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.

Johnson’s Baby Top-To-Toe Wash

My skin has become uber-sensitive lately that mere insect bites (mosquito, ants) have ended up swelling, ultimately resulting into skin rashes before fading down to dark spots. Hence products one would normally see in baby hampers have made their way into my bathroom and dresser. It’s weird but I’m still grateful that my face has been spared from this sudden change in my skin’s condition.

We have run out of Cetaphil but there was this 400 ml pouch of Johnson’s Baby Top-To-Toe Wash already in our house’s stock cabinet so I got that for myself. I thought that since babies use it, that it’s mild enough for their skin, it would be mild enough for mine. I have been using it for a month now and even if I still get rashes from insect bites, at least my skin has not reacted adversely when I use this. I don’t turn beet red or anything.

Ingredients: water, PEG-80 sorbitan laurate, sodium laureth sulfate, cocamidopropyl betaine, PEG-150 distearate, sodium lauroamphoacetate, tetrasodium EDTA, citric acid, fragrance, methylchloroisothiazolinone, methylisothiazolinone

It’s colorless, shower-gel like. I expected white cream since I have been accustomed to Johnson’s Body Washes. The scent does not last long. Not a fan of the scent really. Too chemically. It foams a lot once it meets water. Curiously, skin feels as if I used soap after I have washed it off. None of the slickness body washes and shower gels tend to impart while skin is still damp. And when I dry off, there’s that taut feeling of having used soap. (Something to think about when using this on baby’s skin.) Nonetheless, skin feels soft after some time. It does not seem to dry my skin and it does a good job of making it easy for me to get rid of grime using a wash cloth.

I have also been using this as a shampoo. Not taking chances with suds on my back when rinsing. Johnson’s Baby Top-To-Toe Wash keeps its promise of no more tears as it does not sting the eyes. It is unable to moisturize the ends of my hair (still crunchy) though and while it is able to relatively tame my hair, there are still a strays that refuse to submit.

Nevertheless, I think that’s what’s nice about Johnson’s Baby Top-to-Toe Wash. I can use it as both a body wash and shampoo and I don’t have to worry that it will exacerbate the rashes I’ve been getting, much less aggravate my skin on its own.

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.