Today's Word: Romans 8:11

Resurrection Sunday is here and what a glorious day it is! Death has no power over Jesus. Our Redeemer lives! When He comes back, we too shall live even though we will one day lay down our physical body, to be with Jesus for all time to come. 

Hallelujah!

(Thank you, Inspirational Designs for this photo)

Today's Word: John 3:16

The gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, the good news of our salvation, can be summed up in one verse: John 3:16. Today, Good Friday, let us pause all our work and forget all our earthly concerns by focusing on the Cross. It is where Jesus endured so much pain, betrayal and humiliation and ultimately gave up his life 
to save us from our own sins. 

Let us remember he did the great sacrifice to save us from eternal condemnation because of every wrong we've committed against people and against God and to give us eternal life. I hope all of us will realize the greatness of what Jesus did for us. We certainly didn't deserve it but that is how big God's love is for us! 

Thank you, Lord!

(Thank you, heartlight.org for this photo)

The Dessert Kitchen at Robinsons Place Manila

The Dessert Kitchen at Robinsons Place Ermita had been attracting my attention for so long. It's a franchise from Hongkong and as its name suggests, it offers mainly sweet, cold and yummy things that are a feast for both the eyes and the palate. I'd tried to avoid it, though, as I watch my sugar intake. But recently, I saw in its menu that it now offers more hot dishes than when it first opened over two years ago, 
I think, so I set foot, finally, at The Dessert Kitchen. 
I was there for lunch and ordered:

Porkchop Curry Rice, P168.

I liked this so much even though im not at all fond of curry dishes.

The pork is katsu-style, it's battered and fried, put on top of steamed white rice then poured over with delicious curry sauce with some vegetables. All the right flavors were present, no taste went overboard, not even the one of curry, thankfully. 
This dish is crave-worthy!

Jasmine Milk Tea with Charcoal Sea Salt and Cheese, P148. (Large)

I asked that no sugar be mixed in so the taste of Jasmine tea 
was really strong and it was very aromatic. I loved the fragrance, and of course, the sublime flavor from the tea itself, the cream cheese and sea salt, coupled with the health factor. Activated charcoal, afterall, is an internal cleanser and I like having it in my food or drink every once in a while. I just discovered an addicting milktea flavor!

And what do you know, I was back at The Dessert Kitchen soon afterwards as I had other food to order in my mind. Laksa haunted me in my dreams and I just had to have it! I had my daughter with me on this second visit and 
her eyes were on the chicken wings.

Our lunch:

Laksa Noodle Soup, P228.

The broth was really good - a bit thick, creamy and not too spicy. There's flat noodles, enough to fill you up, too. I wished though that there was real seafood instead of fishballs and faux crab meat. There wasn't  even a single, tiny prawn and that was quite sad. Also, I hoped to be given real spoon instead of plastic 'coz the latter isn't ideal to use for hot food as they leak chemicals. 

House Special Wings with Ginger, P148.

I had no idea what this tasted like but my daughter liked it. I let her finish everything and I didn't take a bite because the girl was famished! I ordered rice (P65/cup) for her too 'coz the wings don't come with grains.

Crispy Snow Buns, P58./piece

Now these were really good. There wasn't a lot of filling but it was delicious - savory with a hint of sweetness. The bun, instead of being soft and fluffy, was crusty, flaky and a bit crunchy on the bottom so it was fun and not at all boring to eat. Yummy!

Taste of Uji, P188.
Yaay! I had someone to share dessert with, for which I was happy 'coz I could only eat a little and leave most of the sweet thing to whoever I'm with. This is vanilla ice cream covered with matcha powder. There's some red beans, too. I'm not sure what those green squares are but they're like jellies although they are more firm. Overall, we enjoyed this dessert as it's not too sweet. I planned to have just a little of it 
but ended up eating a lot. Haha!

Menu

Thumbs up for The Dessert Kitchen as it offers food not usually found in other restaurants and because it has my favorite drink (aside from coffee) which is milktea. There's a lot of milktea places, I know, but they only offer "light" food like pastries and "pica-pica" such as squid balls. No rice meals like what Dessert Kitchen offers, albeit limited. But I wish it would have a bigger, enclosed space at Robinsons Place because it now only occupies a tiny spot at the corridor near the activity center. Also, I hope they would expand the menu and ditch those plastic cutlery for the better health of their customers and to help save the environment.

Ramen Kuroda for my Japanese noodle fix

Last Saturday, I was so craving for a steaming bowl of spicy ramen that I couldn't get it out of mind. While at church, I had to push the thought away to try to concentrate on the pastor's sermon, promising myself I'd be having ramen right after the service. And it didn't take so long before I finally had a hot bowl of Aka Ramen with a side of gyoza at Ramen Kuroda! I wasn't craving for any ramen, I wanted Ramen Kuroda's Aka Ramen -- that spicy, creamy, flavorful bowl of pure bliss! Aka Ramen with a side of gyoza is a no-fail pair for me, a slice of heaven on earth! Truth to tell, Ramen Kuroda is the only ramen place I keep going back to although 

I order the same things over and over:

Aka Ramen, P180.

My top-of-the-list, perennial favorite Japanese noodle soup.! The broth is a bit thick and like I said, is spicy, creamy and packed with flavors coming from pork and shrimp. The noodle itself doesn't come bland. It has a mild flavor and perfectly firm to the bite. There's a slice of chasu or pork and half of a hard-boiled egg, but if you want more pork, you can order the Aka Chashumen, which, at P230, comes with four slices of chasu. By the way, "aka" means red in Japanese, and looking at the deep, bold hue of my ramen, you know why it's called such.

Gyoza, P120. for four pieces

I love dumplings and the Japanese version is no exemption. Gyoza has pork and cabbage as main ingredients and Ramen Kuroda's is so good! Though subtle in flavor, it's really juicy and perfect when dipped in the sour-salty sauce. 

So addicting!

Ramen Chicken Teriyaki Don Set, P340.

Go for this awesome set meal if you're famished! I ordered this not because I was ravenous and planning to eat everything but because I was sharing with my little boy. He had the ramen, I had the Chicken Teriyaki-topped rice.

Chicken Teriyaki

I loved the tender, mildly sweet and delicious chicken that went 

so perfect with the steamed rice.

Green Tea Halo-Halo, P120.

I was curious how this would taste and it was surprisingly good! There wasn't much to it, unlike the traditional halo-halo we're used to which has tons of "halo" or ingredients. There was only red beans and tapioca pearls (was it "kaong"?), milk and green tea-flavored ice, but it was a delightful, unique and healthy dessert.

Yellow Mango Shake, P80.

My son's drink.

Inside Ramen Kuroda at SM City Manila

Ramen Kuroda at the second floor of SM City Manila

Ramen Kuroda at Mezza Residences at the corner of Aurora Blvd. 
and Araneta Ave. in Quezon City

If you think you can't have good ramen for less than P200, sorry but you're missing out on something that's not just yummy but also a real bang for the buck. That's what Ramen Kuroda offers so try it out now. Currently, there are 14 branches in 
Metro Manila so find one near you. 
Happy eating!

Earth Hour 2019

Where were you during Earth Hour last Saturday, March 30? I was at SM City Manila, enjoying a bowl of ramen, completely forgetting about it because of hunger. When I was done eating and went out of the restaurant, I was surprised how dark it was 
at the mall. Then I quickly realized it was Earth Hour. 

Hats off to SM Malls for showing love for the environment by participating in this annual lights-out event! Shops still had some lights on but the 
mall itself turned off most of them.

If there's one advocacy that's close to my heart, it's caring for the environment. I believe that doing something good to God's creation is a form of worship. 

That said, I encourage everyone not to throw garbage anywhere, to help clean up our waterways when we have the chance, to plant trees and
 to minimize the use of plastics. 

And because it's summer, I also appeal to beach goers to use only all-natural sunscreens and lotion because the chemicals in most commercial products can do harm first, to people who are using them and second, to marine life. 
Let's all be caretakers of Mother Earth. After all, it's the only home 
we've got while in this present life.