http://cushee.multiply.com/photos/album/259/07_1005-_Banapple

In high school, I used to play a game in the arcade called Banana Apple. It is similar to a slot machine where you have to guess if the monkey is holding a banana or apple. I always end up guessing it right and winning. My visit to Banapple last Saturday was also a winner. Bubba told me that he had to do an errand near Ateneo and asked me to accompany him. 10am, we arrived at the place and since we were double-parked, I had to stay in the car. When he got back, he was holding a bag of three boxes. He ordered a dozen of cupcake from Cuptails and Dreams! It was 4 pieces of each flavor, Mojito, Screaming O and BJ. I could not wait but try the cupcakes, however, we were about to try out a new resto and I have to make room. We had an early lunch at Bananapple. The interior was a simple but nice little bakeshop café with apples and banana pieces as decor. They had a napkin holder of banana and apple (Bubba wonders if this was custom-made for the store) on each table. I ordered Chicken Parmigiana (their bestseller) while Bubba struggled to decide what to order. He was asking whether to order Pasta or the Beef Tapa. I told him that it’s his choice and I shouldn’t be part of his selection. He settled for the Bangus because he said he was craving for one.

On the Table: Chicken Parmigiana, Teriyaki Bangus, Tuna Pie (To go), Mushroom and Cheese Pie (To go), Chocnut Cheesecake

I have to agree that the Chicken Parmigiana is their bestseller. For only PHP 145, the taste of the marinara sauce on a tender and moist chicken is worth it. On the other hand, when Bubb’s Bangus came. We looked at each other and laughed our hearts out. The Bangus was 2 strips of thumb-size Bangus fillet with a drop of teriyaki sauce. For PHP 150, the ready-to-chow Bubba felt he got pick-pocketed. I laughed and retorted, “why would you order Bangus in a bakery-café?” He teasingly told me to order for him next time. This time I cannot argue. I should really advise him what to get (like I always do!) next time –again (haha).

To finish the meal off, we wanted to at least 3 desserts, but restrained ourselves (Read: I restrained him). Finally, we decided together to get the Chocnut Oreo Cheesecake, which was a real hit! You can really taste the chocnut in the Oreo mixed crust. We are absolutely going back for more! Off we went to Trinoma for the Lastikman Convention. It was our first time to set our heels in the Triangle Northern of Manila Mall and we saw that they also had Landmark as part of the complex.

The Lastikman Convention was set in the activity area of Trinoma, which is very similar to the activity center of Glorietta, only bigger. There was a Mars Ravelo corner, a tribute to the talented cartoonist who is the man behind Lastikman and other Pinoy superhero originals. There were still life mannequins of all the antagonists in Lastikman which was classified by the 7 deadly sins. The costumes were really impressive. We went to Abenson to check the price of the camera I’m saving up for. I still am debating whether to get a Sony T100 or T20 but I’m leaning towards a sleek black T20. Sony has an ongoing promo where you get several coupons that entitle you to discounts or freebies. I can get a free 1 Gig Memory Card Pro Duo for free! After hopping from one shop to another, we made a pit stop at the food court, which was very clean and wide. It has a nice ambience because the area didn’t seem cramped. Not more than 2 hours after Banapple and we found ourselves looking at the gleaming food in front of us. We weren’t hungry, still somewhat full. We opted Pao Tsin, after considering Le Ching (hmm… the sparerib rice!), a Mexican or Japanese fare whose names I forget. My Bubba has never tried Pao Tsin and he got curious out of the story I’ve been telling him. Back in DLSU, a friend from CSB introduced me to Pao Tsin when he bought me a meal. Since I’m from Main, I had asked that friend to buy me food from Pao Tsin every time I’m craving for their dumplings and sauce! Forward to Trinoma, I saw in the Menu that they also have Laksa. I’ve been wanting to try Singapore Laksa in Secret Recipe or Banana Leaf, but every time I opt to go for something else because I don’t want to pay PHP 220 and get disappointed. Much to my delight, the Laksa at Pao Tsin, was only PHP 50 for the basic laksa with dumplings! What a steal!

The Laksa had a strong taste of the coconut milk (gata) and a hint of shrimp. The noodles were hard to bite into but the dumplings made up for it. For PHP50, I couldn’t complain.

On the table: Porkchop with Rice meal, Shark Fin Dumplings, Laksa, 2 C2 Lemon (Let me reiterate that we weren’t hungry. Can you spell takaw? Lol. Sometimes we eat food for 3-4 people. If we join a couple-eating contest, we’d win hands down!)

Sunday at SOMS

After the 6pm Sunday Mass with Bubba’s Mom and Dad, we headed to the Rockwell area to have dinner at SOMS. SOMS has always been an old-time favorite hole-in-the-wall resto of Bubba and me. And Bubba had thought of bringing his rentals (decoder: parents) to SOMS since his dad likes curry a lot.

On the table: Tom Yung Soup, Green Mango Catfish Salad, Spring Rolls, Chicken Pandan, Red Curry Chicken, Sticky Rice with Mango, 2 Milk Tea, 2 Mineral Water.

Overall, it was a weekend of non-stop eating that didn’t pinch the wallet.