Sophie's Mom: Baking the best Red velvet cupcake and Spanish bread in town

We discovered Sophie's mom from another blog years back. Their first bakery in Makati was near where I worked so it was very convenient for us to drive there. I have tried a few other red velvet cupcakes but we always go back to them as they just have the best. The best! The generous cream cheese frosting is smooth, not sweet. The cupcake itself is moist and yes, velvety! There are times when we'd keep it in the fridge for two days and the quality is not affected. But that happens very rarely as we normally devour these little devils in a day :)

We also love, love, love their Spanish bread. I remember we once bought three packs (each pack had 10 pcs)  just a couple of months after Datu was born. Breastfeeding made me super hungry even at night. The bread served as my midnight/dawn snack. I think we...ok, I consumed everything in a week. This is not your ordinary Spanish bread. It has a pastilla/yema like filling that's super yummy! I try to limit purchasing these since I tend to eat a lot in one sitting :p

They also sell cookies and mochie ice cream but I really just go back for the cup cakes and Spanish bread. They recently opened another bakery at The Fort area. They also have a stall at SM Megamall and Southmall.

This was how the Makati shop looked last summer

Yummy!

Sophie's Mom
8760 Santol St.
San Antonio Village, Makati City

My Cronut experience

We were at the Podium over the weekend to visit the Belly blessed Feast. We passed by Wildflour Cafe and Bakery and I asked Mr. S if we could check out the Cronuts people have been raving about.. I first heard of cronuts from an officemate.  He described it as a fusion of croissant and a doughnut. I thought it might be good. I have tried pizza with croissant pastry as bread/dough and it tasted great. I thought this was worth a try.

I got a Dulce de leche cronut. It was the size of a regular doughnut but thicker. It's like two doughnuts on top of each other in height. It was pricey at Php 150. Was it worth the price though? Personally, I was thinking that I should have just gotten one of those yummy-looking chewies. For the sake of feeding my curiosity, we made the purchase.

Now goes the taste test. Because of the thickness, it was a bit of a challenge to bite. Is it supposed to be eaten with a knife and fork? Inosente e :p There was sprinkling of sugar with bigger grains than the usual and cream in the middle. The croissant tasted good, not too flaky. The outside has a crisp to it. I think it would have been a better experience if it was fresh from the oven. Even then, I still think it is over prized. I would probably try the cronuts version of Sophie's mom but I won't go for Wildflour's anymore. I may go back to Wildflour to get me some of those cookies though :)

Dulce de Leche Cronut

Assorted bread and pastries

Cookies and muffins galore

The Podium Mall
ADB Avenue
Wack wack, Mandaluyong

Breastfeeding Station at SM Megamall

We frequent SM Megamall as it is the nearest and biggest mall to our place but we never really go out of our way to look for breastfeeding stations to feed when the baby is with us. I just find it too much of a hassle when I should be able to feed my child almost anywhere. However, it is nice to know where they are just in case we need to feed at a more private place.

The station is near the Foodcourt, Lower ground floor Building A. We were on our way to have merienda at Razon's, my absolute favorite place to go to have halo-halo when I caught sight of the sign. We were not up for a feeding yet but the echosera in me wanted to make echos inside. Hehehe!

When you enter, you are asked by the nurses to write your name in a logbook. The breastfeeding area is inside the clinic. I was not able to take a picture as there was another mommy-baby tandem inside breastfeeding. The place is a bit cramped. It had two arm chairs and a sink. Per the House rules, only mommy and baby are allowed inside. When I got in the room, a yaya was also inside. I'm not sure how they got away with that since there were three nurses in the clinic.

In all fairness, though small, the station was clean and had comfortable chairs. Will I purposefully breastfeed there though? At this stage in our breastfeeding journey, I have become more confident to breastfeed almost anywhere so I probably won't. But for new mommies who want to nurse privately, you can definitely use this place.

My Belly Blessed loot: Jar of Hope/Love and Saya carrier

I had a few items I wanted to buy for the baby and I wanted to save on shipping charges from several online shops so I asked Mr. S to drive us to the Podium mall where the Belly Blessed Feast was held last weekend.

There wasn't a big crowd yet (which is a good thing if you want to shop in peace). I guess because we were there around 2 PM on a weekday too. We looked around and found the Indigomanila booth. I have been looking for something to help in the healing of insect bites for the baby. I heard good reviews about Jar of Hope First Aid Gel. Made of blue chamomile essential oil, aloe vera gel and witch hazel extract, it can be applied for inflammations, rashes, cuts, wounds, chicken pox and sore nipples. My son very rarely gets insect bites but I want to have something on hand just in case.

Recently, my boy had a bout with colds and I felt bad when I can only aspirate his stuffy nose. I know that I feel better when I use Vicks vapor rub. But by the label, Vicks can only be used for children over two years old. When I saw the Jar of Love Healing Balm. I bought one too just in case I have a need for it in the future. The main ingredients are peppermint essential oil, Apricot kernel, jojoba oil and pure beeswax. It's great for cough, colds, flu and can also be used for massages. I haven't tried it yet but the label says there is a cool minty feel when applied.

The sales person said the shelf life is two years. It would be great though if the jars also had the expiration date printed on them so the users don't forget. They were at 10% off at the expo so yay! Our discount paid for our parking fee :)

My biggest purchase was the Saya Versatekk Baby carrier. I have been thinking of buying a new carrier to supplement the sling I got from my baby shower. I wanted something that would distribute the baby's weight across both shoulders as he is getting heavier and heavier. My friend suggested I try a DIY from old shirts but I have not had the time to look for shirts with no seam for the project so I never got around to completing the project. I wasn't sure of the size I should get and comfort of the Saya so I was adamant of buying it online where it will be a bit challenging to return. I asked the sales lady if they had a Saya on hand and if I can try it with my baby. They had one in pink and gray. The sales lady helped me put it on and test it with the baby. It was an amazing feeling. It was so comfortable.

The Saya in action

I can't remember why we did not walk around more. I forgot that I was also looking for teething necklaces and a lavender stick. Oh well, I guess I'll just wait for another mommy expo to come up. It is world breastfeeding month in August so there would be a lot of activities for mommies out there, so exciting!

Staycation at Richmonde Hotel

We checked in at Richmonde Hotel, Ortigas to celebrate Father’s day this year. I bought a voucher from Ensogo a couple of months back to have a staycation for summer. I was finally going to reserve a room in May but was told that the pool will be out of commission for three months due to renovations so I opted to just wait for Father’s day in June to use it. The voucher was for a superior room for two. We brought the baby with us and the yaya. We just brought a sleeping bag for yaya because I didn’t want to pay Php 1500 for an extra bed.

 The room was small so it was a bit cramped with the sleeping bag on one end. Since there was no pool, we decided to use the sauna/steam room at the health club at the 4^th floor. We decided to have an early dinner before we went for sauna. There are a lot of restaurants near the area. We decided to walk along Pearl drive and chose to eat at Pancake house. When we got back to the hotel it was 7 PM and we got lazy so we decided to just prepare for bed and play with Datu.

The lobby

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The queen sized bed

No complimentary coffee/tea

Bathroom sink with toiletries

I know I really should practice more on taking better pictures. The bathroom here is rather small but there is a tub. My problem is that if you lifted the mat on the tub (the one placed to prevent slipping), it was grimy and gross. I appreciate the placement of that mat but if you wanted to use the tub for a bubble bath, you can't because of the grime stuck there.

The next day, we were up early, as with most people who have kids. We decided to go to the restaurant to have breakfast. The voucher I got included free buffet breakfast for two. The choices was better than Astoria. Yes, they had bacon! But it was not crispy…so I’m a bit sad but that’s alright, who says no to bacon :)

 

 

I liked the pansit they served. There was tapa, tocino, hasbrown, sauteed beans. There were a few others that they had but I really just concentrated on the bacon :)

Cold drinks

They will serve the hot beverage at the table. There's coffee, tea and hot chocolate to choose from.

Bread station

Omelette/pancake/french toast station

I loved that zuchinni was a selection as an omelette ingredient. I had mine made with everything on it. They used mozzarella cheese. I would have liked to use cheddar but the omelette was really good even without it. It was slightly sweet because of the ham they used. I was pleasantly surprised by the unexpected sweet taste. I loved it!

Dessert station

There's puto, ube rolled in shredded coconut and leche flan for dessert. The flan was not smooth so that was a fail.

After breakfast, we went back to our room to prepare for checkout. Overall, I'd rate our stay as average. The service was good, the staff were nice and accommodating. It has a convenient location at the heart of Ortigas center, very near malls and BPO centers. Will I stay at the hotel again though, probably not for a staycation with my family. I'd recommend it if you need a cheaper hotel in the area to stay for balikbayans or even for wedding preps.

Richmonde Hotel, Ortigas
21 San Miguel Avenue,
Ortigas Center, Pasig City
Metro Manila, Philippines
Tel: (632) 638-7777
Fax: (632) 638-8567
Email: rho@richmondehotel.com.ph

Belly blessed feast 2013

Hello expectant moms and dads! This year's Belly blessed feast happens on July 12-14 at the Podium. The Belly Blessed is an event by Mommy Mundo a Filipino portal for expectant moms. This is one of the sites I visited while I was pregnant with Datu to get information on what's new and happening for soon to be mothers like me. Last year was the first ever feast and  Mr, S and I had fun attending that. There were several activities like Wishing wall where you write notes for your future child, clay medallion making session and a free photosession among others. 

There are several booths where you can purchase most of your future baby needs as well as nursing paraphernalia like pumps, nursing clothes at a discount. Mommies, make sure you pre-register to get goodie bags.

This event is open for all. Grandparents, aunties and uncles can stop by to purchase your gifts for the little angels in your lives.

Source

A Day at Astoria Plaza

Last May, a few people at work decided to have a get together for summer. Due to logistics and planning challenges, we just decided to stay in the city. We booked a two-bedroom suite at Astoria Plaza in Ortigas for an overnight stay.

I was tasked to book the room. I did it through their website. You will be asked to pre-pay 10% of the room charge to confirm your reservation. Note that this amount is non-refundable and if you decide to cancel, you must do it three days before your arrival date or else you will incur additional charges. The suite is good for four persons with free buffet breakfast.

We were planning to go for a swim with the baby but Mr. S got there late due to car troubles. We just hanged out with the officemates for a few hours and left for the night.

I took a few photos of the place. The rooms were just right for four persons. But if you will use it for a team building activity or other parties (bridal shower, stag party, baby shower, despedida), you could probably fit about 10 people there, of course the others would have to sleep in the couch or bring sleeping bags. Technically, you are not supposed to hold parties but as long as you don't damage anything, you should be good.

Two single beds in the smaller bedroom

Still two single beds in the master's bedroom

The Master's bedroom is a bit more spacious that the other room and has it's own bathroom. I did not get very good pictures of the bathrooms. They were both clean but were a bit small. The bathroom at the bigger room had a bath tub. I can't remember if toiletries apart from soap was provided. The suite we got had single beds in the master's bedroom too. Usually, they'd have a king sized bed. This would work for people who want to maintain their personal space especially if you are using the place for team buildings/parties instead of family use.

Living and dining area

The living/area is spacious too but the actual dining table is a bit small. You can use that desk provided to put your food ala buffet style dining. There is also a kitchen but no pots and pans provided. The last time I stayed here I think was four years back, they provided those too. I am not sure if they will provide it if you requested for it. We did not have plans to cook so we didn't bother asking. There were only four sets of plates, spoon, fork, knives and glasses so if you have a bigger party, you need to prepare to bring these items.

Kitchen area

Apparently, most of our officemates left early the next day since it was mother's day too. Nobody was left to use the free breakfast. We live near by so we went back there to use our breakfast vouchers. There wasn't a lot of selection but for the price we paid for the room (Php 6500), I'm not going to complain. The only thing I'm sad about is that there was no bacon. I liked that they had arrozcaldo though. They also had chicken tocino, tapa and fish. Not a lot of variety but enough choices for everybody.

Choice of cereals

Drinks

Bread station

Fruit/Salad station

 

ASTORIA PLAZA
J. Escriva Drive (formerly Amber Avenue)
Ortigas Business District
Pasig City, 1605 Philippines

Email: sales@astoriaplaza.com

(+63 2) 687-1111; (+63 2) 910-0270