homebound

yay, it's finally weekend! i can't wait to go home and rest and doze off.

anyway, here's a photo i took on my way to the bus stop. too bad i miss the company shuttle as i am a minute late from the schedule. :(

7:16 AM
26th street corner 5th avenue

happy to see sunny weather early this morning.

happy weekend, everyone!

Foodfind: Home-Made Cassava Cake

Lots of food products are now sold here at the office as snacks or take home as pasalubong. One of my colleagues offered me this sample cake made by her agent. I find it good so I ordered one for my family (taken last Tuesday that I get one on Friday).

Yes, it was a home-made cassava cake. I ordered the one with leche flan on top and the other flavor is with a macapuno slice. One order is 12 quite big slices for only PHP100. 

It’s tasty with the right amount of sweetness. The cassava is well grated that I cannot taste those long strips I often taste from eating fresh one (sorry I cannot remember what it is called). Also the cake is firm and quite big than those commercially offered. Another plus is that it stays soft even after it’s put in the fridge.

The only downside is I hope there’s a bigger slice of leche flan on top of each serving instead of a really small one (even for the macapuno one). Or maybe add some cheese on top.

Overall, it is really good that I will order another set as my snacks this time. 

I can delay diet or exercise the carbs off afterwards right?

Larsian BBQ - A Heaven

For foodies like me who love barbecue, this place is heaven. There are lots of choices to choose from meat to seafood. At the entrance, you can already smell the delicious aroma of the food. And the best thing is the place is clean and well-kept even it is an open area. The place has stalls on the sides then color-coded tables and chair near each stall and grilling station on the middle.

My mouth started to water as I look on the options since I want to try all of them. But for the night, I opted for grilled chicken wings, isaw (chicken intestine), chicken liver and spicy chorizo. Those grilled meat are best paired with soy sauce with calamansi. Because all meals are delicious, I end up eating 4 of those puso, rice wrapped by coconut leaves (the most rice among the 4 that ate in our table). Man, the rice is heavy for my tummy than the normal rice I eat.

I can say its barbecue heaven! I enjoy the mean a lot and the food is cheap. Can’t wait to have another round here.

Fully Loaded Sunday

Davao Trip 2011 - Day 2

Wake up and prepare for the day. We grab quick breakfast at Karlo's Coffee and googled a place to stay in the town proper where it would be easier for us to commute for other places to visit as well as more choices to eat. We called one hotel but the receiver seems busy listening to loud hiphop music (heard over the call) plus chatting with a collegue. Then I remember My Hotel from a review of another blogger while checking the remaining selections on the page I am looking at. We consider the area where the hotel was located before we agreed to transfer there.

After that we prepare of things while the guard called a cab from us, this time we got friendlier driver who loves to talk with us. It took us less than 30 minutes from Jack’s Ridge from the town proper. Once we arrive at the hotel I know it was a good choice from location to ambiance and it is not noisy inside despite near a main street where lots of vehicles passes.

Room check in and the aircon is not that good thus we requested for a different room. Voila! They provide us much bigger and better room with a niece view of the area though it is not the highest floor of the building. We rest for a bit while we try to decide the places on the list we can go. Since the museum is closed on Sunday thus that left us to venture on other places far from the town proper but close to each other, which is the Philippine Eagle Center (PEC) and the Orchid Center in Malagos.

And planning still..

What An Unplan Day!

Davao Trip 2011 - Day 1

Me and Peter been talking via chat and e-mail before the trip for few days. I’ve researched on itirenery, places to stay and good food places then send it via e-mail thinking he make the final decision on everything. So we end on meeting in the airport with Peter all drunk and still drinking. Only to realize he wanted me to decide on everything when we are in Davao already ( I missed his last mail asking me to take charge of everything (im out of work when it was sent ) and I all I said is I’m on a mess now.

I know there are lots of places where we can check in knowing a lot of hotels and inns here but not sure if there is available rooms. I called and texted my friends to check several places for me until I remember Jack Ridge even though one of the cabbie there been advising us also to other places I knew he will get a kickback plus a large charge for us (I say screw him doing that!). But it is going to be my call. My decision then is to head to Jack’s Ridge and think of another good place after a night there. So I ask him to drop us at Jack’s Ridge and tried to bargain the price for the drop off – from PHP400 to PHP300. And one thing I hate people taking advantage of me knowing I am not from Davao and travelling with a non-local. Guess this is the bad side of being a known tourist place - that they charge higher fee for both Filipino and foreigner.

Once we arrive there, my friend end up sleeping at the vehicle while I deal with the receptionist for the payment for a night stay which takes half an hour. Lucky there is an extra hut available for us knowing they got only 3-4 rooms for rent. After signing few papers, we are now ready to go to the room. It’s around lunch already when start to head down to the room as a crew helps us transfer the baggage. The place is relaxing as we enjoy the view of the city while we walk down the stairs to the room. Only to realize it is at the far end of the stairs and at the end of the hut rows.

We checked the room for a bit before we settle down though there is a bit of complains on the location (it’s away from the city). As curious person, I end up checking every inch of the room while my friend ends up getting a quick shower and taking a short nap.

Hungry as no lunch and snacks eaten yet, we get out around half past 2 pm to have lunch con meryenda. The Taklobo restaurant is still gearing up for the night that will come we end up at Karlo’s Gourmet and Coffee. Also its weird that their menu got cents on the price only to notice the 20% tax and service charge that will be added on the final bill. My hunger already passes that I end up ordering a chocolate cake while he ordered grilled pork with mash potato and chocolate mousse.

After eating, we round the place checking the Amphitheater, the Penmar Halls and sneaking around the area. There are 2 gazebos at the far edge of the place which is a great for taking picture of the city. And there are lots of stairs there that we tried to check each one and where it will lead to.

Dinner came and we decided to check on Kai’s Bar and Grill over Taklobo restaurant. This time I am really hunger that I order grilled tuna and rice plus Tanduay Ice while my friend Peter munch on fries and beer. We skip out once in a while to smoke as it is not allowed in the area. There is not much view on the bar compared to other parts of the area but what we wait for is the Utopia band that will be playing play for the night. We stayed there a bit late until the sounds change into a different genre.

We left as the band started the 2nd set since most of the songs played make us sleep. Guess it is the sign that we need to rest and better called it quits.

Best Place to Stay in Panglao Island

Part of Panglao Island Trip

One word to describe the place: excellent. Amorita is one of the best places to stay in Panglao Island. One reason personalized service and staff are friendly and genuinely amicable. They always make sure that they inform us before entering the villa – rang doorbell, call out names, etc. They make sure we are taken care off. Also they offer extra mile to their guest like cooking us the Egg Benedict for breakfast which is not on their menu.

Area. The lobby is simple as well as the villa yet there is a class look on it. Also they use wood product to accentuate the place. It is not big place compared to other high end resorts in the island yet the rooms and the patio are significantly placed that makes the place seems a big place to roam. Also there is tight security whenever one left the area going to the Panglao shore.

Room. The room is well maintained. They bed is well prepared upon entering the
villa yet they removed after a few hours from arriving. Seems it’s just for presentation. There are lots of pillows of different sizes which I like a lot since I love to be surrounded by pillows. The bed is good for sleeping at any position (no back ache in the morning) and the pillows are soft enough for the head and hugging. There is one cabinet with security box for the clothes to hang and a small are beside it for sitting or for placing bags. I also love the spacious open area for bathroom that can be access from inside the room and from a backdoor to avoid wetting the room.

Here are my three downsides with Amorita. First is location. They are at the end of the island thus they don’t have private or even small beach area. Guest like us can only enjoy the view with the infinity pool inside the resort. Next, they could have added few more hangers where we can put clothes that need to be hanged. Last, it is too pricey that one must really save to be able to stay here.

Overall, my stay here is beyond my expectation and worth every peso. Wish I can stay here again for my next visit in Panglao.