Two weeks ago, my good friend Betty Jane came home to Manila with her hubby for a 2-week vacation. It's been two years since I last saw her when she moved to New Jersey. We met up for dinner to catch up.
Betty was craving for Japanese food espcially for mochi ice cream. There are quite a few of Jap restos in the Greenbelt area but none served mochi ice cream (not that I know of). We ended up dining at Thousand Cranes Shabu-shabu which wasn't bad at all. Shabu-shabu is the Japanese variant of hot-pot where you cook the meat variants, seafoods, and vegetables in a boiling broth. You can also create your own dipping sauce.
Thousand Cranes Shabu-shabu at GB2
I guess everyone's not that hungry but we ordered the Assorted Meat shabu-shabu which consisted of pork, beef, and lamb meat. There were also veggies and noodles included in the platter.
On our table
We also ordered two bottles of Jinro to go with our food. It's taste is comparable to vodka although lightly sweeter.
Jinro
Each of us has our own pot of broth where we can cook our food. So it depends if you like to make your soup spicy or not.
I'm not sure why my food tasted bland no matter how many seasonings I put on it. It tasted all the same. I guess the only consolation I get is the warm soup with the all the meat on it. I created a separate dip but it didn't improve the taste of the meat. Be sure to cook the meat well since it will take time before it's ready to be eaten. After all, you wouldn't want to suffer from stomach ache because of eating raw meat.
Although I did not enjoy much the taste of my food, I still enjoyed the company of my friends. It's also worth noting that the servers are attentive to your needs. They would offer to make your own sauce and would check if you need a soup refill, The cooking stoves were also easy to control.
During my 13-day trip in Singapore, we squeezed in a weekend trip to Batam, Indonesia.
Batam is one of the largest islands in the Riau archipelago in Indonesia. It’s
just a 40-minute ferry ride from Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal in Singapore.
Batam is popular to Singaporeans looking for a short weekend getaway close
to Singapore.
There are a number of luxury hotels and golf courses and shopping malls here
which sell cheaper items compared in Singapore.
Two weeks before my trip to Singapore, we booked an overnight Getaway
package at BatamViewBeach Resort for SGD 236 for two persons. This include roundtrip ferry transfer, seaport taxes, land
transfers, one-night superior room accommodation, buffet breakfast, free use of
gym facilities and pool, and a sea sport activity. Erick and I wanted to get
away from Singapore
for the weekend without burning a hole in the pocket and this was the cheapest
travel deal we got.
We arrived at the Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal at
8AM and collected our ferry tickets at the counter of New Century Tours Pte
Ltd. Our departure cards have been filled up based on the information I
provided them through email. Our ferry bound to Batam will be leaving at 9AM
and we will arrive there still at 9AM. Indonesia
time is 1-hr behind Singapore.
The ferry ride was smooth and fast. Within 40
minutes, we are already in another country – Indonesia! I sometimes wish that Philippines is
near to its neighbor countries so we can country hop from one to another. But then, I love the fact that Philippines
is kind of isolated from the rest of Asia. It
makes the Philippines a must-travel destination.
Upon arriving at Nongsa Ferry Terminal, we were
welcomed by the hotel staff who got our passports for fast immigration
clearance. It was good since we didn’t have to queue for immigration anymore.
But I just didn’t like that they kept our passports during our whole stay in
Batam. We only got them back when we checked out.
Another 15-20 minute ride and finally we are arrived at
Batam View Beach Resort. From the look of the hotel building, you know that the hotel is old and was probably one of the first resorts in the island. It is already past its glory days. But we already expected this based from the reviews we read at Trip Advisor. Since it was still early for check-in, we requested the front desk staff for a cab to bring us to the Nagoya Hill Shopping Mall. There’s actually a free shuttle for SGD 5 roundtrip but the reservation is full. We paid SGD 20
for one-way taxi fare.
It didn’t take long maybe just 40 minutes and we
were already in NagoyaHillShopping Mall around 10am. It was the so-called largest
shopping mall in Batam. If I could describe it, it’s like GreenhillsShopping Center in Manila with all the gadget and
clothing stores. It has a supermarket – Hypermart where you can go grocery
shopping a lot cheaper compared to Singapore
supermarkets. We tried to look for the Polo outlet store but we failed to see it. We scoured the whole mall but there was none. Suprisingly, Adidas store was the only popular clothing brand we saw in the mall.
Here are a few things we did.
I’ve been reading in forums that A&W used to be a
popular fastfood chain in Singapore
but it closed. So we ate there just to see what’s the fuss all about.
Their chicken meals are actually good – in terms
of fastfood standards.
And we loved the rootbeer float too!
We also bought donuts from J.Co. Half-dozen donut only
costs Rp 34,000 (Php 150+). Cheap but good! I loved the Japanese matcha green tea donut. I know that
they recently opened a branch in Megamall but I haven’t been there lately.
I wasn’t really keen in buying anything until I
saw the Wacoal store and with 50% off sign, I didn’t think twice to get in. I
bought some really cute pair - bra and undies at half the price. Yay! I think it I only bought it for Php400-500.
We also checked Matahari – a leading department store in Indonesia and I bought another Wacoal. It was around Rp 110,000 or Php 500+.
We bought some snacks in the supermarket like the
much-raved Chitato chips and kue lapis. I also bought one tub of Purbasari
lulur. Read my Batam shopping finds here.
It was past 1pm when we decided to go back to the hotel. We just bought take-away food from Ayam Penyet Ria to eat at the hotel. We hailed a cab outside and agreed to pay equivalent of SGD 20 for the one-way fare.
A day out in the mall in Batam was tiring but fun because of our good eats and great finds. Our Batam View Beach Resort experience coming up in the next post :)
What’s the best way to celebrate a special day with a loved one? For me, it’s by indulging in good food. Erick and
I celebrated our anniversary by dining out at Kiseki Japanese Buffet at the
Hereen. We’ve always loved buffet and took our time to try all the
dishes offered in the buffet while enjoying each other’s company.
Kiseki Japanese Buffet prides itself as the mega
Japanese buffet in mini prices. It is located at the basement of The Hereen in
Orchard Road. We dined on a weekday dinner and paid SGD 63.60 for two, plus 10%
service charge at SGD 6.36 and 7% GST at 4.90 for a total of SGD 74.86 (Php 2545).
This was my dinner treat to Erick since he’s the
one who’s been spending whenever we’re out in SG :) Thanks love! I told him to meet me at Somerset
MRT at 6pm after work. We got there a bit early and the restaurant was
just getting ready to open. But I’m glad we’re one of the first few customers.
The restaurant was huge almost occupying the whole basement floor. There are many tables which is suitable for big groups of friends and families. There are also different sections which you can choose to be seated plus there's a kids play area where your children can be left to play.
There are many stations in the buffet. You will
be overwhelmed where to start first.
We started in the maki and sushi sections for
our appetizer which is near the entrance of the restaurant. I used to not like eating raw but now it’s quite funny that sometimes I feel a craving to have tuna
sashimi.
There’s a full salad bar where you can customize
your own salad with the freshest vegetables and seafood with a home-made salad
dressing.
If you enjoy cold seafoods, there’s a cold
selection where crabs, prawns, scallops, clams, and mussels are plentiful. The
sashimi counter is just beside it.
So okay enough for the raw selections, if you
fancy something grilled, there’s a grilling section where you can select your
meat and ask the chef to grill them for you. We had some grilled beef and
squid. You can also personalize your own pasta by choosing the toppings, sauce,
and pasta. We had a seafood and bacon carbonara.
When ordering something grilled, you have to clip your table number to your plate and you don't have to wait for your food to be cooked. The food attendant will just deliver the food to your table.
The robatayaki counter offers various grilled
selections like chicken meatballs, shitake mushroom, and salmon belly. Shrimp lovers will be delighted to find out that
during the buffet night, tempura was all over the menu – ebi tempura, tendon,
kakiage, tempura udon, and more.
There’s an okonomiyaki station if you're craving for some savory Japanese pancake with a variety of
ingredients.
Erick loves soup and he was delighted to find that there was a nabemono bar offering shabu-shabu dishes. From the selection, you can customize what to be included in your shabu-shabu. We chose the hotpot with assorted meat, naruto maki, squid balls, and veggies.
After three hours of gluttonous eating, we are left with full stomachs and maybe a few pounds gained. We are two happy eaters.
I always save the best for last..desserts! There are quite a few selection but what we really loved was the Swiss chocolate roll. It was heavenly!
There were other desserts like mango pudding, flamingo mousse, fresh fruit slices, brownies, cupcakes, and even green tea ice cream. By the way, drinks are refillable and you can choose from fruit juices, sodas, coffee, tea.
Overall, our dining experience at Kiseki was good. My rating would be:
Food: 4/5 Ambiance: 4/5 Service: 5/5 Value for money: 4/5
Kiseki will be moving to another location at Level 8, Orchard Central in June 2012. Visit Kiseki's website, print the voucher, and present at the new Orchard Central outlet to take advantage of an exclusive offer.
As much as we wanted to
stay longer in Java Hotel for its unique ambiance, the second day of our
northern exposure trip meant more sights to see.
I <3 Ilocos Norte
On the second day, we toured
Ilocos Norte and its nearby sights. Our first stop was Marcos Mausoleum but
taking photos of Marcos' preserved corpse (if it really it was) was not allowed. We had the chance to view the late President Ferdinand Marcos' refrigerated corpse and it kinda looked like it was made of wax. The nearby Marcos museum was closed for renovation so there isn't much to see.
Marcos' presidential plate numbers
Paoay Church is one of
the grandest churches I’ve ever seen. If I were an Ilocano, I would probably
want to get married here someday. From every angle, the church exudes a very
elegant and grand façade. Paoay church is included in the UNESCO World
Heritage list and known for its unique combination of baroque, gothic, and
oriental designs.
Then, we drove for another 30 minutes or
so to Malacanang of the North. It is locally called ‘Malacanang
ti Amianan’. The Malacanang of the North is the official residence of the late President
Ferdinand Marcos in Ilocos. It was constructed on a land projecting the
Paoay Lake.
Malacanang of the North
in the grand staircase
We toured around the house and saw the many rooms of the Marcos
clan. I was surprised to know that the the former first couple has separate bedrooms
in the house.
Marcoses matrimonial bed
After touring most of the major sites in
Ilocos Sur, we travelled to Pagudpud after lunch. We trekked to Kabigan Falls in 30 minutes and dipped in
its very cool water and enjoyed our take-out pinakbet pizza from Herencia Cafe.
Kabigan Falls
And
finally, we headed to Pagudpud which we were all looking forward to..beach!!!!
We stayed at Hannah’s Beach Resort in Blue Lagoon (Maira-ira Beach).
Blue fishing boats in Pagudpud
Since
everyone was so excited to hit the beach, we waited no longer to swim in Blue
Lagoon’s inviting water. We
owned the beach to ourselves.
Chillaz by the beach
The beach is just perfect as well as really intimate and
perfect for those long walks in the beach, if you get what I mean :D Blue Lagoon is actually a beach cove so you can walk from one end of the cove to another.
:)
We’d stop to
appreciate the serenity of the place as well as the interesting rock
formations. I don’t know, maybe we were just there on an off-peak so we had the beach to ourselves which is not bad at all.
If you're looking for a serene and white sand beach in the North, Pagudpud is the beach to be.
My friends
find it hard to believe when I say I haven’t gone to Ilocos. With my regular weekend
escapades, a place like Ilocos could be toured and squeezed into one weekend.
So anyways, I finally crossed the Ilocandia region off my travel list when my
friends and I impulsively booked for a promo flight (of course!).
My
Ilocos travel was one of the more memorable and 'bang for the buck' trips I’ve
made.
The food was absolutely delish but as you know that I like the food after the main meal. I ordered their tsokolate batirol. I love its very chocolatey taste and its bits.
Tsokolate batirol
After
our hearty lunch, we walked along Calle Crisologo and checked on some old houses and souvenir
shops. Calle Crisologo is a cobbled-stone street where you can see old Spanish
houses dating back from the 18th century. It’s great to know that
these antique houses have been preserved through time. It’s like walking in the
past; the atmosphere at Calle Crisologo will make you feel that you are
walking 300 years ago.
Calle Crisologo
And yeah, we stopped for some ice cream to beat the afternoon heat.
We want ice cream!
At
the end of the half-kilometer street is the Crisologo museum/ancestral home.
The Crisologos are one of the prominent families in the province aside from the
Marcoses. The museum houses the family’s memorabilia and private collection,
and some exhibit.
Crisologo Museum
We then proceeded to the nearby Syquia Mansion owned by the family of the late President Elpidio Quirino. I am really fascinated with old houses. The two-storey and cream painted Syquia Mansion is a charming old house. You will be awed by the big sizes of bedrooms and the furniture are chosen with great flair. There was even a replica of the Spolarium in the house.
Guided tour at Syquia Mansion
I also learned that the Quirino family stays here whenever they're in the province. The kitchen and dining room are modern and some rooms are well-maintained.
Our tour guide shared that Cory Quirino, the late president’s granddaughter,
stays in the ancestral house from time to time.
I
love history so touring around Vigan and knowing gritty-bitty of history is a
treat for me. I know! Call me nerd :P
I’m
not sure if you have heard of Chavit Singson’s Baluarte in Vigan. It is a
zoo where you can interact with the animals. At the same time, you can stroll in the animal
sanctuary where some animals freely roam around. You’ll
be amazed that all these sorts of animals which are endangered can be found at
the Baluarte.
Chavit Singson's Baluarte
Rio!
There is no admission fee to the zoo so why not.
Watcha lookin' at?
Oh deer!
Our last stop for the day is Hidden Garden. The Hidden Garden is a plant and flower garden where you can find every kind of plant that grows on the soil and rocks as well as some hanging plants. They have a coffee shop where you can order your favorite fruit shake and Ilocos empanada.
At Hidden Garden
Ilocos empanada
After
our day tour, we traveled back to Laoag City which will be our homebase for the
night. Day 2 of Ilocos tour is up next!
