Bibimbap is my absolute favorite Korean dish. Whenever we eat out at Korean restaurants, this is my go-to order whenever it’s available. I did a little research and I was able to piece together how it’s made. It’s actually not too hard but it has a few components that require prep work. I think I spent more time on that than actually cooking the dish. I love that it’s a complete meal in a bowl, and it has so many vegetables in it. It’s delicious and filling.
I would make the sauce a lot less sweeter next time, though. I think I was too scared of the spiciness of the gochujang that I kind of ended up with a sauce that’s more sweet than spicy. I’ll tweak this further next time and perhaps share the recipe. ☺️
This is a very late journal entry about our cafe-hopping adventure at Clark, Pampanga. I had absolutely no idea that there are a lot of beautiful cafes and restaurants there. My husband and I do not drive out that far on our own. We went with my brother and his family to visit a few cafes on a beautiful Saturday.
We visited this place called Here Cafe which is a huuuge cafe that occupies an entire two-storey building. It was right smack in the middle of a parking lot so there’s lots of parking space. We were able to park without difficulty when we arrived but the place filled up pretty quickly as the day progressed. Here Cafe has these gorgeous floor to ceiling glass windows that draws the nature inside. Even if it had a lot of tables, it was still spacious. It had that modern industrial feel that also took advantage of the fact that there’s a lot of greenery outside. It did not feel crowded at all. They definitely used their space in such smart, creative ways. Despite the number of people crowding to it, the service was really fast and efficient. There was hardly any line to the cashier.
We also visited this place called Cafe BOM. The design is a bit more eclectic, with interesting art pieces scattered about. It had different instagrammable spots inside that people can enjoy. I like that their tables are long, thick, solid wood. They’re really gorgeous.
I think my favorite spot is Porch Coffee. Compared with Here Cafe and Cafe BOM, their space is smaller but everything about it just makes me want to stay longer. I love the slightly squeaky wood floors, the log cabin vibes, the long bars installed against the walls. I love the porch with all the tables and chairs out front. I love the vibrantly painted espresso machine, the thick teal-colored cups. I love the picnic tables outside where you can catch the breeze and watch families having fun out on the green lawn. I love the thoughtful little touches that make the place a convenient and inviting stop for cyclists. Most of all, I personally think it has the best coffee. Paired with their pecan tart, it was unforgettable for me.
I enjoyed our day of cafe-hopping very much. I wouldn’t mind returning to do it again soon!
Today’s food journal entry is about our second visit to Ichiraku Izakaya. Our first visit was a couple of months ago when they were still on soft opening. We liked the food then so we made a mental note to visit again when they’re not on soft launch anymore. Fast forward to last Saturday, we had the chance to visit again.
I ordered my husband’s favorites from last time (Unagi don and butabara robatayaki), then we also had other kinds of robatayaki (wagyu cubes, chicken teriyaki, sausages, bacon-wrapped enoki, beef-wrapped asparagus), shrimp and vegetable tempura, shoyu ramen, gyoza, and cheese sticks.
I have to say that the serving time has improved greatly from our last visit. Seems like the operation between front of the house and kitchen is a lot smoother. That was really the one thing that needed improvement during our last visit. I must also note that the service in Ichiraku Izakaya is what I’ve come to expect in most restaurants here in our neck of the woods. The true southie restaurant experience is more laid back, warm, and friendly. I always appreciate that whenever we eat out.
We enjoyed everything that we tried. The tempura was lightly battered and was pleasantly crunchy. The gyoza was properly seared on one side and the filling was delicious. The ramen was good too, and the pork chashu on top had a lovely char on it, the fat was rendered well. It’s a huge bowl, very filling. The unagi don, I’m happy to say, was as delicious as the last time we ordered it. The fish was properly cooked so that it’s soft without breaking apart. We would have loved a bit more of the delicious sauce on it, though. I think where Ichiraku Izakaya really shines though is the robatayaki.
All of the skewers that we tried were very delicious. The wagyu beef cubes were really good! I don’t usually eat wagyu cubes in restaurants because they tend to not taste too good when you eat them outside, but this one’s really delicious. Same with the sausages, I like how snappy they are when I bit into them. All the skewers were really recommendable because you can really tell that the meat they used is of good quality. We enjoyed all of them, but I have to say that our favorite is still the butabara pork. The fat to meat ratio is just so well-balanced, the quality of the meat is so good, and the fat is melt-in-your-mouth soft. I guess that’s what we like best about the food, they handled fat really well. Our server suggested that the skewers are best enjoyed with beer, but since we don’t drink, we enjoyed it with vegetable chahan. It was delightful!
Ichiraku Izakaya is located at 236 Aguirre Ave, inside BF Homes Paranaque. They are closed on Mondays and open from Tuesday to Sunday, 11AM – 3PM and 5PM to 10PM.
My journal entry yesterday was about this new restaurant in BF Homes, along Aguirre Ave., called Ichiraku Izakaya. It’s still on soft opening so there was some delay in the service, which is understandable. We’re willing to visit again because we did enjoy the food, especially the pork skewers and the unagi don.
Today’s food journal entry is about this new Unlimited samgyupsal and hotpot place near us called Gogii Yolii. We’ve been hearing rave reviews about this place before but their branch was in Quezon City and it will take a lot more than food to make us go to QC willingly lol.
The Las Pinas branch is along Marcos Alvarez, just a few minutes away from Alabang Zapote road. We decided to drive over last Thursday to try it out and we were pleasantly surprised that there were a lot of parking slots available. It’s along the road but the place is not too noisy. I’m glad about that. When we first stepped inside the restaurant, the music wasn’t blaring. The interiors were a refreshing change from the usual unlisamgyup aesthetic of black, greys, duct tape and exposed pipes for that faux industrial look. Gogii Yolii’s color palette was actually a brave mix of white, cream, and gold. The tables were huge and the chairs were a combination of thick, comfortable couches and modern solihiya.
When we were taken to our table, it was already set with a wide array of banchan and trays of chicken, beef, pork, and seafood. There was so much food, it really did fill that huge table. The food was also of good quality, not just plentiful in quantity. I think this is one of the best quality of meat that I’ve tried in a samgyupsal place.
We also availed of the unlimited hotpot and they brought out the pot of broth and this huge dish that had so much food in it for the soup. There were different kinds of mushrooms, ramyeon noodles, leafy greens, Korean sausages, big squid and fish balls, fish tofu, soft tofu, fish cakes, among others. You really don’t even need to get a refill anymore because it filled your pot with more than enough ingredients.
The service was prompt and friendly, and I really appreciate that. They changed the grill and refilled our iced tea without us having to try and get their attention. We really just enjoyed our meal without interruption, and they brought over our new orders very quickly, without forgetting anything. Even when the lunch crowd started pouring in, the service was consistent.
We really enjoyed our first time here, and we’re glad they opened a branch near us.
It’s been such a long week, and I’m relieved that weekend’s here. I drew this little illustration to show what my typical weekend looks like as an indoor cat. Good book, some doom-scrolling, yummy snacks, and lots of naps in between. ☺️
I just finished this little illustration today. I’m still trying to find my footing when making my own art so this one took a lot longer because I kept on drawing and coloring on the wrong layers lol. Anyway, I had this idea of creating illustrations about indoor cats doing introvert things. I think this is a great start and I had a lot of fun making this. ☺️
I was going to make another fanart based on the parents of Hee-Soo, but I thought that I would make this one first because it’s also one of my favorite scenes in the series. In this scene, when Bong-seok was a toddler he wandered outside their home while playing and accidentally floated away. Kim Doo-sik dashed out to search for him and found him crying among the clouds. He gently comforted the boy with his soft and calming voice. I really like how parental love was portrayed in this series. The portrayals were heartbreakingly tender and sweet.
I rarely watch TV beyond my usual true crime programs. Normally I watch shows with my husband because he likes it and it’s something we can enjoy together. He asked that we watch Moving together even if he already watched it by himself. I enjoyed the series a lot, I think it’s written well and the effects are really clean and well-done. The illustratin above is Hee-soo and Bong-Seok, children of superpowered individuals. The series has a pretty interesting plot, I won’t write about it here but I would recommend it if you have time to watch 20 episodes. ☺️
A spooky-looking house from a tutorial by Art with Flo on Patreon
Just finished a tutorial byArt with Flo on Patreon, I really loved this one. I was expecting to have a hard time with the house since perspective drawing of buildings isn’t exactly my strong suit, but this one was surprisingly easy to do. I love how she approached it, not as something to be copied exactly from her work, not even a drawing with perfect lines. In fact she encouraged her followers to embrace the imperfections of drawing and what came out was quite adorable if a little quirky little house.
Even if it’s a simple vector illustration, i like that she was able to show playful elements of light and shadow. It’s really satisfying to see finished drawings like this in my iPad. I’ve never really finished a lot of digital drawings before. I think that was what I found frustrating about digital art previously, I could not work seamlessly with all the other software that I tried. Of course, this is just me. Many other people prefer anything other than Procreate. I guess personally I found it easy enough to use so that I can create decent output that makes me want to continue learning more. Again, that’s just me. I don’t really have a lot of time to study new and super-complicated programs/apps. I just want something that works for me and my particular needs. ☺️
I followed a tutorial from Art with Flo on Patreon for this illustration, but I added a second cat and patterned their markings with our cats’, Enid and Wednesday. I enjoyed this a lot, and it was a quick exercise so I didn’t tire myself out in the process.
Enid and Wednesday are tuxies, sisters we adopted last year. Even though they’re sisters, they have very different temperatments. Wednesday is more like a laid back cat, more interested in food and naps than anything else at this point. Enid is just a little fireball, always getting in trouble and always goading her sister to play with her. They’re both sweethearts, though.
Cute little storybook girl based on a tutorial by Art with Flo on Patreon
I’ve been sick these past few weeks and I’m just beginning to recover. I haven’t been able to make art or write anything, I just rested. I’m happy that I’m able to make art again. I picked a relatively easy-looking tutorial, something that looks light-hearted and fun.
Watercolor House illustration from Art with Flo on Patreon
I’m so happy to complete this illustration. I’ve always wanted to learn this kind of drawing, I see a lot of Japanese storefront illustrations on Instagram (especially before it became a Tiktok clone wannabe). Working with watercolor on Procreate is a lot harder than on paper. It was really hard to control the brush strokes. It’s a simple-looking illustration but since it’s my first time to try both digital watercolor and this type of illustration, I took a bit longer finishing it. It’s a very educational exercise, nevertheless. I learned a lot from it and I’m looking forward to creating more illustrations like this.
Little Frog from Art With Flo’s Procreate Tutorials on Patreon
This tutorial was pretty fun to follow. I always have a hard time drawing animals, insects, and people. This one was pretty easy to follow. It looked like a shapeless blob at first, then a little darkening and lighting here and there and it almost looks as if the frog was sculpted out of the color blobs. It was pretty fascinating. ☺️
I fell in love with the isometric drawing of an imaginary cafe that I did through one of the tutorials of Art with Flo on Patreon. I told myself that when I gain enough skills to create one of these digital drawings, I would draw our favorite cafe. So after a few more practice pieces, I ventured to create my first isometric illustration. Since it’s my first, there were a lot of things that I had to correct with the basic structure initially and some that I had to correct in the middle of completing the illustration. Correcting things are pretty easy on Procreate, I learned. At least I did not get to the point where I gave up and just restarted everything because the proportion of my pillars were wrong. There were also a lot more details because the cafe had many little things that made the space beautiful and I wanted to capture as much of it as possible.
My husband and I love hanging out at cafes, but we always go back to Alch3mist Coffee for our specialty coffee fix. It’s inside BF Homes, along Aguirre St., in front of Goto Tendon. We’ve tried so many cafes in and out of the South, but we always say that Alch3mist is our favorite. They take really good care of how they brew their coffee. My husband is more adventurous, always trying out their guest beans, but I’m perfectly happy with the house roast and my usual flat white. What makes a good cafe? I think a lot of cafes already have the ambiance down pat, but what makes Alch3mist stand out is really the quality of their coffee plus everything else. People don’t keep coming back just because of the interiors, even though that’s a factor. I certainly cannot see myself returning to places that are pretty but with undrinkable coffee. The people behind Alch3mist Coffee really do love coffee, and it shows in every brew.
Cafes here in the south of Manila are quite different in ambiance. Real southies know that in the south, time seems to slow down. People are more laid back and relaxed and that translates to the cafe culture too. There’s no loud music, no hectic hustle and bustle. I was able to finish my base drawing of this isometric illustration at Alch3mist yesterday, then just finished the rest at home.
There are a lot of other good specialty coffee shops here in the south, and I like to say that we’re quite spoiled with choices. Perhaps I will do isometric illustrations of other cafes too, when I have the time to do it. ☺️
An isometric digital doodle from a tutorial by Art with Flo
Yesterday I finished this cute little digital drawing tutorial from Art with Flo. I’ve always loved isometric drawings and I particularly loved how cute the elements are of this ilustration. There’s so many little details to it. It took a lot longer to complete than the other tutorials that I’ve tried just because of the sheer amount of little details in the drawing, but I think those little things really pay off in making the illustration more interesting. I’m glad that Flo covered how to make those little overhead lamps, I’ve always been curious how digital artists make that glowing light effect.
I am looking forward to making my own isometric illustrations soon. This one was a lot of fun to make.
My husband gave me an iPad Pro as an early birthday gift. It’s a preloved unit, because the price of a brand new unit was too rich for my blood. Besides, I only wanted it because I want to try Procreate. I’ve always been curious about this drawing app, but I never really got the chance to try it because I’m not a fan of the Apple ecosystem. That being said, I also never really got far with my digital art, and I’ve tried so many drawing apps, paid and otherwise.
It’s frustrating that the drawing apps that I tried has such a steep learning curve that I can’t accomplish the simplest things that I want to accomplish without wrangling with the software first. Most of the apps that I tried, unfortunately, really just got in my way and I didn’t find using them enjoyable at all.
My Apple pencil was delivered just a few days ago and my brother bought me the Procreate app, so I was all set to try it out. My friend Keshia (a very talented digital and traditional artist) recommended that I try Art with Flo’s tutorials, so I followed the most basic one which she says was designed to teach beginners the basics of using the app. The project is below:
I must say that my first project was really enjoyable and the illustration was cute. The app was astonishingly easy to use and it’s the first time I felt that the app wasn’t getting in my way. Flo’s tutorial really covered the basic skills needed to get started on Procreate.
I think that when you aren’t so discouraged after wrestling with the app, you gain the momentum to learn more and build your skills. I completed a few more tutorials after the first one, and it’s amazing that the output was pretty okay, considering that I’m not much of a digital artist and it’s my first time to use the app.
I tried several different kinds of projects that produced output of different styles and techniques. I just want to get comfortable with the app enough so that I can churn out my own artwork. It’s only my second day of trying the app and I’m pretty happy with the skill building phase of my learning. I’m looking forward to learning more.
Today’s journal entry is about some of my fondest food memories. My papa was a great home cook. His love language was cooking, and his love always shines through everything that comes out of his kitchen. He has a way of spoiling the people he loves by making us feel that he put special effort on our favorite food, just to make us smile. I absolutely love everything that he cooked, but I did have my favorites. I especially loved his fish dishes. Kinunot na buntot pagi was at the top of that list. I have yet to taste anything that is even close to how he made it especially for me. Nobody else in our little family loved the dish as much as I did. I loved his sarciado and ginataan na isda. When I am sick, he would fry up fish so that he can make sarciado in the morning, and the scent of fried galunggong or dalagang bukid will waft into our living room. I would look forward to a nice meal the next day. Papa nurtured our body and soul with the food that he cooked. He says that even when he was young, he would insist on hanging around the kitchen to watch their mother cook. Eventually he would help in preparing meals, and then he learned his way around the kitchen.
I think it’s really great that he learned from his parents because a lot of the traditional way of cooking should be passed on to the next generation through the family kitchen. So much of our culinary traditions are lost because the next generation isn’t interested in carrying it on, or they just weren’t passed on for one reason or another. I regret not taking any interest in cooking while my papa was still alive. He could have taught me so many things. I was a lot like my mama–I was always curled up with a book, lost in my thoughts, waiting to be called in for meals. The kitchen was my papa’s domain.
When my husband and I got married, I realized that I had absolutely no kitchen skills at all beyond cooking rice in an automatic rice cooker and boiling water. My husband can cook, but it was the first time that I had the desire to learn how to cook things too. So his aunt taught me how to cook. Her instructions were simple, accessible, not intimidating to me. She was busy but she made time for my questions, and I recognize that it was really an act of love and kindness when she did that. I always look back on those times with fondness because that also became one of my favorite food memories. Everybody knows that the best way to welcome a new member of the family is through the kitchen. When my husband’s aunt taught me how to cook and even gave me the family recipe for spring rolls, that was her way of extending her love to me. A way for her to say “you’re one of us now”.
She recently cooked sarciado and ginataan na isda when we visited her home. It instantly transported me back to my childhood and made my heart happy. I could ask her to teach me how to cook these but I just can’t. Something in me isn’t ready to learn how to make these food for myself yet, not even after all these years since my papa passed away. I’m just happy that Tita cooks them for us, and I’m contented to eat it in her kitchen. She and papa have the same love language, and when we’re with her, I just allow myself to be soothed by her cooking.
My journal entry for today. I haven’t written anything in my therapy journal since January. There were a lot of things going on, I suppose, and there are some things that are harder to write about than others. Sometimes it helps me to untangle my thoughts when I write about things as they unfold, but I find that there’s a certain benefit too to waiting a little bit and putting some distance between yourself and a traumatic event in order to gain wisdom through hindsight.
I am happy to say that I am making progress, though. Slow progress is still progress. I think I am in a better place than I was a year ago, and I have better ways of coping when I feel like I’m on shaky ground.
Vinta Arnibal 1856/Burnt Sugar is the only brown ink in the Hello, Rain collection of Vinta Inks. I’m glad they included one brown ink to go with the beautiful blues that they released in this collection.
The base color of this ink is a warm, rich brown that leans on the reddish side. It does remind me of arnibal, but I think the color is closer to melted chocolate. It’s a highly saturated ink with a dusting of gold shimmer. It looks so luscious and thick that it will come as a surprise that I find this a more flow-y ink than the other inks in the collection I’ve tried so far. It takes a bit longer to dry than the other inks as well, at a little over 20 seconds, closer to 25. As dark as the ink is, it still has some beautiful shading. Since the ink is on the warm side, the reddish shading makes it seem like the letters are glowing softly. I like that effect on brown inks. It’s perfectly suitable for everyday writing, without appearing boring and flat.
Here are a few more close ups of the writing sample below.
Vinta Inks’ Hello, Rain collection is available on their website.
The Serial Doodler 