Share your Bonifacio Global City story and win P3,000 electronic GC
It’s a sunny Monday in Manila! And to welcome the sunshine (after the pesky storm, Basyang 
) this blog, annalyn.net, is pleased to announce our new promo, the Share Your Bonifacio Global City Story contest.
Does your family spend quality bonding time in Bonifacio Global City? What culinary memories and discoveries have you had here? If hanging out in Bonifacio Global City has become a big part of your life (like we do!) time to write down your best BGC family and food stories for a chance to win prizes. We will run the promo for three weeks until the second/third week of August and the weekly winners will each receive a P3,000 electronic gift card from the Ayala Malls. Please read the end of this post for the simple mechanics.
Bonifacio High Street is one of our fave spots in the metro. Love the fact that it’s pet- and family-friendly. It was designed in such a way that people, especially children, can freely roam and play in its open spaces. Manila is crowded with too many vehicles and high-rises as it is. We go to BHS to recharge, smell the breeze or just look around any of their specialty boutiques.
The kids love building Lego blocks at Hobbes & Landes, playing the sandbox at ROX, reading children’s books at Fully Booked or simply whiling the hours away at Time Zone!
1st Philippine International Pyromusical Competition: France vs. Japan
I now work on Sundays and was wondering why there’s been traffic in the Macapagal Boulevard area in Pasay nearing nighttime. It turns out the culprit is the 1st Philippine International Pyromusical Competition ongoing till March 14 at the Mall of Asia grounds. So last Sunday, the whole family decided to just bear with the traffic and watch the fireworks display itself.
VIP tickets with dinner cost P1500 and I presume those who bought these tickets get the best view and best seats. We just decided to hang out in one of the veranda restaurants which were also selling tickets. We were at TGI Friday’s, to be exact, which charged P750 per person of which P500 was consumable (and the garlic chicken primavera I ordered was godawfully unpalatable).
I found out that the spot was far from ideal because the table we were in was blocked by the foliage of trees and this really irritating giant replica bottle of Tanduay in the background. Still, I managed to get these shots using my trusted Lumix LX3 
Lolo Dad’s and other great places to have a Valentine’s Day dinner date in Manila
I’ve been working in the City of Manila for the longest time. Even though the place is “decaying” due to the rise of more contemporary restaurant strips in The Fort, Makati and beyond, some good ol’ places still remain. Here are some suggestions on where to take your loved one for a Valentine’s Day date in Manila:
1. Restaurant Le Bellevue on the 27th floor of the Manila Diamond Hotel is a favorite for viewing the bright lights of the bay-enclosed city, while savoring French cuisine
2. Cosa Nostra on Adriatico St. Malate is the cutest little spot in Manila. A small hang-out with five or six tables. Be sure to talk in whispers while you’re munching on your salad and pasta
3. I’d also go to another Malate mainstay, Cafe Adriatico, for a nightcap over coffee and Claude’s Dream, their divine-tasting buko pandan dessert
4. White Moon Bar, a new open air hangout at the Manila Ocean Park looks cozy enough. The perfect spot for enjoying the bay breeze and Manila’s famous sunset while lounging in their comfy sofas
5. Harbor View, another popular open-air restaurant with mainly Filipino cuisine on the menu
6. Harbour Square at the CCP Complex. I think of this place as the new Luneta – albeit a small version – where you can HHWW (hold hands while walking) amid a view of the buildings in Roxas Boulevard and the ships sailing Manila Bay
7. Don’t count out the Walled City of Intramuros too, and having dinner in the legendary Ilustrado Restaurant. I love their pastries!
8. Summer’s safe enough to try a Manila Bay dinner cruise. You can choose to just sail, or sail while partaking of a buffet for the price of P495. Another alternative is cruising in a 70-foot yacht by Realship Corp amid food, wine and piano music. All of the boats dock in the CCP Complex
9. And then there’s Lolo Dad’s.
Hubby and I had dinner here during our wedding anniversary recently. He liked very much the food at Lolo Dad’s Brasserie in 6750 Ayala Avenue, Makati and so I wasted no time in telling him that they also have a restaurant in Manila.
How to ride a taxi safely in Manila
One good reason to get a car of your own to drive in Manila, no matter what a rickety, old second-hand it is: it’ actually safer to drive on your own in the city’s crazy streets than depend on public transportation.
My own arguments against riding public transport are these – if you’re riding a taxi: you never know the driver’s temperament or if their meters are reliable. Some smell of LPG gas (because, well, they’re using it) and it’s really crazy hailing taxis during rush hours, the holiday season and when it rains.
As for FXs buses and jeepneys, I get claustrophobic and paranoid about holdup incidents. The only thing I favor are the LRT and MRT trains to easily get to Point Z from Point A, but the lines at the terminals can get really long too, and occasionally there are mechanical troubles which can stall your trip for hours.
I’ve had my commuter days and have my own horror stories to tell about riding public transport. One time, the taxi driver was really acting weird and appeared to be high on drugs. I leapt out of the taxi at the next stop light, but not without him shouting invectives at me. God knows where he could have led me then.
As a result, I’ve formulated some rules in riding a taxi in Manila:
1. Ride only on taxis ran by reputable companies. Never mind if you have to shell out extra pesos for it.
2. Practice precautionary measures like keeping the doors locked, carrying a self-defense spray and sitting at the back, instead of beside the driver.
3. Text the taxi’s plate number to a family member or friend as soon as you ride the car
4. Riding a taxi at 6 a.m. is safer than riding a taxi at 3 or 4 a.m. In the same way that riding a taxi in groups is safer than going it alone, at that hour!
On Facebook tonight, the horrific story of this young woman who was mugged by a taxi driver caught my attention:
MoMo at Robinsons Manila: no longer momolicious?
I was all raving about MoMo! Food + Drink when they opened. With free wifi, cool waitstaff and mouthwatering desserts as low as P50, it was destined to be the great hangout on Robinsons new Midtown Wing.Until they closed for renovations and revamped their menu. Unfortunately, things look headed for the worst.
Brewed coffee is now at P150 from the previous P75. At this rate, am better hanging out in the Shang-ri La.
My friend ordered their peach torte for P195, and it was nothing outstanding. The premium dessert, L’Opera at the nearby Manila Diamond Hotel is better and cheaper because it’s only P165.
The only good thing was that MoMo! serves these breadsticks with a serving of herbed butter, before your main course arrives.
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NUKS NUMUN moment: my digital perm at a Korean salon
NUKS NUMUN! is a popular phrase I hear from fellow bloggers these days. I figure that in this age of icanhazcheezburger, it’s a variation of the old and jaded Tagalog term of exclamation “naks naman!” (Wow!) As in “NUKS NUMUN! Buhay pa ba ang gumupit ng buhok mo, sis?”
Barely a month after getting the famous Ricky Reyes haircut, I was itching for change again. It was because my natural curls were showing themselves in their full unflattering glory, which made for an uneven field. It didn’t help that the hubby told me he wanted to see me get a perm before he flew home. So off I went to a Korean salon I’ve been eyeing for a long time, but haven’t tried, and conveniently located at the ground floor of the Pan Pacific hotel in Manila. Have to admit that I tried it just for kicks, as it wasn’t as busy as Tony and Jackey a few blocks away. And I really wanted to try a Korean digital perm.
It’s something that I won’t regret doing, as it made the whole process seem effortless. None of the icky smell that we traditionally know of the cold perm. I forgot the step-by-step process now but it did involve the usual procedure of shampooing/rinsing my hair, cutting (if necessary), drying, twirling my hair under curlers or hot rods and placing it under a rectangular heating machine.
Asian Food Museum by Makansutra now open at Manila Ocean Park
Mostly, I like the Manila Ocean Park because it is one of the few places in Manila where you can enjoy the city’s natural beauty without spending much. Ever since Baywalk closed, this is now the place to gaze at the beautiful sunset and watching the panoramic expanse of the Manila Bay while sipping a drink and enjoying the time with your family.
The best things in life are (almost) free!
It is good that MOP doesn’t charge an entrance fee just for entering their complex. After offering the mermaid show, the people behind the Makansutra Asian Food Village unveiled yesterday the Asian Food Museum for a peek at Asian food history, culinary cultures and traditions.
Mermaid show at the Manila Ocean Park
The kids and I hang out at the Manila Ocean Park over the weekend, just in time to catch their recently launched Mermaid Show. This is a 30-minute treat where attractive (and should I say, curvaceous) swimmers perform dances, moves and acrobatics underwater. Of course it’s a given, they gotta be professionals to do that!
I must say it’s a real delight for kids, who must be harboring fantasies about being the next Little Mermaid or even our homegrown Dyesebel. It was fun seeing the women-swimmers in their colorful, alluring costumes, waving and smiling at their audience while grooving to the beat of the music. I took a video but I still have to upload it to YouTube 
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Eastwood Mall & its state-of-the-art cinema
Faraway Eastwood in Quezon City is one place I’d think twice about going, but when almost-neighbor Sasha offered a treat of free movies at the spanking new Eastwood cinema plus free pick-up in their family car, I had no choice but to say YES!!!
Traffic along C-5 was smooth that day, which made going to Eastwood such a breeze – less than 30 minutes! Arriving there, I couldn’t help but be transported to another world. The new Eastwood Mall was far from crowded and did not look like the populous boxes of concrete in Manila. It looked every inch immaculate and upscale. I also liked nice touches like the man-made water structure and walkway bridge in the outside garden.
The high ceiling, escalator and cavernous middle kinda reminded me of Shang-ri La Plaza mall in Mandaluyong, except that Eastwood has better scenery outside. I dig the airy sunroof (if that’s how you call it.)
We’ve hardly done a tour of the mall and it was time to catch the 1 p.m. movie. We met up with Tinay of Megaworld who was going to show us the mall’s high-tech theater, with the uber-comfy fully reclining seats.It was heaven and relaxing indeed, plunking down ourselves in the plush chairs which fully reclined just by flicking a side lever.
Flores de Mayo 2009 Bellissima Filipina winners
I didn’t stay long enough to catch the announcement of the winners among the beauteous sagalas that graced the Flores de Mayo 2009 last May 24 at the Mall of Asia. So here they are: (via Unilever Philippines)
Shown (from left) are: Anna Marie Burgos, awarded Miss Cream Silk; Janina San Miguel, crowned La Flor de Manila; Reissa Ileto, bagging the night’s most coveted Rosa Mystica; Andrea Abesamis, as the Reina de las Flores; and Glennifer Perido, as Miss Ponds.
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Blogging since 2004 and recently married to Mr Z. I can't live without coffee....and brown sugar.
