ATTN: PLDT

I just hope customer care of PLDT take this seriously.

Christmas Party! Lechon and Dessert Galore!

It's Christmas Season!!

People here in Manila celebrate xmas season like there's no tomorrow! It's everywhere and it's really amazing! Christmas lights, Christmas carol, new clothes, loud Christmas music, xmas decorations! and most of all, FOOOOOOOOOD!!

Our department had a little get together (xmas party) since the whole bank division agreed to donate the xms party budget to the typhoon haiyan victims (including the amount agreed for exchange gift)

Yummy home cooked meals!

Creamy spaghetti, and beef with mushrooms

Embotido (Pork sausage like dish), Salad, Cheese and Sausages

Creamy, Sweet, and Indulgently yummy dulce de leche like cake from The Peninsula Hotel. It was soooo yummy and I specially love the nutty taste.

Cheesecake. Words can't describe how perfect this cheesecake is. Creamy at its finest. The cake just melts in your mouth. Every slice is pure heaven. I even thought of buying this cake every month.

JCo Donuts

Yamato Bakery's Cronuts + PNoy + NAIA T3

All Saints day and All Souls day (Nov. 1 and Nov. 2 respectively) are days that  people fluctuate to different terminals to go back to their respective province and greatly commemorate the dead relatives.

Greatly commemorate. It's because here in PH where relatives sleep overnight at the cemetery, you can hardly cross the other side of the cemetery due to volume of people. It is also the time where relatives have their family reunion and of course prepare food.

My Dad and I agreed to meet at my office around 1:00 pm to go to NAIA T3 to catch a 5pm flight. Traffic in Manila is the worst! We left Makati at around 1:30 and drive along EDSA where we find ourselves stuck in traffic. I was calm at that time because we had a lot of time to spare, I slept at the car all the way trough the traffic. I woke up 3:30pm only to find out that our car is not allowed to enter since parking is full and my dad (diabetic, impatient , and maliglaig) is going hyper, I told him that I'll walk and proceed to check-in our bags and he just wait for a few minutes so he can enter the parking lot.

Thank God he was able to get a parking slot (park n fly). Luckily, increase in parking fee is not yet in effect at that time (Read this: Worlds worst airport strikes again one thousand peso parking tickets at NAIA)

I told  my dad the new rate scheme and both of us agreed to just take the cab going to NAIA on feb 2014 going to Hong Kong. I don't mind since our house is a 20 min. ride going to the airport via C5 and our departure time is at 5am, so no worries.

Amazingly, there's no queue of line (Dec. 31  is our departure date. We didn't want to travel on Nov 1 with the exodus of people) at the check-in counters and check-in of bags is done within 10 min. Thank you web-check in. 

As I passed trough the final security, I realized that it only took me 15 min from baggage check-in to final security. No more manual check-in and terminal fee payment. Check in time is cut by half, saved some time for coffee and plane spotting. 

I was ecstatic to have rows of chair for myself.

Then I saw a commotion. I hurriedly went to Cafe France and left my bag to my dad.

Dept. of Transportation and Communication Sec. Jun Abaya ( I'm not thrilled to see him because I find him too inefficient to become a transportation secretary. A transportation secretary should be firm and work fast, transportation is a big contributor to the economy, and the DOTC took a lot of months just to bid out the renovation of Mactan-Cebu International airport) 

President Noynoy Aquino.

Wide! 50% of the travelling people I saw was foreigners.

Breakfast at Cafe 1771

I always wanted to eat breakfast outside the house or outside the office. I'm not a morning person but I certainly love breakfast food. I love fresh egg, ham and orange juice in the morning. Cafe 1771 is open 7am and gain numerous award for their excellence. 

I love the old-spanish style facade of their building and their very pleasant staff. 

Croque Madame (P370) 

It's a croque monsieur topped with sunny side up egg. The egg was fantastic and fresh,it was perfectly cooked (no bubbles on the side) The bread was soft and crispy which is weird but very very delicious (addicting actually) the cheese and ham were nice as well. A total breakfast meal!

Fruit Parfait. Sweet and yummy. The green apple balances the sweet taste of all the fruits which makes this parfait better than ice cream.

Lunch at Florabel

 

Uneventful day for me. It's 8 am and the cab I was riding bumped to a jeepney and it was shocking terrifying. It's the first time that I experience such accident. After that I was nervous and shaking, it kinda ruined my day.

I heard a loud bang! scary but thankfully nothing serious.

Fast forward to lunch time. I was in podium, ortigas to look for a place to eat when I walk across Florabel and I got curios. I must say their menu is appetizing and very unique.

not a living soul was dining here,only me.

A special dip that I don't like. It's weird, salty and too oily.

A Night at The Peninsula Manila

Every stay is like heaven on earth. It's like when Maria went to the swiss alps and make the hills alive.

It was my Birthday and mom decided to celebrate it in makati so we stayed in Manila Pen.But she just slept the whole time we stayed. I was so ecstatic that I brought all my outdoor activity clothes.I  went to the gym and shocked the newly renovated gym and spa facilities. I swallowed my pride then went for it. I don't exercise but for Manila Pen, I will. hahaha. 

Now I understand my mom just slept the entire time. The bed isn't hard nor soft, perfectly relaxing. The sheets are gorgeous, silky soft and fragrant. The pillow was soft and relaxing, I wish I could take them home. It was morning and my mom is waking me up but I dare not to.

It was so spacious, a cow can sleep on the floor.

Hall and counter.

The boxer who cried foul!

After his win last Nov. 24, 2013 from Rios, Manny is facing Tax woes as Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) "garnished" (refers to a bank account being frozen or put red flag) some of his bank accounts.

 "Thieves are treated better" cried boy  Manny. 

Manny who came after a winning come back cried foul. He said that he is being singled out. BIR is running after him as he didn't file his taxes for year 2006-2009. 

To be honest this issue is so waste of time when I first saw this on TV. As I read many news articles, I started to realize all the arguments, I find it very unprofessional of Pacquiao It seems he is hiding something.


So, after many emotional arguments of Manny, here comes commissioner Henares ready for action.

Heartbreaking

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YolandaPH: Next 24 hours critical for response

This is just sad.

Strongest typhoon entered PH and it's a catastrophe. My prayers and condolences to the families affected. Reports said that there are looting and atm machines are raided. It's a total catastrophe.

(Image courtesy of Reuters)

Super typhoon Yolanda

MANILA, Philippines - Super typhoon Yolanda (international codename Haiyan) has made a mark as one of the planet's most catastropic storms.

The winds of the super typhoon brought monster winds and giant waves that left a massive trail of death and destruction in various parts of the country.

How does this super typhoon compare with other strong cyclones in earth's history? Rappler looked at various indicators:

Wind speed

Jeff Masters, Director of Meteorology for the website Weather Underground, described Yolanda/Haiyan to have achieved maximum sustained winds of 195 miles per hour (315 k/h) near the eye, thereby positioning it as among the strongest cyclones in the world in terms of wind stregth.

Typhoon Nancy (1961) - 215 miles per hour (346 k/h)
Typhoon Violet (1961) - 205 miles per hour (330 k/h)
Typhoon Ida (1958) - 200 miles per hour (322 k/h)
Typhoon Haiyan (2013) - 195 miles per hour (315 k/h)
Typhoon Kit (1966) - 195 miles per hour (315 k/h)
Typhoon Sally (1964) - 195 miles per hour (315 k/h)
Typhoon Tip (1979) - 190 miles per hour (306 k/h)
Hurricane Allen (1980) - 190 miles per hour (306 k/h)
Hurricane Camille (1969) - 190 miles per hour (306 k/h)
Hurricane Vera (1959) - 190 miles per hour (306 k/h)
Hurricane Sarah (1959) - 190 miles per hour (306 k/h)
But since estimates for typhoons from 1940s to 1960s are now considered too high, Yolanda/Haiyan now makes it to the top of the list.

Masters also described the super typhoon as "the strongest tropical cyclone on record to make landfall in world history," beating the record of the 1969 Hurricane Camille.

Typhoons Nancy, Violet, and Ida also made landfall, but their wind speed decreased prior to hitting land.

Central pressure

Other statistics determine the intensity of a tropical cyclone through its minimum central pressure.

An article in the Autralian Geographic states: "The lower the pressure, the more air gets sucked in to the cyclone, and ultimately it will have more power."

In this department, Yolanda/Haiyan recorded a minimum central pressure of 895 hectopascal (hPa). The super typhoon is behind other cyclones recorded by the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) that had lower numbers.

Typhoon Tip (1979) - 870 hPa
Typhoon Nora (1973) - 875 hPa
Typhoon June (1975) - 875 hPa
Typhoon Ida (1958) - 877 hPa
Typhoon Kit (1966) - 880 hPa
Typhoon Rita (1978) - 880 hPa
Typhoon Vanessa (1984) - 880 hPa
Hurricane Wilma (1953) - 882 hPa
Typhoon Nina (2005) - 885 hPa
Typhoon Joan (1959) - 885 hPa
Typhoon Irma (1971) - 885 hPa
Typhoon Forrest (1983) - 885 hPa
Typhoon Megi (2010) - 885 hPa
Size / Diameter

As for the size, the cyclone's gale force winds are usually measured.

According to CNN, Yolanda/Haiyan had a cloud cover that stretched up to 800 km (or 500 miles) long, but still it is behind some other bigger cyclones that have recorded longer distances.

Typhoon Tip (1979) - 2220 km
Hurricane Sandy (2012) - 1520 km
Hurricane Igor (2010) - 1480 km
Hurricane Olga (2001) - 1390 km
Hurricane Lili (1996) - 1295 km
Hurricane Karl (2004) - 1255 km
Typhoon Morakot (2009) - 1200 km
Typhoon Usagi (2013) - 1110 km
*Note: the list above shows just some of the cyclones that are higher that Yolanda/Haiyan's record, all based on data reported in various news sites.

Super Typhoon Tip of 1979 is considered the most intense cyclone in terms of size and minimum central pressure. It also used to be among the typhoons with the highest wind speed recorded, until Yolanda/Haiyan happened. - Rappler.com

Pastries at Wildflour Cafe + Bakery

It's love at first bite.

My heartbeat is in a roller coaster ride when i came to wildflour. It was 8am and my purpose is to buy the very famous cronuts which people are going nuts about. Unfortunately cronuts are only available starting 11am and so I just bought some pastries and ordered a salad.

I could not believe all the yummy pastries and bread inside the resto It's like narnia. I wish I could live here.

There's chocolate, peanut butter, marshmallows,cookies, bread, etc! 

Everything looks good, just like the witch's house from Hansel & Gretel.

Partial closure of NAIA 1 when rehab begins

Partial closure of NAIA 1 when rehab begins

MANILA, Philippines – Portions of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1 (NAIA 1) will be closed when the terminal undergoes major rehabilitation starting December, according to Transportation secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya.

"There will be parts of the airport to be shut down to start the work, but at least, the airport is not totally shut down," Abaya said.

Abaya explained that closing some parts of the terminal is necessary to ensure that the rehabilitation project will be completed by November 2014, in time for the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) ministerial meetings. The Philippines will host the APEC Summit in 2015.

“Clearly the main objective is to get NAIA 1 rehabilitated for APEC so if convenience of everybody will always be our parameter, we cannot move forward. So we have to swallow the bitter pill to get things moving forward, and improve,” he added.

The government had long planned to renovate NAIA 1, which was tagged again as the world's worst airport by visitors of travel website The Guide to Sleeping in Airports. (READ: What's the real score in NAIA 1 project).

World-renowned designer Kenneth Cobonpue and his team, and architecture firm Leandro V. Locsin and Associates were tapped by government to give the old and congested terminal a facelift. (READ: Rivals to partners: Cobonpue, Locsin to make over NAIA-1)

NAIA 1 has been accommodating 8 million passengers a year, way higher than its intended capacity of 4.5 million.

Transfer to NAIA 3

The rehabilitation of NAIA 1 complements the upgrade of NAIA 3, Abaya stressed.

The transportation secretary explained some operations in Terminal 1 will be transferred to Terminal 3 in phases.

"Hopefully, this will work complementarily because once we get parts of [Terminal 3] operational, we'll transfer some operations so NAIA 1's load will be lightened," he said.

Upgrade of NAIA 3 starts this month. Japanese contractor Takenaka Corporation was given until July 2014 to complete civil works for the 182,500-square meter terminal.

Only half of Terminal 3 has been considered structurally safe since it partially opened in 2008.

Takenaka's work contract covers "23 systems," which include flight information display, baggage handling and reconciliation, fire alarm and protection, and passenger boarding bridges, among others. (READ: Aquino on NAIA 3 delays: Pls bear with me) – Rappler.com

Dinner at TWG

Last 2011 when I went to singapore for a vacation, I notice that this restaurant is everywhere like starbucks. I came to know TWG when I happen to eat at La Creperie and ordered the Caramel Tea.

TWG offers luxury tea and very yummy pastries that make your heart melt. 

Me and my friend agreed to meat around 6:30pm to chat and cope up with everything. Me and my friend is amazed how they are able to present the food so nice and appetizing. 

Chocolate Tea (P195) I didn't notice the chocolate taste of the tea but  it's good. 1 tea cup is good for 2 but sharing is quite not ideally because it's bitin. 

The tea cup is thin so you can really taste the tea.

Saddle of lamb seasoned with cumin, oregano and rosemary accompanied by a ratatouille drizzled with a rich brown sauce infused with Silver Moon Tea (P750) Since Foie Gras is not available, I ordered the lamb instead. I asked the waiter for a medium-done lamb 

Lunch at Almon Marina Sandwich Bar and Deli

What I love about this resto is that it's affordable, so yummy, and best of all: amazing staff. 

It's so funny to see the reaction of some customers faces how I am so spoiled by the crew especially the waiters. My water glass never went empty, I always get my spot in the restaurant, They know what I will order and always reserve my favorite newspaper! Gosh I'm so spoiled!!

Pasta Ala Osso Buco (P195). Penne Pasta cooked al dente with tender and very savory beef with mushroom and very very yummy sauce. I don't know how they cook it or how they managed to prepare this dish but I tell you, this is a must order.

Neptune Submarine (P255) never forge to order neptune submarine if you happen to dine here. The all good sandwich will dignify that Almon Marina is top of it's product. It's a sandwich with lots of meat, egg, tomatoes, vegetables, etc. It's a one good sandwich with less guilt. =) 

Ever tasted a chocolate cake that is not too sweet nor bitter? Almon Marina's Chocolate Cake is quite thick and yet soo blissfully good.