Zentea Love

I'm lactose intolerant (I say this as I type this drinking a glass of malt-flavored soymilk) but I love milk tea. I really love milk tea! I'd prefer milk tea over a cup of coffee any day. Usually, I like my milk tea with mild sweetness and hot on a cold rainy day, but for a jolt of energy, it's nice to have it cold, especially after an hour or two of pole class. I love Zentea because their cold iced teas are yummy and their horlics milk tea is superb!

People who frequent the Pearl Drive area are already friends with the Pearl Drive Zentea staff who are really super friendly. They know their regular customers plus their favorites and how they prefer their drinks.

In my case, I prefer my horlics milk tea with no pearl. If they run out of horlics tea, they're nice to give you another alternative like caramel or their bestseller nai cha. Horlics milk tea tastes a lot like the candy so I really like it.

Oh yes, and if you think this is deathly pricey milk tea, that size cost me only Php65.00. If milk isn't for you, they also have regular flavored iced teas that cost only Php35.00 for a medium size.

Thanks kuya, for letting me take your picture and the Kiosk, so when my readers decide to hunt for this branch they know how it looks like! I think I'm there often and purchase too much that the guys over there know already what I want and practically memorize my pole schedules. Did I mention they're pretty famous too? Google Zentea Pearl Drive and see lots of pictures!

Must-Try: Ming's Halo Halo

En route home from Batangas, Mike, Nix, and EJ suggested to stop by this place for halo-halo. Although we were experiencing a bit of drizzle that time, it was still hot and we needed a bit of a cooler to lower the body temperature.

Along the highway to Tagaytay, this open-air restaurant is home to good halo-halo. It uses real carabao's milk so it's richer. To get here, from Sta. Rosa exit, just follow the road that leads to Tagaytay. Look for this sign. There you go.

Aside from carabao's milk and finely-shaven crushed ice (i.e. no tooth-crunching ice bits), this type of halo-halo contains all the goodies we find in halo-halo, minus the beans. Anyone with gout here? This halo-halo is for you. As for me, I've never been a fan of beans or garbanzos. I leave those out. I was lucky that this one is legume-free, so I was able to enjoy it, except for much of the milk part, since I'm lactose intolerant and full cream milk is one of the stuff that I avoid. I was able to consume finished the fillings down to the last piece. Good thing there was EJ to finish off the milk for me.

For less than 200 pesos, you get one serving. One tall glass is already good for 1 person, although some could opt to share, especially if you're not that hungry (but we were heheheh). Anyway, the catch though is this place closes early, especially on weekdays so best go here before 4 p.m., since according to Mike, the first time they went here they were a few minutes late from closing time.

Another must-try is the puto (I think it's around 28 pesos for 4 pieces) which they serve hot, in contrast with the halo-halo. Oh, and before leaving, this place is great for photo-ops as well, with the scenery.

Thesugarbug loves Lipton Milk Tea to Give Her Energy

I like the title 'coz it rhymes. Heee!

A few months ago, before this blog came to be, I, along with a few other bloggers, were fortunate enough to attend a Lipton and Body Shop Blogger's event where we were pampered not with yummy Bizu munchies, given our favorite Body Shop freebies, but also, we got a taste of Lipton Milk Tea. I was already a fan of milk tea even before I started doing makeup professionally. This is one of the food discoveries I've had during our food trips back during the day when I used to work. It's actually been around for quite a while and here it is for me to share in my food blog.

I present to you, Lipton Milk Tea.

Wth healthy lifestyle being the "in" thing today, it's really nice to know that new varieties of healthy drinks are coming up. For me, it's a good way of promoting health without the preachy aspect. Remember how some of us get traumatized when we were "forced" to eat vegetables? You know what I mean. Plus look at the main color - YELLOW! Definitely very inviting, very cheery, very sunny, very summery. In fact, the color of the day during the event was YELLOW! It's like the tea cups were saying "Drink me! I'm healthy! I make you pretty and happy!" In a sweet fairy godmother tone.

Actually, I'm a tea lover now that I'm embracing a healthy, zen lifestyle to balance my on-the-go high energy and entrophy side. For one thing, tea has a way of calming me down especially after a long day. Remember in the spas we're served teas after a massage? It sort of seals everything in and relaxes the body more. After a heavy and fatty meal, I always like a cup of tea to help calm down my tummy especially since I do have a history of hyperacidity. I love tea after a yoga session. When I'm sick, a nice hot cup of ginger or peppermint tea helps me feel better.

What I like about tea is that it has this way of making me feel good while giving me that energy jolt I need for that extra stretch of work. Actually, the dorky side of it explaining that is tea actually has a naturally-occuring amino acid called theanine, which naturally stimulates activity in the brain called alpha waves resulting in a relaxed but alert mental state. So when there's work to be done, I can do it with a calm mindset rather than all jittery and jumpy. It's like getting the job done while being calm and focused. Imagine finishing a deadline all nerves and shackles. Haggard 'no 'te?

Summing it up here's a perfect equation:

Milk + Tea = Refreshingly good!

I mean when I tasted it first, it's got that kick a tea has, that bitter herbal taste but there's the mellowness and creamy-sweet taste of milk. Lipton milk tea tastes also like real, brewed milk tea from scratch - not artificial or medicine-like. I can even take this on an empty stomach. Say, I need something to warm me up before a crack-of-dawn shoot. I might pack this since I have an overnight shoot! (Mental note: Run to the grocery and get yourself a box of Lipton Milk Tea).

I actually prefer this hot, since I like the warmth it gives on my stomach. When it's a hot day, serving it cold (with ice!) could be a good choice. I can even take a packet with me along with a heatproof mug and make one before I start doing makeup or on-the-go.

Take a look at this picture:

The sugar bug definitely loves her Lipton Milk tea up to the point that she would have drank the cup clean down to the subatomic particles of Lipton Milk Tea had she been gifted with a proboscis.