Twilight and Dusit Thani

Saturday, November 29, 2008



Watched Twilight on the first day of showing with Vanj. As usual the book is always, always better than the movie. Afterwards food trip at Dusit Thani. This resto has been around Glorietta but I never dare to try it. Well, its about time..




...thai iced tea with milk

I tried better thai tea before but Dusit Thai version is okay, a bit sweet though.



tom yum kung (chicken tom yum)...

This is really good. Its like sinigang with a kick of thai spices. Very good indeed.




...bagoong rice

Just a mediocre. nothing special.





pad thai...

It's stir-fried rice noodles with bean sprouts, chicken, red chili flakes, peanuts and coriander. Vanj was raving on this.



...chicken sate

Chunks of chicken on skewers, marinated in turmeric then grilled. It comes with peanut sauce and cucumber salad. Turmeric somehow tasted like curry to me and I don't like it. Vanj don't like curry too but somehow she was able to consume two sticks.




crispy shrimps...

Shrimps wrapped in wanton noodles (I think) then deep-fried. Comes with spicy sauce. This dish is definitely a winner.


You're maybe wondering. There's just the two of us and we ordered a lot? Well, Dusit Thani's menu is way too extensive. It's a food trip so we have to try everything. And we're so glad we did.



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Shooting sa bahay...

Saturday, November 15, 2008


Okay, I missed blogging and there's so many things I wanted to share. Let me start with this...


A few weeks ago some director have been visiting our home taking pictures and trying to negotiate with my mother about a movie they're making and they wanted our unit to be part of it. We were like okay, so when it's gonna happen?


It was Wednesday, my day off when all of a sudden I heard this banging noise in front of our unit waking me up from my beauty sleep. And I was like what the heck is going on? I was force to get out of my bed and went to our living room only to find out workers of ABS-CBN making a holocaust. All our stuffs scattered everywhere. As it appeared my mother was instructed to have every single furniture in our living room removed. And they mean everything. Well, my mother basically can't do that her self so she was there to show the guys where to put where. They even installed props door and windows as replacement for our own. By the way, for those who didn't know me I happen to live in a building called Tenement and this movie is taking place in that building inside our unit and they were actually taking the name of the building for the movie. How great is that? Anyway, here's what it looked like after the catastrophe...



...grafitti all throughout the stairways just to make it looked like the building is abandoned





some more of vandalism here and there...





...front of our unit. If a relative of ours happens to revisit us and wonder "am i lost or what?". Just look at the newly installed door and grill-less windows. You'll prolly say "Anna doesn't live here" LOL!





And there's more. They changed our unit number from 302 to 308. I can here them say now "Surely we got the wrong house" ^_^...





...a neighbor peeking to see what had happened to our place. Our living room looked completely different without furnitures. And hey they added some curtains.





In the room next to ours, here is what they did. A dress shop with a scary looking mannequin...





...the friendly staffs of ABS-CBN





the camera man preparing his precious tool...



Shooting will not be complete without the stars. By the way, did I mention who are included in the cast? Here's the list according to my sister-in-law.


  • Maricel Soriano

  • Eric Fructuoso

  • Derek Ramsey

  • Tetchie Agbayani

  • Camille Prats

  • Kaye Brosas

  • Mica - the little sister of Angelica Dela Cruz


I'm sorry but I'm not really sure if I got them all right but these were the names according to my sister-in-law who's always in the knows of the progress of the movie. She (and my mother) were kinda chum with the coordinator, the director Chito Ronio and his assistant directors and staffs of ABS-CBN so she's always updated. Most of the time I'm in the office when they're filming so I didn't get the chance to meet all the stars. I was able to take pictures though of Camille and Mica together with my mother. And as for the diamond star, whenever I ask to take picture of her and Eric she always seemed not in the mood. Now, really I'm not a fan of her but Eric is so good looking and I definitely want a picture with him. The problem is they were always together and her PA was always blocking me whenever I try to snap a pic of Eric, the hunk. Derek, they said is a heart throb but I did't get a chance to meet him or even just a glimpse of him because his filming days always doesn't fall on my day off. BOOOO!!!!



This is Mica, smiling sweetly at my camera. While waiting for her turn she hangs out with us inside our room. She talks like an adult and ask a lot of questions. She is so adorable...





...together with my mother





Camille taking a break...she's so pretty in person and nice enough to have her picture taken




...my mother just loves to have her picture taken with celebs :-)




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Isla Boracay - Part 3


After the late lunch, we headed back to our room to get some sleep. Satisfied with our superb lunch we slept til 9pm. Just in time for some late dinner and for partying. We got a tip from Jorge (the guy from Sunny Fun Tours) that party time starts at 10pm. He informed us all the party places to visit. He also reminded us not to stay up too late cos we still have to wake up early for the fun tour the next day. Yeah right.

And the place to be that night was...Cocomangas. Yooohooo!!! As per Jo's recommendation we should check out this bar and look for Chico, the super hottie guy who owns the place. Alright, Chico the sight to see :-)

Cocomanagas was still empty when we arrived so we chose to have dinner first. I was craving for some tacos and remembered Jo mentioning this really nice Mexican resto called Mañana. We were so hungry (again) that we almost gave up looking for it. On our way we found this lovely sand castle. We tried to take some pictures but was told that a donation of whatever amount is needed.



And Mañana was spotted. Upon looking at their menu, I've noticed how extensive it was. So many good stuffs to try so little money. It's really hard to decide what to order. I told the wait staff we'll have tacos first and if we're still hungry we'll order another dish. However, the wait staff said they're taking in the last order for the night. Awww! Here's our order:

tacos...



...chicken tostada? tostadillas? wuteva!!! sorry, but this dish is forgettable


The tacos was great. They served it with 4 different sauces but I think they tasted good without them. As for the tostada/tostadillas, it was a sad, sad, sad dish. It may look good on the pic but not on my taste buds. I can barely tastes the chicken or should I say I didn't tastes any chicken at all. Worst of all its stale (in my opinion I guess). I asked Josh to try them for me but he said it's good. He even finished his share so it means he liked it. Oh well, I don't know if it's just me or probably they served us the not so fresh ingredients.

If only I haven't heard much raves about this place but considering that we dine here almost closing time perhaps I'll give it a second chance. Just a tip, if you're planning to eat here. Be there by breakfast or lunchtime to make sure you'll get the freshest of the fresh ingredients.

Back to Cocomangas, the place was packed mostly with Koreans (they're everywhere!). Talk about Korean colonization in Boracay hehe. Anyway, this sign welcomed us...



Yeah an entrace fee and it's not even consumable. Tsk tsk. Inside we managed to get a seat at the farthest end of the place near the bar because that's the only place available. We checked out the bar but Chico wasn't there. Instead we saw this middle aged foreigner. His father maybe? We so wanted to get drunk that night so we shied away from beer and ordered their famous Illusion Shaker. It's a combination of vodka, triple sec, blue curacao and pineapple juice. A perfect mix to get wasted haha!



It's like your usual cocktail. Fruity with a little kick. After finishing the entire jar we were like "That's it? Wala namang effect."Hence, a refill! This time we spotted Chico. We figured Cocomangas has 2 bars and Chico was at the bar near the entrance. So off we went to the second bar and chatted a bit with him. He was nice enough to have his picture taken. Take a look...



Please people forget my very white face. That's because of the flash but sheeshhh, isn't he a Wentworth Miller look-a-likey? Only in tan color. And he is way way better looking in person than this pic :-)

Josh was curious with these...


>

a little closer...




Now, now we finally figured these out when we got back to Manila. It's actually the hall of fame for "Still Standing After 15". And we missed this one. Shucks. So to explain further what it's all about here's a description from Cocomangas website: Cocomangas has a shooter list of 15 mixed shots, poured before you. If you are still standing after 15, you will have your name engrave on the wall of fame and win a Cocomangas T-shirt.

We were about to finish our 2nd jar of illusion shaker when I started to feel the alcohol kick getting into me. Already then, time to go back to our place. Seriously, I got so drunk that I threw up twice. Ewwwww talaga! Next thing I knew I was hitting the bed and passed out.

The next day was spent island hopping and snorkeling. We were so excited about it that we didn't finish breakfast. To save money we joined Sunny Fun Tours. For 600 pesos you will enjoy whole day of island hopping, snorkeling with gears and buffet lunch. The fun tour started at 10:30am. There were 24 of us on a huge trigger boat. First stop was at a snorkeling spot which I forgot the name.

I noticed there were several diving boats in the area so it could mean it's a diving site as well. Somehow I was wishing I am diving instead of snorkeling. But then with all those boats around it can be really really scary if you shoot up without any warning. That's why safety diving practices are very important. On the second thought maybe I'm better off snorkeling than diving :-)

Next stop was Crystal Cave. You will have to pay 150 pesos if you wanted to get inside to explore the caves. There are 2 caves you can visit for some photo ops.



way to cave 1...



...stairs to get inside cave 1


You will need to trek a bit going to the next cave but it's not really that tough because of the paved ways and of course you will enjoy the sight of the ocean from above...

paved way...



the sight from above...



some serious spelunking here...



...and you will get to see this


After the spelunking activity off we went to another island for the lunch buffet. Lunch was superb. Everyone was hungry. I completely forgot to take pictures of the food. Anyway, the buffet consisted of chicken and pork barbecue, shrimps, chopsuey, green shells, grilled fish, squid, fruits and soft drinks of your choice. Water refill was free here so we took advantage of this by bringing 2 empty bottles of mineral water. I'm telling you guys once more. Soft drinks and drinking water in Boracay is highway robbery so if you can bring them with you do so.

Next stop was to another snorkeling site. Again, I forgot the name of the site. We missed Crocodile island because of strong current that time. Last stop was in Pucca Beach. Though it didn't have the oh-so white and fine sands like in White Beach it was still a lovely beach. I liked the feel of having the beach all to ourselves. Nicey! Pucca beach is famous for its pucca shells, the only place where you can get them. Natives made these shells into bracelets, anklets and necklaces. Upon docking here, our camera finally gave up on us :-( We had to use Josh's phone so we can still get some pics. And as of writing this, Josh's phone got broken and all our pictures gone. Sadness.

We got back to our resort at past 5pm. I so wanted to get a glimpse of the sunset but we missed it. Tired from the fun tour we just decided to freshen up and take an early dinner at Jonah's.

jonah's famous milkshake...



...pizza quattro stagioni with parma ham (not sure if i got it right)



beef pepper steak...



First of all, let me just say that this is the best milkshake I've ever had. I tried doing this at home but I can't seem to make it as thick and super yummy like Jonah's. It's around 100+php but the serving was big so it's so worth it. I love my pizza in super thin crust so I can savor the flavors of all the toppings and here in Jonah's they make perfect thin crust pizza. It's so thin like cracker but still chewy. As for the toppings it's laden generously with cheese and parma ham. I likey! Josh enjoyed his pepper steak, too. I tried to taste it and it's delish. After dinner we went back to Cocomangas to celebrate our last night in Borocay.

The next morning we spent buying pasalubong and getting a henna tattoo. Sorry but no more pictures to show off. Okay peeps I know tinatamad na kayong magbasa at tinatamad na rin me magkwento. Basta, over all we had a blast and I'm definitely going back. Till next time Boracay!


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Isla Boracay - Part 2

Sunday, November 9, 2008


Villa de Oro is the name of the resort where we stayed during our trip. It's located between Station 2 and 3, near the police station. Josh's relative owns the resort so we were given a hefty discount for an air conditioned room with 2 beds, private bathroom and cable TV. And did I mention it's a beach front resort? Yeah, coolness! Aside from the fact that its beach front, their cottages were so cute. The landscape, the exteriors, the way they conceptualized the place was so rustic and homey and I liked it. The resort itself has a lot of photo opportunities for photographer wannabes like us haha!

I think the only letdown for the resort was its location. It's too far from party places in Station 1. Since we don't like walking that much because it's time and energy consuming we needed to hire trikes to get to Station 1 which cost about 50-60 pesos depending on the driver. But then again Station 1, 2 and 3 offers plenty of party places. I guess it all boils down to your preference.

Overall , the place was really nice and I can't understand why there's not much good reviews about Villa de Oro. Before going to Boracay, we tried to do some research on the internet about the resort. Most of the reviews we were getting were not so nice and because of that we had second thoughts if we really wanted to stay there. Well, so much for the bad reviews. It's a good thing we stayed at Villa de Oro and I'm definitely giving them a thumps up for a nice place and good service. Pardon the photos for we got a really bad camera and most of the time we have to rely on our phone's camera :-( Anyway, its better than no pictures at all, right?


our room...



...on a different angle



looking outside...



jellybean at the veranda...



...nicey chairs for chilling out


After refreshing ourselves, we started to explore the island and tried to find a resto where we can eat our heart out. You just can't imagine how freakin' tired we were from ZestAir's "amazing" flight and super hungry because our last meal was like 9 hours ago and that was our breakfast from Jollibee. Yeah, our flight was delayed and to make up to that ZestAir served us with some corned beef meal from some unknown Chinese resto. No, but thank you. It happened that Josh and I were not fans of corned beef so we didn't eat it.

Okay enough of ranting. Back to business of searching for food. We're in Boracay and its just fitting to have seafood, right? It's our first time in Boracay and we noticed that its so hard to concentrate looking for a place to eat when there were so many distractions. There were locals selling crafts and souvenirs, offering boats to rent, different activities you can try on the island, body massage, henna or tattoos and the list could go on and on. Then I saw the booth of Sunny Fun Tours. I've heard of them from some Boracay forums so we decided to check it out. A guy named Jorge filled us in about the activities included in the fun tours. He knows good sales talk and before we knew it we were making reservations.

A few feet away from Sunny Fun Tours we saw the signage for D'Talipapa. Happy, happy, joy, joy!!! D'Talipapa is Boracay's version of Dampa. You search for fresh goodies and they will cook it. We settled for this resto called Sunset Turo-Turo and Grill. We make turo-turo the seafood we like and they will cook it the way we wanted.








josh, delirious from hunger nyahaha!!!



And our food...eyeluvit!

super yummy sinigang na hipon



lip smacking buttered shrimp...


delish grilled tuna belly...


All the dishes were soooo good. The sinigang had just about the right sourness on it and they didn't use those instant powder base sinigang mix. The buttered shrimp was excellent. It tasted a bit sweet. Not sure if they put some sugar or peanut butter(?)on it. Anyhoo, we lurve it. The grilled tuna was perfect. It actually tasted like steak. They probably used really good marinade. Now, now, the turn off here is the prices of their soft drinks. A 1.5 liter Coke costs 75 bucks. An 8 ounce Coke costs 25 bucks. Super duper RIP OFF!!! So my tip, bring as much water and soft drinks as you can. Apparently, this isn't just in Sunset Turo-Turo but the entire Boracay island.

That's it for now. I promise to post more next time. Cheers!




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