Ladies, let’s go paint the town red!

By: emelieempire on Saturday, March 24, 2018 | 0


Who run the world? GIRLS!

It is International Women’s month once again! And with that, I intend this post to be a little extra special as this tackles about women. Yup, I am one of them and so are your sister, mother, grandmother, aunts and even some of your neighbors.

The role of women personally and professionally all over the world is growing by leaps and bounds. Corporations, countries and most people are showing and recognizing values that women encompass. I am a firm believer of women’s power. I have a strong faith that we, women, have so much potential within us that we should be proud of.

To impart a short personal tale, I was a small, poor, province girl who had no idea what I would want to be when I grew up. I thought my life was meant to be calm, plain and peaceful just like my mother and the rest of the women in my village who did household chores and took good care of the family. I never knew I had so much in me until I uncovered them one by one. Thanks to the people and opportunities that helped me mold who I am today.

It is always a good story to tell about how someone who started zero from the ground, rose into something better anyone could have imagined - even myself. Helping the people that matters to me and improving myself are such a great relief when I think about it. I know I am still young and very courageous. Countless of adventures are out there waiting to be ventured and I am excited for it. My life right now is still what I sought - calm, plain and peaceful but with an added twists, unimaginable opportunities and bounty of happy moments in between.

At my early age right now, I can say that these four characteristics have personally helped me. I share this to some of my friends when we have serious conversation. I am glad to be writing it here as well.
Let us make sure to lead each of our step towards goodness and success. Let us be more valuable out there.

1.  Be versatile
This means our flexibility to being able to adapt to many different situations. This is a thing we should never neglect. Equipping ourselves with skills and knowledge in many areas will mold us into an in-demand well-rounded individual. Who wouldn’t want that? We all have the time needed for this. How about if we push this through? *wink*

2. Be hungry for knowledge
Curiosity is one of the key things that keep our lives full of adventures. Just because we are considered an expert in our field, doesn’t mean we don’t need to learn anything more. Learning new things will only make us more successful. As they say, “Get out of your comfort zone and you’ll be amazed at what you learn.”

3. Be hurt and move on
Human as we are, we are bound to get hurt. It’s one of the most effective teachers we can have in our life. We need to accept that we won't always make the right decisions, that we will screw up totally bigtime sometimes, that we can say unimpressive statements and many more negative things. The key there is to learn from our mistakes, make an effort to correct them and then be better next time.

4. Be the best version you can be
Each day is a new opportunity to grow. Each day we can be better than yesterday.
We hear it all time; “Do your best!” “Be the best you can be” “Be confident”. In a world where standards are raising, everything is more complex and more competitive, if we’re not doing our best – it feels like we will be left behind. Surround yourself with great people you feel you have connection with. Be open to new learnings – own it, learn, push and stay excited.

You go girl!

By the way, if you want to meet like-minded professional women here in Cebu, we at Google Developers Group Cebu, are organizing an event called Women Techmaker Cebu (WTM). It will be held on April 7, 2018 at The Company Cebu in Mandaue City. WTM will feature talks from women in technology across various fields, networking opportunities, and more--all geared towards increasing visibility, community, and resources for women in technology. I will be there and together with me are awesome women with careers in technology. See you there!

Cafe Breeze Merienda Buffet

By: emelieempire on Sunday, March 11, 2018 | 0


SNACKS BUFFET ALERT!
Filipinos have variety of foods to choose from. It is said that Filipino cuisine is composed of 135 distinct ethno-linguistic tribes found within the Philippine archipelago.  Our food ranges from the very simple meal, like fried salted fish and rice, to the complex paellas and afritada prepared for fiestas that we acquired from Spaniards. The mixture of taste and texture make them special. Most foods are simple to cook yet taste of heaven when served and chewed.
We also have “ kakanin ” or known as Filipino native snacks. These foods are usually made with cassava, coconut milk, flour, rice, salt and sugar or a mixture of any of these. Kakanin are usually served during special celebrations like anniversary, birthday, Christmas, fiesta or just even when enjoying a great afternoon. These delicious and mouth-watering treats are also always welcome on the dining table whatever time of the day. Almost each of these symbolizes the sweetness and closeness of most Filipino family and friends. I also grew up loving them.
In this post, I will share some yummy kakanin choices served in Cafe Breeze that I liked personally. This restaurant offers Filipino snack buffet for only 199 pesos from 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM daily. Affordable, I know. :P
It is located at Cebu Bayfront Hotel’s lobby just in front of SM City Cebu. The staff is very friendly. I got an invitation to try their food and taste it for mysel.
1. Puto and Sikwate
This is a Filipino version of rice cake paired with hot-chocolate drink derived from dried powdered cacao bean.
2. Arroz Caldo and Binignit
Arroz Caldo is a hearty Filipino congee made with chicken and rice then seasoned with onion, garlic, ginger, fish sauce with crunchy fried garlic as topings. The result is a quick comforting bowl that is a perfect meal for cold environment.
Benignit is a traditional food made by Visayans with slices of bananas, colorful pearls, rice and sweet potatoes. It is also cold as " hot halo-halo ".
3. Palitaw
This is a Philippine dessert and snack made with simple rice flour dough that is boiled and then coated in coconut and sesame seeds.
4. Puto Cheese and Bibingka
Puto Cheese looks like a fluffy white muffin made from rice, water, and sugar that is stone-grinded to make the batter. This is served to be paired with savory dishes like the famous dinuguan (also called pork blood stew). 
Bibingka is another type of rice cake that is usually eaten during breakfast especially during the Christmas season. It is traditionally cooked in clay pots lined with leaves.
5. Coconut Cupcakes 
These are muffins made out of coconut fruit.
6. Kutsinta
This is a type of steamed rice cake that is made from a mixture of rice flour, brown sugar and lye, enhanced with yellow food coloring or annatto extract, and steamed in small, cute ramekins.
7. Biko
This is a sweet rice cake that is made of coconut milk, brown sugar, and glutinous rice. It is usually topped with latik (either or both the coconut curds or the syrupy caramel-like variant).
8. Camote cue
This is a sweet potato fritter and is a popular snack food. Slices of sweet potato are coated with brown sugar and then fried to cook the potatoes and to caramelize the sugar.
9. Banana cue
This is made with deep fried bananas coated in caramelized brown sugar.


How about you, what food do you want to try from this list?



FLAME IT! Burgers and Sausages

By: emelieempire on Saturday, March 3, 2018 | 0



A Flaming Start

Proudly homegrown in Cebu, Flame It! was founded in 2002 by three sisters with a love for the quality gourmet grilled burgers and a dream of a socially-responsible business. It was this passion for good burgers and spirit of the entrepreneurship that brought Flame It! to life.

Never one to compromise on ingredients, Flame It! believes in using only the freshest and best quality ingredients. A better and healthier alternative to the greasy fast food offerings, Flame It! has grilled its way to the hearts and bellies of the Cebuanos with three stores around the city and counting. From a tiny restaurant in Escario that could only accommodate 15 customers at a time, the store went to open more high-profiled stores in the city’s biggest malls. You will always find a showcase kitchen that reveals every step of the grilling process until the food is served to your table. This unique feature assures every customer freshness and sanitation as well as entertainment in seeing open flame grilling within the stores. In December 2002, the first mall store opened in no less than Ayala Center Cebu. Years later in February 2007, Flame It! launched their second mall branch at SM City Cebu. After almost a decade of concentrating on mall operations, the owners decided to revive the concept of a stand-alone independent restaurant. So on February 14, 2014, they opened in Juan Kuna, Mabolo was born.
With more and more foodies searching for a hassle-free, convenient and accessible dining option, Flame It! continues to expand in key locations around Cebu City with a bigger and bolder design featuring Cebu and its people while still serving the best flame-grilled, hand crafted burgers in town.

Flame It! burgers is owned and operated by Cebu EIV Ventures Corporation.

FLAME IT! Pop-up Kombi Store

This restaurant has recently launched a new store. This store however has no permanent address. Flame It! took inspiration from the popularity of the food truck concept and gave it a vintage twist.
Introducing Flame It! Pop-up Kombi, this mobile store has been drawing attention from the general public of Cebu. It is the first Kombi mobile store in Cebu that is actually running and drivable anywhere. It makes use of restored 1976 Volkswagen Kombi van using all original engine, accessories and mechanism. The vintage feel and look brings you back to the age of peace, love and rock ‘n roll.

The kombi van brings together all generations. Those who feel nostalgic of the good old days, the millennials who find fascination in anything vintage, and those in between who just have plain curiosity but everyone having one thing in common... sharing real flame grille burgers freshly prepared right before their eyes.

Visit their Facebook page at facebook.com/flameitbugers and their Instagram page @flameitburgers to see the entire rave about Pop-up Kombi store.