Holy Week 2011
Immediate disclaimer before I begin 
- food pics to follow… if and when the brother in law decides to give me a copy.
Thursday – As always, we went to 14 churches to fulfill a family tradition, that is visita iglesia; one church along C5, near Eastwood made us carry a cross! Quite heavy but overall a pleasant experience because at least we got to at least try and carry a cross and walk under the heat of the sun.
Friday – Instead of fasting and prayer, BQ invited his mom and brother to go to Nuvali, and so we all did. Since there’s really nothing to do there, we went straight to Tagaytay and ate too much at Sonya’s Garden. For only Php 610 per head, we had unlimited salad (with dressing, etc.), unlimited salmon pasta, and unlimited dalandan juice!
–> Super sulit, fresh, delish, and filling! Did not like the ants I saw everywhere (yes, even on our tables) though…
Saturday – Another pig out session… went to C’ Italian Dining in Clark Pampanga to try their famous panizza (where Yellow Cab copied their Dear Darla).
To those who are not familiar, this resto is famous for their C’ SUPER CLASSIC FRESHLY BAKED PANIZZA (approx Php 600+ and good for 3 people), Chef Chris Locher’s masterpiece. Panizza is a rectangular thin crust pizza, served and eaten with arugula and alfalfa sprouts.
We also tried 2 of their risottos – Risotto Kristina – Php 600+ (salmon, prawns, asparagus, broccoli, and finished with tender mushrooms and white truffle oil) and Risotto Frutti di Mare – Php 700+ (salmon, marlin, prawns, mussels blended with tomato and saffron-flavored parmesan risotto).
Their SLOW ROASTED LAMB RIBS IN AROMATIC SPICE RUB (Php 890) was a pleasant surprise. Even though I’m not really into Lamb, theirs is actually delicious and tender.
Lastly, we ordered pasta but wasn’t able to taste it anymore, I was sooo full and not to mention, it was around 9 p.m. already when we ordered that.
Sunday – I just went to the salon to have my hair and nails done – at last! And then went to church service in the afternoon. One important lesson learned, everything means nothing without Him. We must not let ourselves be a prisoner of this world by following what it dictates; instead, let us live a meaningful life by doing what He wants us to 
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Happy Easter everyone!
Chicken House
One of the restos we tried in Bacolod is called Chicken House, they say it is one of the most popular inasal houses in town so I entered the place with high expectations…
It was kinda late for dinner at that time and we were famished… As a result, we ordered almost every item on their menu… masiba talaga…
The verdict? I was really surprised because their inasal chicken did not taste special… It’s just like a normal chicken with salt, some soy sauce, and pepper… Don’t get me wrong here, I’m not saying it’s not delicious because it is, but nothing extraordinary, like some people claim. On the other hand, their liempo was excellent! The barbecue and the other “normal” chicken order was also good.
The price of their food is very very cheap… While most chicken inasal costs around 90 to 100 per part, theirs costs 60+.
The resto is worth trying, after all, this is one of the restos Bacolod is proud of. More Bacolod photos here.
Bacolod Virgin
Approximately 2 months ago, hubby brought me to Resort’s World just so I could have a look and feel of a Casino. We met up with friends and one of them (Mike) invited us to the City of Smiles – Bacolod! Since we haven’t been there yet, we readily agreed and planned this whole event.
We left Manila one hour after the expected departure time and after endless plane turbulence, safely arrived in Bacolod an hour and a half later. We stayed at Mike’s relatives and I was so impressed with their place. They have a dedicated condo-type space for their guests! It is like a home away from home because it has everything you need, 2 bedrooms, 1 T&B with heater, dining table, big living room space, TVs, and squeaky clean tiled floors!!!
Here’s all of us on our first night with Mike’s Aunt Pushpa at Kuppa Coffee and Tea. I like how they named their tea specialties according to function. For example, “Tranquility” for chamomile tea. I also loved their blueberry cheescake, see picture below.
More adventures on my next posts.
Astoria Hotel Boracay
This is a long overdue post but better late than never right? 
Anyway, early this month, we went to Boracay for the very first time! Woot! Thanks to Ian and Nestle for inviting us to their wedding, if it weren’t for them, we might not have witnessed Bora’s magic.
Anyway, since this post is about Astoria, let me start with the hotel’s good points:
- It is newly renovated (formerly called Boracay Gold Crown Resort), and when I say NEW, it means clean, clean, clean! No icky feeling for me haha!
- Modern and minimalist design. I’m not really a fan of native hotels so I’m really very happy that we booked Astoria. See the photos here.
- HUGE rooms. There 2 double sized beds in every room (I think) and 4 persons can comfortably occupy the room.
- They have sampayan yehey! No matter how clean your room is, imagine if there are wet clothes everywhere, must be a major turn off. But, Astoria implemented this super clever idea and hubby was very happy about it.
- Affordable. Yep! Very affordable! We only paid 4k+ NET per night with breakfast for 2. Beat that! If you’ll be going there, better book here because Agoda offers a cheaper rate than the hotel itself. No need to worry because Agoda is the accredited booking facility of Astoria.
- Awesome pandan juice welcome drink. Yummy, yummy, yummy.
- Near the shopping areas and restaurants
As for the bad points, they’re no deal breaker, that’s for sure.
- No hair dryer. Good thing I brought one ;p
- Sour coffee =(
- Food was just okay and there were very few selections
- Bad service, period.
Anyway, for me the good points really outweigh the bad ones. Overall, we really enjoyed our stay there and if we’re coming back, we’ll definitely choose Astoria again (unless we receive an instant cash gift from above, that’s enough to pay for a 2-night stay at Discovery or Shangrila. How can we say no to that?
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Station 1, Boracay Island, 5608 Malay, Aklan
Tel. (+63 36) 288.1111
Telefax: (+63 36) 288.3536
Day 2: Ocean Park
We had a somewhat late breakfast at Mcdo because we watched America’s Got Talent the night before and slept really late. Hb ordered Sausage N’ Egg Twisty Pasta meal which came with hash brown and coffee while I ordered Grilled Chicken Fillet Burger which also came with has brown and coffee (if I’m not mistaken lol!); total bill was HK $44.60.
After breakfast, we rode the MTR to to Admirality and got on a bus to Ocean Park.
We were supposed to pay HK $30 for the bus ride to Ocean Park but we paid 15 instead – not intentional. Here’s what happened, hb and I decided to try and use 1 Octopus card for both of our fares, anyway we knew that we can pay in cash just in case. But, after trying to badge the card for I think 3 times, the driver lost his patience already and just asked us to go in and take our seats instead of making us pay in cash. See, not our fault =D
Observation 1: Hong Kong people are always in a hurry. Even when I bought yogurt in 7-11, I remember the people around me getting impatient because it took me quite a while to put my change into my wallet and finally get the yogurt I bought.
Entrance ticket to Ocean Park costs HK $350 per person. Similar to Enchanted Kingdom, you can enjoy all the rides for the said amount.
Due to some constraints (long walks, long lines, etc.) we were only able to enjoy a few. Actually, we left at around 5 pm and we could’ve enjoyed a few more rides but we were exhausted and were literally dragging our feet on our way out of the park. 
We planned on going to Central to shop immediately after but our exhaustion just won’t let us, so headed straight to the hotel to get some zzzzz….
The Boutique Experience
About 2 years ago, a beautiful place called The Boutique was born… my jaw dropped and I could only drool over that place until recently. We were fortunate enough to be able to stay there and finally experience how it’s like.
To our disappointment, the place seemed to have aged a lot in a short span of time. The facade no longer called for attention… it no longer spells magnificence =(
We were greeted fairly well and welcomed with personalized greetings.
Our chosen soap, shampoo, and room scent
We were surprised to see how small the room was, considering the price (I Dream – weekend rate of 6,555 PHP + 22% worth of taxes) tsk.
What dissapointed us further is their curtains… NOT black out, another tsk! We were forced to wake up early because of the sunlight which effortlessly entered and dominated the room. Graaahhh! Isn’t black out curtains an SOP to all hotels (being a bed and breakfast does not excuse The Boutique I swear!)
Anyway, to top it off, the massage that costs 600 PHP is the worst that I have ever experienced boo!
… BUT there’s one thing that didn’t dissapoint, and it is the FOOOOOODDDD!!!! YUM YUM YUM! Our stay has a complimentary breakfast where you can choose from Continental, American, Filipino, and Hawaiian.
BQ chose Hawaiian set while I chose the Filipino set. We tasted each other’s food but mine prevailed woot!
Fresh fruits
Great tasting bread
BQ’s Loco Moco
My Crispy TinapaLastly, they gave us a promo card wherein you have to complete a number of stay to entitle you to one free night; they also gave us a parting gift.
Baguio
Our Baguio Trip
