Lunch at Chef Mau's

If you're tired of fast foods and carenderias, you might as well take a little time to relax and travel to this place to get a serving of good food and homey ambiance.

Just before you hit the town proper of Liliw, Laguna, if you're coming from Pagsanjan, you will not miss this place.

We were seated and Jemay took our orders, who was polite, simple and friendly. The tempura salad was great. The molo soup was served hot enough for me to enjoy. I belong to the group of people who happens to love hot soups being served hot, but not hot enough to burn my tongue.

Not long after the molo soup came the pancit canton which was a big serving. Mind you, my friends and I are hard to please when it comes to servings. Just as we were finishing the pancit canton, the fried rice came with the crispy pata, our group favorite. That was one crispy pata here! Sorry, I forgot to take the pictures of the tempura salad and the molo soup.

The crispy, crispy pata

We couldn't get enough of Chef Mau's so we asked for the menu and ordered for fillet mignon steak.

Fillet Mignon Steak

I cook but couldn't get my potatoes right. But Chef Mau's did it great and the gravy was awesome with the beef.

Then, came dessert. My friends and I came to love crepe in any form. So, three of us got mango crepe.

Mango Crepe

Then, them ordered blueberry cheesecake.

Blueberry Cheesecake

I say this is a great place to bring your friends over for a lutong-bahay dinner. And if you have an occasion and looking for a catering service, they have Chef Mau Mobile.

Here's the facade of the resto.

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Tag This Bag Contest

I am a fan of mailman's bag or anything of that sort.  In fact, when I was an OFW, I bought a Swatch watch with a free mailman's bag because of the bag and not the watch.  I gave the watch to my sister as a coming-home present.

Now, I need the tag price of this bag.

What to Do

E-mail me the exact price of this mailman's bag in the picture with your alias at contests@lagunalife.org.  Right after sending the mail, leave your alias as a comment below this post.  The first one to leave a comment will be entry #1, the second comment is entry #2, and so on.  This bag is available at the Shadow Boutique.

The Prize

The winner gets 20% discount on purchase(s) of Hong Kong-made leather bag(s) at the Shadow Boutique. Discount is not valid with any other items.

Mechanics

• The contest is up until 10:00 p.m. of October 20, 2010 and the winner will be drawn on October 21, 2010 at 8:01 am.
• The winning number will be based on a randomly generated number at the website www.random.org.  The range will be from one to the number of entries received by the deadline.  I will post a screenshot of the number generated along with the time.  
• The contest is open to all residents of Sta. Cruz, Laguna or nearby towns, or anyone who can go to Shadow Boutique to claim the prize.  
• We will only require the alias and email address upon claiming the prize.

**This contest is brought to you by our friends from Shadow Boutique, A. Regidor St., Sta. Cruz, Laguna.

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Computer Solutions

** This is a sponsored post written by me in behalf of jasmere.net.cafe.  All opinions are 100% mine.

It's not really very easy to look for services that fits our needs. This holds true especially if it concerns one of the most important things in our homes - the computer.

Jasmere.net.cafe started way back in the 2002 and is one of the most established internet cafes in town. But aside from internet cafe services, Jerome, the owner is also inclined to other things regarding computers. Other services include:

• computer repairs and reformatting
• upgrading
• sales

Back in 2002, my computer was infected by a very strong virus and I couldn't even turn it on. I brought it in the shop and have it fixed. Then, just recently, with my three-year-old laptop, I needed another reformatting because of another virus that slowed it down. My laptop was reformatted and done within the day with all the programs that I requested and needed to be there.

This is something that I couldn't trust someone else to do. But with the shop's services, I've always felt confident that my computers are in good hands.

Jasmere.net.cafe is located at L. Taleon St., Sta. Cruz, Laguna. It's just across the Cable Vision Office.  You can view it on Laguna Life Maps here. For more inquries, please e-mail Jerome at jasmere_net_cafe@yahoo.com.

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Goldilocks and Western Union Gold Card

If you are a holder of the Western Union Gold Card, you may be wondering why you cannot use it at the Goldilock's Bake Shop in Sta. Cruz, Laguna.  Because I couldn't use mine, too.

I was informed by Mam Lina of Western Union that they are indeed having problems because Goldilock's is not honoring the card.  She told me to try it give her a feedback.

Yesterday, I went there to buy one of those Mocha rolls.  Unfortunately, the card was denied when I was trying to use it.  There were no explanations offered.  They just said that they are not honoring the card.

So, this morning, I went to Mam Lina to report the problem - well, more of to confirm the problem.  She said that they, too are wondering why Goldilock's is denying the card.  From what I understand, other branches are honoring the card.

I checked the brochure which lists down the establishments and the amount of discount that they offer or any other promotional tactics, and here is what I discovered.

They are giving 5% discount on decorated cakes or Party Fanfeast Packages at any Goldilocks store.  Then, there is an asterisked line:  *5% discount is on base cakes cost only.

So, this means that other than cakes, party fanfeast packages, no discount is available on purchases.  And this means, too, that buyin a roll or a loaf of bread of any kind doesn't entitle the cardholder for the discount.

If Mam Lina or the people from Western Union has no complete knowledge of the deal, I am expecting that the people from Goldilocks should know the details of their promotion as well as its scopes and limitations, since they are the establishment concerned.  I am not expecting the people from the Western Union to know the details of the tie-up with all the establishments since there are more than a dozen of them.  And if they do know the details, I think they should explain it to the consumers and not just tell us plainly that "No, we don't accept the card."   

This is only my understanding.  Mam Lina of Western Union told me that she will update me when this issue has been resolved within the two companies.

But for now, I will settle for the analysis that I made with regard to the issue.  Please don't hesitate to make a comment on this post if you have any other points of view.

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Alexis Fitness Center: Where to Get Fit and Healthy

Located at the 4th floor of ASL building at P. Guevara Avenue, Sta. Cruz, Laguna is ALEXIS FITNESS CENTER. 

They have a huge range of equipment for the gym enthusiasts.  From stationary bikes to bench press, you are definitely in for a good exercise.  Occupying the whole fourth floor of the building, you will have the liberty to move around and use the equipment spread on almost three-fourths of the floor area. 

Step Aerobics

Aside from the gym facilities, they also offer aerobic sessions every Monday, Wednesday and Friday of the week.  The sessions start at around 6:00 p.m. and ends at around 7:30 pm.  The aerobics instructress is Pinky and she's been teaching aerobics since the 1990's.  She used to teach aerobics at the former Dionne's Boutique.  Then she had sessions at the Triad Building for several years before joining Alexis Fitness Center.

The session  starts with the dumb bell exercises which are good for the arms.  After a one-minute water break, stretching is next.  Here, you should feel every muscles of your body stretch and warm up.  Water breaks will be at the end of each of the routines, so don't forget to bring your own jug of water or any drinks you prefer.  And of course, you can always take a sip of liquid at any time during the routines whenever you feel like it.

Kickboxing comes right after.  This is my favorite part of the session.  This segment goes for about fifteen minutes of boxing and kicking.  Just make sure you keep your stomach in to get that dreaded abs.

Crunches

Step aerobics is on after the one-minute water break.  One thing that I've learned about this part is that if you are just starting the program, you can join the fun even if you're not using the step-on equipment.  You can always add them later when you're conditioned enough to do that.  The arm movements is also optional when you've just started to join.  You can either add this before you get to the step or after you've familiarized yourself with the routine.

Work your abs

Every woman's dream is to have a flat abdomen.  That's why part of the program is the crunches routine which focuses on those abdomens.  Remember to bring your towels or mats (a yoga mat will do if you have one) because you need to lie down on this segment.  From time to time, you will hear Pinky remind you to keep your stomach in.  So, you can start practicing this 'stomach-in' technique even if you're at home or in the office.

Having fun after the session

Cooling down is also one of the most important part of the exercise.  I suggest that never to miss out on this part even if you're already tired.  This helps your body cool down after those stressful exercises. 

Sometimes, after the workout, there are members who are still hyperactive and would want to practice their dance routines. You can always join them as they show and teach you some of the steps of the most popular song these days.  You can also take this time to meet and greet the other members.

ASL Building is just at the intersection of P. Guevara and the road to the Sta. Cruz Bridge.  It is the building beside the Columns Building and in front of Mang Inasal.  For more information about the membership fee and rates per session, you can contact Ruth or Bambi at this number:  0927-2566466.  

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