Simple Bundles of Joy

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The Week in Review

I can’t believe it! It’s already May! 4 months have gone in 2013. I’ve been hustling and bustling month after month which explains the lack of more frequent posts. I still haven’t written about our Japan trip and here comes our Mediterranean Cruise trip which I still have to blog about. Anyhow, it’s 935PM now and I’m still on the road on my way home. Thank God for my Smart Mobile Wifi stick. Thought I’d do a picture dump of what I’ve been doing since May 1.

1. Kindermusik Festival
I’ve enrolled Warren in Kindermusik to hopefully encourage him to start talking but more so that he gets to interact with other kids also. Its been great so far. Teacher Jeannie and company have been so hands-on with each kid. Last May 1, they did a big celebration for all their students. The event was held at The Glass Garden. We participated as a group for Prulife and also participated as an attendee with Warren.

2. Baba’s Birthday
Last weekend, we attended Baba’s birthday party. It was the kiddo’s first time to eat Chicken Joy.

3. Wildflour Cafe
Have tried taking out their pastries but haven’t really eaten at this Cafe. Found that their Podium branch just opened and we decided to give it a try. Loved their Bacon Torte (Pizza with pastry crust). Their Parmesan churros was interesting.

4. The Shanghai Sharks
Yao Ming’s team was in Manila and played The Smart Gilas and The PBA All Star Team. We got to watch the PBA All Star game live. Since the Sharks had a courtesy lunch sponsored by the mayor of Quezon City at Quezon City Sports Club, the Kiddo got to meet the whole team in person and up close. Thought he kinda upstaged the players that morning.

5. TWG
Lunch today was at TWG. Tried their Roasted Apricot Cod and Creme Brulee Tea. Good 1.5 hours of ME time which has been lacking for some time now.

How has your May been so far?

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Posted by Simple Bundles of Joy on May 8, 2013 in Family, My Simple Life

Tags: Birthday, May, Party, Prulfie, Shanghai Sharks, Warren

Bonjour! Enroute to Savona

13 Apr

I’m on a leave of absence from this blog once again!

After my Japan trip with my mom courtesy of Prulife, I’m now sailing the Mediterranean seas with H. We went aboard at Barcelona Spain and cruised to Palma de Mallorca, Cagliari, Palermo, Civitavecchia (Rome) and now sailing for Savona, France.

Internet is extremely expensive on board so I’m saving them up for FaceTime with Warren.

Will definitely post in detail the sights and activities that we’ve been doing on this trip. It definitely is one of the most amazing trips I’ve had so far and we still have 5 more days to go till this grand adventure ends.

Meanwhile, here are some pictures for you to enjoy!

Cathedral of Palermo

St. Peter’s Basilica

Colosseum

Pantheon

Trevi Fountain

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Posted by Simple Bundles of Joy on April 13, 2013 in Simple Travels

Tags: Barcelona, Cagliari, Civitavecchia, France, Italy, Palermo, Rome, Savona, simple travel, Spain

Simple Eats: Endo Sushi | Osaka

01 Apr

Having been swamped at work for months, I wasn’t able to do any research on what mom and I would actually be doing in Osaka for our 2 day extension. Good thing internet at the hotels where we stayed were great. The day before we were to transfer to Hotel New Otani, I surfed a little and found Endo Sushi recommended by Tabemasu. I initially wanted to visit Osaka’s wholesale fish market since I heard it is comparable to Tokyo’s Tsukiji market which I missed during my last visit to Japan a few years back. Unfortunately, we were definitely tired from the previous day’s activity so we ended out trying their Kyobashi branch.

I was intrigued by this little sushi-ya as Endo Sushi has been in existence for more than a hundred years (est. in 1907). How could you go wrong, right? If we wanted to try the most authentic and best sushi in Osaka, this restaurant would definitely be it.

Since we had a full day itinerary ahead, we decided to have our sushis for breakfast at their Kyobashi branch instead of their original location at the Osaka Wholesale Fish Market. We were out the hotel by 930AM and on the way to Kyobashi Station via train. We walked a little going to Keihan Shopping Mall where the Endo Sushi branch was located.

The menus were all in Japanese though there were pictures for you to choose you order. We decided to sit in the bar counter to be able to clearly see the sushi master do his craft.

“Omakase, Onegai Shimasu!” Out came this sushi plate with 5 different varieties chosen by the sushi master. I ordered 2 orders each for mom and I. Especially loved the uni sushi and the toki sushi. Brush the tops of the sushi lightly with the brush dipped in shoyu. No need to ask for wasabi as the sushi master has put some already with your sushi. With how fresh the food is, there definitely is no need for wasabi.

This was my first plate -

A close-up of the Uni Sushi -

Mom all serious with her sushi plate -

This is my second plate -

You can order as much Omakase as you like. With 2 plates plus a few more pieces from my mom, I was full. Our total bill for 3 sushi plates was Y3150.00. Great price for great food!

DETAILS
Endo Sushi
5/F Keihan Shopping Mall, Kyobashi Station
Open hours: 11AM-10PM
Tel: 06-6352-5564

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Posted by Simple Bundles of Joy on April 1, 2013 in Simple Eats, Simple Travels

Tags: Endo Sushi, Japan, Japanese, Kei-Ann Mall, Kyobashi, Osaka, Simple Eats, simple travel, Sushi

Simple Eats: Hakkata Ippudo Ramen

31 Mar

When I mentioned that I would be going to Osaka and asked for recommendations on restaurants that we should try, Ippudo Ramen was on top of the list. I had a multitude of people telling me that we should not miss this restaurant. So, on our last night in Osaka, we trudged and found our way to this restaurant in the middle of Namba and Shinsaibashi station. It took us quite a while to get to this ramen place. It was only when we asked the information counter at OIOI station were we finally directed and even then the group was thinking of just looking for another place to eat because our tired feet was already complaining. Good thing we decided to walk and give this place a try,

This place is not your typical Japanese restaurant. The interiors are a bit modern and the dining area is communal. We had good timing as there was no queue nor was there a long wait needed to get seated. A group had just finished and we were seated within 3 minutes of arriving.

Ippudo Ramen prides itself in 2 things – making that tasty soup and their ramen. To make the soup, they boil 3 kinds of pork bones for at least 18 hours. For the noodles, they are made using a special blend of flour called “KAZE.” The rich and milky pork broth mixed with their noodles are a perfect match that makes this ramen place a must-visit one in Osaka, Japan.

I ordered their Special Ramen Akamaru (Y1100.00) and ordered their Chashumen Shiromaru (Y950.00) for mom. They had an English menu ready making it easy to order unlike other Japanese restaurants. I also ordered a large order of Gyoza (Y400.00) to share with the group.

ON THE TABLE
Various pickled vegetables on the table
Mom mixed these with her ramen. I had them as appetizers.

Special Ramen Akamaru

Chashumen Shiromaru

Chashu on my Special Ramen

Perfectly boiled egg on my Ramen

Gyoza – Crunchy on the outside and soft inside

Enjoying our Ramen

DETAILS
一風堂長堀店, 〒542-0081 大阪府大阪市中央区南船場３丁目１１−２８ tel.: +81 6-4704-7101 ‎
Ippudo, 〒 542-0081 Minamisenba 3-chome, Chuo-ku, Osaka, Japan 11-28
Tel:+81 6-4704-7101

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Posted by Simple Bundles of Joy on March 31, 2013 in Simple Eats, Simple Travels

Tags: Ippudo Ramen, Namba, Osaka, Ramen, restaurants, Shinsaibashi, Simple Eats, simple travels

Simple Travels: Osaka in Pictures

21 Mar

This is how the city looks like. Quiet. Peaceful. Pictures were taken enroute to Kyoto.

We visited Kiyomizu-dera Temple today, one of the most popular temples in Kyoto and is a World Heritage site awarded by UNESCO. Will post pictures as soon as I get them processed. There’s tons of food pictures and must try stuff when you get here as well as an amazing view of the temple and the activities inside it.

We had a hearty lunch of ramen and tempura at Kyoto’s JR station where we were dropped off for some sightseeing and shopping.

We then proceeded by bus to Heian Shrine, a Shinto shrine built in 1895 for the 1100th anniversary of the Heian capital foundation.

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Posted by Simple Bundles of Joy on March 21, 2013 in My Simple Life, Simple Travels

Tags: Food, Japan, Osaka, Prulife, Ramen, Simple Eats, simple travels, Tempura

Simple Travels: Ohayo!

20 Mar

Ohayo Gozaimasu! I’m now in Osaka with my mom courtesy of Prulife U.K. Just checked in at Imperial Hotel which feels more like an European hotel than the small cramped Japanese one. We just had a very filling Barbeque buffet dinner. Will post pictures as soon as we get back.

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Posted by Simple Bundles of Joy on March 20, 2013 in Simple Travels

Tags: Japan, Osaka, simple travels

Warren Update: 1st Quarter of 2013

13 Mar

Thought I’d share a few pictures of Warren. He’s growing up pretty fast! Still isn’t talking yet though he does run pretty fast already. We were becoming worried when he wasn’t walking when he turned a year old. He eventually did come around to it and has since been hard to catch and keep him steady in one place.
January
He enjoys watching Barney and Backyardigans

At daddy’s office

Cheering for daddy

February
Getting ready for his first day of Kindermusik class. Yes! Enrolled him with the hopes that he’ll start talking and to have him interact with kids his age.

Enjoying the wagon ride with new found friends

Bubbles everywhere, bubbles everywhere

One of Warren’s Food Favorites: Bread

March
Strolling around BGC with dad. Both my boys in red shorts.

Finally, a picture of me and Warren.