Baguio Weekend (012014): Day 1 - Botanical Garden and Wright Park

We took a long cab ride (compared to the others we had) to Botanical Garden which cost PHP89. In Baguio, if you don't know how to commute, you can always take the cab. It's more expensive than taking the jeep but cheaper compared to taking the cab in Manila because 1. their flag down is PHP35 compared to Manila's P40 because they don't need A/C 2. Cab drivers will give you your change regardless if it's only PHP1. :) 

Some Igorots will welcome you and will gladly take a photo with you for a little donation but we didn't have a photo op with them because we were busy lining up to get our corn sold by the entrance of the garden. It was tourist priced at PHP30 so we shared one but it was worth it. It was yummy! :) 

Botanical Garden was different than how it looked like when I was there last 2008. Last 2008, all we saw were the pasalubong stores inside, giant Igorot statues and 2 Nipa huts. Now, the path walk to the giant statues is cemented,  a few sheds erected (I don't know what to call them) and there were flowers in bloom already. It's just sad because the Nipa huts are gone and the Igorot statues a little ruined. 

With the pasalubong stores are the carinderias where I ate the tastiest longanisa ever with my parents back in 2008. I urged H to try it and he liked it too. Yey! Unfortunately, we can't bring a pack home because we think it needs to be frozen for it to still be good after a 6 hour bus ride back to Manila. While we were waiting for our longanisa to be fully grilled, a few kapwa turista were picking which ihaw ihaw to have. Had I not been shy, I would have blurted "Yung longanisa po, masarap, pramis!" Hehe. Nothing much to see as some parts of the garden are still under construction. Before it gets too dark, we headed out to Wright Park as we were told it's walking distance from the garden. Outside, we were greeted by a strawberry taho vendor and of course H had to try it. We're in Baguio, we need to have our strawberry fix! 

Wright Park is a 10-15 minute walk from the Botanical Garden. It was already dark when we arrived at the spot where you can get a horseback ride for PHP300. We skipped that and climbed our way up to what I remember was the way to The Mansion. Boy were we panting when we reached the top. So unhealthy haha. We passed by a long pool before getting to The Mansion. It was too dark to take pictures so H didn't have his souvenir photo. Maybe next time. :) 

We decided to have dinner at Session Road where you have plenty of choices on where to eat. Since I remembered that Volante was featured in "Ang Pinaka", we decided to dine there. It was actually my second time eating at Volante's. The first was with the parents but since their pasta is Italian tasting, the parent didn't like it. We ordered meatball pasta and pizza. H ordered strawberry shake, I had a sip and it was that good that I had to order mine too. What we liked most of what we had was the dessert. It was a chocolate lava cake with vanilla ice cream on top. We loved the contrast of the warm cake with the cold ice cream. The dinner cost a little over PHP700 but it was good. 

It wasn't that cold inside so I had to put my jacket back on when we were about to leave. H had to use the CR so I went outside already. Wow, having an unzipped jacket on was not enough. I had to zip it all the way up and put my scarf too. That night, it was 18deg celcius. Brrrr. :)

Next Stop: Good Shepherd and Mines View

Baguio Weekend (012014): Day 1 - Cafe by the Ruins and Burnham Park

H has never been to Baguio, *i know, right? :p* so one Monday over chat we decided to go that same weekend. I've been to Baguio once and it was summer so I never really felt Baguio's coldest. That was what pushed me to go, I'm the "planner" type, so I'm not really comfortable doing "biglaang lakad"s. The same day, I checked Victory Liner's website so we can book a bus ride but unfortunately, the booking must be made 8 business days before the trip so H had to go to Victory Liner in Cubao and buy us tickets. The earliest he can get was 10pm but since I'm on midshift and I usually leave the office around 11, we opted for the next available one which was 2am. 

I went home Friday night around 11 and we were both excited! I was planning to take a 30-minute nap before leaving but since workdays are hectic days for us, we didn't have the chance to pack until the night before the trip. We were at the Cubao terminal at 1:30 am and despite the hour, there were still a lot of people, even chance passengers. The bus left at exactly 2am. I'm usually the one who sleeps during bus trips but this time, right after we've settled, H's already snoozing while I got mine around 5 in the morning already. The 2nd bus stop was in Pangasinan and H urged me to go down even if I didn't need to go to the CR just so I can feel how nippy the air was! 

It was a 6-hour ride from Cubao to Baguio and we arrived a little past 9. The air that welcomed us was twice as cold as the one in Pangasinan and being the thin-skinned girl that I am, I needed to bundle up.Wednesday before the trip, I tried booking us hotels but all was full and I was lucky enough to get one room at Hotel Cosmopolitan.It was supposed to be Holiday Park but they have no more available rooms too. The room that Hotel Cosmopolitan had for us was with twin beds but I took it anyway because I didn't want to be calling other hotels. Since their standard check-in is at 2pm, we just left our bags with them and walked our way to our first destination - Cafe by the Ruins. 

The restaurant was just 10 mins away by foot from the hotel. An officemate of mine told me to try them. When we got there, we were 4th in the waiting list and after 15 minutes we were called for our table. It was a nice place, and you can smell the freshly baked breads while waiting because the seats outside was were right in front where they display their breads. 

Our breakfast totaled to almost P800. Yes, their they're a little pricey but the food was good. I had their longanisa and H had their bacon breakfast set. Breakfast sets include coffee or fresh juice and fresh fruits. Since H read that their scones were good too, we had one plate. The scones plate was P85 which includes your choice of spread. We picked kesong puti. The bacons were thick and the longanisa, long. It was a bit raw in the middle and it isn't sweet tasting like the ones I'm used to but it was ok. We shared my longanisa and took home the bacon and the scones. I took a bite at one of the scones, and yes it was good! :) It was that good that you can eat it on its own. It tastes like a salty lengua de gato.

After breakfast, we went to Burnham Park which was just a few steps from Cafe by the Ruins. We took a few pictures and because my tummy was rumbling and H was still sleepy, we went back to the hotel and slept by the couch. Haha.

At around 1pm, the receptionist called me saying that our room was ready. She asked if we wanted to swap from twin to queen bed because a room just went available because the group who booked it settled for one room instead of two. I happily took the one with the queen bed for 2 reasons: 1. H and I can share the bed 2. It's P300 cheaper :) The room was ok. The bed and pillows were soft and comfy and the CR was spacious enough. Negative points were the CR has no bidet so I had to ask for a tabo and the shower was mahina so I ended up using the tabo for bathing too. The TV wasn't flat screen hehe but for P1680, this shouldn't be an issue. 

Excuse the unmade bed. I jumped right in before H had the chance to shoot. :) We slept until 4pm, watched a little bit of TV and asked the receptionist where we can still go as it was already 5pm. Look at the chubby chips! We usually see chips bloat that way in airplanes, we were thrilled like kids :p

Next stop:  Botanical Gardens and Wright Park

Visiting Zambales Amidst the Rains (062013) - Day 1

June is the birth month of Hubby and the next month, our anniversary so being the wanna-be-traveler that I am, I planned for a simple get away. Ever since we got married (almost 2 years now) we have not yet traveled alone, always with companions. Last Malaysia - Singapore trip was with college friends and the Bohol - Cebu one was with my folks. Since Hubby is not a fan of getting too many of his VLs, I planned the short vacation to fall on a Friday - Sunday schedule. 

I have a coupon from Belle de Jour that gave me a 30% off on a resort in Zambales and since I also want to visit the Tiger Safari and Ocean Adventure, I emailed Subic Grand Seas Resort inquiring about their rates and my usage of the coupon. They also offer packages that will allow you to visit Tree Top Adventure, Zoobic Safari and Ocean Adventure without the trouble of reserving the tickets yourself as they will take care of that for you but unfortunately, the packages can only be used if I don't use my Belle de Jour coupon. I calculated the rates and because the 30% savings on the coupon is much greater than what we can save using their packages, I opted to reserve the tickets for Zoobic Safari on my own. 

A typhoon has just passed and even though we boarded the Victory bus to Zambales at around 12 in the afternoon sunny, we arrived at a pouring Subic at around 5 pm. We took a jeepney to the resort which was an P8.00 fare away from the bus station. 

The resort was within the populated part of the area and it was near convenient stores, restaurants and beer houses hehe. I was actually expecting it to be in the "quiet" section as was the resort we had in Bohol but I was wrong. Subic Grand Seas reception area and interiors made up for the trouble it caused me to book for a room. I had to email them a few times and even call 3 times a week before our trip because they're not prompt in answering inquiries. Maybe they're just not into emails because the staff was actually polite and friendly. 

Since it was raining when we arrived, we went directly to our room and Hubby just had the chance to take pictures outside when the rained stopped. 

When we had the chance to go outside, we scouted for a diner to eat, and since Hubby googled a diner recommended by others, we went to The Coffeeshop which was a 10 minute walk from where we were staying. It looked like a school cafeteria inside but it was almost full when we entered. They are famous for their humongous serving of Tacos, so we ordered one, (if I remember right) a burrito, and because I was famished, an order of sisig and 2 plain rice. We were not able to take pictures because we forgot to bring the camera with us. The picture below is from travelbook's website. 

The taco was really huge and good but sad for me I didn't have more of it because I started with the sisig and half the burrito. The taco cost us only P90, the burrito P90ish as well so if you're going there, order the two. The sisig tasted like minced porkchop, and was overpriced at P180. It left me disappointed as I was expecting it to be at least as good as the sisig in Supreme's (a local restaurant near the in-laws' house in Sto. Tomas, Pampanga) considering its price versus Supreme's P80 per order. 

After dinner and because it started drizzling again, we went back to our room and had a massage for two at around 9pm. Room accommodations in Subic Grand Seas come with a free massage for one but since I used my coupon, we had a couple massage. :) 

Next day: Zoobic Safari

For The Birthday Boy

Today, I filed a leave at the office so that I can be a cook for the day :) It's Hubby's birthday and I wasn't able to buy him a gift (last year's was a wallet) so I decided to clean the house and cook something for two. I wasn't really a morning person (and I suffer from Insomia) but today was an exception. Woke up just in time to make a quick breakfast for him. When he went off for work, I started fixing things in the house and went to Market! Market! a little past 2 in the afternoon to do some groceries. I was definitely going to make pasta, probably a soup and buy cake and a wine. That was the plan. I went straight to the grocery and checked around for things that we might need other than the ones for the dinner later. You know how one can get lost in the grocery right? <guilty face> So when I checked my watch, I was surprised to see that I've been walking for almost an hour already with only a box of milk, a few canned goods and bread in my basket. Realizing I don't know yet what soup to do, and being in the vegetable section, I opted to make just a salad instead. I got some lettuce and looked for croutons. Unfortunately, they only have one brand of croutons which was a little expensive (P120/pack) but I got it anyways. I grabbed a few mangoes and went to the wine section and bought one. Wanting to make it a little special, I went to this Japanese store and bought 2 of what I though were wine glasses. (Only to find out later that they were just water glasses, as pointed out by the Hubby. Haha! Malay ko ba?) Red Ribbon was at the far end from the supermarket but I still went there wanting to buy their Tiramisu cake which was good when I had it during my lead's birthday. However, that day, they ran out of stock so I ended up with Black Forest which was actually too sweet for my taste. 

I got home a little before 6 and started cooking the pasta right away. Of course, I took photos of the wine and the food before the birthday boy arrived. 

After all the preparations, I was dead tired but it was all worth it. For my birthday boy. :) Happy birthday, dear. :) 

Eating in an Igloo - Eskimo Bob!

No, we didn't eat in an Igloo, just toying with the title :p We tried Eskimo Bob way back when we were still dating. It was one of our usual window-shopping-muna-kasi-di-pa-sweldo dates in Megamall, we got tired and he wanted to try something new. Eskimo Bob is at the 4th level, Mega Atrium. It's a small diner and one who is not particularly looking for a place to eat can easily miss it. 

Since we were feeling really hungry, we ordered 2 meals, their soup of the day and a pizza His was a porkchop meal and mine was Spaghetti with meatballs. I love spaghetti but only the sweet tasting ones, like how mama used to make for us when my brother and I were kids, so when my order arrived I was actually praying it wouldn't taste Italian. 

But no, the prayer was not answered *sigh*. The sauce was sour. <sad face here> Good thing there was a ketchup in our table. I mixed a tablespoon or two with my pasta and voila, Filipino style spaghetti! Wee! :) But there was another problem. When I started with the meatballs, to our horror, they were raw! They were all pink in the middle and tasted frozen. Hubby just told me to eat the ones which looked cooked so I ended up eating a sort of meatless pasta. 

Hubby's porkchop came with their Mango Iced Tea. Since I only have the regular Iced tea, I took a sip of his and wow, it was yummy! Yummy enough that I had to order one for myself :) His meal, wasn't that satisfying though. The porkchop was thin and hard to chew. Good thing the mashed potato was good. I'm not really into mashed potatoes, I prefer the fried ones but this one was good even without the gravy. 

The soup of the day was pumpkin soup. I've always loved soup and this one was A-ok. It was creamy and tasted like the real thing, unlike some soups which you'd instantly recognize it came from an instant mix. And then the four cheese pizza! I'm into anything that has tomato sauce and/or cheese with it, but since I've already finished my meatless pasta, I was only able to eat a slice of this gorgeous thing. I could be biased though because of my cheese-tooth. (just like sweet-tooth, yup, I'm trying to be funny lol)

Did I say that we were so full? So full that we had to say no to the calling of the delectable looking desserts (Ice cream!). I couldn't even take one last sip at my Mango Iced Tea. Nevertheless, the desserts alone are reason enough to swing by one of these days. :) 

Eskimo Bob by Icebergs
4th Level, Mega Atrium
Megamall, Edsa Mandaluyong

Flashback: Coron turned Tagaytay and Laguna (102009)

About 3 years ago was my supposedly first airplane ride.I have ridden one when I was four except that it didn't actually fly. It was during a field trip with my mom's kids (she is a teacher) and we were allowed to have photos inside the craft. 

I was with my then boyfriend (now hubby) and our college friends. It was the time when a storm just passed Manila and we were actually thankful that the sun was shining the day we were about to go to Coron. We were a total of 17 and were excitedly waiting at the terminal when we were told twice that our flight will be delayed. 30 minutes or so has passed when they broke my heart saying our flight has been cancelled because a small aircraft like the one we were about to board couldn't pass through rainy clouds in our destination. Still we hoped to continue the trip but having waited in the airport for almost a day, we gave up. The plane tickets were refunded but the hotel we reserved chuck off  P1000 each and returned the rest of the payment after 2 weeks. Some already went home but others, including us, stayed and decided to sleep over at Bai's house which was near the airport. We had late dinner at KKK (Kainan sa Kalye Kanluran) 

Top: Sisig
Bottom: Caldereta

Top: Adobo ni Jake
Bottom: Gising Gising

Top: Bistek Flakes
Bottom: Sinigang na Lechon

Food at KKK were (if not all) Filipino. They were great and I especially liked they're Bistek Flakes and Sinigang na Lechon. 

Trying not to waste the vacation leaves filed, we decided to go somewhere hopefully just by land. Since we were ready to go to the beach, we agreed to go to Batangas. We called a van rental service and waited but it seems that luck was still avoiding us because after waiting for an hour, the service called us telling us that there were no drivers available. *sigh* Not giving up, we headed out of the house prepared for an overnight stay somewhere even if it meant that we needed to commute dragging along our heavy bags. Good thing a Batangas bound van said yes to our pleading of renting the van for the whole day. We planned on passing and seeing Tagaytay then stay at any resort in Batangas. 

First stop was Palace in the sky where leg strength was vital for climbing. 

Next was Caleruega, where you can get lost in their beautiful garden decorated with several koi ponds. At the highest point of the place stood a small church which is often chosen for weddings. 

After, we went to  Sonia's Garden not to eat or stay but to just take pictures haha! 

We then decided to find a place in Batangas to swim and stay.  It was already drizzling when we left the diner and pouring when we were on the road. Since rain and beach was not a good combination, we headed  back to Tagaytay and had our late lunch (this was about 4pm) at Leslie's Bulalohan. I was not able to get shots of the food tho. 

It was back to drizzling again when we finished lunch and Kuya Louie, the van driver, was already talking about going home. We pursuaded him to let us find a place to stay first and so for almost an hour, we stopped at every inn and resort to ask if they can accomodate a crowd like us and more importantly if we can afford their rates. We found a pool resort in Laguna (I don't remember the name) around 7pm and stayed the night there. 

The trip was not as planned but I still had fun because it was the first time I went out with our college friends. My parents were very old fashioned and didn't allow me doing sleep overs so this was actually my first :) (and I was already 26!)

Going Japanese

Want Japanese food but on a budget? Why not try Tokyo Tokyo's sumo remix? Well, that's what Hubby and I usually do. Since rice is unlimited, you can go have as many as you want while gulping on their large red iced tea.

Our personal favorites? American Maki (I like it because of the cheese that the California ones don't have)

Tempura and Chicken Karaage with veggies! I love Tempura and how they do their chicken. Soft and juicy with the right amount of saltiness. Their stir fried veggie side dish is also good you can even eat it with rice :) 

Satisfying Japanese meal that is right on the budget. :) 

Itadakimasu!

Tokyo! Tokyo!

2nd Level, Market! Market!

Mckinley Parkway, Taguig

Philippines

Flashback: Malaysia - Singapore Trip (092011) - Day 1

Having gotten recently married and wanting to spend the honeymoon outside the country, we tagged along with our college friends (not much of a honeymoon I know haha) as there was a Piso Fare offered by Cebu Pacific going to Malaysia. We booked for this September travel as early as February and by that time I still didn't have a passport. Good thing scheduling for a DFA passport appointment can be done online. Getting a passport wasn't that bad compared to getting an NBI clearance. I spent almost 3-4 hours in the DFA office near SM MOA and just paid extra to have my passport delivered after 2 weeks. 

I was pretty excited for this trip as this is our first trip as a married couple and my first out-of-the-country. Hubby had already been to India when we were still dating because of work. It was a 4 hour flight to Malaysia and we arrived shortly after lunch.Their airport was an hour away from Kuala Lumpur and we had to take a bus to get to KL Central where we took our late lunch at KFC. :) KFC MY's rice is a little different and I didn't like it that much. It tasted like natuyong goto. One thing to note also was they do not serve their meal with utensils! We looked around and almost all was eating with their hands. Though we have no problem with that (as we're Filipinos) we opted to ask the counter for some plastic utensils instead. 

We waited for our friend who works in Malaysia to finish work and fetch us so we can settle and rest at the apartment he rented for us. The house was a bit far from KL sentral and since we were a group of 12, we had to be in 2 cabs. James (the friend who works there who also served as our tour guide) was with us in the cab so knowing where to go, we arrived at the apartment 45 minutes after leaving the mall. Unfortunately for the rest in the other cab, since they do not have Malaysian sim cards and James had no way of contacting them, they got lost and arrived 30 minutes after we did. :( 

The vicinity of the apartment was not big on cleanliness. Trash was everywhere and I'm not sure if cars there were cheap because the parking space was overflowing. The elevator was old and I had the feeling that it might get us stuck especially that the apartment was on the 14th floor. Though this was the case, the apartment itself was quite nice considering we only paid MYR 30 per head for 3 nights. It was spacious and had 3 bedrooms, 2 comfort rooms, a kitchen, sala and a dining table. You can use all the kitchen tools, refrigerator, washing machine and the iron. :) 

The first day wasn't really intended for much sight seeing.  We slept at around 10 and was woken up by a Muslim prayer being delivered in speakers loud enough for the whole building to hear it. It was a different experience. :) 

Next stop: Genting Highlands

Bohol - Cebu Trip (092012): Day 1 - Xzootic Animal Park and Loboc River

So after the quick visit to Baclayon Church, we went to Xzootic Animal Park, where you have to pay (if I remember right, P12 each of entrance fee). It's a small zoo along the road side. Since I've been to zoos when I was a kid, this was just a so-so experience for me. The only highlight was that we were able to pet this huge snake (he was asleep). Yes I held him, just once haha. And Hedwig was there too! :p 

We didn't stay that long in the zoo. We just bought some pasalubong and decided to go straight to Loboc River for lunch. I think it's imperative that when you go to Bohol, you have to have lunch cruising the Loboc River. We paid P300/head for the boat ride and lunch. My Tita (who has been to Bohol a month before we did) said that the food depends on the boat you ride. We chose the one recommended by Kuya Cito. The food wasn't really that good as I expected them to be. Some were actually dry, and though it was a buffet, my seconds were just mainly fruits. We were given a bottle of soda each and because I'm not really into sodas, I forced myself to buy their bottled water overpriced at P40 each. :(

Though my tummy wasn't that satisfied, my eyes were. I grew up in the city and I light up really when I see greens. Loboc river was teeming with green life. And the air, so fresh! At the end of the river was a waterfall and a floating hut where locals were waiting for every boat riders to go down and join them in their singing and dancing. 

Next stop: Ship Haus and Man Made Forest

North Park Dinner

Wanting some Chinese food, we went and ate at North Park after our window shopping date at Market! Market! It was probably around 7pm and we were 2nd to the list of waiting guest. We didn't wait that long and we were given seats after 5 or 10 minutes. 

The other table occupied by a family of 5 ordered noodles which were tempting but since I wanted rice we went for their Lechon Macau, dumplings and Young Chow Fried rice. 

We've eaten quite a few times at North Park but it has always been at Greenbelt. At the Greenbelt branch, you'd starve first before they serve you your food so I was a bit surprise when ours came in in just a few minutes :) Their Lechon Macau is a must try. It's crunchy and tasty but if you want it with a little vegetable you can opt to get the Lechon Macau with Talong instead. For me, that's their best seller, we just didn't get it this time because we wanted to try the "dry" version. Their dumplings were good as well and the rice was good enough for 3. 

Next time we dine here, I'll try their noodles :) 

North Park Noodle House
Ground Floor,Market! Market! 
Mckinley Parkway, Taguig
Philippines