Maginahawa Chronicles: Cat Cafe Manila

Research shows that cats can help us deal with our stress. Just by watching your cats do antic tricks already help relieve stress, said David Frei who is the spokesperson for the Delta Society. which is a nonprofit organization interested in relationships between people and animals. 

I was trying to find a way to calm myself and temporarily escape the pressure of school with loads of papers and other requirements, and so I called my childhood friend Brine and invited him to go to Cat Cafe Manila in Maginhawa, Quezon City. I have seen a documentary on Pop Talk that Cat Cafe Manila is a must-try since you can not just have your usual coffee and cupcake, but you can also throw away that stress by mingling with different cats at the cafe.

We had once a cat named Muning and other two stray cats which we named Orange (because of her fur color) and Blue (because of his bright blue eyes). We lost them when we moved away from La Mesa Dam to Bulacan four years ago, and most of the time I missed them because there's nothing like hugging and stroking a cat which calms me down and takes away whatever stressed feelings I have. I remembered how smart Muning was, who would often sneak into our bedroom windows and climb onto our beds to wake us up in early in the morning.

As we entered the Cat Cafe, I was suddenly filled with nostalgia when I saw the beautiful cats, which had name tags and were sleeping during that time. There were house rules before entering the cafe: you should first wash your hands and take off your shoes or sandals. The place was a little small but very comfortable and bright-lit. The ambiance was also nice: once you enter, you would first see the counter and the variety of cupcakes and brownies that you could order, and also a wide array of cat-inspired merchandise. 

Rainbow Cat Cupcake

Moica Cupcake

You would automatically have a one-hour session with the cats, which is P100 and another P100 worth of food and drinks. 

Because there were still quite a lot of people who were playing with the cats during that time, my friend and I decided that we ordered first and chat for a little while. We ordered coffee and Moica and Rainbow Cat Cupcakes (P60 each). The cupcakes were moist on the inside with the right amount of sweetness. The coffee was not too strong. You could also add creamer, milk and sugar in your coffee.

A guy who always has interesting stories to tell, Brine told me about his life so far studying in UP Los Banos. He also talked about our favorite series "Big Bang Theory" and shared scientific ideas. I on the other hand, simply listened and we also exchanged stories.

After a while, we decided to play with the cats but unfortunately, most of them were still sleeping. Part of the house rules was to not stress the cats by carrying them especially when they sleep, and so we just sat with them and took pictures of them. Some of the cats were roaming around and even one of them climbed on top of one of the high stools.

Cat Cafe Manila is located at the 2nd Floor of 189 Maginhawa Street in Sikatuna Village. You can visit their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/catcafemanila?fref=ts.

When the past is buried in chocolate chips and mallows

I never wished to bring dead memories back to life.


Apparently, Goldilocks brought me back to both bitter and sweet memories with its  DOUBLE DUTCH ROLL. My ever-audacious sister Ate Nadine surprised us with another mouth-watering treat the day after I practically woke the rest of the household that midnight, when I saw our names on the online list of UPCAT passers (also my twin sister Jillian).


Ate Nadine even thought we were visited by robbers and akyat-bahay gangs because of my rare wild screams.

As I munched on the chocolate chips and the equally choco-coated marshmallows hidden at the core of the delectable sponge cake, I bitterly remembered how my crush back in Grade 6 used to give me packs of chocolate Kisses. Reminiscing all those tangible things he gave me made me ponder how stupid and naïve I was back then.


Surviving my high school days with "Flawless Unity" at the current decade, I've learned to be objective and indifferent enough with customary high school tensions namely peer pressure, puppy love and suicidal depression. I've also been taught by Ms. Josephine Bonsol to stop being like everybody else, and instead look for the things unseen and the questions neglected by many.


Until then, I'm looking forward to taste another of Goldilocks' sweet cake creations in the coming days, and without much social stress after finally being emancipated from high school politics and anxieties and zombie-like routines.

http://www.goldilocks.com.ph/products/bakeshop/cake-rolls/37/page/2

Check out www.goldilocks.com.ph for more heavenly and delightful cakes we certainly all have a memory with.


You can also register to keep updates with the latest of Goldilocks' innovations at http://www.goldilocks.com.ph/join

Outlandish Tramway Garden Buffet offers real busog-satisfaction

 

 My Journalism teacher Ms. Josephine Bonsol was right: a trip to the Tramway Garden Buffet would be totally a more unique food experience compared to other eat-all-you-can restaurants.

 

She invited us (the Journalism class) last March 23 for a closing party and grabbed some cheap but totally awesome food trip at Tramway in Timog Avenue in Quezon City. 

The buffet resto opens at 11:00am during weekdays. And beforehand, our journalism teacher oriented us with some munch tips in satisfyingly wolfing down every kind of food, without getting too full immediately: we should only get small amounts each kind of food, and no drinks (just water).

The ambiance easily attracted us because of its wide and roomy environment.All the food were appetizing to look at as well.

They have creatively-presented the fruit table before the food counter, with the traditional Pinoy favorites like watermelon, papaya and pineapple, and slices of veggies and dressings like tomato, onion, cucumber and carrots.

 They also have the main dishes always served hot--not like other buffet restaurants where they serve pre-heated food. The have this unique and tasty yang chow fan rice and a sumputuous, crispy and saucy sweet and sour pork to perfectly go with it.

There is also the delicious party pasta with thick strips and the all-time pansit. Different kinds of fish and meat dishes induced everyone to come back for more: the children's favorite roasted chicken (with sweet sauce), pork chops, Japanese centrury eggs, and crispy fried dumplings. The spiced clam ultimately gave me that special kick in my food experience for the first time.

Two kinds of soup also tickled our taste buds: the thick miso and ube soup. We also truly enjoyed their soft home-made bread and crunchy buchi. 

Various drinks are also available in the restaurant: iced tea, pineapple juice, fruit shakes and soda.

But apparently, there were three kinds of food dishes that really made us wait, because of the "busy" chef ladies who were always attending the people around. They even forced us to wish "louder" for the lettuce salad, buko pandan, and the Californian maki for them to hear. Although they were worth the wait (especially the buko pandan), it did irritate us quite a bit.

 

There are also other branches of Tramway Garden Buffet:

1. Tramway Timog: 65 Timog Avenue, Q.C.- tel no. 4152005

2. Tramway Banawe: 76 Scout Alcaraz St., cor. Banawe St. Q.C.- tel no. 4111565