Tag Archives: P100 Challenge

The Goal This Summer is To Find That Table

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wateringcan

I find myself drawn to vintage-inspired watering cans and tiny tin buckets lately. Come to think of it, I guess I like Old English Interior Decors. I have posted about my little collection of candle lanterns (7 and counting) which ties that up together with these tin cans (just 4 and still counting).  It just ht me now that I probably do like country-vintage inspired decor and style. But not too over-the-top though. I still gravitate towards clean-minimalist design.

But the reason I scoured the little shops and malls in Cebu looking for these cute buckets and watering cans is not for interior decorating. I needed some containers for my craft supplies. I’m going to try my best not to use those hideous plastic containers I had for years. I wanted something inexpensive but pretty. Now, where can we find an inexpensive, not hideous-looking containers these days in Cebu?  I found these cans in 3 different stores and I knew I had to have them because they called to me, hahaha!

Organizing the tiny craft room is getting crazy in our little house. It’s been over a year since we moved to our own place and we love it here (sans the terrible traffic :) ) We still have not finished organizing our craft/office room. To say that it’s a mess in this tiny room full of books and craft supplies is an understatement.  It’s getting crazy lately, what with the husbands law books piled up on the table among the bead stash and some felt fabrics.

There is a table underneath all those craft supplies and law books. The goal this summer is to find that table.

I’ve categorized this also under the P100 Challenge. The blue watering can is only P70.00 and I am more than amused.

P100 Challenge: Mr. India’s Chicken Kabab

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This I think is hands-down the winner for the P100 Challenge! I really have to give it to the husband, again. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, the husband and I have this P100 Challenge going on. Read about it here and here. We are on the lookout for something not over P100 or about $2.36 to amuse ourselves. It doesn’t have to be food-related so long as it is under P100 and it puts a smile on your face. We get to be creative and plus I think we are sharing something to other Cebuanos who might want to get ideas on how to spend P100 and  maybe, just maybe, join this challenge as well. Just to amuse yourselves :)

Now on to the challenge.

The husband knows that I just love Indian food, period! I had seen that new restaurant when we pass by Gaisano Country Mall “Mr. India” and it was calling to me. Seriously! Since I got back from the US in 2010, I had missed Chicken Tikka Masala so so bad. I couldn’t find a decent restaurant here in Cebu who served Chicken Tikka Masala. There is one restaurant here in the city that served it but it was never even close to the real Chicken Tikka Masala that I so loved in Baltimore. When I saw the sign “Mr. India”, I was hoping this was better than that restaurant. It took me months before I was able to convince the husband to go there. It didn’t disappoint us at all.

I had to order the Chicken Tikka Masala even if I know I would lose. It costs P120 so that is over P100. I lost but this is just heaven in a bowl for me. It tasted even better than what I used to have in Belvedere Towers in Baltimore. Really good and authentic Chicken Tikka Masala. I’m sorry guys but this picture does not say heaven at all but how could I be taking pictures when that bowl is really calling me to eat. My apologies. Probably next time I visit Mr. India I can take better pictures.

This is best dipped with the hot Naan or those Tandoor-baked Indian flatbreads. I must write another post on my love affair with Chicken Tikka Masala.

BUt I have to give it to the husband for his winning streak on the P100 Challenge. He’s done it again. He ordered Chicken Kabab that cost P99.00! Yes, just a peso short of P100 and this is a hit. You get three chicken skewers of juicy and succulent ground chicken marinated in probably, I’m just guessing, garlic, coriander, yoghurt, lemon and ginger. It is also served with 1 hot naan, a humus dip and some onion salad. Now, a chicken and rice meal from your trusted fast food chain cannot beat that, right? Not to mention, it’s healthy and tastes so good.

The husband has been converted again! He won alright but I have converted him to acquire that Indian taste. It’s all good.

Don’t be intimidated by Indian food. And it’s not only chicken curry that spells Indian food. You must try Chicken Kabab and of course, Chicken Tikka Masala.

’til our next challenge.

Mr. India                                                                                                                   Authentic Indian Express Cuisine,                                                                                   County Mall, Banilad, Cebu City #511-5110

The P100 Challenge: Churros Con Chocolate

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My husband found Tablea, conveniently next to Mochiko Mochi Ice cream at the Ayala Center Cebu.

For those of you who haven’t read my previous post, my hubby and I are up for a P100 Challenge - to amuse ourselves :) The goal is to find something interesting that’s under P100. That’s about $2.35.

Tablea Chocolate Cafe is one of those I’d like to call Cebuano ingenuity. It’s definitely a breath of fresh air to find something very local ( they make use of Philippine cacao beans) yet surprisingly very world-class. They try to find new ways of using tablea or that unsweetened tablets from pure cacao beans.

My husband ordered Churros Con Chocolate for P95.00 or about $2.22. I have to say this is definitely a winner.

My first taste of Churros was in high school at Le France cafe and since then, I’ve been searching for the best churros.

I think you get about 4-5 churros served with a rich Chokolate drink. Quite soft to the bite which is a good thing. If only it’s  a little bit bigger it’d be almost perfect. I think a good churro  is something that is moist and light in the inside and a crispy exterior that’s coated with sugar and cinnamon. Tablea’s churros come with a very rich chocolate dip, you can almost close your eyes as you savor this rich dessert..and then feel guilty, Mwahahaha :) Well not really. I think the chokolate is made from real cocoa beans that’s a good antioxidant (yeah, right!).

They sell batirols that brought back childhood memories back when my Mama used to make sikwate using a batirol. They look more like the batidors from Mexico with their patterns. Batirols or Batidors are actually wooden whisks used for making Tsokolate or a Hot chocolate drink using tablea.

The Churros Con Chocolate is at P95 so I think the husband won.

He said he had a lot of leftover chokolate and it’s a shame to be wasting such rich chocolate drink, he said it would be perfect with Puto! I wasn’t sure if he was just making excuses but he said I should definitely add this in my blog especially for my fellow Filipinos in the US and other parts of the world who miss Puto and Sikwate.

For an additional P25, you get puto and drizzle your leftover chokolate. In Cebu we call it sikwate. Puto and Sikwate is a popular Cebuano dish. Puto is sticky rice that’s perfect if paired with sikwate or warm Chocolate drink made from real cacao beans.

If you get the chance to go to the malls, try something interesting like Churros Con Chocolate. If you’re like my husband who will not let his warm chokolate go to waste, add in this really good puto and you can almost close your eyes and savor the richness of this chokolate…and then feel guilty :)

‘Til next challenge, Marryl!

P.S. While we’re at it, why don’t you join in the fun and try to amuse yourselves with our P100 Challenge. Let me know what interesting thing you’ve done that’s under P100! or $2.35!

The P100 Challenge: Mochi Ice Cream

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Note: P100 (Philippine Peso) = $2.35 (US Dollars)

Sundays for us means hearing mass and having time with each other. Bea, our four-year old daughter looks forward to having playtime at The Playroom. My hubby and I get some quality time for ourselves. We love to stroll in the malls, read the paper in a coffee shop, talk about our plans for this year or just about anything.

He wanted to grab a bite or a quick snack and an idea came to my head. Instead of getting the usual sandwich or pasta, I challenged him to find something interesting and yummy that’s under P100. Thus, the P100 Challenge.

I found Mochi Ice Cream. This isn’t the first time I’ve tasted Mochi Ice Cream though but I thought it’d be interesting to share. “Good things come to those who wait”. That’s what it says in the package – to wait for two minutes or until mochi is soft to the touch before biting into it.

Mochi, for those of you who haven’t tried it, is a Japanese confection made from sticky rice (mochi) with an ice cream filling inside. They are rather expensive at P70 a piece or in the US I think I got them at $10-11 a tray.

Here in Cebu, you can get them at Ayala Center  at the 2nd level and look for this little corner with the pink chairs and brown tables (which  happens to be my colors for my online shop that is still in the works..in my head. Slow woman taking forever to think. That’s why I have that tag line “Intentions don’t count” to remind myself that, hahaha!). Sorry, back to the mochi.

The pretty pink chairs and brown tables.

My favorite is the avocado. I love the apple green color.

Good things come to those who wait.

You’ll have to really wait until the mochi is soft to the touch and then you bite into it!

Will you look at that :)

I think I did pretty well with that challenge. It was P70 so that’s definitely under P100. It was interesting and yummy of course. Anything that has an ice cream filling definitely sounds good and it looks good, doesn’t it?

If you’re wondering what my husband found, I’ll keep you posted.

If you guys are interested and you want to make going to the malls with your husband (or with your friends) more fun, why don’t you take this challenge? Let me know how it goes and a pingback would be very much appreciated.

‘Til next challenge, Marryl!