1. World Balance

* When my boy started with his schooling, one of the things he needs is a white rubber shoes. I enrolled him in Virgen del Pilar School which is being run by the Sisters of Charity of Saint Anne. They want to teach kids simplicity so aside from "no jewelries and colorful accessories" their rubber shoes for their PE subject needs to be plain white, no colorful ones. It's been a practice to us to buy altogether all their school needs so we spent half day in the mall to get done with everything. Inside the department store, there's this wide display of kids' shoes so we let him pick his fave. I think my kid has a great choice. He chose this white World Balance rubber shoes that can be easily wear by kids like him. All he needs to do is wear his socks and slide his feet on to the holes and presto, he is off to go to school. The bottom of the shoes is great. It protects him from slipping and his feet can relax on the soft pad of it.
His first school year is done and I don't see much change on the shoes. Great buy indeed. * Some of their Casual Shoes seems to be durable. Very comfy too, and well thought off in terms of comfort. Also a bonus it looks real good. * beautiful.. cyempre! * When I was in high school, any kid who wore World Balance shoes would be labelled as baduy and be subjected to ridicule so imported brands like Adidas, Reebok and Nike were THE shoes to wear to keep up with the crowd. * Yes, your right its cheap in price and materials, walang maaasahang tibay. LOW QUALITY and some shoe model materials are easily torn off, nadala nko twice so I really dont want to try this brand again...

* World Balance was a product of Rubberworld back in the 80's, if I recall correctly. It was a cheap imitation of the New Balance brand that was known for its running shoes. And yes, it was tough for kids back then to be seen wearing such togs and be subject to ridicule. Grosby, at least, was more tolerable back then not for casual use but for basketball purposes. Rubberworld would have to thank Billy Ray Bates for that!

Otherwise, the more endearing brands were Adidas, Nike (no local supplier in the Philippines back then), Puma (particularly for tennis), and the recently released Reebok...

* Having an active lifestyle like running or sports activities keeps you healthy and helps slow Alzheimer’s Disease. And when it comes to having a healthy lifestyle, World Balance is your feet’s perfect partner for traveling, cross-training, casual getaways, or even trekking.
World Balance is known for having high quality and durable materials that last longer compared to other brand of shoes and remains top choice for many people because of its trendy style and affordability. World Balance is also a popular brand for sportswear for men, women, teenagers, and kids.

Sources: http://www.pinoyexchange.com/forums/showthread.php?t=70527 http://www.adaphobic.com/travel-gear/world-balance-contest/ http://sharedreviews.com/review/world-balance-white-rubber-shoes

2. Beach Walk

* I was just surprised that these slippers are pretty comfy! Its "comfiness" is almost comparable to the ever famous (expensive) havianas. And it has pretty colors too. I bought the pink and green ones. For 129.75 pesos, its a great deal. Fits nicely too.

I'm not in anyway connected to this company ha. Natuwa lang ako talaga.
Round One: Availability * The first thing I did in my quest was to look for a pair of Spartans. I went to SM Southmall and after asking a saleslady, I was told that Spartans the brand no longer existed. Apparently, Spartan merged with Beach Walk sometime back. I was then directed towards a single rack towards the edge of the shoe section filled with slippers of varying colors. Unlike the ubiquitous Havaianas which has a free standing store in every major mall, as well as big displays in Rustan's and various sporting goods stores, Beach Walk is not as easily accessible. It's probably available in all SM branches but you still have to search for it.
I don't know if Beach Walk can still be found in wet markets though, as it used to be when I was young, but my dad bought his recent pair in the grocery. So if you're so inclined, you can grab a pair of Beach Walk together with the week's grocery requirement

Round Two: Style * The available Beach Walk slippers were of the two - toned variety. I originally wanted the green and yellow pair, but they didn't have it in my size so I had to settle for the more eye catching red and blue. There were only two styles available in the Beach Walk rack, the thong type slipper and the "X" type, where the straps formed an X (my father's preferred style). However, according to this blogger, Beach Walk also comes in wedges and has its own box. Sadly enough, the boxes and the wedges were not available when I went to Southmall

Round Three: Comfort * The foot pad was very soft too but it did not have the legendary buttery feel of the Havaianas. It didn't feel cool on my feet, rather it felt like, um, rubber. But very, very soft rubber nonetheless. Just like the Havaianas, the Beach Walk foot pad also easily collected grime but I haven't tried scrubbing it with soap and water though so I don't know yet which is easier to clean, I promise to make a postscript on that later on :p

Round Four: Durability * It's still too early to tell how durable my Beach Walk pair is, but my father looooves his Beach Walk! He has around three pairs of the the white X yellow thong style which he bought at different times. The one he likes best is his oldest pair, which is now practically paper thin with the soles turning black at some part (black = pudpod). The two newer pairs (doppelgangers of his first pair) usually turn up at various places in our house because, much to my father's chagrin, they have become the default slippers for the rest of the household when we can't be bothered to look for our own slippers.

Round Five: Price * My Beach Walk slippers set me back a mere Php89.95 while the cheapest pair of Havaianas is a little under Php700.
Sources: http://www.pinoyexchange.com/forums/showthread.php?t=285246 http://kikay.exchange.ph/2008/04/27/the-battle-of-the-flipflops-havaianas-vs-beach-walk 3. Simple Line * Taste wise, it was good. I could really taste the Oolong tea flavor in my milk tea. I liked that the sweetness was also just right and not the sickening kind. The tapioca pearls were soft and chewy. I enjoyed munching on them and even wanted more when they ran out. :)

I am definitely trying the other Simple Line tea flavors on my next visit to the store. * My usual milk tea place, offers good milk tea at fairly a premium of a price which most students in fact cannot afford, even me as a part of the working class may limit myself to only a few servings in a month. But with Simple Line(a.k.a. Simple Life), I can have my daily milk tea serving at only P60.00 for the large cup. Yes P60.00!!! really great price for great tasting milk tea, P45 for medium cups. Just a warning though and don't say I did not warn you guys... it is very addicting. And my favorites for now? the Coffee Konjak Black Milk Tea and Caramel Black Milk tea with pudding (gelatin).

Simple Line has 2 branches in UST, one in Dapitan Street, the other in V. Concepcion Street. They have 2 other branches in the metro, one in CEU (Centro Escolar University) along Mendiola St. and one near St. Scholastica's College in Leon Guinto St. Have a taste of great milk tea for less at Simple Line milk tea.

* Simple Line is not that simple they offer a lot of tea choices in a very affordable price. Among all tea shops I've been to they offer the most affordable ever. You can buy a tea here for only fifty pesos. I really love their Oolong Wintermelon Tea because you can taste the boldness of the tea while the sweetness of the milk lingers in your mouth. I love adding tapioca in my tea many believe it is healthy and conducive for body. We will no longer be bored of tea unlike before it was just soaked in water now simple line make it extraordinary for us.
Sources: http://www.zomato.com/manila/simple-line-diliman-quezon-city/reviews http://foodiestation.blogspot.com/2012/02/simple-line-milk-tea.html 4. Burger Machine * For the past days, I have been addicted to Burger Machine's Club Burger. My shift ends at night and sometimes, on my way home, I pass by one of their branches and I get tempted because I know Burger Machine serves tasty and affordable burger all day and all night. * For people who are craving for meat and burgers! This is perfect for you! Burger Machine!! They sell Burgers and hotdogs which is perfect and very affordable in our pockets plus there is no regret because it’s very yummy and delicious. The first time I tasted burger machine was when my sister bought burgers there and we ate it during family bonding. We enjoy eating burger machine during our family bonding particularly Movie marathon. Two thumbs up for burger machine! * This is my first favorite burger stand. They offer different types of burger like regular, with cheese, double burger. They also have hotdogs which can be cheese dog, foot long. You can also upgrade your burger and hotdogs by adding cheese, chili, ketchups, etc.
Of course, to match to their burgers and hotdogs, they have drinks like sodas, bottled water, and many more. * For meat lovers and burger lovers here is the place you can go to. Burger machine serves a lot of yummy delicious burgers and hotdogs. Here you can enjoy your tasty snack in different sizes that you want. You can have it in classic size, jumbo size and even in double burger for people who is not only satisfy with the classic size. They also have add-ons like the chili to spice things up a little bit.
Sources: http://www.zomato.com/manila/burger-machine-quiapo-manila-city/reviews http://ph.openrice.com/manila/restaurant/burger-machine/31957/

5. NOKIA

It's been almost a year to the day since we reviewed Nokia's first Windows Phone and now we're staring at its second-generation flagship, the Lumia 920. Since the Lumia 800, Nokia's taken a pretty big role in improving Windows Phone's standing in a crowded (but lucrative) smartphone battlefield. While it may be sharing the spotlight with the new HTC 8X, this slab of hewn polycarbonate has garnered plenty of admirers. No doubt, a large chunk of those would-be phone buyers are, for better and worse, lusting after the phone's PureView imaging tech -- and after our early tests, it looks like it could be just as impressive as the lossless optical zoom seen on the PureView 808.
The Lumia 920 dominated Nokia's presentation at Microsoft's Windows Phone 8 press event a few months ago, with the smaller Lumia 820 barely getting a look-in. It's got a "better-than-HD" 1,280 x 768, 4.5-inch high-contrast IPS display, built-in contactless charging, solid build quality and more of Nokia's exclusive software additions. This time, at least on hardware specifications, the company aims to put its flagship on equal footing with the likes of the Galaxy S III and the iPhone 5. Can Nokia's biggest and (literally) brightest smartphone maintain its place at top of the Windows Phone pile? How does that camera fare with extended use? And will the Lumia 920 offer enough to pull you away from Android or iOS for your next phone?
We'll be frank: Nokia has crafted one substantial smartphone. After experiencing the curves and lightness of HTC's Windows Phone 8X (4.5 ounces), the Lumia 920 makes the scales tremble at 6.5 ounces. While other phone makers are pushing the limits of lightweight materials and structures, this beast is noticeably heavier and feels bigger in comparison to almost every other recent phone. Granted, Nokia's Windows Phone flagship has a larger 4.5-inch screen, but that incremental difference (HTC's display is 4.3 inches wide) doesn't completely explain how different the two Windows Phones feel in-hand. Measuring the pair, the Lumia 920 is 0.42 inch thick to the 8X's 0.4 inch. Their footprints are also comparable. But the 8X's tapered edges felt more at home in our hands than this new Lumia. That said, we were able to reach the outer reaches of that PureMotion HD+ screen. What's more, despite that larger screen size, one-handed navigation is quite possible, though it might be a stretch for smaller hands.
Thankfully, Nokia has carried across several design licks from the Lumia 800 and avoids one of the hardware design complaints we had with its bigger brother. Yep, this particular phone's screen curves into the frame and doesn't awkwardly protrude like the one found on the Lumia 900. Our white model -- unfortunately those eye-catching yellow and red models weren't available for review just yet -- has a glossy (but fingerprint- and smudge-prone) coating, but if you're looking for another matte-finish smartphone, thankfully the black AT&T LTE version has that shine-free look.