Off to Misibis Bay!

Snooze. Snooze. Snooze.

Time check: 0330H. We had a family dinner/party the night before so I literally had to drag myself out of bed so I won't be late for our 0630H flight to Legaspi, Albay. All four of us arrived at Terminal 2 by 0500H which gave us ample to time to check in and have breakfast before boarding.

We chose Cafe France from the limited food choices by the boarding gates. I have always loved Delifrance and among my favorites are Chocolate Madeleine and Tuna Turnover (both unavailable that time though).

I ordered the very thick Hot Chocolate and Pork Asado Bonnet which I finished to the the last drop/bite.

Our flight arrived 15 minutes earlier, and since I don't have a check-in baggage, I went straight to the exit area and saw this.

Look here!

I approached the guy holding the Misibis Bay signage and gave him my name. After all the bags were cleared, we were guided to the van that took us to the resort.

Very spacious and comfortable. The driver gave us bottles of water and
yummy homemade cookies to munch along the way.

A friend had a major booboo which we only realized upon arrival in Legaspi. She left a bag in one of the chairs in the boarding gate which had all their slippers! Lucky her we had friends in PAL so the bag was found and kept right away (we were teasing her that she had to replace all of it which will cost her a lot). Since they don't have slippers to wear, the driver stopped by the Sto. Domingo market for some shopping.

Feetflop. Why not? *wink*

We then continued our journey thru the zigzag roads of Bacacay town until we reached a port. We were told that the water here is like 90feet deep so building a bridge will be an expensive task, they just transport the vehicles by roro which only takes about 5 minutes.

Another 10-minute drive and we reached the gate of the resort.

Hello Misibis Bay!

Nathaniel's Buko Pandan Drink

A colleague gave me a bottle of Nathaniel's Buko Pandan drink one hot afternoon. You read that right, the makers of the most famous Buko Pandan dessert in Manila finally made a juice drink version. All I can say is that, it is so refreshing!

I love it super cold, almost frozen.

To remedy the drink's too much sweetness, I added water and voila! Dessert drink is ready to serve.

Perfect on those hot summer-like days.

Dinner Cruise Along Manila Bay

There was a time when I became addicted to group buying sites (thank goodness I am smarter now!) and get excited every time I see "save 50% off". One of the last few vouchers I bought was a buffet dinner cruise along Manila Bay by Prestige Cruises. After reading reviews about it, which are mostly negative by the way, I didn't bother booking anymore and thought of just charging it to experience.

Sometime last week, I was going thru my files and saw the vouchers I still haven't used including the dinner cruise voucher. When I saw that its still valid and expiring by end of the month, I tried my luck and called the number indicated in the voucher.

And so, a few days later, DB and I were found ourselves lining up in the Prestige Cruises docking area near CCP to sign our names in the passenger manifest.

Waiting for boarding

We decided to pay an additional Php100 per person for the upper deck seats which offer a better view of the Manila skyline.

You can rent this boat (right beside Prestige Cruises) for a more intimate dinner cruise. Perfect for Valentine's day! *hint hint*

A few minutes after we were seated, one of the employees came upfront for the safety demonstration.

I pray that there will never come a time that I will have to use one of this.

Then the boat started to move and we were cruising along Manila Bay.

'Cause baby, you're a firework..

The boat turned around upon reaching the Mall of Asia.

MOA Eye

One of the crew members approached us and told us to line up for the buffet at the lower deck. We were lucky that the line was still forming so we only had to wait for about 5 minutes as compared to others who are still lining up even after we were finished with our dinner.

Buffet dinner which include rice, steamed vegetables, salad with nachos, pasta, chicken fillet
and brownies for dessert was so so. Drinks are by order and not free of charge.

I booked this dinner cruise just for experience so I wasn't really expecting anything at all. As in DB's words "What do you expect with a Php250-dinner cruise?" Yes, I felt dizzy with the smell of gasoline and how the food tasted bland and ordinary, but the fireworks and the moonlit skies somehow made the experience special and romantic. I wonder what it feels like to ride a real luxury cruise ship ala Titanic. Minus the sinking of course.

Cebu Pacific will now fly to Siem Reap, Cambodia!

I've been dreaming of visiting Angkor Wat in Cambodia ever since I saw it in Nat Geo, so last May, I finally followed my heart and booked a flight via Air Asia during one of their promos (we took Cebu Pacific from Manila to Kuala Lumpur because its such a hassle to take Air Asia from Clark).

Angkor Wat

Angkor Thom

Banteay Srei

But now, there's no need to travel all the way to Malaysia or anywhere else for that matter, because the Philippine's leading low-cost carrier Cebu Pacific Air will be operating direct flights to Siem Reap, Cambodia from March 2012. And not just that, starting today until the 29th, they are offering a promotional one-way fare of only Php888! Nice Juan!

Sale Period: January 26 - 29, 2012

Travel Period: April 19 - May 31, 2012

Reservations & Payment: Book and Buy only

Click here to book!

Holiday Weekend in Baguio City

January 23 was declared a non-working holiday in celebration of the Chinese New Year. I originally planned on spending the long weekend at home and catch up on my favorite US television series. My plans changed when I was invited to join a trip to Baguio City. And so, on-board a coaster, some 17 of us left Manila at around 3pm last Saturday and took the 9-hour road trip (including a snack at Burger King NLEx, the heavy traffic in Tarlac City due to road rehabilitation and a few wrong turns) to the Summer Capital of the Philippines. After dinner, I went straight to bed while others played cards and drank the night away.

I woke up early the following morning and saw this amazing view by the veranda. A former boss was kind enough to let us stay in his rest house.

Good morning Baguio!

Everyone was up and ready to leave by noon time. We initially wanted to have lunch at Burnham Park in one of the restaurants by the park but finding a parking slot for a coaster was such a stressful task, so we decided to go to Camp John Hay instead.

Outlet shopping!

I suggested for the group to try out Little John's which I really enjoyed the last time I was in Baguio City. The place was small so we had to wait until they can accommodate all 15 of us.

Fish and Chips

I love fresh strawberry shake!

Almost everyone had the house specialty which was a crowd pleaser.

Baby Back Ribs was yummy and very tender as ever. Affordably priced at Php155 only!

After lunch and some window and real shopping, we walked to The Manor to buy some breads to take home. I was fortunate to get hold of the last Walnut Rye bread (my favorite), an Almond bread and a few Raisin breads.

I've been going to Baguio City ever since I was a kid but this is the first time I went on a holiday. I prefer traveling on regular days when there's no traffic, everything's cheaper and the spots are not too crowded. It was the first long weekend of the year so I guess people really traveled this far to experience the cold weather which we did not have in Manila being January the coldest month of the year.

Going to Mines View Park

A tree being carved along the road.

I had second thoughts on going to the park when I saw the tons of people going in and out of Mines View. But then again, I wouldn't miss another chance of seeing the view from the top for anything.

After the photo-op, we got hungry and had sweet corn and dried squid dipped in vinegar. Yum!

Street food along Mines View Park

Last stop was Good Shepherd Convent which is famous for the Ube Jam everyone's been raving about.

You can only buy two small bottles per person due to the high demand of their delicious jams and other goodies. Since I don't want to tempt myself into eating too much sweets again, I passed and just went to their beautiful garden instead.

Baguio City is one of the places I will never get tired of visiting over and over again.

A Veneto Napoli Pizzeria Ristorante

We had two hours to spare before watching Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, which by the way is a great movie. I cannot think of anybody else who would play the role perfectly than Robert Downey Jr.

The wittiness, the attitude, and the charm is so him!

We had to wait two weeks for it to be shown here because of the Metro Manila
Film Festival which showcased only local movies.

And so, we grabbed an early dinner at Aveneto -- my go-to place for delicious and affordable Italian treats. It didn't take long until I finally saw what I wanted from the menu.

What's on the table

Chef's Salad

I try to include more salad in my diet and try to veer away from carbs but ever since friends introduced this to me, I just cannot resist!

Nut Pesto with Seafood -- Shrimps, mussels and squid generously included
but it would be better if this is not swimming in oil.

Choosing what to wear in the morning have been so stressful lately that I try to limit my food intake as much as I can. But how can you say no when delicious meal is served to you? Maybe I'll go shopping for new clothes instead.

~o~o~o~

A Veneto Napoli Pizzeria Ristorante
SM Mall of Asia, Central Business Park

Pasay City, Metro Manila, Philippines

Tel.: (632) 556-1947

Things I'm Craving For

Sesame Rice Tuna Tataki from Asian Twist Fusion Restaurant in Manila, Philippines

Gyro Platter from Go Greek! in Manila, Philippines

Mac & Cheese from KFC in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia -- I wonder why we don't have this here.

Sashimi from Tonkichi Tonkatsu Seafood Restaurant in Hongkong

Beef Salpicao from World Topps in Manila, Philippines

Baked Porkchop Rice from Cafe de Coral in Hongkong

Fish and Fries from Fish and Co. in Manila, Philippines

Street food in Hongkong -- I love the mozzarella beef balls!