Ladder Hunting at Handyman And Wilcon Center and lunch at Bunny Baker Cafe

05/02/2015. Chea had a check up at a nearby hospital and I've been wanting to go to a hardware store to check out a ladder. Every household should have their own ladders whether changing a light bulb or reaching out to a high shelf. And then there's the occasional trips to the roof.

Personally, I've been planning to fix the roofing near our bathroom as the old plastic skylight is already brittle and parts have broken off, leaving a nasty hole where rain gets in. I've always been a wannabe handyman, so I felt I could do it myself.

So I went with Chea to Pacific Global Medical Center. I just lounged in the lobby while Chea picked up her test results and went to her doctor. The place is new, having been finished in 2012. However, cel reception was terrible. I only got an Edge signal where I was just 8-10 meters away from the door. I couldn't get a decent data signal, so I gave up fiddling on my phone and just watched people walk by. They have wifi as a sign of theirs read, but you would have to go to the admin offices and ask for the password.

After about 20 mins, Chea was done. We then stopped by Geneve Furniture along Mindanao Avenue. Again, still looking for a long drawer for our bedroom.

We didn't find any as the sales personnel informed us that they don't have much in the way of suppliers for drawers.

It's so pink!

We then went to the columbarium to visit my brother. After that, we looked for a place to eat. Chea wanted to try out Bunny Baker Cafe and Cake Studio. Bunny Baker was one of the cake artists Chea considered for Thirdy's first birthday back in 2012, but we eventually went with Teacher caKe. You can still check out his cake here. Recently, Chea saw that Bunny Baker put up her own cafe, so as expected, she wanted to try the place out.

Displayed cakes: Totoro and Baymax! Thirdy woud've gone mental here.

So we drove to Hemady Square which was beside Christ the King anyway. We parked at the basement level and took the elevator to the 3rd floor.

The counter. No lady, i'm not taking your picture.

The menu

The utensils

The place is pretty roomy with about 16 tables with 2 to 4 seating capacity each. So about 56 people can sit comfortably. There's a bench table that has space for at least 4 more chairs.

Decent amount of patrons during lunch time on a saturday

There's adequate space between tables so it doesn't feel cramped.

The ice cream bar

Colors are mostly pastel with a lot of white, pink and sky blue. Some of the chairs have bunny ears for their backrest. It's pretty quaint, but not too dainty. So any full-blooded males out there wouldn't mind hanging out here with a few macho male friends as well.

You shouldn't leave without trying one

The menu selection is adequate as well. There's some rice meals, some pasta and some sandwiches too. And since bunny baker's known for her pastries, her cafe offers it as well. Plus a lot of ice cream flavors too.

Not even bottomless

For drinks, it's mostly coffee (it's a cafe after all). If you're not into caffeine, your only option is iced tea and pink lemonade. No sodas here folks.

Yes you can have your party here. The question is, do you want to? Just kidding.

Chea orderd the crispy adobo flakes (235 pesos), while I ordered Single Beer Blackened porkchop (295 pesos). There was a Tenderloin steak (595 pesos) and about three burger variants (each 320 pesos), but I wanted to eat rice, and I didn't want to spend more than 300 for my meal. I also ordered an iced tea since they didn't have sodas.

We waited about 10 minutes and during that time, there was an electricity outage. The building's generator didn't automatically kick in. We had to wait around 5-10 minutes for the lights to go back. Good thing it wasn't too hot that day that it didn't get warm inside the cafe while we waited.

Then the food arrived so Chea and I got into it.

Pretty good.

The prokchop was good in size and about 1/3" thick. It's cooked to a very dark brown, but you can still see the blackened parts due to the grill. The meat is soft. It has a bittersweet taste probably due to the beer. Garlic rice is ok, not too oily. The meal came with a tomato flame grilled, sliced in half.

Since the serving is relatively big, Chea was able to eat some of the meat as well.

Slightly disappointing since you can barely taste any adobo flavor

As for the adobo flakes, they were very crispy. Unfortunately, they barely tasted like adobo. They just look like thicker. crispier meat floss. Closest taste I could compare it to is fried danggit, lol.

Pretty

We also ordered ice cream. Chea opted for the Malteaser. There was a lone piece of Malteser in there, which Chea claimed for herself. As for the ice cream, it's pretty good. It looked like vanilla, but it wasn't. We should've asked. The ears were marshmallows with a gummy inside.

Overall, it was an ok experience. It's a nice place to hangout and even have small meetings. Total was 828 pesos, pretty expensive for just two people having lunch . My complaint would be that the dishes is about 40-60 pesos more than I would have liked to pay. If the porckhop was just around 220-240 pesos, it would have been perfect. Same for the adobo flakes, if it were around 180 pesos. Not to mention, if they could have offered some sodas or at least some spritzers.

After that, we left and drove along E. Rodriguez Avenue towards Cubao looking for another Japanese surplus shop but it was already out of business.

So we went ahead and drove to Antipolo. We drove via Bonny Serrano to Marcos Hi-way but there was a buildup heading to it, so we just went to Libis and dropped by Wilcon Center there. Again, still looking for that ladder.

They only had step ladders and those A-type ladders, and none of those 4segment folding ladders that could be configured several ways. Still, didn't come out empty handed as I bought a hook for our door.

Second level

Still at the second level

It's a pretty big level

Chea and I also checked out the second level as some of the furnitures and home furnishings were there. There were a few bedroom and living room setups for small spaces.

After that, we headed out and drove the way up to Antipolo. But we again stopped at Robinson's Antipolo to try out Handyman there.

When we asked, a sales personnel informed us that they did have those foldable ladders, but they were sold out. They were actually for sale for only 3,100 pesos, but the sale was only up to the end of April.

I asked if they could still possibly have stocks at their other branches and he told us to check out the Handyman stores in Robinsons Metro East, as well as the Handyman at the new mall building behind Santa Lucia Mall.

Now I was hoping that they do have stocks there, and maybe Chea can still convince the store manager to sell it at the discounted price.

Jason Abalos. He was singing a couple of songs. It also rained outside. 

So we left Handyman and dropped by Payless shoe store. Jason Abalos was at the center of the mall performing at the time, so everyone was a bit distracted. Chea didn't find anything she liked so we left and headed off to my in-laws' house. Thirdy has been staying the past week and we wanted to see him. But they were out, so we had to wait an hour until they got home.

Thirdy was excited to see us so he was his charming playful self. He had a bag of donuts with him. That's his favorite snack at the moment since they're sweet, and soft.

After spending a few minutes with him, we had to leave already as it was already 6pm and we still had to stop by two Handyman shops still.

Looks roomy because of the wide open center, but it's actually small. This is my first time inside.

Not the one I wanted.

The first was at Handyman at the new annex building of Sta. Lucia mall. They only had the smaller variant on display. They had the much larger one, which costs 4,300 pesos so we passed on it.

We then transferred to Robinsons' Metro East, parked and went to Handyman. At the outside, there was a display of the foldable ladder for only 3,100 pesos! Huzzah! Unfortunately, the sign says it was only up to the end of April.

Jackpot, baby!

Still, we went inside and asked a sales personnel. It looks a bit narrower than the one being sold at Ace Hardware (SM malls) for 3,795 pesos, and a little bit shorter. They've been selling those for months now, and they had signs saying that the original price was around 8,000 pesos.

I've been tempted to get one, but I felt if it were just a few hundred pesos cheaper, then I'd get it.

Now this one at Robinsons' is just the right price. And when we had it demoed, it was about 12 feet at full length. I think that could reach our roof easily. So we told the guy we'd get it, and to just meet us at the counter as we're still looking at other stuff. They were on sale, so we're eager on what else we could find.

I've always found sales at Robinsons' better than at the other malls. For one thing, they don't jack up their original prices, and then pass off the regular price as the new 'discounted' price. When they say they're on sale, then they are.

I can't remember how many times we've bought items at Robinsons' at nice discounted prices. There's our Samsung Inverter ref, there was Thirdy's car seat, and then some other stuff. Not to mention, they have some of the cheapest regular prices around the metro. Just like when we were TV hunting.

And now, this ladder. It's sold originally at 3,575 pesos and now at 3,100 pesos. That's just 400 pesos, but it's at the right price I'm willing to pay for this item.

Our other loot.

While we were looking, the sales guy told Chea that the ladder was no longer on sale as told to him by the cashier. Chea asked to speak with the store manager and asked for the discounted price. After a while, the manager acquiesced so we went to the cashier to pay for it along with a few plastic storage boxes. Like I always say, "pretty wife, don't leave home without one." Especially when you're shopping.

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Limbaga 77

04/26/2015. After visiting my brother at the columbarium. We decided to have lunch. It feels like it's a very slow day so we thought about trying our luck at limbaga 77. It's fairly new so it's almost always full.

Thirdy playing around out front after having lunch.

At the same time, it's also 2pm already so the lunch crowd is already thinning out.

View from the road.

The doors on the left are to the main establishment, while there's an open area to the right

We stopped at front and we're told that they have valet service so we got off and gave them the keys. There's a door towards the left to the main restaurant while to the right there's an open air with the bar. So if you want some drinks and probably smoke, you can go there.

My plate

Contact details!

Inside is a pretty modern restaurant, with a low ceiling, and a lot of low wattage cfl lights. Even with the sun burning bright outside, it feels like very early night.

Thirdy with a fork and a knife. 

A table just cleared up to our left.

View of the open area to our right. Floor to Ceiling glass windows makes the place look spacious.

Another view. Our table's the one one with the kiddie chair.

Even at 2pm, the main restaurant is full. There's a 2nd floor but I didn't bother checking it out.

Looking at the menu, it's relatively cheap with the dishes around 400 pesos but are big enough for 2.

I should be a brand ambassador.

Chea ordered the Binusog the pusit (277 pesos), Dahon ng sili pesto pasta (277 pesos), grilled liempo (377 pesos) and rice (57 pesos). Did you notice anything about the price? Also ordered a coke light (77 pesos) and a dessert, Maja Brulee (77 pesos).

More than enough for a very hungry person.

We asked the nuts to be separated. This means that they make the sauce as ordered. Yey!

First served was the pesto. Took less than 10 minutes for the food to arrive. So that's a plus. It was a pretty big enough serving. Definitely can feed an average couple, or a very hungry individual. Unfortunately, it's not appealing.

Rice. I don't know which variety this is, but we got full after a few spoons.

Noodles are a bit overcooked. But the real bad part is that the sauce is bitter although there's a hint of sour there. I could barely taste the pesto I asked Chea if this is what chili leaves tastes like, as I haven't tasted one before. She didn't know either, but what we do know is that we're not a fan of this dish.

Liempo. You can see that it's indeed a bit small.

The liempo tastes like barbecue even without the sauce. It tastes sweet. Unfortunately, we felt that the serving is a bit small for the price of 377 pesos.

The squid. Still expensive? Probably.

Another look at the two dishes.

On the other hand, the squid is worth the 277 pesos. It's pretty good. It's stuffed with tomato, onions and with a little bit basil on top. Like the liempo, it's sweet which helps as the squid is a bit burnt. I guess they use the same marinade for their grilled dishes.

Thirdy got the Captain America mask and shield from Ninong Lys on his third birthday. He's been wearing it almost the entire day.

Pretty good.

The Maja brulee is delicious, and it only costs 77 pesos. The other desserts were 277 pesos. Serving is somewhat small, but you just want to get that after taste from all those grilled dishes.

The main door at the left, and the staircase to the 2nd floor directly in front of it.

View of the area behind the stairs.

When we finished eating, the ground floor was practically empty, although the second floor still had people in it. I never got the chance to take a look, maybe next time.

Their pastry display.

View of the kitchen.

Thirdy fooler around a bit at the bench outside.

Another shot of the bar and the open air tables.

We ended up paying 1,220 pesos with a senior discount of 80 pesos. It's not exactly cheap when you think about it. But overall, a pretty good experience especially with very courteous and helpful staff.

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2 want to eat restos and Earth Japan Surplus

4/27/2015. We're heading to Antipolo to drop off Thirdy at his grandparents' place so he can stay for a week.

We first dropped by at Jollibee Eton to pick up a refund. There was a mix-up, and we were given the wrong receipt for the reservation that was for the party in the afternoon. I don't know the details, but we were over billed by 800 pesos.

Then this other group was asked to drop by and pay the 800 pesos they were credited for. Unfortunately, that group didn't bother replying and wouldn't show up. Our host, who was also the one who got the receipts mixed up, ended up getting deducted the 800 pesos from his salary.

We felt bad for him, but didn't want the other group to get off and get a freebie on our expense.

After that, we went to the columbarium to visit my brother. We then looked for a place to have lunch. It was already around 1:45pm.

We went towards Limbaga 77 at Scout Limbaga and saw that some patrons were already leaving. So we decided to have lunch there. I'll write about it on another entry.

After that, we proceeded directly to Maia Alta in Antipolo and dropped Thirdy off. We then left around 4pm and headed to Marikina. Chea wanted to drop by Aling Remy's Puto at Kutsinta store in Marikina, as a co-worked asked her to buy some fish crackers.

The outdoor view

While there, I saw a surplus store for Japanese items so I decided to take a look while Chea went to buy at Aling Remy's.

So many tables and dinner ware

I've been planning to get a big cabinet that I could place outdoors and put in all my tools. Currently, they're all over the place and I want to place them in once place.

Some pretty decent looking drawers and cabinets

More drawers

The store is called Earth Japan Surplus. They have a lot of Japanese items especially japanese dolls, display cases and other unique Japanese furnitures.

Some stuff toys too

A lot of people were actually buying bikes

Most of the bikes were on display outside

I went to the far end of the place (it's fairly big) and looked at the cabinets. Most of the cabinets were sold from as low as 4,000 pesos to as much as 28,000 pesos. Some were laminated wood, while some were real wood. All of them were already used.

More dinner ware

I felt that they were a bit expensive for my needs since most of the tall cabinets were in the 8,000 - 12,000 range. And since I plan on placing it outside, I can't rely on a laminated cabinet as the rain would ruin it over time.

A kendo bogu armor!

Later, Chea arrived and looked around as well. I told her my idea about replacing our mismatched drawers in our bedroom with a long wooden chest drawer. It would make our room look nicer and a bit cleaner.

This is a very big warehouse

We only saw this one wooden drawer that looked nice, with a vanity mirror.It's priced at around 8,000 pesos. We haggled a bit and managed to get the price down. Unfortunately, it's the only piece they had. We thought that two pieces of it end to end, would be the exact length that we need and with all the space, we could actually want for all our clothes and other stuff.

Doll displays

Kabuto!

Japanese dolls!

I think this is called a Butsudan. I googled it.

Another awesome doll.

We got their number and left, thinking of looking at other drawers in a mall sometime.

On our way home, it got a bit late. It was already 6pm and we stopped one time to buy a sack of rice. Along the way, I was thinking of ordering takeout from Gudo. But chea thought of just eating outside so we don't have to worry about washing dishes.

Then I thought of trying out Marcus along Congressional Avenue. The burger in their sign has tempted me for a while, unfortunately, it's almost always full since they only have a 2 x 2 parking area out front. As far as I know, Yeng Constantino also owns it, so I guess it always draws a crowd.

But since we're driving past by it on our way, we took our chance. When we got there, there were only 2 cars out front, a few people eating on the tables outside, while the tables inside were empty.

Chea and I stopped by and had our dinner. I'll blog about it another time.

So It's a pretty fun day as we got to try out 2 restaurants that we've been planning to eat at for a while and both were positive experiences to boot.

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