So there’s a huge wave of online deal websites. I honestly don’t know where to surf or look anymore. It’s tough to develop loyalty to one website when all of them offer a huge variety of options. After a while, they all look the same. Plus they all offer the same types of deals. However here are a few that I pay attention to:
1) DEAL GROCER
I like this one because of the quality of the deals they offer. They offer premiere travel deals and other high-end offers. I feel like they’re the first to have the getaway packages. They also have an amazingly clean, easy to browse site which is easy on the eyes and makes all the difference when you’re surfing. They have new stuff on a weekly basis and the prices are usually in the thousands. But then, we’re talking about really high-end fancy stuff that you can get for a reasonable amount.
CCP is great for every sort of deal imaginable, fashion, wellness, food, etc. They have new stuff often, almost on a daily basis. Each deal is mostly under P1000 so it’s easy to deal-shop on this site. It’s gotten a little cluttered over the last couple of months as the site has expanded. They used to have a deal a day but now it’s like.. 10 deals a day. This is cool but I also have trouble keeping track.
3) PAKYAW!
The owners of this site are the Magsaysay group. So I’m optimistic for its potential. So far it’s in Beta phase and the updates aren’t that frequent. However, they are different and quality. Previously, they had deals for Cibo, Momo Cafe and other restaurants that we all know and love. I hope they have these again. They also make an effort to offer unique experiences such as a Cultural Tour and Auto Tyres. This, as opposed to the usual — cheap massage, facial, fast food, etc. which they have also I think but not as often.
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Below are different from the above 3 because this requires a minimum number of coupons sold for the deal to be “on”
5) BUYANIHAN
These two pretty much offer the usual variety of deals consisting mainly of beauty/wellness (spas, beauty products), travel (vacation packages) and food.
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Other Noteworthy sites: (will update if I discover other good ones)
DEAL DOZEN – www.dealdozen.com
ENSOGO – www.ensogo.com.ph
BEWARE!!! Once you get into the habit of surfing these sites, you will also become highly prone to impulse buy stuff you won’t really use or you’ll potentially forget about. Consider everything carefully before you purchase. Otherwise, you’ll end up with a bunch of expired vouchers (and less money in the bank). When you buy it, make every effort to use it.
But not in the way you think.
I’ve always had an interest in photography. Took it one step further and signed up for one-on-one lessons with Mylene Chung at The Living Room Photography Studio along P.Guevarra. It’s an amazing place and words cannot describe what a great teacher she is. She’s mastered everything there is about the camera and is a pro at patiently breaking down in layman’s terms what it all means. Love the way that their studio feels like home. I had such a great time. I hope that they offer more classes so I have a reason to go back.
Today I had my last photography session. It was more like a refresher on all different settings, lenses and camera maintenance. So excited and inspired to shoot. Problem is, I’m having difficulty finding interesting places and subjects to photograph. Metro Manila doesn’t feel all that exciting. Any suggestions?
Are you interesting? May I shoot you?
Omg it’s heaven. P20 pesos is a small price to pay for this amazing treat. It’s an XL Barquillo filled with chocolate softserve (sorbetes) and garnished with candy sprinkles. It. is. Awesome!!! I found this stand in Greenhills’ tiangge, it’s right in the middle where all the food stalls are. I wonder if I can get them to deliver.
“FINALLY Chicken & Waffles in Manila!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” <3 <3 <3
My exact words as Brother and I saw a stand for Chicken & Waffles in Robinson’s Galleria. I really love these two things together (crunchy salty chicken and crisp but still soft sweet waffle) I only get them when I’m in the States. Recently, I had it at the famed Roscoe’s Chicken & Waffles in LA so it’s a tough act to follow for Smiley’s. Based on our visit, Smiley’s definitely has a looong way to go before it can live up to this soul food dish. Read on.. I’ll explain..
We were SUPER full from our merienda at Pancake House (coincidence) but brother loves chicken and I love waffles so we had to try. Here he is interviewing the saleslady about menu items.
We ordered a Smiley’s Meal. 1 Waffle, 2pcs chicken wings for P99.
Chicken and Waffles is traditionally served with just fried chicken and a plain waffle. So we didn’t opt for any flavors for the waffle. We just got BBQ for the chicken wing.
They have other Menu Items as well.. here is a photo of their available waffles and toppings, they get really creative. some of these seem really delicious. You can make your own too.
You can pretty much customize everything from your waffles (flavors, toppings and syrups) to your chicken (flavors – BBQ, teriyaki, etc). If you’re not sure, definitely don’t get a flavored waffle with toppings with your chicken. Go with the classic. Just in case you don’t like the topping/syrup combination.
Waffle creation!
Step 1: Scoop Batter.
Step2: Instant Waffle!
Here is the Meal (and the verdict below, read on…):
1) Chicken (BBQ Flavor): It’s okay. Tastewise the bbq sauce was okay. The wings had this weird spicy taste, maybe as a result of too much pepper? I don’t know.
They give you really small pieces of chicken. There’s barely any meat on there, I don’t know if that’s just the pieces we got. They give you 2 pieces of chicken but in reality it’s only 1 chicken wing. Because 1 wing = the wing part and the little drumstick.
Example below: (below are NOT Smiley’s products they are just examples of a chicken wing)
This is ONE WING. This is still ONE WING split into two pieces.
Therefore, Smiley’s only gave us one chicken wing, but I understand that to some this is acceptable as two pieces of wings. However, they should’ve said 2 pieces of chicken. That’s more accurate, I would think.
2) Waffle (plain w/ maple syrup) : This needs a lot of improvement. The taste is good but the texture is off. It’s kinda pasty, mushy and very much like a thick pancake. I like my waffles a perfect combination of soft in the middle and a little crisp on the edges. Waffles almost need to be more solid otherwise they’ll turn to mush. This waffle was basically a pancake that looked like a waffle.
It’s a hearty waffle, we thought it was a good portion in size and thickness. However, it’s hard to eat too much of it anyway cuz of the density. So maybe that’s why it’s just the right size.
I can’t imagine what this waffle would be like with toppings. If you throw all the syrup or sauce on there, wouldn’t it get really soggy? It’s already soggy to begin with and I worry it’ll get lost under the toppings. I’ll test out my theory next time.
*On a positive note… I’m extremely optimistic for this Smiley’s. I like Chicken & Waffles so much that I’m likely to give it another shot. We will probably try more wing flavors and waffles with toppings (but separately as I don’t know how these would mix). This place just opened and is the first in the Philippines(correct me if i’m wrong) to really pay homage to the Chicken & Waffles dish so I hope that over time they get the taste and texture right.
Smiley’s Wings & Waffles
2nd floor, 50th Avenue Area
Robinson’s Galleria, Ortigas
Dear Jejemonsters: NO.
e0wz p0whsz, mztah n p0whz u,,,?
While it looks like a bunch of letters that make no sense, believe it or not, this is actually a method of communication some people use. I don’t know who they’re communicating to, probably other lesser life forms. Okay that was mean, but whatever.
I HATE IT. I hate jejemons. I hate jejespeak. I hate jejetexting. I HATE IT.
How can a guy (or girl) cute and yet text so jejemon? How can they speak so intelligently and yet text like a jejemonster? The reality is, you could be the smartest person on earth but when you text jejemon, it is hard to take you seriously. Intellect does not carry well through jejespeak.
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I have a theory on how this started. Text-shortcuts came about as a necessary way to squeeze as much as you can into the SMS 160-character format. The more your fit, the more bang you get for your P1. Fine. I understand and even practice basic shortcuts (you = u, okay = k, text = txt, etc) However it no longer makes sense when the “shortcuts” consume more characters than the real words themselves…
For example:
Also it makes no sense when you short-cut with the intent to conserve characters but instead do this…
For example:
Other jeje words I dislike
I could go on for ages. It’s atrocious.
But I digress. Back to the jeje people who like to text me.. please make an effort to communicate properly. Now I’m not even just referring to the romantic texters. Even those that advertise stuff (vsit r shop hir 4 new tings!), sell items (c0nd0 unit @ d fort prselng), solicit help (phrm nmn p0wzh aq ng pera,,,)… LEARN TO SPELL. I will not entrust you with my time, lovelife or money if you communicate like a caveman.
The end.
PS. I hate you jejemons. = Bwset kyu mga j3j3m0nz! jejejeje