I have been a fan of Hello Kitty since I was a little girl and now being a 24-year-old lass in Manila I can now indulge in this obsession. So I stopped by the first Hello Kitty Cafe in BGC.

It was one of those rare moments that I happened to find myself in BGC Uptown Mall. I had a meeting at 12:30 PM but was already in the area around 10 AM because time is gold (it was also Septemeber 21, traffic and rallies may cause me to be late).

I am the kind of person who prefers staying in restaurants with very little people but the best way I thought to spend my time until noon was to pump myself up with caffeine in Starbucks. But being the directionally impaired duck that I am, I found myself a floor away from Starbucks and that is when I stumbled upon the cuteness of the Hello Kitty Cafe.

The mall just opened the place was virtually empty *cue angelic singing* since the mall just opened~

The store had four color themes: blue, yellow, gold and pink, which was incorporated in all aspects of the cafe. Everything had their logo, their tables, napkins and drinking glasses and here I was hoping for Hello Kitty shaped utensils but it wasn't.

For their food, they offer appetizers, sandwiches, main entrees, cakes, cold and hot drinks. The price ranges from 50 PHP - 500 PHP per person. I ordered fries for 110 PHP, lemon soda (called Fizzy Blue) for 105 PHP, 150 PHP worth of Oreo Profiteroles.

The fries were covered in parmesan cheese and were just great. They weren't that salty or soggy. The soda was cute, an ombre mix of blue and green and when mixed together looked like something a mermaid would serve you.


The best was the Oreo Profiteroles, I bought three pieces (50 PHP each) and brought two home. The bread was nice and the oreo cream was delicious. If you aren't really after cupcakes and cakes, I suggest you try out their profiteroles.

So if you want to indulge in all the cuteness that is Hello Kitty and enjoy delicious food pay them a visit at 3F Uptown Mall BGC, Taguig, Metro Manila. Below are a few more photos, I'd stop by the store once again to taste their main entrees and cupcakes.

One of the Orea Profiteroles I ordered

Their display case, sadly not all pastries in the menu are available yet. I look forward to trying their strawberry eclairs next time!

All their glasses have their cute logo in gold. Basically, every thing has their logo.

The takeaway box and bag for the other two profiteroles I bought. They lasted for over 3 hours in just the box, I am not sure how lasting the cupcakes would be but it would be worth the take out.

You can rent this whole building for 80,000 php per night. Its comes with 2 Queen sized beds on the second floor, a total of 4 shower rooms (1 on the 2nd floor and 3 on the third floor). This comes with a butler service and all the toiletries you will use is from the brand Hermes.

This is bed goals right here! Most of the beds in the rooms for rent are all 4 poster beds, so you definitely will feel like royalty when you stay the night!

"Buhay pa ba yan?!" That exact window the Aguinaldo's mother in the movie looked out from as Heneral Luna was continuously shot. I actually had to sneak in to get a glimpse of this room, it was a small room with rather delicate floors since the whole second floor used the original wood.

BEACH!

Now for nutrition related aspect, walking for an hour you are bound to get hungry. The resort has 2 restaurants available, one offers tapas (snacks) and the other is Spanish-Filipino restaurant. This was something we forgot to do, if you are on a budget make sure to bring food from the outside (Mcdo or Jollibee). They have no regulations for bringing in food.
Should you decide to eat in the resorts restaurants the price range for the tapas cafe/restaurant is 200-600 php. They offer sandwiches, viands and rice. (Rice is 50 php per cup!) If you want to eat in the Spanish-Filipino restaurant their ala cart menu ranges from 300-600 php. If you want to take part in the buffet they offer you have to pay 850 php. There are also packages available for 1,200 php you get 1 lunch set and for 1,500 php you get to be part of the buffet.

Should you decide to eat in the resort, they have really big serving and it is delicious as well so the amount of money you will be paying for is worth it. Okay, I know this has been a long post so let us go down the the specific details of the trip. I have made a chart for you so you can have an estimate on how much you would be spending should you decide to take this trip.

So the chart just includes the basic items, food and miscellaneous items (like souvenirs and other things) are not included. That gives you the liberty to customize your budget to your needs, I have provided all needed information and (hopefully) didn't miss out on anything.

An extra tip, is to bring your own water. The second thing I did not like about the resort is the over priced items, 35 PHP for the tiny bottle of water. Tsk tsk, the resort is still working on things, so I can't wait to be a member and they are also very open to suggestion. So when you get the chance answer their survey,ok?

Should you have any other question or clarification, feel free to comment. Thank you for reading! ^_^

Hello, hello, hello!

One weekday I was too overwhelmed with work that my friend suggested that we take a short stop to recharge. I thought it would be just a short stop in starbucks for a cheesecake fix but then he asked me where the cat cafe I was telling him about was located. Situated in one of Gateway's Manhattan Condominiums was the cat themed cafe called Bengal Brew. I thought that it would be just a short stop to watch the cats run around and my friend offered to treat me as a reward for surviving the day.

[Little Note: I was diagnosed with anxiety and depression half a year ago, I have truly awesome friends who are supportive in this little battle of mine.. NOW BACK TO THE CATS!]

They offer two packages that would allow you to mingle with the cats. You may have the 199 PHP package which allows you a 1 hour playtime plus a drink of your choice or you may have the 350 PHP package which allows you a 2 hour playtime plus a drink and pastry of your choice.

We opted to take the 199 php package and got some iced caffeinated drinks. (They offer matcha too :3 but they were fresh out when we went there.) They come in these adorable spill proof tumblers since the cats will be crawling all over your tables and bags and possibly pushing these babies off the tables too.

If you guys are planning to pay them a visit make sure to wear socks. To ensure the health of the cats you will be asked to change into indoor shoes and for sanitary purposes they would require you to wear socks along with the slippers, for those people who aren't socks people (yes, there a such people) they offer socks for sale for 100 PHP. 

Cats also tend to scratch and bite those who play with them, so before you enter you will be asked to sign their waiver noting that you are aware of the risks of playing with these furbabies.



The inside is very spacious with tables and chairs for you to seat in while in my case I opted to sit on the floor hoping for some cats to come near but, sadly we arrived late and most of them were already napping. The cafe was also able to maximize ceiling and wall space with cat pathways and steps placed all over the place.

One thing I truly loved about the place is that even if there weren't a lot of cats the place helped in calming me down, the ambiance was comforting with or without the cats.

But we were there for cats and the attendant nicely let more of the awake cats out and I figured the easiest way to catch their attention was to get some food out. You can request for food to feed them for an additional 100 PHP, but be warned they can get very aggressive when it comes to food. I was only allowed to feed 2 cats through my hand, despite the number of reminders that they bite I still fed one up close and got a rather deep cut on my thumb. The attendants assisted in cleaning my cut right after we finished feeding them. Sadly, I accidentally erased the video we took as I was feeding them, we'd try to record again.

Here are just some things to remember when you want to visit them:

1. Do not force interaction with the cats.
2. Do not feed them upclose, ask the attendant which ones you can feed.
3. Do not carry them without their permission and without the attendants assistance.
4. Do not wake them up.
5. Should you get clawed or bit inform the attendant immediately so that they may assist in disinfecting it.
6. If you are going to carry them take note that they will be big and heavy. An average female bengal cat may reach up to 10 pounds while a male bengal cat may reach up to 15 pounds.

Below is a video compilation of our photos in the cafe. Enjoy and if you want to visit or ask them questions you may send them a message through their Facebook by clicking this link.

House Number

The two gates of the home, the metal works you see here were all hand made by Mr. Juco

Closer view of the gate and metal works, you may actually use these gates as backdrops for your shoot

The pathway that lead to the house main entrance

The living area is one of the areas you may have a shoot in and this is my favorite part of the house