MONSTER Milkshake Opens at Ayala Malls Vertis North

I have been here yesterday and a couple of weeks ago. Ayala Malls Vertis North is really making the shopping district in Quezon City a grand one because they're opening shops left and right, including brands that I really love. Now the last millkshake I really loved was back when McDonalds had one on their menu but that has been a LOOOOONG time ago. So if a specialty shop from Porac, Pampanga opened a branch in Ayala Malls Vertis North, I was super excited to see what they had to offer. They are called MONSTER Milkshake and we found out why they're called such because of their monstrous servings. We caught a lot of people lining up for their products that afternoon.

The process is easy, you just have to line up and tell them the size of milkshake you want to have. They already have a variety of MONSTER Milkshakes available and all you have to do is tell them, then they'll prepare it as you order. 

What I'm mostly surprised about is the price. They have monstrous milkshakes but didn't make it too pricey unlike those imported brands that came in Manila. They also have Monster Ice Cream sold in scoops, prices differ for Classic Flavors and Premium Ice Cream Flavors.

We interviewed the owner and this is what he has to say about this new branch in Ayala Malls Vertis North

The Mango Graham Surprise was one of the best sellers, I loved it too!

They also have frequent customer cards, save those stamps and get a product again for FREE!

This is the Hazelnut Fudge. It's got creamy ice cream, dark chocolate, Nutela and wafers on top.

This is their Bubble Gum Pop. It's one of my favorites too. It's not too common to have Bubblegum flavors on treats these days and this one was a welcome thing. It's got fruit loops, marshmallows, strawberry pretzels on top. It's so colorful, kids would love this!

The Speculoos Extreme is just about your cookie dough butter lovers dream. Topped with lady fingers, chocolate cookie crumbs, it's sweet and lovely!

For Matcha lovers, this is their Gotcha Matcha Crunch. It's healthy, not too sweet, full of that matcha goodness you find in the tea drinks and cakes you often see in the market. It's a lot more fancy than that one you get from Starbucks, you really get a lot for the money you spend so go!

My personal favorite is the Strawberry Cheesecake. It's a whole cup of Strawberry Ice Cream, Cream Cheese, Graham Crackers, topped with Strawberry Wafers, Strawberry Syrup and a Strawberry Cookie. How can you not love this?

So if you're looking for something to cool down the weather, something comforting, something sweet, please don't hesitate to go to the third floor of Ayala Malls Vertis North... almost at the end of the mall, same level as the Cinema. Their store has seating outside, probably can sit around 16 people in one go. You'll love their milkshakes, they have some healthy options (especially the matcha) and it's okay to have sweets every now and then. You don't have to go all the way to Porac, Pampanga now that they've set up shop in Quezon City. Visit them today please!

Roadster Roasters Opens at Launchpad

This is officially my second time going to Launchpad. It's that tall building that houses different startups and TV5 in Reliance street, Mandaluyong. Judging from the tenants, this looks like a mixed use space. The restaurants and kiosks in this area are starting to open and with the location quite near the Shaw-Pasig Kapitolyo district, I feel they must put up a great challenge to woo people from this side of town to stay there. The choices are humongous, but this one would surely interest you more if you're cup of tea (or the lack thereof literally) is meat, glorious meat. I guess this is their calling, to serve via Roadster Roasters things that are FUELED BY MEAT. How can you not love something like that?

The Interiors

The inside was a mix of raw concrete walls, some faux wooden posts, bricks, a little western modern barn and street club. With that mouthful of elements, I thought it wouldn't work but it's actually cozy.

The place can seat about 50-60 people half of which are the ones outside. The bunk seats are actually comfortable, good for groups and families.

Yes darling, it's all fueled by meat. They do make good barbecues which we'll show later, so this sign in a nutshell makes total sense.

You've got a little privacy in these seats, the others are all open and acoustics are all out there so you're going to hear the next table if they don't have music playing. They will most of the time.

The theme matched much of a trucking joint in the US, where travelers on the road take a break and have all the protein goodness they deserve before or after a long drive. It was a bit warm inside the restaurant that evening, but probably just because of the amount of people who wanted to have their share of meat.

The Food

The owners (4 guys) were pretty fond of having their protein fix after working out. I get what they are trying to get here, to have those favorite protein dishes in one place. Their dishes channeled a little southern, that good, intense smoky flavor. Their roasted meat spend around 12 hours in the smoker/oven much until each piece falls off the bone (for the ribs), and soft until it's just fork tender. I didn't get any piece that was over seasoned and I think they kept it that way so people would have a hand in what to mix or prepare with the meats.  Their menu is still expanding, to fit what meat lovers would adore they probably need to have it that way. They're raring to even experiment a little in their kitchens and come out with new items every now and then. That's good news for those usually get tired and bored on menus, especially if you are regulars. People would appreciate that.

This is like church, but most of the things in the spotlight includes all the essential beers, drinks and desserts.

They serve cocktails and craft beers, so if you're looking for local or international brewers, they have these bottles on the menu.

Try not to be scared because these are called Mozza Bombs. It's meatballs with mozzarella inside. It's a little tangy because of the tomato sauce, doused with parmesan cheese outside. Make sure you eat this while it's hot so you could see that cheese ooze out of this appetizer, a great way to start a meal. Pretty good for kids too!

If you would like to pair something with the beers, take a look at this Roadster Nachos. Crunchy corn nachose with cheese sauce, strips of pulled pork, and a little salsa. Again, this would be a good beer match. Order this for yourself and your kids too.

One of my favorite things that evening was the Pork Rind. Crunchy and freshly cooked, a little backfat doesn't hurt anyone right? Again, I advise you to have this while it's hot. It won't be as good if you leave it out in the air for a few minutes, but that's just me.

For a more healthy alternative, have this Butter Roasted Chicken. It tastes good as it's smothered by roasted garlic, spices, and roasted well in the oven. The gravy was not too salty, a good thing to have on it's own or with rice. I prefer it as is because you'll enjoy every mouthwatering part of the chicken with your family and friends without worrying if it's too spicy or not. It's just simple, perfectly roasted poultry. Doesn't cost much either.

If you are fond of spicy stuff, then get the Roadster Sriracha Chicken Wings. Dip in sour cream, ughh... you'll love it!

People suddenly got out of their seats to see the Chef  cut the slab of meat, the Texas Style Beef Brisket. Still moist, smoky, so good with gravy. You don't even have to have rice with it because this is a full meal. Fills you up in no time at all. This is one of their specialties. I'll let you see it sliced nicely on a platter with home made coleslaw and sausages.

If your goal is to gain weight and feed your muscles, this would be a good place to start! They also have Roadster Pork Ribs, and Roadster Pork Belly. I don't know about you but this just made my day!

Oh don't even think of leaving the table yet, because as far as I know one of these three desserts would actually tickle your fancy. Just choose between Hazelnut Nutella, Cookies and Cream, and Mango Caramel. Let's just say everybody freaked out when this landed on our table. With good reason right?

So if you're raring to have something comforting, meaty and good, take a trip to LAUNCHPAD off Reliance corner Sheridan streets in Mandaluyong City. Roadster Roasters is the first restaurant on the leftmost part of the building, you won't miss it. Tons of celebrities, bloggers enjoyed the night of food and drinks, I guess it's time for you to experience the same things we did.

Let's go get those chompers working double time.

EPSON and John Herrera does ARMADA

I was fortunate enough to have seen the last collection that EPSON and John Herrera worked on and eventually won with during London Fashion Week. It was named AGILA after the majestic Philippine Eagle (aka Monkey Eating Eagle) which now is the national bird of the Philippines. John Herrera was just like most of you, when he began with this process he wasn't much of a techie. He didn't have the know how on doing prints and designing and style was just his talent. He needed help in making his analog talent be translated to digital art which EPSON provided a platform for. Mind you it wasn't easy, but as you may know, there's no stopping a talented Filipino.

He was very candid, no frills, very humble when we met him. We discussed his latest work over tea and if you're a fan of his work, you could sense his collection has that signature John Herrera look. The cuts, the lines somehow had similarities with his previous work and you could note how it actually looks more modern now, more structured but still feminine. We laughed a bit when he told us if he could wear these pieces, he would. It all looks so gorgeous even if we didn't see it worn by models that afternoon.

Here's what he said during our interview:

"They first told me to do prints, I initially said no, but I got inspired and used visual images that did have an impact. I felt I came from the ice age, a bit primitive when it comes to technology. In this collection, I worked with digital artists to churn out my vision for printing. This collection was easier than the last one because we knew the process already. We didn't have problems anymore." 

In describing this series he adds "The collection is about the Spanish armada, it was the map where ships, the coat of arms of the Spanish king, the small lines, we blew it up and made it into black, white and gray lines. I had to re-layout so it would show up on the clothes. The collection had me thinking about the discovery of the Philippines. You will see capes, coats, a little like what they wore during their trip to the Philippines. I always dreamed of this and I don't think I'll ever have to buy prints because their printers are incredible."

"I adore these pieces and they have made sure the ink they used is earth friendly which is mostly from plant pigments - and even safe for babies. It's also acid free and breathes with our body, you can feel it in the fabric. All of them are printed as I create, some are complicated and you'll see it even better when they move. Some of these are quite simple,  even if it was made easy it still looks good. We diminished making the back seams and that is a difficult process in designing."

"I personally am not a colorful person, it was just like making it like how the voyagers used to wear. It's something that I think London women would also wear, even if all of these are being designed in the tropics. Epson has a list of synthetic fibers that I could work with, it can print on organza and tool. Now I can print on transparent and flowy textile, during fitting it was majestic on the model. The lack of digital knowledge was just the problem, but everything else was solved by Epson and my team."

 

"This is my 25th collection and it's a mix of creatives and wearables. I make the garment stand without much bulk, the process is now easy because of technology. We can make this easy in patterns now. You always have to learn things, you never stop learning."

I also asked him about vying for another contest with these pieces but he says "There are times you have to stop joining competitions because it will be counter productive to your brand. This is meant for people to wear. It's not easy, in the beginning we just had to be known. I'm glad Vogue noticed so that opened a lot of doors for me. September 16, Fashion Scout will be streaming it live and Epson will stream it live again including the johnherreraofficial facebook page where you will see the BTS from time to time."

EPSON has been the premier go to brand for quality industrial grade textile printers perfect for production of lovely fabrics. From the likes of Epson SureColor SC-F7270 Dye-Sublimation Textile Printer, the SureColor SC-F6270 44 in dye-sublimation transfer printer, the Epson SureColor SC-F9270, the Epson SureColor SC-P10070, EPSON has tons of Large Format Printers that can do the job. 

The details of the clothes that they've worked on looked stunning on the mannequins so if this actually fits as good as the models on the runway, it'll surely take your breath away. You'll be taken to a period where you'll feel and understand why the Philippines has it's rich history, seeing the beauty of the islands that have been colonized by Spain for over 300 years. Make sure you follow and like the pages of EPSON Philippines, John Herrera as mentioned earlier. It's definitely worth to see how they've been working hard making this Spring/Summer 2018 line and breathe life to it. I'm watching!