These days a lot of establishments would boast that they have the best food at reasonable prices - but finding out of they walked the talk is another journey entirely. Time and again I found myself walking away from their doors with my wallet a little lighter but my cravings yet to be satisfied. "Until the next adventure!" I'd say.

A few weeks ago my friends and I were just chatting on FB (as usual), mostly talking about memes and general goings-on in our lives when we came across this ad from Cow and Chicken:

Back in 2015 I headed out with my office mates to Binondo to celebrate the Chinese New Year, and had quite the trip! Apparently we underestimated the number of people that wanted to celebrate as well, and we ended the day wanting to return and explore some more. We've made plans to come back and spoke about the upcoming trip here and there -- aaaand then nothing happened. Because the thing about making future plans is, sometimes they don't go the way you pictured it in your head. But the thing about life is, it likes to surprise you sometimes. 

On the first week of February this year we found ourselves making an impromptu trip to Binondo after running our errands in Recto. We definitely didn't plan any of this out! We just went with our gut, grumbling after a morning of walking around the metro, and went for it we did. 

 Ice Scramble! Haven't had this in YEARS. Childhood feels!

 Shrimp Hakaw from Cafe Mezzanine

 New Po Heng has THE best fresh lumpia in town. 

Went for Miniso while we were in Binondo and got these!

We've only tried out a couple of restaurants that day, including Cafe Aquatica (no shots because we only had some coffee, and I didn't have enough light to take shots). I'd have loved to stay until nightfall but we eventually had to go home; it's been a long day. :))

I'm quite happy that this trip refreshed my last experience with Binondo. I walked away from Ongpin Street feeling satisfied but still wanting more. There's still so much to see and do! It will be a while before I can come back, so I'll be saving all my energy until then. 

If you've got any suggestions on what else is there to do in Manila's Chinatown, feel free to leave a comment! See you then. :)

You'd be surprised by how fast grass grows if you're not paying attention. :))

We started off the month with a lunch date with my college buddies - a rarity no one should miss (yet someone did, but oh well). What started out as playful banter over Facebook quickly became something more, and only then did we realize how much we missed each other. I don't think I'd have fond memories of my time there if not for these lovies!

We're missing one more person, but there's always next time!

It was quick, but lighthearted and fun. ♥

The next morning Jed treated me to that tapa place he'd been raving about when we passed by going to Pam's gig. 

Good stuff, I'd say!

Blog title photo attribution:

I think one of the best things about my relationship with Jed is that we both love to cook - and that we can get incredibly creative with our cooking! It's an amazing feeling when you collaborate and end up with a really good dish that you can share after all that hard work. How's that for a couple activity?

Recently I've been watching a lot of cooking videos on YouTube again, and I decided to revisit some old favorite recipes of mine from Cooking with Dog. I've been following their channel since 2008 and I'm proud to say I've tried out quite a few of their recipes already - with astounding results! Japanese cuisine will always have a special place in my heart.

So - back to cooking: since Halloween had just ended I thought it would be apt to make something out of pumpkins because, y'know, why not. And also we had A LOT of pumpkins at home for some reason, waiting to be cooked. 

I've made some pottage before using Cooking with Dog's recipe and it turned out great! Making some the 2nd time around - and with Jed - would ergo be twice as awesome.

And I was right! Check it out: 

We've decided to add some bacon because anything's a good excuse to have some bacon, lol. Do check out the original recipe if you'd like to try it out for yourself.

Later into the month we also tried out Hokkaido Ramen Santouka, just because we couldn't get enough Japanese food in our system. :))

Good food, good fun, with the best company one could wish for. If I could ask for more, I'd ask only for seconds! 

Hey, who doesn't love a good cat cafe, yeah? We saw this gem blowing up on social media and they're fairly new so we decided to give them a shot. Well worth the visit, I'd say!

It's one thing to see a (decent) cat cafe in this country, but a Bengal cat-themed cat cafe?? We just had to pay them a looksie.

Goodness, they're so beautiful. I can't wait for my next visit.

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Bengal Brew Cat Cafe

Ground floor, Manhattan Park View, Arantea Center, Cubao

Store hours are from 2PM to 10PM

Walk-in customers welcome. For reservations, call: (02) 3668287

Facebook page: Bengal Brew / Wolf & Bear