A Pre-Valentine Lunch @ Madecca
The girls just wanted to annoy the boys about Valentines date, and as usual asking for a free lunch. =)
The boys ended up of having no choice but to agree and there we go, a pre-valentine lunch out with office buddies. Since everyone just wanted to have a light and quick meal to avoid over breaks, we just dined at Madeca at the 5th level of Podium Mall.
Madeca offers a Filipino-Mexican food like sisig and lechon kawali burrito or sisig and lechon kawali soft taco, just to name a few. They also offer Mexikanin or their rice meals.
We ordered different foods so that we can share and try each of it.
For starters, we ordered chicken chicharon. It is a deep-fried chicken skin. It tasted good, but the boys preferred those bought at the streets. =)
The sisig soft taco, is yummy, the taco is soft by its name describes it. The sisig filling is also good; there are few crunchy and chewy.
The Lechon kawali soft taco and salpicao soft taco are both good too. The meat filling is tender. All Soft taco comes into 2 pieces with salsa and cream cheese dip; it also includes few pieces of tortilla. The tortilla is thin and crisp.
The sisig burrito and lechon kawali burrito is just the same with the soft taco, except that burrito of course comes with a rice. This is much heavy to eat than the soft taco. The same with the soft taco, it also paired with salsa and cream cheese dip and with tortilla.
The Mexikanin are their rice meals. It is also the same filling put in the soft taco and burrito, the rice has a little Mexican taste which I liked. The serving is big.
Salpicao Mexikanin
Sisig Mexikanin
The dalandan juice, at first tasted good then I realized it is carbonated just like a soda fruit drink that you can buy at the supermarket. I liked the how it was served, it is placed on mojito jar with a colorful paper straw.
For the dessert for the girls only, we ordered banana fritters. No photo of it because we just take it out and eat at the office. These are fried bananas sprinkled with cinnamon and topped with vanilla ice cream with caramel syrup. It has only 8 pieces of small bananas, just enough to take away the “umay” taste of the foods that we’ve eaten.
Madeca has a fast food service format. You order your food and pay at the counter and wait to be served at your table.
Overall, I liked the foods at Madecca are good, and prices are affordable.
We thought of eating a light lunch but we ended up of super busog and heavy feeling.
For the other branches, you may visit their website www.madeca.ph
Happy eating. =)
The so called luxury buffet restaurant, Vikings
It’s my second time to dine at Vikings, Megamall branch, and this time I am with my family. The first time I ate here, it was my office mate’s birthday. Since it is my second time, I made the reservations two weeks ago and I chose the dining area at the back of the beverage station.
When dining at Vikings, it is better to make a reservation at least two (2) weeks before your target date of dining. Many people eats at Vikings, Megamall branch even on weekdays.
I remembered, we tried dining at Vikings on a lunch time on Monday, I did not make any reservation for I thought it is a lean day, to my surprise, there are many people (walk-ins) on queue , so we decided to just eat to other restaurant. So better to call Vikings first and make your reservations.
We were already there before Vikings opened. There were already lots of people on queue both walk – ins and with reservations. A separate queuing number were given to walk-in customers and to those who have reservations.
Yes, Vikings is fair enough to accommodate also those without reservations.
We availed the birthday promo treat of Vikings since it is the birthday of my hubby. If you will dine on the day of your birthday, the celebrant is free provided that he/she has at least one (1) accompanying adult. And if you will dine on any day of your birthday month, the celebrant is free of charge as long as is accompanied with four (4) full paying adults.
Vikings has a nice dining area especially at the back of the beverage station, so better choose that place when you are planning to make reservations.
It is more spacious compared to those seats near the Japanese foods (on the left side when you are facing the entrance) and those seats near the grilling station.
seats near the grilling station.
Vikings has a lot of foods to offer, from Asian, European and American.
Filipino dish, lechon kawali, sisig and paella rice
pasta with white sauce
They have the salad station, the carving station. I like the roast beef, it is tender.
For the Asian food, they have Chinese foods which dimsums that I like best.
Chinese foods
Craving station on the left most side and shabu shabu station.
There are different dimsum that you can choose from. There are pork and beef siomai, hakao, and beancurd. They also have yangchow rice, stir fried vegetables, and others.
Yangchow rice, fried dumpling, pork siomai and hakao. it was so yummi!!
For the Japanese food, they have also different types of maki, there are shrimp tempura, which I think is one of every person’s favorite. It ran out fast, you just have to wait for awhile to have it refilled.
Vikings is also known for its grilling station. You can choose from their seafoods selection and even meat. You just have to choose what to grill and the waiter will serve it to your table.
They also have Italian food station, where you can even make your own pasta. It has also different bread types, mini pretzels, croissant, oat meal bread (which I like).
Vikings have a great selection of desserts and beverages. You can choose from cakes, pastries, panacotta, crème brulee, ice cream, and crepes.
crepe station
panacotta and crème brulee
They have also kiddie plates with matching kiddie spoon and fork.
For their beverage station,
You can choose from any brands of soft drinks, draft beer and even Tiger beer (in can), Milo, this is so yummy, it is not the usual Milo that we make at home, coffee which you can make your own cappuccino, sago and gulaman, fruit shakes, different flavors of Winnings Tea, (blueberry lemonade, iced tea, four seasons, lemon with mint, lemon with tanglad, and others that I forgot, And what I liked most? The Wintermelon!! It is super yummy.
You can also make your own milk tea, an instruction guide is provided.
You can also ask for Twinings or Harney and Sons tea bags, which I preferred to take it at home very discreetly.
I super like their beverage station that I even stand there and taste a little of almost everything. 😉
Since this is my second time, I can say that I have tasted almost everything.
If you are celebrating your birthday, you will be greeted and sang with a very happy song and a cake will be given as complimentary.
I enjoyed dining at Vikings. I may not have tried all the dishes, but I can say that that all foods that I ate were all good. The dining experience is exciting. The value of money spent was worth it.
World Food Expo (WOFEX) 2014
We have long planned going to WOFEX, and we always check the internet for updates about WOFEX, but we failed to register online. It is our first time to go there. The World Food Expo 2014 is held at SMX and the World Trade Center.
We first went to SMX, we got there at around 11:00 in the morning, and there is a long queue at the registration booth. Registration fee costs 150.00 per head. There were variety of registrants, there are students, entrepreneurs (I assumed) and a lot more.
A white badge was issued to us.
The WOFEX is known as the ultimate food show. It features the food sector and beverage industry. It is held simultaneously at 2 venues, at the SMX and at the World Trade Center.
If you are a registrant at the world trade center, you are automatically qualified to the SMX, and if you are a registrant at the SMX, you are pre-qualified at the World Trade Center. No need to pay again.
There is a free shuttle that will bring you from SMX to World Trade Center and vise versa.
First stop, SMX.
There are varieties of food, food ingredients and beverages are presented for sale. There is a lot of free food taste. There are noodles manufacturer, they cooked pansit and gave to the expo guests for free to try their noodles.
See the long queue on the picture above? The result was this.
We were able to try the Super Q and Hobe noodles. According to the promodiser of HOBE noodles, you don’t need to soak the noodles before cooking, both pansit tasted ok.
There are also cheese, chocolate products, different beverages and imported products like SPAM, CERES, etc.
There are also LIGO products, yes Ligo is not all about sardines anymore, they ventured to other food products such as the LIGO meatloaf which tasted good, it tasted like Maling and LIGO potato chips with flavors of original, cheese, sour cream and barbecue. I like the cheese and original flavors.
There are also non-food products like these back-issued magazines, which are sold at a very bargain price.
There is an on-going cooking challenge, the contenders came from different schools. The competition is categorized into, pastry and savory , individual and team challenge.
There is also a barista competition.
There’ also a cake making contest that was held maybe prior to the event because the finish products were already displayed. The cakes were super nice, and maybe it tastes good too. You may not think of eating any of those cakes, because of the nice designs.
There is also a cooking show held at the SMX WOFEX.
If you are hungry and want to eat a decent lunch meal, you don’t need to go out the SMX, there are a lot of food meals that you can choose from.
There are also dimsum food stalls.
For our last stop at the SMX, the “negosyong bayan” booth, which offers INJOY Products. They sell powder juices with flavors such as pandan, gulaman, melon, chocolate, etc., They also have ice cream, frappe, scramble mixtures, coffee and soup mixtures. They also sell ice cream machine, coffee vendo machine and soup pot bundled with injoy products.
It is a lot bigger at the World Trade Center, we thought that only traders are welcome here during the first three days of WOFEX. However, we still went there and took the free shuttle.
We did not pay for the entrance fee anymore, because we are already qualified, our badge was changed from white to yellow then we are good to go inside.
There are more booths at the world trade center.
There are also booths that sell machines for food processing, packaging, ovens, food trays, food crates, supplies for baking needs and a lot more.
Of course there are also lots of free food tastes.
Mongo siopao
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There are also foods that are readily for sale such as pork and beef siomai, mini and jumbo siopao, lumpiang shanghai that you can also re-sell it. A free taste were provided and it was all good.
We ended our visit to the WOFEX by eating lots and lots of dimsum. 😉
Going to the WOFEX taught us that there are a lot of business opportunities in the food industry.
World Food Expo (WOFEX) 2014
August 6 – 9 , 2014
SMX and World Trade Center
Entrance Fee: 150.00
Cabalen – Eat all you can, Eat all you want
I have eaten at Cabalen for a couple of times but I still get excited every time I eat here as the different Filipino gastronomic foods welcomed me.
We dine at the Cabalen, Megamall branch. It is located at the 3rd floor, bridgeway.
The branch at Megamall is quiet small, they only have small buffet area that gets crowded during super peak hours just like any other buffet restaurants.
The foods are well arranged.
The Cabalen at Megamall offers Filipino-Asian dish for a price of P398.00 nett per head and for other branch that only offers Filipino cuisines for a price of P298.00 nett per head. Drinks or beverages are excluded of the price.
It is best to dine at Cabalen earlier of their lunch and dinner time, you can get more of food choices; however, foods ran out towards the end of the lunch/dinner time. But don’t worry, they offer new food as replacement for the dish that ran out. Take note that their menu may change from day to day.
Herewith are the food choices that I like best at the time we dined in. For the appetizers, the crispy kangkong is a must try. It is crispy and it is best to dip it to yummy tartar sauce. The Okoy kalabasa is also good, you might found it ordinary but it tasted good.
For the main dish, Kare-Kare was always been a favorite paired with their yummy bagoong. They also have biringhi (similar to paella), pansit na puti, dinuguan, pork and chicken adobo, ginataang kuhol, lechon paksiw, pork menudo, sizzling sisig, sizzling tofu, pork barbecue, grilled fish (hito) and lechon for their carvings section.
They also have maki section, which I did not tried it anymore because I want to eat all Filipino dishes.
All of the food choices are good, but if you will ask me what I like best, it is the kare-kare.
For the desserts, they have various kakanin such as biko, maja blangka, minatamis na saging, fruits and marshmallows that you can dip into the chocolate fountain and they also have the “make ur own” halo-halo.
To sum up, the food is great and I will still go back to dine again.
For your events and reservations, you may call Cabalen @ (02)633-1761, and for your catering needs you may call (02)372-2914.
Tim Ho Wan
Tim Ho Wan, Megamall Branch just recently opened last May 2014. Since it opened, there is always a long queue. I got curious what’s with this restaurant and what do they offer why people are patiently waiting on long queue. I also watched on one of the documentary shows on television which featured Tim Ho Wan that this restaurant originated from Hong Kong, and the cooks were chefs from Hong Kong. I just don’t know if the Hong Kong chefs will stay in the country to prepare the food at Tim Ho Wan, or they were just invited.
And so I tried Tim Ho Wan. When we went to Tim Ho Wan it was already passed 12 noon, and there is a long queue. Seats were provided to customers while on queue and a copy of the menu is also provided so you can choose what to order while waiting. Upon falling in line, we were asked for how many seats. We patiently waited and we did not wait for a long time to be seated. However, they will not allow your group to be seated if you were not complete yet, they will let the group next to you to be seated first until that your group is complete.
An order sheet and a pencil is given to your table, for you to place your orders.
It took 15-20 minutes when our orders were served.
We tried the famous Baked Bun with Barbecue Pork at P145.00 (3 pcs), it was served hot, it was a little crunchy yet the bread is soft and fluffy (like mammon) and it has a delicious bbq pork filling.
Prawn Dumpling @ P160.00 (4pcs), Pork Dumpling with shrimp @P150.00 (4pcs) (sorry I wasn’t able to took a photo of it.)
I so loved the dumplings, it is so yummy, the wrapper is soft and the meat is also tender.
We also ordered rice with beef and fried egg @180.00. It is a beef rice topping similar to tapsilog. This was served really hot, that we cannot eat it right away upon serving, =) beef is tasty and tender.
For the place, Pardon me that I cannot comment on it since we were seated outside. Yes, the seat given to us was outside the restaurant. I cannot choose anymore and wait any longer coz I am hungry. =)
If you haven’t tried Tim Ho Wan, and craves for authentic taste of Chinese foods in the Metro go and try it for yourself, don’t worry about the long queues coz it’s definitely worth waiting.
TIM HO WAN MANILA Ground Floor, SM Mega Fashion Hall, SM Megamall
Facebook: Tim Ho Wan Website: http://www.timhowan.com/
Canyon Cove Hotel and Spa, Nasugbu Batangas
Canyon Cove was our summer destination for three (3) consecutive years now. My first visit here was during a summer company outing. And it was on summer 2012 that we booked on this resort through Metrodeal at around 2,500.00 with free breakfast and free use of kayak. Last summer 2013, we again went here with the whole family this time. I booked through Living Social at 2999.00 for a superior room per night that with free use of kayak for 1 hour.
For this year, 2014, it was our company’s summer outing. My officemates thought of staying there for an overnight. Since it’s only few weeks away from the date of the event, there were only few rooms left with the lowest rate. That’s why; I booked through Agoda. Booking with Agoda is very hassle free, you will get your confirmation after you have saved your booking. Unlike with other agents, that they still need to verify the availability, there is no guarantee that you will get a confirmed booking. However, no payments are required until booking is confirmed.
We arrived at the resort at around 9:00am and registered at the front desk as soon as we arrived. We are hoping that we can check –in early as soon as there will be an available room. I requested for a room on the north wing, (this building has new rooms). The new procedure that the resort implements is that upon registration, you will be given a number and a vibrating device (i don’t know what is it called) for queue,
this device will vibrate once there is an available room for you and that is the time your key card will be given to you. This is better because you do not need to keep on checking with the front desk if there is any available room. While waiting for the available room, you can already use their facilities.
The resort has a pristine beach with not so fine white sand, but it is okay though.
The resort has 3 big swimming pools. 2 kiddie pools and 1 for adult. Their pool is big enough that can accomodate many guests. The pool is also well-maintained, they clean it every morning.
Aside from the swimming pools, the resort has play grounds, where the kids and the kids at heart can play when they do not want to go swimming.
Canyon Cove Hotel and Spa has different room types.
We booked for a Superior room, only 2 adults and 2 kids are allowed per resort’s policy. Extra person will be charged accordingly. But the room is big enough that it can actually accommodate up to 6 persons.
It has a king sized bed and a double sized bay bed.
The room has a balcony and is equipped with large flat screen tv, mini bar with a complimentary water and coffee for 2 persons, and cabinets with vault for your clothes and other valuables. The room is clean as well as the bed linens.
The Sperior room has a clean toilet/bathroom. It has a enough space for the shower area as well as the lavatory.
The only downside is that there is no bidet beside the toilet bowl.
All rooms have an ocean view.
Max’s restaurant is the concessionaire of Canyon Cove. They also have the grilling station by the beach, wherein you can order set meals, however the price of the food is expensive. That’s why we opt to eat at the fast food chains near the resort. You can choose from Jollibee, Mang Inasal, Chowking, Sutikel (similar to Binalot), Andok’s. There are also few convenient stores like 7-11, Mercury drug store and other mini groceries wherein you can buy your drinks, merienda, and toiletries (if you forgot to bring one). Going to these fast food chains will take 10-15 minutes drive. If you do not have your own vehicle, there are tricycles that can ride.
Bringing of foods inside the resort is prohibited; however, we managed to bring foods inside the resort, Of course we bring it discretely.
I find Canyon Cove a relaxing place, a perfect weekend get-away for friends and families. It is very near Metro Manila, travel time is roughly 2-3 hours via tagaytay or 1.5 – 2 hours via Cavitex/NAIC.
So let us all watch out for the next summer deals and book for Canyon Cove.
For more information and for your bookings you may contact:
CANYON COVE HOTEL AND SPA
Far East Road, Piloto Wawa Nasugbu, Batangas Philippines Phone Number +632.908.1111 Makati Central Reservations Office 840 2290 | 840 2327 | 840 2204 | 840 2365
Bataan Technology Park (BTPI)
BATAAN TECHNOLOGY PARK INC.
The Bataan Technology Park is also situated at Morong, Bataan where the former United Nations Philippine Refugee Processing Center is situated.
The Philippine Refugee Processing Center (PRPC) was established and funded by the United Nations as home to many refugees from Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia and ethnic minorities (Chinese). The PRPC is like a small city, complete with hospital, school, restaurant, place of worship, and market. Its main purpose is to hold the refugees, teach them English language until such time that they are ready and accepted for resettlement in countries such as Canada, Norway, United States of America and France.
Now, the former PRPC has turned to an eco park, the Bataan Technology Park, Inc or the home of Atmanda Eco park. The BTPI museum, library and archive can be found inside the eco park that features the PRPC.
Here, you can see the original boat that was used by the Refugees who came here in the Philippines. Approximately 60 persons were aboard on the said boat.
In this museum, you can also see some of the refugees’ different paraphernalia that they already left.
You can also see here the replica of their bunk house where they usually live. It can accommodate 5-6 persons.
A replica of the prisoner’s jail is also presented here. They called it monkey house.
In the museum, you can also find the photos that show how the Vietnamese boat was rescued from the Bataan shores.
Inside the premise of the BTPI, you can also find the refugee’s place of worship, their Buddhist Temple. It has a nice view, overlooking the mountains. This is the place where the refugees meditate.
Also, inside the BTPI, is the shrine commemorating Blessed Pope John Paul II, who came at the PRPC and celebrated mass. The “Lolek Garden”, which named after Pope John Paul II, (nickname of Pope John Paul).
![IMG_3190[1]](https://yesiken.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/img_31901.jpg)
Our visit to this place gave us information on the time that Vietnamese refugees went here in the Philippines by accident. The Filipinos (maybe most were from Bataan), have become way for them to learn English language and prepare them to what country of destination that they will go to. But now, Vietnam is getting ahead of our country, Philippines. Isn’t ironic? =)
For more information you may visit http://www.bcda.gov.ph/freeport_and_ecozones/show/13
Pawikan Conservation Center
PAWIKAN CONSERVATION CENTER
Nagbalayong Morong. Bataan
The Pawikan Conservation Center was organized to protect and conserve the pawikans (marine turtle)which are now considered as endangered species. The shores at Nagbalayong, Morong in Bataan became the nesting ground of the pawikans in our country. Nesting usually happens on the months of November to December, wherein numerous pawikans swam onto the shore to lay their eggs.
The people at the center do their rounds at night time to check on the eggs and bring it at the Hatching section of the center. The eggs were buried into the sand for incubation. It will take 2 months until such time that the baby pawikans will dig up through the sand and reach the ground. The next day, the baby pawikans are released onto the shore, at least 5 meters away from the water. This is for the baby pawikans to remember where they came from. There is only 1% of those that were released will survive. It will take another 25 to 30 years for the female pawikans to lay their eggs, and it is amazing that they will go back to the place where they were hatch to lay their eggs.
When we visited the place, it is off season, there are only 2 hatching nest.
The Pawikan Conservation Center do not preserve pawikans, they only conserve it. It is still preferred to let the pawikans live on their natural habitat for them to be able to learn to survive. There is 1 big red pawikan, 1 medium sized pawikan and the smallest pawikan, The red pawikan was surrendered to them by a concerned citizen, it was spotted that it was being sold to anyone.
The Pawikan Conservation Center also offers room accommodations for those who like to witness the pawikans swam onto the ocean at night and come along with the patrol group to get the eggs or witness the releasing of baby pawikans and experience it for themselves. The center has a nice beach area with properly maintained shoreline. An entrance fee of 20.00 is charged for adults, kids are free of charge.
Though we did not see many pawikans as we imagined, we enjoyed our short visit. The caretaker that we have spoke to, unselfishly shared informative details about the pawikans. I hope that we can go back and be a part of the releasing of baby pawikans and see them crawl from the shore and swim into the ocean. 🙂
Loleng’s Hutieu-an – the famous Vietnamese Carinderia in Morong Bataan
After the exhausting and tiring sightseeing, we dined at Loleng’s Hutieu-an (Vietnames Foods), the famous Vietnamese carinderia in Morong, Bataan.
I learned this famous Vietnamese Carinderia from one of the local tv shows. The owner used to work at the Philippine Refugee Processing Center (PRPC); from where the owner learned how to cook the Vietnamese noodle soup, which up to now, Loleng’s Hutieu-an carinderia is continuously satisfying its customers with Vietnamese noodles and banhmi.
Banhmi is a Vietnamese sandwich with ham, a little of tomatoes, lettuce and cucumber which costs 25.00 The banhmi tastes good and we liked it which ended up on ordering again.
Hutieu, is a Vietnamese savory noodle soup with rice noodles which costs 50.00 for the small size. It is like a chicken mami noodle soup.
We also ordered Bun-cha-gio, it is a spring roll with noodles paired with vinegar which also costs 50.00.
We also ordered their palabok which also costs P50.00, sorry wasn’t able to take a photo of it.
Going to the place is quiet difficult, especially us who are first timers but thanks to waze that we found the place. But Loneg’s carinderia is popular in the place, you can ask the locals and ride a tricycle and you will be brought there.
yesiken 