Before the milk tea craze, the fro-yos and the frappes, there were pearl shakes (shakes with sago…read moreas sinkers) and Quickly. Many drink varieties have come and gone, but Quickly remains my drink of choice when I'm (window) shopping at the mall. There's something about their drink that really makes me feel filled and refreshed. I love the Taro Ice Special, which consists of their signature taro ice, sago and nata, plus taro pudding. They have added new flavors to the mix, but I remain loyal to my Taro Ice. One time though their Taro wasn't available, I tried their Cantaloupe milk tea. That was refreshing too.

This milkshake place has been making a buzz for the past few months--on my Facebook timeline at…read moreleast. But I can see that it's pretty popular in the South; curious as a cat, I finally decided to try it out. It looks quaint inside, what with the light walls and the fixtures. There are typography prints on the wall that in my opinion are pretty tacky, but I'm not complaining much because my biggest non-food-related complaint is their music playlist. I like cafes and beverage hubs that play awesome music in the background. It makes me want to stay and order more and maybe even come back in the future. Milky Moustache, somehow, failed at that. Their music would go from a Standing Egg single to Beyonce's Diva. See what I mean? It's terrible. Now, the milkshakes. I was really looking forward to it since, like I said, it's been buzzing on Facebook. We got Dali (chocolate and banana) and Villan (chocomalt). They served it in mason jars topped with whipped cream and flavored syrup. It's safe to say that I expected too much. The milkshakes weren't bad, I still appreciate the sweetness and creaminess of it all but I feel that I didn't quite get what I paid for. My choco banana tasted nothing like it. For some reason, I couldn't find the banana taste I was craving for. The chocomalt, on the other hand, was okay. But it could use a little more malt.

I am absolutely in love with calamansi juice. If it wasn't so darn tedious to make (squeezing a…read morebajillion calamansi for 10 years!), I would have it everyday. I was so happy to discover the Green Fresh kiosk. Finally, a convenient place to get good and cheap calamansi juice! What I like about this place is that they don't add honey to their juices (I'm vegan and I don't consume bee products). Some similar kiosks do boast using honey for sweeteners. Green Fresh is cruelty-free juice. It's a pretty straightforward kiosk. All you can buy here is calamansi juice--and if you're feeling a bit flu-y, they also offer hot calamansi tea. Also, I feel so lucky I live in a tropical country that has calamansi. For people like me who cannot always afford to purchase lemons, calamansi is a lifesaver.

When people are trying to lose weight, they sometimes substitute unhealthy drinks like sodas with…read morefruit shakes or juices. A lot of people I know spend countless money on smoothies, hoping that it would help them achieve their ideal beach body. What people don't know is a glass of blended fruits actually has more amount of sugar than one glass of Coca Cola. Before I sound like a complete know-it-all, let me just ask why would people spend so much money on overpriced fruit smoothies that will make them fat anyways, when they can have 22 ounces of fresh Calamansi juice for only 25 pesos?!?! Green Fresh is one of my recent discoveries. I found this place when I was looking for a cheap juice bar that could quench my thirst. They seriously sell the cheapest products. You can buy a cup of freshly squeezed Calamansi juice for only 11 pesos. They don't use any kind of artificial ingredients in their product so there's no need to worry. PS: All of these information came from my friend's personal trainer, a certified gym junkie and cutie ;)

My ideal life would consist of 3 things: a house by the beach, seafood everyday, and a backyard…read morefilled with fresh coconut. While my reality makes it hard to do the first thing, I try my best to pin down the latter ones. For seafood, there's always a palengke and for coconuts, there's always Coconut Craze. Aptly referring to itself as crazy, this café basically has pinned down everything you can do with a coconut. Iced, shaved, creamed, topped on cake or in a pie- I come here whenever I feel the need to treat myself with its massive health benefits. And they also serve all kinds of food too. From your basic tapsilog to sotanghon, you can treat yourself to a meal here and wash it down with a coconut or 2. I like this honest to goodness café because it doesn't claim to be what it isn't. It simply thrives on coconuts and relies on the creativity of the menu to reel its customers in.

My dad's a bike enthusiast, and when I say enthusiast, I mean to say that he is CRAZY. He bikes…read moreeverywhere--around the village, to work, to mountains and islands. Everywhere on 2 wheels. There was this one day when he came home happy and exhausted from his bike trip with his friends, and he kept raving about how delighted he was about his post-ride buko juice from Mang Buddy, a small store located at the Phase 1 Palengke area in BF Homes. He kept saying how it was the BEST buko juice ever. AND IT REALLY WAS. It's very fresh, cold, and contains the right amount of coconut meat. The juice isn't overpowered by sugar unlike a lot of buko juice sellers who should really just call their products "sugar water". And I think that you know very well how buko juice isn't just the same when purchased from the supermarket in packaged bottles, tetra packs and cans. NOOOPE. Every time I happen to be in the Phase 1 palengke area, I make it a point to stop by Mang Buddy for a glass of buko juice. It's also beside a Japanese ukay-ukay (which I frequent as well), and some baking supply stores.

The Commissary Kitchen elevates the concept of convenience store food into an actual grab-and-go…read moreplace where you can get 'legit', wholesomely-prepared food that you can just conveniently reheat at home. The store has several glass fridges where you can choose from pasta sauces by-the-kilo, portioned Filipino food viands, fresh salads, bottled, slow-juiced fruit and veggie smoothies, and some individual-sized desserts. Some chocolate treats and artisanal breads are also for sale. They also have a few tables for dine-in customers, but most people stop by to stock up on their so-called "condo foods". The whole concept is really forward-thinking and quite admirable, if I might say so myself. More food joints in Manila should definitely follow suit! For vegan options, get their malunggay basil pesto pasta (hold the cheese). It's soooo garlicky and amped up with flavor though, so it's not for weak palates or you'll feel quite overwhelmed. I usually stop by here to grab some fruit juices if I'm feeling too lazy to prepare from scratch. Their ampalaya-mango juice is a fairly strange EXPERIENCE. It's like, you love it, then you don't, and then your whole tongue is confused, but in a good way? Their Php 50 salads are pretty good too, that even my dog approves! Just take out the kani shreds and opt for the cranberry dressing.

This outlet put up late last year by renowned foodie Nancy Reyes primarily serves the needs of the…read moreBetter Living community, of which me and my family have been part of for the last three years. To call it a take-out place wouldn't exactly be correct, but neither is it a small restaurant. It's more of the former but is also a little bit of the latter without meaning to do so. Commissary Kitchen was originally intended as a quick order place for residents of Bicutan in Paranaque City who head home too tired to cook, but who aren't too crazy about the usual fast food joints of which there are plenty in the area. The main foods are its pasta dishes of which there are five varieties, all of which sell for P150 per order. Then there are what it refers to as "Condo foods," which is just a cute name for main dishes that all go well with rice I ordered Puttanesca and was pleasantly surprised that it was much better than anything I could have concocted. The crunch parmesan which dominates the sauce must be the reason. I also ordered Callos because my wife loves Spanish food. At P200, the serving seemed a mite small, but the taste was superb. It goes well with either rice or bread. Commissary Kitchen also has a wide selection of cakes with Choco Cappucino being the least expensive at P360 and Choco Bomb the one that takes the biggest bite out of one's wallet at P490. The place is about a hundred meters from SM Bicutan pretty near the Skyway exit. The only problem is that there's only parking space for one car. Two at best if the cars are both small. If you're feeling famished, the staff can heat up your order and you can eat in one of the two tables inside. Nancy Reyes's reputation precedes her, so I'm pretty sure that everything her place sells is more than good. At least what I did order were both fantastic.

Fruitas is probably the most popular fruit shake franchise that's taking over Metro Manila. If you…read moreconsume dairy and are not conscious about your sugar consumption, then this place will be OK for you. Although if you're like me and you prefer a real, dairy-free FRUIT smoothie, this place will not satisfy that preference BUT... it will have to do. Especially if you're under sweltering heat and absolutely need something refreshing, since their shakes are super loaded with ice (to be exact, more ice than fruit). When I'm desperate for a fruit smoothie especially after long commutes under the sun, I look for Fruitas stands (there's usually one in transport terminals, too). Since I'm vegan, I request for the milk to be omitted. And for the past year or so of trying to live healthier, I've been having my smoothies without that sugar syrup they put since it's not very good for you. So, as expected, my smoothie won't taste as rich as it should be, but most of the time I'm pleased, especially since my drink is just reduced to fruit and ice, and there aren't any questionable ingredients in it. I usually get a combination of 2 fruits so it doesn't taste as boring. My favorites are mango banana, mango strawberry, and anything + lychee! Another thing: They also have bottled juices (buko, calamansi, etc.). I get their bottled buko juice to mix in my green veggie smoothies that I make at home. Though don't forget to ask first if the juice is just recently delivered (I had a previous experience from another Fruitas franchise where the buko juice was already bad).