mangosensei

[mangosensei]

bibigo™ Chicken & Vegetable Steamed Dumplings

I googled this product, and found that it is "exclusively sold at Costco" — at least for US/North America, I suppose?

Anyway, I know this is actually a quick food prep thing— its instructions literally say they were made for the microwave but I steam it anyway lol

I actually haven't tried it via microwave before so I can't comment on how that tastes like, but it has always been my personal preference to either steam-fry (posticker method) or steam dumplings so that is that.

Anyway, with that important note out of the way, I just wanna say that I really like these dumplings! I dunno if it's an acquired taste thing or what, but this is my latest obsession lol I just can't stop eating them!

Btw, here's the TikTok post —

[mangosensei]

J.CO Al Capone donuts 🍩

* The images above were taken from the official J.CO Donuts PH website.

Not exactly a fan of overly sweet donuts. In fact, my go-to order in unknown donut shops would just be the original/glazed donuts.

For J.CO though, my go-to order is definitely the Al Capone donuts!

It is not as sweet as the other flavors, and I really like the almonds on them!

PS. I also posted about this on TikTok 👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼

[mangosensei]

merci® Finest Assortment of European Chocolates

* The image above was taken from this e-bay website.

Ah, where do I begin?

These are arguably my favorite chocolate right now.

They are savory, but aren't as sweet as other brands (exactly how I prefer it). At the same time it is probably has one of the smoothest textures out there (which makes it juuuuust perfect!)

Of the 8 flavors included in this set, there is only one flavor that I do not like. 7 out of 8 is 💯! Very worthwhile!

Care to guess which one flavor that is? lol jk

PS. Check out the TikTok video I made for these chocolates <3 I swear, I really cannot get enough of 'em!

[mangosensei]

Ribs

* Photo by Sean Stone on Unsplash

For the nth time lol— for record purposes re: how I like my ribs!

Airfryer 10 minutes, flip halfway

As for the taste, I like it salt-rubbed, with this recipe by seriouseats.com!

Tried it with both pork, and with beef (on separate occasions)! :)

[mangosensei]

Orange Juice

* Photo by Rae Wallis on Unsplash

Again, for record purposes but this time— a personal note on how I make orange juice!

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1:1 orange:sugar ratio

2 Oranges 2 tbsp sugar 1 cup water + ice

[mangosensei]

Bacon

* Photo by James Trenda on Unsplash

Just a personal note on how I like my bacon for record purposes! lol

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Oven 350 F 18 min

[mangosensei]

Honey Walnut Shrimp

* The images above were taken from the official Panda Express website.

Honey Walnut Shrimp is my go-to food in any Chinese restaurant I come across to in the Bay Area.

It is just so good! (And I don't even have that sweet of a tooth... at least compared to other people lol)

🔗 Panda Express 🔗 Chowking

[mangosensei]

Little Caesars

* The images above were taken from the official Little Caesars website.

A childhood favorite of mine, Little Caesars is probably one of the main reasons why I love bread!

🔗 Little Caesars

[mangosensei]

Gong cha

* Images were taken from the official Gong Cha website.

MILK TEA aka Boba.

I'm sure at some point in your life, there's a chance that you've gone through a milk tea obsession of boba craze of sorts.

Naturally, I did too!

For skeptics, I understand. Milk tea is an acquired taste.

But once you have acquired, that's it. Game over. lol

Anyway. Among the milk teas I've tried, my favorite is probably Gong Cha because the tapioca pearls are so soft, and the milk tea itself is not that sweet (even at 100% sweetness)!

PS. My go-to drink is Pearl Milk Tea 50% Sugar. Basic! : )

🔗 Gong Cha

[mangosensei]

Frozen Pizza

* Photo by Catia Climovich on Unsplash

I'm sure almost everyone has bought frozen pizza before.

I certainly have.

Which is why I felt like I need to make a post about this just in case I forget the instructions because you never know! lol

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Cooking Instructions

Oven 400 F 20 min

[mangosensei]

Mozzarella Sticks

* Photo by gladys arivia on Unsplash

...who doesn't like mozzarella sticks?

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Reheating Instructions

Air Fry 390 F 5 to 7 min, flip halfway

[mangosensei]

King Eggroll

* The image above was taken from the official King Eggroll website.

So it is like common knowledge in the Bay Area that King Eggroll is good. And I mean, good!

Naturally, it is one of my favorites!

🔗 King Eggroll

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Reheating Instructions (frozen)

Air fry 12 min Flip halfway

[mangosensei]

CBTL Vanilla Ice Blended® Drink

Hello, it's been a while! But, hey!

Let me introduce you to my growing coffee addiction obsession love for coffee. Let's put it that way lol

Anyway, one of the key factors why I ended up liking coffee is because of Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf aka CBTL.

I was introduced to this drink (and coffee place) sometime around late 2013, and it remains to be one of my favorite cafes to visit whenever I get the chance to.

My go-to order is : Original Vanilla Ice Blended, large, no whipped cream! (My mom probably likes this drink more than I, and she orders it with whipped cream lol)

Anyway, to finish it off. One of my fondest memories of CBTL would be getting takeouts of this particular drink for my 91-year-old grandpa to drink (he had no diabetes, his blood work up was great, and the drink had been cleared with his cardio perhaps because of his old age).

It had become quite the routine for my mom and I as we go to the city to run errands to take home some of this for him. He really enjoyed it, and would often ask for us to bring him some home along with his never-ending supply of popcorn.

Sadly, he passed away towards the end of 2014; and so CBTL will always remain to be a place of fond memories for me.

Nowadays, I've moved to Northern California and there is no CBTL here. Boo.

BUT! At least, my mom gets to enjoy CBTL and their original vanilla ice blended back home. (Lucky!)

🔗 Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf 🔗 Vanilla Ice Blended

[mangosensei]

DOVE BAR Vanilla Ice Cream Bar

🔗 DOVE BAR Vanilla Ice Cream With Dark Chocolate 🔗 DOVE BAR Vanilla Ice Cream With Milk Chocolate

[mangosensei]

Lindt LINDOR Truffles

* The images abover were taken from the official LINDT USA website.

...Who doesn't love LINDOR truffles?

It is so smooth, velvety, and most importantly... not that sweet!

My faves:

Milk Chocolate LINDOR Truffles Dark Chocolate LINDOR Truffles 60% Extra Dark Chocolate LINDOR Truffles 70% Extra Dark Chocolate LINDOR Truffles Sea Salt Milk Chocolate LINDOR Truffles Hazelnut Chocolate LINDOR Truffles Pistachio Milk Chocolate LINDOR Truffles White Chocolate LINDOR Truffles Stracciatella White Chocolate LINDOR Truffles

[mangosensei]

Mi goreng

* The images above were taken from the official Indomie website.

... I don't think I can say just how much I LOVE these noodles!

As a very unhealthy young adult, I can say that I've eaten my fair share instant noodles but THIS ONE TAKES THE CAKE!

I love it so much, and perhaps what sets it aside for me is the fact the there are so many packets inside the package lol — I mean, there's even a separate packet for sambal and garlic flakes! How cool is that!

🔗 Indomie Mi goreng

[mangosensei]

OCEAN BOMB Brown Sugar Bubble Milk Tea

* The picture on the right was taken from the official OCEAN BOMB website.

There was a time when I was binging on milk tea so I can say I've definitely tried a lot of boba/milk tea/bubble tea places. (I will eventually be posting about my go-to drinks from those places when I finish sorting this blog's scheduling, etc.)

And having tasted a lot of milk tea, I think I can properly gauge if something tastes good or not.

And the verdict?

THIS MILK TEA IS SO GOOD!

I like it because the taste and the texture of the pearls/boba are both actually the same as what you would find from freshly made milk tea from boba shops!

Also, it is not that sweet compared to other milk teas (from boba shops) that I've tried before.

So, yes. 10/10!

🔗 OCEAN BOMB Bubble Milk Tea

PS. We got ours from Costco but as this is an imported product of Taiwan, I think it is safe to say that it can also be found in other Asian stores if you're lucky enough.