diet dinner

I was editing some of my pictures when I realized I haven't had dinner yet...and it's almost 1am. Since I came home late from gym, I had to scour through the ref to look for something to eat.

My dinner turned out to be:
3 slices of raddish cake from Luk Yuen
1 medium banana
2 slices of bread with left over cream cheese

Good thing I found the cream cheese, it's due to expire by the end of the month :D I used most of it though, making Carbonara for Liska's mom's birthday (it's her favorite) :D The carbonara was a mixture of 3 recipes... So you could imagine how crossed my fingers were at that time. :P

The raddish cake of Luk Yuen was not good at all, but bearable. I miss the old Luk Yuen, during the times when it was still located at the old Greenbelt 2, when A&W was still there, and plus when there exist a street that you have a cross to get to the Chapel. 90% of the time my mom would take us to Greenbelt to hear mass, we would have lunch at Luk Yuen. Back then, the beef brisket noodles cost somewhere between 60-70 pesos, with real lean meat and tendons. Their raddish cake was crunchy not because it's fried, but because it's packed and 'malaman'. During tikoy season, for me it was "Forget all the Tikoys, but never forget the Raddish Cake". But times have changed, it's not as good as before, and its too hard to look for good food.

By the way, not so long ago, Steph introduced us to La Mien. :) Its a noodle restaurant in Chinatown. They serve EXCELLENT beef noodle soup! Their dumplings are worth every bite too :D The noodles are hand pulled and is made just before serving the soup. Everytime Lis and I were in downtown, I've always insisted the we go there. So far my hit ratio is roughly 9 out of 10. :D I will post pictures the next time we go there.

I have to get back to my pictures, I'm excited to share it to everybody and hope to get feedbacks.

the hacienda isabella

April 18, 2009

There comes a point when you would feel that you desperately just need to get away from all the hustle and bustle of living in a city, from all the rush and the deadlines. You will realize that you need a good vacation, somewhere you can sleep so well at night, you wouldn't dream of waking up just yet. Search Google and you'll definitely find a lot of choices.

But for our case, one stood out. Something was unique and homey about this place, and for us, these 2 criteria are what we keep looking out for.

Welcome to Hacienda Isabella.
This private resort is owned by the famous Kuh Ledesma and serves as her Tagaytay home. The place is open for bed and breakfast, weddings, celebrations, and events. You will see a lot of antiques in display everywhere :)
We arrived at half past 2 in the afternoon already, traffic along SLEX is hell due to the on going Skyway extension project, so I would suggest that you take the trip as early as possible. Their check in time is 2pm, but you can freely use the ammenities while waiting. We had the place all to ourselves. It feels like having the entire hacienda all to yourself. :D The staff were extremely courteous and service was excellent.

They toured us around the place, allowing us to choose which room we would like to stay in. But during crowded times, they would choose for you since the rooms are on a first come, first serve basis. There are about 5 couple rooms, the rest are family rooms. The place hosts a couple of function rooms, a big open space, and conference areas too.

Who wouldn't want to sleep in a bed like this?
The room has a blue accent, we like it a lot since it has a refreshing and relaxing feel. It dims the room but not too much.
Food is important too! Dinner was served candlelight style. Did I mention that we have the entire place to ourselves? :) We got to seat at the "master table" (not sure what its called). The dinning area was huge! It could probably accomodate around 50 guests.
Bread was served as appetizer, but shortly after, the first food was served: pumpkin soup! It was delicious! Too bad we weren't able to ask for second servings :(

Next was a very generous serving of fruits and vegetables as a salad. There were nuts, corn, mushrooms, spinach, lettuce, mangoes...They added an extra ingredient that made it quite unique: Langka. (I have always been a fan of langka, especially in Turon :D)
Two pastas followed, once is a Tinapa sauce, while the other a Tomato based sauce. I liked the tinapa sauce since the tinapa was made to compliment the entire dish, while Lis liked the Tomato based.
We thought dinner was over since we were so full already when another dish came out of the kitchen: Rosemay Grilled Chicken. The dish was rather stale and quite dry.. Our guess is because we had late dinner :(
They served camote-que. It was just right, not too sweet. We were so full already that we weren't able to savor the dish.
We headed back to the room after dinner since the place is already dark. Good thing I brought my laptop so we could watch some movies :)

Our appetite was not quite fully restored from dinner and its breakfast already!

We had fried garlic rice, perfect tocino, bangus, hotdogs, a big omelette and lots of papaya. Talk about breakfast being the most important meal of the day! The omelette tasted kinda off and could use a bit more salt and pepper, the rest were great.
The big pool is available, just tell them in advance so they can clean it first :)
We will definitely go back to this place..We can't wait to try the other rooms :)
Driving Directions:
Head towards Tagaytay via your preferred route. Drive along the highway towards Batangas. A few minutes after the Mendez intersection and Bag of Beans, you should see Soto Grande Subdivision on your right. Turn right on the next street. Go straight around 20 min, passing by Flower Farm. Keep left when you see a fork on the road. Keep following the road to your left and turn right at the Brgy Carasuchi sign. Follow the this road, passing by a couple of big gates and RGV Farms to your left, after 20min Hacienda Isabella is on the right side. Don't worry, there are a lot of signs along the road.

Share the Love!

We went to the Fort last Friday and dropped by Krispy Kreme since I've been wanting to try out their heart-shaped donuts. Lucky for us they were also giving out their world famous original glazed donuts=) We also got to watch a "dip-the-donut-yourself" session where kids get to dip and design their own donuts for free. Speaking of designing your own donuts, Krispy Kreme is going to have a Valentine's event this February 13-17, 2008. Drop by any Krispy Kreme outlet and share the love...and the donut! hehe

Advanced Happy Hearts Day!!!<3

Tagaytay Getaway 2008

At last today has come! It took forever for weekend to arrive... what can i say, excited e...I was very hungry already all throughout the trip to tagaytay..traffic pa sa SLEX :P i was reserving my appetite for Bag of Beans. For some reason, the drive was a bit longer today as compared to before..maybe its because of my hunger :P tsaka delicate na yung car so careful driving na :) It was a foggy Saturday morning at the mountain :) The road was a bit hazzy and blurry.. And the breeze was very cold..yes!

1. Bag of Beans

We arrive around 900pm.. around 1hour late from planned haha :) we still have to go to Bag of Beans. Its just right after the Mendez intersection, probably around 10 minute drive :) There were still very few people here, buti na lang coz im starving :) The dining area is down stairs, in a garden type setting :) It is a great site. You can already feel energized with all the fresh air :) Lis and I chose the Bacon and Eggs breakfast (Php250) with a White Bread Basket (Php125). Lis had hot chocolate (Php85) while I tried the Brew coffee arabica (Php85) :) Bring an umbrella along, you'll never know when you need it...then again, whats a few drops of cool clear rain water? after all we all don't get to come here often..

2. Cliffhouse Tagaytay

I have to admit, I really don't know if I would be dissappointed or not... The entire place is covered in fog :) well for one, our short stay here was relaxing. But you couldn't get a good glimpse of the scenery that the place promised. Hay..bad timing.. owell.. Nonetheless, we'll still definitely head back to this place, probably March when we come back with Lis' sister :) There are a lot of good comments we've read about the food here. We just had a look around since we're here already, and the fact that parking is a whooping Php 100 for the first hour and 50 for every succeeding hour. Its even more expensive than any Makati parking. So if you come here to eat. Eat fast!! Just kidding. Probably we'd get to write more about this place next time..hehe :)

3. Manos Greek Taverna

Aaron is an avid fan of Mediterranean cuisine so he was so eager to try Manos Greek Taverna which is also along the main highway of Tagaytay. The serve authentic Greek food and offers an ambiance of how you would imagine a Greek restaurant would be....roughly finished but "home-y" with blue, yellow and white painted walls. Atleast that was the idea we got from "Sisterhood of Travelling Pants"...remember Lena when she went to her grandparents in Greece. We had:

Lamb Gyros - Souvlaki Shawarma (Php90);

Greek Salad - Elliniki Salata (Php160);

Baked Summer Vegetables - Briami (Php130)

4. Tagaytay Zoo

Next agenda: get our picture with a tiger cub:) Atleast that's what we expected! Residence Inn is a mountain resort and mini-zoo which is also the "Halfway Zoo" to Paradizoo Theme-Farm. The entrance fee is one payment for both which is Php200. The mini-zoo have a huge variety of exotic animals with some you can interact with. Its a great educational experience for kids and animal lovers. Their tigers, specially, are all beauties! They were huge and obviously well taken care of (unlike what we have here in Manila Zoo=P). You'll also see ducks, chickens and peacocks running around the vicinity allowing tourists to touch them and take pictures with them. Oh yeah! Don't go too near the orangutan...it spits!=P The time came for our one-on-one pic with the tiger...and its also the time when we've realized that it wasn't a cub! It was 1 year old Mia:P That's right the name of tiger is Mia, together with her brother Mio...are both trained tigers trained for picture takings like what we've experienced. There will be a zoo keeper there to assist.. he'll tell you what to do and what the tiger is trained to do :) Php50 if you use your own camera and Php149 if their camera (print out). We don't want to spoil any of the details.. it definitely was a tiger experience :) Don't worry, they won't bite, other wise we wouldn't be typing this entry hehe :P
Paradizoo is a different experience since you don't usually get to experience farm life in the city. They have a flower farm, vegetable farm, honey bee farm, butterfly garden, perpetual pet park, etc. Its also a great exercise since you'll get to walk around the whole lot:P

5. Caleruega Church Sunset

The last time we went here was sad.. we didn't know that it closes at 530pm.. I read a lot of good things about this place so we wanted to check it out. This time around, we were determined to reach the place. My God this place truly is heavenly. "Closer to nature, closer to God". The scenery was absolutely stunning. We got to see the sunset... Of course, it was planned.

There were two paths to follow, one to the hall and a road leading somewhere else.

We entered the hall around 430pm. We looked quite funny there coz we really didn't know where to go exactly... We had a few pictures here and there, not knowing of the beauty this place really holds at her door steps. We reached their roof top, nothing much. went here and there watching the scenery and feeling the air rush to our faces. There were a lot of "romantic spots" for lovers. hehe i convinced liska to atleast sit with me at one of them.. Caleruaga was full of cottages, I didn't know... Apparently maybe for the wedding guests :) Oh, there were a lot of "hanging bridge" signs all over the place, but we couldn't find one... :( there is a bridge though, with vines on top that u need to use to get to the roof top. Maybe that's the one. :)

When it was time to settle for a nice spot for the sunset, we decided to head down to the road. Not really knowing where it leads, we sat at a small hut with its chairs as swing, dunno what this is called tho. The road is a 'road' for the stations of the cross. you'll find carvings of the depictions per station. Lis asked if we could go down further the road, which we did. We noticed some cars parked, which was odd. But we decided to head to their direction nonetheless.

Whew! It was a long walk, and this has been a long type :P

There was a 'hidden' park apparently down the road. Lis has more pictures that wasn't included in the collage. you'd really feel like you're on a hidden moutain oasis, natural but clean and well maintained. From here there are two places you could go to, to the right was a camping site. There were several campers there, so i guess the cars parked were theirs. To the left was a 'hanging bridge'!!! so there it is!! the last time i got to cross one of these was during a camping trip in Makiling way back in high school. Yes! after the bridge was an open field, with picnic tables around, plus a small 'hill'.. not sure :P but definitely u have to walk up. :P Of course we went up. I wouldn't miss it for anything :P it wasn't the highest peek in Caleruega, but it has the most open view! you'll get to see clearly the fields below... the small hills... several mountains... the clear sky... and you guessed it, we were just in time for sunset! :D

Caleruega is definitely a must go place :) its known to be booked for weddings a year in advance :P well.. who knows :P we might be back here again someday :)

Just a note though, be careful when driving, it might be foggy... when we were going down, the fog was already thick enough to block your view of the road :P It was fun.. but be careful. :)

Bag of Beans
is along main highway in Tagaytay near Mendez Intersection.

Manos Greek Taverna
is shortly after the Tagaytay rotonda if you are coming from The Cliffhouse or Bag of Beans.

Residence Inn
is located after the Tagaytay Radars after Bag of Beans, maybe around 20 minutes of drive.
Residence Inn Resorts

And right before the Radars is a street to the right, straight ahead, turn right till u hit a dead end and you find the Paradizoo Theme-Farm.Paradizoo
Here is a map to the zoos.

Early Christmas @ Thousand Cranes, Greenbelt

jingle bells...Jingle bells...Jingle all the way....^_^

Celebrated an early Christmas dinner with our batchmates @ Thousand Cranes. This was the only date where most of us are available with the coming holidays and busy scheds at work. We were suppose to have our dinner @ MOA. But since it was a Monday and most of us will be coming from Makati, Greenbelt would be the perfect venue.

Yey! Reunion & gift-giving C2t6!

The restaurant is at the heart of Greenbelt 3, designed with what seemed to be Tokyo window panels and rattan lamps. They serve authentic japanese and chinese food in either grill or shabu shabu style.


We had our reservation for 20 people. (whew!=P) and decided to seat by 4 so the food would be enough for everyone:P We had the Ultimate Beef (for 2-3 pax) and Seafood & Beef (for 1-2 pax).


By the end of the dinner, everybody was full:P

Merry Christmas everyone!!!

more pics @ http://elizka.multiply.com/

Thousand Cranes

Greenbelt 3, Makati

Rate: Php350+

HU HA!

Lis and I were headed for Trinoma to buy a couple of things for our Krispies Treats. Since we were already there, we thought of having one of our "let's-try-something-new-and-different" moments :) Five Cows was featured in Antons blog way back but we decided to give it a shot. hehe :) Both of us are very choosy when it comes to ice creams, me in particular, but in this case, who cares. Give me one of that! We'll try anything. Just kidding.

We had the Marinara (Php260) and the Quattro Formaggio (Php260). The pizza was exceptional. We've never tasted a more cheezy pizza. :D Normally the food we ordered wouldn't be enough for us, but the food tastes very good that we finished it to the last bit.

We had the Flaming Alaska (Php185) for dessert, its one of their best sellers. Its some sort of meringue that has 3 ice cream flavors inside served with flaming rum, hence the name. I think from the time they open the store, they added a different twist in serving this unique "urban treat". Aside from dimming the lights while pouring in the rum, one of the staff rings a bell. After which all of them would shout "HU HA!"

Note: We got this mint ice cream for free. It was their halloween promo if you purchased more than 1k =)

Five Cows

Trinoma Mall

4th Level, M4

EDSA cor. North Ave., Q.C.

Krispies Galore

We're starting a new business venture with food - Krispies:D They're rice krispies and marshmallows shaped in hearts and in your favorite Christmas characters: Snowman, Cndy Cane, Christmas Tree, Bell and Gingerbread man.

They're perfect for gift-giving on holidays especially if you're opting something simple yet enjoyable and affordable.:) They range from Php30-40 only...and comes in boxes and packs of 4.

*made to order

Blissful Cravings

09192702420 / 09192701937

Kozui Green Tea Cafè @ Tomas Morato

This year has definitely been a non-stop birthday celebration for me (yey me!^_^). I had 5 cakes all in all:P--hence the tummy huhu=( Anyways, we were suppose to have dinner last Thursday but since there was a Trillanes incident in Makati, we were forced to go home early. Good thing Aaron had a plan B - Kozui :D

I saw Kozui in this month's edition of Yummy magazine as one of the must-try new Jap restaurants. It was a very G-R-E-E-N restaurant...inspired by, of course, Green Tea....kawaiii!!!

The place was so cute...the interior totally won me over and not to mention the Christmas Tree! Kozui for me was an interpretation of how a typical cozy yet modern cafe in Tokyo would look like.

The food was totally impressive. I had one of their Mint Tea Jelly Korichio (Php110). And for food, we ordered their must-try Special Tokayaki "Samurai Balls" (Php98) and Karaage Chicken Salad (Php178). Speaking of cake, Aaron ordered the Green Tea cheescake. Yumyum! Oh! And they serve mint water...cute right?!^_^'

Kozui Green Tea Cafe

258 Tomas Morato, QC.

11 a.m.-12:30am Tuesday-Saturday

4 p.m. - 12:30am Sunday-Monday

BReakfast & lUNCH @ The Fort

We decided to try something different. Instead of going out for dinner or lunch, we had breakfast and lunch together=) And we had both our meals at the Fort.

We arrived at the Fort 9:30-is and decided to walk along Bonifacio High Street to choose here to have breakfast. I brought my cam (of course!) so we could snap some pics along the way.

The morning sun was surprisingly scorching and most of the shops weren't open yet so we were left to choose between Krispy Kreme, Starbucks or Figaro. Aaron wanted to settle for Starbucks and yet I've managed to convince him to go to the Pancake House (Market! Market!) instead coz I was craving for some pancakes. I had their Seasonal Fruit (Mango) Pancakes with Orange Juice and Aaron had Continental Breakfast with Tea.

After breakfast, we strolled around wandering if we could start some Christmas shopping. 2 hours walking proved to be quite tiring but we still got to buy a couple of stuff (found the perfect pouch for my ipod^_^).

Lunctime! We had our late lunch at Chelsea Market and Cafe which is said to be inspired from the one and only Chelsea marketplace at the Big Apple. The menu was quite impressive yet we had no idea what to order=P Luckily, Aaron always have a good eye for something different. We had the Morrocan-Style Lamb Shank Tagine with Roasted Carrots and Zuccini Tabbouleh (a definite comfort) and Caprese Extreme. For drinks, Aaron had the Strawberry Iced Tea and I had the Peach Iced Tea which are our favorite respectively :D.

Average price per person would be around 500, but its worth it :) its a great place to enjoy with your loved ones :) though i wonder if the ambiance or atmosphere would be different at night.. its worth a try! Chelsea is already on our "We must go back to have more" list :)

what was left of our Peach (L) and Strawberry (R) Iced Tea

Here’s one side of the menu from Chelsea: