Tag: review

Attack on Titan: Season 1, one of the best anime I watched so far

Attack on Titan is one of the recent anime series that I watched. I loved it! It was really refreshing for me because I had not watched any action-packed anime for a long time.

Update: We found a trailer for season 2 of Attack on Titan! Ugh, I can’t wait!

If you haven’t watched season 1 though, I suggest you watch all season 1 anime episodes first before watching the season 2 trailer. 🙂

Most of the anime series I watched prior to Attack on Titan were “slice of life” type with comedy and romance, the kind of anime that relieved my daily stress. The kind of anime that didn’t make me think a lot. Attack on Titan aroused my curiosity about many things in the anime series.

Then I realized that these anime series that I’ve been watching had began to bore me. So I opened the folder where my boyfriend transferred several anime series videos into. I chose to watch Shingeki no Kyojin, or “Attack on Titan” in English. I was told that this anime could get really addictive at around episode 15 when things get really interesting.

Titan drawing by Catzie

Just sharing a titan that I drew:

Attack on Titan drawing by Catzie. Quickly drawn on a sketch pad using a gel pen, and then edited in Photoshop to adjust brightness and contrast, and then filled the hair with translucent black.

Here’s a raw version of the drawing:

Attack on Titan drawing by Catzie, raw.

This might have been my first time drawing a male character, especially one that looks like a monster. Over 10 years ago, I was so addicted to drawing and most of what I drew were pretty anime girls. I didn’t feel like drawing male anime characters. Until now. xD I guess people always change.

Something to think about from Attack on Titan

“People who can’t throw something important away can never hope to change anything.” – Armin Arlert

The quote above is something that Armin Arlert said in one of the last episodes of Attach on Titan. This somehow inspires me, being someone who desires many changes in life.

What I liked about Attack on Titan

The 3D Maneuver Gears are so cool! I hope there’s a theme park or studio that features 3D Maneuver Gears that fans can try on. That would be a great experience, right? It would also be really great if there were titans you can control from the back of the neck — you’ll get what I mean when you watch the anime. 😉

If you watch the anime, you would see how hard humanity struggle to regain freedom from their predators – the titans. You’d see how much the characters had to sacrifice for their goals. And this brings back that quote from Armin in my head: People who can’t throw something important away can never hope to change anything.

In a certain scene with that female titan, when they were about to find out the identity… oh dear, I can’t remember any anime with a scene that made my heart beat that fast! Kudos to the production team of Attack on Titan anime. :3

I liked how strong Eren’s will is. He sometimes seems to become really scary when he says he’ll exterminate the titans, but I can relate to him. After all, the titans have taken away so many lives around him, including that of his beloved mother.

Mikasa who’s always there for Eren is another character that I liked. I admire how she’s devoted to Eren who she calls her “family”, well, her last remaining family. She’s also a very skilled soldier — I like it when a girl is tough. Sometimes I feel bad for her when Eren kind of turns away from her. I hope they end up together someday. Tee-hee.

I can’t say I like Armin as much as I like Eren and Mikasa, but I do admire the way he thinks. His body may not be strong, but his mind is. Armin helped the military survive many times, thanks to his brilliant mind.

The character development on Jean Kirstein. It was nice how the anime showed us his internal struggle.

What I hope for in Attack on Titan season 2

Like I said, I hope Mikasa and Eren end up together. :3

I hope to find out more about Eren’s dad. Where the heck is he all this time? Is he involved with titans? Is he actually a villain?

I want to find out exactly how the titans came into the earth. How do they reproduce?

Attach on Titan is getting season 2 in 2016! This gives me 3 very exciting things to wait for in 2016: Attack on Titans season 2, the next season of Game of Thrones, and someone I’m hoping to come home from Japan! 😀

Attack on Titan movie trailer

Every person I talk about the live action movie of Attack on Titan with, says that it’s a horrible one! A friend said that the story deviated from what was in the anime.

I checked the trailer, and I didn’t like the way things looked. The setup didn’t look realistic to me. All I liked were the acting of Hanji (going nuts as usual), as well as how cool the titan on my drawing looked even in the movie. 🙂

See for yourself:

October 3, 2015
Duncan Hines red velvet cake mix review and my red velvet cake adventure

Say Aaaah!~

Say Aaaah!~

Taste this soft, moist red velvet cake. It’s made from the Duncan Hines red velvet cake mix.

I liked this product, but I won’t use it regularly because I like making cakes from scratch. The cake was also a bit too fluffy compared to all red velvet cakes I tried before. Still, my first experience in using a boxed cake mix is reason enough to write this Duncan Hines red velvet cake mix review.
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September 24, 2015
Subic Park Hotel review, taxi rates, and places to visit in Subic

In August, a companion and I wanted to get away from the city during a long weekend. We didn’t want to go somewhere too far from Manila, and were looking for just a little adventure in the trip.

Because of that, we decided to go to Subic Bay Freeport Zone. 🙂 I’m going to include a Subic Park Hotel review in this blog entry, as well as a list of places that we visited in Subic. It was a fun, unforgettable Subic trip to me. Mostly because of Zoobic Safari and Xtremely Xpresso Cafe.

Without a car, we either walked (we like walking!) or took a cab (all rates are fixed per destination). Places we visited were Zoobic Safari, Xtremely Xpresso Cafe, Meat Plus Cafe, Freeport Exchange, Duty-Free Puregold, an S&R Pizza place with no membership required, and the beach somewhere behind Subic Park Hotel which didn’t seem good for swimming or dipping.

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September 17, 2015
Kumori: Japanese baked goods review

Blueberry Brioche and Hanjuku Cheese (Original) were two items that I first tried at Kumori. There’s a Kumori store in the lower ground floor of Landmark Makati, and if you want to try some heavenly spongy-but-melt-in-your-mouth cheesecakes, you know where to go. 😉

A couple of months later, I also tried Kumori’s “Tofu Cheese”.

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August 19, 2015
Melliza Cakes and Pastries: review

When I go to Robinson’s Place Manila, I often buy a red velvet cupcake or two from the stall of Portobello Bakery. Their red velvet cupcakes are moist and have that nice “chew” to it, and the cream cheese frosting’s tang and sweet level are just right. But then I found out that the stall was no longer there.

Still wanting to take home any dessert, I decided to try a slice of something from Melliza Cakes and Pastries, also known as Cheesecake Melliza.

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August 12, 2015
Yamazaki, Little Tokyo (Makati) – review

Friends and I wanted to catch up over dinner after work. Most of us were Japanese food fans, and we decided to eat at Yamazaki in Little Tokyo.

I would definitely come back again for their delicious fried gyoza and would try the Yamazaki ramen, hoping there will be someone to share a bowl of it with. 😀

Yamazaki Ramen

Three of my friends ordered the Yamazaki Ramen. They were all surprised by the huge bowl of ramen. I told them, maybe the bowl is just full of soup but not so much noodles in it. But I was wrong. They’re boys (I think it’s usual for men to be able to eat more than women), but the bowls of ramen were still too much for them.

So, I would recommend that you split Yamazaki Ramen into two bowls if you’re not a heavy eater. That’s 218 pesos for a huge bowl of Yamazaki Ramen.

Steamed Gyoza

Gyoza is a dumpling filled with vegetables and ground meat.

I had a heavy lunch that day so I wanted something light for dinner, and gyoza was what I thought would fit the bill.

First bite and I was like, Saraaap!!! The exterior had a crunch to it, as the bottom of this dumpling was fried, and the interior was moist and very flavorful. I think that the gyoza at Yamazaki is perfect! 😀

Yasai Itame (Vegetable Stir-Fry)

Aside from the “perfect” gyoza, I also ordered yasai itame to complement my meal.

The yasai itame was very tasty and had that “grilled meat” flavor. Try it as a side dish! One plate of Yamazaki’s yasai itame is 106 pesos and can be served as side dish for about 4 people.

Update: more Yamazaki food items

This page shall be updated whenever I try something new at Yamazaki. 🙂

Fried Gyoza

The gyoza in the above photo is the “fried gyoza”. I thought that the gyoza I previously had was the fried one. Well, only the bottom part was actually fried and the waitress called that kind “steam fried gyoza”. I liked the steamed one better, since it’s juicier and tastier.

Chicken Karaage set meal

And the set meal you see above is Yamazaki’s chicken karaage set meal. The karaage set meal included picked vegetable, meat stew with potatoes and carrots, miso soup, a generous bowl of rice, and on the karaage plate there was shredded cabbage, spaghetti with mayo, tomato, and garnish of parsley.

You might be wondering what the spaghetti with mayo is. Imagine macaroni salad that uses spaghetti instead of macaroni. 🙂 I think it tastes fine but some of the friends I brought along at Yamazaki didn’t like it.

The shredded cabbage didn’t have mayonnaise or any dressing! We asked for mayo for the cabbage, but the waitress said there’s additional charge of 25 pesos, and that the dressing provided for it was the tonkatsu sauce. Meh.

However, the chicken karaage was delicious! I had boneless chicken on my plate that were very tasty and juicy. Yamazaki’s chicken karaage is perfect for me. 🙂

Menu from Yamazaki Little Tokyo

Not the best quality for a food menu’s photo. If I ever take a better shot, I’ll update the photos here.

Yamazaki, Little Tokyo, Makati – Contact

Yamazaki Address: 2277 Fernando St. cor. Pasong Tamo Street, Makati City, 1231, Metro Manila, Philippines

Yamazaki Phone Number: 02 8932163

August 11, 2015
Conti’s Desserts: a review by a dessert-eating monster

I love desserts. Dessert is usually the best part of meal for me, if not the best part of the day. 😋

Being a desserts lover, I like visiting Conti’s Bakeshop and Restaurant occasionally because they sell a variety of interesting desserts. They have turtle pie, cheesecakes, and one of their most popular cake: mango bravo.

In this blog entry, I shall take the time to describe the desserts, especially cakes, that I tried and will try at Conti’s. 🙂 And hey, if you love mint chocolate desserts, you may want to read my post about Mint Chocolate Desserts in Manila.

Turtle Pie

The dessert in the photo above is Conti’s Turtle Pie. Based on a chocolate crust, it has a layer of salted caramel cream mousse under a well-chilled chocolate mousse. At first, I thought it was chocolate ice cream until a friend pointed out. 🙂 A generous amount of walnut chunks tops this dessert. There’s also whipped cream piped on the edge. I think the whipped cream they use on turtle pies is non-dairy. Each slice is 115 pesos.

Salted Caramel Cake

This one’s the Salted Caramel Cake from Conti’s that I ordered in August 2015. It’s a very light dessert, with plain chiffon cake layers frosted with light whipped cream (not sure if dairy). The bottom layer is darker than the others, and I think it might be butter cake instead of chiffon cake. Maybe they needed a sturdy base for the cake. On the top of the cake is salted caramel, which I don’t really remember as salty. I think the caramel at the bottom of their turtle pie is actually saltier than the one on their salted caramel cake. If you want a cake that won’t fill you up, go for this salted caramel cake at Conti’s. 🙂 It’s 95 pesos per slice.

Yummm!

Peach Walnut Torte

Here’s Peach Walnut Torte, with a delicious thick meringue-like crust where the walnuts are mixed in. It has a thick layer of cream above that, and of course – peaches! The crust made this an interesting dessert to me. Only 95 pesos per slice.

More to come! 😉

August 10, 2015
Hatsu Hana Tei: perfect for heavy authentic Japanese meal in Makati

Hungry and craving for Japanese food? A heavy meal of Japanese food is waiting for you at Hatsu Hana Tei. It’s at the second floor of Herald Suites in Chino Roces Avenue, Makati City.

Japanese foods weren’t my favorite… until now. 🙂 Just this year I found myself craving for more and more Japanese food. I’m lucky to be working near Family Mart stores (tonkatsu maki, futo maki, california maki, onigiri, noodles, etc) and Little Tokyo (authentic Japanese restaurants).

Last week, I told my friends at the office that I wanted us to eat lunch at Tokyo Tokyo. Friend “G” was up for the idea, but friend “C” told me he’s sick of foods at Tokyo Tokyo and wanted to eat ramen elsewhere. “G” said that the ramen place that “C” was suggesting was too expensive, and so she suggested Hatsu Hana Tei at CHino Roces Avenue, just in front of Little Tokyo, because food there is sulit (great value for money). About 300 pesos could get us a set meal with a generous serving.

And she was right. Even the one-bowl rice meals were too much even for our male friends to handle. 😉
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July 9, 2015
The Food Club review (Pasay) – had diarrhea and they are without accountability

This is a The Food Club review. It’s gonna be a quick one because I will only feel worse if I take long in writing this.

Me and my friends are not coming back to The Food Club again because of bad experiences.

We had buffet at The Food Club on a Monday, and 5 out of 6 people in our group had diarrhea. Our symptoms began 1 to 2 days after eating at The Food Club.
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January 20, 2015
Wensha Spa, Timog Branch – a review

Yesterday, I went to Wensha Spa with my family and friends. You know, just to wind down. I’ve been to massage spas like Mont Albo Massage Hut and Nuat Thai, but never to a spa like Wensha where there’s jacuzzi and sauna. I also wanted to have buffet meals, so I was really excited to go.

I am a pessimistic person, and yesterday was just one of the times when I regret being a little too positive and excited about things. Wensha Spa Timog was not that enjoyable at all, for the price of 780 pesos, which is not cheap for me.

Too bad the Pasay branch is under renovation. That’s our original destination.
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August 4, 2014