What with the Crew being split nearly in half, the Manila contingent has started making a bigger effort to see each other. This week we decided to have dinner at Banapple - a favorite place of mine (and apparently, a regular haunt for Jen as well).

The best part of the night was finding out that Jen has an ear infection. Ointment was injected into her left ear canal and then blocked by cotton. So effectively, Jen was deaf on one side. And in true Crew fashion... we picked on her.

1. Chino pretends that Dicey is asking Jen something, when in fact Dicey, Binks and I were talking about what Binks should order. So Jen whips around and yells "I'm sorry.. WHAT?" And the three of us look at her like "huh? what the hell is your problem?" while Chino giggles (yes, he stands well over 6 feet and he giggles) behind her. Of course she doesn't realize he's giggling <i>cos she cant hear him</i>! Hahahaha.

2. Jay and Binky whisper plans to do something funny to Jen's latest photo. And I go "You dont have to whisper because..." then everyone chimes in "she cant hear us!"

3. The cotton stuck inside her ear is a hassle. It is also a little painful. So Jen has picked up the habit of pressing down on her earlobe to alleviate the pain. This of course has given rise to the following comments -- "Are you going to sing to us? Mimimimimi." "May hands free phone ka na?" "Can you hear the ocean?" Heehee.


Jay snapped this pic from outside during a smoke break. Mali 'to e kasi she can hear her right ear. But the spirit of the joke was captured I think.

We love you Jen. Really, we do. :)

Every year during the Lenten season I give up either ice cream or cake. And believe me, it is a struggle for someone who loves pastries and sweets as much as I do. This year was made more difficult by the sudden proliferation of dessert places in the city. But, I made it. 40 days without cake. Woot, woot. And now, time to reward myself for the willpower.

On a lead from an old friend, I chose Banapple to end my Lenten sacrifice. Good call.

Banapple is a small bakery that specializes in pies and cheesecakes. Cookies and brownies go from Php35. The giant chocolate chip cookie (Php40) manages to be crunchy and chewy at the same time and is super delicious.

The Banoffee cake and the Strawberry cheesecake are their top sellers. But since I am a contrary sort, I went for a slice of their Caramel-Fudge cake (Php75). And OH WOW... PANALO. The cake is moist and packed with fudgey goodness. The caramel icing is not too sweet. In a word: chewy. This cake is chewy and should probably be shared with at least one other friend because there is only so much gooey goodness that you can have before your body says "stop!" and your tastebuds rebel.

In fact, I still have half a slice left over from this morning. And I'm thinking with a fresh cup of hot milk tea, there's merienda waiting for me.

(Surfers: Bannaple is just beside the Shop, where City Jam used to be. Woohoo!)