Tag: philippines

About philippines

Subscribe Feeds

Lunch at Hellenic Tavern Hotel

Posted on by xerox

Emmanouel Sapountzakis, owner of Hellenic Tavern Hotel, brings a piece of his birth place to Tagaytay with his Grecian-inspired hotel and restaurant which he manages with his Filipino wife.

Hellenic Tavern Hotel is fairly easy to spot as it is located just along Aquinaldo Highway, opposite of Lourdes Church.  

Now, before I carry on, let me just ask you… 

How would you feel sitting on a balcony (away from all the hustles and bustles of a metro city) facing a ridiculous breathtaking view of Taal Lake surrounded by pristine mountains and several clusters of mist? 

Well, let me answer that question for you…

Awestruck. That’s it. You’d be just completely awestruck and lost for words like I was. Photos don’t do justice to this God-made beauty.

I never thought that I’d fall in love at first sight but there I was… totally captivated by such refreshing scenery.

Who knew having lunch with my boyfriend while overlooking at lush green pastures in broad daylight could be quite romantic?

Speaking of lunch…

We had delicious Elleniki Salata (Greek Salad) as our appetizer. Let me just say, I never had salad that good! Everything was absolutely fresh! Not to mention that most of the ingredients are home-grown! Cucumber, onions, lettuce, tomatoes… 

I loved the tomatoes! I never had tomatoes like their tomatoes. If I remember it correctly, they were more sweet than sour. And would you believe me if I say that they actually made their own feta cheese?

Now I’m starting to miss the salad all over again…

We also had Shawarma. A Mediterranean take on a Middle Eastern cuisine. Toppings include lamb shavings, tomatoes, onion, cucumber, potatoes and a dollop of tzatziki. All of that wrapped in home-made pita bread. 

For our main course, we couldn’t resist trying out one of their best-sellers, Moussaka. It’s basically an eggplant casserole topped with Bechamel sauce. It’s a tasty mix of eggplant, potatoes, zucchini, minced beef and Parmesan cheese. If only I could have this everyday, I totally would even if it means having to clog my arteries! 

And lastly, for our dessert, we had Baklava. Basically, it’s made of filo pastry layers filled with chopped nuts and then bathed in (again, home-made) honey.

Dining at Hellenic Tavern Hotel is definitely one of the best dining experiences I’ve had ever. You can check out more of their food and prices here.

And in case you’re looking for a place to stay there, they also have rooms with scenic views at reasonable rates! 

With Mr. Sapountzakis himself. Yup, he’s 100% Greek. LOL at the hover hand!

Anyway, when in Tagaytay, don’t ever miss to drop by at Hellenic Tavern Hotel! Truly a magical piece of Greece in the boondocks! 

Tagaytay – A Teaser

Posted on by xerox

Everything has been really crazy hectic and toxic since last month that I never had the tiniest time to allot for blogging. But I’m finally back!

I have so many backlogs that I don’t even know where to begin and what to write anymore.

But I guess I can just start with this teaser for now so I can still keep you guys interested. I promise another post in the next few days!

The scenic views, the cool climate, the fresh air… I truly, madly and deeply miss.

And of course, I have to end this short teaser with a photo of me to satiate my vanity. HAHA!

Chillin’ at Snow Village

Posted on by xerox

To cap off our “Trails to Antarctica” package tour at Manila Ocean Park, we were lead to what I originally thought was just a room fully adorned with Christmas ornaments which they dubbed as Snow Village.

But before we were allowed to enter, we were made to wear thick coats.

So as I was putting a coat on, I jokingly thought to myself that we’ll be going inside a gigantic freezer.

And I couldn’t be any more right.

Snow Village is actually just a walk-in freezer designed to make Filipinos sort of experience winter even if it’s in the middle of summer! Totally cool! Pun not intended.

Be careful as you step inside, the floor is quite slippery. So it is advisable that you wear shoes which have slip guards. 

No fake snow falling from the ceiling though.

To be honest, there’s really nothing much in Snow Village save for a cute designated area for nice photo ops…

 

If you’re someone who hasn’t experienced winter like us, you’ll enjoy trying to freeze yourself inside Snow Village until you can’t feel your fingers anymore just to test if you have what it takes to survive bone-chilling temperatures. Trust.

Feeding the Penguins at Manila Ocean Park… Not!

Posted on by xerox

Before anything else, I wanna tell you guys that I had a VERY TOXIC week. I just got myself a new job. So no more bumming around for me anymore because I now work as a video editor for an online school.

I really LIKE my job. But because I was experiencing too many technical difficulties during my first week, I wasn’t feeling it at first at ALL. I was absolutely stressed out (my face broke out!) and I had a hard time trying to regain momentum with EVERYTHING really. So that’s why I wasn’t able to find the time to actually continue writing about our Manila adventure. Well, not until now that is. Thank God!

So anyway, right where we left off from last time… After we’ve breezed through Luneta Park, we headed straight down to Manila Ocean Park.

Of course, I was very excited to see Manila Ocean Park!

Fineeee… I lied. Sort of.

Since I’ve been to Hong Kong Ocean Park back around 2010 (I was with my aunt, ex-boyfriend and a friend who happens to be my ex-boyfriend’s cousin), I was just excited to see the penguins because there were no penguins in Hong Kong Ocean Park when I was there apparently.

Look at me squatting and grinning right below the sign signifying that I was there and very much ready to see the penguins!

Manila Ocean Park may not have a theme park but look at this… 

Did you know that this is the largest Oceanarium in Asia? Hong Kong Ocean Park has got nothing on this breathtaking walk-through Oceanarium! Trust me, Manila has it SO MUCH better!

And there’s my boyfriend goofing around. And look at that guy behind him. Don’t you just envy his job? Come on. Who doesn’t want to go swimming with fishes on a daily basis and get paid for it? I so wanna steal his job from him (if that’s even possible).

Now this may not be the prettiest picture of the bunch (flash photography isn’t allowed in the Oceanarium by the way) but look at what’s behind me. A tank FULL of sharks. You don’t want to be in there. 

Too cute not to share.

I think I lack the proper apparel for this. This is the closest thing to bringing myself to Antarctica (for now).

And finally, the star of the show…  

No, it’s not my boyfriend… THE PENGUINS!!!

For 250 pesos, you can feed the penguins and have your picture taken with them. We chose not to avail the offer though because I thought it wasn’t worth it at all. Really. I expected that with that amount I could feed a bucket load of fishes to all the penguins but no. You just get to feed just ONE ridiculously TINY fish to ONE penguin. Not only is it unfair to the rest of the penguins who don’t get the fish, it’s unfair to me as well. But with that disappointment aside…

I’ve never been happier! A total dream come true for me!

Next post, Manila Ocean Park’s Snow Village. Keep your eyes peeled!

Just a Quick Stroll at Luneta Park

Posted on by xerox

Before we headed to Ocean Park on our second day in Manila, my boyfriend took me to Luneta Park, also known as Rizal Park, because this is one of the major attractions in Manila.

It is a historical park where the national hero of the Philippines, Jose Protacio Mercado Alonzo y Realonda Rizal (his full name is such a mouthful) was executed during the Spanish regime. His execution was the catalyst of the Philippine revolution against the Spanish Empire during the 1800s.  

As you can see from the photo above, his monument is the actual focal point of the park. But did you know that this park that commemorates his death is a direct disobedience of his final instructions prior his execution save for putting a fence around his grave? Know more about it here.

A closer look of Jose Rizal’s monument. It is closely guarded 24/7 by honor guards.

Other than the monument, there’s really more to see in this park such as this (and suddenly a colorful photo)…

A ginormous clock. Why am I so fascinated by it? I don’t know.

Other interesting areas of the park include a Japanese Garden (which we didn’t get to see because it was closed on that day), an open-air auditorium and more.

Unfortunately with our very limited time, we weren’t really able to appreciate its entirety. Definitely looking forward to having another stroll there next time.

Double date at BBQ Chicken

Posted on by xerox

Upon arriving in Manila on the 31st of August, my boyfriend and I were able to meet up with two of my friends (a couple) for lunch.

They recommended us this place called BBQ Chicken. Funny how it’s a really straightforward, right-in-your-face and no nonsense name. It’s like they completely ran out of ideas on what to call the restaurant and just settled with something that couldn’t be any more obvious.

BBQ Chicken is a Korean restaurant located at Unit A 2/F Pearl Plaza, Pearl Drive, Ortigas Center, Pasig City.

One of the first things I noticed as I entered the restaurant was the upbeat KPop music playing in the background. Which I love! Really, there’s no use in denying I like listening to KPop because I do. 

The ambiance (I like the cutesy chalk art touch) and service is good. By the way, I have to point out that the photos were actually taken way past lunch time. This restaurant has regular customers and is usually full. It’s not empty as it appears to be in the photos. 

This is my boyfriend’s lunch, Spicy Chicken Barbeque Set. It’s a dish of grilled spicy chicken served with a lump of rice and mixed vegetables at the side. I like how they managed to not let all the spices outshine the flavor of the tender and moist chicken. It’s pretty good.

And here’s my lunch, Grilled Chicken Salad. I love this salad. The chicken tidbits were very flavorful and I can tell that they used fresh vegetables because it had that crunch to it. It’s also worth noting that the dressing was very good as well.

The prices here average around 200 bucks which is not really bad considering that it’s justified by the good food, good service, good place and the lovely sound of KPop music ringing in your ears. I’d definitely go back here whenever I can.

Once a Promdi, Always a Promdi

Posted on by xerox

I don’t know if you can remember but I did once mention in one of my previous posts that I was cutting back on unnecessary expenses because I was saving up for something “grand”. And that actually meant another vacation for my boyfriend and I!

Can you guess where we went? I’ll give you a clue…

Is the clue not helping? Okay, squint your eyes real hard for the next clue…

Still not helping at all? Okay, okay, it’s…

Manila! This was when we just arrived at NAIA.

Just look at my face. Absolutely packed full of excitement! Maybe because it was my first time to be in Manila. But don’t get me wrong, I didn’t go to Manila so I could instantly feel higher than other people on the social ladder. It’s just that I’ve always wanted to set my foot somewhere in Luzon and this was a total dream come true for me! And yes, being a “promdi” is no shame! 

Till my next post, keep on following me for more of our Manila adventure!

Tarakumain sa Tadakuma

Posted on by xerox

I KNOW. “Tarakumain sa Tadakuma” has just got to be the lamest pun title I ever came up with. And yeah, I just had to kinda force it. I bet you must have rolled your eyes. MOVING ON…

Tadakuma is a Japanese restaurant that just opened at Don Ramon Chavez Street, Cagayan de Oro City.

My best friend’s boyfriend, Miguel took my boyfriend and I there for lunch. Sadly, my best friend, Ritz was not with us because she is currently living and working in London (we miss you!).

Originally, my boyfriend and I planned to have our lunch at Kogi Bulgogi (a Korean restaurant that just opened at Lim Ket Kai). But sometimes, things just don’t go as planned. But hey, who said I was complaining?

Tadakuma is very cozy and modern. Actually, when we got there, it was REALLY busy. All the tables were full and so we had to wait for a table for a little while. By the way, the photo above was taken after everybody else already left the restaurant with happy tummies.

Nothing but a cute random bowl. If only I could take one home as a souvenir. Just kidding. Or am I really?

Oh, before I proceed to talk about what we had, can I ask you a teeny favor guys?

Umm.. can you please not hate me for forgetting the names of what we had? I was soooo hungry that everything just went completely out of my mind. I am crossing my fingers that the photos will just somehow make up for it. Here goes…

This is a bowl of plain minced raw fish on top of a bed of rice. And those two tiny blobs that you see on top are wasabi paste and pounded ginger. To eat this, you have to properly mix everything in together so to evenly distribute the flavor. It has just the right punch of heat and that zing of flavor coming from the pounded ginger. It’s like a different take on “kinilaw”. If you don’t have problems eating raw fish, you’ll definitely love this!

A bowl of ramen noodles with three thin slices of meat, a slice of fish cake, a slice of boiled egg and a few greens. It looked like it could need a little more stuff though. However, the soup is like no other. 

So that’s all we had. Blurred in the background is Miguel’s Tempura Udon. For some reason, I can only remember his order. Shoot me.

Tadakuma is a tad cheaper than Ramen Tei. In average, everything costs around 200~300 PHP per dish. The servings are delicious and quite generous so you do get your money’s worth. To the last peso. Give this place a go and I’m sure you’ll love it too!

Z Restobar Revisited

Posted on by xerox

Hello everybody, say hello to Z Restobar again! 

Since there are so many dishes that we still have yet to try, my boyfriend wanted us to go there again to celebrate our 15th “monthsary”.

So without any further ado, first up was Thai Green Curry with Chicken. 

Although this had chunks of pineapple in it (I dislike pineapples in case you don’t know), it was just too good to not like it! They had me at the richness of the coconut milk and the aromatic smell of the curry. The chicken was tender, the piquancy was just right and it was so hearty that I could have had one big bowl all to myself. But due to gastric problems, I had to control and refrain myself from eating too much of it. Especially since it is my doctor’s advice to avoid anything spicy and acidic for two very long months. Woe is me.

And the other thing that we had (apart from two mounds of garlic rice that were not pictured) was Thai Fried Noodles with Prawns.

I believe one must have an acquired taste for this dish. Its mix of flavors is very unique and can be quite unusual for the Filipino palette. It was sour, nutty and had a tiny kick of heat to it all at the same time. I found the taste to very weird at first… But when my taste buds were finally able to adjust, I realized that I began to like it. Just not as much as the Thai Green Curry with Chicken though.

It was of great misfortune that they ran out of Matcha Green Tea… I would have had that. 

Till the next post!