Basil Thai Restaurant

Basil
took this from my instagram

DH recently went on a business trip in Bangkok. I feel like it's been so long since I was there. It's been almost three (3) years already :( Thinking about it makes me miss the thai food badly :(

What a perfect timing! I just recently discovered a newly opened Thai restaurant here in Manila through MFO on her instagram. Her food posts looked so delish! So as soon as DH got back from his trip that weekend. We've decided to try it. Yey!!

Basil's facade

Lovely!

Thai decorative elements around the place
I like the oversized planter :)

I think we ordered too much for (technically) three persons. I got too excited when we're deciding which ones to order. Everything looked so delish!

Milky Thai ice tea! :)

Fresh Spring Roll!
 I love the basil and mint surprise in every bite :)

Tom Kai Bai Ma Soup
Chicken Creamy Soup with Young Tamarind Leaves
DH liked the milkiness and sourness of this soup and it's not spicy :)

Prawns wrapped in noodles
so so for us. nothing great and i think they served us re-cooked  :/

Beef satay!
One of my fave! tender and juicy :) I ate 4 sticks. lol

Phad Thai -- 2 thumbs up!
not your ordinary phad thai but this one is good!

Bagoong (shrimp paste) Rice -- YUMMY!
We love the crunchy fried dried shrimp with it :)

Mango Sticky Rice! YUM!
Lovely presentation :)

Overall Basil is a good authentic Thai restaurant. It's good to know that I don't have to fly to Bangkok to eat just to experience authentic Thai food. I highly recommend their Phad Thai, Bagoong Rice, Beef Satay and Mango Sticky Rice. We'll definitely go back there soon! Just looking at these photos makes me want to dine there now! ;) Oh DH....

Basil Thai Restaurant
Katipunan Avenue corner White Plains Avenue, QC (across White Plains Subd sign)
911-4158

Jackie's baby shower

Wow! It's almost four months since I last wrote in my blog. Where did the time go? :o

Juggling my daily chores, I was busy with a lot of things -- a wife, a mom to S, a daughter, an interior designer and an entrepreneur. Oh and also, I would like to share with you a wonderful great news! I'm soon to be mom again to our second child ;) I'm currently on my 18th week (we're truly blessed with this wonderful gift). No wonder time flies.lol ;)

A few months back, I was privileged and in the mood for organizing and decorating baby showers. In this post, let me share with you another baby shower of one of our dear friends, Jackie! This is her third child and she's having a baby boy so I thought everything should be in shades of blue.

My inspiration...

The invite...

I downloaded the Red Stamp diy card app from here using my iphone. what's great about it it's FREE! ;)  

Now let the fun begin...

the set up at the venue

The pom-poms are made of japanese lanterns and japanese papers. For the tutorial, you can check it here.
Here's a super easy DIY for the circle garlands.

cutout circles using round puncher in different sizes and sew them right away.
random distances between each circle for natural effect.

set up details
all frames I got them from National Bookstore. Decorative prints and cutouts are made by yours truly :)

The menu...

blue velvet cupcakes are from Dolcelli's Cakes while the macaroons are from Aubergine (special order by Jackie)
appetizer, main course and other dessert are from Nomama

Jackie's Family...

clockwise Jackie, Kiko, Barnaby and Yammy :)

Game and Gift Giving...

everyone was so into the Bingo game!! the bingo cards are made by yours truly ;)

Jackie gave birth last March 29, 2012 weighing 7.6 lbs. I'm not sure who guessed the right birthing date. But i'm sure they'll get a nice prize :)

Meet my very adorable godson, baby Xiandrei! Welcome to the world ;)

hugs and kisses! ;)
photo c/o Jackie

I would like to thank Jeremy for helping me organize this event and for the photos (mostly i got from her). Thanks thanks, Je! Hugs :)

Va Bene!

DH and I love to try out new restos (new to us) every now and then. Our latest food venture was at Va Bene Pasta Deli! We've been hearing good reviews about this Italian resto at Petron station from our friends. Since we're in the vicinity, might as well we go for it. The place was packed and there was queue outside but it wasn't so bad.

This was served as their complementary appetizer...

Freshly made!

Excellent!!
Mushrooms Soup (mixed mushrooms) with truffle oil

Buffalo Mozzarella Salad

I asked my good friend, Lanee, who's a regular there for recommendation. She said her fave was the Black Ink Homemade Spaghetti with seafood marinara.

Now I know why! This is to die for!
I must say it was truly one of the best tasting pasta I've ever had ;)

We also tried the Organic Eggs Tagliolini with Portobello mushrooms, white wine cream sauce, and truffle oil.

This was good too! The sauce was almost similar with their mushrooms soup...

DH tried their cappuccino...

I'm not a coffee drinker but this is tempting ;p

The chef/owner gave us a free dessert cause we were so persistent. We can't believe all the desserts we ordered were done.

Homemade Profiteroles 

I was really sad that I wasn't able to try their Panna Cotta and Strawberries a la Milena that night. Oh well til our next date at Va Bene! Can't wait, DH ;P

I loved their homemade pasta that we ordered for take home.
Here are the pasta dishes I made for DS and DH :)

French Beans and Japanese Mushroom with mushroom sauce

Black Ink Homemade Pasta with Shrimp and Creamy White Sauce

Plus I love the title of the cookbook from their shelves ;)

Wish I can take this with me. lol

Va Bene Pasta Deli
2/L Petron Gas Station, EDSA corner Pasay Road
(in front of Dusit Thani Hotel or beside Dasmarinas Village Gate),
Makati City
556-9442

1st birthday bash for YSO!

We started planning DS' first birthday party when he was just in his 4th month.

April 24, 2011
1st family getaway at Sofitel Hotel

DH and I thought it would be nice if we made it something different. Different in the sense that both children and adults would enjoy the party.

Since DS is fond of "Sophie the giraffe" at that time, we decided that the theme would be animal related -- SAFARI!

Let the party planning begin!

When it comes to details, I believe i'm the OC-est of all.

The venue...
Thanks to my youngest sister, who used to work there as their pastry chef, we were able to get good deals and great service from them.

Restaurant 101 at Enderun Colleges

The invite...
I like personalized and unique invites. My inspiration this time was the travel passport.

aren't these the cutest?!?
everything is all handmade by yours truly ;)

embossed invite cover for passport resemblance
love the idea that the covers used are recycled from our excess wedding invites :)

LOVE! gold owl sticker for the finishing touch
martha stewart's craft punch and gold sticker foil

The decor...

Atrium Entrance
Backdrop from Raissa Alger of Party Network
Amazing photos by Reality Box

Stage backdrop from Party Network

Pompoms and animal cutouts made by yours truly :)
36" latex balloons from Party Network

fresh fruits and banana leaf for the centerpiece
giant buko from buko lito

The cakes...

safari theme 2-tier red velvet cake by Party Cakes & Sugarcraft by Denize
red velvet cupcakes by my youngest sister, Maegan
cupcake toppers by yours truly :)

The safari attire...

Hard to find nice printed polo so we had it custom-made. I got mine from zara. 

The host...

Jiggles the Balloon Lady

The photobooth...

by Baicapture

Games and shows...

FUN FUN FUN!!!
Even Gwakong & Cesar were having fun! They're trying to blow the balloon like the balloon lady ;P

Bird and Reptile Show by Dr. Bernardo
Booked them through Party Network

The balloon show was fascinating!

The food carts...

pika-pika table
banana-q fries, animal crackers, red velvet cupcakes, buko lito's fresh buko juice and fresh buko shake

clockwise: beard papa's fresh cream puffs, merry moo artisan ice cream & mang pedro's taho

The buffet...

looking at these photos makes me hungry!! ;o
photos by Reality Box

The prizes...

bought at 168 mall
amazing photos by Reality Box

The loot bag...

clockwise: personalized bag tag, custom-made doggie back pack, water tumbler, animal bath gel & pencil case set

I must admit - planning a party is not that easy, especially when you're someone who's very meticulous down to the finest details. But I had FUN doing it!

All of these won't be possible without the 101% support of my one and only client who approves all of these -- my DH. Thank you, B! ;-)

Suppliers contact details:

*Restaurant 101
Karen Dupalco : 0917-8626533

*Party Network
Raissa Alger : 0918-9123274

*Buko Lito
Raisa : qqcbi@yahoo.com

*Merry Moo
Kelvin Ngo : 0917-5289590

*Mang Pedro's Taho
Sharon : 0922-8875810

*Aether Printing (personalized bag tag)
346-0080 | 708-4421

*Photos by Reality Box
Jeri Ahana : 0917-8545374

*Baicapture Photobooth
Jak : 0917-8870055 | 822-4227