dekaphobe.com | Food, Travel, and Lifestyle Blog

Everyday is a chance to move forward. I hope things will be better for this year. Happy New Year!

I was supposed to list down only 12 goals, but I've written down 23 birthday wishes last time, so I guess it should be fair if I list down 23 goals. So here goes my list: 1. Open up an online stock trading account - I've been writing it down on my planner, I have also printed all the forms and have the complete documents on hand, but I never get to send it. I should do it soon! 2. Buy a book monthly - Or maybe bi-monthly. That way I will be able to complete my never-ending book collection. my Pugad Baboy collection 3. Increase my savings - According to an article, I should be saving at least 10-15% of my net income. I'm planning to save more. 4. Improve on photography - Having a blog made me conscious of the pictures I'm taking. Though I'm nowhere near the term 'expert', I could say that my photography has improved a lot lately. I'm still a noob in taking people pictures (that's why I stick with taking pictures of food), I

Merry Christmas! Posting pictures I've taken this month. Most of the pictures are taken last Christmas. Enjoy! :) at the Taoist Temple, Cebu City Hot chocolate at ECHOcafe My Lola's Igadillo everybody loves Laing! why can't I? Advance Happy New Year everyone!

First of all, I would like to thank everyone who remembered and greeted me last Christmas. But of course, I would like to give my love to those who gave me Christmas gifts! (yeah, bias, I know). Having recently posted my book collections , I was so touched that some of my friends thought about giving me something that would add to my collection. I was REALLY touched by the gesture since I NEVER received books as gifts (I once received a book, it was a little prayer book I think, I never got to read it and I think I lost it). I would like to share with you the latest additions to my book collection: 1. Diana The Making of A Saint by Ted Harrison Thank you, Andrew, for remembering how much I love Princess Diana. I'm going to read this soon. 2. Pugad Baboy 5 and 6 by Pol Medina Jr Pugad Baboy 5 is bookmarked because I'm currently reading it. Thanks a lot, Boink and Nobita! :) 3. Lumayo Ka Nga Sa Akin by Bob Ong This is the latest book by Bob Ong. Thanks for t

I love coffee. I cannot survive without coffee. I cannot imagine a world without coffee. Though I still have to buy myself a coffee maker (there are so many options that my brain freezes whenever I have to choose ONLY one) and still have to win the lottery so that I could buy myself an espresso machine (my ULTIMATE dream), I'm indulging myself to instant coffee. Here are some of my recent purchases, which I bet some of you have already tried. :) If you haven't, you should try it. 1. Hills Bros Coffee This coffee was recommended to me by Kenny , because her dad loves it. I got so curious and got myself two jars. A jar costs around Php 300. I love the aroma of Hills Brothers coffee that it makes me want to drink more. 2. Taster's Choice I bought the original label though most labels are now branded with "Nescafe Taster's Choice". This is a bit expensive ($14.08 or around Php 600), that I have yet to taste the difference with number 3. 3. Nescafe Gold A bit more

Merry Christmas everyone!

I recently invited the Northies to pay me a visit and have a food trip at Il Mercanti at Metrowalk. I haven't been to any food bazaar since most of the food bazaars open at midnight, and I don't have enough patience to starve myself till midnight (I would also have a hard time going home after). The good thing Il Mercanti starts from 7pm to 4am, from Thursday to Saturday. Having just opened a few months ago, it was not too crowded. We easily found seats for our group. Stalls are not too close with each other, grills are placed outside the tent. There are so many stalls to choose from that one visit is not enough to try everything. However, here are the stalls and the food I've tried: 1. Carmencita's Pasta Boulivar Chicago Pizza and Pasta The first stall that got our attention was the one selling Chicago deep-dish pizza. A slice costs Php 130 each on any flavor. pizza heaven! I bought two slices (I think one was Supreme and another was was White Chees

Whenever we have team lunch outs, we always go Chinese, and once again we went Chinese and had lunch at Mongkok Dimsum and Noodles . Mongkok is one of the usually crowded restaurants in Rockwell Business Center that we were asked to come earlier although I had already called for reservations. What I love about Mongkok are the huge servings and it's affordability, that's why I opted to have my birthday lunch last time. Mongkok has so many dishes to choose from, and here are some delicious dishes we have tried: Everyone loves siomai, so we ordered Mongkok Siomai (Php 80 for 4 pieces). Mongkok Siomai The siomai is so addicting! If only I could get more... We ordered Fish Fillet with Taosi (Php 270). Fish Fillet with Taosi I would always ask for a fish fillet dish whenever we go Chinese, and this is my usual choice. I like the tausi sauce that I mixed it with my rice. We also got Boneless Chicken with Lemon Sauce (Php 260). Boneless Chicken with Lemon S

Photo from booksinternational.it One of the books we were required to read during high school was The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery. Antoine de Saint-Exupery is a French writer and pilot. It was said that the novella was based on his experiences in the Sahara desert. I was wondering back then on why did our teachers assign a novella for us to read while they were already giving us uber-thick novels like Les Miserables , The Good Earth , Jane Eyre , etc. Little did I know that this book would have a great impact on me. Let me share with you lines from the book, and I hope you will see why I recommend this book to adults. "Grown-ups love figures. When you tell them that you have made a new friend, they never ask you any questions about essential matters. They never say to you, “What does his voice sound like? What games does he love best? Does he collect butterflies?” Instead, they demand: “How old is he? How many brothers has he? How much does he weigh? How

I love reading. I read whenever I get a chance to do so. I read in whatever format: PDF, java format (yes, I have books on my mobile phone) and of course, the actual books. I used to buy books on book fairs or book sales during college, but I started buying brand new books when I started working. I love collecting books by author, title, or series. I also love collecting magazines. My collection is still a work in progress, as I still refuse to buy complete sets since it would kill the fun. But I hope I could complete something soon. Here are some of my collections: 1. Diana books I am a big fan of Princess Diana, and I love collecting her biographies. So far, I have the following books: - Diana: Her True Story by Andrew Morton - The Diana Chronicles by Tina Brown - Love from Diana by Michael Joseph 2. Nicholas Sparks books I have read most of Nick Sparks' books on PDF, but I have the following: - The Rescue - At First Sight 3. Pugad Baboy I lov

Photo from kathmadula.com Note: I wasn't able to take a picture outside the resto because I was really, really hungry! I had another pig-out with my friend Andrew recently, and we always end up eating kebab  this time we went to Behrouz Persian Cuisine . inside Behrouz Behrouz Persian Cuisine is a simple Persian restaurant located at Metrowalk. It was included in Spot.ph's top ten Middle Eastern haunts in Manila . It's been a while since I've been there because I would always go to Stackers whenever I'm in Metrowalk. Since my friend and I recently had burgers, we tried kebab this time. Want to eat Persian style? The interiors of Behrouz is so simple that one would think that it's just an ordinary canteen (no offense meant here though). But what was eye-catching is the platform where customers can enjoy eating Persian style while having a shisha. For lunch, I ordered the  Chelo Kabab Kobideh (Php 270). Chelo Kebab Kobideh Chelo Kabab Kob