Sun, Sea, Sand, Surf … Repeat (Late Post)

 At the beginning of the year I listed down as one of my goals for this year was to experience 14 new things in 2014, whether it be a major achievement or a tiny triumph. So far I’m in ninth. My ninth experience happened during this summer vacation.

Just before the week of going back to work, yes it’s my second year of work already, I had a chance to spend three days and three nights with my family in one of the newest (in my opinion) tourists’ spot in the Philippines. This was Baler (in Aurora region, north of Manila).

A welcome view from our room

Different Shades of Blue

waves!

My trip to Baler was actually a bit of a surprise since it was unplanned. My father just happened to come across a magazine article featuring the place where we stayed while in Baler (will tell you more about this in a while). He called up the place, made reservations, and the next thing we knew we were in Baler. During our vacation in Baler, we stayed in Costa Pacifica. It was such a beautiful place. And we had a great room! It was facing the Pacific Ocean. The staffs were very accommodating even when there were a lot of tourists. The food was also wonderful. They served both local and international cuisines. They would also have specials from Baler. I particularly enjoyed their waffles, pizza, and suman (rice cake).  Well, my family and I didn’t just stay in the hotel. Of course we went out and explored the different sights in the area. We were able to visit the Museo de Baler (if you want to know the history of the place this museum would be perfect), House of Aurora (mother of the past president of the Philippines), and the Baler Church. All these three are very near to the hotel. You may walk or ride a tricycle since it’s just in the town proper. Another place that we were able to go to was the Millennium Tree.  There were still more sights that we were not able to visit due to the time constraints of our trip. But I highly recommend that you visit the Mother falls. These are all for adventure and nature junkies.

Museo de Baler

Baler Church

Sunset by the Church

Millenium Tree

a really big balete tree

 Now going back to my 9^th experience, the 9^th first time thing that I did was to learn how to surf. One morning, my brother and I decided to give surfing a go. A little backstory, I just watched the movie Chasing Mavericks, so I was inspired to try surfing and besides it looked easy in the movie. Boy was I wrong! It was hard work. I had to learn to stand in time to ride a wave. I had to learn to balance to continue staying afloat on the board.  Lastly, I had to learn to keep on trying even if I would fall every so often. I have to say it was painful, tiring, and somehow a little humiliating (there were pro surfers and fast learners in the area), but it was all so worth it because after an hour of surfing lessons… I WAS ABLE TO SURF! I was able to ride a few waves and it felt so wonderful and so exhilarating! At first I hesitated and doubted myself, but surfing taught me to just do it. I thought that you had to be a great swimmer to surf, but my surfing instructor said that even a person like me, very poor swimmer, could do it. And I did! So if you’re in doubt, don’t be afraid to try. Just make sure you have the right instructor. Along the coast of Baler you will be able to see different surfing instructors. You may hire them to teach you. For me and my brother, we opted to seek help from the surf instructors situated beside Costa Pacifica (sorry, I forgot the name). The instructors were very patient and helpful. I really enjoyed this new experience even if it involved tons of fails. Definitely a check to my imaginary bucket list. 

Cowabunga!

So that’s that! I definitely enjoyed my short but SWEET (cliche surfer tone) vacation at Baler. Till Next time!

-DOT-

Photos are personally owned by writer,  if you would like to use it kindly inform or at least cite the source thank you! J

Bonus pictures:

Sunrise at Baler (I woke up at around 4 am and watched the sky and scenery change.... twas such a beauty)

nautical dawn

what a view from my bed

hello Mr. Sun

Sunrise

Struck Down, BUT Not Destroyed

I have been in a blog hiatus for a couple of months now because I wanted to direct you, my readers, to focus in praying for and helping the Philippines, specifically the islands in Visayas, who were gravely affected by typhoon Haiyan. I would like to formally thank everyone who remembered the Philippines in their prayers. And I would also like to express my gratitude to those who went the extra mile by donating things or by coming to the Philippines and help rebuild communities and lives.

Below are some photos of areas affected by the typhoon. (All these photos were taken by my father, thanks Pa!)

Tent Houses

rubles all over the city of Tacloban

washed out houses in Leyte

a fishing village now destroyed

aerial view of Leyte (white things are tent houses) 

let's continue to rebuild lives!

Once again thank you! Please do continue to pray for the Philippines as reconstruction of homes and lives are ongoing. The Philippines might have been struck down but the Filipino Spirit is not destroyed.

In the coming weeks, please stay tuned for exciting blogs coming your way. J

-DOT-

Photos are personally owned by my father Zee A., if you would like to use it kindly inform or at least cite the source thank you! J

The title of the blog is inspired from the song Trading My Sorrows

Slice of Life

Hello! Hello! Happy July everyone! I am now part of the labor force. J So, I might have lesser time to blog, but be rest assured that I am still exploring different places and tasting different food to share to you all. J

To start of July, here are some sweet treats to munch on. If you have been following my blogs you would get a hint that I love sweets. Just recently my mom brought home cakes by Heny Sison from Victorino’s. Side info: Victorino’s is a restaurant located at 11th Jamboree St. corner Scout Rallos. It is a restaurant devoted to Ilocano (member of a people inhabiting northwestern Luzon in the Philippines) dishes. Also found there are pastries and cakes from Heny Sison.

So who is Heny Sison you may ask….only one of the best pastry chef and cake designer in the Philippines!!! J So tasting cakes from Heny Sison was such a joy and a treat. My mother brought home five cake slices namely, strawberry shortcake, red velvet cake, apple pie, blueberry cheesecake, and carrot cake. May I just gush that ALL the slices were scrumptious. I loved the strawberry shortcake and the red velvet. I enjoyed the shortcake because of the real strawberry fillings between the yummy chiffon and topped with whip cream (I think that they made their own whip cream because of the light consistency that married well to the whole cake. I also loved the red velvet slice because of the yummy cream filling. It was like eating a very good red velvet cupcake. The apple pie, carrot cake, and blueberry cheesecake were also good! I liked them because they were made with the real deal balanced with the right amount of sweetness. Tasting slices of Heny Sison cakes were so good!  Will definitely try more.  

slice of life :)

strawberry shortcake

apple pie

red velvet cake

blueberry and carrots <3

- Dot-

Photos are personally owned by writer, if you would like to use it kindly inform or at least cite the source thank you! J

Turning Japanese

Besides Filipino and Italian cuisine, Japanese food is one of my comfort foods. So I was really glad to dine at  Mitsuyado Sei-men: The House of Tsukemen. Mitsuyado is located at 22 Jupiter St., Bel-Air, Makati. This restaurant was introduced to me by my mom because this was one of their customers. Upon entering the place, it looked amazing. It was like stepping into the streets of Japan. The tables and chairs were arranged as if it were tables and chairs from street eateries. The walls were decorated with Japanese street signs and other Japanese objects. It looked a bit chaotic, but as we settled down I realized it was a genius way of designing the restaurant.

Mitsuyado Sei-Men

Inside or outside? :)

cooking noodles

          Mitsuyado serves a variety of Japanese food. They have ramen and rice bowls among others. But the thing that makes Mitsuyado unique is that they serve Tsukemen. So what is this Tsukemen, you might ask. Well, it is (according to wikipedia)  "dipping noodles". The noodles and soup are served in separate bowls. The diner dips the noodles in the soup before eating. In other terms it can be described as a deconstructed ramen. J Mitsuyado makes their own noodles so that you are guaranteed of their noodle-goodness.

         

Noodle Making

noodles noodles

          My parents tried the Tsukemen, my brother had a donburi and I had Japanese style curry (because I was craving for rice at that time) :D. I did taste a bit of the tsukemen and it was good! It was like interactive eating because you had to get the noodle then dip then eat.

Tsukemen with gyoza on the side

Chicken Black Pepper Teriyaki Don

Curry Rice

          The Japanese fun did not stop there. After our meal at Mitsuyado, we walked to the store connected to it called Yamato. It was a Japanese bakery/ cafe. It had a different vibe compared to Mitsuyado. The place was bright and modern looking. The pastries were all displayed so wonderfully. At Yamato we tried their Japanese donuts, Ann pan, and croissants. I really liked the Ann pan. It was like a jelly filled doughnut, but instead of jelly it had mung bean paste. Try it for yourself! J

Yamato! 

          Till next blog!

-DOT-

P.S. forgive the low-quality photos I need to replace my camera. J  

Photos are personally owned by writer, if you would like to use it kindly inform or at least cite the source thank you! J

Cup + Cake = Love

       

            Well hello again everyone! This post is a Back Blog (meaning it’s a backlog blog that should have been posted earlier) J. I decided to continue to post this because I believe that this deserves to be shared J.

            Well last month (February), I decided to bake cupcakes for my birthday, since I love love love cupcakes. I also wanted to use a gift before it expires. My cousins from Canada gave me a Duncan Hines Chocolate Fudge mix. Because I did not have the proper pans to make a cake, I went on in making my birthday cupcakes. The instructions were easy breezy… and in no time I was done mixing the batter. I popped it in the oven for a couple of minutes and Voila! CUPCAKES! I did add my own twist to the batter. I added dark chocolate nuggets from Goya, for added Choco lateness, and sprinkles, to make them colorful. This was my first time to make cupcakes and they turned out pretty good. Next time, I will bake cupcakes from scratch! J

Le Ingredients :)

Chocolate Batter 

:)

Ta da!

Cute cakes

            In line with my cupcake baking experience, I also would like to share about one of my newest favorite cupcake bakery, Vanilla. Yes, Vanilla is its name and cupcakes are their game! First of all, I fell in love with their store display because it looked pretty and dainty. It was cozy and inviting. It’s as if you were off to a tea party.  Second, I fell in love with their take home containers that were shaped like tea pot (so kawaii!). And last but definitely not the least is their cupcakes!! Vanilla’s cupcakes are so beautiful and scrumptious. I forgot the names of the cupcakes, but I did enjoy the chocolate cupcakes and the cupcake that was strawberry with Oreo bits on top. They have a variety of cupcakes that would surely tickle anyone’s taste buds.  

love! 

an army of cupcakes :)

^__^

Vanilla Chocolate

scrumptious 

yummy!

Vanilla Love

-DOT-

Photos are personally owned by writer, if you would like to use it kindly inform or at least cite the source thank you! J

Singapore Moments: Lights, Camera, Action

Singapore Moments: Lights, Camera, Action

No, I did not shoot a movie while in Singapore (though I wish I did) and no I did not see any famous people there. But I am such a movie and television show fan. Thus, my trip to Universal Studios Singapore was a treat!

welcome!

My family and I decided to go to Universal Studios on the day before the New Year. We arrived at around 12 noon.  It was a sunny morning which turned to a wet afternoon. (Travel tip: bring a raincoat especially during rainy seasons, unless you’d like to buy at Universal and look like walking plastic bags :D ) My heart jumped for joy upon entering because the streets/ walkways looked like movie sets. I saw signs and mascots from movies I have enjoyed and loved.

At the entrance

PO <3

Universal Studios Singapore divided it’s 20 rides (accdg. Wikipedia) into 7 themes namely: Hollywood, New York, Sci-Fi City, Ancient Egypt, Lost World, Far Far Away, and Madagascar.  Since it was pouring hard, we opted to try indoor rides. We first tried rides at the New York part. We were also able to see street performances and shows. We continued to Sci-Fi City were we rode one of our favorite rides, the Transformers: The Ride. It was so awesome!!!!! It’s as if you were really there fighting with Optimus Prime. I highly recommend this ride.  Also at Sci-Fi City, my brother rode the Battlestar Gallactica roller coaster while I rode the Accelerator (Universal Studio’s version of the Spinning Teacups J ).

"snowing" 

New York! New York!

Lights! Camera! Action! Hosted by Steven Speilberg (indoor movie set)

Sci-Fi City

Accelerator

Awesome souvenirs

After this, we headed back to Hollywood area and ate lunch at Mel’s Drive-In. The food was great and so was the 50’s atmosphere. The rain didn’t stop so we ran towards the Madagascar area and tried the Madagascar: Crate Adventure. This ride is for all ages since it is like riding throughout the movie Madagascar. Surely, you’ll be singing “I like to move it, move it” after riding this. We then tried the Shrek 4-D Adventure. Our experience there was a funny one. In this ride you are to wear 3D glasses while seated on chairs that allow you to have 4D experience. Well, as the ride began we noticed that our seats weren’t moving unlike the others, so we moved to other seats… but still not much movement. But nonetheless, the experience was fun because it showed another Shrek story.

Far far Away

It was raining hard and we didn’t have any umbrellas or raincoats so we decided to head back because we were trying to catch the bus back to the city. (We wanted to celebrate the New Year in the city).

It was a fun day at Universal Studios though I wish it didn’t rain because some rides had to be closed. Some tips:

1) Buy wisely. There are a lot of wonderful souvenir shops inside Universal Studios so before buying try to think of something that would remind you of fun filled memories.

2)  Try to visit all the areas. Each area provides a unique fun experience.

3) Avoid bringing to much stuff and valuables for maximum enjoyment.

4) Be prepared to be wet. Wet= fun J.

5) DO TAKE PICTURES!! There are a lot of photographic and iconic places and people there.

For more information you may visit this website http://www.rwsentosa.com/Attractions/UniversalStudiosSingapore. Final Singapore moments entry soon.

-DOT-

Photos are personally owned by writer, if you would like to use it kindly inform or at least cite the source thank you! J