Hong Kong May 31 - June 3, 2010

May 31, 2010

Travelling is not easy.  We have only 3 days in Hong Kong so we chose the early morning Cebu Pacific flight out of Manila.

We woke up at 2 am.  We left the hotel at 245am.  We did not expect that there would be vehicles on the road; we thought it would be a quick drive.  We met-up with Mar's cousin Cecille and husband Deo who will take our Nissan Sentra and sell it for us.  We said our goodbyes, endorsed the car and hurried inside to the check-in counter.  We thought we were running late but thank goodness, we made it on time.

We were supposed to live with a Filipina who is renting her room for HKG $400 total for 3 nights.  At the airport in HKG, we called her but she was hesitant and not supportive to meet us to show us her place.  Sheila Aw, a Filipina from Australia overheard our conversations and told us where to look for cheap accommodation.

We went to where she directed us and found Chung King Mansion at Tsim Sha Tui.  We were hassled by an Indian guy first but we refused his room priced at $150 and went to look for a room ourselves with the help of a Filipina who brought us to another Filipina named Cely who is in charge of Mr. Tom's Guesthouse.  We were shown a very small room with a small double bed for HKG $170, a slightly bigger room with 2 single beds for $200 and another small room with a small double bed and a single bed (obviously for 3 persons) for $300.  We chose the first room and negotiated the price down to $150.  She agreed and that's how we end up in this very small room in Hong Kong.

In the room is a very, very small toilet and bath, an airconditioner, a ceiling fan, a small desk and a tv.

Exploring the Philippines - Amoroma in Tagaytay

May 30, 2010

We invited our dear friends Tony and Letty to dinner at AMOROMA in Tagaytay to celebrate the following:

Letty's birthday in June
Tony's birthday in July
and exactly on that day, Mar and I were celebrating our wedding anniversary.

Amoroma is said to be owned and operated by an Italian guy and food are claimed to be authentic Italian.

We dined al fresco and the food, ambiance and cold Tagaytay winds was perfect.

Exploring the Philippines - ABE at Serendra, Global City, Taguig City

My friend Letty invited me and Mar to eat at Abe on Monday this week.  She really like the food at Abe, she has mentioned how delicious the kare-kare is in this restaurant.

We ordered kare-kare, crispy pla-pla and pinakbet.

Exploring the Philippines - Resorts World Manila, Pasay City

Resorts World Manila is actually a casino which opened to the public in August 2009.  Yet to open are high end shops like Prada, Louis Vuitton, etc.. 

We do not gamble but we like to eat and watch shows so we went there twice last week.  The first time, we went to avail of their free membership.  It was quite an impressive short process - filling out the form, presenting of an ID, picture taking and voila - our Resorts World Member ID with our photo is ready.

With the ID, we got a "use-it-the-same-day" discount coupon for the buffet.  We enjoyed a wide spread of breakfast buffet for Pesos88.00 plus tax for a grand total of Pesos97 per person.  Everything you can wish for in a breakfast buffet is there like breads, fried rice, muffin, danish, porridge, pancake, bacon, corned beef, fried daing bangus, sausages, fresh lumpia and fresh fruits. There are also Japanese fish and vegies tempura and a lot more I was not able to sample.  There is all you can drink juices (pineapple, apple and orange) and one serving of coffee or tea.

We were also given Pesos100 credit each for use in the slot machine.  We used it, we were winning initially but lost it all eventually.

Like I said, we do not gamble so we left right after losing all the free money.

As it was still early, and shows start around 2pm, there are no free shows/entertainment to watch.

We went back to Resorts World Manila two days later and were able to catch 3 shows all running less than one hour per show.  We needed to order drinks though.   We really liked the show titled Maximus where foreign performers did acrobats, dancing, pole dancing, lifting, etc.

We will go back again to catch some more free shows.

Exploring the Philippines - Banaue Rice Teraces, Ifugao Province

Almost one year ago,  in May last year, my daughter Cha and her friend Andy came to visit the Philippines from their travels all over New Zealand and Asia.  The two of them, Mar and I, drove 350 kms to visit Banaue Rice Terraces.  Actually Mar drove solo, we just kept him company.

It was Andy's first time in the Philippines and they decided Banaue Rice Terraces is a must-see.

We stayed 2 nights at the Banaue View Inn, the four of us, for Pesos800 per night.

It is said that these terraces are 2000 year old and at one time was one of the Eight Wonders of the World.  UNESCO have chosen this place as UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Exploring the Philippines - Shangrila Plaza Mall, Mandaluyong City

Before we migrated to Canada, Shangrila Plaza Mall was one of our favorite hang out destination. My then young children and their cousins would treat the wide hallways as playground where they run and played.

My husband and I loved to dine here at one of the restaurants called Cravings.  Cravings is famous for their pretty decent salad bar which comes free with an order of a main course.  Their cakes and pastries are excellent and goes 50% off at closing time back then.  I used to wait and buy lots of baked stuff at closing time. I guess they don't do 50% anymore.

Another great activity at Shangrila Plaza Mall Mar and I enjoyed back then was the free movies during European Film Festival.  The cinema would feature about a dozen movies from all over Europe, screened for about a week or so.  Mar and I would go back to this mall about 3 times during the festival and watch 3 films each time we went.  For me, movies produced and directed not from the great USA has a certain wonderful uniqueness that totally intrigues and fascinates me.  I really love watching European films.

To my pleasant surprise, after googling it one day, the European Film Festival continued on since we left the Philippines in 2001 until last year and hopefully this year too in June.  I really am looking forward to watching a dozen or more European movies.  I think I will watch all films.

Exploring the Philippines - Glorietta Mall, Makati City

It was a very long time ago when my bestfriend Bey and I used to go to Makati to shop, eat and chat (in person as oppose to online nowadays).  I can't remember why we liked going here but probably because shopping was nicer here.  We did buy our high-heeled shoes and clothes from shops in this shopping place.

We were gone 8 years and guess what happened.  This place is now called Glorietta 1, Glorietta2, Glorietta3, Glorietta4 and 5.  Shopping malls have been connected into one huge and sprawling shopping heaven.  Rustan's, the very first shopping store for the rich and famous in this country is now connected to Glorietta, just like Landmark which is also now connected to Glorietta.

My favorite all you can eat Japanese restaurant Saisaki is located in Glorietta.  Saisaki is one of three buffet restaurants put together in one place. Diners can choose to eat at 1.Kamayan Restaurant, a Filipino food buffet, 2. Saisaiki, obviously a Japanese food buffet or 3.  Dad's (intercontinental food) plus Saisaki and Kamayan, called Triple Buffet. Prices are Pesos350 for Kamayan, Pesos480 for Saisaki and Pesos520 for Triple Buffet.  On Friday, Saturday and Sunday prices are a bit more.

The day we went to eat, I was not ready to feast on too much food so we settled for the cheapest buffet, Kamayan.  We had lechon de leche, lechon kawali, lumpia sariwa, pinakbet, sisig, puto bumbong, fresh pineapple.  Mar had a little bit of some more food offered but I didn't.  I was so full with just lechon and lechon kawali and pinakbet.

Exploring the Philippines - Power Plant Mall, Rockwell Center, Makati

We were driving back home (home this month is Makati Prime Tower) one day and guess what we found.  It's Rockwell Center.  Can't believe I have totally forgotten that this place exist.  I guess being away from the Philippines for 6 years and Makati City for 8 years explain this.

Just 1.1 km away from home is this high end community.  This piece of precious land in Makati City has become a cluster of astronomically-priced high-rise condos, expensive restaurants (there's a Jolibee at the Mall though) and brand-name shops located at this gorgeous, well designed and catering to the elite Power Plant Mall.

The following day, when we went to check the place out, we had lunch at Kenny's Grilled Restaurant which offered a free salad bar if you ordered an entree.  The lowest priced entree was 1/4 Kenny's roasted chicken priced at Pesos285.00 plus 10% service charge.