Foodie Goodie | Hap Chan Restaurant.

It's our anniversary today! Can't believe my husband and I have been together for 11 long years already. And to celebrate the occasion (despite the husband's physical absence since he's still working overseas), we decided (and by we I mean my son and I) to have lunch at Hap Chan Restaurant. Oh yes, we actually have Hap Chan in San Pablo City. The branch is located at Ultimart, the very first mall here in my hometown.

Hap Chan San Pablo.

The little man and I arrived at the restaurant around 2 pm. A crowd of ten people had just finished eating and was about to leave the restaurant as we stepped in. And within minutes, Yue and I had the place all to ourselves.

Inside Hap Chan.

You get an Asian vibe from the lighting and fixtures - after all, this is a Chinese restaurant.

Bamboo mural and red lanterns.

And like most Chinese restaurants, they served us a complimentary pot of their house tea before our meal.

Jasmine tea.

The little man asking for his cup to be filled with tea, too. :)

Hap Chan has extensive food choices on their menu - dimsum, congee, soup, noodles, vegetables, and classic Chinese dishes. They also have a variety of drinks and desserts, set menus, and rice toppings. I ordered two bowls of rice toppings - one for the little man, one for me - instead of ordering rice and viand platters separately.

Buttered Chicken, Php 130.

The little man had Buttered Chicken - chicken pieces fried in butter, served with vegetables on the side. Yue likes anything chicken, so this dish passed his taste. 

Fish Fillet with Corn Sauce, Php 130.

I, on the other hand, had Fish Fillet with Corn Sauce. While I do appreciate the melt-in-your-mouth tenderness of the fish fillet, I can't seem to fathom the taste of the corn sauce. I was expecting it to taste like creamed corn, but this seemed like it was simply drizzled with Knorr's Crab and Corn soup. 

Hong Kong Lemon Iced Tea.

Good thing I made the right choice of ordering a separate plate of Soyed Tofu. Soft tofu soaked in light soy sauce, this simple yet flavorful dish made up for the somewhat bland taste of my fish fillet. 

Soyed Tofu, Php 80.

By the way, rice toppings come with a free glass of Lemon Iced Tea and a small bowl of Ho To Tay soup. Not bad for Php 130 per order, eh?

Ho To Tay soup.

 The little man loved the soup a lot. He even asked for a refill, much to my surprise. Haha!

Enjoying every slurp. :)

For dessert, the little man ordered Chilled Taho with Sago. He loves 'taho' (silken tofu) just as much as I love regular tofu. Well you know what they say, the apple doesn't fall from the tree. :)

Chilled Taho with Sago, Php 45.

I ordered Butchi, but here's what they served me instead - Bichu ala Mode. Their Butchi is one of the reasons why I wanted to eat at Hap Chan today (I've been craving for Butchi since last week), but alas, our waiter wasn't paying attention and mistook butchi for bichu. 

Bichu ala Mode, Php 75.

I could have refused this bichu and demanded for my butchi, but since the waiter was very apologetic, I let it pass. I shared the ice cream with Yue, and had the bichu wrapped for take-away.  

Selca after our tummy-fill. :)

Despite the order mix-up and my issue with the corn sauce, I can't say the dining experience was bad. Mostly because the little man enjoyed his food at Hap Chan. Halfway through our meal, he was telling me that he'd like to eat at this restaurant again and try the other chicken dishes. Haha! Here's hoping there won't be an order mix-up next time we visit!

Hap Chan San Pablo

Ultimart Plaza, M. Paulino St.,

San Pablo City

(049) 572 3300

The Mind Museum Keeps the Wonderment of Science in Summer.

The Mind Museum may be known for having galleries with interactive science exhibits, but not many know that it is also a place that offers unique and fun summer learning activities that tickle the scientist in each child. From simulated crime solving activities, to a behind-the-scenes look on being the museum’s ‘Mind Movers’, to learning about the science behind soccer, The Mind Museum can keep your eyes and minds widening in wonder.

The Mind Museum’s Summer Programs
Known as the Philippines’ first world-class science museum, The Mind Museum continues to provide extraordinary learning and exploration to kids and kids-at-heart. This summer, The Mind Museum, with the help of JPMorgan Chase & Co., brought an array of activities that will make you appreciate and love learning even more.

In the Crime Scene Investigation 101 (CSI 101) program, young inquisitive minds were tasked by the museum’s Mind Movers to examine a crime scene and figure out what could have possibly happened by doing evidence gathering, fingerprinting, odontology and blood splatter analysis. Kids even presented their cases to a panel of investigators, and winning participants were given badges as their award. It was truly an exciting experience for them to try their hands at solving cases and on being crime scene investigators.

CSI 101; Shoe impressions as evidence.

The Mind Museum also partnered with the scientists of the California Academy of Sciences and offered a Marine Science Camp to young wonderers. Held in Aiyanar Beach and Dive Resort, Anilao Batangas, adventurers gained a deeper appreciation for marine biodiversity through interactive activities including a “wet” show & tell of critters & corals, outdoor survival training with tents, sleeping bags and coolers facilitated by Coleman, and stargazing at night with the museum’s resident astronomer. Highlight was the snorkeling activity in the resort’s well-preserved house reef, and identifying the different forms of marine life that they learned about from the scientists of the Academy.

Marine Science Camp outdoor challenge by Coleman.

Meanwhile, other budding science prodigies were given the chance to be like the museum’s resident scientists or ‘Mind Movers’. Through the Junior Mind Mover (JMM) program, participants learned about the story of the museum and its galleries, and even performed experiments in front of museum guests. Through the program, they got to explore different fields of sciences in interactive and creative ways.

Junior Mind Mover experiments.

For kids who both love sports and science, the Soccer Science Program was the perfect activity to enjoy. Held at The Mind Museum and BGC Turf, participants learned the physics behind this sport including the science of curve balls, soccer statistics and soccer anatomy to prevent injuries. This program, made possible with the help of the Fort Bonifacio Development Foundation, Uratex and Mitre, had participants from a select group of sponsored Taguig public school kids, and soccer enthusiasts from all over Metro Manila.

Soccer Science drills.

Unending Wonderment from The Mind Museum
Even if summer is over, they can still expect a lot more mind-blowing educational programs. Watch out for exciting science parties or ‘MindBurst’ events such as the Experiment Circus - travel into the past towards the future of Physics; or take part in the Halloween Special: Myth-busting and Ghost-busting and discover what is this spookiness behind “ghost-busting” activities. For more details about the museum and continuous flow of events, visit The Mind Museum website at www.themindmuseum.org.

Text2Teach to boost quality of education in Patikul, Sulu.

Classes have started for most schools in the Philippines, and beginning this school year, the Text2Teach program will be implemented in Patikul, Sulu. A third class municipality, Patikul is also one of the most remote island groups in the Philippines where student dropout rate has reached alarming proportions. This concern is one of the many that the Text2Teach program aims to address.

A collaboration between the private and public sectors composed of Globe Telecom, Ayala Foundation, Nokia, Pearson Foundation, Toshiba, the Department of Education, and the local government unit, the Text2Teach program is set to boost the quality of education in 15 elementary schools in Patikul, Sulu. The program also aims to boost teacher morale and enhance the learning environment in the classroom, with the end-goal of significantly lowering the drop-out rate and significantly increase the learning gains.

Text2Teach launching in Sulu.

Through Text2Teach, the alliance aims to address the lack of appeal of education by providing an abundant supply of teaching resources such as 360 educational video materials on English, Math, Science and Values Education downloaded via Nokia Education Delivery.

The videos which can be played in a 32" LCD TV donated by Toshiba provide a highly-effective visual aid for teachers and create an interactive, student-focused learning environment in the classroom which makes the students eager to attend school. It comes with lesson plans that are fully integrated into the basic education curriculum and created to meet local education guidelines and standards.

Photo credit: Text2Teach.

Meanwhile, Globe also provides pre-paid SIM cards, free P150 monthly load allowance for one year to each beneficiary-school to be used for helpdesk concerns, and an additional P1,000 load if there are new or updated materials to be downloaded using its network.

There are now about 1,054 Text2Teach schools nationwide with the alliance looking to increase count to 1407 schools by the end of the year.

Wordless Wednesday #85 | Last Hurrah for the Summer!

One last summer activity for the little man before he goes back to school next week!

Looking great in his uniform.

All smiles at the event!

Happy and proud Crew Member!

Showing off the cupcake that he decorated.

Photos from last Saturday's McDonald's Kiddie Crew Grand Graduation Day. :)

Spotlight | Human Heart Nature Mineral ColorShine Lip Gloss.

Whoa! It's June already?! I can't believe we're halfway through 2014. Summer break is over, and classes have officially begun for most schools throughout the country. My little man goes back to school next Monday (he's already in first grade, can you believe that?!), which means I still have a week left to finish all my blog backlogs before things get crazy around here, haha.

That being said, let me introduce you to Human Heart Nature's Mineral ColorShine Lip Gloss - the latest addition to their mineral makeup line. Launched during the Mammome Event two weeks ago, the Mineral ColorShine Lip Gloss is the ameliorated version of the brand's classic Mineral Lip Gloss.

Mineral ColorShine Lip Gloss.

I can see the improvement right away, in terms of packaging. The Mineral ColorShine Lip Gloss comes in a transparent tube that looks very classy and elegant. The packaging actually reminds me of Nars, Laura Mercier, and Chanel's lip glosses. 

Transparent tubes + black cap = elegant. 

They also made noticeable changes to the applicator. Gone are the heart-shaped applicators that are wiggly and quite difficult to put back in the tube. Enter the traditional doe-foot applicators that make the product easier to apply, and are easier to put back in the tube.

No harmful chemicals, cruelty-free.

But despite these changes, there are a few things that remain the same. Like all of Human Heart Nature's products, these lip glosses are made with all-natural ingredients, free of harmful chemicals, and are not tested on animals.

Moving forward, there are three shades to choose from in the Mineral ColorShine Lip Gloss line - Summer Sunrise, Candy Treat, and Sweet Heart. The shades are indicated on both the box flap and the lip gloss tube.

Shades indicated on the box flap.

Summer Sunrise is a milky peach shade.

Summer Sunrise.

Summer Sunrise when worn. It's quite sheer on me so I might just use this on top of my coral/peach lipsticks.

While Candy Treat is a sheer shade of pink.

Candy Treat.

Candy Treat when worn. This shade is actually buildable. :)

Finally there's Sweet Heart, a warm, velvety red.

Sweet Heart.

Sweet Heart when worn. This has to be my favorite shade among the three. :)

What I love:

- Elegant packaging.

- Easy to apply.

- Non-sticky, non-drying.

- Does not feel heavy on the lips.

- Has no funky scent.

- Leaves a cooling sensation on the lips.

- Decent staying power.

- Made with natural ingredients.

- Cruelty-free.

- Proudly Philippine-made.

- Affordable price. 

What you might not like:

- If you're planning to use Summer Sunrise and Candy Treat on its own, you may find the pigmentation a bit sheer. However, I don't really consider this a con on my part since I can use these shades as a lipstick topper instead. 

The Mineral ColorShine Lip Gloss is currently being sold at an introductory price of Php 275 each and can be bought online, through registered dealers, and at Human Heart Nature branches nationwide.