Swedish Pancakes

I’ve heard about the Millbrae Pancake House for quite some time now but haven’t really considered going to the San Bruno area to try it. Good thing one of my aunts, who had tried it before, invited us.

It was really a smart idea to go there on a Monday at around 11 am as we were able to avoid any long line that other people have experienced. Even without the line, I have to say that the place was quite full – around 80% full.

As the four of us got seated in the cozy Millbrae Pancake House, we hurriedly looked at the menu because we were starving! The waitress didn’t take that long for her to take our orders as my aunt knew what to get. We basically got 2 orders of their omelets.

One was the California Old Fashioned Omelet, which had bacon, onions, tomato, avocado, jack and cheddar cheese and the other Omelet was the Linguica, which had Portuguese sausage with jack and cheddar cheese. All omelets are made with three extra large eggs and served with hash browns and your choice of toast, two buttermilk pancakes or two swedish pancakes.

Linguica Old Fashioned Omelet

It wasn’t as fluffy as the normal buttermilk pancakes and I can associate it more closely to a crepe. It’s not meant to be as thick as the “flap jacks” but if you appreciate crepes, you’ll love this one too. When I tried the pancakes, I was already satisfied with the sweetness that the lingonberry (with strawberries) butter and the powdered sugar had but I was used to having syrup with it so I had to put a little..or maybe a little bit more.

As for the omelets, I liked the California Old Fashioned Omelet over the Linguica. They both had hash browns, which I don’t really have any comment since I’m not a big fan of those. As for the eggs, they were done right, just the way I want it. But what differentiated them was that the Portugese sausage of the Linguica omelet was just too spicy for me. But my dad ate a lot of it!

California Old Fashioned Omelet

I’m not a big fan of eating spicy foods together with my coffee, it just destroys my coffee experience. Speaking of coffee, my aunt suggested that their coffee was a little bit overpriced (even for a refillable) as the taste wasn’t that good so we bought coffee from another overpriced but more popular place before going there. Good thing the Millbrae Pancake House staff didn’t mind. Thanks guys!

So what we finished was California (USA) omelet, a Linguica (Portugese) Omelet and some Swedish pancakes. I wonder where the coffee is known or came from. Well, I guess we had an International breakfast. And speaking of that, if international is what you want, I’m going with Millbrae Pancake House over International House of Pancakes (IHOP).

I am not saying I won’t eat at IHOP anymore, it’s just that the food and the experience in Millbrae Pancake House were better. I just wish there was a branch near downtown San Francisco. And one last thing, they don’t take reservations, so go there early!

Have you tried eating at MPH? Tell us what you think. Thanks!

Millbrae Pancake House details:
Address: 1301 El Camino Real
Millbrae, CA 94030
Telephone Number: (650) 589-2080

There are three (3) categories and each category below has different prizes, therefore, has different tasks.

1. Shots Shots Shots!

For our blogger and writer friends

• Two (2) winners of two-hour photography consultations with Leo Castillo
• Two (2) winners of a basic photography course with Jo Avila

2. Forward Thinkers Unite!

For our email subscribers and Twitter followers

Belle De Jour Colayco

• Thirty (30) winners of 2010 Belle de Jour planners
• Two (2) winners of a complete set of financial literacy books – consisting of “Wealth Within Your Reach: Pera Mo, Palaguin Mo!”, “Making Your Money Work: Pera Mo, Palaguin Mo! 2”, “Pera Palaguin Workbook” and “Money For Kids” – from the Colayco Foundation, and autographed by the financial guru himself, Francisco Colayco.

3. Passionistas

For our Facebook “fans”

• Five (5) winners of Miguel Escueta’s EP CD, “Sleeping While The World’s Awake”, specially autographed by Miguel Escueta himself
• One (1) winner of P500 gift certificate from Vivian Sarabia Optical

How do you win these prizes?

To learn more about EntrepBuff.com’s contest and how you can join, please visit this link.

Well, I got this Purple Card by Stores Specialists, Inc. If you don’t know what that company is, well, they practically handle most of the boutiques in the malls we see – Kenneth Cole, Lush, Nine West, Lacoste and the other 10,000 (jk!) we see.

So what is The Purple Card? Basically it is an electronic gift card that can be used in the stores below:

• Agatha
• Anne Klein
• A|X Armani Exchange
• Bally
• Banana Republic
• Bang & Olufsen
• Bass
• Beauty Bar
• Bottega Veneta
• Burberry
• Cartier
• Charriol
• ck Calvin Clein
• Calvin Klein Jeans
• Calvin Klein Underwear
• Debenhams
• Diesel
• DKNY
• Dunhill
• Easy Spirit
• Ecco
• Enzo Angiolini
• Episode
• Ermenegildo Zegna
• Footnotes
• Franco Sarto
• Fruits & Passion
• Furla
• Gap
• Gucci
• Hogan
• Hugo Boss
• Jack Spade
• Jessica
• Kate Spade
• Kenneth Cole
• Lacoste
• Lacoste Accessories
• Laundry
• Lush
• MakeRoom
• Marc Jacobs
• Marc by Marc Jacobs
• Marks & Spencer
• Marlboro Classics
• Mexx
• Michael Kors
• Natori
• Nine West
• OkaB
• Polo Jeans Co.
• Prada
• Salvatore Ferragamo
• Sergio Rossi
• Springfield
• Steve Madden
• Superga
• Tod’s
• Tutto Moda
• Yves Saint Laurent
• Zara

You can use The Purple Card in the following establishments:

Alabang Town Center, Ayala Center Cebu, Bonifacio High Street, Gateway Mall – Araneta Center, Glorietta – Ayala Center Makati, Greenbelt – Ayala Center Makati, Power Plant Mall – Rockwell Center, Robinsons Galleria, Robinsons Place Manila, Rustan’s Ayala Center Cebu, Rustan’s Makati, Rustan’s Tower, Shanri-La Plaza Mall, SM Mall of Asia, SM Megamall, SM North – The Block, The Podium, TriNoma.

Hayop sa Sarap, Hayop sa Energy

I’m loving this Sting Energy drink commercial! First of all, it’s such a funny commercial. It’s one of those ads that when you’re tempted to flip the channel, you stop because you are curious what the ad might offer. Electricity to charge a car?? Wahaha I love it!

Second, I am such a big fan of MC Hammer and this guy can actually bring it! I was really impressed and his facial impressions really matched the moves. Great job to the people behind this Sting commercial.

Thinking about it, I just realized that this really has a double meaning. Not only can it start you and give you energy but also it gives out a meaning of “turning on” the opposite sex (just in case women drink this). It’s possible right? Well, if R. Kelly used it in his song “Ignition” then it really is possible.

Here’s the original version of R. Kelly’s “Ignition”:

And of course, how can I forget MC Hammer’s “U Can’t Touch This.” (It’s hard to find the complete version)

“…nothing strange about your daddy, it was strange what your daddy had to deal with.”

I won’t tell you what part it is since it’s such a great speech…but OK…it’s in the 5:21 mark of the video. But try to listen to the whole speech all right?

RIP Michael Jackson!

So how was Singapore?

It was really good and really bad.

Where should I start? The good or the bad?

Let’s start with the bad so we could end this post with the good side of the trip.

I haven’t recovered from my gout attack two weeks ago and that’s basically the reason why it destroyed my trip. Imagine this, my friends Stephen, Jan, Joel, Cherish, Joey, Jo, Not and Eds, who I went with there were able to eat the crabs (which was their specialty), cereal prawns, and other food that really looked yummy but I wasn’t allowed to eat.

As for the alcohol, I had a few during my last night as I was getting a little frustrated that I wasn’t really “enjoying” the whole trip. Of course I enjoyed the trip and I’d like to thanks my blockmates and the new friends I met there for making me enjoy the trip and forget that I had a gout. Oh! Except for those times where they were eating those crabs and prawns. I could see they were enjoying but thanks to the chicken pandan and the Haianese chicken…I survived Singapore.

When it came to going around Singapore, I had a hard time walking so I ended up riding the taxi. Well, I tried walking during the first day but after hours of walking my good foot also got tired so I had to take the taxi. It was funny since almost everyone wanted to ride with me because they were also tired. But thanks for accompanying me.

There was just something weird about their popular bar called Zouk. In the less than 2 hours we were in their Hip Hop room, we saw 5 people vomiting on the floor. There was also someone who vomited near us and it was just crazy and funny how people would unknowingly step on it then realize after their friends tell them. Lol. I’ve never encountered that here in the Philippines. At most there were two and that would be for the whole night or at least 2 hours. Any explanation for this?

So on to the good part…

It was the IT show everyone! And it looked like every single person from Singapore was there lol Well, they had a good reason to go there because almost every single electronic device you use everyday was there. Laptops, Ipods, MP3 players, external hard disks, TVs, accessories and laser mouse were available there and it came at a discounted price. And for some reason, there were Crocs also on sale!

Check out the mouse that I bought for $69 (Sing) …ouch! But it was worth it:

Microsoft Laser Mouse

Good thing I was able to eat ice cream, which I really enjoyed since there a lot of ice cream chains there that we didn’t have here in the Philippines. Chains like Swensens, Movenpick, Andersens (Denmark), Hokkaido ice cream, street ice cream and more. It was like ice cream day everyday.

Swiss Chocolate ice cream from Movenpick is the best!

I also enjoyed the Segway in Sentosa and I felt like I was Jackie Chan while I was riding it.

Me on the Segway

Overall, the whole trip was really a success despite my gout. My friends never left me alone..thanks! Where else did I go? Would I go back to Singapore? Find out in part 2 of “I’m back from Singapore” posts.

It really was hard to walk and I was limping so I just decided to relax and not bother with anything since it was a holiday anyway. Of course, we all know what goes on during holidays, it’s unending flow of food. Of course, I was still thinking this was just a sprain and not a gout even if I’ve already had a minor attack 3 years ago. So on I went with attacking the “buffet table” during Christmas eve. I ate lechon, pansit malabon, shrimps and more. Well, this was going to be my last great meal for the holidays.

The next day it got really worse to the point that I couldn’t walk anymore and my foot was so sensitive that even if it got hit by the blanket I would feel really weak. It was really a bad timing since doctors were also on vacation and won’t be back until after the New Year right? And what made this holiday not favorable to my sickness was that it was one of the longest holidays in recent memory.

Good thing there is this thing called the internet where you find lots of information regarding gout. Kidding aside, all my information regarding what to eat and what to do came from the sites that I will mention below. Today, the gout attack strikes again and I will be needing gout information right now to know more about this sickness. I must be doing something wrong even if I’ve had to give up gravy, shellfish (I love shrimps!!!), beer and tofu. It looks like I will really have to modify my diet and really lose some more weight. Maybe around 20 pounds to make my weight drop to around 175.

Now that I’ve shared my experience, what is gout?

Gout is a disease that results from an overload of uric acid in the body. This overload of uric acid leads to the formation of tiny crystals of urate that deposit in tissues of the body, especially the joints. When crystals form in the joints it causes recurring attacks of joint inflammation (arthritis). (Medicinet.com)

To understand more about gout, here’s a gout video:

So here’s a list of websites you can check if you or your loved ones are having a gout attack:

Gout (Wikipedia.com)
Gout and Hyperuricemia (Medicinenet.com)
Gout Diet – Foods That Cause Gout (goutdiettips.com)
How To Treat Gout With Diet and Medication (About.com)
Gout Diet: Foods To Avoid (About.com)
What Causes Gout (Foot Physicians)
Preventing Gout Attacks (USnews)
Gout Home Treatment (WebMD)

Running? These days I’m just like Mark Wahlberg, I think I’d rather watch a chicken roast than run for over an hour. If it were like 2005, which is I think the last time I was able to go over an hour on a treadmill. I was also close to 20 pounds lighter then.

As for the 5 AM call time…you guessed it. That would be a hard thing to do especially on a Sunday.

I know, excuses right? But I’ve never really been a runner.

The thing is, there’s something telling me to go to this event or at least try to wake up for this. Maybe it’s the new running shoes I bought for the gym after my I lost the sole/heel of my previous shoe without even knowing it. Haha

Maybe it’s the excitement of eating breakfast in Fort on a Sunday morning and enjoying the place while there’s still no traffic and still enjoy the view (open areas) where buildings haven’t been constructed yet.

I still have about a week to decide whether I should join or not but I need your help to decide. Should I run or should I hide(under my blanket)? Let me know all right? (Do answer the poll on the sidebar thanks)

Here are some of the details of the event do check out their Facebook Page:

REGISTRATION

15K: Php350
10K: Php300
5K: Php300

Registration: May 3, 2009 – June 3, 2009

Mizuno Registration Centers:
BONIFACIO HIGH STREET
Bonifacio Global City, Taguig
(02) 856-1432

CLUB 650
E. Rodriguez Jr. Ave (C5)
Libis, Quezon City
(02) 636-0179

SM MEGAMALL
UG/F Bldg A, Pasig City
(02) 634-6293

SM MALL OF ASIA
G/F Entertainment Mall,
Pasay City
(02) 915-1946

2/F BMG CENTRE
Paseo de Magallanes
Commercial Center, Makati City
(02) 757-3160 loc. 805

Other venues:
SECONDWIND PROSHOP
88 Maginhawa St.,
Teachers Village, QC
(02) 799-2089

RACE DIRECTOR’S OFFICE
G/F Vasquez Madrigal Building,
51 Annapolis St., Greenhills
(02) 727-9987

CONTACT

For more information, email to infinityrun@mizuno.ph infinityrun@mizuno.ph

Here we go, according to Odyssey Music and Video store chain’s sales register, here are the best selling top 10 Albums and top 10 OPM albums spanning the week of May 11-17.

Top 10 Albums Overall

1. “Ikaw Na Nga,” Willie Revillame (Star Records)
2. “My Inspiration,” Charice (Star Records)
3. “For You,” Richard Poon (MCA)
4. “David Archuleta,” David Archuleta (Sony Music)
5. “Giling-Giling,” Willie Revillame (Star Records)
6. “Fearless,” Taylor Swift (MCA)
7. “Long Time Noisy,” Kamikazee (Universal)
8. “David Cook,” David Cook (Sony)
9. “You’re the Inspiration: Music of David Foster,” Various Artists (Warner Music)
10. “The Fame,” Lady Gaga (MCA)

Top 10 OPM Albums

1. “Ikaw Na Nga,” Willie Revillame (Star Records)
2. “My Inspiration,” Charice (Star Records)
3. “For You,” Richard Poon (MCA)
4. “Giling-Giling,” Willie Revillame (Star Records)
5. “Long Time Noisy,” Kamikazee (Universal)
6. “I’ll Take Care of You (Platinum Edition),” Richard Poon (MCA)
7. “Time for Letting Go,” Karylle (PolyEast)
8. “Heartsongs (Boxset Deluxe Edition),” Kyla (PolyEast)
9. “Sarah OPM,” Sarah Geronimo, (Viva Records)
10. “For Always,” Martin Nievera (PolyEast)