New Find: Mommy Patch

I came across this brand as I was strolling the aisles of the St. James Bazaar a few weekends ago.  I absolutely loved some of their stuff so I want to share my new find with you.

Mommy Patch is a Manila based company established in 2010.  They specialize in handmade, natural bath and body care products for the entire family.  Their products are already available not only here in Manila but also in Singapore, Malaysia, India and Indonesia.  

Here's the product that caught my attention...

It is called the Mommy Patch Anti Mosquito Rescue Stick.  One stick costs Php195.  It may seem a little bit on the expensive side but it is definitely worth the price.  I love how it isn't sticky or oily on your skin plus you don't have to rub it on like a lotion or an oil.  You just dab it a few times on the exposed parts of your body and that should protect you for about 3 to 4 hours.  The stick should last you a while even if you use it everyday.  The stick is just as big as your normal lip balm so it is easier to carry around as well.  No more big bottles of lotion or oil to put in your bag right?

Here's a little background on the stick....

This is the best part for me...  it's proudly Philippine made!!!  

This is how I found it during the bazaar...

Isn't it just eye catching?  The whole booth actually caught a lot of people's attention which is why I couldn't take a picture of everything.  I didn't want to bother the other customers.  But I was able to take a picture of the other thing I found interesting....

Those white spray things you see are called the Mood Alchemy Perfume Spray.  It is just too cute and they smell good too.  They are just as big as a credit card and almost as thin as well.  Its so easy to put it in your bag.  No more big bulky perfume bottles right?  It is Php180 for each 20ml container.  It comes in 5 different scents:  Dark Vanilla, Olive Dream, Merry Berry, Lemon Drops and Silk Tea.

They have other amazing and interesting products.  You can see and buy all the different products they have on their website www.mommypatch.com or you can find them on Facebook by clicking here https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mommy-Patch/116385675084081.  

Happy shopping everyone!

Restaurant Review: Cantino

This restaurant is hidden from plain sight but it is a wonderful find.

I have been wanting to try this restaurant for some time now and I finally did.  I LOVE IT!!!

Cantino supposedly started as a little "karinderia" which serves food to the employees of European Motors and nearby offices.  It was renovated and turned into this lovely little hole in the wall restaurant by the owners, which are the same people that own European Motors, that only a few people know about.  It is located along Pasong Tamo Extension behind Saatchi and Saatchi Philippines and European Motors.  The restaurant has no parking space so you will have to park your car along the single lane road that leads to it and leave your keys with the security guard of European Motors so they can move your car in case someone decides to leave.

This is the entrance of the restaurant...

Cute, isn't it?  Upon entering those doors, this is what greets you...

Yes, its a tiny place.  There are only about 6 tables on the first floor. I never went to the second floor so I don't know how many tables they have there.  As you can see, it was quite full.  We went there during the lunch hour and there was just so many people from the surrounding offices eating there.  You order your food at the counter and then get a table and wait for them to serve your order.  Here's what the counters look like....

You can order anything from the board which pretty much consists their everyday menu.  

Or you can pick your food from here...

Their food display changes everyday.  When we went, they were serving Tinolang Maok, Menudo, Humba and Tilapia.  The concept is like the usual Filipino style "turo-turo" or "karinderia" restaurant but with a much nicer presentation.

Here's what we ordered... or at least some of it...  I competely forgot that I wanted to blog about it so we ate pretty much everything before I remembered to take pictures.  But here's what I was able to capture...

That's the Hungarian Sausage Omelette.

That's what they call The Suicide.  It's made with peanut butter.  Kind of like french toast.

That's my favorite... the Salted Caramel Eclairs.  It was really nice.  There was the usual cream inside but the caramel on top was salty and sweet at the same time.  Just perfect.  They were small though.  I could eat the entire thing in two bites but, of course, I took little bites so I could savor and enjoy it.

That is the Hungarian Sausage with Sunny Side Up Egg and Butter Rice.  It was really good too.

We also ordered the Aligue Pasta, Humba, Spaghetti and some coffee. Trust me...  they were all good too.  We finished everything down to the last bite.  The servings are quite small so you can actually order two different things and still finish it.  The servings are like kiddie servings.  But the food is super cheap.  We spent a little over Php400 for all the things we ate.

Don't get me wrong.  This isn't a hotel type of restaurant.  What I like about it is...  it's like home cooked food with a really cozy ambiance plus the food is cheap and great tasting too.  Where can you find places like that in Manila?  Sure, we have a lot of amazing restaurants but this is just different.  You have to try it to understand what I'm saying.  I highly recommend this.