Sponsored: The Weekend Market

You know you’re a certified Tita of Manila when... you prefer a quiet Friday night so you can get up early on a Saturday to catch the weekend market. Lol.  There’s something so interesting about a weekend market - homemade specialties, unique offerings sold for a cause and products that are not your run of the mill ‘mainstream’ offerings. I seriously believe it’s not just for the foodies and health enthusiasts out there. The very concept of why it was established in the first place, think neighborhood gathering and getting to know each other, is very interesting to begin with. :)

Funny how in one article, it was pointed that this type of market is one where you actually give a thought about your clothing before going. Lol. I don’t actually believe in that (you can tell from pics below) but on purpose, I decided to wear this white pantsuit from Rosegal coz I thought it was perfect for that setting. Sheesh. It's a very breezy outfit with its criss-cross back and front leg slits that's easy to wear. Though flats are advised, my pair of sandals is kitten-heeled so it's not really a struggle going around the market. Also, they're from our very own local brand Carmelette's.

So finally, after working in Makati for almost five years now, I got the chance to catch the weekend market in my favourite village – Salcedo Village in Makati. My favorite about this market? There's a park next to the parking lot where it's setup and so can just easily have a picnic after getting your food finds. I don't know it's just that I feel Manilenos don't do picnics often and parks are not very well-utilized unlike those in Europe (specifically, in Paris mon amour <3). 

White Floral Jumpsuit

Hat: Zara; Dress: Rosegal; Shoes: Carmelette's; Earrings: Mango

This post was in collaboration with Rosegal/ Carmelette's. All styling by yours truly. Use the code RosegalChen in your purchases to get additional discounts. :) 

Breakfast Joints: SV

If you learned about the reason why I’m doing breakfast joints in my very first post here, then I regret to say that it's just half the truth. :P So, allow me to tell you a story about my SV discovery.

It all started one Monday night while I was waiting for my late yoga class at 830 and I decided to walk around the workplace doing location scouting for shoots. It’s been months since we moved to the other side of Ayala in a temporary workspace and I haven’t familiarized myself yet well with our area. Well, to be honest with Makati city in general. Somebody made me realize this cold hard truth when I ran out of dining suggestions on a date.  Oh please don’t give me that look. Yup, it all started with this guy. Ugh. *facepalm*

As a foreign guy living in another country, of course he has to know his city.** And with friends who are quite the foodie type, then I think it was a mistake to date him. Lol. He used to come here twice a month for work and always always relied on me for post work dinners. To be honest, I kinda like it when the guy is in control but in this case, he’s in my city and I guess I should be the one in charge (?!?!)

So that night along with Toby’s Estate discovery and all its neighboring restaurants, I could only be too happy to discover this village. I was like, so this is Salcedo Village!!! I knew he’d like it as he isn’t a fan of dining at the malls. I had no plans of stopping by then but Toby’s Estate is just so inviting that I had to stay and order something non-caffeinated. In between sips of my beverage, I eagerly report ed to him about our new hang-out place on his next visit. He was indeed pleased with the area in general.

Fast-forward to the present with two more follow-up breakfast joints report here and here, I’m still not claiming that by now I’m already an expert in Makati but Salcedo Village has become one of my favorite hang-outs for breakfast, work breaks or even dinner. It’s just geographically behind the office so what’s not to love? And every now and then, it delights me to see 3^rd wave coffee joints, restaurants or gyms opening up in this area. The most recent one would have to be Cartel as seen below.

As for the guy? He never really liked coffee (seriously, why did I even date him? Lol). We are friends. (Hmmpp, showbiz. Haha!) Okay, just a funny story. During that entire period of dating him, I also happened to discover a Dutch restaurant somewhere here since he badly craves for home dishes and they’re not available in the country where he is living now. One morning, we decided to meet there for breakfast and a few minutes before we arrive, I called up the restaurant to find out that it is closing ON THE VERY SAME DAY. Wow. I guess it’s one of those “signs” that it’s simply not meant to be. (Observe observe din ng signs kasi para hindi nahu-hurt, Cakes. Lol!) And that is the reason why, he may be gone already but my love affair for coffee and breakfast joints continues. :P

Toby's Estate

 

Dress: Unbranded; Belt: Topshop; Shoes: Mango

Cartel

Vest/ Belt: Mango; Dress: Dorothy Perkins; Shoes: CMG