Nov 28, 2015

Christmas is in the air and Starbucks Philippines brings you gifts of joy!

I was invited to the Starbucks Christmas Launch at SM City Davao and I was so excited to be part of it because I wanted to know more about their latest offering for their customers this holiday season.

Starting November 2, enjoy these delectable holiday espresso beverages from Starbucks - Toffee Nut Latte, Peppermint Mocha, and Panettone Latte.

The all time favorites Toffee Nut Latte and Peppermint Mocha will bring back the memories of candy canes and sweet treats you receive during Christmas.


Toffee Nut Latte  Short - P155 / Tall - P165 / Grande - P180 / Venti - P190
Peppermint Mocha  Short - P155 / Tall - P165 / Grande - P180 / Venti - P190

The new Christmas Panetonne Latte is my newest favorite because it has the flavors of bread and butter paired with steamed milk and roasted espresso. Then topped with whipped cream and dried fruits for a textural and delicious twist on a classic holiday tradition.


Christmas Panetonne Latte  Short - P155 / Tall - P165 / Grande - P180 / Venti - P190

Also served in Frappe - Tall - P175 / Grande - P185 / Venti - P190

Let's also celebrate the holiday season with all of these food items that is perfect with your favorite drink.


Chicken Fajita Roll - A tortilla filled with mouth-watering Mexican flavored chicken breast fillet. If you are a fan of anything with pimiento, you will surely love this.
Gingerbread Cookie - A penguin gingerbread cookie decorated with sugar icing. I can eat this every morning for breakfast but it's too cute to eat! LOL!
Chocolate Crepe Cake - Seventeen layers of crepe filled with Belgian chocolate cream. Not too sweet but it really taste good.
Dark Belgian Chocolate Cake - Layers of Belgian chocolate cake, mousse, meringue, and frosted dark Belgian chocolate with gold powder dusting. Drooling to death! :p
Rocky Road Cookie Stuffed with Oreo - A chewy double chocolate chip cookie with walnuts, marshmallow, and stuffed with Oreo. MY FAVORITE!!!
Roasted Chicken and Turkey Wrap - A tortilla filled with chicken breast fillet, roasted vegetables, and turkey drizzled with cranberry garlic dresing.
Penne Al Formaggio - A childhood favorite, al dente penne pasta with creamy and sharp cheese sauce made with cheddar, parmesan, and mozzarella. Most of the Davao Bloggers love this.
You can also order the new Starbucks packaged food - Starbucks Biscotti Collection. This features three almond biscotti and three chocolate chunk biscotti. This is a delicious complement to your favorite coffee with its subtle sweetness and satisfying crunch.
We also tried the Starbucks Christmas Blend. It is combined with Latin and American beans with mellow Indonesian coffees and rare aged Sumatra. Artfully roasted and expertly blended to be both spicy and sweet. The taste is very rare, strong, yet spicy and sweet just like Christmas! :)

The Starbucks Christmas Cards


Holiday Mini with Swarovski Crystals - This card is designed with 29 Swarovski crystals and will be available starting on November 2.
Holiday Tree and Snowman Cards - These cards make a comeback! It's a perfect gift for you or the ones you love this Christmas. Available also starting on November 2.

The Anna Sui Tumbler Collection + Card will be available in December 1 for an initial consumable load of P1,000.


Starbucks PH 18th Anniversary Card and the Merry Christmas Card will also be available in December.
The most-awaited Starbucks Planner



The Starbucks 2016 Planner by Moleskine will be available starting on November 2 in four colors. There will be two versions of the planners. The weekly base planners are the bigger ones in white and green while the daily base planners are the smaller ones in black and red.

All you need to do is to get a Starbucks Christmas Traditions Promo Card at the counter for free and collect 18 stickers. The baristas will put one sticker on the promo card every time you purchase a Starbucks handcrafted beverage. It must be 9 stickers for their Holiday Featured Beverages and 9 Core Beverages of your choice.

One customer can hold up to 2 promo cards combined, provided that the 9 featured and 9 core beverages have been purchased. WARNING: DO NOT REMOVE THE STICKERS like I did when I started collecting for the first time. It was a bad experience. LOL!

More info about the terms and conditions of this promo is at the back of the promo cards for you to read.

I already have one by the way, thanks to Starbucks SM City Davao!

Let's enjoy the holiday season with family and friends at Starbucks! Thanks for dropping by! Have a great day!

Nov 23, 2015

Best friends do everything together. It could be wearing the same shirt together, go shopping together, eat together, or cry over together. I do that with my best friend too but, we have never wrote a book together like Solenn and Georgina did!
Two of the most gorgeous and sexiest women in the Philippines flew to Davao for their book signing at the SM Lanang Premier last August 23. Solenn Heussaff and Georgina Wilson are the authors of the newly launched book titled "Besties".



The book is about their love for fashion, careers, relationships, and friendship. The book also tells us that they are not as perfect as we thought they were. They are just like us who went through the same experiences we had.
Honestly speaking, I don’t like reading books but I bought 3 Besties books for the book signing event because I really want to meet them and maybe I can give away the two other pieces.
George managed to come to Davao even with a sprained ankle just to meet their fans and readers. Solenn also makes funny things on stage and made all the fans giggle. This shows how normal they are.




WHAT I LIKE ABOUT THE BOOK
While reading the book, it is like you are having a conversation with them on a Saturday. The prologue says, “We want you to feel like you’ve sat down and had coffee with us and gotten to know us better in a real way.
They talk about teenage insecurities and how they were bullied as students before and as celebrities now.



It is raw and with no cover-ups. They give us a look of their flaws (minus the Photoshop).

The book is a guide on how to deal with everyday life issues. They give tips on beauty, fitness, love, and sex.




Georgina and Solenn even have a list of rules in traveling.



Georgina stood out when she talked about money management. Well, she’s not just good looking, she’s also very intelligent.



The book is very affordable and has good quality. There are a lot of colored pages and details.


I really enjoyed reading the book. It’s like watching a feel good chick movie. You can really tell that they are just like you and me. I am impressed with this book and I recommend this to all of you.
But wait, there’s more! I am giving away 2 Besties Book signed by Georgina Wilson and Solenn Heussaff to TWO LUCKY READERS!
How to join:

1. Like Bakasyonista Ako Fan Page on Facebook here.

2. Take a selfie with your best friend and post in on Instagram. Don't forget to use the hashtags #BestiesBookClub #BakasyonistaGiveawayBestiesBook and tag me @jexxhinggo.


3. Share this link on Facebook along with the captions.
“I just joined the #BakasyonistaGiveaway on www.jexxhinggo.com! Win a signed copy of the BESTIES Book if you join here too - http://jexxhinggo.blogspot.com/2015/11/besties-book-signing-giveaway.html ”
4. Comment below with the link of your entry on Facebook. Make it sure that you set it to PUBLIC.

5. 2 Winners will be randomly selected.


I will announce the 2 lucky winners on December 7, 2015.

Besties is available at National Bookstore Abreeza, SM Lanang Premier, Gaisano Mall Davao, and SM City Davao. Visit your local bookstores too!

Nov 2, 2015

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A new coffee and milk tea shop opened last August at The Peak of Gaisano Mall of Davao. Bean Leaf offers a variety of coffee and flavored milk teas that everyone will surely love. We were invited at the grand opening last August 15 and we tasted their delectable food and drinks.

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To start the Grand Opening Ceremonies, a barista showed his skills in flairtending and Mr. BeanLeaf came out to dance for us. So cool and cute!

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The cutting of the ribbon was facilitated by the BeanLeaf Master Franchisee for Davao Mr. Jim Sawers and BeanLeaf CEO Randy Salamat. It was also graced by Councilor Louie Bonguyan and Ms. Sweet representing Gaisano Mall.

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BeanLeaf's tagline is “Experience our Difference”. BeanLeaf invites people to taste their food and drinks, to experience a difference. BeanLeaf prides itself as a standout among other cafes and mil tea shops.

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NUTELLA OVERLOAD
- I ordered this because the staff told me this is one of their best-sellers. It is very “chocolatey.”. It’s like I’m sipping Nutella and dark chocolate at the same time. Too sweet.

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LEMON FRUIT TEA
- I haven’t tried this one but my friend Claudine Chua said, “To tell you honestly, I loved it. I have been craving for it ever since.” (Photo credit: FashionVenom.com)

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CITRUS MALUNGGAY FRUIT TEA
- When my co-bloggers went to their food tasting event before the opening day, Clea Banal shared that this became their favorite saying, “ Our favourite was Citrus with Malunggay. It's refreshing and a must drink during summer. Doesn't taste Malunggay or Moringa at all! Perfect sinker would be Nata de Coco. It has green tea so it's healthy.” (Photo credit: CleaBanal.com)

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We also tried their CAKES IN A JAR. It has three flavors - Black Forest, Salted Caramel, and Cookies and Cream. My favorites were the Black Forest and Salted Caramel.

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We had a great time at the grand opening and soon after the shop became crowded with customers. Experience the difference by visiting Bean Leaf at the Peak of Gaisano Mall of Davao.

For updates, promos, and exciting offers:
Facebookwww.facebook.com/BeanLeafDavao
Instagram: www.instagram.com/BeanLeafDavao
Website: www.beanleaf.ph


Thanks for visiting! Have a great day! :)

@jexxhinggo