Tablets Galore

Tablet computers have zoomed into the mainstream, and there seems to be a new tablet announced every week. They are the latest trend that gives you internet capabilities, access to email, video chat and allows you to capture images and video while on the go. These multimedia devices are designed to be portable, with small dimensions and a lightweight design. I am really not much of a techie, but if you are planning on buying one, here's a look on what is popular and currently available.

iPad
The iPad and iPad 2 have held a huge lead over all other tablets. iPad was launched last April 2010 and the iPad 2 last March 2011.

• 1GHz dual-core A5 CPU
• 512 MB RAM
• 16, 32, 64GB storage options
• Front & Rear cameras, front is VGA, rear is 720p
• 9.7" LED display with 1024 x 768, screen resolution 132 ppi
• GPU said to be 10x faster
• Video output supports up to 1080p
• Runs iOS 4.3
• 10 hours battery life
• White and Black color options
• 3G models
• 1.3 lbs
• Price: from P23,990 up

Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1

Sleek, sexy and light, it gets as close to the iPad 2 as any Android tablet.

• 1GHz dual-cor NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor
• 1 GB RAM
• 16, 32, 64 GB (ROM)
• Back camera: HD (720p) video recording, 3MP auto-focus camera with LED flash
• Front camera: 2MP
• 10.1 widescreen 1280 x 800 WXGA TFT LCD 149 ppi
• Full HD video playback 1080p
• Android browser
• 9 hour battery life
• Wi-fi + 3G
• 565g
• Price: from P28,500 up

Blackberry Playbook

RIM's BlackBerry PlayBook is a fast, powerful 7-inch tablet with HDMI output, advanced multitasking and security, and a browser that integrates Adobe Flash 10.2 for a desktop-style Web experience.

• 1 GHz dual-core processor
• Blackberry Tablet OS with symmetric multiprocessing
• 1 GB RAM
• 7" LCD display , 1024 x 600 screen resolution
• 0.9 lb/ 425 g
• Wi-fi/ 4G+Wi-fi
• 3MP camera 1080p HD forward-facing/ 5MP camera 1080 HD rear-facing

ASUS Eee Pad Transformer Prime
The Eee Pad Transformer Prime is the world's first tablet to feature Project Kal-El, NVIDIA's next generation quad-core Tegra mobile chip, giving birth to a new breed of high powered tablet devices.

• 1.3 GHz NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad-core processor  
• 10.1-inch touchscreen
• 1280 x 800 p resolution
• 1-gigabyte of RAM
• Android 3.2 Honeycomb OS
• 8-megapixel rear auto-focus camera with LED flash and a front facing 1.2 megapixel camera
• tablet weighs only 1.29 pounds
• 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi support
• Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, a gyroscope, and GPS.
• HDMI port for hooking the tablet to HD TVs 
• microSD card slot for expanding storage
• Will be released December 2011
• Price:  $499 for 32 gig/ $599 for 64 gig

Motorola Xoom
The Motorola Xoom tablet is easily the best competition Apple's iPad has ever seen. But with it's hefty price, I think most of us would think twice before buying it.

• 1GHz, NVIDIA Tegra 2 (dual-core processor)
• Android 3.1 (honeycomb)
•  1GB of DDR2 RAM,
• up to 64gb of internal storage,
• 10.1 HD widescreen display
• 1280 x 800p resolution
• 5MP camera with dual LED flash
• WiFi + 3G 
• Price: $800

Kindle Fire

Kindle Fire has quickly became the most talked about tablet since iPad 2. It is Amazon's $199 multifunction color tablet, the latest addition to it's line of monochrome Kindle.

• 1 GHz Texas Instruments OMAP 4 dual-core processor
•  Android 2.3 Gingerbread OS
• 7 inch IPS 1024×600 resolution display with 169 PPI
• 7.5″ x 4.7″ x 0.45″ (190 mm x 120 mm x 11.4 mm) at 14.6 ounces (413 grams)
• 8GB of internal storage
• Up to 8 hours of continuous reading or 7.5 hours of video playback (charges in four hours and can be charged using a USB port on your PC)
• 802.11b/g/n WiFi (no ad-hoc support)
• microUSB 2.o
• 3.5mm headphone jack and top-mounted external speakers

When deciding which tablet is best for you, consider what you'll use it for. Whether you are a student, business professional or just love technology, tablets have something for everyone.

Ways to improve your relationship with your partner

Do you somehow feel that your relationship with your partner has become dull? Those who have serious problems with finding the best activities that can strengthen a love bond should use a few time-tested tricks. You should use some creativity and sex-appeal to maintain the sparkle that makes your relationship fun and heart warming.


Here are some ways that you can try to ignite that fire on your boring love life:


Go away on a trip
Private trips when you have the chance to be only with your sweetie can strengthen your relationship. It is important that you have your "us" time, you can even schedule a date night once a week to inject fun into your love life.


Leave notes for each other
This is one of the easiest, cheapest and most romantic gestures you can use to keep the flame of your love life. 

Write short messages and notes for your sweetie and leave them in places where he'll definitely find them. The bathroom or the car are perfect spots to leave a note for your partner.

Surprise your other half

You need to think about brand new things that you can try together.  A tiny pre-planning won't do harm and will show him that you are as excited about this project as he is. Guys are fond of versatility when it comes to their love life.

Cook his favorite meals

Have a romantic dinner at home and prepare his favorite meals. Remember, the great way to a man's heart is through his stomach. Also,  Food can be an important aphrodisiac especially if you usually order pizza. 

Silence

Silence can turn out to be your best pal in a harmonious relationship. In this case you can use it as the perfect means to immerse into a relaxing state. Turn off the TV and radio and just stay in this soothing silence with your partner. Give yourself time to get into the groove of this fun activity. Use this trick each time you need some intimacy.

Small presents

It is important to invest on tiny 'luxury' items, small presents and treat you both would like to have. Free yourself from the pressure of finances and enjoy life every once in a while.

I hope with these few tricks, you'll be able to turn your relationship from dull to lively.....

Weekend Eats: Dinuguan and Laing

Not everyone knows that I have a son who is in a minor seminary, it has been 4 years now since he entered. After graduating from Elementary, he decided that he wants to continue his Secondary schooling in the seminary. Yes, for the first few months I was affected, was sad and always worried. But as time goes by, we got the hang of it, at least  we get to see him every weekend when he comes home. Every 1st Sunday of the month we get to visit him, it was the seminary's family day. We start the day with a family mass (with the whole community), then we get the rest of the day to spend it with our kids.

Every visiting Sunday, I make it a point that we bring my son's favorite foods. My son is really not an adventurous eater like his dad, he prefers Filipino dishes like Kare-Kare, Pochero, Embotido and the likes. These 2 dishes that I will be sharing with you are also on my son's list of favorites and I also bring it whenever we have potlucks in the seminary. It has always been a hit to my co-parents every time I bring these dishes, a big casserole won't be enough because they would ask for more. I am happy that they liked it a lot and I always end up bringing home an empty container, consumed up to the last drop!

DINUGUAN

1 kilo campto ng baka, cut into small cubes

3/4 kilo liempo, cut into small cubes

3-4 cups pig's blood, strained and set aside

2 tbsp. canola oil

1 bulb garlic, chopped

2-3 pieces medium sized onion, chopped

3-4 pieces medium sized tomatoes, chopped

1 cup suka for every kilo of meat

 2 pieces green sili (pansigang)

fish sauce and pepper, to taste

2 pieces bay leaf

1. Heat a heavy casserole, pour in cooking oil.
2. When the oil is hot, saute the garlic, onion and tomatoes
3. Add the meat pieces and fish sauce and cook until the meat is no longer pink
4. Add the vinegar, simmer and cover for 25 minutes. DO NOT STIR
5. after 25 minutes, add the strained pig's blood, sili pansigang and bayleaf and stir. turn fire into low heat and cover and simmer until done. make sure that you stir it once in awhile so it won't stick on the bottom of the casserole
6. taste and adjust seasoning if necessary
7. when it's done, turn of the heat
8. Serve the dinuguan hot with puto (sweet rice cakes) or steamed rice.

NOTE: if you think the dinuguan is not sour enough, please do not add vinegar. All you have to do is to add a little bit of sinigang mix (to taste).

LAING

25 pieces gabi (taro) leaves, dried and shredded

1/2 kilo shrimp

1/4 cup bagoong

5 cloves garlic, minced

2 red onions, chopped

2 tablespoons ginger, minced

3-4 pieces siling labuyo

4 cups coconut cream (kakang gata)

2 tablespoons of oil

1. In a casserole, sauté garlic, ginger and onions. 
2. Then add half of the coconut cream, bring to a slight boil on low heat
3. Add bagoong and gabi leaves, let simmer for 15 minutes
4. Add shrimp, sili and the remaining half of the coconut cream
5. simmer until oil comes out of the cream
6. Serve hot with plain white rice

NOTE: If you do not want it that spicy, you can use sliced green sili (the one we use in sinigang). I prefer using coconut cream because it is much richer and taste great. But if you prefer to add coconut milk, you can do so.

Dried taro leaves are readily available in supermarkets now, just visit the vegetable section of your favorite grocery.

You can make Dinuguan ahead of time, since it doesn't spoil easily because of the vinegar. If you have leftovers, just keep it inside the fridge, It taste even better the day after. Both dishes are easy to prepare, not a lot of ingredients needed.


Next week, I'll be sharing recipes that you can have for Noche Buena. The recipes will be shared by none other than my mother in law. 

Happy Thanksgiving to my family and friends in the US!

DRAFT at the Fort........... European Food and Beer

Everytime my hubby and I celebrate our anniversary, we make it a point to try something new. This year we headed to Bonifacio Global City to try the newly opened gastropub, DRAFT. My hubby, excited as I am, tried some of their dishes and imported beer.


Draft is Manila's first gastropub,  it is a hybrid of pub and restaurant just the like the ones in UK. It has 30 beers on its menu and 3 on tap - Hoegaarten, Stella Artois and Beck. It also has a restaurant quality food that is much more elevated than the usual watering holes, it also has an ambiance of class. Here you will see expats and yuppies wind down over good food and great beer.

The food menu was short and simple, it also serves as a table mat.

As per Yummy mag's recommendation, we ordered the following:

Fish and Frites

Sole fillet in a crunchy becks beer batter, served with salad, frites and tartare sauce on the side. (P350)

I really loved the fish, it is perfectly cooked. I can say that this is the best Fish and chips I've had so far. I rate this dish 5/5.

The Draft Fully Loaded Burger

1/2 pound US Angus burger with caramelized onion, fried egg, bacon, lettuce, tomato, pickles and melted cheese. It is also served with Frites on the side. (P480)

The burger is good and can be shared because of it's huge serving. The patty is really 100% Angus beef and the caramelized onion is a wonderful addition to this dish. We rate this 3.5 /5

Sausage Platter

Pork and Fennel sausage, Bratwurst and Frankfurter. Served with buttered marble potatoes, sauerkraut and dijon mustard. (P390)

The Pork and Fennel sausage which is grilled with Leffe dark beer  is A MUST TRY! While the bratwurst and frankfurter is just the typical sausage we can buy on deli's. The dijon mustard served on the side is really, really good. The rating for this dish is 4/5

Classic Meat Pie

Served tiger style with mashed potato, mushy peas and gravy. (P480)

Nothing fancy about this dish, it's like shortcrust pastry stuffed with roast beef. The only thing we liked is the creamy mashed potatoes. So I give this dish 2.5/5 rating. 

Hoegaarden Draft Beer

The original wheat beer is the oldest and most famous of Hoegaarden's range. It is naturally cloudy, pale hue shimmers when viewed through the glass. It is smooth, light-bodied, sweet and sour at the same time. With a subtle spiced citrus flavor. It is served in its traditional hexagonal glass. (P200/ pint).

Pawel Kwak

Rated as one of the best Belgian beers. Clear copper brown body with a slightly light brown head. It has a bit caramel and fruity aroma , sweet round taste with some bitterness. medium carbonation.  Alcohol content:  8% vol.

Because we were so full, we missed their famous dessert; the Sticky Date and Toffee Pudding that is served with butterscotch sauce and a scoop of homemade vanilla ice cream. Bummer!

If you want to have dinner and a couple of beers before heading home, I suggest that you come early because it gets jam-packed (and noisy) as early as 8pm. Some negative sides though; their service is quite slow, foods are served 20-30 minutes after ordering. My hubby ordered a beer and he had to do 2 follow ups before it was served. Some attendants are also not that attentive, you have to call on them twice to get their attention. But all in all, we had a great time and would definitely comeback.

DRAFT

Unit C, The Fort Entertainment Center (Fort Strip) Bonifacio Global City, Taguig

S & R Membership Shopping: a world class shopping experience

As I figure, most of my readers go grocery shopping now and then, I thought I'd share with you one place that my family and I loves to go to.  We even call it our Happy Place.


S&R is a membership-shopping club modeled after COSTCO in the United States. They offer quality products on local and international brand names that guarantee satisfaction, savings and value for membership.  An incomparable shopping excitement that just won’t stop… whether you’re a volume shopper or just a regular privileged member of S&R.


Here are some pictures that i took on our recent visit at their Macapagal branch.

Ghirardelli premium chocolates in holiday packagings are now available.

Heavenly and melt in your mouth Chocolate Truffles.

Wide selection of chips that we truly enjoy

    Cheese sauce for your nachos.....

If you are craving for cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory, you can find it here.

Kirkland Signature chocolates are on discount.

UTZ Pretzel in Holiday shapes

My hubby's favorite aisle...... a wide array of local and imported beers are available.  They also have a separate aisle for wines.

For bakers, Ghirardelli brownie and cookie mix.....

Wide choices of quality cheese, perfect for grilled cheese sandwiches or a cheese fondue.

These are just some items that you will find in S & R....... They also have a  food service station where you can buy pizzas, calzones, churros, burgers, hotdogs, etc...... They also have an automotive and hardware section where you can buy brand name tires at warehouse prices.  

Need I say more? Better yet, just visit a branch now and enjoy a world class shopping experience.

For more info on membership and the list of their branches, just log on to http://www.snrshopping.com