Home Away from Home - Baguio City (Day 2)

Goodness! Sorry for taking a month to actually write the sequel to my Baguio trip. Anyway, moving on, let's see if I can still remember the details of my Day 2 stay in Baguio. =)

Day 2 - 18 October 2013

Because it is so cold in Baguio, I wake up a little bit earlier than the usual. I checked it using the instaweather app and it says 15 degrees! Woohoo! This rarely happens in Manila so I took advantage of it! I decided to shred some bad fats away by having an early morning jogging/run at Burnham Park. =)

It was no surprise to see locals jogging or running around the park. I even saw old people doing crunches in benches and groups of people dancing to the tune of hiphop music while following their leader in their aerobic exercise. (I felt really inspired when I saw this 'coz these people value their health so much, they find time to do these things even if it was a weekday! No wonder, halos payat ang mga taga-Baguio! ;) )

let's do this!

Here are some of the photos of the park I took while resting.. hehehe..

After running for an hour, I decided to get breakfast at 50's Diner! It is located at 92 Upper Gen. Luna Road cor. Brent Road. If you're coming from Burnham Park, you can ride a jeepney going to Mines View Park or to avoid too much hassle, you can just get a cab and tell the driver to bring you there.

As the name suggests, this is a 1950's inspired diner that offers mostly American Cuisine. Inside, you will see waitresses wearing pink and dainty uniforms. The place is also surrounded with pictures from the 50's era. An example of which is that of famous celebrity Marilyn Monroe.

50's diner has a wide selection of menu. But I just ordered this.

tapsilog

After breakfast, I went home to freshen up. Then I went to SM Baguio. It was a 3-day sale during that time so there were so many people so I just went ahead to my next itinerary. But before going, I went to the viewing deck and took this picture. I just love how the cold weather here makes the sky so blue. :)

Because the weather in Baguio is cold for almost the entire year, it can sustain the growth of pine trees. And what better way to enjoy this is to take a walk in the park and savor the cool morning breeze! 

Well, I just went to some of the parks that is accessible to me. First stop is Wright Park. This place is surrounded mostly by pine trees. And as you can see from the photo below, there is this portion in the park where you have to walk (I think) a hundred steps before you get to the top. (This looks like that of Lourdes Grotto though)

 Because I was alone in this trip, a selfie is definitely in order. hahaha

Overview of the Wright Park, opposite it is The Mansion

Opposite Wright Park is The Mansion. This is where the President of the Philippines stays whenever he is around the area. 

And here is a picture of me in front of The Mansion. As you can see, a manger is already set up in time for Christmas already! :)

Next stop is the Botanical Garden. There's nothing spectacular about this place except for the Igorots who are sitting in front of the gate whom you can ask to take a picture with. Here's a tip: These Igorots will not allow you to take a picture with them unless you give something in return. =) They prefer monetary donation though.

Then, next stop is the popular Mines View Park. It is a jeepney ride away from Botanical Garden and it is a go to place for tourists who want buy Baguio's delicacies specially Ube Jams, peanut brittle, (all can be bought at Good Shepherd) souvenir items and or if they want to have a picture with the famous St. Bernard of Baguio. There is also an observation deck where you can see the breathtaking panoramic view of Benguet's gold and copper mines and the surrounding mountains that unfold before you.

 Sorry for the crappy photo. That's the mines view btw. hehehe

After I shopped for pasalubong, I asked the driver to drop by Camp John Hay because I wanted to see The Manor. Thank you to my cooperative driver, he took this shot as remembrance. 

I was so tired when I arrived home that did not notice I fell asleep already. It was only by 20:00 that I woke up and decided to have dinner at Session Road. My choice, Pizza Volante. 

I ordered the famous Pesto Pasta, pepperoni pizza and a glass of mojito. Can I just say that the mojito here is so strong compared to Beso Vinoteka's version? 

After dinnering, the night is still young. So I went to Burnham Park again for the night market (ukay-ukay).

That's it for my second day in Baguio! More fun activities coming up in my last day! :) Hope you enjoyed today's entry! :)

Home Away from Home - Baguio City (Day 1)

It's been a while! I haven't visited my blog for so long since I have become busy with work and my hospitalization. =( Yes, I had an accident from playing badminton.. anyway, enough about that already.. I just want to share my first solo Baguio Trip I had last October! =)

I have been planning to visit Sagada or Bicol region during my MTA (Mandatory Time Away) because I haven't been to these places and I just want to relax. But for some reasons, I wasn't able to go to these places because my travel buddy had some problems with the schedules and financial stuff. So I just decided to go to Baguio, thinking I'll be able to get some time off all alone! Hahaha..

So one fine Thursday (17 October 2013), I decided to travel alone. My dad finally approved of this and so he accompanied me to Victory Liner in Cubao to buy my ticket. =)

I am quite excited because travelling alone is something that I haven't done for years. Although I have been to Baguio once, it still excites me knowing that I'll be experiencing living on my own. (I said to myself, "Praktis na rin 'to pag nagsolo/move out na ako!")

I left Cubao Station at 07:00 and calculating the travel time, I will arrive Baguio by 14:00. 

I left Manila with an empty stomach. That's why, after two hours, I wanted to jump off the bus already to get some food! I had no ready to eat food inside my bag nor candy and so I had to wait for the next bus stop! It was only by 10:00 that I was able to grab some snack when our bus stopped by Tarlac.

Two more hours on the road and we reached Sison Victory Liner Bus Stop. I didn't eat heavy lunch because, in about 1.5 hours, I will reach my destination already. I just ordered Squidballs there to keep my tummy at bay by the time I reach Baguio. 

I reached Baguio at exactly 14:30. I didn't have a hard time finding my transient home since it is the same home that we have stayed when me and my BPI colleagues went there 2 years ago. It just felt odd at first since the room is good for 6 and I will be sleeping there all alone. Hahaha

Since I was tired from the 7 hour long drive to Baguio, I just decided to spend the night in my new home there resting. For dinner, I read about this restaurant that offers generous servings of their menu, Good Taste Restaurant. 

Because this will be my first real meal for the day, I ordered the following: Siomai Soup, Fried Rice, Half Buttered Chicken and Miki Bihon. All orders are good for 4 except, Siomai soup and rice. I had to take home the excess and eat it for breakfast the following day!

I was so full that night. And by 17:00 outside, it was so cold already. So, when I finally reached my home, I decided to take a picture of the neighborhood. I asked my former colleague who is also staying in a nearby hotel what the temperature was in their room. She said, "Bless, 25 degress dito at naka-aircon kami!" Apparently, temperature outside is much colder than inside the hotel. I checked it using InstaWeather App. Hahaha! It says, 16 degrees! Woohooo! Bed weather indeed!

I had to turn off the fan already. It was so chilly! I had to make use of 2 blankets just to keep myself warm that night!

That's it for my first night in Baguio! I slept early because I know I'll be on a much more adventurous day the following day! =)

Splurging our Winnings at Kuppa Roastery and Cafe

Can I just say I love quizzes? No. I'm not referring to school quizzes but general information/knowledge quizzes! Yes! When I was a teenager, I used to join multiple intelligence contests in school. I also enjoyed watching Battle of the Brains, Digital LG Quiz, Family Feud, Are you smarter than a 5th grader? and many more! :)

Anyway, I was so happy I got to experience joining a contest again! A few weeks ago, we won the quiz night when we had our team fostering at Pasta Roni! And as a prize, we received a gift cheque worth Php 2,100 at Kuppa Roastery Cafe! So what else is there to do with this winning??? We splurged it like crazy! Hahaha! 

The winning team (Me, Lyn, Chary, Bri and Rose)

We ordered these yummy foodies:

Our appetizer: Classic Caesar Salad

Spaghetti Bolognese

Frutti de Mare 

Cristina(pizza)

Crispy Pata (I know it's not a good combination, but we tried it anyway..)

and for the dessert! Matt's Choco Lava Cake (you should order this ahead as it takes 20 minutes to bake this yummy dessert)

That's it for our happy Wednesday! Free lunch and bragging rights for everyone! :)

My First Binondo Foodtrip - Wai Ying Fast Food

I usually spend my Sundays resting, watching movies or series or doing grocery shopping or just sleeping. Weekends are supposed to be spent like these but last week my tummy went crazy!! And it craved for dimsums and noodles and everything Chinese! I was thinking of going to Passion at Resorts World Manila because they offer dimsum buffet. But it's so lonely to eat buffet alone and it's very far from where I live! So I thought, where else could I find the authentic Chinese restaurants in the Metro -- Binondo!

Just a little background about the place. Binondo is an enclave in Manila primarily populated by ethnic Chinese living in the Philippines. It is the oldest Chinatown in the world, established in 1594. You will know you are Binondo once you see the Binondo Church also known as Minor Basilica of San Lorenzo Ruiz.

When you walk past the right side of the Church, you will be greeted by this arch. It says "Welcome Manila Chinatown". This is also popularly known as "Ongpin". 

The streets of Ongpin showcase all things Chinese and cultural. When you look around, lines of Chinese fast food/restaurants, jewelry shops, medium rise short time hotels and herbal drug stores abound the place. 

But for this entry, I will focus on my first taste of authentic Chinese food here in Binondo. So I went to this very popular Chinese fast food - Wai Ying Fast Food. 

Wai Ying fast food is located at 832 Benavides St., Sta. Cruz Manila. It is a small fast food that offers a lot of Chinese delicacies. They have noodles, soup, congee (lugaw), rice toppings, vegetables, chong fan, roasted poultry, drinks, dessert and most specially dimsum. 

Here is Wai Ying Fast Food Menu. The prices of the food are very affordable. And so I ordered their specialties. (Okay, don't judge me now! Hehehe..)

First is the fried rice. Okay, there is nothing special about this fried rice. And I think it is quite pricey at 90 Php for the serving. 

Next is the beef noodles. I think the beef noodles is good. The noodles are firm and there is a generous amount of beef chunks which I find very "sulit" for its price. I used to order chicken noodles in a Chinese restaurant but Wai Ying's version of beef noodles is just too worthy not to give a try. 

Here we go to my favorite part! DIMSUMS!!!!

First is their signature pork siomai. Wai Ying's siomai is quite pricey but it soooo delicious!!! As you can see, their siomai's are topped with small shrimps and the meat that comes with it is so tender. Actually, even if you don't put in any soy sauce to it, you will still feel and taste the goodness of its flavor!

Next is HAKAW or shrimp dumpling. So Wai Ying's hakaw is very tasty. You can feel the texture and richness of the plump shrimp wrapped in this thin and translucent soft dough shell. It is best paired with chili sauce though. 

Lastly, to complete the set, (yes, I ate them all.. I have a hardened tummy!!! :p) I ordered their cold milk tea. It was good. It is not too sweet and not too tea-ish. It is just brewed to perfection. It's not your typical milk tea that you normally buy in the mall like Dakasi, Chatime or Serenitea. I obviously drank all of it in just a few seconds! Hahaha

I was way too full when I left Wai Ying! Their food is the best tasting Chinese food so far! I will surely come back here again! :)

Stuffing with a Japanese-French Combo Foodtrip

I do not know what is with my taste buds that every weekend I always crave for good food. :) So, one hot Saturday afternoon, my sweet tooth kicked in and found myself craving for a yummy dessert. I was thinking of trying the amaretto sour gelato in Greenbelt but it's too far away. I remembered what my friend Luthie told me about this crepe heaven located in Shangri-la Mall and so I invited her to join me to try the famous crepes of La Creperie. 

La Creperie is located at Shangri-la Plaza Mall, 2nd floor near Bossini and Ecco. The ambiance is cozy even though the place is set in the middle of the hallway. French songs are also being played as background to compliment the French experience. 

Luthie ordered her favorite Double Chocolate Fudge Brownie Crepe and I got the Mango Hazelnut au Chocolat.

Double Chocolate Fudge Brownie Crepe (Php 235)

The brownie inside the chocolate crepe is so warm and chocolatey but not too sweet. And the vanilla on top of it is cold. Just the perfect combination! This is really a must try crepe!

Mango Hazelnut Au Chocolat (Php 195)

This crepe is made of fresh mangoes, hazelnut spread in a chocolate crepe with caramel, sliced almonds and whipped cream. 

I love this combination because it gives your mouth a variety of flavors. Sweet, sour and chocolatey and the texture of the almonds just completes the overall experience. It is also La Creperie's another best seller. 

We left La Creperie with a happy tummy. Our sweet tooth was well nursed. Tres Bien!

Next stop, Yabu House of Katsu.

When we finished having dessert at La Creperie, we roamed for a while at the East Wing and did a little shopping. I got this lovely semi nautical striped dress from Regatta. 

My outfit of the day! Yes, I love stripes!

After shopping, we decided to transfer to SM Megamall for our dinner. Luthie has been asking me where to eat. Almost all restaurants are full. So I let her decide and she suggested Yabu. Haha

We were seated immediately as soon as we arrived there. We both ordered Rosu Tonkatsu, 120gms! Hahaha! Yes, we are hungry like that! =)

We were first served this mortar and pestle with sesame seeds. At first, I was wondering what these are for and I realized that this is for the sesame dressing. At Yabu, customers are given the chance to experience preparing their sesame dressing. Haha.. But you can ask them to give you crushed sesame seeds if you are too lazy to create your own.

Tonkatsu sets at Yabu are served with unlimited Japanese rice, miso soup, Japanese pickles, unlimited cabbage with sesame dressing and a bowl of fruit. 

Rosu set is a 3/4 inch-thick Rosu (porkloin), with a sliver of glistening fat trimming its edges and deep-fried in crisp golden panko

This is the Japanese sticky rice that comes with the set. I told Luthie I can eat 5 bowls of it because I've done that before in Tokyo Tokyo. But, their rice is so sticky, and heavy and very carbo loading! I only had 3 of it! (It's still plenty though) Hahaha

Luthie and I were soooo stuffed!!! HAHAHA But we have no regrets! And we will definitely come back for more! :)