Quick Quiapo & Binondo Food Trip

Chinese food has got to be one of my favorite cuisines. So when I had the chance to go to Manila, I took the opportunity to have a quick food trip in Binondo. But for our first order of business, Ronnie and I prioritized going to Quiapo Church to say our prayers and thank the Lord for all the blessing He has showered upon us. Quiapo Church is home to the Black Nazarene, so it really is worthy of a visit. But apart from the religious aspect, Quiapo is also visited for different reasons: camera shopping, beads & crafting materials shopping, cellphone accessories shopping, ukay-ukay shopping, etc. So after mass, we received the priest's final blessing and then Ronnie and I began our walkathon. 

First Stop: Mr. Ube

We first dropped by Mr. Ube, an Eng Bee Tin food boutique, to buy my favorite custard hopia. But to my surprise, the boutique also offers dimsum and rice meals so I immediately ordered xiao long bao because I've been craving for it since forever! One order of xiao long bao is worth P120 and each serving has 5 pieces of tasty dumplings. It was so satisfying! I would have gotten another order but we didn't want to be filled at the first stop.

Get a Massage and Help the Blind at the Same Time!

This is Ate Vangie, ang masahista ko from VIBES Massage Services, SM Fairview branch. Nagpaalam talaga akong magpa-picture sa kanya kasi sobrang na-amaze ako sa kanya. She is visually impaired. But despite her disability, she works hard to earn a living.

First time ko magpa-masahe sa bulag. Tahimik syang pumasok sa massage room. Naka-shades. Ang una nyang tinanong sa akin, "Anong masakit sayo ma'am?" Sinabi ko agad na masakit yung likod ko. Maliit at payat lang syang babae pero talagang minasahe nya ng husto yung likod ko. At nang matapos na sya, panay ang tanong nya kung okay na ba at kung masakit pa rin ba ang likod ko. Ramdam ko yung concern nya at talagang ginawa nya ang lahat ng makakaya nya para mawala yung sakit na iniinda ko.

How I Lost Weight by Intermittent Fasting

RELATED POSTS: 

5 Compelling Reasons to Exercise & Lose Weight

Boxing for Weight Loss: A Beginner's Guide to Boxing Workouts

My weight loss journey did not start with dieting. In fact, going on a diet was never part of my plan. Hello, food is lifest noh! I just wanted to improve my physical fitness by to going back to the gym. So while my fitness was improving significantly, my weight loss was progressing abysmally. I realized that somehow, it's such a waste to be working so hard at the gym if I'm not really seeing concrete results. So in January 2018, I decided to skip dinner as an attempt to lessen my calorie intake. That time, I did not know that what I was doing was already Intermittent Fasting.

What is intermittent fasting?

Intermittent fasting is actually not a diet. It is an eating pattern or a cycle wherein you divide your day into two: eating/feasting hours and non-eating/fasting hours. It does not restrict you of what food to eat; rather, it only tells you when you should eat.

Unlimited Korean Bbq at Samgyupsalamat Don Antonio

According to their website, Samgyupsalamat, which is a portmanteau from the words Samgyupsal (pork belly) and Salamat (thank you), literally means "Thank you for eating Samgyupsal."

Located at 54 Holy Spirit Drive, Brgy. Holy Spirit, Quezon City, Philppines, Samgyupsalamat Don Antonio is fairly easy to find, especially if you have a car and Waze. But if you're commuting from Philcoa, just take a bus/fx/jeepney ride going to Fairview, alight at Ever Gotesco Mall Commonwealth, and take the overpass to cross over to the other side where there's a tricycle terminal. Tell manong driver to take you to Samgyupsalamat, just before Puregold Supermarket.

The restaurant is at the second floor so you might miss it, but here's a photo of its building for your reference.

What to expect?

At first, I was hesitant to try out the Don Antonio branch because most Facebook reviews say that the place is filthy, smoky, and oily; and that the staff were not very friendly. But once we were there, I can say that the owners took the criticisms on Facebook constructively and made ways to improve their services. The place was clean (no signs of slippery and oily floors and windows), spacious, but still smoky because it is a korean bbq resto after all. What's good though is that they installed industrial fans to improve circulation. Lastly, the staff was friendly, attentive, and efficient.

Common Misconceptions about Girls Who Lift

I go to a bakal gym where most evenings, I'm the only girl working out. Once in a while, there'd be titas and mumshies who also workout. Some friendly titas would engage in friendly chitchats with me. And what should you expect from chatty titas? The giving of unsolicited comments, pieces of advice, and uneducated remarks about my workout program. Lol! But let me be clear about this: people who are not well-informed, not just titas in the gym, tend to give uneducated remarks about girls who lift. Here are ridiculous things people say about girls who lift and other misconceptions.

1. "Sige ka, lalaki ka nang husto. Magmumukha kang lalake."
This has to be the most common misconception I often hear! While this is 100% possible and workable, it is not my goal to become a hardcore bodybuilder and I do not intend to have a manly built like the girl in the photo, Nataliya Kuznetsova. She eats, trains HARD, and takes supplements to achieve that physique. She even openly talks about using anabolic steroids so she could transform her body that way. But that's HER body goal.

Boxing for Weight Loss: A Beginner's Guide to Boxing Workouts

After establishing that there are indeed compelling reasons for me to start working out and losing weight, I had to decide on my action plan. The first thing that popped in my mind was to get back to boxing.

Related: 5 Compelling Reasons to Exercise and Lose Weight

I had an on-and-off relationship with boxing. I first tried it out in 2012 at Elorde but stopped in 2013. I got back in 2014, but stopped once again in 2015 until 2017. These years were part of my sedentary lifestyle phase when I began to gain weight, had poor physical fitness, and experienced various health issues.

In July 2017, I resurrected my old boxing gloves and came back to Elorde Lagro where I had a coach whose teaching style I got accustomed to. Unfortunately, Elorde Lagro was no longer in business that time and was replaced by Empire Boxing Fairview. Still, I carried on with my intent of going back to boxing training. I resolved to train only during the weekends so that my sluggish body could transition into being more active, slowly but surely.

Taxonomy of Pinoy Commuters

Kung araw-araw kang sumasakay ng tricycle, jeep, FX, bus, o tren, I'm sure, makakarelate ka rito. Sa dami ba naman ng commuters sa Pilipinas, malamang sa alamang, isa sa mga nabanggit dito, nakasakay mo na. At bilang isang commuter ka rin, may chance na nakalista ka rin dito.

So, ano-ano nga ba ang mga uri ng commuter sa Pilipinas? I took time to observe my commute-mates and after thorough research, here is the taxonomy I came up with. Haha, kaysa naman kasi sa maging unproductive ang pagiging stuck in traffic, ginawan ko na lang ng blog entry. So heto na sila.

1. The Spartans (aka mga Mandirigma)

In these passengers' minds, they are clad in gladiator fashion and adrenaline is pumping through their bloodstreams. In the right place and at the right time, they are ready to attack. "Oy, Nova-Bayan yung jeep na 'yon! Sugoood! Ahhuuu-ahhuuu!" Mapa-babae man, lalaki, beks, o tiburcia pa yan, handa silang ipaglaban ang karapatan nilang makasakay sa byaheng iyon. Wa pakels na sa dunggulan.  Ang mahalaga, makasakay. Kebs na kung ang bilis pa nang andar ng jeep sa gitna ng highway. Ang mahalaga, masakyan nila ito.

Survival of the fittest ang pagko-commute sa Pilipinas and these commuters are on top of the food chain. This is Sparta, every one! Be one of them or get swallowed into an abyss of loss and darkness.