Trip Ko Lang

Thai cuisine in My Thai.. I’m not really into Thai foods cause of its distinct aroma and spiciness.. Though I have one favorite…the Bagoong Rice!   This is my usual order and I think I have tasted different Bagoong Rice from Johnny Chow, Zuppa Café and I think My Thai has the best so far… I just love the combination of green mango strips, scrambled egg, and sweet pork…Yumyum!

Bagoong Rice @230php

We also had Pad See Ew, one of Thai’s famous noodle dish… it’s made of flat rice noodles, with chicken, broccoli and in a very sweet sauce… loved the taste!

Pad See Ew @190php

We wanted another dish so we tried their Thai Fish Cakes, said to be a common street food in Thailand… it was also good and goes with a sweet chili sauce…

Thai Fish Cakes @165php

My Thai’s signature drink, Thai Iced Tea, milk tea similar to Nai Cha but with a sweeter and stronger taste…

Thai Iced Tea @95php

We definitely enjoyed dining at My Thai; the dishes we ordered were all delicious; will sure to be back to try other dishes except for the curry and spicy Thai dishes..

If you want real tasty Thai dishes, My Thai is a good place to dine, great taste, good food presentation, good for sharing and reasonably priced. We visited their Eastwood branch but My Thai now has different branches like in Gateway, Greenbelt, The Venice Piazza and other malls.

Here’s one latest restaurant in the Ayala Triangle Garden, Cheesesteaks, Burgers & Drinks (CBD)…this a good place to dine if you are looking for scrumptious comfort foods to fill your tummies…

We ordered for their NY Bacon Cheeseburger with big patty, cheese and bacon! Also had their CBD Cheeseburger, handmade ¼ lb. pure beef patty and cheddar… their burgers were definitely juicy, delicious and made with real beef…size is just right for anyone, well I was successful in finishing my burger, was so hungry that afternoon…

NY Bacon Cheeseburger @220php

Burgers are priced from 140php to 265php; while Cheesesteaks are priced from 245php to 310php. In addition, they also offer rice meals like Hickory Smoked Beef Brisket, Grilled Chicken Steak and Pure Beef Burger Steak all priced at 175php.

CBD CheeseBurger @160php

Fries were not included with their burgers, no value meals here, hehe! You can order separately and choose from French fries, curly French fries, Onion Rings, and Potato Strips.

French Fries Original @45php

Another special treat in CBD are their Shake & Bake Drinks – Milkshake + Favorite Cake, Blended Together… it was a tough decision and just ordered for Strawberry Short Cake, very rich flavor and a heavy drink but still a must have together with your Cheesesteaks or Burgers! All Shake & Bake drinks are priced at 140php; reasonable priced compare to other restaurants…

Strawberry Short Cake (Shake & Bake) @140php

It was a much filled tummy afternoon, thanks to CBD for a very yummy merienda….:)

CBD at Ayala Triangle Restaurants

This November 2011, Manila Ocean Park opened its latest attraction, Trails to Antarctica; our country’s first and only experience to see real Penguins…

Penguins at Manila Ocean Park

These Penguins are called the Humboldt Penguins that came from the west coast of South America. These Penguins were really fun to watch;  they swim so fast;  I think they love being photographed because there were posing for the cameras; eats a lot — you can avail of their feeding promo  (250php and up) which includes at least 2 fishes , some souvenir shots with the Penguins and have the best experience to get closer to the them.

Trail to Antarctica's Penguins

Here are some of my “best” Penguin shots… Hehehe! It was quite a challenge to take pictures because they were in a big aquarium, no flash photography and the glass was not that clear and clean…

Swimming Penguin

Penguins at Trails to Antarctica in Manila Ocean Park

Penguins at Trails to Antarctica in Manila Ocean Park

Another included attraction inside Trails to Antarctica is the Slide O’ Fun which is a big and long “Ice” slide…it was cool to go down this slide…you just have to be patient in lining up and waiting for your turn… and one ticket = one ride only.

Slide O' Fun

The Big Ice Slide

The 3^rd and last attraction is the Snow Village; we were advised that this should be the last stop to visit because this would also lead you to the exit of the whole Trails to Antarctica attraction. We entered by batches; were given jackets and warned not to use cameras and other electronic gadgets like cellphone, IPAD, etc. inside the Snow Village for it’s temperature was -15 degrees. They were not liable to any damage that can happen to your gadgets but you can take pictures at your OWN risk!

The Snow Village at Manila Ocean Park

But good thing, they have their own photographer which can take your souvenir shots inside the Snow Village and photo is priced at 100php per print. The Snow Village was just a very small area with benches, snow scenery/decors; super cold – it was like getting inside a freezer; can’t help but shiver! Ice floor was also a bit slippery so it’s good to wear appropriate shoes for it.

Here’s one of our souvenir shots, still we were able to SMILE and pose for the camera despite the super, super cold temperature…  :)

Snow Village Souvenir Shot @100php per print

Trails to Antarctica is a cool, fun, interesting and worth it attraction here in Manila Ocean Park. For only 300php you get to experience these 3 different attractions inside and Manila Ocean Park offers good packaged promos of this Penguin Exhibit with other different attractions. Cool, right? So, head now to Manila Ocean Park and don’t miss this one time opportunity to see real Penguins for this exhibit is only until January 2012.

It was one weekend of pure relaxation and food tripping at Nurture Spa Tagaytay… Dulang Restaurant is the only restaurant available inside Nurture Spa.  They are located in 2 areas; one in the 2^nd floor and another one at the back with a full view of the garden. (Photos will be included in my other blog )

Tuna Inasal @220php

During our dinner, we stayed near the garden for the romantic mood of low-light and night scenery.  We had Tuna Inasal and Chicken Kare-Kare Roulade…

Tuna Inasal is a pan roasted tuna fillet marinated with garlic anato, soy and citrus…had a simple taste but still good…

Chicken Kare-Kare Roulade @220php

While Chicken Kare-Kare Roulade is french chicken breast stuffed with Jullien Kare-Kare vegetables, under peanut puree sauce… this sauce was really great; chicken breast was tender and it was interesting to eat the stuffed vegetables inside… and also, we loved the bagoong… yumyum!

Turon at Langka with Ice Cream @120php

As for dessert, we ordered for their Turon at Langka with Ice Cream, sound simple, right? But I didn’t expect it to look like this… it was a special Turon; square shaped, and the wrapper was really yummy…made out of rice paper… and with ice cream on top…whoooo… we definitely loved and enjoyed every bite of it…

American Breakfast

As for our breakfast, we dined in their 2^nd floor area to get a new feeling of the place and a better and top view of the cool, sunny morning of the garden… it was a very relaxing sight!

We ordered for 1 American Breakfast; you have an option to choose between sausage and bacon and it comes with fried egg, toasted bread and butter…also with their fruits siding…

Tinapang Bangus

Also had Tinapang Bangus; crispy fried smoked milk fish with fried egg and garlic rice…

Both breakfast meals come with coffee or hot chocolate; their hot chocolate was great – it was so pure and sweet… loved it!

Hot Chocolate

By the way our breakfast was free with our accommodation, will have a different blog for that…

Dulang Restaurant serves very delicious dishes, enticing food presentation, reasonably priced and definitely a worthy and satisfying meal.

Dining in Dulang Restaurant made our stay in Nurture Spa more pleasant. Wishing we have this restaurant here in Manila…oh how we really wish…

We were invited to attend a coffee event entitled Latte Love; A Latte Art Workshop. It was held last October 22, 2011 in SM Megamall’s Prestige Lounge at 2pm to 5pm; sponsored by Krups and SM Homeworld.

Upon entrance, there were booths from Krups, Meadow Fresh Milk, TimTam, Folgers which offered free coffee, free milk, free chocolate and waffle. The free coffee was made from one of Krups espresso machines and used Folgers coffee beans which smelled and tasted really superb!  Loved it!

A Latte Art Workshop at SM Megamall Prestige Lounge

Mike Canlas, one of the Barista training instructors of Philippine Barista & Coffee Academy was the  main  speaker and talked about Coffees, how to make a Latte using the Krups Espresso machine, and together with 2 other Baristas showed how to do Latte Art…

KRUPS Espresso Machine

Here’s a quick step by step on how to do Latte Art and based on my understanding…

First, you have to froth milk in this type of container and can easily do it by using the Espresso machine; there’s a standard and desired consistency to have a perfect frothed milk.

Frothing Milk

When done, you can now pour your milk on your espresso coffee; with proper stroke or hand movement as you start creating your latte art… while watching it really looked easy but I doubt if I can come up with any figure if I’ll be doing it…Haha!

Pouring the Milk

Then, if needed you can also do some etching or any additional design for your Latte Art using the proper tool just like this…

Etching; designing your art

Here’s a sample of Latte Art – a perfect leaf for your espresso…

Finished product - Latte Art

Thanks to these wonderful Baristas who made Lattes more interesting and demonstrated effectively how to do Latte Art.  Philippine Barista & Coffee Academy offers offers short courses on Latte Art and other coffee trainings. You can check out their website to know more.

Baristas from Philippine Barista & Coffee Academy, Inc.

A Latte Art Contest was also conducted with some audience as participants. It was a fun activity, they made their own espresso and created their own Latte Art… Best Latte Art made was acknowledged and given a prize.

Latte Art Contest

Also, the famous coffee painter, Ms. Sunshine Plata was another speaker that afternoon. She talked about how she started coffee painting, shared some of her works and her great success in this form of art. You can check out her website to see her works.

This Latte Art workshop was a very interesting and fun event; I learned more about coffee and art; also inspired me that I can be a Barista at home and create my own Latte Arts… which I hope to do during my free time…

I’m already a coffee lover and this event made me appreciate coffee more! Love it!