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

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/.

Honestbee is an online concierge and delivery service that started in Singapore in 2015. They're all over Asia now, with services running in 8 major cities. They recently launched in Manila and they currently deliver groceries or food orders straight to your home. Laundry delivery will be launched soon!

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:

http://carurachan.blogspot.com/2017/07/lazy-grocery-shopping-with-honestbee.html

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.

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

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

Earlier this 2017, I went on a trip to Hong Kong with my Mom for 5 days. It was my second time to visit the city so we did not visit most areas that I’ve seen before. Below is an overview of the itinerary of our trip to HK and Macau in 2017. Added an asterisk on the landmarks/areas we visited.

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