 |
| Raintree Teapresso Express Blends |
Today was criminally hot (to this, I remember quipping "Hindi na makatarungan ang init sa Pilipinas!") but that's irrelevant when you got tons of things to do!
Scheduled for noon was a video shoot for the Ateneo Management Association, who were nice enough to have me appear in their promotional video for an upcoming event with UAAP court side reporter Jaz Reyes and one-man-band SomeDayDream a.k.a. Rez Toledo. Also appearing in the video is fellow student radio jock and close friend Jelo Andres (JJ Jeelo Green from the "other" station), whom, luckily, was scheduled to shoot at the same time as I was. We go waaaay back, so your argument about us being in rival stations is invalid. Ha ha. Sadly, I was too busy screwing up my lines so I've no photos from the shoot. Shout-out to Erika, Justin and Ton though, who were very accommodating and... curious about lots of things. LOL.
The shoot took a while to finish and once everything wrapped up, Jelo and I, along with another good friend from our high school days--Cinco (her actual name is Miel, but we've called her by her last name ever since, coz she's so hard core), figured to just chill somewhere and catch up with each other's lives because it has been a while.
Just like any "hip" (jeez, who uses that word) and mainstream Atenean, we figured chatting over milk tea would be great, as the weather was just unbearable and moving around a lot wasn't an option--sofas were very much a necessity, too! In finding the perfect tea place, the branch must have the following things: (1) soft, squishy seats, (2) air-conditioning and (3) free wireless internet. Katipunan is filled to the brim with milk tea places fitting the criteria (there are 2 branches of Moonleaf, SereniTea at the Oracle and a lot more) and unfortunately, we weren't up for something familiar, and then it hit me.
A little past the Katipunan extension, veering towards WhitePlains is a quaint little tea shop with a cozy-looking facade--bricks and white walls and all--that a friend of mine would always pass by whenever I would hitch a ride with her on the way home. Raintree - Teapresso Express Blends gets cozier inside--the red sofas with white counters and wooden accents all over reminds me of modern living rooms--the perfect venue for hanging out with good friends. Boasting an extensive, creative and reasonably-priced menu that can ably cater to your milk tea cravings plus cakes and snacks to die for (Nutella rocks and their iteration of the red velvet cake FTW!), Raintree is pretty much an undiscovered gem! I rarely pass by the area so I jumped at the chance of coming back when we couldn't decide on a milk tea place along Katip.
 |
| the facade of the RainTree along WhitePlains Ave. |
 |
| the interior of the RainTree along WhitePlains Ave. |
 |
| the interior of the Raintree along WhitePlains Ave. |
Jelo, Miel and I ordered our drinks (I got a Creme Brulee--a personal favorite and a staple in most tea shops while they both ordered the house special: the Raintree and Nutella Rocks, to which 9gaggers will die for) and settled in the red sofas. There weren't any pearls available, but it didn't really stop me from enjoying the drink (though I still think having pearls would've made the whole tea experience better). So how do we know each other? Jelo and I have been friends since high school--seat mates, I think and he's been incredibly supportive of my radio career--which goes vice versa! I used to date Miel's friend back in high school and I have not had an honest conversation with her for at least 5 years. Jelo dated her friends too! Emphasis on the "s" by the way.
 |
| (L-R) Miel "Cinco" and JJ Jeelo Green (from soundcloud.com/angeloandres) |
 |
| new snack: Nutella rocks at PHP45 |
 |
| a personal favorite from the Raintree dessert menu |
 |
| the house special: the Raintree |
Long after we finished our drinks, we just ended up talking about a lot of things: high school, Fall Out Boy, awkward teenage phases, college life, working on radio, "the problem with girls is that...", amongst a ton of other things, but one thing that got me worked up is an all new idea, which we'll be honing and planning! A big collab project, coming your way very soon!
The vibe of the whole place was just so comfortable and warm and we pretty much had our fix of good nai cha! We spent around close to 3 hours just talking and catching up with each others' lives and it was definitely something I needed after consecutive stressful weeks: a breather, good drinks, good vibes and good company! Despite the criminally hot weather, of course.
Back to work! 'Til the next post!
That kid on the radio.
No comments:
Post a Comment