Weekend at The Lakeshore

December 5, 2012May 1, 2020 | kirstenebv

My stay at The Lakeshore, Pampanga last November has been fun! Christian tagged me along to join his friends from the office to have a chill weekend at Chinee’s place. The road trip has been a blast, thanks to the lovely weather and good ol’s music from the 90’s. I did not doze off even for a bit! If you know me, Queen of Sleep, you will give me a pat in the back for the tremendous effort of staying awake.

After the 2-hr-ish drive, we stopped by Koko Buri in San Fernando for lunch. There, I got to try their famous soy chicken. It’s quite similar to Bon Chon but their serving is much bigger. Therefore, much affordable. The interior and the ambiance of the place is cozy with the warm lights and colorful table knick-knacks.

Post-lunch, we headed to Chinee’s place to settle down for a bit before our afternoon swim. I met Chinee’s dog, Amber, once again! Super cute!

One thing that I really loved about our swim is I got to enjoy the sunset. I always get this peaceful feeling when I’m having a nature trip. It’s such a nice, sweet escape from the urban jungle. Yeah, let’s not forget the fact that I am getting old so I tend to be nostalgic on these kind of mundane. 😛

Another thing I enjoyed on this weekend getaway? The food! Everyone helped in preparing the meals and they all turned out delicious. Seriously! I’m thinking of trying them out on my own — especially the “Good Shepherd’s Pie” and “Bangus Belly in Spanish Sauce”.

I don’t know what its actual name is but everyone called it “Good Shepherd’s Pie”. It has chicken chunks and carrots in mushroom sauce, topped with mashed potato and greens. It was a hearty meal and I can’t wait to make my own version of it. I really need to have a decent kitchen soon! The Bangus Belly meal is a mashed-up of two of my favorites: bangus belly and spanish sardines. It was really easy to make. I just need a pressure cooker and the right ingredients and voila! Instant awesome meal! 🙂

And what’s a getaway without the booze? We had our fill of these after dinner while playing King’s Cup. It was hilarious! The game got funnier as everyone gets drunker.

In the morning before heading home, we went to the other side of the lake to enjoy the view and have some photo ops. Thank the heavens for the really lovely weather that weekend.

A Piece of Italy in Mandaluyong

August 16, 2012May 1, 2020 | kirstenebv

My roomie, Mils, had a sudden craving for Italian last Tuesday. When she mentioned Galileo, I did not hesitate for a second. I’m scheduled to work from home that time so I have more hours to spare. We went there in our just-out-of-bed state for a late lunch and were crossing our fingers that they let us in. Kidding on that part. The people in Galileo are so friendly, they wouldn’t really mind if we looked a bit frazzled.

Galileo Enoteca is this hole-in-wall Italian place just a block away from us, which serves authentic Italian food and houses one of the biggest wine cellar that I’ve ever seen. This is my third time to dine in this place and it’s a good thing that I managed to take some pictures (blurry as they may). The first and second time, I was just oohs and aahs at how cozy the place was and how good their food were.

Galileo3 — *I love this appetizer because of the chicken liver dip. I know that most are not into chicken liver but it’s on of the best I’ve tasted. Not bitter at all!*

Galileo4 — When you order a pizza, you can opt to have 2 separate flavors. We ordered the Tutta Carne (mix of ham, Italian sausage, and pepperoni, and pomodoro) and Margherita. I’m not into pepperoni but the Italian sausage made up for it.

Galileo5 — For the pasta, we ordered the Penne con Funghi Porcini and Tartufo Bianco (Mushroom and white truffle oil). Honestly, I was quite disappointed with this. Aside from the penne not being al dente, the sauce was too salty for my taste.

Galileo6 — I was not disappointed with the wine that we ordered. It was sweet with just a slight hint and aroma of alcohol, not the type that would make you wrinkle your nose when you waft it from the glass. We ordered a bottle and took home what was left.

I read somewhere that Enoteca means wine bar, which explains the appearance of the resto. It’s dimly lit with brick walls and rows of cupboards of wines like any typical wine cellar. You can even see some boxes by the corner which will make you feel that you’re just having drinks in your friend’s basement.

The cheese, cold cuts, and assorted canned products are strategically displayed by the main door so diners will be much tempted to take some Galileo piece home . As for me, I had fun just watching the display; it made me feel like I’m in a real Italian store.

Mils said that she’ll be hoarding some products here before moving out to another city. I might do, too. After all, this is one of the things that I will miss much in Mandaluyong. 🙂

Boracay Bummin’

August 10, 2012May 1, 2020 | kirstenebv

Our Boracay vacation last July has been the ultimate beach bumming activity that I had in a long time. Having buffet breakfast by the cabanas, enjoying the early morning and afternoon sun, reading novels by the beachfront, and waking up at your own leisure without worrying about the day’s itinerary was great! We just simply went through our vacation days appreciating the great beach and sand, and enjoying each other’s company over card games, good food, beers, and cocktails.

Speaking of cocktails we immensely enjoyed Loco Frio. They offer frozen cocktails to go and it comes with these adorable insulated tumblers. You can buy a refill at a much cheaper prize if you already have a tumbler so it’s really cool. Totally perfect for the hot, beach weather.

As for the food, we ALL fell in love with Sur Burger. It was one of the biggest and tastiest burger I have ever tasted. Not exaggerating! This is a Boracay must-try. Some other dishes that I love is the baby back ribs from Hawaiian Bar-B-Que and the lechon kawali from Jonah’s. If you’ve got money to spare, is willing to wait for a table, and willing to wait to be served of sumptuous ribs, then go to HBBQ. But if you’re on a tight budget, Jonah’s Kawali is not too bad. One serving (PHP 300) is good enough for three. It was also my first time to have a go at the infamous lobster. We went over to the wet market in D*Talipapa, get ourselves some live lobsters, and have them cooked in one of the restaurants along the area. It was served to us in spicy coconut sauce and it was delicious!

We were blessed with a very nice weather during our 5-day stay (considering that it’s already the rainy season here in the Philippines). It was perfect for walking along the sandy shores, taking pictures, and just breathing in the beauty of the place. I have to thank Christian for some of these gorgeous shots.

But being the adventure freaks that we are, it was not exactly ‘all bum, no play’. We did have fun trying out the club scene (a little), going skimboarding, driving ATVs to reach the highest point of the island, fly-fishing, and paraw sailing. I’ll tell you all about them next time. 😉