Make Your Own Havaianas 2015

Back in May, I was invited by Spruce to attend the 10th annual Make Your Own Havaianas event at SM CDO. For this year, Havaianas went Hawaiian for that fun tropical vibe.

Fun Fact: Havaianas means “Hawaiian” in Portuguese!

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Havaianas is a line of flipflops that is famous worldwide for their quality, comfort and style. Revolutionizing the fashion trend in the 90′s, they started to make flipflops in exuberant colors and fun designs.

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As a homage to its Hawaiian inspiration, the event kicked off with hula dancers moving to the rhythmic beat of the drums.

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And just like everyone else, I waited (im)patiently in line for my turn.

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Customizing flipflops is a very simple process. But with endless possibilities, it’s in the choosing that makes it difficult. I absolutely took my time to think about what sole, straps and pins I wanted to go together.

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In the end, I decided to get sunny yellow soles and icy blue straps with pineapple and aloha pins for my pair.

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The first step in assembling my flipflops was fastening my pins of choice onto the straps.

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The next and final step was attaching the straps to the soles.

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Finally, when it’s all done, this is how my flipflops look next to my boyfriend’s pair.

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You can get your own pair of Havaianas at Spruce Iligan. They are located on the second floor of PYB Residence Building, corner Zamora and Lluch Streets.

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Beer-battered Pizza at Good Fellas

Good Fellas is a new pizzeria in CDO that serves freshly baked artisan beer-battered pizza.

My boyfriend and I never had beer-battered pizza before so I knew we had to try it. A two-hour bus ride later…

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Stepping in, I immediately noticed the clean, simple interior with a warm pop of color.

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From the exposed brick wall down to the furnishing, it just screams contemporary industrial chic with a touch of rustic charm – much to the delight of my inner hipster.

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Everything here is just Instagram-worthy so there’s absolutely no shame if you want to whip out your camera phones and snap photos away. 

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When we were there, the place looked a little vacant. It was a rainy afternoon after all. Who wants to brave the rain for just pizza right?

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But a few minutes later, I was instantly proven wrong. At that moment, I knew we went to the right place and something good was already waiting for us.

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Oh, hi! Just a little sneaky OOTD right here. Couldn’t resist posting this photo. Hehe 🙂

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Pizza time!

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We got the Big Joe, also known as the Godfather of all Pizzas. Beer-battered dough topped with cheese and a variety of meat – pepperoni, bacon, sausage, ham and beef. 

Fresh, crispy and bursting with flavor. It was love at first bite. It is a little bit greasy though. But if you’re like me who doesn’t give a damn about that, you’ll definitely love this one! I can’t help but feel sorry for myself that I’m not having it right now. Can’t wait to go back and try more of their pizzas!

Good Fellas is located at Pabayo and Chavez Streets just right above Sweet Leaf Bubble Tea Cafe.

24 & 2 Part 5: Sumo Sam

To cap off this 24 & 2 series, my boyfriend and I had our lunch at Sumo Sam (Centrio).

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Sumo Sam is a restaurant chain that specializes in Japanese-American food and is owned by Marvin Agustin. Hence, the life size photo of him standing right outside the door beckoning for you to come in. Hehe.

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One of the things I like about Sumo Sam is that they serve complimentary tea. Please excuse my messy hair and sleep deprived face (I left my comb back at the hotel where we stayed and I was really sick that day) by the way. 

Food here is a little bit pricey but their servings are pretty ginormous so you can just share a meal with another person. 

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Someone looks excited to eat! 

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I’m not sure what this is… My boyfriend ordered this one. I think this is Smoked Salmon Roll. I remember not being too happy with this dish. The salmon was dry and pale. Though the flavors are somehow there but this is not something I would recommend. 

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I ordered the oh-so-glorious Beef Gyudon with a raw egg on top. Now, I know this sounds very disgusting for others. Believe me… The first time I had this, I had mental debates about whether or not to skip the raw egg (you are actually given the option) but I’m soooo glad I didn’t! This is just heaven in a bowl! Trust me on this! This rice bowl may be already good on its own but the raw egg just adds that extra creamy texture like no other. THIS I recommend!

Anyway, I just got home from my Davao-GenSan trip with my boyfriend. Expect TONS of blog posts about it soon!

24 & 2 Part 4: Sweet Leaf Bubble Tea Cafe

This is day number two of our post-anniversary celebration and there’s no better way to start the day than having a cup of milk tea (unless you’re a coffee person then it’s coffee).

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So off we went to Sweet Leaf Bubble Tea Cafe. This is another milk tea shop in CDO that serves authentic Taiwanese tea and it is located at Pabayo and Chavez Streets, Divisoria.

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Since we went there early on a Sunday, we got to “own” the whole place.

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It’s so hard not to feel at home here. 

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I really love their wall decor.

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Here’s a closer look.

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More of their wall decor. Diggin’ the quotes!

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Anyway, here’s what we had. Left, my rock salt and cheese matcha milk tea with tapioca pearls. Right, my boyfriend’s rock salt and cheese dark chocolate milk tea with some pudding added on.

I didn’t really enjoy mine… However, my boyfriend’s milk tea was the bomb! Definitely a must-try! It’s actually their best seller. 

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My boyfriend propping up the menu. We still have a looong list of milk teas to taste. Good thing teas here are affordable.

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Although I may be disappointed with their rock salt and cheese matcha tea but I’ll definitely come back here to try some more.

24 & 2 Part 3: T.G.I. Fridays

T.G.I. Fridays, a.k.a. Friday’s, has finally come to CDO! 

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I know I’m a little too late on this announcement but better late than never right?

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Upon finding our seat, I was amused! Here’s le boyfriend with our special guests, Buzz and Woody who joined us for dinner that night.

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Hanging right above my seat are two real guitars. And there’s Bruce, the Legend (as Kato) and Bruce, the shark from JawsReal awesome. 

Anyway, for our appetizer, we had Cajun Chicken Salad. 

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Crispy fried Cajun-battered chicken strips served with tomato, egg wedges, grated cheese and some mixed greens coated with honey mustard dressing 

I’d have to say that the chicken somehow tastes very similar to KFC’s. Not that it’s a bad thing, I do really love KFC myself. 

I love everything in this salad especially the tomatoes (sorry chicken you’re not the star here for me haha). They’re fresh, juicy and sweet. I could seriously eat a bowl of those tomatoes. 

And lemme tell ya, this is one HEFTY appetizer and is practically a meal in itself. I was starting to feel stuffed eating just halfway through this salad

And as if that wasn’t enough, my boyfriend had to order Mushroom Onion Swiss Burger.

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Juicy pure ground beef patty topped with tomato, lettuce, pickles, caramelized onions, melted Swiss cheese and thick toasted buns. Served with some crispy fries.

I liked it and it is very good but I’ve had better burgers than this albeit just smaller in size. 

By the way, have you ever wondered how to eat a monster of a burger without spilling all over the place? Well, here’s the trick… Grip it tight and turn it upside down! 

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Yup, you read that right. Try it for yourself and be amazed!

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Excuse me while I give this burger a kiss.

Since we had a coupon for a free Mocha Mud Pie, we just had to have it even if we were about to burst at this point.

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As written on their menu, it’s rich chocolate-almond mousse and coffee ice cream frozen in a chocolate crumb crust. Topped with hot fudge and toasted almond slices.

We loved it. It’s not too sweet and it reminds me of one of my favorite desserts, Death by Choco. Too bad we weren’t able to finish it all up. Much to our displeasure. 

I heard their steaks and ribs are very good but we’ll reserve those for another time.

The Irresistable Charm of Chingkeetea

Recently, tea houses have been blossoming and spreading like wildflowers. And for someone like me who loves tea, this is amazing news! 

I love tea! Hot tea, cold tea, blended tea, iced tea, you name it! 

I have already been to a few tea houses but so far nothing quite compares to Chingkeetea (or maybe I’m just a little biased).

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Chingkeetea is a cozy little tea house nestled somewhere in the heart of Cagayan de Oro City.

They serve a variety of delicious milk teas and fruit teas… 
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They also have some snacks that go well with tea like cookies, cupcakes and pasta. All reasonably priced so that students can easily afford.

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My personal favorite is Wintermelon Milk Tea with Tapioca Pearls. 

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The rustic vibe gives Chingkeetea that distinct charm and character which sets it apart from all other tea houses. It’s just so hard to not fall in love with the place. 

It is one of the go-to places for tea and photo ops.

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Look, there’s me just chillin’ out…

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And then, there’s my boyfriend… Swingin’.

Chingkeetea is not only for the tea lovers. It is also a hub for the bloggers, the shutterbugs, the bookworms and the creative youth in general. 

Since I’m pretty sure I’ll keep coming back here (because I can’t get enough of Chingkeetea’s charm and milk tea of course), please expect more blog posts about it some time in the future.

‘Til my next post, have a nice Sunday everyone!

Gelato by Missy Bonbon

Whenever I go to Cagayan de Oro, I make sure to grab one of my ultimate guilty pleasures in life and that is Missy Bonbon’s freshly churned gelato!

Just look at all those sinful choices! I can hear them singing my name. If you feel overwhelmed on which one to pick, don’t be shy to ask for a free taste test.

Creamy, sweet and delicious. I simply can’t get enough of it. Goodness starts at 45 PHP only!

Tarakumain sa Tadakuma

I KNOW. “Tarakumain sa Tadakuma” has just got to be the lamest pun title I ever came up with. And yeah, I just had to kinda force it. I bet you must have rolled your eyes. MOVING ON…

Tadakuma is a Japanese restaurant that just opened at Don Ramon Chavez Street, Cagayan de Oro City.

My best friend’s boyfriend, Miguel took my boyfriend and I there for lunch. Sadly, my best friend, Ritz was not with us because she is currently living and working in London (we miss you!).

Originally, my boyfriend and I planned to have our lunch at Kogi Bulgogi (a Korean restaurant that just opened at Lim Ket Kai). But sometimes, things just don’t go as planned. But hey, who said I was complaining?

Tadakuma is very cozy and modern. Actually, when we got there, it was REALLY busy. All the tables were full and so we had to wait for a table for a little while. By the way, the photo above was taken after everybody else already left the restaurant with happy tummies.

Nothing but a cute random bowl. If only I could take one home as a souvenir. Just kidding. Or am I really?

Oh, before I proceed to talk about what we had, can I ask you a teeny favor guys?

Umm.. can you please not hate me for forgetting the names of what we had? I was soooo hungry that everything just went completely out of my mind. I am crossing my fingers that the photos will just somehow make up for it. Here goes…

This is a bowl of plain minced raw fish on top of a bed of rice. And those two tiny blobs that you see on top are wasabi paste and pounded ginger. To eat this, you have to properly mix everything in together so to evenly distribute the flavor. It has just the right punch of heat and that zing of flavor coming from the pounded ginger. It’s like a different take on “kinilaw”. If you don’t have problems eating raw fish, you’ll definitely love this!

A bowl of ramen noodles with three thin slices of meat, a slice of fish cake, a slice of boiled egg and a few greens. It looked like it could need a little more stuff though. However, the soup is like no other. 

So that’s all we had. Blurred in the background is Miguel’s Tempura Udon. For some reason, I can only remember his order. Shoot me.

Tadakuma is a tad cheaper than Ramen Tei. In average, everything costs around 200~300 PHP per dish. The servings are delicious and quite generous so you do get your money’s worth. To the last peso. Give this place a go and I’m sure you’ll love it too!