I don't always wear makeup but when I do I normally just wash my face with facial wash and water. Using a cold cream is a bit foreign to me and I wasn't used to it. But I tried it out for a solid week while I was in Japan. It was just 60ml and well within the carry on limit for creams. It was autumn, around October when we visited Tokyo. My skin got dry and crusty while outside and using the Ponds cold cream to remove the makeup helped moisturize my skin prior to even putting my normal moisturizer. My pores were cleaner and my skin was softer after using this versus my usual facial wash routine. Now I use it everyday. Almost gone in 3 months though. Might buy another one in the next Lazada sale. Haha
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Rapid technological innovation has paved the way for better healthcare and medical solutions. Older people can move around with ease thanks to e-motors and scooters, people monitor their physical activity with handy trackers, and surgeons are able to perform more efficient and safer operations with smart surgical solutions.
These are just some of the breakthroughs of Taiwan Smart Healthcare products. Bearing the Taiwan Seal of Excellence—a mark accorded only to the highest quality brands— these revolutionary products have guided people toward healthier and safer lives.
Utilizing 3D and Digital Imaging for Safer Surgeries
In minimally invasive surgery, fewer and smaller incisions are made on the body to lessen post-operative pain, blood loss, and scarring. Thin needles and an endoscope, a tube-shaped instrument with a camera and light, are used to guide the operation. The MonoStereo 3D System converts the 2D video captured by the endoscope into a 3D display on a monitor. Through these images, doctors can get accurate depth feedback in real-time, ensuring surgical precision and faster procedures.
Smart Surgical Glasses from Taiwan Main Orthopedics Co. Ltd. allow doctors to plan more accurately prior to surgery. As the surgeon looks at the operative site, 3D images of the patient’s bones and tissues appear on the screen, allowing them to save real-time photos. This can reduce complexity and operation time by up to 30%. An additional benefit to medical staff is less exposure to radiation from X-rays.
Keeping Sugar Levels in Check
With conditions like diabetes, ongoing monitoring of blood sugar is a necessity. Bionime’s Blood Glucose Monitoring Systems allow diabetics to easily monitor their blood sugar. The GM260 model delivers accurate results in just five seconds, using only a tiny blood sample placed on a test strip. The GM700S and GM700SB work with multiple types of blood samples, and the latter facilitate the transfer immediate transfer of results to smartphone via Bluetooth. The GM720 comes in an all-in-one fashionable case that holds additional strips and lancets.
Movement Anytime, Anywhere
Mobility becomes an issue for many people as they age. The ergonomic design and lightweight frame of Heartway Portable Scooters provide for travelling with comfort and ease. Weighing less than 27 kg, the foldable S19 Scooter Brio can be activated by one hand in seconds and may be stored inside a car trunk with no dismantling required. Powered by a lithium battery, it can travel up to 24km on full charge. The S21 EASY MOVE folds up electronically with a single push of a button, and can go up to 7 miles on a full battery. Both scooters support average weight builds and have easy-to-use controls.
For more information about Taiwan Smart Healthcare products, check out taiwanexcellence.ph or facebook.com/TaiwanExcellence.ph/.
If you want to try it out for the first time, you can sign up using my link below to get 500 discount on your first purchase of groceries. The discount applies as long as you reach a minimum of 2000 worth of groceries. Credit card is not required, you can select Cash on delivery as the payment method!
Here's the link: https://honestbee.ph/r/ANAP4150
You can also click on the image below.
If you want to know more about my first grocery shopping stint with Honestbee, then click on the link below:
If you clicked on this blog post, you're probably just interested in the discount, and if that's the case just scroll down to the bottom of the post to get the link to sign up. But before you do, let me share my experience shopping with the Honestbee service for the first time.
So it's currently monsoon season in Manila, and it's raining almost every day. I absolutely hate going outside when it's raining. But sometimes you have to. We have to buy food and groceries so we can just stay home and cook food and survive for a week before having to go out again. But what if you don't need to go out and buy groceries yourself? What if you can get someone else to do it while you're just sitting at home and watching Kdrama (I'm watching Pinnochio right now and I'm in love with Lee Jong Suk)? Well now you can (depending on your location of course) wahaha
Honestbee is Asia's leading online concierge and delivery service. They've been around since 2015 and launched in Singapore. They're now available in 8 cities including Manila. In Layman's terms. The Honestbee service can get your groceries (and even food) delivered right at your house.
Honestbee is Asia's leading online concierge and delivery service. They've been around since 2015 and launched in Singapore. They're now available in 8 cities including Manila. In Layman's terms. The Honestbee service can get your groceries (and even food) delivered right at your house.
So I've heard of "personal shopper" services before similar to Honestbee but I never tried one before. When I tried this out, it was simple and was pretty straight forward. Here's how to do it:
1. Sign up to Honestbee using this link https://honestbee.ph/r/ANAP4150
2. Search for the items on the Honestbee app/site like you would on Lazada and add items to your cart.
3. Fill your cart and select check out. The site will ask you for your phone number and preferred delivery time. The phone number is required so that the shopper can confirm if you want any substitute for out of stock items. And if the delivery slots are already full, you might need to wait until the next day to get your groceries.
4. Payment method can be via credit/debit card or cash on delivery. The 500 promo coupon will only work when your cart total is equal to or greater than the required amount. Then click on place order.
5. Once you place the order, it's just a matter of waiting for your groceries to show up at your doorstep. :)
My order took roughly 3 hours from the time I checked out until I received it.
The delivery guy was soaking coz it was raining crazy hard when I tried this. The Rainy season is the perfect season to use this service!
Oh another interesting thing that wasn't mentioned anywhere. YOU GET FREE HONESTBEE ECOBAGS!!
The price of the items may vary a little bit by 1 peso from the usual price at the mall but to have to skip the lines, and skip the effort of looking for the items at the grocery yourself is well worth the price bump. My total bill was around 1600 and with the discount, I still paid for 1100. Remember that you still have to pay P99 for the concierge fee but since that's technically the same price as a one-way Uber to the mall then we're good.
So that's my first try of Honestbee and to be honest it was pretty good. It was convenient, simple and easy. Definitely recommend you to try it. But don't just take my word for it. Try it out for yourself with a P500 discount. Click on my referral link below and sign up! :D
To get more info on the service, you can visit their site: https://honestbee.ph/en/about-us
Logo of Honestbee from Press Kit: https://honestbee.ph/en/press
1. Sign up to Honestbee using this link https://honestbee.ph/r/ANAP4150
2. Search for the items on the Honestbee app/site like you would on Lazada and add items to your cart.
3. Fill your cart and select check out. The site will ask you for your phone number and preferred delivery time. The phone number is required so that the shopper can confirm if you want any substitute for out of stock items. And if the delivery slots are already full, you might need to wait until the next day to get your groceries.
4. Payment method can be via credit/debit card or cash on delivery. The 500 promo coupon will only work when your cart total is equal to or greater than the required amount. Then click on place order.
5. Once you place the order, it's just a matter of waiting for your groceries to show up at your doorstep. :)
My order took roughly 3 hours from the time I checked out until I received it.
The delivery guy was soaking coz it was raining crazy hard when I tried this. The Rainy season is the perfect season to use this service!
Oh another interesting thing that wasn't mentioned anywhere. YOU GET FREE HONESTBEE ECOBAGS!!
The price of the items may vary a little bit by 1 peso from the usual price at the mall but to have to skip the lines, and skip the effort of looking for the items at the grocery yourself is well worth the price bump. My total bill was around 1600 and with the discount, I still paid for 1100. Remember that you still have to pay P99 for the concierge fee but since that's technically the same price as a one-way Uber to the mall then we're good.
So that's my first try of Honestbee and to be honest it was pretty good. It was convenient, simple and easy. Definitely recommend you to try it. But don't just take my word for it. Try it out for yourself with a P500 discount. Click on my referral link below and sign up! :D
https://honestbee.ph/r/ANAP4150
To get more info on the service, you can visit their site: https://honestbee.ph/en/about-us
Logo of Honestbee from Press Kit: https://honestbee.ph/en/press
 |
| My mom and me during the Tramoramic Tour |
Day 1 – Flight to HK and General City Stroll
Flight to HK – Arrive around 10 am
Ride the Airport Express to Hong Kong
Got out at IFC mall, and got lunch
*Hong Kong Observation Wheel
*Central Pier Station
Got on a Ferry to Tsim Sha Tsui thru Pier 7
*Clock Tower
*Hong Kong Cultural Centre
Check in at Hotel and rest
*Food Trucks at the HK Space Museum
*HK Bay area
*Heritage 1881
Strolled around and got dinner, lights out
Day 2 – Disneyland
We only went to two spots on this day.
*Disneyland
*Temple Street night market
Day 3 – City Tour
*Tramoramic Tour across Central ave
*Western Market
*Times Square Mall
*HK City Hall
*Chater Garden
*Bank of China
*Cheung Kong Park
*St. John’s Cathedral
*Peak Tram Terminus
*Victoria Peak
*Trick Eye Museum
*Hong Kong Day
*The Peak Galleria
Day 4 – Macau Day Tour
Generally, a casino hopping tour. We took a ferry ride from HK to Macau. ^_^
*Galaxy Macau
*Grand Lisboa
*Tai Lei Loi Kei – best pork chop bun
*Se Catedral
*Sun Yin Park
*Lou Kao Mansion
*Tim Ho Wan – Takeout nook
*St. Dominic’s Church
*Jerky Street ^_^
*Ruins of St. Paul
*Wynn Macau
*Macau Tower
*Wynn Palace Cotai
*The Parisian Macau
Day 5 – Final city tour and Flight back
Checked out from the hotel
*Mongkok Street Market
*Excelsior Hotel for Lord Stow’s egg tarts
Went to the airport for the flight back
The overall cost of this trip for the both of us was around 35k. Or around 17k per person for the trip. Or just 3500 per person per day! This already includes the airfare, travel tax, hotel fee, and the pocket money we used to spend for everything we ate and bought and other items I purchased beforehand thru Klook.
It wasn’t as cheap as I would have wanted, but c’mon we went to Disneyland! That alone already costs almost 7k for the entrance fee. Disneyland was expensive but totally worth it!
I’ll post more details on the places we went to on the Per day posts. Thanks for reading!
For this installment of Eats in Cubao, my friend Andrei and I try out the food at Banapple at Gateway Mall. This was also my first time eating at Banapple so I didn't know what to get. hehe
We went here after our shift around 9 am, and nobody was around yet. Thankfully the branch is open from 8:00am until 10:00pm. The place was pretty cute. Each of their chandeliers were unique, but had similar styles, all had curly wire and red lamps on the end.
There's a huge mural of a meadow and trees on one wall. Then there were exploded sandwiches on another. The chairs are pretty simple, metal form and wooden seats. The table was adorable. It had like a million white thingies on it. Not so sure if they are marbles, more like round shaped white glass pebbles. hahaha
They will provide you with a menu upon entering the restaurant, but if you want to place your order you have to go to the counter and line up. They also had a bunch of pastries and cakes on display near the counter. Makes you want to try them all out!
We ordered 2 mains and 1 drink. All of which we split between the two of us. Then we also got a free Brownie Overload thanks to Smart's promotion. :) And then we proceed to wait for the food
We had to take a ton of photos while waiting... Of course.
We ordered three items that summed up to 596 and we also got the brownie which cost 75.
Trio of Sausages Fettuccine P235
Chicken Parmigiano P235
Dark Chocolate Smoothie P125
Free Chocolate Chip Brownie Overload!!! (P75)
We were feeling pretty hungry when we came in the resto which is why we ordered two meals but the servings were pretty big so we didn't get to finish everything. We mopped up the chicken pretty quickly tho, down to the last morsel of rice. Both dishes were very good too! Loved the gooey mozzarella on the chicken and the sausages were amazing in the fettucine dish. The Dark Chocolate smoothie was to die for and the brownie was perfectly fudgy. It was soft and warm and not too sweet. Just perfect.
No qualms with the service too. We didn't wait too long for the food to be served and the waitress was nice enough to take our photo. Claiming the freebie wasn't a hassle.
Overall, Banapple is an awesome resto. It should be fine for 3 people to share the food we ordered. So it's pretty affordable as well. Definitely gonna bring my mom here soon. :D
Banapple
Ground Floor, Gateway Mall,
Araneta Center, Cubao,
Quezon City
02 4370204
Visited: September 10, 2016
Food Adventurers: Ana Carla Pagulayan, Andrei Lee
Cookie Mug Snack Lounge is a tiny cafe on the second floor of this modern looking building on Lilac Street. I saw the photo of the cookie with milk on a blog and I wanted to try it out myself!
This place is the main reason why I went to Lilac Street in the first place. Wahaha
The cookie was nice and chewy, the chocolate was delicious, and combined with the cold milk that you drink out of the cookie makes it oh sooo wonderful!! XD
Of course we took several insta shots before eating the cookie shots.
I absolutely loved the cookie shots!! XD I'd love to try the other variants of the cookie shots too. I'm definitely going back to this place!!
Cookie Mug Snack Lounge
116 Lilac Street,
SSS Village,
Concepcion Dos,
Marikina City
Visited: August 20, 2016
Adventurers: Ana Carla Pagulayan, Kat
This place is the main reason why I went to Lilac Street in the first place. Wahaha
Hello Betty Boop.
We got 2 small cookie shots from the counter and paid P68 each. It's cheaper if you just want the cookie shot, but I wanted to try it out with the milk while we were there.
Cookie Mugs and cookie shots selection.
Coffee selection and flavored milk menu.
I really wanted to try the caramel milk or the mocha flavored one, but they were not available at the time we visited the cafe.
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| Compulsory selfie/twofie XD |
A few minutes after paying for our order, they served the cold milk in cute tiny jars along with the cookie shots.
The cookie was nice and chewy, the chocolate was delicious, and combined with the cold milk that you drink out of the cookie makes it oh sooo wonderful!! XD
Of course we took several insta shots before eating the cookie shots.
I absolutely loved the cookie shots!! XD I'd love to try the other variants of the cookie shots too. I'm definitely going back to this place!!
Cookie Mug Snack Lounge
116 Lilac Street,
SSS Village,
Concepcion Dos,
Marikina City
Visited: August 20, 2016
Adventurers: Ana Carla Pagulayan, Kat
On a crazy rainy Saturday afternoon, my friend Kat and I tried out a resto in the "Maginhawa" of Marikina, Lilac Street. We saw a lot of restaurants while walking around the place but we chose to eat at this orange colored restaurant that we saw in Bentt building.
Gao has a menu of meals, along with ready to eat viands that you can choose from. Price ranges from P90 and up.
The crispy sisig takes around 7 minutes to be served because they still refry the pork before serving it.
Visited: August 20, 2016
Adventurers: Ana Carla Pagulayan, Kat
Gao by Mandi's is on the ground floor of Bentt III. We were enticed mainly by the P99 peso deal plastered on their window. XD The place is designed with posters of race cars and the beatles posters on a background of bright orange. I don't see the connection with the name of the place, but we'll just roll with it. wahaha
Kat and me while waiting for the crispy sisig.
The crispy sisig takes around 7 minutes to be served because they still refry the pork before serving it.
Crispy Sisig Meal P99
Lechon Kawali Meal P90
The Crispy sisig was very good. Waiting for the meat to be refried is worth the wait since it makes the meat and fat all crispy again.
They also have a pretty neat drinks selection, and these are all non-alcoholic. XD
They have 8 flavors that can be mixed to make 8 new drink flavors.
Purple Brew.
Since I love purple, I chose the Purple Brew which is a mix of Blue Lemonade and Red Iced tea. Tasted pretty good too. A little too sweet tho, I mixed it with another glass of water to spread out the flavor.
Overall, we were very satisfied with the delish meal and awesome service. The waitress was very friendly and was telling us about the resto while waiting for our order. The owner's husband also came in and said hi. Would love to come back again! :D
Gao by Mandi's
Ground Floor, Bentt III Building,
75 Lilac Street,
SSS Village, Concepcion Dos,
Marikina City
Visited: August 20, 2016
Adventurers: Ana Carla Pagulayan, Kat
It was my first time to try out authentic Japanese style Okonomiyaki last Sunday at Dohtonbori!! It was awesome! We tried out the Dohtonbori branch at SM North Edsa, Main Building. :)
First thing we noticed when we got there was the line. My friend Dana and I met up in front of the resto around 11:30 am, almost lunch time. While waiting for a table, we checked out the menu and chose what to order.
We went with the Cheesy Pork Okonomiyaki :D
The Yakiniku looked pretty good too, so we ordered it as well!
We waited for around 20 minutes before we got a seat. The place was really packed and lively.
We were brought to a table with a teppan, or the metal griddle in the middle of the table. :) It's for us to cook the okonomiyaki and other items on.
Within minutes, a server approached our table and asked for our order. We ordered the okonomiyaki and the yakiniku, we also got a side of gyoza and two rice sets.
The place is full of interesting Old timey Japanese posters! Makes you feel like you're in a movie set!
Anybody know what the text on this wall says?
Also love the red lanterns lining the ceiling.
Our server came back with the raw version of our orders ready to be cooked. Except the rice set of course, wahaha!
Pork Yakiniku P180
Gyoza P120
Cheesy Pork Okonomiyaki P240
See those square thingies on the right side? Those are mozzarella slices!!
Let's pretend that we did the cooking here. But really we didn't. Wahaha It was absolutely enjoyable just watching the server to mix and cook the food in front of us while we were sipping our unlimited House Blend Iced Tea.
Unlimited Iced Tea P120
The server started cooking the okonomiyaki first to make sure that it gets cooked around the same time as the other items. He even has a timer!
Stages of an Okonomiyaki:
Raw as hell, with cheese
Flipped and almost cooked
Cooked and glazed with the teriyaki sauce
Added the Kewpie Mayonnaise
Added the stripe design along with the bonito flakes and nori bits
Sliced into 4 parts and ready to eat.
The entire meal was cooked simultaneously on the same teppan. :D
This is us pretending that we did anything close to cooking the food. XD Actually, we just held the utensils for the shot. wahahaha
Here's the food, all cooked and ready to eat! The entire cooking time took probably 20 minutes or so.
I was really happy with the okonomiyaki we tried! The cheese was gooey and it was simply delicious! I would prefer it if the pork was cooked before it was mixed in the entire pancake mix, but it still tasted pretty good. I'd probably try it that way next time. :)
Their pork yakiniku was heavenly too! It had a very tasty marinade, and it was cooked perfectly with crisp sides and still tender middle parts. I loved it with the soy sauce and lemon dip too. (sosyal version ng toyo at calamansi)
Only the gyoza and miso soup were the "Meh" parts of the meal. Everything else was brilliant!
I can already imagine the mess! Til' next time!!
Dohtonbori
SM North Edsa, G/F Main Building
02 3724576
Visited: August 7, 2016
Adventurers: Ana Carla Pagulayan Dana Pena
