March Random Thought

Picture from the web

Everything is fleeting in this world.
This teaches me to enjoy life and always make the most out of it.
Create memories.
Still, always be grateful.
Something good is always going to happen...

Romulo Cafe: Instagram and Pinterest Worthy

Romulo Cafe in Quezon City is known for their Filipino good food and cozy ambiance. Glad, I was able to try this restaurant together with my family over a special occasion. Just that, I took a different route.

Instead of the usual foodie picture taking, I chose to do something different and that is to take pictures of their interiors and even their placemat. I secrectly wanted to have the same designs that they have back at home.

Things like these are what good vibes are made of. :)

If these walls could talk :)

There were a lot of pictures displayed

 and of course,very visible on these walls were Carlos P. Romulo's 

pictures

and here's a blurred picture of their kitchen ( but it looks like they do not use it as what it should be but this is where they get their utensils)

My son G was very busy playing dominos. I taught him how to play the game. This brought back childhood memories ---- happy times! Include the pick up stick back then!

and my favorite picture from Romulo Cafe:

Yellow Power

Next time, I will take pictures of their food with more pictures of their interiors. It's a very cozy place that I look forward in going back because their food is good. Perfect score for their lovely interiors! 

xoxo

iCove Subic Hotel & Beach Resort Staycation

Sometimes when I feel a yearning for relaxation, peace and comfort, all I can think of is a quick staycation. You know the scenario: Under the sun in the hotel's pool while sipping your cooler drink or wine and having a me time thinking of anything and everything. (girl's mind, in reality)

and having a sight like this below:

Note: No filter. This sight truly relaxed me.

Last year, I got the chance to stay in iCove in Subic and this hotel was just newly opened then. I was there for learning, training and relaxation. I honestly love Subic eventhough they don't that crystal clear beaches or powdery sands because it has this cozy, relaxing feel. I don't know if it's just me but it feels that if you're there everything is alright and will be alright :) Case in point, it could be one of the reasons why there are a lot of foreigners in there. ( I could be wrong too) But what I am trying to say is..

Subic is always a nice place to have a quick getaway and these came to my mind when I think of Subic:

3 hour drive from Manila.

SCTEX is a breeze.

Disciplined drivers. 

Duty Free :)

Going back to iCove... this hotel is a cozy abode to those who are planning to have a vacation. It not that huge but it can be compared to a neighborhood compound with a swimming pool facing the beach. It's not that luxurious but it's clean and has this comfortable feel.

Let me tour you around..

The Lobby

and here are the pictures of our standard room ( for 2 pax)

and going to the pool, you will pass by here:

and here's their pool

and night time, it looks like this:

We had  free breakfast that comes with our stay and for 3 mornings I had the same thing (they serve 2 kinds of breakfast)  which is fine with me :). Just that, this is an area of opportunity for them to be more creative in their breakfast or be the normal hotel that serves different kinds of breakfast because there will be foreigners who might not like the idea that there are only two choices. I overheard someone not liking the breakfast because it was the same thing. Again, room for improvement is always a great idea :)

As for the service, I didn't have any problem and they were friendly to everyone and helpful too and of course that matters. 

I don't mind going back to iCove for another quick getaway and hopefully this summer. iCove Subic is along Barretto and this is outside the Subic Bay Freeport. You won't get lost because I noticed that the signs of business establishments in Barretto is built big enough to attract customers. 

You can check out their affordable rates here: iCove Subic Hotel & Beach Resort

Cheers to more quick staycation and me time :)

Kanto Freestlye Breakfast

Grateful Mum's Breakfast Diary

When I think of breakfast ( my favorite meal of the day), I can't help but think of Kanto which, as everyone knows is a great breakfast place. It fits on one's budget while having the best quality of food presented beautifully. In fact, it is at par with the other high end breakfasts place. For the 2 different times I was there, it was always jampacked. They have the perfect equation why they are always jampacked which is = Good food + affordable. Imagine at 2:30 am in their Kapitolyo branch, all tables were occupied!


Now I'm craving for Kanto food... because here below were the ones I ordered and shared when I was there with friends. 

 This is a winner because the pork was soft and chewy. 

I believe that for a food to be in excellent quality, it should be soft and in local parlance" pinaghandaan". The pesto complimented with the tomatoes. Please try this the next time! 

10/10

Fried Suman with Chocolate and Ube Sauce

Again, another must try. Glad that my friend suggested to try this.

 Who would have thought that suman and ube are perfect together?

Glad, that this is included in the menu.

10/10

Oreo Cookie Butter Pancakes

Do not forget to order this!

Pancake Platter

Do not forget to order this! 

9/10  

and one time I ordered this:

Tuyo and Kesong Puti

8/10

I didn't like the tuyo,it was too salty for my palate. I love salty food but this one was just too much. In essence, the kesong puti is a good combination with the tuyo for balance. 

Breakfast will always be my favorite meal and I always believe that a good day should starts with a good breakfast. With these reasons, I decided to have my own breakfast diary and explore here in the Metro and out of town!

Note: We ate at Kapitolyo branch and other branches are as follows:
Mandaluyong, Marikina and Libis

Kamay ni Hesus Shrine and Lucban Food Trip

Lucban beckons. Really.

There were so many things to discover that I never thought of. I tell you, it is worth the trip for those who plan to have me time (3 hour trip so a lot of me time), those who likes to reflect and meditate, burn calories and take in calories as well :). Will tell you why later.

First thing first, this trip was a super late post but I think this is timely since holy week is next week. Lucban is a good place to visit this holy week because of Kamay ni Hesus. My family and I went to Lucban to visit the Kamay ni Hesus Shrine and this was requested by my son because my father told him that it is a healing church. It is a 3 hour drive from Manila and we just followed the directions that I saw in the internet. It was a day trip.

The whole trip was a mixture of reflection and prayer and food trip (so many local food they have ) so make sure if you're going there have an extra money for pasalubong because there are a lot of stuff to buy.

We had lunch first at Kamayan sa Palaisdaan. A lot of people are eating here since this is near the shrine but I saw another one too on the other side. The place is huge but unfortunately the foodie experience was not at all pleasant. It missed a lot of opportunities pertaining to service which relates to the qualityof food as well. I don't want to go further on this but what I am sure of is that there is always room for improvement and they can still maximize the opportunities they have :). On the other hand, it's a nice place to take pictures. They also have a mini zoo and souvenir shop.

A little tour perhaps.

We waited for more than an hour for our food but glad that somebody was selling pilipit. Super sarap! A must try.

We ordered Pansit Lucban as part of our lunch.

After lunch we proceeded to Kamay ni Hesus. It was a huge place and you have to take more than 300 plus steps to be able to reach the top. We did not reach the top but we tried and since my son is with me ( who has asthma) after a couple of steps we just prayed and went down.

We also visited the church, walked along the Garden of Eden and took pictures of the statues of the saints and Mama Mary.

and here is the Garden of Eden:

Noah's Ark

We didn't get the chance to hear mass because it was past the mass schedule. We just lit candles  for prayers and intentions after going down from the shrine and afterwards visited their pasalubing shops. This is the part of the trip where you get to butn calories with all the walking and going up happening. But of course, as soon as the journey ends, you will get hungry and getting something to eat is not a problem in Lucban. A lot of food for sale in their pasalubong shops. 

Bought this as this is perfect for breakfast

And of course, going to Lucban won't be complete without buying this... A lot of people are buying this famous yema cake and at the time of the visit they have the caramel cake already.

Love this yema cake together with coffee :)

We went home around 4pm and got ourselves more pasalubong along the way:

This bibingka was freshly cooked and they're selling for Php 100 for 3 pieces (medium size and comes with a mini basket)

It was nice day trip and when we went home we took the other way instead of the usual way unintentionally. The way we took was in Rizal going to Antipolo then to Quezon City. The better way is not the one we took but the one that exits in SLEX so better to check the signs carefully.

There goes my traveller's hat :)