Kronut Kraze

Here in Manila, specifically in Chatime, it's called Kronut. Because Dominique Ansel, the man who invented Cronut, has already trademarked his croissant/doughnut hybrid creation. So expect to find more name variations for this popular pastry, surely one (or two more) will be surfacing soon enough with names bordering on ridonkulousness hee.

The taste? I was never good in describing food so here goes! It was good. It reminded me and my friend so much of our very own Napoleones. The sweetness of custard was just enough for me, not too sweet, not too bland. It's a deep-fried goodness but the one that I won't make a habit of eating haha.

Kronuts are available in Chatime Pioneer Branch, beside PC Supermarket. I read they're only offering it in this branch for now but surely they will heed the people's demand and pretty soon offer it to their other Chatime branches.

Spent My 29th Name Day at The Mind Museum

Since I wasn't near anywhere fun on my birthday, I bought one for myself (ano raw? labo!). Hindi na ko nagpatumpik-tumpik pa after seeing/reading about The Mind Museum sale in my email, I immediately bought two tickets for JC and I. Thank you Deal Grocer for that great deal! 

My birthday fell on a Saturday, which was really fitting for a trip to the museum. God knows I love museums. We took the train to Ayala station then walked towards the The Fort bus terminal that would take us to BGC. We bought 2 tickets (12 pesos each) and hopped inside the West-route bus then alighted at the second bus stop, Net One as the driver bellowed. From there we walked a block until we got to the Mind Museum's entrance. I love commuting in The Fort area, it reminds me a lot of Singapore. Parang wala ka sa Pilipinas kasi in order ang lahat hehe.

I totally squealed when we got inside. Ang saya-saya lang! :))

These are some of the first few things that you will see when you get inside.

Then we crossed the bridge of light...

and wowed to what we saw on the other end. I just turned 29 that day but it felt like I was 6. Umm...

The star of the museum though is hands down, none other than, Stan the T-Rex. AMAZING lang talaga. This was the second T-Rex I saw this year but the first one I saw was made of Lego bricks. This one looks really legit.

Of course we had to make these faces. Closest Jurassic Park experience we'll ever get :))

Okay this static ball we kept coming back to was turned off when we got inside. Bubuksan daw muna ng guard pero ang tagal! Nakapanood na kami ng show at nakarating kay Stan the T-Rex tsaka lang sya nagbukas. But in fairness to Ate who took our photos, galing umanggulo at magpa-pose.

Meanwhile on the second floor are more cool things to tinker and ogle.

This is such a classic, JC's competitive side came out in a game of basketball. The kid he was playing against looked like 12-13 years old to me but it didn't stop him to smash the kid and be super proud of it. Unfortunately, the kid won on their second game at hindi nya matanggap ng slight hahahaha.

When we got to the butanding installation, I forgot that Stan the T-Rex was the star of this museum because personally, this one should be the star of the museum! Siguro dahil I came from Sorsogon and have already encountered them in Oslob so may hugot factor sa heart. Tsaka maganda talaga sya guys!!

We just can't get enough.

Here's an installation reminding us of main parts of our brains. Ano ang madalas na pinapagana mo?

Ooooh cells!

There's a museum shop outside and much as I want to buy a souvenir I can't. I really like the kids' shirt we saw! Di bale, dito naman ako nakatira sa Pilipinas and I can always come back kapag may budget na ko for souvenir[s]. (pampalubag-loob).

The park outside can automatically make a kid out of any adults. Kasi ganun ang naramdaman ko! Lahat pinakialaman namin lalo na yung human bubbles (I don't know what it's called though medyo fail sya samin kasi ayaw mabuo-buo!).

And these. I had fun kahit medyo kadiri yung tutubi up close.

In conclusion, isn't it obvious enough how I loved every minute I've spent inside The Mind Museum? Maybe because it was still fairly new or maybe because it's something different from the other museums we have in the metro. It's interactive and we all know what interactions can do to one's brain - it makes it even sharper! 

I can proudly say that The Mind Museum is at par with other international museums I've been to. Kudos to Ayala Property Management Corporation for bringing and maintaining this museum for all Filipinos to enjoy. I hope a few years from now they too will participate in the International Museum Day festivities. That's free entrance to anyone and everyone who wants to get inside para naman those people who can't afford the entrance fee can experience the joy and fun this museum has to offer.

Thanks pardner for spending the day with me, as if you have any other choice. Simpleng birthday lang pero rock :D Thank you Lord for another year, I can't wait to be 30!

George R. R. Martin on Conan

I loved when he said "...they would've known it if they read the books!" Makes all the sense in the [Westeros] world. Imagine the reaction of the series' first followers after waiting for a long time (10 years!) for book 3 to come out. Imagine how they must have felt when they got to the part of Red Wedding.

Must be terrible! The same reaction I got after finishing book 3. George R.R. Martin probably killed off a lot of great characters (spiteful and non-spiteful alike) in that book than books 1 and 2 combined.

PS: How could you hate on this fluffy, nerdy guy? Let's all be patient guys, Winds of Winter will be coming soon. Let's have faith with GRR Martin, he knows what' he's doing. He is not our bitch, as Neil Gaiman once put it off. :)

Singapore 2013 Series: IKEA Alexandria and Botanic Gardens

I was set that day for an IKEA visit in Alexandria. I've nothing to do and no one to meet that day so I decided to pay IKEA a visit. I usually plot my IT before I leave the house. What train to take, where to stop, bus locations, etc. From Bukit Batok, I changed from red to green train and got off at Commonwealth station.

I looked for the bus stop, waited for the correct bus number before getting on it. I took the correct bus, unfortunately on the wrong direction. haha. I didn't panic though. I had a map and I knew I could easily find my way back.

I love the neighborhood where I got lost. So peaceful and as always, clean.  

And so, I retraced my steps, got into the correct bus and arrived at IKEA Alexandria. Wow. This one's definitely bigger than the one I've been to in Hong Kong. Bodega level lang :))

I didn't get to order the chicken nor the meatballs meal because the servings are best to be shared. In Tagalog, mahal kapag walang ka-share so I had to make do with these salmon wrap (and free water) in the mean time. Okay naman sya.

I had so many things - important and unimportant ones - that I wanted to buy but I held back because my friends promised that we'd come back here to shop on our last day. (past forward: we didn't get to shop!). 

I really loved the curtain design hence this photo below.

I think it was past 2pm when I went back to Commonwealth area, Tanglin Halt Market to be specific. I've been there twice already looking for the original peanut butter pancake stall that Tony went to when he was in SG but alas, I just can't seem to find it (it was probably closed when I went on a Monday) so I settled to the next best thing (that was also highly recommended) in Tanglin Halt: Tian Shui Chicken Rice. I've read that Tian Shui chicken rice always make it to the top best chicken rice in SG. I think I only paid SG$3 for the whole meal which could actually feed 2 persons! I tell you, Hawker Centers are the place to be when in Singapore.

After that late lunch, I knew I still had time to kill so I decided to pay Botanic Gardens a visit. It's so easy to get there as there's a direct MRT station that serves the park.

The Singapore Botanic Gardens is super huge as in mahihiya ang Luneta Park and Ninoy Aquino Parks & Wildlife level. I wish there were more parks in Manila than malls or condominiums. More room for kids (and grown ups alike) to roam around freely and just be crazy. I can imagine myself hanging out here whenever I have a free time, probably a book on my hand.

Philippine government, can we please, please, PLEASE have more parks in the city?

The Healing Garden is located on the far side of Botanic Gardens where I noticed very few people roamed. This area generally showcases a wide variety of plants with medicinal values from all parts of the world. If you take time to read all the texts, you'll learn a lot especially on identifying common house plants and of how they can be used to treat common maladies.

Based from personal experience, the Healing Garden indeed heals! I noticed there are benches scattered around the area, and so, uncooperative humid weather and a tired me resulted to a siesta session hahaha. I could imagine people combing the area casually looking at plants then seeing me napping on a bench lol. It was like I was part of the plant exhibit. I did not care, I loved my siesta there! I woke up feeling refreshed and ready to do another miles and miles of walking!

There's a lake in the middle of the garden.

With these pigeons and a duck (seen here being photographed by a very zealous tourist).

The lone duck is a character in itself and I reckoned, from the looks of it, she liked the attention.

That's it for this day's adventures!