I wasn't able to blog for weeks! Ugh! I have just whined about the many backlog stories that I still need to write about (in my previous post) and then days later, off goes our internet connection! :| Thank God it has now been restored (after millions of follow-up reports to PLDT!).

Let me shed off the backlog list by giving my warmest gratitude to Ms. Ria of Ria's World. She gave me my first ever blog award, the Sweet Blog Award. :)

I only know of a very few who are avid readers of my blog. And it always makes me happy whenever people give me nice comments about my posts. But receiving a blog award was just so unexpected for me..and very heartwarming. :)

Let me share this award to some sweet bloggers. :) I chose them because I personally love reading their blogs. They are constantly dropping by my blog too. :)

Jerellt of Je's Anatomy

Mei of Inside of Me

Enchie of Sweet Nothings

From My Kitchen And Beyond
Mrs. Martinez of MrsMartinez's Raves & Rants

Sweets Foods Blog

Parent Times

Foodarrific

Josie of Josie's Kitchen

Losing It - Getting Fit

Rules for This Award:

1. Pass it to 10 sweet people

2. Inform them about this award

3. LINK BACK to the ONE WHO GAVE you the award

Happy blogging! 'til my next (backlog) post! Haha! ;p

The summer season is officially over! But I still haven't completed my posts about our summer adventures. *sigh* So I'm warning everyone, most of my posts will be backlogs of the adventures and food trips that I had this summer. So please bear with me, and I hope that you will find time to read and enjoy the adventures and food trips as much as I did. :)

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Mark's normal life, specifically in terms of eating, finally got back! Since summer is over, it's also his off-season from bodybuilding, which means he no longer has to deprive himself of food that normal people eat. :D

It actually started last week when we had our late lunch at Butter Diner. It was then followed by another pigging out session last Friday, May 28. We were supposed to have a dinner date last Thursday, but since I had work, we decided to just move the date.

Since I knew how Mark wanted to eat so badly, I was already surfing the net and reading reviews about restaurants around the Araneta Center even days before our dinner. There were a lot of choices, but Blackbeard's Seafood Island got me all hooked up. :D I was just browsing through their menu but I can already imagine how Mark would love to dine here.

It was both our first time to try it out at Blackbeard's Seafood Island. We were greeted by staffs in pirate costumes when we entered the restaurant. Aside from the pirate costumes, another main attraction in the place was the interior. I just had my camera phone at hand so just bear with me with the photos. :p

The ceiling fans made from individual abanikos really caught our attention. What a nice touch! :)

Situated on each post are preserved crabs and lobsters. They also have an aquarium right next to the entrance wherein you may choose fresh seafood and have it cooked.

There were also some abacca ball lights hanging on the other side of the restaurant. They also have a bar which resembles that of a pirate ship.

Aside from the nice ambience, the restaurant also takes pride of their seafood and grilled treats.

Both Mark and I had a hard time in choosing what to order, it's like we wanted to have everything in the menu! Haha! After a few minutes of contemplating, we finally decided to go for the Dapitan's Pride Boodle Feast. For the drinks, I got the Buko Shake while Mark opted for the bottomless Iced Tea. I ♥♥♥ their Buko Shake! I don't know if I'm right but it tasted like it also had dairy milk on it. The Iced Tea was good too. :)

A few minutes after we placed our order, one of the wait staffs went to our table and got the place mats, plates, and utensils, and left just a single plate with 2 pairs of utensils on the farthest side of the table, which really made Mark and I surprised. We got more surprised when our order was served. The Dapitan's Pride Boodle which consist of Crispy Coco Gin Shrimps, San Mig Clams, Grilled Tilapia, Grilled Squid, Laing, Steamed Crab, Grilled Liempo, Kalkag Rice, and Atchara Papaya, on banana leaves layered on top of a huge wooden tray was right in front of us.

We were like stunned for a few minutes! Haha! We even said that we'll just have the left-over food wrapped since we know we can't finish the whole boodle. But no! We were enjoying the food that we didn't notice that we ate up all of it! And the food that was supposedly for 3-4 persons, as stated in the menu, was gone in no time! Haha!

The clams were perfect, I love its soup. I just didn't know why they called it 'San Mig' clams, hmmm... :D The Laing, which I tasted for the first time, was also good. The Grilled Tilapia, Liempo, and Squid, as always, appealed to our palates. The Crispy Coco Gin Shrimps and Steamed Crabs were just oh so delectable! But I guess the best part was the Kalkag Rice. It has tiny dried shrimps on it and it tasted like it had Crab Aligue. Hmmmm!!! Mark and I simply love it! *drools*

We both enjoyed the dinner that we forgot that we ordered fresh fruits for dessert! Generous serving of sliced watermelon, apples, mangoes, and oranges, in huge platter with crushed iced sure is a perfect dessert, unfortunately we were already full so we just had it wrapped.

We just really had to rest for a few minutes because we literally can't even drag ourselves up after our gluttonous feast. *burp* Mark and I both enjoyed our dinner. We definitely will come back again to try out the other boodle feasts! And I will make sure to bring my camera when we get back..*wink*

BLACKBEARD'S SEAFOOD ISLAND
Seafood Grill and Barbecue House
Shopwise Arcade, Araneta Center
Cubao, Quezon City

The rainy season is fast approaching, so before summer ends, here's our last 'hirit' to beat the heat!

Had a sinful yet heavenly lunch with my family yesterday, again courtesy of the best chef in town, my dad. :D

First on the menu was the Tuna Meatballs. With just a can of Tuna soaked in water, eggs, minced onions, tomatoes, and salt and pepper, rolled into bread crumbs, this delectable dish sure is a perfect treat for health buffs out there. Just be sure to use olive oil or vegetable oil in frying for a more guilt-free treat. :p

Another healthy treat was the Buttered Veggies. Slices of potatoes, carrots, sayote, Baguio beans, and button mushrooms sautéed in butter never really fail to satisfy my palates, especially when the veggies are cooked just right.

The meatballs and veggies were perfectly delicious, but for an added twist, my dad also made these:

You may enjoy eating the meatballs and veggies plain, or have it with gravy for a more delectable treat!

We also had Century Eggs, which is Gia's favorite. :)

Another tasty treat was the Papaitan. This is one of my dad's specialties. It was so good that my mom wasn't able to resist eating it even if she was advised by her doctor to avoid food with high uric acid content. :p

And last but not the least, was our all-time favorite, Cripy Pata! Just look at the picture...need I say more? *drools*

After out mouth-watering lunch, we had a refreshing dip! Summer time will surely become more fun and enjoyable when spent with the whole family!


Hope to have more and more family fun next summer! :D

The show ended past 2pm and Mark and I both were hungry that time. After the show we went straight to the Araneta Center to have our lunch/merienda. :)

Since we usually dine at the Gateway mall, Mark suggested that we try out other restaurants in the Araneta Center. After walking around the place, we saw Butter Diner. I've read a lot of good reviews about this restaurant so we both decided to try it out.

The restaurant's interior will surely catch your eye. Upon entry, you will notice the wall with a huge colorful comic strip which features the Butter Diner story...

...and vintage posters that hang on the mirror wall on the other side,

with vintage items situated on a ledge at the bottom of the mirror wall. Each table also has either a vintage transistor radio or vintage toaster as side accent.

Though the service is not really slow, I'm sure you will enjoy while waiting for your orders because of the restaurant's playful interior. You will also get hooked into reading the Butter Diner story in the paper placemats on the table.

Aside from the admirable interior, Mark and I also loved Butter Diner's food. Mark wanted something hot so he ordered the Cream of Mushroom soup. I love the generous amount of minced onions and mushroom slices in the soup.  It was served really hot and comes with butter toasts.

The Sausages & Cheese Omelette was next on our list. Its huge serving comes with butter toasts. Mark and I enjoyed this dish. It was overflowing with sautéed sausage strips, onions, and cheese! Yummy!

A must-try at Butter Diner, the Western Burger was served next. The grilled quarter pound beef burger patty smothered with rich barbecue sauce and topped with bacon was a sure hit for both Mark and I. The patty which was tender and juicy and the crispy bacon strips really appealed to our palates. Though the burger was not big enough, it comes with a generous serving of fries.

Another must-try is the Lasagna A SURE FAVORITE!. Mark and I was surprised at how big the serving was. The lasagna was oozing with lots and lots of cheese! The cheddar cheese topping, cream cheese, and mozzarella cheese and ground beef layered in al dente pasta sheets were a heaven for me. This dish sure did live up to its name! :)

For the drinks, I had their Iced Tea while Mark opted for the Mug root beer.

We also had the Double Hot Fudge Brownie Sundae for dessert. The vanilla ice cream topped with chocolate brownie, rich hot chocolate fudge syrup, nuts, cherry were gone in no time!

It was our first time at Butter Diner, but we sure loved and enjoyed our dining experience here. We'll definitely come back to try out their other specialties especially their flavored butter. :)

BUTTER DINER
Shopwise Arcade, Araneta Center
Cubao, Quezon City

Last Tuesday, May 25, marked the start of Mark's stardom. Haha! He was one of the contestants of Eat Bulaga's Sa Pula Sa Puti Kontrapelo game.

It was my mom who actually informed me about the game. She sent me a message last Monday afternoon insisting that I let Mark join the auditions for the said show. The show needed bodybuilders for their segment and Mark was the first person that came into my mom's mind when she heard of the advertisement.

I relayed the message to Mark and I was able to convince him, and before we knew it, he was already there, right at the Broadway Centrum, auditioning for game. :)

It was around 9 in the evening when I got a message from Mark saying that we need to be at the Broadway Centrum the next day at 8:30am. Yes! Mark passed the audition and was chosen as one of the contestants! :D

Tuesday came and we were at the Broadway Centrum just in time. We entered the studio at around 10am. After a few briefing and rehearsals, the show finally began.

Mark's team won over the lady bodybuilders in the elimination round.

Unfortunately, they didn't get the jackpot prize.

After the game, we stayed to finish the show. Here's Mark's photo with Joey De Leon. Good thing we were able to catch him after the game. :)

We really didn't get to have our photos taken with the hosts because they immediately go to the backstage after each segment. Here are some photos of the Eat Bulaga Dabarkads. :)

Mark's competition started past 8pm and ended around 11pm, and we were so hungry! And so after Mark's victory, we finally had our dinner! Yipee! Haha!

It was already late and all the restaurants in the city were already closed. Good thing the tricycle drivers were nice enough to drive for us to a nearby town. We had our dinner at Merge Point in Bantay, Ilocos Sur, which is roughly a minute drive from Vigan City.