Easter Weekend

One of the longest weekends we can ever have from where I come from.
We packed our bags, got in the car, ate chips and sang the tunes of random bands.
Finally, we arrived in our little town to unwind and relax.

Day 1 passed like any other day with food, music, drinks and a little adventure movie to keep us sane.

Day 2, same as the first day but twice thrice the noise because the rest of the family finally arrived!
Cousins, Aunts, Uncles, Grandmom and Granddad! (more food, more chatter, more drinks, louder music)
We ended this magnificent day by munching on bowls of popcorn and watching a medieval movie.

Day 3 started normally.
Breakfast was served.
Then came the questions from my little cousins, "Where can we swim?"
We really didn't have any swimming planned for the weekend. But since the little kids all gave us hugs and those pout-ty little lips, we conceded and the elders looked for a place where we can all splash water at each other.

Pebbles under our feet, the rush of the cold water, the cool wind, and the sun.
The kids immediately ran while the older ones stayed to lather on sunscreen.
We dipped, splashed and laughed for a while until the sun was unbearable.
We continued the fun in our little hut while eating icecream..

And enjoying the cool water beneath us.

When the sun was finally setting, we gathered our things and hopped in the truck.

It was an unexpected trip to the little river in Angat Bulacan.
I can't post any contact persons neither a website since there is none.
I'll try to search for the address of this little water fun haven.

Loooong Weekend

Just dropping by and wishing everyone happy weekend Easter!

Stay safe and have fun in whatever you have planned!

Kimono Ken

The family celebrated a little somethin' somethin' the other day.
It was a surprise and we didn't have any place to go.
We were all craving for Japanese.
One of our favorite restaurants is Kimono Ken.
We then headed to Blue Wave.

We ordered the usuals plus a little extra.

Lets start with the usuals.
Kani Salad.
Greens, Sauce, shredded cucumber and Crabsticks.

Then the Tofu arrived.
Soft, saucy with mushrooms.

The usuals for Dad and Mom,
Gyudon.
Sticky rice with beef, spices and raw egg. 
Perfect combination!

Beef Tenderloin.I say, eeeh.(I would still suggest the one from Kokoro Ramenya )
With sides of bean sprouts plus plus.

I would like to welcome you to the deep fried section.
Kakiage.

Carrots, beans and potatoes i reckon.

 

Shrimp Tempura. 

Never lost when you order Japanese!

Then we go to the sushi and sashimi area.
Salmon, Tuna, Uni (sea urchin) and California Maki.

Okay, the photo just shows some of it but yes we ordered all that!

Rereading everything I've written, I guess what I meant with a little extra is that we ordered everything times 2.
Don't fret! We were seven altogether! (tummy is still very very safe)

Its good food less the expensive price tag.
Try it out!

They have 6 locations:

SM The Block - 3/F SM City North EDSA, The Block, North Ave Sto. Cristo, Quezon City (02) 442-0041

Blue Wave - Unit H Blue Wave, Diosdado Macapagal Blvd Manila Bay Reclamation Area, Pasay (02) 832-8851

Quezon City - 256 Tomas Morato Ave Laging Handa, Quezon City (02) 928-1228

Shangri-la Plaza Mall - Shangri-la Plaza Mall-Foodcourt, EDSA Wack Wack, Mandaluyong (02) 633-1516

Rockwell - G/F Rockwell Business Center-West 11 Tower 1, Ortigas Ave Ugong, Pasig (02) 470-1270

Podium - 5/F The Podium, 18 ADB Ave Wack Wack, Mandaluyong (02) 633-1458

Korean Palace Restaurant

Annyeonghaseyo!
This was the greeting when we arrived at Korean Palace Restaurant.
I haven't been to Korea but I've been inlove with their food ever since M introduced us.Plus the food is affordable, great and satisfying!
The place is not the coziest but it gives you the Korean feeling.

A plate, chopsticks, and spoon and fork.
Your basic necessities in Korean dining.
M ordered.
One by one, the food started to arrive starting with..

L to R (unlimited serving): Spring Onions,dried fish, radish, potatoes, bean sprouts, fried tofu, green vegetables and finally, the Korean favourite, kimchi.
My top 2 favourites are: dried fish (had 3 servings)and bean sprouts (had 4 servings)
M's favourites are actually all of it especially kimchi.
While munching, the grill/sizzler (should I call it that?) arrived with garlic on top!

Sizzle, sizzle..
Out came Sam Gyup Sal.

In English, Pan Grilled Pork Bacon.
Followed by Bulgogi.

 Korean Beef Barbecue.

Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle..
Before the meat was grilled to perfection,
the soup arrived.

Doobu Chigae or Bean Curd Casserole.
Spicy-Sweet mix with soft bean curd and served VERY hot!
 
Vegetables were also served to us because the food should be eaten in 3 steps.
Step 1: Place cooked ingredients in something green. (Mine was made of Bulgogi, bean sprouts, and dried fish)

Step 2: Ball it.
Step 3: Bite!

A set of sauces were also served.

The dark one won for me.
I think this is sweet soy sauce with sesame seeds.
M's favourite is the clear one: Sesame oil with salt and pepper.

As M and I pat our tummies,we asked for the bill.
It arrived together with pineapple with picks on top.

After swallowing most of the pineapple, we paid and headed home with full tummies!
Gamsahabnida (thank you)!

Korean Palace Restaurant: 1799 M Adriatico St Malate, Manila (02) 521-6695
 

Kokoro Ramenya

Feeling a little weak and sick for the past few days.
Mom and I decided to drag dad and my sister for a bite to eat.
Being in my physical state calls for something hot!
Ramen was the obvious choice!
We then headed to Kokoro Ramenya.

After browsing their menu,
We decided to order Spicy Tuna, to share.
Fresh tuna drizzled with sesame seeds and chili.
To be honest, we ordered this because of the name.

Mom said it was spicy.
The rest of us was a little disappointed.

Next we ordered Beef Teppanyaki.

US Beef.
Sides of bean sprouts and corn.
Good.

Mom ordered Hakata Classic.
Served in a ramen bowl good for one.
Steaming Hot.

Dad and M ordered Gekikara Ramen.
I got a little bowl and shared with M (best decision ever!)

True to what the server said. It was SPICY!
I would say its the spicy version of Hakata Classic.
Meat, Noodles and spicy spicy soup!
M and I were very happy that we shared otherwise we'll have take away food!
Dad on the other hand proved he can eat anything and gulped the whole thing!(I think his mouth was burning after that!)

They have other types of ramen to choose from.
For dessert, they have green tea icecream which I have to taste!
All in all, it was good food. A little pricey but hey I was full after that meal!

Great for the rainy days (which is a couple of months from now as it is almost summer!!)

Find Kokoro Ramenya at 2/F S1-S2 1338 Roxas Blvd. cor Sta. Monica & LM Guerrero Sts. Brgy Zone 72 Ermita Manila
Contact them at (+632) 254 9716 / (+632) 254 9438
They're open Monday to Sunday 11am to 11pm

Outback Steakhouse

One of my (and the family's) all time favourite restaurant is Outback Steakhouse.
They started in Manila a few years back..
After a few more years, they decided to relocate to a better area around the metro.
Thankfully, they moved to a place not far from where I am.
Usually, for a simple family dinner out, we would head here and order salad, fries and soup..
But since it was my sister V's birthday, we decided to celebrate Outback Style..

We ordered 2 salads (to share).
Chicken or Shrimp Caesar Salad - we chose Chicken
You're given a choice between wood-fire grilled chicken or Grilled Shrimp mixed with romaine and freshly made croutons with housemade Caesar dresssing.

 The Second,

I apologize I was not able to get the name.
I admit.
I was hungry.
The only thing I remember was it had seared tuna with greens.

We had soup.
Onion Soup.
I was hungry and forgot to take a photo.
But photos can't even explain how delicious the Onion Soup is.
A few drops of hot sauce and fresh ground pepper, it is perfection in a bowl!*droool*

Okay, before I create a pool of drool,
We also had fries.
Not just any other fries but Cheesy, Bacon-y (is that even a word?)Aussie Cheese Fries with ranch dressing.
You may request for EXTRA EXTRA everything.
I did!(i hope you see here how much I love this!)
   

 The rest of the family enjoyed Wings.
Chicken wings tossed in a blend of spices and paired with Blue cheese dressing and celery.
Choose mild, medium or hot.
This requires two thumbs up while eating!

Pasta.
No Rules Parmesan Pasta.
Fettuccine noodles tossed in creamy Parmesan cheese sauce. With a choice of grilled shrimp, scallops or chicken breast.*you can choose two* But we opted for just shrimp.
Creamy Heaven! 

 The main event was the full rack of Baby Back Ribs.
Fall-off-the-bone. Succulent. Saucy.
Smoked and smothered with BBQ sauce and a little spiciness wont hurt! 
Dip in either BBQ sauce or vinegar!

For drinks..
Dalandan (Local version of Lemon) Freeze/Frizz.
Served in a tall slender glass.
Refreshing as always!
No photo - AGAIN! SORRY.

To finish the night,
We had "Chocolate Thunder from Down Under" with a candle on top.
Top: Whipped Cream with Chocolate shavings *WE REQUESTED OURS TO HAVE DOUBLE SCOOP OF ICECREAM SINCE IT WAS MY SISTERS' BIRTHDAY*
Middle: Rich Vanilla Ice Cream 
Bottom: Pecan Pie
NOTE: CHOCOLATE SYRUP POOL INCLUDED

I HIGHLY recommend Outback Steakhouse for whatever event you have.
Good Food.
Great Service.
Perfect for lunch or dinner.
Dates, meetings, family lunch, or whatever floats your boat.

Website is here

Locations:

Alabang Town Center - Alabang Town Center, Lot A, Commerce Ave. cor Madrigal Alabang, Muntinlupa   (02) 772-1844 to 45

Glorietta 4 - G/F Glorietta 4, Ayala Ave cor Pasay Rd Ayala Center, Makati (02) 729-8458 to 59

Libis QC - 35 E. Rodriguez Jr. Libis, Quezon City (02) 634-3801   

IHOP

My dearest sister informed me that the world famous IHOP is finally here in the Philippines.
Having heard of it from my trip to USA a few years back,
My sister and I invited the whole family to eat breakfast food in the middle of the night.

After a few minutes waiting in line, we were finally called and was guided to our table.

My sister V ordered New York Cheesecake Pancakes with strawberries

My sisters' husband E, ordered French Toast with sunny side up eggs, pork sausage and bacon strips.

M, my other sister ordered Philly Cheese Steak with stacked onion rings at the side to share.

Not a huge pancake fan,
I had the Belgian Waffle Combo with scrambled eggs and bacon strips..

I forgot to mention we ate our food with LOTS of syrup..

Our favourite was the Old Fashioned.
I'd prefer eating here in the middle of the night.
There's something fun about eating breakfast food at night.

IHOP is located at W Centre 30th street corner 9th ave. You'll see the big lighted sign there!

Bohol Highlights

Continuing the story of my Bohol trip (part 1 and part 2) a few weeks ago, I decided to skip the day 2 and day 3 story and get down to business by highlighting the best parts of the trip.

I'll start with the hotel..
AW and I stayed at The Peacock Garden. A VERY spacious land area on top of a hill. As what I've repeated in my previous entries, the rooms are overlooking the ocean.

 Infinity pool, which I adore especially for morning swim!

 They have the bar underground together with the play room.

Dining area where they also play a little classic jazz.
 

After dinner and a little roaming around the area, these awesome little guys caught my attention..
Have you ever heard the story about the war between the Romans and the Egyptians?

I'm really not sure how it went since AW and I didn't finish our chess game!
 

 Fontana Aurelia Spa..
Goodness! I have to say, I've never slept during spa time. But this one, I don't even know how it happened!
I seldom say this but to those who assisted us, hands down! One of the best services I've had!

The hotel exceeded my expectations.
Courteous staff,
Great service,
Amazing food,
To die for view!

Moving on,
Forgive me, I just really have a lot to say about the hotel!

Aaaanyway....
AW and I went nature tripping too!
First stop..
The Man Made Forest (my favourite)
According to our personal tour guide/driver, the trees were planted by the boy scouts of 1958

Second stop..
Tarsiers!
The smallest living primates!
 

Third,
AW and I went ziplining.
Hanging in the air with only ropes preventing us from falling, we crossed Loboc river.
We were like birds flying the first time!
Not exaggerating or anything but when I was in the middle of the zipline, all feelings were gone and I was blown away by the magnificent view beneath me!*sighs and a floating mind right now!*
PS: Photos are to follow.
 
Lastly,
Lunch!
There were two options for lunch.
Both were an hour and a half boat rides.
The only difference is the stop over.
Option One: Loboc River Cruise - the end is a small formation of water which is very nice
Option Two: Loay River Lunch - end is a small native community.

Since AW and I have already gone to Loboc River (zipline and lunch) we opted for Option Two.

The Small Community I was telling you about is the Ati Tribe.
A few kids and elders.

 This nice gentleman played songs for us to keep us entertained.

AW and I went to a few more places but as what I've mentioned, I'll just tell the unforgettable ones for me.

I had absolutely a wonderful time in Bohol! and I'm sure you will too if you decide to visit!

All details are below:
Peacock Garden Resort
For tours and a private car, please give the very cheerful and handsome chauffeur, Gilbert a call at +63926-710-3074