More To Mica - Life & Fashion Theme Update

Tagaytay is definitely a destination not only for fresh air and cool weather but als for unique and yummy eats here and there just like our featured restaurant - The Dining Room at Gourmet Farms. Keep scrolling to see the tasty meals we ate. Warning! It might get you drooling.



The Dining Room welcomes you with a Santorini inspired structure. The blue globe on the entrance used to be visible but its now covered with vines and a few flowers started to blossom in it as well.




It was early November when we dined in Gourmet Farms and it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas. The interior is simple and homey matching the Santorini theme.


Gourmet Farms famous lettuce chips with meat sauce, salsa, olives and feta cheese. As early as now I will tell you that this dish is a must try! I'd say it's something I would instantly order again when I come back to Gourmet Farms. The ingredients mix well with everything... I like it and I am currently craving for it.

Also, you can buy Gourmet Farms lettuce chips from their store.  They call it the Country Store and is located outside of the dining room closer to the road.


I've never eaten fresh & authentic mushroom soup, it had always been the powdered ones. The soup you'd buy in KFC. Anyway, the flavor was mild and well not the one I was expecting at that time but the soup tasted like it's full of nutrients and really good for the body. I'd say it'll be perfect for my breakfast for a pump of energy.


Chicken roulade stuffed with cheese and herbs topped on mashed potato. I applaud the way they setup the dish. I am a fan of mashed potatos that goes to say I enjoyed the meal. Out of all the dishes we ate Ala Kiev is the heaviest on the stomach. One thing though, it seems pricey for it's serving.


A new pizza favourite of mine. Well, it had shrimps and shrimps are my happy place. I know there are other pizza's out there with shrimp, lol. I'd say I like the overall taste of their Gourmet Pizza, I liked the parma ham.. Oh the ham! It's what gave the flavor to the pizza.




I had a mouthwatering time of my life at Gourmet Farms. Super satisfied. And no regrets since the food served were healthy. You can actually take a tour at the farm but we weren't able to do so.



Btw. We were here to celebrate our (Patrick & I) sixth anniversary together.

Trivia. The last time I had a concealer in my makeup kit was when I was in high school. That's about 6 or more years of 'no-concealer-life'. The only time I've had concealer on my face was when I am prettified by a professional makeup artist. Yes, I know I know. I'm super duper late with the concealer department.

I am just grateful and happy that after years of 'no-concealer life'... my makeup kit finally includes a concealer and it's from K-Palette, a Japanese cosmetic brand that gained several positive feedback from different bloggers and people who have tried the products.
K-Palette Okuma Cover Control Concealer is available in 3 different shades.

• Type 01 (Red Package): Natural Beige, best suited to conceal light dark circles
• Type 02 (Yellow Package): Yellow Beige, works wonderfully to cover dark circles caused by pigmentation or skin dullness
• Type 03 (Blue Package): Orange Beige, conceal dark circles caused by poor blood circulation. 

I didn't get the shade Natural Beige (Type 01) so I'll only be reviewing Type 02 & 03.

Before anything else let me just tell you that I am not obsessed with anti-aging products. Most of the anti-aging products I use are freebies just like these ones from Etude House.



These Etude House goodies were sitting in my drawer before I finally got try them last July 21. I've been applying all three almost every night except for just a few times where I accidentally forgot to use them. The original plan was share the post once I've finished all of them up but it's already been about four months and I have yet to empty the Emulsion & Firming Cream. Meanwhile the softener lasted for roughly three and a half months.




On the label:
Etude House Age Defense Skin Care Kit - Makes your skin firm and smooth with Age Defense Skin Care Kit consisted of 3 Age Defense items that help with total multi anti-aging care.

Directions:
Age Defense Essential Softener - Apply morning and evening after face wash. Spread the skin from the center towards the sides of the face.
Age Defense Essential Emulsion - Spread the emulsion from the center towards the sides of the face.
Age Defense Firming Cream - Pick up a certain amount of cream and spread gently onto forehead, cheeks, and chin. Pat gently afterwards to absorb.



The softener, emulsion & firming cream were different.

The softener had a rather watery consistency and is easily absorbed by the skin. I have to say the softener is my favourite among the three because it leaves my face with a fresh & cool feeling. Well, the reason behind the softener being used up first is because of its very liquid form. I would usually take more than the amount I needed.

The emulsion had a thicker consistency than the softener, it's form is similar to lotions. Getting some of the product out of the bottle was not easy though, since it doesn't pour out like the softener, and the bottle isn't really squeezable.

Lastly, the firming cream. It has a rich and thick consistency but it's not heavy on the skin. I tend to put a thin amount as possible since I kind of feel a bit of greasiness when I apply too much.

All in all, using all three together gives my face maximum moisture. My face was soft and supple even in the morning and it felt good to wash my face. Plus, the scent of these products. Sooo good!



The free kit I got were 15ml for both the softener and emulsion & 10ml for the cream. The original Age Defense products in Etude House stores costs:

Age Defense Essential Softener 130ml - P 1,348
Age Defense Essential Emulsion 130ml - P1,348
Age Defense Firming Cream 50ml - P1,578

There you have it!

Check out: Etude House on Facebook / Twitter / Instagram

Gaming. A side of me most people probably didn't know about. My Kuya is most likely the root of it all. I remember playing consoles with him since I was like 5 or 6? He'd force me to play NBA, Metal Slug, etc. (and we would fight because of it too sometimes). The rest is history. Until today I still play all sorts of games. I'm just a casual player though.



That also means that I wasn't knowledgeable of such gaming events until I got a bf who is more updated in the gaming scene. For the first time I was able to attend a gaming event - ESGS, E-sports and Gaming Summit. Yey! I had no idea of what will happen or what I'll see on the event but I was excited. Keep browsing to see a few of my snaps and a short video of the event.




Just Dance's! Would love to have that setup for myself.




SAO! So sad I wasn't able to get my hands on it.



It was really fun checking out some games, both old and new. There were a lot of people too.. too bad we weren't able to try out some of the games we wanted to play since most of the games I wanted were filled with players, so ended up watching them instead. Atleast, I finally got a 22" monitor (for a really good deal) to replace the 16" I borrowed from dad. Lol.

I am so looking forward to next years ESGS. Hopefully I get to try a lot of games compared to this year.

Take me any where there is Sashimi or Ramen and I'm good! I love Japanese food so much... We had lunch at Nihonbashi Tei the same day we were at Book & Borders Cafe (you can read post here). And that was the reason why I didn't get to order other meals at BBC, I chose Jap food over. Lol. I had to save some space in my tummy. Anyway, keep browsing to see the delicious food on our table.



Here's a peek on their menu. You can also check here for more.




Im not sure if it's the menu that was big or if the food selection is just that plenty. It was sort of difficult what to order since I wanted to try like almost everything on the menu. But instead we ordered ramen, sashimi and one sushi roll.

Ahh! Sashimi. My heaven on earth. Lol. Nihonbashi Tei's Spicy Salmon Sashimi reminds me of my favourite dish - Tuna Sashimi Tartare that I always eat whenever I'm at Teriyaki Boy. NT offers salmon while TB serves tuna. I'd have to be honest though, TB's Tuna Sashimi Tartare still wins my tongue. Lol. But nevertheless, I'll take the spicy salmon sashimi of Nihonbashi Tei again anytime. It's still so yummy!



Oh gosh, there ramen! I'm craving just by looking at it again. There's something about their ramen that I haven't tasted in other ramen restaurants. The soup they have taste original. The seasonings makes the dish even more perfect. I think this is the dish Patrick and I were able to finish. The others had to be taken home. I ate the sashimi on the way home though.


Dragon Roll a.k.a 'dragon ball' as i call it. Lol. I started calling the sushi roll dragon ball because it was how I heard it at first. It took time before this dish was served to us. We were told it takes a while because of it's tedious design. No worries though since it was worth the wait. This is probably the first time I've tasted sushi with shrimp in it. And since I'm also a sucker for shrimp... Of course, I would enjoy this one too. I liked that the shrimp had been coated with bread crumbs, it gives that crunchy surprise.



They also have private rooms available if you want to enjoy their delicious dishes on your own. Lol. It's obvious I was totally happy with our meal. Definitely giving my two thumbs up for Nihonbashi Tei.

A meet-up trip from the south to Quezon City early in the morning got us to Book and Borders Cafe. I had no idea where to eat since I live in the south, and so does Patrick. Though, he did a bit of research the day before and checked places we can eat at around Tomas Morato. He actually forgot the list though... but anyway we ended up on one of the place he remembers. Here we are in Books and Borders Cafe for some good ol' breakfast.




Books & Borders Cafe is a hangout place where you can drink your coffee or grab a meal and read a book while your at it. They offer a variety of books such as Best Selling Novels and even Children's Books. It's like Powerbooks & Starbucks in one.. plus Buffalo Wings. Hahaha.




On the Book and Borders menu, you can choose from a range of sandwiches, rice meals, pasta, salad, etc. For the drinks they serve a selection of hot/cold drinks, tea & smoothies.



Buffalo wings for breakfast because why not? Lol. This is life when your with someone who loves buffalo wings, you order buffalo wings early in the morning.



The wings were nearly perfect for my taste, the chicken's skin is crispy and the sauce was savory.... but it was freaking spicy. Lol. It's the only thing we ordered. Sadly I can't review their drinks coz I skipped it and got water instead. But based on the buffalo wings I expect (and hope) most of the food/drinks they serve will absolutely be yummy and tasty.



If you want to grab coffee and read a book for free at the same time feel free to check out Books & Borders Cafe. The place is also great for gatherings and meetings.