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.

With its long-lived existence, Lolo Dad’s Cafe beats the notion that in business, location is everything. Situated in Quirino Avenue (near the Quirino LRT station), it’s a family house converted into a restaurant that can seat 50 people (including the function room for 20).

What we ordered that night:

An appetizer of seafood pot-au-feu for me, but the strong taste of the prawns and fish dumpling proved to be too much for my pregnant woman’s taste. In turn, I wish I had hubby’s Caesar’s salad with salmon gravlax, crispy pancetta and six-minute boiled egg instead

As a prelude to the main course, they served us a smoking teapot filled with flavorful raspberry sorbet. This was remarkable in itself.

For our entrees, I had Herb de Provence Roasted Rack of Lamb, while hubby had charcoal grilled duck breast with foie gras, butterscotch pudding and poached pear in saffron. These dishes came with a hefty price tag, but I truly savored every bite. As much as possible, I order lamb when out dining (whether in a Middle Eastern joint or in fancy dining) because we don’t cook lamb at home. Lolo Dad’s roasted rack was pure indulgence as I joyfully separated the meat from the bone.

For dessert, we had the Sampler of Chocolates and the Declension of Mango and Mascarpone Cheese. I thought it was sugar overload to have ordered two, instead of sharing just one, but Lolo Dad’s desserts were a feast for the eyes and the senses.

How about you, what is your favorite date place in Manila????

I remember how excited I was to see Sentosa – Singapore’s island resort – on this trip, as I haven’t been there before. It was “masterplanned” like all of Singapore. Don’t know if it was because September was no peak season, but I found it too quiet in fact. Far from being the crowded nightmare that was the Hong Kong Disneyland. And certainly far from the “character” of our beach resorts with its barbecues on the beach and ladies selling pearl necklaces by the road.

The most “touristy” thing I did was visit the Underwater World but sadly, our Manila Ocean Park was better (and bigger!), if only because nothing rivals the view of the Manila Bay. Underwater World’s advantage was the moving travellator and the fact that along with the Sing$18 fee came a free ticket to watch a dolphin show in the Dolphin Lagoon. They also offered an interesting Dive with the Sharks package.

Another huge merlion statue like the one near the Esplanade.

I like this colorful block of letters design on Siloso Beach. I was actually wondering why they called one of their beaches Palawan

We stayed in the Amara Sanctuary Resort which I can very well remember for having large glass windows all over, the windows looking out into lush gardens.

I am pretty sure Sentosa won’t be the same the next time I swing by, with construction in full swing for Resorts World Sentosa set to open next year. Resorts World Sentosa, Singapore’s first integrated resort, will feature Universal Studios Singapore.

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.

The place is a delight if you’re a history buff or simply a foodie who would like to know the elements of street food culture that is prevalent in Asia. Explore behind-the-scenes stories of the teh tarik stall, the peephole theater box, the five-footed food cart and unravel the mystique behind the Chinese tea ceremony.

Likewise, the walls are filled with large pictures of food that graces Asian tables … yes, even the exotic ones. One part even shows how to make a lumpia (spring roll) wrapper.

The fun part are the interactive games which adults and kids alike can try out for their own amusement.

There’s a Cooking Mama electronic game where the user can cook a given dish by pressing his fingers on the screen, just like you would with your Nintendo DS gaming console.

In the Chopstick Challenge, two people compete in putting little balls with a chopstick unto a bowl. Whoever finishes first, wins!

In the Shoulder Cart Challenge, you try the balance the two-sided cart on your shoulders as if you were a noodle or a taho vendor.

Fun, fun, fun!

Asian Food Museum @ the Manila Ocean Park
behind the Quirino Grandstand
Luneta (Rizal Park), Manila
Tel. No. 5677777

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

The show is one of the free attractions you can have in Manila Ocean Park at the moment. It’s almost “free” considering that they give you one ticket for every P150 purchase at any of the park’s restaurants and food outlets. You can choose to buy the tickets per se, but I think the first option is preferable.

The performance happens at the Buhay na Karagatan exhibit area which is the biggest tank in the oceanarium. Viewing is being done at the Look Function Room and even though they announced that no picture-taking was allowed during the show, the rest of the pack was using their cameras like me, just no flash allowed.

The crowd is allowed to have their pics taken with the mermaids still romping in the tank after the show, and there’s more photo op in the mermaid booth, like this one:

The Mermaid Show at the Manila Ocean Park
happens everyday, except Mondays
4, 5, 6, 7 & 8 pm

Address: behind Quirino Grandstand
Luneta, Manila

Call telephone no. 5677777 for inquiries

Here are some Ocean Park pics taken by our official wedding photographer:

When it was time to lighten up, we chose to have a sweet moment with the Manila Ocean Park mascot:

Manila Ocean Park has the Ozeano Fusion Restaurant operated by Tamayos’ Catering on the second floor. Its glass-enclosed corner gives one a sweeping view of Manila Bay and the world-famous sunset.I did not hesitate to book our wedding reception at the resto when I saw it. I do think its Panoramic Buffet is one of the best value-for-money offerings in Manila. The P600 net price is already inclusive of an array of main dishes ranging from Japanese, Filipino, Continental to Chinese, the salad bar and Mongolian barbecue. Their dessert station with the chocolate fountain is really good.

The resto’s accredited lights and sounds supplier, Blazt, gave us free use of their bubble machine.The kids had fun with it…..

And from your window, there’s the romantic sunset:

The good thing about Ozeano is that they didn’t have a rental fee for the use of the restaurant. Since we didn’t close the resto for the whole function , it also meant that other people were passing by. I didn’t really mind, as it only meant more people to share our wedding with, even from afar However, if you’re a would-be bride who would like more privacy, the oceanarium has lots of other function rooms for your event, at rates ranging from Php25,000 to Php40,000.

Manila Ocean Park management can be quite strict with pictorials. They were trying to charge us Php15,000 for the taking of pictures. However, I tried to bring it down to just buying the P450 tickets at the entrance, since we would be there for only 15 minutes anyway.

Ozeano also overcharged me by P10,000 when the final bill came, as it did not take note of the 10K deposit I made the day before. Good thing I noticed it, despite my frazzled mind. It applies in ordinary occasions as well as in special events: always scrutinize your final dinner bill, hehe.

More of our Manila Ocean Park pics:

Ozeano Fusion Restaurant
2nd Floor, Manila Ocean Park
(behind Quirino Grandstand)
Telephone Number 567-7779

Manila Ocean Park
Telephone Number 567-7777
Operating Hours:
Mon – Friday 10AM to 9PM
Sat – Sun 9AM to 9PM

First impressions: MOP could do better with a little more organization, more park guides to lead the visitors and brochures. Some parts, like the open water marine habitat, are not yet open to the public. Overall, we had a good time. Am glad there’s a place like this now in the Philippines which is at par with other oceanariums in the world, like Ocean Park in Hong Kong and Underwater World in Singapore.

MOP’s main attraction is the 25-meter long walkway tunnel with 220-degree curved acrylic walls from where you can see fishes and marine life all around. This is the “Buhay na Karagtan” ( Living Oceans) exhibit of the oceanarium.

Inside the oceanarium it was dark and hard to read the descriptions of each section. Also, no flash photography is allowed.

Manila Ocean Park’s entrance fees are P400 for the adults and P350 for children. Luckily, they now have a promo running until January where you will pay only P500, inclusive of the Fish Spa and Glass Bottom Boat ride on the second floor Activity area.

If taken separately, the glass bottom boat ride costs P150 for 10 minutes. It wasn’t really that impressive, especially if you’ve already been through the see-through walkway. The area where you take your boat ride wasn’t too spacious either. The only good thing was that the man manning the ride was very helpful.

It was kinda eerie seeing people on the walkway tunnel from our glass bottom boat. We were obviously above them.

The kids enjoyed the Fish Spa the most. This is the part where Doctor Fish (or fishes) nibble on your feet in water. Actually, tickle is the more approriate term. I actually shrieked when they did that to me – silly fishes! The fish spa concept is borne out of the fact that the fishes can eat away your dead skin cells, and therefore it can be good and rejuvenating for you.

Kids engaged in a stencilling art activity while waiting for their turn at the Fish Spa. This cost twenty pesos.

We were lucky to witness some fireworks. I think this happens at 7 p.m. every weekend. In the background is the Manila Floating Hotel & Restaurant.

The Manila Ocean Park is open from Monday to Sunday and closes at 9 p.m. For more information, call telephone no. 567-7777.