We used the electric grill we gave our father for Christmas for media noche.

Sushi and sashimi were also part of the menu. Same as last year.

Cheers!

Gave up setting off fireworks years ago. Lit sparklers at midnight instead.

A family friend gave as an intricately designed sugar ball for Christmas which we cracked open on New Year’s Day. It looked like a Fabergé egg.

Inside the sugar ball were individually packed Russian cookies

I hope welcoming 2016 was a memorable one for you too! Have a great week ahead!

     

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Happy New Year, Everyone!

I hope that the past year was a fruitful one for you. Against the challenges you faced, I hope you came out of them victorious. I hope you were able to reach your goals or at least moved a step closer to achieving them.

May this year bring us new beginnings and another chance to make things right. May we learn to forgive the people who hurt us, and to forgive ourselves too for the wrong choices we made. Let us look forward to the blessings, successes and opportunities ahead. Let us strengthen current relationships and continue to cherish them while we welcome new people in our lives.

May it be a more peaceful year for the world. Let us pray together and hope that the wars and the terrorism would end. In our own territories, homes and workplaces, let us keep watch and not tolerate any form of violence.

For the Filipino people, may 2016 be a year of enlightenment. May every Filipino be conscientious in choosing the next president of our beloved country. May the elected public officials serve us, Filipinos, with integrity.

Of the many things we have listed as our goals and resolutions, let us continue to hope and believe that a better future is in store. The best is yet to come for all of us.

And now we welcome the new year. Full of things that have never been.

— Rainer Maria Rilke

Have a new year filled with gladness and prosperity! God bless us all!

     

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Merry Christmas to all!

I’m sharing with you scenes from our 2015 Christmas celebration. I hope you had a bountiful noche buena and a grand time in the company of family and friends.

Tomorrow, we start the countdown to 2016!

     

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The internet is a massive source of valuable information. In fact, much of what we read now is from the internet. However, it could be quite a tedious chore to filter and manage the ones we regard as relevant with the myriad of information circulating on cyberspace.

Whether you spend time online for school, work or leisure, here are four smartphone applications you can try out to eliminate clutter and noise, and enhance your online reading experience.

Pocket

This app is very handy for saving webpages and blog posts that you would want to revisit later on. You can add tags to manage the links. Once you have saved the link, you can go through its content straight from the app without having to load the original site, which saves you time and mobile data.

If you are an iPhone user, you can toggle the shortcut button to add links to Pocket with ease when browsing using Safari.

Feedly

I have been using Feedly since Google Reader ceased to exist. In my opinion, this is the best RSS feed reader to date. Its intuitive interface, straightforward design and features make it the best replacement for Google Reader.

In addition to the usual social media sharing options, it has other applications such as Pocket and Evernote integrated in its system making it very easy for users to save and bookmark blogs.

Click here to follow Quingdom.com on Feedly

Dictionary.com

Beating the think-spined dictionaries on so many levels, the Dictionary.com app wipes out all your excuses not owning (and using) a dictionary. You can also choose to download the offline version so that you can quickly look up definitions even without mobile internet or WiFi access. Plus, it comes with a thesaurus too!

Evernote

Evernote is the only note app you’ll ever need. It is actually more than an app for taking notes. You can add photos, lists, reminders, and audio files. Items in the app can be into notebooks so you can segregate the items you need for work and the ones for personal use.

These apps are available for download on iOS and Android, and can also be accessed via web.

     

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With all the posts that feature beaches in this blog, you might already know by now that I go crazy over the sand and sea. This year’s trip to Boracay last February was extra special because it was conceived for our whole family to spend time together.

On our first day, we stayed at Ambassador in Paradise in Station 1. We really liked the spacious room, the jacuzzi in the bathroom, the resort’s private pool, and the accommodating spirit of the staff. It’s not bad at all. I highly recommend this place if you prefer to stay in the less populated area of Boracay’s white beach. It’s more private and more serene. This area is great for honeymooning couples. We, however, wanted to stay closer to the string of bars and restaurants along Station 2.

View from our Ambassador in Paradise room

The following day, we transferred and checked in at The District Boracay, the same place we stayed in last time we vacationed in the island. It felt like home. Aaah…

The District Boracay has the best spot and the best beach benches!

I’m usually too lazy do anything aside from lying at the beach, but I thought I’d give paddleboarding a try. But for the most part of our stay, all I did was sleep, eat, lie at the beach.

Trying paddleboarding out. Seems legit. :P

Emily, the thrill seeker, tried it out as well. She went parasailing too!

Here’s a video of our paddleboard experience:

Enjoy seafood everyday!

Borcacay has one of the most scenic sunsets in the world!

Dinner with the whole family at Pamana

The next time I go to Boracay, I would have to stay for at least a week!

     

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Two weekends ago, my cousin Jobert married his long-time girlfriend Gianna in a ceremony held at Santuario de San Jose Parish. Reception followed at The Blue Leaf in McKinley. The occasion was filled with joy, laughter and golden memories that will truly be cherished by the newlyweds and their families and friends who joined in celebrating the milestone.

I love attending weddings and being part of the entourage is even more delightful. When Jobert asked me to be one of his groomsmen,  of course I obliged without having second thoughts. My parents were also requested to be their Godparents and Julia was one of the flower girls, which she loved and fulfilled effortlessly.

Since I had “duties” during the wedding, most of the photos were taken by my sister Shy who, I believe, takes better photos than I do.

Julia was so happy to be one of the flower girls!

Congratulations and Best Wishes, Jobert and Gianna!

     

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And just like that, I’m done with culinary classes. Last Monday we had our final examinations for our last module, Asian Cuisine. I can’t believe how fast time passed by. Was it just yesterday when we were being taught how to peel garlic, shallots and onions? At this point I’m preparing for internship. I’ve already sent out applications. Praying and keeping my fingers crossed for positive news soon!

Allow me to backtrack a bit and share one of the highlights in my culinary journey. In lieu of the usual practical exams, our class was given a different challenge for our finals in the Advanced Culinary Arts module. Our class was divided into two teams, lunch service and dinner service teams in which I was part of the former. Our task was to prepare a five-course meal for Youth with a Future Fundraising Event. It was held on January 14 in Restaurant 101.

We prepared the following dishes:

Pressed Chicken and Foie Gras Terrine
Photo Credit: Ducasse Institute Philippines Facebook Page

Salad of Raw and Cooked Vegetables with Tomato Marmalade
Photo Credit: Ducasse Institute Philippines Facebook Page

Garlic Soup with Garlic Croquette
Photo Credit: Ducasse Institute Philippines Facebook Page

Fillet of Lapu-Lapu Cooked Dugléré Style
Photo Credit: Ducasse Institute Philippines Facebook Page

Beef Tenderloin Studded with Olives, Seasonal Vegetables and Jus
Photo Credit: Ducasse Institute Philippines Facebook Page

Savarin with Chantilly Cream and Mangoes
Photo Credit: Ducasse Institute Philippines Facebook Page

It is a tough job to work in the kitchen, but having my mom and our friends as part of the 60+ guests that we served was exciting and fulfilling. Knowing that all the hard work was for a worthy cause made it even more worthwhile.

Plating the Appetizer — Salad of Raw and Cooked Vegetables

With family and friends

The Lunch Service Team with the Chefs of Enderun College and Ducasse Education
Photo Credit: Ducasse Institute Philippines Facebook Page

Up Close and Personal with Chef Jérôme Lacressonière
Photo Credit: Ducasse Institute Philippines Facebook Page

My sincerest gratitude to my mom and our family friends who came and dined to support the fundraising activity!

     

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Happy New Year, Readers!

I wish everyone a prosperous year and I hope you had a grand time welcoming the new year in a joyous celebration with family and friends! Let’s be grateful for another year has been given to us by the Lord to be more productive, to touch more lives and to make things right. Trash bad habits and develop good ones.

Please forgive my very late New Year blog post. As they say, better late than never.

Here are scenes from our family’s celebration:

From our lechon to yours, Happy New Year!

A tripod would be a nice gift next Christmas. :P

The Bee Family

     

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It’s the start of our Christmas break!

I have a lot of things and activities listed on my to-do list during this two-week vacation which including tidying up my room, rearranging stuff in our kitchen, attending reunions, and of course my favorite — cooking for the holidays!

Before things get busy and to get the kitchen inspiration going, I plan on having a marathon of movies related to food and cooking.

Here are the titles on my movie playlist:

Ratatouille (2007)

Photo Credit: IMDb

Remy (Patton Oswalt), a resident of Paris, appreciates good food and has quite a sophisticated palate. He would love to become a chef so he can create and enjoy culinary masterpieces to his heart’s delight. The only problem is, Remy is a rat. When he winds up in the sewer beneath one of Paris’ finest restaurants, the rodent gourmet finds himself ideally placed to realize his dream.

No Reservations (2007)

Photo Credit: IMDb

Master chef Kate Armstrong (Catherine Zeta-Jones) runs her life and her kitchen with intimidating intensity. However, a recipe for disaster may be in the works when she becomes the guardian of her young niece (Abigail Breslin) while crossing forks with the brash sous-chef (Aaron Eckhart) who just joined her staff. Though romance blooms in the face of rivalry, Kate needs to look outside the kitchen to find true happiness.

Julie & Julia (2009)

Photo Credit: IMDb

Frustrated with a soul-killing job, New Yorker Julie Powell (Amy Adams) embarks on a daring project: she vows to prepare all 524 recipes in Julia Childs’ landmark cookbook, “Mastering the Art of French Cooking.” Intertwined with Julie’s story is the true tale of how Julia Child (Meryl Streep) herself conquered French cuisine with passion, fearlessness, and plenty of butter.

Chef (2014)

Photo Credit: IMDb

After a controlling owner (Dustin Hoffman) pushes him too far, chef Carl Casper (Jon Favreau) quits his position at a prestigious Los Angeles restaurant. As he tries to figure out what his next step should be, he finds himself in Miami. Carl joins forces with his ex-wife (Sofía Vergara), best friend (John Leguizamo) and son (Emjay Anthony) to launch a food-truck business, and the venture provides a chance to reignite his passion for cooking — as well as his zest for life and love.

The Hundred-Foot Journey (2014)

Photo Credit: IMDb

Hassan Kadam (Manish Dayal) is an extraordinarily talented culinary ingenue. When he and his family are displaced from their native India and settle in a quaint French village, they decide to open an Indian eatery. However, Madame Mallory (Helen Mirren), the proprietress of an acclaimed restaurant just 100 feet away, strongly objects. War erupts between the two establishments, until Mallory recognizes Kadam’s impressive epicurean gifts and takes him under her wing.

What movies related to food and cooking have you seen and loved? If you have film recommendations, share them in the comments below as well.

Enjoy the holidays, guys!

     

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With modern themes and elements shaping food establishments these days, it brings comfort to find restaurants that keep the country and rural ambiance. Such is Rustic Mornings: Brunch, Pastries and Coffee by Isabelo. Their selection of breakfast food on the menu complemented with a calm and cozy atmosphere is sure to satisfy their customers.

Dining at Rustic Mornings feels like having Sunday brunch at your grandparents’ home. It’s an escape from the hustle and bustle of the city without having to travel too far.

Who doesn’t love breakfast food? I indulged in their Country Omelette and ordered coffee to go with it. Nothing spells breakfast better than bacon, eggs and a hot cup of coffee.

Country Omelette

Rustic Mornings: Brunch, Pastries and Coffee by Isabelo is located at Isabelo Mendoza Street, San Roque, Marikina City.

     

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