Seated L-R: Tim, Daniele, Tita Zeny, Tita Socky, Mom, Me, Annie, Nica
Standing L-R: Ralph, Hubby, Margie, Patricia, Dennis, Jacob, Ashley, Angel, JJ, Patrick, Ate Gigi
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Our Family Pic
Check out family picture last Sunday. Part one of despedida party for my cousin Annie and her family. They're moving to Canada in two weeks. I will miss the kids :-(
Seated L-R: Tim, Daniele, Tita Zeny, Tita Socky, Mom, Me, Annie, Nica
Standing L-R: Ralph, Hubby, Margie, Patricia, Dennis, Jacob, Ashley, Angel, JJ, Patrick, Ate Gigi
Seated L-R: Tim, Daniele, Tita Zeny, Tita Socky, Mom, Me, Annie, Nica
Standing L-R: Ralph, Hubby, Margie, Patricia, Dennis, Jacob, Ashley, Angel, JJ, Patrick, Ate Gigi
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Conti's
There's a restaurant in BF that we consider as the old standby whenever we need eat something homey, delicious and reasonably priced. Conti's has been in BF for as long as I remember. They are famous for their desserts and asado roll, which my mom used to line up for (when she still lived in BF). My mom would go there very early in the morning and line up.
Hubby and I go there for their delicious food and reasonable prices. The head waiter already knows us so we always get good service. It's been a while since we dined there.
We tried the Symphony Salad which is a new entry on their menu. It's basically salad greens with slivered almonds, tomatoes in a sweet and tangy tomato dressing. The dressing is similar to Pancake house's Taco Salad.
My favorite is the Grilled Pork Chop with Mushroom Risotto. I love their mushroom gravy and the risotto. A true blue risotto, I learned, spread around the plate when you give it a little jiggle. Technically, Conti's risotto is not really risotto but a creamy rice dish since it does not resemble a "lugaw-like" consistency when you give it a little jiggle. But I love it anyway. There was a time when I ate this at least once a week :-)
Hubby likes the Beef Salpicao. He said that their recipe improved since the last time he had it.
Our super duper favorite dessert there is the Frozen Mango Tart. Sweet pie crust with mango cream and fresh mangoes on top. Yummy!
Hubby and I go there for their delicious food and reasonable prices. The head waiter already knows us so we always get good service. It's been a while since we dined there.
We tried the Symphony Salad which is a new entry on their menu. It's basically salad greens with slivered almonds, tomatoes in a sweet and tangy tomato dressing. The dressing is similar to Pancake house's Taco Salad.
My favorite is the Grilled Pork Chop with Mushroom Risotto. I love their mushroom gravy and the risotto. A true blue risotto, I learned, spread around the plate when you give it a little jiggle. Technically, Conti's risotto is not really risotto but a creamy rice dish since it does not resemble a "lugaw-like" consistency when you give it a little jiggle. But I love it anyway. There was a time when I ate this at least once a week :-)
Hubby likes the Beef Salpicao. He said that their recipe improved since the last time he had it.
Our super duper favorite dessert there is the Frozen Mango Tart. Sweet pie crust with mango cream and fresh mangoes on top. Yummy!
OLP Blessing
Check out our pics last Sunday:
My mom prepared two of her specialties:
Amish-style Beef Stew made with her own secret sauce and Molo soup. Both crowd pleasers.
We also had Frozen Bazo de Mercedes. Graham cracker crust layered with vanilla ice cream, yellow creamy filling and the soft meringue on top. Yummy!
We had the 3 essential F's...Food...Fun...and Family!
My mom prepared two of her specialties:
Amish-style Beef Stew made with her own secret sauce and Molo soup. Both crowd pleasers.
We also had Frozen Bazo de Mercedes. Graham cracker crust layered with vanilla ice cream, yellow creamy filling and the soft meringue on top. Yummy!
We had the 3 essential F's...Food...Fun...and Family!
Friday, July 4, 2008
Bangkok, Day 3 (Part 2) - Siam Ocean World
Siam Ocean World, Bangkok is located at the basement of Siam Paragon Mall. It's a famous day trip tourist attraction. Very convenient and comfortable to visit. Entrance fee is BHT750 for adults. The fee already includes the 4D Theatre and a Glass Bottom Boat Ride.
For BHT5,000 more, you can even go swimming with the fishes :-)
A must-see when you're in Bangkok. I will definitely go back here.
For BHT5,000 more, you can even go swimming with the fishes :-)
A must-see when you're in Bangkok. I will definitely go back here.
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Bangkok, Day 3 (Part 1)- Temple Tour
For our first Saturday adventure, hubby and I went on a Temple Tour. We hired a tour guide and car for BHT2,000 each to take us through three of the most famous temples in Bangkok:
Wat Traimit, Temple of the Golden Buddha
Thailand's Golden Buddha is largest golden Buddha Image in the world, made of pure gold. The image is unrivalled in beauty, measuring 12 feet 5 inches in diametre and has a height of 15 feet 9 inches from the base to the crown and it weighs approximately 5 tons. Now more than 700 years old, it is a valuable treasure of Thailand and one of the most famous tourist attractions in the country. The Buddha image is originally covered in plaster to conceal its real value from Thailand's enemies. They only discovered the treasure underneath in 1955 where the temple was renovated and the plaster was accidentally damaged, thus revealing the 5-ton solid gold image of the Buddha.
Here at the Golden Buddha Temple, you can be blessed by one of the monks with holy water and a symbolic string is tied to your wrist for good luck.
Our guide told us that for every corresponding day, there's a particular color that is considered as your lucky color. The king was born on a Friday, hence the abundant yellow colors around Thailand. There's also different Buddha position or "attitudes". Depending on the day that you were born, you pray to that Buddha. In the case of our guide, he was born on a Tuesday and he prays to the reclining Buddha. His lucky color is pink :-)
Wat Po, Temple of the Reclining Buddha
Wat Pho is the one of the largest and oldest wat in Bangkok (with an area of 50 rai, 80,000 square metres), and is home to more than one thousand Buddha images, as well as one of the largest single Buddha images: the Reclining Buddha. Made as part of Rama III's restoration, the Reclining Buddha is forty-six metres long and fifteen metres high, decorated with gold plating on his body and mother of pearl on his eyes and the soles of his feet. The latter display 108 auspicious scenes in Chinese and Indian styles.
The Wat Pho complex consists of two walled compounds bisected by Soi Chetuphon running east-west. The northern walled compound is where the reclining Buddha and massage school are found. The southern walled compound, Tukgawee, is a working Buddhist monastery with monks in residence and a school.
(From Wikepedia)
Wat Arun, Temple of Dawn
The famous Wat Arun, perhaps better known as the Temple of the Dawn, is one of the best known landmarks and one of the most published images of Bangkok. It consists of a massive elongated prang (Khmer-style tower), and is surrounded by four smaller prangs. The prang is described by the Tourism Authority of Thailand as 104m high, while most other sources quote figures around 80-85m. It is decorated by bits of porcelain which had previously been used as ballast by boats coming to Bangkok from China, a hallmark of the reign of King Rama III. The Wat had a brief period as host of the celebrated Emerald Buddha, which now resides in nearby Wat Phra Kaew.
(from Into-asia.com)
The Temple Tour certainly is interesting and entertaining. Be sure to wear socks and easy to remove shoes since you'll be taking them off every time you enter the temples. I particularly like the elaborate decorations found on the temples themselves. I advice everyone who take this tour to always bring cold water with you. Daytime temperatures can reach up to 40 degrees centigrade. I almost fainted! Can you tell how tired we were by the pictures :-) he he he
By the time we reached Siam Paragon Mall, hubby and I were so famished, we ended up eating Mexican food at the food hall.
We had some make your own tacos (you choose the fillings) actually all three tacos were consumed by hubby, he he he, nachos with cheese, jalapenos and guacamole, chicken quesadillas and cake!
Burp!
Wat Traimit, Temple of the Golden Buddha
Thailand's Golden Buddha is largest golden Buddha Image in the world, made of pure gold. The image is unrivalled in beauty, measuring 12 feet 5 inches in diametre and has a height of 15 feet 9 inches from the base to the crown and it weighs approximately 5 tons. Now more than 700 years old, it is a valuable treasure of Thailand and one of the most famous tourist attractions in the country. The Buddha image is originally covered in plaster to conceal its real value from Thailand's enemies. They only discovered the treasure underneath in 1955 where the temple was renovated and the plaster was accidentally damaged, thus revealing the 5-ton solid gold image of the Buddha.
Here at the Golden Buddha Temple, you can be blessed by one of the monks with holy water and a symbolic string is tied to your wrist for good luck.
Our guide told us that for every corresponding day, there's a particular color that is considered as your lucky color. The king was born on a Friday, hence the abundant yellow colors around Thailand. There's also different Buddha position or "attitudes". Depending on the day that you were born, you pray to that Buddha. In the case of our guide, he was born on a Tuesday and he prays to the reclining Buddha. His lucky color is pink :-)
Wat Po, Temple of the Reclining Buddha
Wat Pho is the one of the largest and oldest wat in Bangkok (with an area of 50 rai, 80,000 square metres), and is home to more than one thousand Buddha images, as well as one of the largest single Buddha images: the Reclining Buddha. Made as part of Rama III's restoration, the Reclining Buddha is forty-six metres long and fifteen metres high, decorated with gold plating on his body and mother of pearl on his eyes and the soles of his feet. The latter display 108 auspicious scenes in Chinese and Indian styles.
The Wat Pho complex consists of two walled compounds bisected by Soi Chetuphon running east-west. The northern walled compound is where the reclining Buddha and massage school are found. The southern walled compound, Tukgawee, is a working Buddhist monastery with monks in residence and a school.
(From Wikepedia)
Wat Arun, Temple of Dawn
The famous Wat Arun, perhaps better known as the Temple of the Dawn, is one of the best known landmarks and one of the most published images of Bangkok. It consists of a massive elongated prang (Khmer-style tower), and is surrounded by four smaller prangs. The prang is described by the Tourism Authority of Thailand as 104m high, while most other sources quote figures around 80-85m. It is decorated by bits of porcelain which had previously been used as ballast by boats coming to Bangkok from China, a hallmark of the reign of King Rama III. The Wat had a brief period as host of the celebrated Emerald Buddha, which now resides in nearby Wat Phra Kaew.
(from Into-asia.com)
The Temple Tour certainly is interesting and entertaining. Be sure to wear socks and easy to remove shoes since you'll be taking them off every time you enter the temples. I particularly like the elaborate decorations found on the temples themselves. I advice everyone who take this tour to always bring cold water with you. Daytime temperatures can reach up to 40 degrees centigrade. I almost fainted! Can you tell how tired we were by the pictures :-) he he he
By the time we reached Siam Paragon Mall, hubby and I were so famished, we ended up eating Mexican food at the food hall.
We had some make your own tacos (you choose the fillings) actually all three tacos were consumed by hubby, he he he, nachos with cheese, jalapenos and guacamole, chicken quesadillas and cake!
Burp!
Bangkok, Day 2 - Siam Paragon Mall and Suan-Lum Night Bazaar
Hubby's off to work again. I am left to my own devices for the day.
After eating breakfast at the hotel, I make my way again to the BTS Skytrain and get off at Siam Station to see the Siam Center Mall and Siam Paragon Mall.
If you're in Bangkok and you plan to commute via Sky Train, I suggest you buy the BTS Sky Train pass for BHT160. BHT100 is for the actual pre-paid load on your card, BHT30 is for the deposit and the other BHT 30, which is non refundable is for the cost of the card. Pre-paid loads are sold in increments of BHT100.
Honestly, the malls in Manila are much better and more entertaining. I got bored looking arount the Siam Center Mall and proceeded immediately to Siam Paragon Mall and browsed around its department store, (since I cannot afford to shop at the Valentino and Cartier Stores there, he he he). I had a fabulous time at the Gourmet Market located at the Basement 1, there I found a cornucopia of fruits, vegetables, salads and other Thai gourmet items that I wanted to take home with me. I purchased some pasalubong for the office and some for my mom and my in-laws.
The selection of food and sweets at the Food hall located at the basement are endless. You're sure to find something that will satisfy your cravings.
These colorful mini fruits were made from jelly beans!
I had lunch by my lonesome at Cafe de Tu. My lunch consisted of Avocado Salad with Shrimp Roe and Paad Thai. A noodle dish that's mildly spicy with some prawns and bean sprouts. Yummy. I love the Paad Thai specially.
For dinner, hubby and I decided to go to the Suan-Lum Night Market located at the Lumphini station. It was such a hot night and we ate at the first air-conditioned restaurant that we saw. I forgot the name but it's Italian and the food was expensive and lousy. Forgettable name for an equally forgettable food, oh well.
The Suan-Lum Night Market is a huge covered night bazaar with a lot of trinkets, thai silk and fabrics, knock-off bags, shoes and watches. The place is certainly big but it was extremely hot inside. We personally didn't like this place since most of what you can buy here is available at MBK (where it's air conditioned). We were very disappointed and only walked away with just one small purchase. Typical temperature at midnight is 30 degrees centigrade, six degrees hotter in Manila! Yikes.
On the other side of the market, there's a huge beer garden where all kinds of street food were sold. When we arrived, there was a mini concert going on and there were a lot of people there. Too bad we already had dinner, I'm sure the food at the beer garden is much more interesting than the Italian place that we had dined in.
After eating breakfast at the hotel, I make my way again to the BTS Skytrain and get off at Siam Station to see the Siam Center Mall and Siam Paragon Mall.
If you're in Bangkok and you plan to commute via Sky Train, I suggest you buy the BTS Sky Train pass for BHT160. BHT100 is for the actual pre-paid load on your card, BHT30 is for the deposit and the other BHT 30, which is non refundable is for the cost of the card. Pre-paid loads are sold in increments of BHT100.
Honestly, the malls in Manila are much better and more entertaining. I got bored looking arount the Siam Center Mall and proceeded immediately to Siam Paragon Mall and browsed around its department store, (since I cannot afford to shop at the Valentino and Cartier Stores there, he he he). I had a fabulous time at the Gourmet Market located at the Basement 1, there I found a cornucopia of fruits, vegetables, salads and other Thai gourmet items that I wanted to take home with me. I purchased some pasalubong for the office and some for my mom and my in-laws.
The selection of food and sweets at the Food hall located at the basement are endless. You're sure to find something that will satisfy your cravings.
These colorful mini fruits were made from jelly beans!
I had lunch by my lonesome at Cafe de Tu. My lunch consisted of Avocado Salad with Shrimp Roe and Paad Thai. A noodle dish that's mildly spicy with some prawns and bean sprouts. Yummy. I love the Paad Thai specially.
For dinner, hubby and I decided to go to the Suan-Lum Night Market located at the Lumphini station. It was such a hot night and we ate at the first air-conditioned restaurant that we saw. I forgot the name but it's Italian and the food was expensive and lousy. Forgettable name for an equally forgettable food, oh well.
The Suan-Lum Night Market is a huge covered night bazaar with a lot of trinkets, thai silk and fabrics, knock-off bags, shoes and watches. The place is certainly big but it was extremely hot inside. We personally didn't like this place since most of what you can buy here is available at MBK (where it's air conditioned). We were very disappointed and only walked away with just one small purchase. Typical temperature at midnight is 30 degrees centigrade, six degrees hotter in Manila! Yikes.
On the other side of the market, there's a huge beer garden where all kinds of street food were sold. When we arrived, there was a mini concert going on and there were a lot of people there. Too bad we already had dinner, I'm sure the food at the beer garden is much more interesting than the Italian place that we had dined in.
Bangkok, Day 1 - MBK, Siam Paragon and Hole in the Wall
My second day in Bangkok was jam-packed with shopping, a movie and eating!
I started my day by taking the BTS Skytrain to National Stadium Station where MBK is. MBK as I mentioned in an earlier post, is a Greenhills Tiangge (Bazaar) type of mall where you can find everything from bags, shoes, watches and a cornucopia of other products. If you don't mind buying knock-off bags and watches, this is the place for you. Knock-off bags start at BHT199 (US$6.00), I was able to buy one with wheels (to help carry my load, he he he) for BHT199. Pretty good deal.
Thai skirts, gauzy blouses and dresses range from BHT199 to BHT499. Long embroidered dresses cost a bit more, around BHT1,000 and up. Most stores have credit card and the whole mall abound with money exchange booths, just in case you run out of Baht. They don't exchange Philippine Peso though. Dollar bills of $50 and $100 have a higher exchange rate than the $10s and $20s. Be sure to only bring large denominations when you visit Bangkok.
After browsing through the entire mall, I wanted to sample some Thai fast food. I saw this restaurant called Yam Saap (which sounded like Yum, Sarap in Tagalog) and tried it out. I had Seafood Tom Yum soup with flat glass noodles and some green mango salad with crispy crablets in spicy Thai dressing of lemon juice, fish sauce and chili garlic sauce. Both dishes were mildly spicy (per my request) and nice and I actually finished the Tom Yum. They're also affordable. I only spent around BHT250, including a watermelon shake and a bottle of water.
After scouring MBK, I proceeded to Bangkok's most famous mall, The Siam Paragon Mall. I take the Sky train again and get off at Siam station. There, I watched Angelina Jolie's movie, Wanted. The funny thing about Thai movie schedules is that they post the movie screening time say, 4:10p.m., you go in at 4:05p.m. to make sure you don't miss the start of the movie, only to find yourself sitting for 45 minutes watching Thai commercials and other movie previews. The theatre was swanky, seats recline and there's plenty of room for people to pass by. Rates vary depending on the location of your seat. The cheapest and closest to the screen costs around BHT150 and goes up when you seat gets farther from the screen.
For dinner, hubby wanted to take me to this hole in the wall restaurant near our hotel called Lek's Seafood (get off at Chong Nonsi Station). A lot of locals are eating there and the place is always full. The place doesn't look much but the food is great and the prices are very reasonable. We had fried fish (lapu-lapu I think) with a sweet spicy chili dipping sauce (this is hubby's fave), noodles with shrimps and cilantro, sizzling oyster cake and sauteed morning glory leaves. All were very good and tasty. I highly recommend Lek's Seafood if you're in the area.
The photos don't do justice to the fabulous meal that we had. Our meal only cost us BHT500 (US15) and that includes three drinks and rice :-)
I started my day by taking the BTS Skytrain to National Stadium Station where MBK is. MBK as I mentioned in an earlier post, is a Greenhills Tiangge (Bazaar) type of mall where you can find everything from bags, shoes, watches and a cornucopia of other products. If you don't mind buying knock-off bags and watches, this is the place for you. Knock-off bags start at BHT199 (US$6.00), I was able to buy one with wheels (to help carry my load, he he he) for BHT199. Pretty good deal.
Thai skirts, gauzy blouses and dresses range from BHT199 to BHT499. Long embroidered dresses cost a bit more, around BHT1,000 and up. Most stores have credit card and the whole mall abound with money exchange booths, just in case you run out of Baht. They don't exchange Philippine Peso though. Dollar bills of $50 and $100 have a higher exchange rate than the $10s and $20s. Be sure to only bring large denominations when you visit Bangkok.
After browsing through the entire mall, I wanted to sample some Thai fast food. I saw this restaurant called Yam Saap (which sounded like Yum, Sarap in Tagalog) and tried it out. I had Seafood Tom Yum soup with flat glass noodles and some green mango salad with crispy crablets in spicy Thai dressing of lemon juice, fish sauce and chili garlic sauce. Both dishes were mildly spicy (per my request) and nice and I actually finished the Tom Yum. They're also affordable. I only spent around BHT250, including a watermelon shake and a bottle of water.
After scouring MBK, I proceeded to Bangkok's most famous mall, The Siam Paragon Mall. I take the Sky train again and get off at Siam station. There, I watched Angelina Jolie's movie, Wanted. The funny thing about Thai movie schedules is that they post the movie screening time say, 4:10p.m., you go in at 4:05p.m. to make sure you don't miss the start of the movie, only to find yourself sitting for 45 minutes watching Thai commercials and other movie previews. The theatre was swanky, seats recline and there's plenty of room for people to pass by. Rates vary depending on the location of your seat. The cheapest and closest to the screen costs around BHT150 and goes up when you seat gets farther from the screen.
For dinner, hubby wanted to take me to this hole in the wall restaurant near our hotel called Lek's Seafood (get off at Chong Nonsi Station). A lot of locals are eating there and the place is always full. The place doesn't look much but the food is great and the prices are very reasonable. We had fried fish (lapu-lapu I think) with a sweet spicy chili dipping sauce (this is hubby's fave), noodles with shrimps and cilantro, sizzling oyster cake and sauteed morning glory leaves. All were very good and tasty. I highly recommend Lek's Seafood if you're in the area.
The photos don't do justice to the fabulous meal that we had. Our meal only cost us BHT500 (US15) and that includes three drinks and rice :-)
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