Bubbles Julian: Maarte ako. So what?

But this is not a 3M review and I'm sharing with a friend so behold -- the "Rayven" pizza. (Raven, we should've named it Daenerys Stormborn! *wink*). The pizza started with a half base (half olive oil/half red sauce) which we quickly cheese-d with mozzarella and a sprinkling of ricotta. Some ham, sausage, pepperoni, bacon bits, prosciutto, bacon bits, mushroom, red onions, green bell peppers and pineapple(!)

Verdict:

It's not an epic pineapple bacon pizza as I've dreamt. BUT it's nothing like the traditional pizzas -- crispy thin crust; bell peppers and pineapple bits are not overcooked, still fresh and juicy. I was picking the chunks of ricotta in my slice. 

It's nice, it's got all that I wanted. We were careful not to make it too salty or meaty. I didn't see that they have a BBQ sauce option, I woul've gone bonkers.

Now if it wasn't good, it'll be my fault. I custom built it, remember? Clever. 

People might have that tendency that since it's unlimited, put everything in. Don't. I strongly suggest a deep dive into your own thoughts and ask yourself; what do I really want in my pizza? Bear in mind that certain things blend together and others are not meant to be. Say you put prosciutto and feta and parmesan just because you can pronounce 'em, gahd, that's prolly one salty pizza. 

Pet Peeve:  Why artisanal? Artisanal is so overused these days. The dough is made by a machine. None of the crew spoke Italian nor have a hint of Italian accent nor by any means skilled craftsmen (they were very nice though). The available produce weren't handcrafted. So why? WHY ARTISANAL? That's your next project, Project Pie.

Grilling and Seafood Station: Baked Oysters! Which is really what mattered to me. The rest I didn't have the patience to wait for nor do I have space in my stomach anymore. And them oysters, hmmm juicy and cheesy and garlicky goodness. I think I ate 5. Shameless, I know.

Roasting station: This was my first stop actually. It was Lechon Belly, Baby Back Ribs, USA Grade Beef Tips and Leg of Lamb during our stay. The Baby Back Ribs is cliched falling-off-the-bone good. You can request the level of doneness you want for the beef tips and the lamb. 

Japanese station: While I normally troop to Japanese stations when I go buffet-ing, I actually skipped most of what's here. Sushi rolls tend to feel heavy. I even skipped the sashimi. I had two sticks of kani tempura and it was mediocre. But ooh, was the joksam Japanese? I loved it.

Asian Station: Confession: I have a predilection for Chinese food. I try to avoid them as they tend to be fatty and oily and I'm shifting to a healthier lifestyle. But when facing a smorgasboard of dimply dimsum, pork swimming in a broth of oyster sauce and enough MSG to marinate my own fats, I tend to dispell any previous commitment to healthy living. and surrender my whole will to the wok. So I munched on a few slices of century egg, spicy pig ears, sweet and sour pork, pata tim(!) and hakaw. The pata tim isn't on the same level as Chinatown's, but since I can get as much as I want and it's yummy enough, I'm not complaining. The hakaw's prawn inside isn't as big as Wai Ying's but again, I can get more than the 3 pieces I usually get *teehee*.

Italian Station: Pizzas and made-to-order pastas. I didn't get to try this though.

Dessert Station: Chocolate fountain with white and milk chocolate, not so much stuff to dip in though. There's a station for halo halo, yogurt, ice cream and crepes. As well as a display of cakes: sugary little devils masquerading as the cutest little buggers. Yes, I have absolutely no self control when it comes to sugar. Hello Diabetes wonderland.

And being a really thoughtful bunch, they have a PERi-ometer -- a sort of scale to gauge how chicken you are (no pun), if you're the lemon & herb guy or an inner pyromaniac (extra hot). No bravado here, I can only handle mild. While it doesn't compare to the notorious habanero chilis, it has a kick. And it's a fucking roundhouse.

We ordered a Full Platter that came with 4 choices of sides of humongous proportions. The Portuguese Salad was picture-perfect: a bed of green lettuce, olives, mix of peppers, cucumber and onions. Coleslaw, Potato Salad and Mediterranean Rice.

And Bolo Bread with Herbed Butter

I haven't tried the local Peri Peri place, I guess it's an unfailing loyalty to this favorite. Anyone who has tried both? How does it compare?

So despite every single article I've read about Gram's recommending their Famous Beef Tapa, I ordered Riddles from the Griddle. I had mine with waffles (4) instead of 12 Silver Dollar Pancakes, scrambled eggs and 2 strips of crispy bacon. I did read about someone commenting that their pancakes seemed a bit dry and I thought the waffles would be different, and well, they are still dry and a bit tough. Scrambled eggs were a bit bland which suited me fine and the bacon strips were so crispy they stood out like a pair of rulers.

And I might not have the most sophisticated of palates, but I can almost swear the bacon tasted like crispy chicken skin. :P

The other orders weren't particularly stellar either. The Breakfast for Winners is a burger patty swimming in gravy with 2 eggs and fried rice. My friend just gave me a non-committal shrug when I asked how it was. So nothing earth-shattering there.

The other friend had the Breakfast for Titans, which is US roast beef, 2 eggs and fried rice. We sort of had a different roast beef sight in mind when we ordered. What came was a mound of thinly-sliced beef that hinted of curry spices. It wasn't half-bad, only it was served to someone who hates anything curry-ish. The beef was succulent and not overdone, but really tasted like curry.

So overall, nothing stellar. Maybe we should go back to try what they offer for lunch or dinner, or even give that Famous Beef Tapa a try. Or Eggs Benny? (Yeah, like they said, NOT BENNY'S EGGS!) *me-thinking-really-hard* Anyone with a compelling argument for us to give them another chance?

ReFit Revolution 

I got started with most of their videos. The steps are really easy to follow whilst having so much fun. This is perfect for those just looking to test the waters since even non-dancers can easily find their groove in their routines. They've also released a new DVD! My favorites include:

Glad You Came for warming up.

Gozo Marvilloso, Pa Que Baile, Embute, Siguelo, Firestarter, and Move for cardio.

Smile for cooling down.

    Lauren Fitz for Dance Fitness

You'll see how much fun her crew is having with all the dancing. Hers is a wide range of dance routines with varying levels of difficulty (some are not as repetitive and are harder to learn) but you get the burn, baby! I love her! She's soooo hot!

Get Cool's Shawty Got Moves is my ultimate favorite. Along with Thriftshop, Move Around, Fire Burning, Hotel Room Service and Burlesque.

    Medora Cesarano

Oh, Medora's got swaaggg! I love her to bits. Her choreography is heavily influenced by her dance background as well. And I really like how I'm just psyched to dance to her videos. I't makes me want to start crumpin even if I'm just sitting down. 

Hit the Floor is a bad-ass cardio workout (I'm huffin and puffin on this one) I love Work, Church, Ball, Dance and Boomerang.

In all honesty, my body is a blob, a sort of galaxy or a lazy community of fats and pampered muscles, curated by years of 'katamaran'. I got the push last year when my weight drastically dropped ( no biggie - I just happened to not like the food and stopped eating lots). I liked my physique and decided to push it further by incorporating some workouts.

I love dancing. So Zumba and Hiphop Dance Fitness were no-brainer options for me to get motivated to working out. I decided to just do it at home for the following reasons:

I dance at my own pace. I can stop or pause when I can't take it anymore. I don't have to worry about other people seeing how my face has already turned purple with exertion. HA! 

I don't have to dress or get gym clothes. I can work out with my favorite ratty shirts. 

I can commit to doing it daily. No excuses. 

I downloaded a couple of Youtube videos and would do a couple of routines a day. I plugged my tablet to a speaker and put on my cross trainer kicks to start. I started with 6 songs -- and was already huffing and puffing my way back to a chair to catch my breath. And I would tell everyone -- anyone looking into getting started with it --  it's OKAY to totally look and feel like a doofus when you're starting out. The important thing is you get started. That's the hardest part of any work out really.

So there, 6 songs and would push myself to do 8 on the next day and so on. I got to plateau at about 24 songs and started to pick which routines focused on cardio or toning and quickly picked out my favorites.

So now comes a point that I find that dancing isn't so much of a challenge as it used to be. So I mustered up the courage and determination to get started on Insanity: Asylum. I'm on Week 2 but modified my schedule a bit. This entry serves as an intro to more fitness-related posts from hereon. I'll share my Hiphop Dance Fitness favorites for those who are interested in getting started with it, as well as my progress in the Asylum.

So being a sea baby at heart and fresh from conquering the La Union barrels, we went packing our surfing gear and bottles of sunblock. Destination: Sabang Beach, Baler, Aurora. This unassuming sleepy town tucked behind the mighty Sierra Madre and facing the great Pacific. 

It's a grueling 6 to 7-hour drive from Manila, braving roads that twist like your twisti-est Twister fries and snake along the mountain range. But when you actually get there, lo and behold, pure love. Depending on what time you arrive, you'd either be greeted by a slightly timid, almost shy hugging of water against sand, or when the surf's up, Pacific swells(!). 

Newbies like us availed the lessons from the Mahdox Surf School, with regular rates at Php 350 for an hour of surf lessons inclusive of the surfboard. Board rentals are at Php 200 per hour. The instructors gave us the lowdown of balancing on the board and more importantly, the safety instructions as the waves tend to be nasty. Very high possibility of injuring yourself or getting hit by the board snapping back. New guys to surfing are also taught to ride at the shallow areas, as some of us are not swimmers. Be very open to the possibility of you being overwhelmed by the waves. Think of how your linens are when being laundered on a front-load washing machine. Yes, seriously.

Accommodations beach side are also plenty, with a wide price range. We stayed at the Pacific Waves Inn, a modest accommodation by the shore line with decent beds and showers and hot water(!). I'll include a short list of notable accommodations below.

So when in Baler, ride that wave. That surfer Greg Noll said, "I took off on a wave, went down the side, popped out the other end, and went, shit, I'm still alive!" 

I couldn't have said it any better. 

Needless to say, I took home a tube. But I'm sheepish to admit that it isn't 'all that' to me now. MAC Pink Nouveau is a mid-tone pink on me with an easy hint of lavender (not as much as MAC St Germain though) I have my own preference of what I want to think of as Barbie pink, but it seems that a whole lot refers to it as that.  

This is in Satin finish which swipes opaque, semi-matte, incredibly pigmented and ugh, strong smelling. What I like about it is that the color does't slide around. It still kisses off on my coffee mug, but the color isn't completely gone afterwards. Lasts about 4-5 hours, 6 if I don't babble a lot. The strong Vanilla smell, which I'm aware is so MAC, is really off-putting. It isn't that strong with my other MAC lippies. 

I still like it. I'm just not head-over-heels in-love with it. I think I have a steadier affair with the warmer pinks, MAC Chatterbox and MAC Please Me. I won't deny that I grab it if I want something that subtlety whispers 'look at me'. Instant perk me up. 

  But I'm able to sheer it out (like a madman) and compensate with my setting powder (MAC Blot in Medium in the meantime). It does go on heavy initially with a creamier than liquid-y consistency. But even if I sheer it out, it still does a great job covering my discolorations and redness around the nose. It's also a plus I seem glow-y rather than muddy because of the cooler undertone (I'm pink as a pig.

It controls my oils for only about 3 hours however, and transfers when I'm sticky, even after I've already let it settle. 

    Really close look! Morning after, (about 8 hours wear) 

L'Oréal Paris has already released several better foundation lines (like True Match and Lucent Magique) which I'm yet to try. I just really want to share what I'm loving at the moment.

The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Annual Festival is the party scene to be, hosted by cool-kid brands, hot magazines and music superstars. AND they officially kick off this coming weekend!

Source: Coachella

HOW HOT IS THAT?!?