If you come to Victoria, you must try the world-renowned Tea at The Fairmont Empress (fondly called “The Empress”), one of Victoria’s oldest hotels. Because of her national signficance, The Empress has been designated as a National Historic Site of Canada. When she became weary around 1965, there arose a debate to either tear down…
Category: Food
Butchart Gardens Afternoon Tea at the Dining Room
The original family home of Robert Pim Butchart and his wife, Jennie, has been converted into The Dining Room where you can enjoy afternoon tea or meals. Set in the Butchart Gardens, now a National Historic Site of Canada, The Dining Room is where the family used to live… …and the adjacent Rose Garden used…
Two Tea-For-Two’s: Raffles/ Fairmont
Aki and I wanted to try out the two afternoon teas at the adjoining Raffles/ Fairmont Hotels in Makati but couldn’t figure out another date to set for a second one so we thought…why not hit two teas with one scone? I mean… two birds with one stone. Yes, why not? And just like that, the pastry…
Dorothy Ferreria: Entrepreneurship Tips
Meet the Cake Boss. She was ten years old when Dorothy Ferreria took her first cooking lesson with a neighbor. She went on to study with Sylvia Reynoso Gala, Rory Subida of Maya Kitchens, and then with the late Dexter Rebolledo of Dexter’s Bakeshop. Later, she studied at the Wilton School of Cake Decorating and Confectionery Art…
Beth Romualdez: Entrepreneurship Tips
Beth Romualdez is a highly accomplished woman who has worn many hats— chef, author, restaurateur, entrepreneur. She used to own a printing press and kitchen store. She is passionate about gardening, able to call trees by name; she is a painter, art collector, and a great dancer. [Please don’t tell her I told you that…
5 Easy One-Dish Meal Recipes
When the kids lived full time at home, I was on constant red alert to whip up something in the kitchen quick. By the stroke of four (pm), I was usually en garde with a recipe I wanted to try. Sometimes, an impromptu plan brewed and I ended up with more kids than I gave…
How to Be A Happy Travel Companion
Many years ago, I bought this book called 1,000 Places to See Before You Die A Traveler’s Life List. I planned to cherry pick places to put on my bucket list as “worth seeing” so that I could say that I’ve lived. Given a choice, because of my excitement to learn, I prefer to travel to…
Blogger Tips and Food Blogger Life at The Café, HYATT City of Dreams
Jane Go and Rica de Jesus are women I highly admire not just for their stature as popular long-running bloggers and multi-tasking talented women but for the beautiful persons they are and the good they stand for. Jane is an Earth Momma figure, so generous, caring, loving, encouraging who loves on people yet so enjoyably authentic,…
Pintxos Cooking Class in San Sebastian When Eyjafjallajökull Erupted
In February 2010, my sister from the States, Joy, was scheduled to go to Spain from April 15-23 for a culinary trip. But her intended travel companion whose husband got confined to the ICU had to suddenly cancel. The hotels had all been paid and the itinerary set including a pintxos class with Chef Josetxo…
A Week in Provence: French Cooking with Chef Rene Berard
British author, Peter Mayle, wrote a memoir about him and his wife, Jennie, moving from Devon, UK to Provence. The new life in the new scenery came with surprising new problems as well… unexpected harsh weather, frozen pipes in their newly purchased 200-year old farmhouse, less than scrupulous truffle dealers and construction workers, and transitioning from…
BUTTERFLY IN THE SPRING 