St Archives - Between Bites - Bites of Food, Travel and Lifestyle

Chatime Tea, Why Don’t Cha?

April 14, 2011 by Janey

I never realized that the Milk Tea fever will explode this big. Foodie friends and non-foodie friends got hooked initially on Serenitea and some eventually switched their coffee time with cold tea drinks. I was never a big fan of coffee although I love the smell and I take it once in a while during meetings but I was pretty much taken by Serenitea since late 2009. We visit frequently in a week and somehow got addicted to it.

Family of drinkers

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Now, they have about 5 branches since they opened since 2 years ago. I did lessen my visits when prices hiked up, and even limited orders of my favorite peppered corn. Bubble Tea opened along Wilson Street and my Twin and I usually pick that spot for our chat/bonding/catch-up time. Happy Lemon, a new player in the market, has followed suit and started making waves in the Greenhills area since it opened late last year.

I have somehow got friends hooked on it also and have converted some from the first cooler to the latter. My different groups of friends cannot stop raving about Happy Lemon in the past couple of months and TODAY I’m quite excited to share with them, a new DRINK discovery.

After having lunch with Richard, Irene, Lauren, Fran and Paul at Cab Café 2 days ago, Richard suggested to stop by his latest addiction, Chatime. Chatime is a Taiwanese (the population who started the milk tea craze) brand of milk tea and is considered one of the largest bubble tea brands in the world.

What I love about ChaTime is their second floor that’s a huge lounge area with chic seat designs. It begs to spend more time there chatting with good friends and finishing your round of drinks. Or maybe 2 rounds *shrugs*

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They had so many varieties of drinks available to order that it might take you a while to choose your poison. Take note that some of the Chatime drinks do not come with toppings/pearls/sinkers so make sure that you check with their friendly staff. Pearls are an addition of PHP 15/serving.

Photo Credit: Richard Co of www.talesfromthetummy.com

While there was an order for 2 Cocoa Smoothies, Tea Guanyin Tea Latte, Grass Jelly Milk Tea and Cha Time Roasted Milk Tea, I settled on Taro Milk Tea (PHP 90) and got a Pearl Milk Tea (PHP 80) as an added free bonus due to the current promotion they have on the store.

Chatime OVERLOAD! I likey-like! 🙂

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It’s Buy 1 Take 1, choose any of the drinks on the menu board and take 1 Pearl Milk Tea (regular size) for FREE only from 12nn-2pm! This will last until tomorrow, April 15, so better head over to Chatime at Pioneer St. by today or Friday to get free dibs on their Pearl Milk Tea.

Taro Milk Tea

Chatime Taro Milk Tea is the most real taro drink you can find in the market. Don’t expect our local purple yam as its taro taste or the synthetic kind. It took me a few more sips, midway, to finally appreciate Chatime’s version of fresh taro and I grew to like it. It had pieces of the taro and i enjoyed the texture of the drink… not-thick or not-thin. It had a certain dance in your mouth. I might order the same next time I’m there but I’m also tempted to get a second drink to try their other offerings.

Try some Chatime drinks!

Chatime supposedly has 500 stores worldwide and it is now available in Manila with its first branch in Pioneer Street. Why don’t CHA give it a try? 😉

Photo Credit: Richard Co of www.talesfromthetummy.com

Chatime
Good Tea, Good Time

Pioneer Center, 8006 Pioneer cor. United Sts.

Pasig City, Philippines

Different Tea Assortment to Love at Serenitea

A Sunday Afternoon Picnic

Happy Lemon

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GoHotels.ph Promo

August 5, 2010 by Janey

The Latest from the Best Value Hotel in the Metro:

Rates vary per night and availability of the rooms for promo is limited.

Be one of the firsts to book!

For more inquiries:

0922-GOHOTEL

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8 Comments Filed Under: A Taste of Manila and Other Things Tagged With: 6th floor, accommodation, adequate parking, all year round, availability, best budget hotel, best Value hotel, booking, budget airline operation, Budget airlines, budget hotel, Cebu Pacific, Cebu Pacific seat sale, check in, contact number, EDSA, Every Juan, First Value Hotel, floors, Galleria, Gallery, Go Hotels, Go Hotels PH, Go Hotels Promotion, gohotels.com, GoHotels.ph, Gokongwei, Hotel, hotel price, Hotel Room Sale, Hotel Sale, in the Philippines, Local, local hotel industry, location, location map, Mandaluyong, Manila, Map, Metro Manila, no room service, operates, phone number, Photo, photos, Pioneer, price, promotion, reservation, restaurant, Restaurants, Robinsons Land, Robinsons Mall, room rate, room rates, Room Sale, room service, Smart Price for Smart Guys, space, spacious, St, Venue, Video, website

GoHotels.PH is the First Value-Hotel in the Philippines for Every Juan

May 11, 2010 by Janey

People have been anticipating all year round for the best budget airline seats for every Juan. This opened a lot of opportunities for every Filipino or any average joe to travel both locally and internationally. Brace yourself as I introduce to you the very first value hotel in the Philippines –gohotels.ph.

Gohotels.ph welcomed us very warmly last weekend at the newest landmark that will make waves along the stretch of EDSA. It has opened its doors to dynamic individuals who look for extremely comfortable accommodations in the Metro without breaking the bank. Gohotels.ph is reinventing the local hotel industry by being the country’s first genuine value hotel chain that operates like a budget airline.

Along with other bloggers invited by gohotels.ph, Bubba and I checked-in last Saturday afternoon to get a feel of what gohotels.ph has to offer. I was glad to see and bond with Eric of biyahilo.com, Melo of outoftownblog.com, Mica of micamyx.com, Winston of batangyagit.com, Bong of brianong.blogspot.com and meet Yuri, Bong’s best friend and Ogie of lagalog.com and happyfoodies.com.

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Pizza Party at 6035

The elevator stopped at the 6^th floor and I was pleasantly surprised that the floor had a welcoming space. There’s definitely enough area to walk with Bubba side by side and probably include two more friends. The hallways weren’t limited in space. Neither were the rooms. I was expecting a matchbox room like the budget hotels in Singapore or Hong Kong but the first Value-concept hotel in Manila proved me wrong. The rooms didn’t feel at all stuffy.

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With Reyna Biyahilo and Mi Labs Melo

Responding to the increasing demand of domestic travelers for smart options, gohotels.ph offers unparalleled accommodations and appointments for its price. For as low as PHP388+ night, one will be able to stay at this no frills rooms-only hotel that provides the essentials for a good night’s sleep. All rooms are supposedly the same except for the option of queen-sized or twin beds and the varied window views. If you get the earliest possible booking, you might as well be able to catch the PHP388 promo. The room rates range from as low as PHP388 to as high as PHP3,000 depending on the date of booking and room availability.

gohotels.ph rewards early bookers – the earlier you book your room, the lower your room rate. It’s the budget airline-pricing model applied to the hotel industry. The price at which you’ll get your room depends on time and demand, so one can easily get the same room for a lower rate just by finalizing his or her reservation considerably in advance. Whether reserving a room through the website or inquiring at the hotel’s Front Desk, room rates are contingent on occupancy at the time of booking.

Operating like a budget airline, the gohotels.ph online booking system shows real time room rates and allows guests to make reservations with instant confirmation. The convenience that gohotels.ph boasts of starts even before a guest steps into the hotel, ensuring that everything you need to book a place to stay is at your fingertips.

gohotels.ph’s 223 rooms are outfitted with quality beds – 93 rooms have queen-sized beds, while there are 130 rooms with twin beds – chiropractic and fiberfill pillows, 100% cotton sheets, rain shower and handheld shower, free Wi-Fi Access, and LCD TV.

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Free Wi-Fi Access ROCKS!!! \m/ 🙂

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Rain Shower makes you want to take a bath more than usual 😀

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Robinsons Land operates the country’s first value hotel and the management assures the best accommodations in the market for its price. A chain of hotels will follow in the coming years — from its first location at Cybergate Plaza beside Forum Robinsons mall, to its future sites including Tacloban, Palawan, and Dumaguete.

Economical rates coupled with a commitment to meet professional and meticulous standards for comfort, accessibility, and safety clearly underscore gohotels.ph as the best value hotel in its class.

For inquiries and reservations, log on to http://www.gohotels.ph.

Gohotels.ph

Upper Ground Level, Robinsons Cybergate Plaza

EDSA, Mandaluyong City, Philippines.

0922-GOHOTEL (63922-4646835) or (632) 398-8788

Gohotels.ph Album

Biyahilo’s Go Hotels

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37 Comments Filed Under: A Taste of Manila and Other Things Tagged With: 6th floor, accommodation, adequate parking, all year round, availability, best budget hotel, best Value hotel, booking, budget airline operation, Budget airlines, budget hotel, Cebu Pacific, Cebu Pacific seat sale, check in, contact number, EDSA, Every Juan, First Value Hotel, floors, Galleria, Gallery, Go Hotels, Go Hotels PH, gohotels.com, GoHotels.ph, Gokongwei, Hotel, hotel price, in the Philippines, Local, local hotel industry, location, location map, Manila, Map, Metro Manila, no room service, operates, phone number, Photo, photos, Pioneer, price, reservation, restaurant, Restaurants, Robinsons Land, Robinsons Mall, room rate, room rates, room service, space, spacious, St, Venue, Video, website

Different Tea Assortments to Love at Serenitea

April 21, 2010 by Janey

Serenitea is your one-stop shop for all things serene about tea. They have different variants of tea that will help boost a definite change of drinking lifestyle. It is the healthy alternative to colas, coffee and sugar-loaded smoothies.

There’s no room to get bored with Serenitea’s long list of drinks! But it’s definite that you’ll really get hook at one or two and have that for one whole season before aiming for another variant.

First, choose your kind of tea: Assam, Royal Milk, Jasmine or Earl Gray. Then you can choose whether to get it cold, hot, with fruits or as a latte. There are also optional toppings to choose from: pearl, crystal, black bricks, pudding, lime jelly, and QQ.

Once Bubba and I brought Serenitea for a Sunday picnic and we both loved the drinks that accompanied us. Bubba got the Hokkaido milk tea with 75% sugar while my choice was the Grass Jelly milk tea with 0% sugar. What’s terrific with Serenitea is the fact that you can actually choose your sugar percentage from 0%, 25%, 50%, 75% and 100%… you can even go beyond or none. Richard of Ya Kun Kaya Ortigas shares that Irene gets 150% sugar with her tea drink -I’m quite the opposite since I enjoy drinks with less sugar.

Last time I was here was during the Foodie Club’s meet at Beijing Hand Pulled Noodles.

“Foodie Club”

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I couldn’t just buy for myself so I bought for Bubba and Joyce.

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I got Joyce the Yakult, which she loved.

So for those who are health-conscious or watch their sugar intake, this is your best bet to getting satisfying drinks without breaking your sugar level.

It’s been quite a while since we’ve been enjoying Serenitea. Let me share with you that the tea drinks from Serenitea have calmed even the most stressful days at work… the evening comes and the mind is still running wild with that day’s events, the tea drink somehow relaxes my mind into a soothing detoxifying reverie.

Drop by Serenitea and get a dose of freshly brewed tea in different assortments. Be warned that the place can get really packed even at odd hours so have the option to just order to go and bring it home or someplace else where you can enjoy your Serenitea.

Minimum delivery in San Juan area is PHP 200.

Serenitea Cha Kitchen

#1F G&L Bldg. J. Abad Santos,

Cor. V. Cruz, Little Baguio, San Juan

(632) 379 4166

Serenitea Multiply Site

Serenitea Album

Related Entries:

A Sunday Afternoon Picnic

Foodie Club’s meet at Beijing Hand Pulled Noodles.

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8 Comments Filed Under: Inside Dish: A BITE of Food Tagged With: addicting, Aguirre, alternative, assortment, Banawe, best milk tea, best tea drink in town, brewed tea, Chinese, coffee, customized, drinks, Filipino, freshly brewed tea, healthy lifestyle, Hokkaido Milk Tea, how to get there, Irene Co, jelly, location, Manila, Map, Metro Manila, Paranaque, pearls, Philippines, picnic, pinoy, Press, QQ, Quezon City, Richard Co, San Juan, serenitea, South, St, sugar level, Taiwan, Taiwanese, tea, tea bags, tea drink, variants, Ya Kun Kaya Ortigas

YuuJin

January 15, 2009 by Janey

Chris’ birthday lunch was spent at Yuu Jin. Since I was on half-day sick leave due to feeling feverish that morning, Chris picked me up from home. While waiting for him, I couldn’t resist eating brunch. When we got to Yuu Jin, I was already full.

(Yes, Chris was sporting a plump pimple during his birthday… Maybe he thinks it’s fashionable)

On the Table

California Maki PHP 180

6 pieces of California Maki, which were gone, like a flash.

Uni Sushi PHP 130

The first time I tried Uni (sea urchin) was at Chibori in Cebu. I remember liking the taste so I went ahead and ordered one. Two pieces of sushi topped with generous uni. The ones I tried in Cebu were smaller and tasted fresher, but it doesn’t discount the fact that I’m beginning to get fond of eating uni. For P130, Yuu Jin is the nearest and most affordable place to go to when craving for one.

Katsudon PHP 220

Katsudon served with Miso soup. I don’t understand why Chris never gets tired of ordering this whenever we eat at a Japanese restaurant. YuuJin’s version was better than the usual fair.