HK's Hui Lau Shan is now here in the Philippines!

I just love attending blogging events that is all about deliciousness. Yes, when it's all about food and how the brand came up with it, my foodie heart is utterly happy.

I was completely amazed at how Hui Lau Shan, a global dessert chain based in Hong Kong, has actually started. Would you believe that they use Philippine mangoes in all of their stores across the globe? And they have over 300 branches! It's no longer a secret that our mangoes are the best but I felt like a proud mother hen when I knew about it.

Chicken and Pork Adobo

Is there any meat-loving mammal here who don't eat adobo? If that's you, why are you even here? 

I mean, remember the time celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay chose pork adobo burger over a bison and chorizo double stacked burger in the American TV program Good Morning America? What about when Anthony Bourdain learned how to cook adobo? I won't go further and stress the importance of these two gentlemen in the food industry but if they loved adobo, why anyone else wouldn't?

When I became a full-time homemaker, adobo has always been my saving grace. Adobo gave comfort to my husband after a tiring and long travel from the camp. Its thick and flavorful sauce has been my eldest daughter's first experience in appreciating Filipino cuisine. A huge chunk in our family and food stories will always be taken by adobo. 

Every Day’s a Weekend With Uniqlo's New Minions Collection

For a lot of families, weekends are exclusively intended for doing things together—be it errands, grocery shopping, out of town trips or any extra curricular activities the kids have. But for us, who've been a military family for more than a decade already, most weekends are just like any other day. In fact, there was a point when our army dad didn't come home for 3 consecutive months! Those 12 weekends without him were dragging and dreadful. I prayed so hard to Jesus to never let it happen again. Glad that we're luckier now; every day's a weekend as long as hubs is home.

#TheRayalas love Uniqlo! ♥ 

So when Uniqlo Philippines invited us to a family day, I was ecstatic! Not only we were complete but we also got to help promote a brand we love. We are totally not a fashionable family, it isn't up our alley, but with Uniqlo, looking polished and presentable is easy. It was really a fun day! Uniqlo launched the new summer designs of their graphic tees. Say bello to the Minions!

Bistek Tagalog

If there's one thing that I can't just easily minimize the consumption of, it has to be beef! I'm a beef-lover since I learned how glorious bulalo is. Then as I grew older, I have always loved my mama's beef caldereta. Its savory sauce made of rich tomato paste, pork liver and some chili was a perfect match to the beef's taste and texture. And one day, after a long and tiring trip along EDSA, my husband and I found ourselves parking in front of a beef pares joint near our house. Yes, instead of going home directly, we stopped by to eat pares—our ultimate post-carmageddon meal. But that's not the recipe I'm sharing here today. Sorry for the confusion, haha.

I got carried away with my beef stories that I went that far. It happened that my husband came home with a big bag of white onions from their farmer friends. The ones we got were actually market rejects. It was still perfectly edible but they came in odd sizes so it's not good to sell anymore. And since white onions rot fast, I needed to consume it before it does. Bistek Tagalog enters the picture.