsoft Outlook. Jeez. I had to change my region to Yahoo Asia instead of Yahoo Philippines, then downloaded a program called Ypops! just to be sure. Follow the steps below. Admittedly though my Yahoo email seems screwed now. Due to the change of location/region, some of my emails (during the time difference) disappeared! And now I keep getting Error 5 and can't access my inbox (though I think this is because there are 5 of us checking one mailbox simulatenously).

Hope this helps. Otherwise, I'd just do it the old fashioned way - via a browser. *sigh*

Steps to Outlook Sanity:

From the Tools menu, choose "Accounts."

Select the "Mail" tab.

Click the "Add" button.

From the Add menu, click "Mail."

In the text box labelled Display Name, type your name and click "Next."

In the Email Address box, type your Yahoo! Mail address (be sure to include "@yahoo.com") and click "Next."

Under "My incoming mail server is a…" select "POP3."

Type "pop.mail.yahoo.com" in the Incoming Mail (POP3, IMAP, or HTTP) Server box.

Type "smtp.mail.yahoo.com" in the Outgoing Mail (SMTP) Server box.

Click "Next."

In the Account Name box, type your Yahoo! Mail ID (your email address without the "@yahoo.com").

In the Password box, type your Yahoo! Mail password.

If you want Outlook Express to remember your password, check the "Remember password" box.

Do not check the boxes labelled "Log on using Secure…"

Click "Next."

Click "Finish."

Select 'pop.mail.yahoo.com.' under 'Account,' and click 'Properties.'

Click the “Servers” tab.

Under “Outgoing Mail Server” check the box next to “My server requires authentication”

Click the 'Advanced' tab.

Under “Outgoing mail Server (SMTP)”, check the box next to “This server requires a secure connection (SSL). Enter port number “465” in the “Outgoing mail (SMTP)” field.

Under “Incoming mail (POP3)”, check the box next to “This server requires a secure connection (SSL)". The port number in the “Incoming mail (POP3)" field should automatically change from 110 to 995. If it doesn’t, make sure the port number is set to 995.

If you find a cooler way to do all of that, and it works, do let me know!!

Prince of Persia - The Sands of Time

Verdict - surprisingly great movie. B+
I was totally geared up for "this-is-so-silly-it's-entertaining" feeling I would get when watching this movie, for the ff reasons:
1. It's a game movie. Cue in Street Fighter, Silent Hill movies. Sucky sucky sucky.
2. It's another "epic" movie. Clash of the Titans was just plain RIDICULOUS. And sorry Avatar fans, I totally thought Avatar was exaggeratedly enjoyed by the world considering its ridiculous premise. Sorry. Too many "Eh, bakit?" questions during and after the movie.
3. Not a Jake Gyllenhaal fan. Not even remotely.

However, I was resigned to watching the movie, as J was very much interested in the trailer (and any "epic" movie for that matter. Must be a guy thing.)

So, I piled up on Fish and Chips, Wendy's Biggie (but Lite) Iced Tea, and Sebastian's Ice Cream (on a last minute whim). Oink oink oink. Anything to get me thru this movie.

As not to give out spoilers, I'll just give the movie's premise. Prince Dastan, as played by the macho Jake, is the 3rd Prince of Persia, the strongest country of it's time (6th Century BC). He was adopted by  the King  as a child because of his fearlessness, loyalty, and kindness. Years later, Dastan's eldest brother, the next King, invades the sacred city of Alamut, and they meet the beautiful Princess Tamina, who is protecting a mythical Dagger.

Mmmmmmacho.

If I say anymore I'll spoil it, but honestly this movie has a lot of interesting twists, good dialogue and acting, and incredible graphics. Seriously. And I'm quite harsh when I watch movies, I always call them lame. This one really had a good plot!

If you google the movie it will say the critics gave it bad reviews, but honestly online and in facebook you'll find that a lot of people enjoyed it. Very few negative reviews (I found this out after watching the movie, so no bias). Seriously, worth watching.

After watching the movie, I sheepishly turned to J, and said "I'm embarassed to admit this, but that was an excellent movie."

Go watch it, go watch it, go watch it. It's a movie both you and your loved one (of the opposite sex) would enjoy. Surprise surprise!

Trivia-- I saw this myself --- the poster of Prince of Persia premieres in a scene of "Confessions of a Shopaholic". Was shocked myself because I watched the movie again last week and saw it, had to google to make sure I wasn't going insane.

Army Navy Burger + Burrito - Alabang Branch

A lot of you have probably eaten at this place by now, in particular, the Tagaytay Branch near Starbucks. But being a die-hard Antonio's and Buon Giorno fan, I rarely find space in my stomach to try anything new in Tagaytay. So it was great to see a new Army-Navy branch open at the New Commerce Center along Commerce Ave. in Alabang. Everytime I would pass by it though (it's along a very important main road) it would be full to the brim.
That's a FANTASTIC sign in my opinion!
Today, as I was pondering where to have our late lunch, J suggested we try it now, which I thought was a great idea! We headed over to the Commerce Center and parked in the super tight parking underneath (I can't imagine parking there on a packed night). Though not a peak hour (about 2PM) the place was loosely full (and by that I mean each table was taken but not full).
Eagerly J ordered the Bully Boy Burger (P235), which is a  Triple Quarter-pound beef  buger (and described to be "Made Big to Beef Up a Batallion."
Oh my, J.
I reminded him that I would NOT drive him to Asian Hospital if he had a mini-stroke eating this burger, as I would like to leasurely enjoy my meal. Sorry.
I ordered something that was not on the flyer (and the menu, I think), but was advertised on a poster by the menu. It was called "the Starving Sailor" (which I was, seriously, by 2PM) - (P225). It was made of thin strips of beef, cheese, jalapeno, onions, and looked a little bit like a Philly Cheesesteak sandwich. Yumyumyum. I ordered their Libertea (P45, Large)to go with it (I'm a huge huge fan of Iced Teas).
While waiting for our sandwiches, I peered into their kitchen. It was very clean and full of expensive, expensive equipment. I think I failed to mention that it was adjacent to Yellow Cab (I think they're linked), which is also known for their expensive kitchen equipment. Impressive. The store interiors itself was very clever, with cement blocks and other army and navy paraphernalia worked into the ceiling and walls.
After a 5-minute wait, our orders arrived, and we were not dissappointed with the size of these babies. My oh my. Check these pics out.

Starving Sailor with Libertea

the Bully Boy Burger

My sandwich was Huge, like, a good 8 or 9 inches I think. Yeaaah I like em Big. When I had my first bite though, I was a little disappointed, but really just a little. I think I was looking for a stronger jalapeno taste. The sandwich itself was really great, and the meat was very soft! But ultimately I was looking for that "kick" which I didn't really get, I had to add mustard to find it. But you know, it's really different tastes for different people, and I know I tend to lean towards stronger and more extreme tastes.

 Pic taken from Official Website.
Their Libertea was refreshingly good too. I'm a harsh critic of Iced Tea, and refuse to eat in restos with sucky iced teas (yeah I'm crazy like that), but Libertea was okay. Not super, actually not super tasteful and could use more ice, but pretty good (and pretty cheap too). Not too sweet, that's for sure!
I also tasted J's Burger, it was smoky good! Good bun, well cooked patties (yes all three of them!) In my disbelief, he polished the whole thing off then ordered a Chocolate Milkshake (P99). Nabitin pa? I tasted the Milkshake too (yes I taste everything he orders, I know that's what you're thinking) and THAT was really good. Small though, 12 oz. cup only for P99, but I know Milkshakes have really expensive ingredients so it's forgiveable.
 
Pic taken from Official Website.
I would love to try other things next time (I'm definitely coming back for more). Steak burritos (P155), Fearless Fried Chicken (P135) and Chicken Quesadilla (P135) look promising. Nomnomnom.

 

Right in all aspects. See you soon Army Navy! Probably tomorrow.
ARMY NAVY Burrito + Burger
Bridgestone Building, Commerce Avenue
Alabang, Muntinlupa City