Bonifacio High Street

I brought my parents to Bonifacio High Street in Taguig City for a stroll last Sunday night. We love the open air concept of the entire BHS community--a welcome change from the box-type shopping malls we usually have in the Philippines.

We dropped by Sonja's super cute cafe. I love their bright walls!

Beautiful night in High Street.

Dahilayan Adventure Park

Last December 31, my entire family went to Dahilayan Adventure Park known for having Asia's longest zip line that covers a distance of 840 meters. I have heard about this scream inducing adventure park for more than a year, but we never had the time to check it out because it is quite far from CDO (two hours away by land).  

Pinegrove Lodge.

Dual zip line: 320 meters + 150 meters.

Playground.

Kung Fu Pandas :p

Asia's longest zip line has a length of 840 meters and a drop of 100 meters. We zoomed through the rainforest superman-style at 60 to 80 kilometers per hour.

Lunch at Pinegrove Lodge.

Forest Park.

Beautiful Bukidnon.

Bye Dahilayan!

Countryside Steakhouse

There is only one excellent and highly recognized steakhouse in Cagayan de Oro and it's none other than Countryside Steakhouse. My family is rarely complete in get-togethers because we live in different cities, but when we do see each other, we love bonding over good food. 

Every December when we are all back in our hometown, we never miss eating at Countryside Steakhouse located at Rosario Arcade, Limketkai Center, Cagayan de Oro City.

Yakimix

After my dad and I attended mass today, we went to Podium Mall to eat lunch at Yakimix. My friends have long been raving about this eat-all-you-can smokeless grill restaurant so I dragged my dad here.

Taste-wise, I believe the sushis and makis at Yakimix are not at par with the ones at Omakase. As for their main course, the taste was just so-so too. Moreover, the desserts were a big disappointment. The dry-looking cakes were merely from Goldilocks. They didn't even bother to change the serving plate to make the desserts appear a bit more sophisticated. But as the saying goes, we get what we pay for. For a Php 599 buffet lunch, I can't rant so much. Haha!

Yakimix is located at the 5/F of Podium Mall, ADB Avenue, Pasig City.

Parmigiano Pizzeria Ristorante.

My dad and I had dinner at Resorts World Manila today. I showed him around the mall and nearby hotels because it's his first time. For dinner, we had a hard time deciding where to eat. We ended up eating at Parmigiano Pizzeria Ristorante. 

We ordered Fruittura Di Calamari, Pasta Alla Bolognese and Funghi Pizza. They were quite pricey, but nevertheless, everything was good.

Bulgogi Brothers

My cousins and I had dinner tonight at Bulgogi Brothers located at the 3/F of Greenbelt 5 in Makati City. This classy Korean restaurant, originally from Seoul, specializes in Korean barbeque. Upon entering the restaurant, we were greeted with a wide selection of wine and Sojus. The ambiance was very modern and cozy unlike most traditional Korean restaurants in various parts of Metro Manila.

They gave us a free platter of appetizer consisting of sweet corn, sweet potato and quail eggs. We then ordered the traditional Korean favorite, the one and only Bibimbap. We were served with free Oksusu Cha or Corn Tea the entire night.

This is the Bulgogi Brothers Special. The waitress willingly assisted us in cooking the special Un-yang and Gwang-yang style Bulgogi. Look how cute the shape is!

Casa Roces

My relatives and I went to this new Filipino restaurant all the way in Manila to celebrate my cousin-in-law's birthday. I have to admit, I was a bit surprised when I found out that we were having lunch at a Filipino restaurant because it has always been an open secret that my relatives are hardcore Chinese food lovers.

Welcome to Casa Roces, a Filipino restaurant located right across Malacanang Palace.

We were welcomed by this picturesque garden and wooden deck complete with French doors and windows. 

There was an air of serenity as we walked towards the entrance! At first we thought this was already the main entrance to the restaurant. But apparently, this was just the entrance to the cafe, which is connected to the restaurant itself.

This is the receiving area of the cafe. Look at all these DEADLY sweets.

On one corner of the cafe, I saw these unique necklaces on display. 

Among all the items on display, my favorite is the one with the green tassel and Philippine flag.

We were seated in this cozy corner facing the garden.

For drinks, I ordered this ice-cold Sago't Gulaman. It has been awhile since I last drank this. Kakamiss!

Let the feast begin! This is the Sopa Molo Castiliana. It's actually garlic soup with some dumplings and eggs!

We had two orders of Lengua in Mushroom-Cognac Sauce. Super yummy!

Another favorite of ours is this Fettuccine with Bleu Cheese and Roasted Mushrooms. 

This is the super crunchy Pork Stew Binagoongan.

For dessert, we tried their Ginataang Halo-Halo. 

It has always been our family's tradition to end lunches at 3:00pm because the oldies still love to chitchat. So some of us, young ones, went to explore the 2nd floor of the restaurant. This is one of their function rooms. Very Spanish-era ang dating!

This is another function room on the 2nd floor. I like this room more because of the windows that allow natural light to enter the room. 

Finally, the crème de la crème. According to some chismis, President P-Noy loves to book one of the function rooms in Casa Roces. I am betting this is the room!

Promo Tickets

I am a bit cash-strapped these days, that is why I have temporarily suspended my travels until further notice. Haha! After work today, my sister buzzed me through Yahoo Messenger and informed me about the one-day online sale at Jetstar Asia, an Australian low cost airline. Being the curious bug that I am, I decided to check out their site. 

My wanderlust of a sister asked me to check out what destinations were on sale. She suggested Hanoi, Vietnam. I am not really so keen to travel anymore this year because I think I have traveled more than enough last year and early this year, but the minute I saw that the tickets were on sale, I immediately changed my mind. Haha! Fickle-minded much! The roundtrip tickets were only for 170 SGD or ₱ 5800. 

When I was about to enter my credit card details, it dawned on me that I could not really afford the trip because I still have lots of financial issues to settle. And so I told my sister that I really can't go. Then suddenly she offered to pay for the tickets as her belated graduation gift to me! OMG how lucky am I? She even offered to pay for my Manila-Singapore tickets! Thanks Ach!

Paying It Forward

I have long wanted to whisk my parents away from their busy lives and take them to a relaxing vacation. Today, I asked them if they wanted to go to Hongkong and Macau this coming June and they said YES. Fortunately, Philippine Airlines was offering promo fares for roundtrip Manila-Hongkong tickets for only $168 per person. 

Chatting With Mommy

I've been away from the Philippines for more than three months, so my parents and I merely communicate through Yahoo Messenger. My mom is not yet so comfortable with this whole long distance thing. This is a printscreen photo of us earlier today. She was having a hard time using her Iphone. She didn't even know where's the camera! Haha!

Just Moved

Last July 31, my family and relatives gathered together in our new home. We had our home blessed by Fr. Gil around 4:00pm. It's hard to believe that earlier that day, the house was still in total chaos---the TV was not yet set, some cabinets were still being repainted and boxes were still lying on the floor. We finished everything exactly an hour before our relatives started arriving. We felt like we were on The Amazing Race! Haha!

Casino Royale 18th Birthday

My cousin, Misha, celebrated her 18th birthday at the Manila Polo Club last August 22. I've got to say, it was one of the most well-planned and brilliantly-executed parties I have ever attended. The theme of the party was ala Casino Royale complete with all the things you normally see in a casino setting. There were also lots of exciting prizes in store for everybody during the games. My relatives came all the way from Cagayan de Oro and Cebu. The best part of the night was the photo booth. It was so fun to goof around and be our silly selves!