Askmewhats

Sunday, December 28, 2008

Weekend Food Tripping at: Sizzlin' Pepper Steak + Iceberg

Before I start collecting my thoughts on what to say....this is a FULL BLOWN food fest with dessert photos!!! Well, it's the season to be Jolly, it's the season to be FATSO! :P

Falalala FAT FAT FAT FAT...LOL *dances around*

Weekend gluttony! But all photos below are eaten by more than 5 individuals so don't point fingers at me about wastage...all food below are finished up!

We went to the Trinoma mall and it was packed with people, people shop like they're all MILLIONAIRES! lol I wish I can do that too but we went to Trinoma to eat!

A lot of people have been raving about the Sizzlin' Pepper Steak and this is the season to taste their sizzlin' plates. Let's see if it does sizzle my 5 sensory nerves! :P

Here's their huge Menu outside

Free Kani Salad because bro is a Standard Chartered Credit Card user
Always check for promotions from Credit card companies

I don't have the receipt with me right now but all sizzlin' plates photos below costs approx Php235.00-250.00 (approx $5-6) per plate without rice
Additional rice costs Php35.oo (less than $1.00)

First stop My Hamburg with gravy sauce

Hamburg with Katsudon
(with gravy on the side)

Hamburg with Tempura

Hamburg with Crispy Chicken

Hamburg with Fried Fish

After full lunch, brother who came back for the Christmas holidays, is craving for Halo-Halo. What is a Halo-Halo?

Halo-halo (from "halo" = mix) is a favorite Filipino dessert or snack. It is basically a mixture of sweet preserved beans(red beans, chick peas), coconut meat (macapuno), jackfruit (langka), pounded dried rice (pinipig), sweet yam (ube), cream flan (leche flan), shreds of sweetened plantain (saba), filled with crushed ice, milk (or coconut milk) and topped with ice cream. The halo-halo basically is sweet, creamy, and a filling dessert. (source: here)

One of the best place to eat Halo-Halo is called Iceberg. Iceberg started with so many branches in the Philippines, but they closed down most of them. After a couple of years, they were able to add up to their menu and serve not only Halo-Halo but dishes and ice cream sundaes. Variety is a key if you plan to open any food chain here in the Philippines. (I guess same with other countries)

Hubby and I are still full from the lunch
We decided to share a Strawberry Shake

Php118.00 (approx $2.50)

Super Halo-Halo Regular halo-halo ingredients plus scoops of ice cream!

Php94.00 (approx $2.00)

Mango Con Hielo Mango ice cream with real mangoes with milk and crushed ice Php110.00 (approx $2.30)

Strawberry Mango Con Hielo Real Mangoes and Strawberries plus Strawberry Ice cream on top of crushed ice with milk Php125.00 (approx 2.70)

If you plan to visit the Philippines, definitely have yourself a Halo-halo! A hot sizzlin' plate dish is perfect for our friends who are cold at the moment, Cold dessert like Halo-halo are perfect for our friends who are in a tropical country like us :) What are you eating at the moment? Smile and stay pretty!

Saturday, December 27, 2008

Reader's Corner: Q&A + My Nail Polish Collection

Hey all!!!

Here's another set of Q&A, I usually answer them directly and post them again for everyone to share their comments, ideas and answers :)

I also included my nail polish collection which some of my readers wanted to check out. Nothing too fantabulous :)

Question:

What's the difference of NC and NW for MAC shades?

Askmewhats Answers:

NC-Neutral Cool -For golden undertones
NW-Neutral Warm-For pinkish undertones

You can check out this link for more information :)

http://www.specktra.net/foundation.php

Question:

Where can I purchase Carmex Lip Balm here in the Philippines?

Askmewhats Answers:

You can purchase Carmex lip balms at PCX shops. You can find PCX shop at Robinson's Place, Ermita.

Question:

Can you suggest a concealer that can really cover dark post acne blemishes?

Askmewhats Answers:

Post Acne Blemishes are quite hard to cover as it gets to be sensitive and dries easily. Make sure to use a concealer that is hypo-allergenic. Aside from concealer, I suggest use your favorite Liquid Foundation/ Cream foundation that is one shade lighter than your skin and pat on to the area that has spots. After foundation, if the spot is still there, you can add on your concealer. But making sure do not pack on too much and it'll be cakey and the spots will be more obvious.

Some concealers I can suggest are the Make Up Forever Concealer Palette (so you can mix and match the shade), Cinema Secrets Concealer (as this is quite creamy), if you have the chance to find a local reseller, I like NYX Concealer in a Jar as well.

But of course, not all brands that works for me will work for you, do give it a test first before purchasing :)

Question:

Can I see your nail polish collection?

Askmewhats Answers:

Sure you can! But do not expect me to have a nail polish salon type of collection :) When I got married, I left all my polishes at home and my collection started when Toma sent me complete set of ELF polishes, then Sis Aika continued my collection by sending me the neon collection polishes, then Alyssa sent me the nail art dotting tool..and the rest are gifts from lovely friends too! Tine, thanks for the lovely Maybelline polish and a dear friend from Malaysia, you know who you are, for the Kanebo polish :) So in short, I did spend money on my own for my collection but a lot are from dear friends who knew my love for nail stuffs. I'll cherish my collection for sure! :)

Enjoy the photos! :)

My first traincase from my lovely colleagues
for my birthday February 2008! Thanks gals!

When opened, they're usually laid flat
But for photo purposes,
I made them stand up

What's on the lower part of the traincase?
I put my pedicure/manicure kit!

Useless Nail Stamping Tool
Super useless, all 3 polishes all dried up! lol
No, this is NOT Konad

Nail Art Dotting Tools Nail Gems from Market Market
and the rest Are gift from a colleague Pam
<-- Thanks Pam! You have to let me know where you purchase it! :D

Here's the case from Japan Home Php88.00 (approx $2.00)
For my nail art pens

I recently purchased a nail art brush From Koichi Store,
Robinson's Place Ermita
There's just ONE left, so I wish this is good!
For precision nail art :P
Don't take my word for it,
I never do things PRECISE hahaha

People ask me what I want for Christmas and the new years?
Material "want" --- it never ends...
but happiness 'wise, I am very happy!
I've got a good husband, lovely family and supportive friends!
Wonderful blogger friends and readers!!!
Those are more than enough for me!
What are you thankful for the year 2008?

Friday, December 26, 2008

Askmewhats Reviews: Coastal Scents Gel Liner in Truffle

Lovely people!
How's the Christmas celebration? I went to the mall to have lunch with my family and had fun because family is complete! Brother came back to the Philippines. It was a great lunch, we ate at Pepper Steak (will show you the photos of the food soon!)

Dinner came we had Christmas Dinner at Fish & Co. with my husband's family! So it was a day of EATING! :) The mall is packed with so many people! I just can't believe there's "recession" going on!

Anyways, let me go straight to a review!

Coastal Scents Gel Liner
in Truffle

Coastal Scents Gel Liner says ---

Application is easy, has the ability to design and be creative, lasts all day without smudging or creasing and are highly pigmented.

Ingredients:

Isododecane, Polyethylene, Trimethylsilocysilicate, Cyclomethicone, Ozokerite, Ploymethylsilsesquioxane, Hydrogenated Polyisobutene, Quaternium-18 Hectorite, Propylene Carbonate, Phenyl Trimethicone, Tocopheryl Acetate, Lecithin, Propylparaben, BHT. May contain: Mica and Titanium Dioxide, Iron Oxides, Ferric Ammonium Ferrocyanide, Ultramarine Blue, D&C Red No.7 Ca Lake, FD&C Blue No.1 Al Lake, D&C Black No.2.

Askmewhats says ---

My review is based only to the ONE color I've tried, TRUFFLE

Pros

no smudging
lasts all day
easy to apply, dries quickly
pigmented
does not cause any eye allergies (for me)
easy to remove with make-up remover
I've used it on my waterline too and it stayed for 6 hours, which is good! It didn't smudge, it was just gone by late afternoon!

Cons

not available locally, shipping is expensive!
the jar is not labeled, if you purchase a lot, you have to put the name by yourself to avoid confusion

Overall

CS Gel Liner in Truffle is a true matte brown color. I like it because it is very pigmented and it does gives out a very natural look!

The other gel liner I've used is my HG Stila Smudgepots in Black. I've heard and read so many raves about the CS Gel Liner in True Black but it was out of stock when I ordered Truffle. I have great experience with Truffle, I actually danced the whole lunch time and I was sweating like crazy and it stayed on till I remove my make-up.

With the price itself without the shipping cost, it is worth it and very inexpensive, but added with the shipping cost, I can just buy myself a Bobbi Brown or MAC gel liners.

Tips

If you plan to purchase the CS liners, do read reviews and look for swatches online as I've read some of the colors are not pigmented enough and you have to apply many times for the colors to show up. Research please!
Use an angled liner brush or a thin angled brush depending on which one you're more comfortable to use.
Always close the lid between applications to prevent the product from drying up

Will I repurchase?

Yes! They came out with more colors!!! I want more!!!

Where can you purchase and how much?

At Coastal Scents website for $6.95 (shipping NOT included)

I usually just draw a thin line during work days!
Here's how it looks like after more than 12 hours!
I love that it stayed on, no smudging and it didn't fade!

Plan to buy CS Gel Liners yourself?
I honestly plan to get more!
I am definitely waiting for discounts again!
So if you see any CS discounts or coupons coming up!
Do holler! :D