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July, 2009

  1. Chocolate overload in Cebu

    July 16, 2009 by ajay

    After our dessert overload in Bacolod, it’s now time for my little chocolate interlude in Cebu. It’s not really intentional. Just so happened that when every time I asked the waitstaff about the house bestseller, they always pointed to chocolate cakes on their glass display counter.

    Don’t ask me which among Bacolod and Cebu won in the dessert category. The only thing I can say for certain is that overloading on their sweets can make you (willingly) fat :D I have to admit that since Cebu is a bigger city, the food scene there is more exciting. In fact, I wanna go back there soon, since some of the restos and cafes cannot be found in Manila!

    Take for example Dessert Factory in Ayala Terraces which is the city’s version of the new Greenbelt Park.I immediately warmed to this coffeeshop because of the interiors and colors they used. Predominantly purple motif, plus the servers were wearing jester’s hats! The cafe had nice little touches which could compete with the cakes for your attention.

    Dessert Factory, Cebu

    Since I was on a taste mission, the server recommended Achocolypse Now (P75), a three-layer cake with chocolate ganache that wasn’t too sweet, and peanut bits on the side. Perfect for someone like me who doesn’t like it too sugary. Still, I wished that this had a more chocolate-y taste. The best is yet to come :P

    Dessert Factory
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    Category Munchin' | Tags: ,,,,,, | 5 Comments

  2. Cebu Pacific Wandering Juan online photo contest

    July 14, 2009 by ajay

    Wandering Juan

    Just got this from the mail a few hours ago. Just goes to prove how top budget airline Cebu Pacific knows their marketing, despite the flight delays, LOL. They have launched the Wandering Juan Photo Contest in time for the lean travelling months of July to October. Get your pics taken in your location of choice, and have a chance to win free round trip tickets for two to Cebu Pacific international destinations, namely Singapore, Bangkok and Kota Kinabalu.

    Highlights of the contest mechanics are the following:

    1. Local (Filipino) and foreign travellers are eligible to join, for as long as they bought their CebuPac tickets from July 1 to Oct. 31, 2009.

    2. Entries should fall under any of these categories:

    - Photos of landmarks and other sceneries, with a caption of no more than six sentences.

    - Photos of local residents, with a description of the person (including name and occupation) or a memorable quote from the person not exceeding six sentences.

    - Travelogue with a series of five photographs that tell a story. It must come with a one-sentence caption.
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    Category Cebu Pacific | Tags: ,,,,,,,, | 6 Comments

  3. Chika-an sa Cebu and Visayan cuisine

    July 14, 2009 by ajay

    On our last day in Cebu City, our group ate lunch at Chika-an sa Cebu before heading to the airport and buying some pasalubong. You know the part about Filipino restaurants which overdo on rattan furniture just to look local? This one didn’t :D It had nice, contemporary interiors, just like Cafe Laguna. Diners also have a choice between staying indoors (for airconditioning) or outdoors (for smoking or just smelling the breeze).

    Chika-an sa Cebu

    Chika-an sa Cebu

    The part that I liked best was the menu. Mostly, it was the thrill of seeing familiar dishes from my childhood. I really don’t get these in Manila. Food like buwad, utan bisaya, nangka salad etc. Correct me if am wrong, but I haven’t really seen a mainstream Visayan resto in Manila (unless you know one?), except for outlets of the much in-demand Cebu lechon and Bacolod chicken inasal. This is what made dining in Chika-an a bit exciting.

    Chika-an sa Cebu

    First up was the house bestseller, pochero with meat (P245). I don’t remember this dish from Southern Leyte, our province, so it must be Cebu’s own. Tagalogs would normally know of pochero as a meat dish with tomato sauce and garbanzos, among others. Chika-an’s was more like nilaga, at best. The only difference was the mouthwatering piece of beef shank or bulalo, with fall-off-to-the-bone goodness of the meat. There were also bits of sliced tomatoes and squash in this soup, but it was all good just the same.
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    Category Munchin' | Tags: ,,,,,,,, | 1 Comment

  4. Laguna Garden Cafe, Cebu City

    July 11, 2009 by ajay

    After our calorific trip to Bacolod City, it’s now time to hie off to Cebu, the Queen City of the South. There’s just so much one can do on a business trip, but I noticed there seems to be no end to all the eating. It starts, of course, with the free buffet breakfast in the hotel coffee shop. Ugh.

    Aside from being able to speak the local dialect, I am actually excited to be in Cebu. As a food tripper, what am excited about is trying restos and eating places that aren’t usually found in Manila. My friends never fail to root for Cebu lechon (and more lechonnn), but there seems to be a lot more to be discovered in this bustling city.

    Our host, Ms. Jojo Beltran of PAGCOR-Mactan, took us last night to Laguna Garden Cafe in the spanking new Ayala Terraces Cebu. I was actually wondering why a resto in the Visayas would associate itself with Laguna, a province in Southern Tagalog, but that’s the way it goes. :D

    Laguna Garden Cafe looked every inch like a very popular family-style restaurant. It was simply packed with people on a Friday night. I also liked the tasteful interiors filled with the decor and furniture which Cebu is known for.

    Laguna Garden Cafe, Cebu City

    The resto started out as a canteen and is now a fine example of a family business which has expanded. Perhaps one secret of its success are its reasonable prices. The dishes range from P95 to P300.

    I espied Cebu lechon in the menu for P675, but am glad we ordered instead the crispy pata in its golden glory (P320). Save the lechon for another day! :P

    Crispy Pata @ Laguna Garden Cafe, Cebu
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    Category Munchin' | Tags: ,,,,,, | 4 Comments

  5. First sighting of the iPhone 3GS in the Philippines…. w00t!

    July 8, 2009 by ajay

    As expected, I got my first sighting of the much-coveted iPhone 3GS in the Manila Bulletin Technews Lab yesterday. Picture is kinda blurred, but that’s tech editor Art Samaniego having a blast with the Apple gadget, which will be made available by Globe to the public on July 31 yet.

    iPhone 3GS

    As an Apple user, I can’t help but salivate at this latest version which is touted to be two times faster than the iPhone 3G.

    Easily one of the highlights is the digital compass and installed software like Google Maps which will be able to tell you where your location is, and tell you where you’re going. Art says “it’s the best there is!” We were just wondering why the Quiapo district is shown in the iPhone Google Map as Quiapo DVD. Is Il Pirata country now an official landmark? Hehe.

    iPhone 3GS
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    Category Technews | Tags: ,,,,,,, | 4 Comments

  6. Dessert overload in Bacolod

    July 7, 2009 by ajay

    “Be prepared to gain ten pounds when you’re in Bacolod.” So said a line in Cebu Pacific’s Smile Magazine while listing a guide to the sights and treats in the Masskara City.

    After spending a short three days in Bacolod City, we couldn’t help but agree. I’ve called it a foodie’s paradise before and the impression remains. Bacolod is sleepy compared to Manila all right, but there’s no shortage of great culinary places to try.

    One thing I feasted on were the desserts. The bakers in the city sure know how to make their cakes and pastries.

    Calea cakes
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    Category Munchin' | Tags: ,,, | 12 Comments

  7. NLEX is a breeze, SLEX is a joke

    July 7, 2009 by ajay

    I’ve done a few local travelling in the last two months and will now have something to say about the two expressways that dot the opposite sides of Manila.

    To the South is the South Luzon Expressway (SLEX) which connects commuters going to and from Alabang, Laguna, Batangas and Cavite.

    The North Luzon Expressway (NLEX), on the other hand, is the gateway when you want to go to and from Bulacan, Pampanga, Olongapo, Tarlac, all the way to Pangasinan and Baguio.

    As a commuter, I just can’t help but lament how the South Luzon Expressway has been left behind in road development. While travelling via NLEX is painless and hassle-free because of the world-class highway, the same cannot be said of the SLEX which suffers from perpetual bottleneck because of diggings and repairworks. Shame, shame, shame.
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    Category Life & Living | Tags: ,,,,,,,, | 4 Comments

  8. Restos in Angeles City: VFW, C’ Italian Dining & 19 Copung Copung

    July 2, 2009 by ajay

    Most recently, a foreign friend bent on staying for a time in the Philippines asked me for recommendations about places to go and the cost of living in the country. “Anywhere I should avoid? Like Angels City? I mean those places where sex tourist and ‘sexpats’ gather. Don’t want to end up somewhere like Thailand’s Pattaya. ”

    I presume Angeles City has such a rep among the males by virtue of word of mouth and what they read in the forums. I was here this week and the trusty pedicab I rode in drove through the city’s (in)famous bar strip in Fields Avenue where some joints were indeed open 24/7.

    Angeles City

    However, it’s an unfair accusation to just associate Angeles City with ‘ affordable girls’ and sleazy entertainment. I really like the food here…and I don’t mean the carnal kind :P The place was after all one of the sites of our forget-your-diet, ultimate food trip way back in ’06.

    This time around, I made sure to try the much-acclaimed C’ Italian Dining along Don Juico Avenue (also known as the Friendship Highway.) My first attempt to visit this resto during Christmas ’07 was a failure because the place was closed. And my first impression now was that it looked like an enoteca due to the bar with all those bottles of wine that greeted guests upon entering. And of course those plates on the wall signed by satisfied guests.

    C Italian Dining

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    Category Munchin', Road Adventures | Tags: ,,,,,, | 12 Comments

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