D' Original Freddies Leather Haus @ Recto

As I have said in my earlier blog, I'm having a business -- selling bags particularly drawstring bags. The bags were almost done and the only thing which was not finish was the eyelets. It took me days just to research on how to attach such eyelets until I've decided to look for someone to do it for me. Few days ago, I went to Recto to canvass. But then, everyone I asked told me they can't do it, they don't have the materials or whatever excuse they have because for them it won't generate much profit. So I went back earlier this afternoon and found a shoe store. I was desperate for my bags to be done and so I asked them to do everything they can to attach the eyelets. They said sure and it was a great relief for me. This shop is D' Original Freddies Leather Haus.

It's a small old store located at the underpass in Recto. At first I was really scared of going there alone but then again, I should be brave and independent so that I can achieve my objectives and goals for the day. It's not that clean and it's not air-conditioned but the store is surviving so I guess it's fine. At first, they were a bit hesitant on doing it but thank God they said yes. They were kind enough to explain to me what they will do and they even showed me a sample so that I can still have a choice if I'll let them do it or not. The sample was satisfactory so I asked how much it will cost. They gave me a high initial price but good thing I know how to bargain. I was able to let them give me half of the initial price. The guy started to do it and I was watching him while talking to them. They were asking me for what was the item, is it a project or what. I told them that it was for a business and they were like wow I'm too young for those stuff. Hahaha. We talked about how hard it was for me to look for someone to attach the eyelets. They also told me stories about their customers and the services they offer. I was quite impressed with their work because there were shoe samples there and it looked  sturdy. We had an interesting conversation and that made me unaware of the time. The next thing I know, the bags are finished. It caused me so much relief to finally have the bags ready for selling. I checked all the eyelets and everything was made neatly so I thanked them and said my goodbyes. They gave me their contact number and told me to just comeback if I need someone to attach eyelets. Their service was great and my short stay there was not boring. It felt like I was just talking to some friends instead of feeling bored of waiting. Thanks to my brave soul for bringing me to the scary underpass. It was quite a new adventure. 

Keep wandering, wonderers!!

Food on Four @ SM Aura

Food on Four @ SM Aura is the counterpart of food court at other malls. There are about 5-10 different fastfood chains/restaurants in Food on Four. Some are Brasas, Sbarro, Pepper Lunch, 4 Fingers, etc. Food on Four offers a wide range of selection -- from snacks to heavy meals. Food on Four service differs from the services of other foodcourts. First, the selection was not the usual budget meal and low-priced fastfood chains. FOF came up with a brilliant idea because for example your family decided to eat outside, the usual thing that will happen is that the family will agree on one restaurant but what if parents might crave for something heavy like steak rice while their children wants American food or light meals only. FOF can be the answer to avoid conflict in choosing where to eat. FOF gives you the freedom to choose what you want to eat and still be with your family.

The dinning is as big as the usual foodcourt but cleaner and the tables & chairs look classy. One of the perks they offer is that when you order in any of the selection, they will give you a device that will vibrate if your orders are ready. In this way they add convenience to the customers. Instead of waiting in front of the kiosk and crowding there with other customers waiting for their orders, you can just go back to your table and wait for the device to notify you that everything's ready. These devices are also labeled with the restaurant's name and logo where you ordered to avoid confusion. 

Me and my siblings bought our food from 4 Fingers and our parents bought theirs from Brasas. If there's one thing to be a bit disappointed of, it would be the crew of each restaurant or fastfood. I observed each kiosk while I passed by them and the crew were not smiling and they just take orders, give you your receipt and device and that's it. No matter how tired they are, they must smile and make customers feel that they are happy to serve them. The positive vibes must flow from each one of them so that the vibes can be passed on to their customers. And another thing, I've said that the dinning place was wide but I think they must provide more tables and chairs because that time when we went there, there were a lot of people looking and waiting for tables to dine at but as the overall services that they provide, it's  exemplary. It's basically a higher end of the usual foodcourt offering more convenience and comfort.

Keep wandering, wonderers!!

Burger Project @ Scout Rallos

The idea of customizing the products you purchase sounds really fun and exciting. With this concept personalized item or product brought the existence of Burger Project. As its name suggest, it's a project you will do and you can name that burger to yourself. This impression led to a good number of visits from customers. Even celebrities have tried this said burgers. Coleen Garcia, Jugs & Teddy, Michelle Gumabao and a lot more. Burger Project is the only burger place that offers this kind of service.

Out of curiosity, me and my boyfriend went there and had our first burger project. The place was big enough to cater to around 15-20 customers. It has two floors-- 1st floor is where they take your orders and the second floor is for the dinning. At first, they will give you a pen and a sheet of paper where you will tick the kind of bun, patty, cheese, sauce or whatever you want to put in your burger. It's typically your choice and it's really fun cos you're making your own burger based on your preference and taste. You can also choose other products like fries, buffalo wings and the like. Tog,ether with the list is the price of each option. After you finish the paper, the personnel will compute how much your burger will cost and they will let you know immediately. If you find it too expensive, you can just ask them to remove something from what you've ticked. It's a good thing that they are open for modifications even after you place your orders. 

After ordering, we went up to the dinning and the interior was really nice. There's this part of the wall where it's like a graffiti and another side was a big mirror that made the place look wider. The place was air-conditioned.  We've waited for like 15 minutes and our order was served. We didn't expected that our burger will be that big. It looked really yummy. But after a few bite, we realized that the beef patty was not that delicious, it's a bit raw. If I will rate their burger, i'll rate it as a 7 compared to all the burgers I've tried.  Their service was fine given the fact that they let us personalized our burgers and they informed us on what's a nice combination. Overall, I still rate them as 8.

Keep wandering, wonderers!!

Jamba Juice @ Trinoma

Jamba Juice is really close to my heart. I worked at Jamba last year and I can say it was indeed a great first job experience. Up until now, even if I don't work there anymore, I still visit and buy. What I am about to blog is about my experience as a customer at Jamba Juice Trinoma.

As we enter the store, the team members greeted us with an energetic "Welcome to Jamba!" And yes even if they knew me as a former team member they still treat me like I'm a customer. Flashing their smiles at us made us feel welcome. You can really feel the good vibes when you're in any Jamba store. Everything about the place feels so fun and healthy. Yes, healthy because Jamba offers smoothies, parfaits, juice and baked goods that are good for the health. No high fructose corn syrup, no artificial preservatives, no artificial flavors and 0g trans fat. Being healthy without sacrificing good taste is one of their offering for their guests. And another yes, they call customers guests. It's a way of showing how Jamba juice really care for their customers and how happy the teams are that they can be able to help on keeping their guests healthy. So back to our ordering, we ordered smoothies from the underground menu -- Lime Dream Machine and Push Pop. After ordering, we watched how our smoothies were maid. It's like a show cos the team members are still smiling while doing their work and they even showed us some tricks like tossing the ice and catching it with the blender. It took less than 3 minutes for our smoothies to be in cups. Really fast right? It makes customers feel the convenience of not waiting and the speed of service they have. 

That's me right there!

Jamba is very considerate and kind. They have this Goodness Guarantee that if didn't like your smoothie, like if it's too sour or too sweet, they can replace it for free. When we got out orders, we took our first sip and it tastes good. I admire Jamba for having smoothies with no sugar or milk that tastes really good. They only use fruit juice concentrates, real fruits, yogurt and ice. See how simple these smoothies are made? It's really amazing how they came up with such great mixes. 

The interior was really fun to look at. The way they arranged the tables, wall stickers, menu, etc. The temperature was cold enough for someone to just relax and chill. Jamba Juicealso have an in-store photobooth. We tried it and sent our photos to our email. Cool right? Jamba will surely give you the WOW experience!

Keep wandering, wonderers!!

River Island @ SM Aura

Bags, shoes, clothes -- these are some of the most common addictions of women. Eyeing for your next purchase? Looking for something worth your money? Searching for a fash item? Give River Island a visit. They have great finds linked up with a good service. It's definitely a place for all fash girls out there.

We went to SM Aura few days ago without any plans of shopping. We had our lunch and was window shopping when this shop caught my attention -- River Island. From the outside of the store, it looked really nice because of the items that can be seen from where I stood. And so, we entered the shop and found a lot of nice stuff. At first I was browsing at some clothes rack until I saw lots of bags. There were enough salesperson in the place and they help customers get their sizes, look for an item that will suit the customer and the like.

I was eyeing on this particular bag until a salesperson came and told me that I should buy the bag cos it's really nice and it's the last piece. She was really nice and energetic. Until my mom came and saw the bag. She liked it and took the tag out and looked at the price. I asked her to buy it and she said she'll think about it. The salesperson heard our conversation. She convinced my mom without forcing her to buy. Goes to show how great they are in customer relations. My mom looked at me and told me that we'll buy the bag if we'll divide the price. I'll pay half of the price and she'll pay the other half. I said yes right away because I really liked it. So I asked the sales person to look for a new stock. Even if she knew it was the last, she searched for what I was looking for. She returned and said sorry for not having a new one but the item was in good condition and so, she accompanied me to the cashier. The cashier person greeted me with a smile and started the transaction right away. The transaction was fast and they even checked the bag's condition including the zippers before they put it in the plastic bag. It was a nice impulsive shopping experience. Hahaha. Purchased a nice bag and experienced a good service makes me want to go back and shop. 

Keep wandering, wonderers!!

CP&GM @ Recto

I'm coming up with a new small business with a friend. We both agreed to sell clothes and drawstring bags. She's in-charge of the clothes and I'm in-charge of the bags. I created a design for the bag and I needed someone to make the designs in the fabric that I will use to create the bag. And so, I asked my friend, who owned a small business, a place where I can look for the services I need. She told me to go to Recto. And so, I went.

As we all know, Recto is a not-so-safe place. But I still believe in the principle of not taking the risk is the risk itself. I canvassed for shops who offer embroidery. I found a few but only one shop offered me a reasonable price. This shop is CP&GM. They offer a wide range of services; printing, lay-outing, embroidery and a lot more. The person in the shop was very considerate and kind and to say, good at sales talk. I brought a hard copy of my design and showed it to him. Right away, he lay-outed it in his computer and printed it out. He took note of all my modifications and tried his best to achieve what I was want. He did it courteously and that moment I decided to pick that shop to do the design of my bags. I told him I will return and bring the materials.

I went back but the person I talked to the last time wasn't there. I just left the fabric to the his assistant and reminded that I will come back to see the sample. Unfortunately, they had too much work to do that's why when I came back the next day, the sample wasn't ready. After one day, I went back and saw the results and I was really happy because he achieved the design exactly as it was in the layout he have shown me. I paid him and left the other fabrics so that they can do the other bags. We agreed that I will return and claim my fabrics 3 days after that agreement. I went home and realized I marked the fabrics wrongly. Good thing they gave me a calling card. I called and they answered right away. I told them about my mistake and they told me they will just adjust it and told me that I can claim my fabrics on the same day because they prioritized it. I was really glad because of the good and fast service they have. I loved their work and I will surely be their "suki". 

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Keep wandering, wonderers!!

Yoh Froz @ Dagupan

Being in the province is said to be "being far from civilization". Somehow it's true because the products and services from urban areas are not available in rural places but some provinces, like Pangasinan, are catching up to the technological and social change. One way to prove this is having Yoh Froz in town. Yoh Froz is a store you can see in malls located Manila and they are known for frozen yogurt products. 

As I have said in my earlier blog entry, we were on a foodtrip and Yoh Froz is also one of our destinations. My brother was craving for ice cream that's why when we passed by and saw the place, we parked our car and checked out the place. And by the way, there was a wide parking lot allotted for the customers. And also, there was a guard which made us felt safe for our car. We went out of the car excitedly and went in the store.

The entire place was well-planned-- from lights to the chairs and designs. It was a cute place to chill with friends, siblings, cousins or even parents. The lights were bright enough to make the place look cheerful and it adds to the ambiance of a cold place. It was indeed a cold place. Thanks to the air conditioner.  There were enough tables and chairs. I like how the details of the chairs makes the place so sassy. Also, there's a corner for kids where they can sit on the mat, draw using the materials provided and just play. 

Another thing that I have observed is that there's just one personnel doing everything. There were a few customers but I don't think it's good to assign just one person to take orders, do the orders, clean the place and the like. I wonder if the other personnel was just absent or it's just him all the time. On the brighter side, the personnel was accommodating and he made it looked like he can do everything without anyone's help. Mister independent, right? Hahaha. It's also great how he memorized their products and their prices. He deserves a good tip.

Yoh Froz offers a lot of products but all have frozen yogurt in it. As you can see in the following photos, everything looks so yummy and interesting. It's amazing how they've explored the taste of frozen yogurt paired with other food like waffles, fruits and the like. So far, it is the yogurt place, I have visited, that offers most products. Information was clear through the help of the menu and individual posts of other products.

We orders Banana Boat similar to the banana split, Belgian Waffle with peaches, berries and almonds and flavored frozen yogurt with almonds. It's a bit pricey but having frozen yogurt is not as frequent as having meals from fast foods, so I guess it's okay to spend a little more sometimes. And besides, you not just pay for the product but you also pay for the services. And oh, before I forget, they also have the best added service that any store can offer, Free WiFi. 

Keep wandering, wonderers!!

Giorgio's Pizzeria @ Dagupan

Giorgio's Pizzeria is a popular pizza place in Dagupan. My mom knew this place since she was in college. I also heard my other aunties talked about the said pizza place And since we were on a foodtrip that day, we went there and ate.

From the facade of the resto, you can't really expect something interesting inside. This is because the construction and design is old-fashioned and simple. It also looks small because of the stores beside it. There were like 4 stores congested in the first floor of the building. But nonetheless, we went inside and had our snacks. 

Just like how I described the facade, the interior was the same-- old-fashioned and simple. Yes it was small but good thing there's a second floor. There were enough tables and chairs, cool air conditioners and  small washroom. There were also 3 personnels; one taking the orders and serving it to customers, and the other two preparing and cooking the food. There was also a menu that looked a little bit odd because of the alterations. As you can see, the food are not so expensive. And another plus is that they offer a wide range of products.

It took a awhile for our orders to be served. Thanks to me, i brought something to play with. After about 20 minutes, our pizza was served. It was really yummy because of the toppings and cheese. I love cheese!!! We were a bit disappointed because it took like another 10 minutes for our other order. Nonetheless, the food was great despite the long wait. 

Keep wandering, wonderers!!