Xiao Long Bao @ Shi Lin

I've been craving for Xiao Long Bao for the longest time. Only a few Chinese restaurants offer this type of dumpling and these are usually expensive. So when CashCashPinoy(a group buying site) offered 250 php for  500 php worth of Dimsum and Noodle products from Shi Lin, I instantly bought 2 vouchers.

What is Xiao Long Bao? It's a kind of dimsum with soup inside. I don't know how they make these but they definitely are yummy.

Grabbed this Xiao Long Bao photo from my sister

February 23, 2013

Together with SS, I went to Shi Lin at the Podium. They have a limited number of branches and I'm glad that one of them is accessible. *Sorry this post won't have any pictures since I forgot to bring a camera :(

Inside Shi Lin

Shi Lin has that typical Chinese restaurant ambiance. Now I won't get all descriptive about the place, let's get on with the food.

Since my voucher is good for 500php worth of products, we limited our orders to 1 order of their 10-pcs Xiao Long Bao(248php) and an order each of the Noodles with Shrimp and Pork Wantons(188php). Yes, we ordered in excess of the 500 but it was at a minimum. Going back, when the noodle orders came, we were quite shocked. Side note: SS and I are not noodle people...we're more of the rice type

So imagine our reaction to the huge bowls served in front of us. Each bowl is good for 2 people to share. We didn't know that, so we had no choice but to finish it all up (we're not the wasting type too). The taste of the noodle broth was simple you could ask the attendants for chili sauce to add that needed kick. The chili also tasted great with the wantons. I'm guessing that the noodles were freshly made because it was white in color, not the typical yellow noodles served in other restos. Then, our xiao long bao order came. It tasted good w/ or w/out the soy sauce. Finally, my cravings have been satisfied. Overall, it was a good lunch.

Flavors of Gravy at Gravy Fix

February 22, 2013

Gravy Fix @Katipunan Avenue

My officemates ate here last week, it made an impression on them, so they decided to eat here again and invited me to come along today. **Sorry this post won't contain any pictures, my phone is still the unsophisticated type. 

"What can I order here"?

= Aside from the usual fried items(chicken, pork and fish), you could also order pasta(they have a pasta with vodka, I wonder how that would taste like), burgers/sandwiches, desserts, and sausages. Sadly, they don't have steaks. They do have a beef bowl, though (you may want to try the gravies here).Personally, I wish they had at least a "beef salpicao" on the menu. It would have been great with their "tipsy" gravy.

"What's so special about their gravy"?

= The right question to ask is "What's so special about their GRAVIES"? Yes, there are 6 flavors of gravy. These are the following:

Classic gravy = typical brown gravy

Herb and garlic = rosemary and garlic (goes great with their fried chicken)

Cajun gravy = paprika, cayenne and chili powder (didn't get the chance to try it but my officemates said that it was good)

Mushroom Duet = brown sauce with mushroom and Madeira wine (imo, this gravy goes with anything you order)

Tipsy gravy = gravy with red wine ( they said that you could taste the wine )

Juan dela Sauce = pinoy style gravy (sweet)

To answer the question: because of the variety of their gravies, you could choose which one would complement your order. So far, I've only tried the Herb and garlic and the Mushroom Duet. But all in all, it still is just gravy. Nothing to rave about.

"What did you order"?

Since I've been eating beef for almost a week, I ordered their Southern Fried Chicken(120php) glazed with Honey and Chili sauce. It looks like the fried chicken at Bonchon. I appreciated the fact that the glaze wasn't that hot giving you a chance to enjoy the taste of what you're eating instead of numbing your tongue. Plus, a leg quarter(thigh + drumstick) + an 20oz. lemonade was enough for my grumbling stomach. So yeah, I give this 5 out of 5 stars :)

"Will you be going back"?

Definitely! I still have to try their salisbury steak and the other gravies that I haven't tried. :)

"What is your advice for those who want to visit the place"?

Bring enough money for dessert! (At least 300 php would be good)

"All in all, what can you say about the establishment"?

The manager was hands-on, the place is clean, the food was satisfying, waiting time is not that long, great idea on having the menu as the placemat, the waiters are attentive. What else do I have to say? "Keep up the good work"!!! Plus, "Please add steak on the menu" :)

The beauty of Coron

February 10, 2013

Today is our second day and we were booked for a tour to the following:

== CYC Beach

== Coral Garden

== Twin Peak Reef

== Isla Bulungan

== Hidden Lagoon

== Kayangan Lake

The tour is offered by Corongaleri at 650php. The office of Corongaleri is near the path going up to Mt. Tapyas. The second day is filled with visuals so it's better if I just attached pictures while working on the text.

@Corongaleri - aside from tours, they also sell souvenir
items. If you don't have your own snorkeling gear, they
rent it  out for 100php

Above: This is the park at the port area

           We were still waiting for the tour group to be completed so I took a picture of the map.

When we were completed, we were introduced to our boatman, Mr. M(hahaha! I forgot his name).

Above: Mt. Tapyas
Below: Port Area

So from Corongaleri, we walked all the way to the port area. The weather was very cooperative-without any sign of dark clouds. Please bring water for this trip(and bread if you want to feed the fish)!

Our first destination was CYC Beach.

CYC Beach is an island with a small strip of white sand. The water level approximately 5-8 meters from the beach was almost chest high. You may snorkel here; you could see fish but you would see more if you give them bread.

Upper Left and Lower Right: CYC beach(view from the boat)
Upper Right: If facing the sea, this will be on your right
Lower Left: If facing the sea, this will be on your left

We stayed for about 45 minutes at CYC Beach and proceeded to the Coral Garden. Unfortunately, we don't have an underwater camera so I couldn't post any pictures relating to this area. But trust me when I say that what we saw underwater was breathtaking. It's like an underwater kingdom. Since you're snorkeling in the middle of the sea, expect waves. If you're planning to visit Coron anytime soon, please listen to your boatman---DO NOT STEP ON THE CORALS!!

Twin Peaks

Next stop is the Twin Peaks Reef. Now, don't be mistaken--Twin Peaks Reef and Twin Lagoon are two different locations. So if you've been hearing something amazing referring to Twin Lagoon and you're going to Twin Peaks Reef, remember, they are different sites. Twin Peaks Reef is also a snorkeling site and the area of corals is a bit smaller compared to that of the Coral Garden. But rest assured that this spot will be just as colorful. But be careful! Some areas from this spot are shallow, you might hurt yourself. Watch out for the sea urchins!

Isla Bulungan   

After all the snorkeling, we proceeded to Isla Bulungan to take our lunch.      

Our lunch was composed of the ff. rice, grilled porkchop (a bit on the tough side), grilled Fish, lato(seaweed), banana. The boatman will also give you vinegar and soy sauce ( I suggest you use them...it's good with the porkchop :) )

Let's eat! Note: You will also be given a bottle of VIVA mineral water

You will leave the island at approximately 2 PM. So you could spend your time taking pictures or have an afternoon nap. Second to the last destination for us was the hidden lagoon. This is basically just an area for swimming. You won't stay long here. Last, but definitely the highlight of the tour --> Kayangan Lake.

Left: Kayangan Lake
Center: View from the boat (Note: This is not the actual lake. This is just one of the islands)
Right: View from the mountain (Again, not the actual lake)

Before you see the lake, you would need to hike 75 meters up and down a mountain. You will be advised to bring your snorkel and your life vest because the lake is very deep (for those who are great at swimming, you could just bring the snorkel) You will see various rock formations if you swim further. Just be careful--the rocks have rough and sharp edges so a little scratch would hurt.

Left and Center: Underwater rock formations
Right: Kayangan Lake

And that concludes the tour; we were transported back to town. The tour was fun and it gives you that peaceful moment to appreciate God's creation and the Philippines. It was a little over 4:30 when we got back to Corongaleri to return the rented snorkels. Our next challenge: go up Mt. Tapyas.

On the way to the top of Mt. Tapyas

You could ride a tricycle if you want to start at the first step -OR- you could do it the way we did--we walked all the way from Corongaleri then up the steps. (Advice for the non-climbers: Don't do it the way we did because you'll end up tired before reaching the first step.) You'll enjoy climbing the first hundred steps but as you go further, you'll ask yourself why you even bothered to inflict torture on yourself!  ^_^ But once you get to where the cross is, you'll get rewarded with an amazing view and you suddenly realize that it was all worth the effort. 

So after taking more pictures and waiting for the sun to set, we started on our way down. Advice: Do stop once in a while on your way. You wouldn't want to suffer aching legs. You have an option to take a tricycle going to Maquinit Hot Springs right after the climb(We surely regretted skipping on this--we felt sticky and tired so we opted to go back to the lodge, freshen up, eat dinner (3 bbq @10php each, 1 jumbo hotdog @ 15 php), then rest for a while before going to the spring, only to find out that they close at 8 PM[Some blogs said that it's until 10 PM]) So there, we ended up sulking for a little while but we immediately dozed off 'til the morning of our flight back to Manila.

For the final day, we went to Coron Harvest(tricycle 10php/person) and bought cashews(Depending on the size of the packs, price range is around 100-200php). The lady owner was quite popular--she even had a tarp with Kris Aquino. She also gave us one pack of their local delicacy--the Bandi. It was good but I prefer the garlic flavored cashews. We also bought souvenirs and dried fish/squid. We also wanted to try the zipline (300php 2-way; 500 2-way, with snacks and certificate) located at the harbor but they start operation at 1 PM.

Yes we had our regrets: We weren't able to go to Maquinit, we wanted to go snorkeling at Siete Pecados, we wanted to see the Twin Lagoon and the other islands. But still, we enjoyed the trip, we temporarily forgot  our work problems and we now have the reason to go back...next year! :)

Weekend Blast...or....Blasted Weekend?

February 9, 2013

This is it! This is the day of my flight to Coron, Palawan. I woke up early to finalize my travel necessities. I was a bit worried because of the dark clouds--it looked like it was going to rain. Thank God it didn't! :) As I was having breakfast, my sister arrived from Singapore. And guess what? She bought my dream jigsaw puzzle design--1000pc. Joy of Autumn Leaves by Peter Ellenshaw! Okay, so this is not exactly something a normal person would ever expect out of the bag of a relative working overseas, but HECK!  I AM TOTALLY DELIGHTED!!!!

Going back to my Coron trip...

Our original departure time was 1 PM, I was called up the night before and it was moved to 3 PM. Since we didn't have a choice, we decided to accept the proposed time. We just looked on the bright side--that is--we didn't need to meet up that early as agreed.

While in line at the check-in counter

My travel buddy and I saw a gorgeous looking European guy.  I presumed that it could be luck on our side--but we were very wrong.  

Our turn at the check-in counter

The lady informed us that the flight was overbooked. She was telling us if we were willing to give up our seats, in exchange will be a one-way ticket to any Philippine destination+hotel accommodation and she assured us that there will be a confirmed flight for tomorrow at 9 AM.  Imagine our panic-stricken faces when we heard the details. We told her--with full conviction--that we would like to take our original flight schedule(naturally!) and we were assured that we would have seats to our flight. Whew!

Gyudon and Tonkatsu @Raku (Food court NAIA Terminal 3)

After giving us our boarding passes, we took our lunch and waited for our departure time.

3 PM

We were informed that the aircraft will be delayed. So we left the airport at approximately 4 in the afternoon.  What a disappointment! Our original plans for the afternoon instantly went down the drain and would have to be rescheduled tomorrow.

Arrival at Busuanga, Coron

We thought that the departure time was the last of our delays for the day--WRONG! We were near the airport but our pilot announced that there is still an aircraft having mechanical issues so we circled some islands for 10-15 mins. How nauseating!

View from above: Circling some islands for 10-15 minutes

After that, Alas! The time to land has come. It was a bumpy landing--'nuf said.

Coron Town Proper 5:30 PM

The road leading to the town proper was not that bumpy--or maybe we didn't notice much because my buddy and I were having an interesting conversation. You'll think that after the events at the airport, there couldn't be a worse scenario--BOOM! We were dropped off at the wrong lodge! The driver was informed that we're supposed to be dropped at Ralph's but we were informed by the agency that we should be staying at Lilian's. So to clarify things, we went inside Ralph's and asked the front desk if there was a reservation under my name. Indeed there was no reservation so we asked them for directions going to Lilian's Lodge. Seeing that the town was small, we assumed that they know it. Unfortunately for us, they don't. We asked several people pointing us to different directions. Until finally, I ended up calling Ma'am Lillian for instructions(this was my last option since I don't have much credit to make a call, good thing that time, I had enough). She advised us to take a tricycle and tell the driver to drop us at "Aqua Best" "Bancuang". Like children, we followed the instructions only to find out that it was 1.5 blocks(approximately 5-8 meters) away from Ralph's...and we paid 7php each. Talk about needless expense--sheesh!

Our room

Sunset viewed from the lodge's veranda--Just in time! :)

Upon reaching Lilian's Lodge(the real business name is "Seaview Homestay"), we met the proprietor. She was very friendly and accommodating. The place had a home-y feeling and we were right on time for the sunset! Yay! After spending some time taking photographs, we were led to our room. It was a simple room. 1 queen sized bed, a bathroom(w/o hot&cold shower...good thing that I brought my portable water heater ^_^...and they have a pail and a dipper inside or else the heater would've been rendered useless..Ha!) and a shelf. The room has an aircon. Little did we know that most of the time they have no electricity and they only turn on the generator at certain times. Since generators couldn't handle the electric load needed for the aircon, we were provided with a good 'ol electric fan. So after settling down, we decided to take our dinner.

Bistro Coron

Coq Au Vin - Chicken cooked in red wine with mushroom
and carrots

From all the blogs that I've read, it seems that this restaurant has been popular. Since this was just right across the street from where we were staying, we decided to eat here(we were also hungry then so we didn't bother with anywhere else). We were both surprised with the menu. Everything in it was expensive o_0
So I just convinced myself that this is a vacation so why not splurge once in a while, right? I also read on a certain blog that the 'Coq Au Vin' was enjoyable so we decided to try it. It was 220php. I consoled myself with the fact that it's cooked with wine that's why it's that expensive. When our orders came, it was a shock. We were served with three pieces of chicken and 2 cups of rice. Warning: If you're not into wine or alcoholic beverages mixed in your food, DO NOT ORDER THIS! Don't get me wrong--the taste was fine, but it gradually becomes salty. It was a waste not to eat everything, so in the end, we were full.

Dad's Coronzy Coffee & Tea
After our dinner, we suddenly wanted something sweet and refreshing so we tried looking for ice cream. But because of the electricity issue, I guess no one in town would be risky enough to sell ice cream(to our disappointment). There's a shop selling flavored shaved ice but we weren't interested in eating overpriced ice , I'm also not interested in fruit shakes, so we decided to have iced coffee instead. I forgot the name of my drink but it has caramel on it. It was fairly priced at 130php and the coffee was prepared just the way I like it. A bit on the strong side with a dollop of cream and a swirl of caramel.

The temperature was a bit high so we decided to spend time on telling stories at the veranda while drinking our coffee. After that, lights out. Little did we know that we made a wrong decision in scheduling things.
Overall, for me, the first day could be categorized under 'Blasted Weekend'.

Jeepney Observations

People are generally selfish. And their selfishness usually affects the people around them. Consider the following situation:

On an empty 12-seater-per-side jeep.

Person 1 sits way near the driver maybe thinking this thought:

     Thought # 1: "I'm going to sit here, since nobody's around to reach out for my fare"

     Thought # 2: "I'm going to sit here, since nobody's around to reach out for my fare.

                          Whoever rides next should move their butts to hand their fares to me, or else, I wouldn't

                          bother reaching out."

Person 2 sits near the door while looking at Person 1:

      Thought # 1: "I'll just walk right up to the driver, give him the fare, and go back to my original seat."

      Thought # 2: "Maybe I should wait for the next person/jeep to fill up"

      Thought # 3(Should be Action # 1): the passenger shouts "Bayad Po" (Implicitly saying to the other passenger to give the fare to the driver) stretching his arms with all his might without moving an inch from his seat

To continue the scenario:

Person 3 arrives 20 seconds after the arrival of Person 2 and seats between Person 2 and Person 1.

Usual scenario will be: Person 3 barely takes a breath and Person 2 shouts "Bayad Po".

Another scenario:

On a jeep almost filled up. 1 seat space left.

If someone rides the jeep, four possibilities are available:

Possibility # 1: People would move immediately to give space to that person.

Possibility # 2: People wouldn't move immediately and wait for the person to sit and squeeze himself for a space before they move

Possibility # 3: People wouldn't move immediately and wait for the person to sit and squeeze himself for a space and wouldn't bother moving

Possibility # 4: The person would go down and wait for the next jeep

There could be numerous scenarios if you ride the jeep everyday. But do you see what I mean? It's either people are generally selfish OR people are generally disrespectful OR people are generally inconsiderate of other people OR people are generally judgmental. Probably you would think/say that it is unfair of me to conclude on something so profound just by riding a jeep. Don't get me wrong, I also do some of these. I am selfish/disrespectful/inconsiderate/judgmental. But just observe the world today. Many people are hungry. Many people are unemployed. Why? Ask yourself. Reflect.