Lemonsprouts and the Unli-Shrimp Saga

Lemonsprouts and the Unli-Shrimp Saga

Filipinos love seafood and anything with the unlimited tag. There's Unli-Rice, Unli-Iced tea, and now we have Unli-Shrimp! Lemonsprouts Cafe, located in Pasig, has launched their Unli-Shrimp Weekends! On Saturdays and Sundays, you can call them and reserve a table between these time slots: 1:30pm-3:30pm and 4:30pm-6:30pm. During those 2 hours, you can eat as much shrimp as you want for only P399! That is such a huge bargain in my opinion. I literally skipped breakfast and lunch in order to be able to consume as much shrimp as I can. Yes, I am a seafood fanatic (haha!).

Lemonsprouts Cafe can be found along Amang Rodriguez Avenue and it's near Puregold Ligaya; there are jeepneys that drive by the quirky little cafe which make it very accessible for everyone planning to visit. This tiny gem of a cafe has such a cool vibe even from the outside. When asked, owner Sheryl Pineda says she chose the name "Lemonsprouts" because it means "a happy growth." They opened fairly recently, just last September and already they have had tons of customers and even more people go there for the yummy food. For those not in the know, Sheryl is also the owner and Seamstress of the popular cloth diaper brand Cottonytail. The name Lemonsprouts seems to be a great choice for her brand and business has surely grown!

When we arrived, my son said "Wow!" because of the all the Star Wars memorabilia in the cafe. There are life-sized Storm Troopers and lightsabers galore. George Lucas would feel right at home! Sheryl said they plan on changing the theme annually and I can't wait to see what the next one is, especially since the design now is so amazing and child-friendly. We tried a bunch of stuff aside from the plump and juicy shrimps I had. Hubby said the chicken wings were perfect, and being a food snob, that is high praise indeed! My little Jedi loved their waffle and house blend iced tea. I tried the Chewbacca Mocha and it did not disappoint. But the highlight is still the Unli-Shrimp. They give the shrimps in a bag and you get to eat on a banana leaf plate. Gloves are handed out so you can peel the shell of the shrimps without getting your hands dirty. Dip your shrimp in the garlicky Aligue sauce and voila! A gastronomic experience indeed!

I want to reiterate that you have to call in and reserve your slot because they don't accept walk-ins for Unli-Shrimp weekends. And slots get filled fast! You can also send them a message on their Facebook page if that's easier. Also, if you're in need of a small party or meeting place, you can rent out the whole Lemonsprouts Cafe. It seats 20-30 pax and is a very hip and cool place for all sorts of celebrations; just message them to check their schedule. With that said, what are you waiting for? Message them now to book a seat for next weekend and satisfy your seafood cravings with their Unli-Shrimp Weekend!

Conquering the Big Bad Wolf Book Sale

Conquering the Big Bad Wolf Book Sale

I have always had a love affair with books. It started when I was young, probably around 3 or 4 years old. My mom would read me fairy tales and I would ask her to read 2-3 books a night. When I was older, I graduated to pocketbooks like Sweet Valley or the Nancy Drew series or Goosebumps. It came to be that I could read 4-5 books a day and still read under the covers with a flashlight. This book bingeing continued well into high school, college and even when I started to work. Even now that I'm a mom, I am still an avid book reader and I am teaching my son to be a voracious reader like me.

I found out about the Big Bad Wolf Book Sale on Facebook a couple of weeks ago and made sure to plan to go as early as my schedule would allow. My bookworm-in-training and my hubby would also be accompanying me making this a very educational weekend trip. The BBW Book Sale comes from Selangor, Malaysia in partnership with ABS-CBN and will be at the World Trade Center Manila from February 16-25, 2018. The best part is they are open 24 hours. Uhuh. You read that right. They are open from Feb 16 until Feb 25 and that's 231 hours access to 1.5 million discounted books. 

Speaking of discounts, they boast to have books discounted as low as 60-80% off! Such a huge markdown and they have lots of books for everyone in the family such as board books for kids, crafting books for moms, and graphic novels for dads. Plus admission is free! If that doesn't make you want to go then maybe the following pictures will:

We spent roughly 3 hours at the BBW Book Sale. We arrived at 9 PM and left a little past 12 AM. Here are a few reminders and important information for those wanting to go:

• wear comfy shoes and clothes
• make sure to bring a small bag so you won't be hitting people with a huge backpack or shoulder bag
• don't forget your wallet!
• food and drinks are not allowed and there is no baggage area
• there are pushcarts and hand-trolleys but they run out fast so be quick in snagging one
• when you enter the hall, start from the right going to the left as the cashier and exit are located at the far left through another set of doors
• there are bins where you can leave your chosen books if your pushcart is full and you want to go back for more
• there is a sorting area near the cashier where you can dump the books you realize you don't want and pick up books others discarded
• there is a priority lane for the elderly, pregnant, PWD and those with children
• after check out, there are porters available to help carry your purchases out to your vehicle

Check out my family's purchases at the Big Bad Wolf Book Sale:

My family had such a blast at the Big Bad Wolf Book Sale! My feet hurt like crazy and the bookworm-in-training fell asleep so we had to call it a night. I would probably go back next weekend before they pack up to check if they have more books since the books I wanted for me were not available (books from Cassandra Clare, John Green and other fave authors of mine). A little birdie at the cashier told me that they might make this an annual event if the turnout was good and so far based on the number of people there it looks like a sure thing! You have over a week left to check them out, so what are you waiting for? Buy all the books!