Food: Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf Chicago Cheesecake

This, Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf Chicago Cheesecake, will probably be the last cheesecake that I will eat in a long while. I will be trying on a new diet for my thyroiditis and eating dairy products is a no-no. Good thing this was a good one.

The first and last time I tried this was November of last year (gives you an idea of how delayed my reviews are), so my comments on this post are fragments of how I remember the cheesecake was.

I like that the top was lighty toasted and the body was firm and dense. Texture was not airy, which is how I like it, and had that rich, smooth and velvety feel as it spreads in your tastebuds. It has a nice blend of sweetness and tanginess and cheesiness as any good cheesecake should. There was also a hint of lemon but not as much like in the The Cheesecake Factory I've reviewed here. I thought it tasted great.

I can't remember how the crust tasted though (or if it's choco or something else). But I remember liking this cheesecake. Really liking it. And someday, if I allow myself another cheesecake again, I'd surely try Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf Chicago Cheesecake again to give you a more detailed review.

Just looking at this photo makes my mouth water.

Product: Deonat Deodorant Stick

Finally, the correct Deonat Deodorant Stick. After more than a year, I've finally used up the Deo Fresh Deodorant that I reviewed here. If you read my previous post, you'll learn that I was intending to buy Deonat but mistakenly picked Deo Fresh because they look almost the same.

But when it was time to buy a new deodorant, I made sure I picked the right natural deodorant stick: Deonat.

Like the first one, Deonat is a made of natural alum crystal or tawas. It was shaped and smoothened so it will easily glide on the underarms. I choose the variant infused with Aloe because it is said to soothe and moisturize the skin. And for comparative purpose as well, because the Deo Fresh that I bought before has Aloe also.

At first glance, they look pretty much the same. The Deonat alum crystal is light green while Deo Fresh is just white, which makes me wonder if the green color is because of the Aloe extract or just product coloring (but Deonat claims it has NO added coloring). Despite the color, it leaves no residue, white or otherwise, on my clothes.

Deonat also has an expiration date, a novelty that I appreciate because at least I'll know that the product I'm applying on my body is still safe to use.

You use it the same way, by wetting the top with water and applying it on clean underarms, preferably after a bath.

They are both NOT anti-perspirant so I didn't expect for Deonat to keep me dry. And it doesn't. As a deodorant, I think it's doing a good job. I don't have body odor and my underarms smell okay most of the time even when they're sweaty, except when I have a thick undergrowth because I am growing my underarm hair in preparation for waxing. Underarm hair is a major culprit in offensive body odor. But it's not really a strong repulsive smell like a bad B.O. but rather the scent of sweat and hair mixed together. And applying Deonat after taking a bath takes care of that problem.

I thought Deonat glides more smoothly on the skin and smells better, too. It also made my underarm skin feels softer and silkier. But I can't tell if it whitens the skin because I'm alternating it with Human Heart Nature Sunflower Oil, which I've proven to have whitening properties as well.

Overall, I think I like Deonat Deodorant Stick better than Deo Fresh. Price is almost the same, so I'll go for the better product.

Place: Ilog Maria Honeybee Farm

I've been reviewing a number of Ilog Maria Honeybee Products, so I thought it would nice to review the place where they come from: Ilog Maria Honeybee Farm.

From the name itself, Ilog Maria is obviously a bee farm and inside the farm, they have a store where they sell their products, mostly made of honey and honey by-products such as beeswax, royal jelly, bee pollen and bee propolis. Aside from their products, they also offer individual and group tours, and bee string therapy (I think this is free). But the farm is partially opened to those who want to buy their bee products.

How to Get There

Ilog Maria Honeybee Farm is located in Brgy. Lalaan 1, Silang, Cavite - just a few kilometers ahead of Tagaytay. This is only accessible through the Aguinaldo Higway route to Tagaytay. When we went there for the first time, our landmark was the Petron Gas Station in Lalaan 1 (right after the Sea Oil Gas Station).

Going to Tagaytay and traversing Lalaan 1, when you see the Petron Gas Station (right side of the road), look to your left and you will see a big blue/yellow Ilog Maria sign. The farm is still 700 meters away from the highway, so you need to enter the path to a long and winding dirt road. It's a one-way road for most part, so pray that wala kayong makakasalubong na ibang sasakyan.

Just follow the dirt road and at the end, you'll be greeted by the familiar blue/yellow Ilog Maria sign on the gate.

 

Is it possible to get there via public transportation?

Possible? Yes, and would be quite an adventure, too. While you can easily get to Lalaan 1 riding a bus or jeepney, you need to walk all of the 700-meter dirt road to get to Ilog Maria. I didn't see any tricycle or padyak plying that route.


Store Hours

Remember, the farm is closed on Mondays. But they're open the rest of the week, from 8:30 am to 5:30 pm. Sorry for the blurry image below:

Inside the Farm

When I got there the first time, my first impression was the place is so serene and relaxing. And I still get that feeling everytime we go there. It makes me wish I have a place like that to escape to, when life seems stressful and maddening.

The store is near the gate, on the left side. When you step inside, you'll be greeted by the sweet, natural scent eminating from their bee products. I just adore the rustic setting of the store, with the bottled and jar products neatly arranged on the glass shelves, the soaps on wooden troughs and ceramic containers. They sell themselves pretty well, that it's almost impossible not to pick more than you intend to buy.

Even if you don't avail of the tour, I think it's okay to roam around the area near the store, but not the whole farm, of course.

This is their work area where they make all those wonderful natural products that they sell in the store, just above this.

A bee farm cannot be without flowers.

 

For more information about Ilog Maria Honeybee Farm and their products and tours, please check out their website: http://www.ilogmaria.com.

 

You can also order through their website. Just chose the products that you want and add them all to the shopping cart. Upon checkout, your shopping cart list will be sent to the admin and you'll have to wait for a few days (1-2 normally) for them to confirm through email if your orders are available . The email will contain the total price of your order + shipping fee and the payment instructions. Once payment is made, your orders will be delivered within 1-2 days (unless you paid on a Monday, which would set delivery back by 1 more day).

But if you're going to Tagaytay anyway, I suggest dropping by Ilog Maria Honeybee Farm. The price of the products are slightly cheaper and it's such a charming place.

Food: North Park's Ultimate Noodles Soup

This review of North Park's Ultimate Noodles Soup is a long-delayed one. I have been enjoying North Park's latest noodle soup for over a year already (or was it two years?) and no trip to the restaurant is without an order of this very filling and satisfying noodle soup. Although lately, I'm favoring the regular wanton noodle soup over this, but still, this is one of my favories.

North Park's Ultimate Noodles Soup is one for the noodle lover's list. It a complete meal, and a jam-packed one at that. It has slices of breaded porkchop, 4 pieces of Wanton and shrimp dumplings, beef cubes (I think about 4 pieces as well), Bok Choy leaves, lots and lots of mushrooms and your favorite noodle (mine is always Hong Kong style).

This is served in a large stone bowl that stays hot a lot longer than regular ceramic bowls. They will also give you a second large bowl for the broth, because the first bowl will be filled with the solid parts of the noodle soup already that there won't be enough space for the broth . Although the last time we ate at North Park, we weren't given a separate bowl for the broth. I hope this was only because that was Valentine's Day and the restaurant was literally bursting with diners and there was a long queue of hungry customers waiting outside, that they forgot that extra bowl.

So far, the taste has remained the same although I did notice that the chunks of pork and beef had decreased in size, albeit only slightly. The Hong Kong style noodles are still al dente and the broth flavorful. And the dumplings, they're just so good especially when dipped in a soy-chili-calamansi sauce. Yum!

North Park Ultimate Noodles costs around P250 or more, but definitely less than P300. For that price, it can serve 2-3 people depending of course on how much they can eat, how much they love noodle soup and if they ordered other dishes. My husband and I would usually share this along with a siopao and North Park's fresh lemonade during merienda and we'd always be full enough to skip dinner.

Product: Lactacyd White Intimate Feminine Wash

I would sometimes try other feminine wash but I always find myself going to Lactacyd Feminine Wash. And when they came out with Lactacyd White Intimate that promises to whiten intimate areas, I promptly got myself one.

I tried the 60 ml bottle first, which I bought from Watson's for P64.95. I like the fresh mild scent and the creamy and silky consistency of White Intimate. Regular Lactacyd feminine wash is more liquid and I would often spill a few drops when I'm using it. The White Intimate has a thin creamy consistency and it would sit perfectly in the middle of my palm - spill-free.

But the main question is, does it really white your intimate area?

I believe it does. I used Lactacyd White Intimate a few months after I have given birth. When you're pregnant, certain areas in your body will inevitably darken due to hormonal changes. Unfortunately, I was one of those who had visibly (and ugly) dark skin on every crease and fold (neck, underarms, groin, back of the elbow, back of the knee).

At first, I was using Pond's Antibacterial Facial Scrub on my intimate areas but I wasn't seeing encouraging results. Plus I find the extra step of washing those areas for the second time with Pond's and waiting for at least a minute before I rinse it off too much of a hassle, that I would often forget to do it (and maybe that's why it wasn't effective for me).

I want something that I can be done and over with in 15 seconds. Which is why a whitening feminine wash makes sense. And after a week of using Lactacyd White Intimate, I noticed the effect. It wasn't much, maybe just a shade whiter but it was noticeable enough (or my eyes were fooling me). So I just kept using it and even purchased the bigger bottle after I used up the 60 ml that I first bought.

Now, I think my intimate areas are back to their "normal" shade and I'm still using Lactacyd Intimate White to keep them that way.

Product: Human Heart Nature Body Lotion - Moonlight Passion

Once, I ran out of my favorite St. Ives body lotion and my skin was looking dehydrated, dull and scaly already as a result of not using any lotion for weeks. So the next time we went for some light grocery shopping, a body lotion was on top of my list. But the supermarket that we went to sell only limited St. Ives products (or maybe I just couldn't find where they placed the lotions), and looking at the other available body lotions on the shelf and seeing parabens and other scary chemicals in the ingredients made me decide to try Human Heart Nature Body Lotion.

Luckily for me, or so I thought, 200 ml bottles were bundled with free 50 ml bottles. I think the 200 ml bottle retailed for less than P200.00. Seemed like a good deal. And the 100% No Harmful Chemicals added an enticing offer. So I was left with choosing which variant to get. There were two (forgot the other one) but I chose Moonlight Passion because of the bubblegum scent plus it said 100% hydrating lotion, something that my skin needed badly at that time.

The following day, after I showered, I put my newly bought Human Heart Nature to the test. The first thing that I noticed was it wasn't easy to spread on the skin. It looked like my skin wasn't absorbing the lotion at all. The consistency was light and creamy but it would clump together when I start applying it on my skin making it difficult to spread evenly and it leaves a sticky white trace.

But once I've managed to rub the lotion onto the skin, I noticed that it felt powdery after a few minutes. I thought that's good because I don't want to feel sticky and greasy all over. However, washing my hands after a few hours, I could feel that the lotion was still just on the top layer of the skin, coating it and not really absorbed into it.

I used it for a few more days expecting that my skin would improve in texture and appearance. But the longer I used it, the more my skin looked worse. It felt drier and coarsier than before and it even looked wrinkly.

I checked the expiration date on the bottles because I used the smaller one first, thinking it might be an old stock already that's why they bundled with the larger bottle. But both had the same expiration dates. I also tried getting lotion from the 200 ml bottle, thinking it might be a newer, better stock, but I got the same disappointing result.

When my husband commented how bad my skin looked and felt, I realized that it makes no sense to continue using the Human Heart Nature Body Lotion. Not only did it not deliver good results, it made my skin looked worse. I was able to empty the smaller 50 ml bottle, but the 200 ml was still 75% full when I gave it away.

I think Human Heart Nature has discounted this lotion because they were also receiving a lot of negative feedback about this product on their website. I'm just not sure if the newer formulations are better than this.