End of the Month Roundup - July 2014

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(Source: Wikipedia)

“Et tu, Brute?” – these are the “dying words” of Julius Caesar as he was stabbed to death by his assassins.

“Et tu, Brute?” and with that July has ended. No, I am not saying that someone betrayed me or planning my death (but if we include the betrayal of President BS Aquino because of DAP then I can say “Et tu, Brute?” plenty of times).

July is that month when our baby (inside My Beloved Wife Lei’s womb) turned three months. I’m just waiting for another six months and then I will be seeing my firstborn. Good thing that Lei experienced fewer nausea spells but the sad part is that she caught a flu. She’s still coughing until now.

I admit that I’m struggling with Lei’s pregnancy and it its demands made me exhausted a few times. There were times that I lose my temper and this prompted me to post some tips on what to do when husbands lose their cool.

July is the first time me and Lei faced a storm together, as husband and wife. Typhoon Glenda ravaged many communities. We experienced blackouts but we were still fortunate because our electricity returned immediately after the typhoon passed near Metro Manila. Since I’m a blogaholic, I couldn’t resist taking a Youtube video of Typhoon Glenda’s wrath.

I continued posting about our wedding preparations in my personal-travel blog, Before the Eastern Sunset. I mostly posted about our search for wedding cakes in Red Ribbon Bakeshop, Goldilocks, Bakerite, Salazar Bakery, and Bakers’ Fair.

In the end, we ordered our wedding cake from Salazar Bakery.

Our search for wedding souvenirs brought us under the bridge near Quiapo Church and the arts and craft center of Divisoria.

I also posted about what we learned about Max’s Restaurant wedding celebrations.

In Ahab Reviews and Tips, I posted about our Condura refrigerator and the updated index of Marikina Fault Line maps.

The corruption in PNoy’s administration and their unconstitutional Development Acceleration Program (DAP) irritated me so much that I couldn’t help but make fun of it, especially PNoy’s call for yellow ribbon campaign.

August is upon us, which means that it’s just a month away before the “Ber” months and the start of the extended Christmas season in the Philippines.
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Checking Out Max’s Restaurant's Wedding Celebration

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After talking about finding our wedding cake and the wedding ring supplier, I guess it’s time for me to share our adventures in finding the “perfect” venue for our wedding reception.

I previously posted about SM Mall of Asia’s (SM MoA) The Venue. My Beloved Wife Lei liked the place but we didn’t book it because its price is way above our budget. Booking The Venue also meant booking a caterer since The Venue is just a space for events. I’m sure that catering services don’t come cheap, thus The Venue became less appealing to us even though Lei wanted to have our wedding photo taken at their stairs.

Booking our wedding reception venue and a caterer separately is more expensive than booking a restaurant that already has space for special events. So, instead of looking for events space like The Venue, we decided to search for restaurants instead. Max’s is one of the restaurants that fitted the bill.

(Source: Wikipedia)

My Max’s Experience

I am yet to attend a wedding reception at Max’s but my parents dined at Max’s for a cousin’s wedding (more about that later). What I did attended a few times are meetings, specifically with my friends from Filipinos for Life, at Max’s Ermita.

I enjoyed the food at Max’s Ermita, particularly the fried chicken (their specialty) and the sinigang na hipon. Max’s Ermita has dedicated space for events and can hold a hundred or more persons. Their crew are attentive and provided us with good service.

My parents’ experience with Max’s Restaurant during my cousin’s wedding is not too good. They commented that the food are already cold when they reached the restaurant. And the time allotted for the wedding reception is too quick, merely two hours.

Ayen Gomez left a comment on this blog saying that they already visited three branches of Max's inquiring about their wedding packages. Ayen said that the managers of the said Max's branches revealed that they cannot replicate the set-up that is shown in the brochure. I guess the real thing is different from promotional photo/advertisement. Couples planning a wedding reception at Max's should take note of this info so as not to be disappointed on their wedding day.

For other experiences or comments regarding weddings at Max’s Restaurant, please read The Twisted Wedding planner blog.

Max’s Restaurant Wedding Package

Max’s Restaurant offers three wedding motif, namely, Modern Filipino, Classic Glamour, and Enchanting Romance.

Modern Filipino wedding motif set up

Modern Filipino wedding motif are for those who like to mix traditional and modern accents. Based on Max’s wedding package brochure, Modern Filipino motif is white accented by traditional Filipino items like capiz lamps.

Classic Glamour wedding motif set up

Classic Glamour motif is red. It is for couples who want their wedding to have that classic accent.

Enchanting Romance wedding motif set up.

Of the Max’s Restaurant wedding motif, Enchanting Romance is the least “serious”. This motif is accented with bright garden tones and flowers.

Each of Max’s Restaurant wedding motif offers the following amenities:

1. Free use of the function for two hours
2. Event coordinator and event host
3. Choice of 2-layer cake
4. A bottle of wine (for the couple’s first drink)
5. Guestbook with pen

Max’s Restaurant offers 3 set menus with prices ranging from 22,625 pesos (30 persons) to 127,045 pesos (150 persons). Max’s also allows couples to customize their menu with the “Create Your Own Feast”. Here’s Max’s wedding menu from their brochure:

Most of Max’s Restaurants only have indoor function hall for special events but I read in Pinoy Exchange that Max’s Restaurant in Sucat has outdoor space suitable for garden weddings.

Why We Didn’t Book Max’s Restaurant

We didn’t have problem with Max’s food (in fact, I like their fried chicken). The reason that we didn’t book Max’s is that Lei wanted to try a restaurant that we haven’t dined in yet. That’s the only reason why we didn’t chose Max’s Restaurant for our wedding reception.

Many comments around the Internet says that Max’s offers elegant wedding reception at budget price. The good thing is that Max’s will set up the place (thus less hassle for couples) and their crew are experts when it comes to weddings and other events (so you can expect good quality service from them).

For those who are looking for good wedding reception venue with delicious food, I suggest that you inquire about Max’s Restaurant wedding package. Visit Max’s Restaurant website for more info.

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Images of the three wedding motifs were lifted from Max’s Restaurant wedding brochure.
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Wedding Cakes from Goldilocks

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Goldilocks is one of the most popular cake brands in the Philippines. Filipinos usually go to this bakeshop (or to its rival Red Ribbon Bakeshop) whenever there's a birthday party or any celebration.

My Beloved Wife Lei and I are also frequent buyers of Goldilocks cakes that's why we visited this bakeshop after we checked Red Ribbon Bakeshop's wedding cakes.

Graceful Embrace from Goldilocks

Looking at the cake catalogue, we noticed that Goldilocks uses dummies at the top layers of their cake. Lei didn't want dummy cakes. What she wanted is that all layers of our cake be made of real cake.

Goldilocks cake are also more expensive than the cakes from Baker's Fair and Salazar Bakery.

In short, we didn't order any cakes from Goldilocks. Nonetheless, we enjoyed looking at the cake design in their catalogue. Here are some of them:

Goldilocks Fantasy Wedding Cake

According to Goldilocks catalogue, Fantasy is a 3-layer fondant-inspired mocha cake. It costs 7,000 pesos.

Goldilocks Promise Wedding Cake

Promise is a 1-layer 14 inch diameter fondant-inspired mocha cake. It costs 4,000 pesos.

Goldilocks Romance Wedding Cake

Romance is similar to Fantasy. It is a 3-layer fondant-inspired mocha cake. It also costs 7,000 pesos.

There are more cakes in the catalogue but these three are my favorites. Wedding cake designs may also be viewed in Goldilocks website.

Take note that the prices mentioned in this blog post is for 2013. Prices may have change after that year.

What's good with Goldilocks is that the price of their wedding cakes includes four 6 inch diameter mini cakes. For the 3-layer cakes, the price also includes 12 pieces of polvoron cakes. Couples may add more mini cakes for 500 pesos each and polovoron cakes for 85 pesos each.

If you're looking for wedding cakes, I suggest that you try to check out Goldilocks.

Do you want to read more about wedding cakes? I suggest that you read my posts about the wedding cakes from Bakers' Fair, Bakerite, Red Ribbon Bakeshop, and Salazar Bakery.

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Divisoria Adventure: Wedding Souvenirs and Other Items along Tabora & Ylaya Streets

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Tabora Street and Ylaya Street are our most frequented place in Divisoria during our wedding preparations. These two streets have plenty of items that can catch the fancy of couples who are planning their wedding.

Just like other places in Divisoria, these two streets have stores that sell items at very low prices, especially when bought in bulk. These cheap prices attract plenty of shoppers, which in turn attract plenty of pickpockets and other petty criminals. Couples planning to go to Divisoria should be very careful.

Between Tabora and Ylaya Streets is the Yangco Market, known as the place where couples can find shops that sell affordable wedding gowns. We got Lei's wedding gown and the wedding entourage's attire in Yangco Market.

Where are Tabora and Ylaya Streets

These two streets are located at the heart of Divisoria. This means that you have to pass through a large crowd just to reach these streets. Walking along Divisoria is more difficult during the rainy season because of the slippery streets and the disgusting puddle and the stench and a host of other dirty things that Manila can offer.

The location of Tabora and Ylaya Streets may be seen in this map:

What We Saw in Tabora Street

I was delighted the first time that we reached Tabora Street. The place is filled with items that can be used as wedding souvenirs!

And not only wedding souvenirs, the shops along Tabora streets have souvenirs (or gift) items for other special events like christening and birthdays.



Some of the wedding souvenir items that we saw are figurines (the usual bride and groom figurine), wine bottle holders, oil lamps, and chimes.

Aside from wedding souvenirs, shops along Tabora Street also sell decorative items that can be used for wedding reception venues. During one of our visits, I heard someone who I assume as a wedding planner buying a bulk of spherical lanterns made from abaca (similar to the ones in the image below from Rosey's Barn) for a garden wedding.

And since Tabora Street is the arts and crafts hub of Divisoria (according to Click the City), this is where you should go for ribbons, costumes (I've seen a Suma costume, complete with snakes), baskets, Christmas decors and other small items that you can use in decorating your wedding reception venue.

Baskets, plastic flowers, and many interesting items along Tabora Street.

What We Saw in Ylaya Street

If Tabora Street is the arts and crafts hub, then Ylaya Street is the fabric hub of Divisoria.

The shops along this street sell raw fabric, blankets, t-shirts, barongs, gowns, costumes, curtains and many more.

It is in Tabora Street where we bought the foam for our bed and the cloth cover for our Condura refrigerator. This where Lei's friend bought some curtains for her house.

If you can't find the fabric or gowns or barong that you want in Ylaya Street, I suggest that you search the shops in Yangco Market.

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Divisoria is a good place to buy wedding items because of cheap prices of the items. I suggest to all soon-to-be-wed couples to try Divisoria and particularly visit Tabora and Ylaya Streets for their wedding preparation needs.

If you are too afraid to go to Divisoria for wedding souvenirs, I suggest that you visit the shops under the Quezon Bridge located near Quiapo Church.
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Bringing Home the Bestseller Cake of Bakerite

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My Beloved Wife Lei and I visited Bakerite to check their wedding cakes. Unfortunately, we were informed that Bakerite doesn’t deliver their cakes to the wedding venue. Hiring them to make our wedding cake means added headache for transporting the cake from Bakerite to our wedding reception venue.

In short, we didn’t book Bakerite for the wedding cake. What we got instead is their “bestseller”, the cake named as Decadence.

I don’t know what’s decadent with this cake. Is it the pleasure in eating this cake? Is it the guilt (especially for those who are on a diet) in eating this pure sweetness? Who knows.

What I do know is that this cake is very sweet. I think that it is too sweet for me, and that’s coming from a person who places two tablespoons of sugar to his coffee.

A Bakerite staff told me that their Decadence is a yema cake. For the uninitiated, yema is a Filipino candy made from egg yolk, milk, and crushed peanuts.

The yema served as the cakes coating. What’s inside is the yummy chocolate cake.

Bakerite Decadence cake tastes delicious but it is very sweet so this off limits to diabetics. At a price of 350 pesos, this cake can top cakes of the similar price from the popular Red Ribbon Bakeshop and Goldilocks.

More Information about Bakerite

Bakerite, established in 1946, is one of the old bakeries in the Quiapo District of Manila. Aside from cakes, they also sell baked goodies like breads, pastries, cookies, and even hot pandesal.

Bakerite is not a simple bakery because it also doubles as a restaurant. Customers can buy and eat baked goodies inside the air-conditioned area in Bakerite.

An Interesting Historical Tidbit about Bakerite

A friend of mine, named Resty, posted on Facebook  the reason why Filipinos call sliced pan bread “tasty”. The explanation came from Chito Reambonanza of Manila Nostalgia and I quote:

"It's because, when Bakerite Bakery (since 1946) in Hidalgo, Quiapo, started packing sliced pan Americano in transparent plastic bags in the late 1950s (with blue, red, yellow dots) and started distributing these to sari-sari stores through their trucks and/or peddlers, the plastic label had these bolded words: TASTY - NUTRITIOUS - DELICIOUS. From then on, instead of saying loaf bread or pan Americano, people started asking, 'May tasty kayo?' Then the rest is history."

This tidbit enlightened me and I will never see slice pan bread (tasty breads) the same again.

How to Reach Bakerite

Bakerite’s address is 923 R. Hidalgo St. Quiapo, Manila. It is just across the small estero and a few walk away from Quezon Boulevard. Refer to the map below for a better idea of Bakerite’s location.



Customers may also reach Bakerite through their Facebook page, or call telephone nos. (02) 523-1290 or (02) 710-5860
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Wedding Souvenirs from Under the Quiapo Bridge

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My Beloved Wife Lei and I spent some time searching for another wedding item, though not as vital as wedding gown, wedding cakes and the like; but is already part of Filipino weddings. That item is the wedding souvenir.

Wedding souvenir is a gift given to the guests and, more importantly, to the members of the wedding entourage. It can be any item, which means that it doesn’t have to be expensive.

One unexpected place that we visited during our search for wedding souvenirs are the shops located under the Quezon Bridge located near Quiapo Church and Quinta Market.

The tunnels under Quezon Bridge are lined up with stores selling handicrafts.

We found various items like sculptures, coin purses, takraw balls, Christmas decorations, lanterns. My favorite items in those stores are the handicraft products made from capiz shells.

We didn’t buy anything from the handicraft shops under the Quezon Bridge. The items are little bit expensive and nothing caught our fancy.

If you are one of the many soon-to-be wed couples who have no idea about your wedding souvenirs, I suggest that you try visiting these shops under the Quezon Bridge. Maybe this is the place where you can buy the souvenirs, or even decorations, that you want.
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Our Wedding Cake from Salazar Bakery

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After visiting four bake shops, we finally ended our search at Ongpin Street of Binondo Chinatown because My Beloved Wife Lei found the best deal for our wedding cake in Salazar Bakery.

Salazar Bakery is popular for its Chinese delicacies like hopia and mooncake. I once visited this bakery to buy mongo hopia and diced hopia, which tasted good.

Salazar Bakery is one busy shop along Ongpin Street because I always see plenty of customers inside their shop. The bakery is also one of the old bakeries in Manila, like Bakers’ Fair and Bakerite, since it was established in 1947.

Salazar Bakery circa 1950s

I thought that Salazar Bakery only sells Chinese sweets until I passed by their shop one day and saw their window display:

It’s a three layered wedding cake!

Lei immediately liked the cake design so she decided that we visit Salazar Bakery.

One of the bakery staff immediately assisted when we asked about Salazar Bakery's wedding cakes. Their catalog shows different cake designs but I cannot remember if I saw fondant cakes. But that didn't matter for us because what we wanted is a wedding cake without dummy.

The prices of Salazar Bakery's wedding cakes are jaw-dropping for me since it is way cheaper than the cakes from Red Ribbon Bakeshop and Goldilocks.

Another plus point for them is that they can deliver the cake for a fee. The delivery fee depends on the location. I was also informed that earliest delivery time is around 9 in the morning. Good thing that our wedding reception is around lunch time.

Our Experience with Salazar Bakery

Lei decided to book Salazar Bakery for our wedding cake. The cake design that she wanted is the one displayed at their window.

Salazar Bakery allowed us to choose the flavor and motif (color scheme) for our wedding cake. For the flavor, we chose mocha. We also specified that the ribbon around the cake be in old rose accented by violet ribbon flowers. The flower candies are colored light blue. The “Happy Wedding” was replaced with our names.

We paid 1,950 pesos for the wedding cake inclusive of the delivery fee. We gave the full payment when we ordered the cake.

We were told that Salazar Bakery must be informed of cancellation or change of orders 2 days before the delivery date. Unfortunately, they don't refund for cancelled orders. This means that Salazar Bakery will not give you the money even if they don't make the that your ordered. These restrictions, however, were fine since were sure that we will not cancel our order.

We didn't have any complaint with Salazar Bakery. They delivered the cake on time and without any problem.

As for the wedding cake, the icing is sweet and that is to be expected. The sponge cake tasted really good. It reminded of the sponge cake from Eng Ho but Salazar's is softer.

I'm so happy doing the first slice of it with my wife during the wedding reception.

I highly recommend the wedding cakes of Salazar Bakery. Their cakes are cheap but they didn't disappoint.

Salazar Bakery may be contacted at telephone numbers (02) 733-1392 and (02) 733-1397.

Their address is 779 – 785 Ongpin Street, Sta. Cruz, Manila.


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Do you want to read more wedding cake suppliers in Manila? I suggest that you also read my posts for the wedding cakes from

Red Ribbon Bakeshop and Goldilocks
Bakers' Fair
Bakerite

The old photo of Salazar Bakery came from the Salazar Bakery FB page.
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Almost Ordered a Wedding Cake from Bakerite Bakery

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Our search for the best wedding cake supplier brought us to an almost obscure bakery in Quiapo District of Manila. I said it is obscure because we had a hard time finding it. Good thing that we crossed Quezon Boulevard from Quiapo Church and found the bakery at the other half of Hidalgo Street.

The bakery that I’m talking about is Bakerite.

Bakerite, established in 1946, is one of the oldest bakeries in Manila. It is older than Bakers’Fair that I posted about earlier. Bakerite is so old school that even its website logo is reminiscent of the old hand drawn artworks.
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(Source: Bakerite website)

We checked Bakerite's catalog during our visit to their shop and they have beautifully designed wedding cakes like this one:
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(Source: Bakerite FB page)

Bakerite offers traditional wedding cakes and fondant cakes. Normal wedding cakes with one layer are priced from 1,800 to 4,000 pesos depending on the design. Here is a sample of traditional wedding cake from Bakerite:
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(Source: Bakerite FB page)

There are plenty of beautiful wedding cake designs in Bakerite's catalog. Fortunately, cake designs can also be seen in Bakerite's Facebook page. Any couple who want to try Bakerite for their wedding cakes can check that FB page.

Bakerite's best offer, which I think can draw the attention of soon-to-be-wed couples, is that they can make wedding cakes based on the images from the Internet. A Bakerite staff told us about it and I think that offer is pretty good.

Yes. This means that you can print the image of the beautiful wedding cake that you saw in the Internet and ask Bakerite to make a copy of it. The price, of course, depends on the complexity of your wedding cake. 

Why We Didn't Order a Wedding Cake from Bakerite

Bakerite has affordable and beautiful wedding cakes but what prevented us from booking them is that they don't deliver. This means that we will be worrying about the transport of our wedding cake from Bakerite to the reception venue.

This was an added headache so we decided not to get a wedding cake from Bakerite.

Soon-to-be-wed couples should consider the lack of delivery service before ordering a wedding cake from Bakerite. But if you have the means to transport the cake, then I say go and order a cake from them.

For more information about Bakerite's wedding cakes, please visit Bakerite's website or their Facebook page. You may also call (02) 523-1290 or (02) 710-5860. You can also visit them at this address: 923 R. Hidalgo St. Quiapo, Manila.

Take note that Bakerite is located near Manuel L. Quezon University (MLQU).

Check the map below for easy reference.

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Did you come here to know more about wedding cake suppliers? If your answer is “yes” then I suggest that you read my posts about the wedding cakes from Red Ribbon Bakeshop and Goldilocks, Bakers' Fair, and Salazar Bakery.
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A Look at Bakers' Fair's Wedding Cakes

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I previously mentioned about our visit to Red Ribbon Bakeshop and Goldilocks to check their wedding cakes. We couldn't decide if we'll be ordering from them since My Beloved Wife Lei wanted true cake for all layers instead of Styrofoam.

So, we decided to check other bakeries to see if we could get a better deal. One of the bakeries that we visited is Bakers' Fair located along Ongpin Street in Binondo Chinatown.

Bakers' Fair is famous for their diced hopia and other baked goodies. This bakery, established in 1965, is one of the oldest bakery chains in Manila.

Only few people know that Bakers' Fair also sells cakes for special occasions. In fact, I will never know that they offer wedding cakes if not for their window display.

The staff of Bakers’ Fair along Ongpin Street is quite nice and assisted us in our search. They even allowed us to freely browse their computer that contains the list of Bakers’ Fair wedding cakes.

I think that Bakers’ Fair wedding cakes are at the level of Goldilocks wedding cakes. What’s better is that Bakers’ Fair wedding cakes are much cheaper. If I remember it right, the wedding cakes are at half the price of Goldilocks wedding cakes.

Bakers’ Fair wedding cakes are better compared to the cakes of Salazar Bakery, which is another bakeshop located along Ongpin Street.

Bakers’ Fair offers fondant cake and cakes that don’t have Styrofoam filling. They have good cake designs so I urge soon-to-be-wed couples to visit this bakeshop. Maybe this is where you’ll find your dream wedding cake.

We were told that Bakers’ Fair deliver the wedding cake to the reception venue. The delivery fee depends on the location of the wedding venue. Wedding cakes should be ordered at least one week prior to the wedding day.

We didn’t order a wedding cake from Bakers’ Fair but I can see (or sense) that their wedding cakes tastes good. What we ordered, though, is their Pianono Roll...

...that really tasted good. Yum!

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Do you want to read more about wedding cakes? I suggest that you read my post about the wedding cakes from Red Ribbon Bakeshop and Goldilocks, Bakerite, and Salazar Bakery.
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Wedding Cakes from Red Ribbon Bakeshop

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The wedding cake is one item that should never be absent during the wedding day. The presence of the wedding cake is already a Filipino wedding tradition. During the reception, newlywed couples slice the cake and then feed one another with it.

It was believed that the slicing of the cake symbolizes the commitment of the husband and wife to work together ad support one another. Of course the wedding cake is surrounded by various superstitions, especially the one about good fortune for the newlywed couple and the guests.

My Beloved Wife Lei wanted a beautiful cake with three layers. Of course, we both wanted our wedding cake to be affordable.

Lei and I have tasted plenty of cakes from Red Ribbon Bakeshop. We enjoyed eating their cakes, especially our favorite Black Forest.

Since Red Ribbon sells good quality cakes, then they might also have the wedding cake that we wanted.


The Red Ribbon branch in SM Mall of Asia (SM MoA) is the very first place we checked for our wedding cake. Lei liked these two wedding cakes:

Twirl

and

Simple Elegance

The two Red Ribbon cakes are both three-layered fondant cake. The cake is at the first layer while the other top layers are just styrofoam covered with icing. These cakes are offered in two flavors: rich rhum butter cake with chocolate filling and moist chocolate pound cake with chocolate filling.

The Twirl wedding cake costs around 4,500 pesos while Simple Elegance costs 3,850 pesos.

Red Ribbon Bakeshop requires that wedding cakes should be ordered one week prior to the wedding day. I think that they deliver the wedding cake right at the wedding venue.

Visit the Red Ribbon Bakeshop website for more wedding cake designs.

Our Verdict

Lei was turned off by the cakes of Red Ribbon Bakeshop, not because of the price (though that is the secondary reason), but because of the styrofoam at the top layers of their wedding cakes. Lei wanted all layers to be real cakes.

Inquiring about the wedding cakes is easy at Red Ribbon because they have books that contains all the cake designs for weddings, birthdays and other special occasion. Just approach any of the staff and ask about their wedding cakes.

Meanwhile, our search for the wedding cake continues.

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Do you want to read more about wedding cakes? I suggest that you read my posts about the wedding cakes from Bakers' Fair, Bakerite, Goldilocks, and Salazar Bakery.
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