Finds at Thirdy's Bocaue: Unilever Hair Care Products and Reviews of Clear and Dove Dermacare Scalp Anti-Dandruff Shampoos

Before the pandemic, my brother discovered Thirdy's, a store in Bocaue which offers imported And local chocolates for cheap. 

These are some of the chocolates and snacks they got in one of their runs.

Perfect for Valentine's Day!

There, they found out that the store also carries bath products and fragrances, also at super low prices. The items are legit, not fake. They work.

Sale items get snapped up pretty quickly. So what you gonna do when faced with shampoos and conditioners at about 50% less mall prices with the possibility that the next time you are there, they wouldn't be? 

You hoard several tubes and bottles.

Some we still haven't used up

For most of last year until now, because of this, me and my sister have been using Unilever hair care products like Dove, Clear and Creamsilk.

I don't really have terrible, large, flaky, crusty dandruff but I occasionally get tiny flakes and my scalp sometimes would become dry and itchy. Thus the dandruff shampoos. 

Clear Anti-Dandruff Shampoo in Ice Cool Menthol and Clear Men Anti-Dandruff Shampoo in Cool Sport Menthol are both able to rid me of those annoying tiny, oily, dandruff that tend to fly this way and that close to my scalp by drying them out. The former just has a minty floral but masculinish scent while latter has a minty orange one.

But the primary reason I got these particular Clear Anti-dandruff Shampoos is the minty feeling they impart. Scalp feels really refreshed and considering we live in the tropics where 30 degrees is not a summer but a normal daily temperature, having a cooling product is a need for me. And to think I get cold easily.

The thing with Dove Dermacare Scalp Anti-Dandruff Shampoo in Soothing Moisture is, I noticed that after using it for weeks,  my below shoulders rebonded hair started to lose its straightness.  But my hair feels much more softer when I use this than it does when I use Clear. Clear is better in addressing dandruff though. It has a vanilla fragrance. 

All these three products I have are made in the Philippines.

Before heading over, it's best to check Thirdy's Facebook page to see what's on sale. I think they also deliver. 

Nestle Milk Teas and Chili Garlic Sauces

Milk teas happen to be an "in" thing for teens judging from the amount of milk tea posts that appeared in my timeline in the last quarter of 2018. I don't know if this has something to do with Maymay Entrata's TV commercial Nestle Milk Teas.

Chili garlic sauce and Nestea Hokkaido-Style Milk Tea

Payless Xtra Big Pancit Canton Original Flavor

The local supermarket where we get our month's worth groceries didn't have Lucky Me Pancit Canton in Original Flavor. So I went on twitter and searched for alternatives. A lot of people were raving about Payless Extra Big Pancit Canton in Original Flavor. A few even said that it tasted exactly like Lucky Me Pancit Canton.

Pansit Cabagan from Balay Kainan, San Miguel, Bulacan

We passed by Balay Kainan in San Miguel, Bulacan on the way to Minalungao National Park in Nueva Ecija. The eatery offers affordable short orders, meals and viands.

The Chosen One Ice Cream of Meycauayan

The Chosen One Ice Cream is a pretty popular ice cream brand in Meycauayan and for good reason.

Shabu-Shabu at the New Divisoria Mall Food Court

We forgot the name of the place because really, our dining experience at this establishment needs to be forgotten. Maybe not before relating said experience.

Erra's Ramen: Shoyu on a Cold January Noon

It's soup weather. Chilly weather requiring hot soup. Where I'm at, on some mornings, it's pea soup as Scully had said in the Rain King. (The X-Files are back, by the way. In the Philippines, Season 11 airs Thursdays, 8:55PM on Fox with replays on Saturdays 7:05PM and Thursdays 8PM and 10PM.) Thankfully, it's fog not smog. Perks of living in the province. Though with our place rapidly becoming urbanized, I'm afraid we won't be getting fresh air much longer. It seems the local government is intent on turning the municipality into a factory hub. There's an equipment barn a block away where I live now. At least the female owner who goes berserk on the workers or orders them around while on speakers has been quite, um, entertaining.

Anyways, I've been feeling cold even at noon so I've been warming myself with soupy dishes this past couple of days. Yesterday, I found myself at Robinson's Place Ermita so off I went looking for Erra's Ramen, a much-talked about ramen place along Adriatico Street. From the mall's Pedro Gil entrance/exit, I turned right, then walked until I reached Adriatico Street which at that point was the first street to intersect Pedro Gil. Turning left, I went towards Remedios Circle. A minute or two later, signage to my right announced that I have reached the place.

Baked Treats and Goodies for the Holidays

For a few years now, our dining table and refrigerator, especially during the holidays, have been laden with baked goods and sweets, boxed or pre-packaged ones you would often see in bazaars or during Christmas gift giving at work.

My brother and his wife, their day jobs in the telecom industry notwithstanding, have been flexing their entrepreneurial muscles for some time now, reselling food items like chicharon (Chicharon capital Sta. Maria, Bulacan is just two municipalities over where we live.) and said baked goods and sweets. We are only too eager to taste test and provide feedback.

clockwise from left: Pines brownies, Aiza's Sweets marzipan, Pines butterscotch, Chocovron polvoron, leche flan

Aiza's Sweets Marzipans are yema bonbons with generous slivers of cashew nuts. This is my sister's bet. Because she is nutty. Kidding.

Chocovron Polvoron is actually a brand of  polvoron with inventive flavors like malunggay, sometimes coated in chocolate. They're really good.

I am not sure of the brand of the leche flan but this one's a winner. This milky creamy flan is coated in a generous caramel sauce. It does not have the gelatin-y taste some flans have. Said flans use gelatin to hold them upright and keep their structure. There have been flans with fancy flavors like strawberry cheesecake and cookies and cream which have come out but this simple unadulterated flan will remain as our favorite.

Kenny Rogers Garlic Butter Roast, Healthy Eating and Another Fastfood Horror Story

I believe Kenny Rogers Garlic Butter Roast is better than their Classic Roasted Chicken. It's juicier and much flavorful. Or maybe it's just me needing a break from the Classic Roast. Classic Roast has a tangier note than the Garlic Butter Roast. Sissy approves of it and she's not into garlic anything. And it comes with baby potatoes. Garlic Butter Roast is not really a new product as it had appeared in the Kenny Rogers menu before.

clockwise from top: healthy plate, solo meal a, combo meal 2

Yes, we're back to eating chicken.

Over lunch, our friend's treat, we talked about healthy eating (healthy eats being one of Kenny Roger's come-ons) with friend relaying that she eats small portions every two hours as her doctor and a nutritionist friend had recommended. Healthy food, mind you. I brought up that my mom's and my aunt's cardiologists have advised against drinking too much coffee. One suggested decaf. Friend frowned that it's not the same. I told her with instant coffee (not those 3-in-1 stuff), I could not tell the difference in taste. Though, can somebody recommend an instant decaf which does not melt and harden in a coffee container easy? I think we agreed that it's better to watch what we eat but not stress about it. Have dessert and junk food now and then.

I don't really strictly monitor what I eat. I even like a lot of food items one's not supposed to be eating (like innards). I'm skinny and underweight. I don't eat too much. Still, I'm one of those people who seldom get sick. I'm aware that it's not a barometer for being healthy, though. My recent tests showed that the only thing off with me is my blood sugar and my head ct scan.

That's the messed up thing, isn't it? You have managed not to get sick for some time or you make sacrifices to keep yourself healthy, stick by the rules, give up indulgences then suddenly some other person or company effs your life up. And they are not nice to you about it. They leave you for dead.  Like my dad says, "You follow the rules of the road. Then you get into an accident because the other driver or the pedestrian did not."

Since Halloween is fast approaching, here's another fastfood horror story (more in my other blog) for y'all.

We were at a nearby fastfood joint once when we saw this chicken being roasted fall off the spit over at a quick service restaurant. We called the attention of the service of crew of said QSR. It took a looong time before someone picked up the chicken. We could only hope they didn't serve the thing to their customers. Nevertheless, it also took a looong time before we ate at that QSR after that incident.

SM Bonus Bacon, Bird Flu and Super Mega Companies Who Care Only About Themselves

In recent months, I learned the hard way, like a blow to the head, that some massive companies would save their asses first and not take responsibility or show/express remorse/regret for the pain, suffering and distress they have cost you and your family.

Because, really, these premier companies and most of their employees only care about the company. They do not care about you. They may show that they supposedly care via foundations and CSRs but that's all there is to it, for show.  Besides aren't they enjoying tax perks with those foundations? Aren't they getting media mileage with those CSRs? While not very popular giant companies have been donating stuff /helping out without fanfare, these gargantuan companies are all about hype. When it comes to dealing with individual customers, well, you're just a speck to them. You're nothing. Most of their employees will protect the company. Never you.

We're a couple of kilometers from bird flu ground zero. So to be on the safe side, the family has refrained from eating chicken, quail, chicken and quail eggs and other products that have chicken and quail eggs (like bread) a couple of weeks ago. Never mind government agencies saying it's safe already to consume them. Like our two barangay ambulances are anywhere around when you need them.

Back to mammoth companies, I bet they will tell you that it is hard to prove that the only chicken you've consumed is their chicken even if you have the receipt as proof. Because, hey, you were okay when you left their establishment and it's only a few days later that you're not feeling well and in that span of time a lot of things could have happened. They will tell you their product / system is perfect. They will insinuate that something is wrong on your end when clearly the evidence points to them as culpable. As what most complainants have pointed out: would we make a complaint, risk ridicule, take the time, spend the money, show proof, if we are at fault?

Abstaining from chicken isn't really hard especially if you're into seafood. 'Sides, there are a lot of yummy foods out there. Like bacon. But not this bacon.

SM Bonus Honeycured Bacon tastes like bacon that's been soaked in water first. The bacon taste barely registers.  It barely smells like bacon either. Some of the slices even look like ham or are a tad too thick. Sayang P230 ko.

Anyways, what's that other word for big? Super Monstrous is just about right.

Anna's Salted Egg Potato Chips

Salted egg potato chips are said to have originated from Singapore. In the Philippines, salted duck eggs are often sold painted red so you can differentiate them from ordinary duck eggs. They're already boiled so you can immediately eat them with rice after peeling off their shells. So I was a bit surprised that salted duck eggs in Singapore have yet to be boiled. They're raw. My brother already told me about this so I didn't made the mistake of spilling the yolk and albumin when I cracked the shell of my first SG salted duck egg. I am not sure if raw salted duck eggs are available in the Philippines. Would have made making salted egg potato chips a lot easier. There's already salted duck egg powder, yes, but fresh is still best right?

Inexpensive Meals at Amelito's Grill and Sizzling House Plus Unli Rice, Soup, Gravy - Food Thrift

The uproar on the net in the last couple of days following alleged plans to ban unli rice should be enough of an indication that Filipinos love rice. While Mang Inasal may be synonymous to unli(mited) rice, there are other restaurants and eateries that cater to the Filipinos' penchant for this meal staple.

With a branch at Albatross St., Francis Subdivision, Pandayan, Meycauayan, Bulacan, Amelito's Grill and Sizzling House offers unli rice, unli soup and unli gravy with its super affordable grilled meats and sizzlers. The entrees are served on a sizzling plate with a scoop of buttery rice, a bowl of nido soup and another of buttery gravy.  Pay additional for softdrinks or iced tea. The meals do not come with them but you can ask for water.

And you can have as much rice, soup and gravy as you want, just signal the servers and they will give you a refill. No it's not a rice, soup and gravy buffet where you can just go to a table and take as much as you want. It's Mang Inasal unlimited (rice) not KFC unlimited (gravy). IMHO, having someone serve refills is better to avoid wastage. The servers during our visits have been attentitive and kept the refills flowing so while there was control, no scrimping was happening.

Chowking Halo-Halo Ingredients

The local weather bureau has declared the onset of the rainy season a few days ago. Before we say good bye to clear skies and flood-free streets at least for now, how about chasing the last summer heat with a bowl of Halo-Halo?

Chowking Super Sangkap Halo-Halo & Milky White Halo-Halo

Halo-Halo is a cold sweet treat of milky shaved ice topped with sweetened fruits, beans and/or confections such as flan and purple yam paste. It's somewhat similar to the Korean bingsu. One of the more popular version of halo-halo is that of Chowking, a local fastfood chain whose identity used to be Chinese, now a mix bag (Bring back congee!). The popularity may be partly due to the fact that there's a Chowking branch in almost every municipality in the country. And because the blend is just right.

I've come across a post on a thread in Chowking's facebook page identifying the ingredients and the amount of each that goes into Chowking's Super Sangkap Halo-Halo, the current version of Chowking's original Halo-Halo. The earlier version had garbanzos and kaong, I believe. J K Osano indicated on his facebook profile page that he works at Chowking. Of course, like everything posted in the net, best to take this with a grain of salt.

1 Tbsp pandan jelly
2 pcs langka (jackfruit)

1 Tbsp langka (jackfruit) syrup

3 pcs (I think he meant slices) saba bananas + banana syrup 

1 scoop macapuno (sweetened soft coconut strings)

2 scoops ube (purple yam) paste 

1 ladle bean mix

1 Tbsp red sago (tapioca pearls)

leche flan (milk flan)

milk mix 

pinipig (toasted flattened glutinous rice)

(not mentioned but it's there just the same)

shaved ice

ube ice cream 

There were no instructions on how to layer or which ingredient goes first then next. I guess it's also up to us to figure out what's in the milk mix and ube paste. Or how to get the right tastes of the syrups.

Now there are two halo-halo variants in the store. A few years back, Chowking introduced its Milky White Halo-Halo which seems to be it's answer to Razon's Halo-Halo. It's much simpler than the original Chowking halo-halo. The Chowking website lists sweetened saba bananas, macapuno, leche flan, custard pudding, pimipig and caramel as its ingredients. Unfortunately, there was no mention on ingredient portions for this Chowking halo-halo in the thread on the Chowking facebook page.

About the Scallop Primo Pizza

Dear Shakey's Philippines,

Shame on you! It's not cool to mislead your customers. I'm talking about your Scallop Primo Pizza radio commercial. The one with the cat of course. Is there any other Scallop Primo Pizza radio commercial out there? I fully expected after calling to have a Scallop Primo Pizza delivered, that as soon as I put my phone down, something magical will happen. But no. MY CAT DID NOT TALK TO ME! DID NOT TALK! She just sat there and proceeded to clean her belly. And to think I'm pretty sure she's been meeting up with the neighbor's orange cat. I know because she would ask to be let out same time for a couple of nights already. She would not talk about it. Let alone give me a name. So I'm stuck referring to her bae as the neighbor's orange cat. I want details of their escapades dammit!

Two Places For Yummy Take-Away Food Near Jed's Island Resort: Betty's Native Cakes and Aling Rosa Nita's Pancit Malabon

I'm keeping this short (shorter than my usual, heh.) and sweet much like these yummy goodies we had when we went to Jed's Island Resort. It's a good thing the resort does not impose a corkage fee on food and drinks and allows patrons to go in and out the resort. Mom thought our provisions that day were lacking so off she and my brother went to nearby Calumpit Market which we passed by along MacArthur Hiway on the way to the resort from Malolos. Near the market were stores offering Betty's Native Cakes and Aling Rosa Nita's Pancit Malabon.

The Banana Cue Camote Cue Turon Ambulant Kid Vendors of Pandayan and Meralco Village

If you really live in our subdivision, you would have an idea who I'm talking about. And this could be used as a test by barangay officials to know if someone who claims to have lived in the neighborhood for sometime is telling the truth. Have them call out "Banana Cue, camote cue, turon" the same way as those kids do.

I am irked when some kids (yups they're kids being kids but that does not stop the grating in my ears) would imitate how they call out their wares in a sing song voice just for fun.Or when some people would pretend that they're customers, call from within their gates then leave the kids waiting there only to realize later that they've been pranked. Okay, so I'm not exactly happy either when the same things happen to other ambulant vendors.

Here in the Philippines, if people would like to buy something from an ambulant vendor, they would shout out the name of the ware or service the vendor has been calling out. I've never been comfortable with this custom. I kept thinking, they're people, they're not  things. But that's how it is isn't it? Without knowing anything about them other than their familiar face, voice, wares and services, I guess they will be defined by the wares or services they are offering. Asking for their name seems obtrusive and may freak them out but that's what we did with our suking manong magbobote. Calling out "manong!" or "miss!" would get you stares from just about everyone.  Same goes with "psst!", "hoy!" and clapping ones hands, which I feel is a bit rude. So when I hear a vendor calling out, if I need something from them,  I would make sure I'm out in the street before they pass by our house.

Food Thrift: Ramen Daruma

have yet to add dark ramen broth

I learned of Ramen Daruma while watching the evening newscast. I was then reminded of it by my sister-in-law who saw a feature on it by Korina Sanchez, a newscaster on another TV channel. After checking online for store hours and location, a cold clear Saturday night saw me and my sister hunting the ramen cart at 11th Ave Grace Park, Caloocan. From the Monumento LRT station, we head on foot towards Our Lady of Grace Parish. That's through Rizal Avenue then left at the street where there stands a Mang Inasal branch. It's one of the food carts along a row of other carts at the side of a Mercury Drugstore. A woman carrying a plastic bag with four styrofoam bowls clued us that we were near the place.

Loot from SG: White Coffee, Chocolates, Rice Crackers

Nescafe Philippines recently launched it’s version of instant 3-in-1 white coffee mix, Nescafe Creamy White. I have yet to try it myself.

We still have packages of Nescafe Menu Ipoh White Coffee.  Pasalubong from Singapore. My sister likes this instant coffee mix so much until I ruined it for her. She found it quite creamy with a distinct taste she could not put her finger on. I told her simply that it tasted like coffee with milk. After several cupfuls, she grudgingly concurred. Heh. I guess she did not read the ingredients. Listed aside from instant coffee are creamer, full cream milk powder, skimmed milk powder, chocolate malt drink and cocoa. I couldn’t taste the last two. Nor the margarine. Online sources say that white coffee from Ipoh, Malaysia is coffee bean roasted in margarine then served with added milk. I wonder if Nescafe Creamy White is similar in taste. Their ads say it’s Nescafe coffee mixed with Nestle milk.

Godis Chokladkrokant.

Not the sound I will make with my mouth full if you ask me what is it I’m eating now. Chances are I wouldn’t even be minding you. I will be in my happy place as my palate translates the writing on the package “Is soooo good. Chocolate heaven.”

Also from SG are these bite-size pieces of milk chocolate with butterscotch bits. Google Translate will tell you that it’s Candy Chocolate Crispy. I will tell you that the chocolate’s not crisp, the butterscotch bits are.  Crunch on them or allow them to melt in your mouth. The butterscotch bits lends its taste well into the creamy chocolate. Out of all the chocolates I have tasted from Ikea, this is my favorite.  Please Ikea, open a branch in the Philippines soon.

I know it’s from Taiwan and I may have spotted a forlorn package once in the local supermarket but Want Want Seaweed Rice Crackers will forever remind me of SG ‘coz my sibling and sister-in-law almost always have a package in their cupboards. And with good reason. I, myself, could never get enough of these puffed baked discs made of rice. I enjoy crunching on them whilst savoring their salty sweet glaze. Have I mentioned in a previous post that I love seaweed? I do. All the more reason to Want Want them.

I know all of the three above are not exactly manufactured in Singapore, we just got them there. I guess that’s why I chose to lump these three together. More food stuff from SG soon.

KFC Crispy Cheese Chicken

Having read this post about KFC’s Crispy Cheese Chicken in Ruthilicious, curiosity got the better of me that when me and my sister found ourselves at the mall one busy lunch hour, my feet led us in front of a KFC counter.

It’s not the first time that KFC came out with a new variant of their fried chicken. Last year there was the Crispy Butter Chicken. Even earlier was the Chili Lime Chicken. KFC’s Crispy Cheese Chicken is fried chicken whose crispy skin is dusted with crushed cheese flavored Clover Chips. Clover Chips is a local brand of corn and tapioca starch chips.

I took the “safe” route and ordered the Snack Box, which is a box of fries and choice of Hotshots or Funshots. With the inclusion of Crispy Cheese Chicken in the menu, there is now the option for bite-size, boneless pieces of Crispy Cheese Chicken aside from the spicy Hotshots and plain Funshots. I say “safe” since in the past, KFC also came out with flavored Funshots in sour cream and cheese, both of which I still miss.

My sister opted for a P99 chicken meal which chicken, rice, mushroom soup, gravy and regular drink after the cashier said yes when we asked if we can get the Crispy Cheese Chicken variant instead Original or Hot & Crispy. He said that the Crispy Cheese Chicken is available as an alternative to the Original and Hot & Crispy flavors.

I already tried to imagine what this combo would taste like and since I am largely a pessimist, I tend to think there are areas with which things could go wrong.  The idea of adding a dusting of chips on fried chicken may be overly simplistic for some but then you need to have the right kind of chips for this to work. And I have to say that this works quite well together. I could identify the distinct taste of cheese-flavored Clover Chips as I gnaw on the chicken. It’s not overly cheesy or salty and I guess part of that is due to the amount of crushed Clover Chips that made it to our orders.

I will be trying the Crispy Cheese Chicken Meal which is chicken, chicken rice, mashed potato with corn, country gravy and regular drink for P99 next just to taste for myself what the rice and gravy are like. After all, if other variants of KFC fried chicken, the Crispy Cheese Chicken will be available for a limited time only.