For Our Anniversary: Last Stop - Krazy Garlic, Newport Mall, Pasay

For our last stop, right after having our relaxing massage, the only thing needed to be done before going home is to - eat!

We chose to dine at Krazy Garlic in Newport Mall, Pasay. We fell in love with Krazy Garlic a few months after they opened their branch in the said mall. We especially loved their specialty Crispy Pata garnished with lots and lots of crispy garlic. It's just juicy on the inside and crispy on the outside. But for this night, we ordered another of their specialties instead.

We went into the entrance of the restaurant and were greeted by the hostess. We were asked for our seat preference and we said we'd prefer to sit inside (since there was a concert going on right outside, making the ambiance quite "krazy"). In a matter of a few seconds, we were escorted to our seats inside. 

We were then given copies of the menu then, we checked out which we'd like to to order for the night. 

For our appetizer, we chose the Garlic Anchovy Affection which wasn't bad at all. The burst of anchovy flavor mixed with garlic, butter and bread, is surprisingly yummy at first but becomes a tiny bit overpowering. What I would wish to have tasted in this food was a little bit of sour cream or even cream cheese can be good too. Nonetheless, it was actually a taste that one would crave for a few seconds after chewing that last bite inside one's mouth.

For our main course, we chose one of the restaurant's specialties, the 40 Kloves Chicken. It was crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside but what makes it stand out the most is the creamy but garlicky sauce. We just couldn't help but dip every bite into the sauce!

Ain loves rice so it wasn't any surprise to me at all that she would order one. She ordered for one which we completely forgot the name of. Sorry! But I will definitely update this blog as soon as we remember it's name! What I love about their rice, whichever you choose among the options, is that they are all flavorful and chewy enough not to hurt your gums (or get stuck in between your teeth and hurt you until your next brushing). This particular dish was not at all spicy too (as we both prefer non-spicy food most times anyway).

For our drinks, Ain chose Drink Me (on the left) - made of strawberries, mango and banana. At this particular dining experience, I didn't particularly like this drink maybe coz the fruits weren't as fresh as I'd hope they would be but it was indeed a thirst quencher. 

For myself, I ordered my favorite, The Shadow (on the right) - made of dragon fruit, vanilla ice cream and strawberries. It had a little bit too much of sweet aftertaste this time around but it did satisfy my sweet tooth at that time.

A special occasion always call for dessert! We ordered for the Baked Alaska. It was vanilla ice cream topped with moist chocolate cake topped with hot meringue. It was just divine! But at that point, we were quite full already (I mostly have a small appetite). So, we were trying extra hard to finish the dish. Haha! And we succeeded too! It was a nice taste to end our special dinner with - not too sweet but definitely sweet enough to feel like heaven!

It was a busy time at the restaurant then but everyone was polite enough. The serving time was not so bad. It wasn't a long wait for us. And while waiting, we can simply connect to their free wifi. It was just too bad that there was a concert right outside that made it a bit taxing to have a decent conversation over dinner.

Most times, this restaurant would be rated as expensive but since we have a Bistro card, we got our appetizer for free and even got a 20% discount for our total bill! (I tell you, having a Bistro card is awesome especially if you love dining out!)

To summarize my experience (at this particular time):

Food: GREAT
Service: GOOD
Value for Money: Pretty GREAT (for Bistro cardholders)
Location/ambiance: ACCEPTABLE (I would have rated them either good or great if not for the loud noises from the concert)
Over-all Dining Experience: GREAT
Would I dine there again? Yeah, sure. When another special occasion comes along.

For more details on Krazy Garlic, see the link below:

http://www.krazygarlik.com.ph/

For Our Anniversary: First Stop - Cafe on the Ridge, Taal Vista Hotel, Tagaytay

It's the first time in seven years that we finally have a private vehicle to use for our anniversary so imagine my excitement when I realized that we could finally do a day trip going out of town! And where else is the most accessible but still an awesome place to go to than Tagaytay!

So, we planned for a several activities to do for our special day and the first of all those activities was brunch at the classy, romantic and relaxing Cafe on the Ridge at the Taal Vista Hotel in Tagaytay City.

We head out before sunrise and caught it while we're driving along the South Super Highway near Susana Heights. And boy was the sunrise beautiful as always! (Just to let you in on a secret, Ain loves the sunrise and thinks of me as the sunrise of her life. Awww! How sweet right?) Besides that, we really wanted to catch the sunrise because of it's meaning - a new beginning.

So, anyway, back to our first stop. We finally get to Taal Vista at around 6:30am after being forced to drive behind a few slow-moving trucks in one-laned, curvy and uphill roads. Nevertheless, it was a fine day with a cool breeze. It was going to be a great day!

We came inside the hotel lobby and was guided towards the dining area of the Cafe on the Ridge where they were serving breakfast buffet. By the entrance of the restaurant, we were courteously greeted and asked for our room number. We informed the hostess that we were walk-ins instead. We were asked to choose a table. Since it was the almost-scorching-hot-summer-season in the Philippines and we have already endured every hot day in Manila for months now, we decided to bask in the glorious feel of Tagaytay's cool weather and chose a table outside instead.

And here was the view from our chosen spot.

Just beautiful, isn't it? I find it romantic actually. All that was missing was the bouquet of my favorite flowers which until now has not yet arrived from Ain. Ehem ehem!

They were serving several food types from their breakfast menu and we decided to try a little of almost everything! (Of course! Why would anyone even think of shying away from that opportunity, right??)

So, since I rarely have a big appetite, I really did pick just a little of everything.

I ordered for coffee which tasted a lot like hot chocolate. I think that was the Batangas coffee or something. Nonetheless, it was quite nice.

I took just one serving spoon of their Arrozcaldo which was enough for me given that I wanted to taste everything else anyway. Haha! It was pretty good but did not taste out of the ordinary.

What I loved about their buffet are all those fresh vegetables and fruits they were serving. I mean most, if not all of the hotel's restaurants in Manila, offer fresh vegetables and fruits too but not most of the restaurants. So, I've always loved eating at hotel's restaurants.

They were also serving cereals, fresh milk, Champorado (which I didn't try anymore), fresh fruit juices, freshly made panini with everything on it, boiled, scrambled or fried egg, etc.They also served cold cuts, bacon, cheese slices, French toast, omelet which they would cook right in front of you while you wait, chicken adobo (which I liked the most, the chef got the taste spot on!), these sauteed ground pork which could have tasted better (and probably a few more that I didn't really get to check out anymore).

Ain, of course, who has always been a pork-lover, got several strips of bacon and had bacon added into her panini as well! But the bacon really tasted nice so I really can't blame her there.

The food wasn't exactly the best food anyone will ever have except that having brunch at the Cafe on the Ridge will give you one helluva ambiance to look forward to which will inevitably make you forget that some of the food weren't at par to your taste glands.

Cause after that heavy meal, you can walk around the hotel vicinity, enjoy the view and even stay for a while longer just savoring the relaxing feeling of sipping your coffee while the cool breeze hits your skin.

And what's another plus in this experience of ours is the value for money. You see, when we entered the hotel's parking lot, we were given a parking ticket which states that we were supposed to pay for parking at 100Php per hour! We thought it was a crazy rate. However, after we have asked for our bill from the very polite and always ready-to-assist waiters, we were asked if we would like for our parking ticket to be validated so would need not pay for parking. That was a nice surprise! (So, if you're planning to dine there, don't forget to have your parking tickets validated as well).

Okay, another aspect that I wanted to share about the value for money is that the buffet, inclusive of refillable drinks were just about 900Php per head. It wasn't too much of a bad deal since there were some hotels in Metro Manila that would offer buffets for over a grand per head - the prices of which weren't drinks inclusive.

To summarize my experience (at this particular time):

Food: GOOD
Service: GREAT
Value for Money: Pretty GREAT actually
Location/ambiance: GREAT especially during the earlier parts of the day
Over-all Dining Experience: GREAT
Would I dine there again? Yeah, sure. When another special occasion comes along.

 

For more details on Cafe on the Ridge, Taal Vista Hotel, Tagaytay, see the link below:

http://www.taalvistahotel.com/dining

For Our Anniversary: Next Stop - The Island Spa, Newport Mall, Pasay

For Ain and I, one of the best ways to celebrate an occasion or to simply bond with each other, is having a massage together. There's no better feeling than getting rid of all that tension in our bodies, feeling all our muscles relax and having such restful sleep afterwards. No wonder that for our special day, we would be much excited to go to a spa!

But not just to any spa's, not at all! We specifically chose one that's special, cause this special day definitely merits a special place.

I've always been fond of getting massages since my older sister, who studied as a physical therapist in college, would practice massage techniques on me. And because her normal massage pressure, I have grown to love the "heavy hand."

My lifetime quest for a pretty good establishment and my favorite masseuse has not yet seen the end but I've collected a few favorites along the way. Forgive my musings before I finally get to my point but I just wanted to share a few more experiences of mine.

While I was in college, experiencing all the stress of an orphaned and self-supporting student, I just had to have my guilty pleasures sometimes. And so I did. My sister recommended an affordable spa to me then, which I enjoyed even on my own most times. That was the first and dainty branch of Wensha Spa in Quezon City. Back then, if I remember correctly, they were offering a full body massage for only Php199 inclusive of buffet food and drinks as well as the use of the common shower area and jacuzzi. It was indeed a pretty sweet deal! And that's when I met Pinky, the love of my life masseuse! 

After how many years, Wensha Spa finally opened a grander branch in Pasay City. We were then living and working in Makati City so having a branch of my favorite spa nearer to my location was an exciting event indeed! We saw, we had a massage, we ate, we enjoyed the amenities and I was elated to find out that my girl, Pinky was stationed in Pasay City too! But eventually, the amenities started becoming tattered with overuse, the crowds came in (and crowds they were too!), food became limited and the prices went up.

After all that came to be, we started trying out other spa's and even tried home-serviced massages until a friend of ours recommended the Island Spa along Makati Avenue in Makati City. Their price range was above that of Wensha Spa's but below that of The Spa or Suriya Spa or the likes. 

Their dainty but comfy and classy spa provided a relaxing atmosphere. The massage therapists were, if not the best in the metro, at least well-trained for their jobs. They didn't have a jacuzzi but they had a pretty clean area (one for each gender) which holds their lockers, changing rooms, toilets, shower stalls, dressing area with washing basins, well-lit mirrors and several items such as baby powder, baby oil, cotton buds, lotions, hair combs and brushes placed inside a sterilizer as well as a steam room for everyone's use.

Inside their massage rooms (their massage room options are: couple rooms which have dividers from the other rooms so you could request for them to open the divider when you're, say a group of 3 or 4 going together, and this bigger room which can hold up to eight at a time, if my memory serves me well). The couple rooms are basically decorated - just a small space that would fit two massage beds with some room for the massage therapists to go around, a wall-mounted 20+ inch flat screen TV, a small bedside table and dim lighting.

Just above the spa is a huge KTV. And there are times that while having our massages inside our private rooms, we could hear all the ruckus created by the people upstairs having the time of their lives. That is, even over the soothing music being played by Island Spa.

And, every after service, they rub you with these wet & hot towels to remove the remnants of the oils used on your body - making you feel gloriously clean and relaxed. Also, we won't forget the wonderful tasting ginger tea that they serve us while we stay in our rooms and watch TV for a while. Oh and yeah! I almost forgot, they have free wifi inside the premises!

It's no wonder that we would be so excited to try out their new branch located in Newport Mall, Pasay City as soon as we heard about it! Sure, we tried it out in December 2012 together with a couple friend of ours but we haven't tried it yet with just Ain and I. So, we made it a point to try it out for our 7th anniversary for a special feel on a special occasion.

And we were not disappointed!

It was our fault that we didn't call in earlier for a reservation. (We'll make sure to do so the next time!) We got there at around 5pm and were informed that the next available time is at 7pm for those standard rooms and 10pm for the special rooms. Since we're feeling tired, we had to choose the earlier slot this time. We just got some snacks and went shopping a bit to kill some time first. We came back at the spa a few minutes before 7pm. We were actually willing to wait for a few more minutes but were happily surprised to find out that our room was already available for us. Yipee! We can start our relaxing time already! 

We were ushered to our beautiful room, welcomed by the normal soothing music that Island Spa usually plays in the background. The rooms look way classier than the rooms in their Makati branch. These rooms were more spacious holding two massage beds that could be adjusted into seats allowing you a relaxing feel while you watch on their bigger flat screen TV's mounted on the wall, a 2-seater sofa on the side, two wardrobe cabinets where you can keep your clothes and personal effects, a dressing table with the mirror surrounded by yellow shaded light on the sides and a safety deposit box under it.

When we changed into their signature robes which were neatly folded inside the room, we opened our room's door and found the lady who ushered us there, to be waiting right outside to escort us to the common bathroom. (As mentioned above, we chose the basic room cause we simply can't wait until 10pm anymore. But if we were okay to wait, we could have gotten the rooms which have their own shower and toliet inside or even the ones which have the shower, toilet AND hot tub in it!) So, off we went to have a shower in the common bathroom. It had a washing area with a big mirror on the wall, two toilet cubicles and a shower room with a Vichy shower (the one mounted on the wall with water sprouting from above and on the sides) installed in it. There's also a wardrobe cabinet just outside if in case you prefer to just changed into your robes after the shower instead of before, like we did. There's also available lotions, powders and whatnot on top of the washing area.

After our cleansing and relaxing shower, we went back into our room. It was only just a few minutes of checking in on Facebook, using the free wifi, before our massage therapists arrived! 

And so, we start enjoying our massage. i was worried that I got a petite lady as a therapist and that she might not have much pressure to satisfy me but she was actually pretty good too. Both of the therapists asked us if the pressure were enough and mine even adjusted to my request for harder pressure on my shoulders. I was in bliss!

We were rubbed with hot towels after the massage, were served with our favorite ginger tea and asked to sign the therapists' service slips. After a few minutes of watching TV while sipping tea, we started dressing up and got a call from the front desk, checking if we were ready to check out. We confirmed and stepped out of the room to pay at the front desk.

We were both happy, relaxed and ready for another year together! Haha!

To summarize my experience (at this particular time):

Service: GREAT
Value for Money: GOOD (this branch offers more expensive services than that of their branch in Makati but the place looks so much greater too. It's just that when I get massages, I think of paying for the massage and that the amenities are just wonderful add-ons)
Amenities: GREAT

Location/ambiance: GREAT
Over-all Experience: GREAT
Would I go back there again? Yes, but only for special occasions (I would rather visit their more economical branch in Makati more often)

For more details on Island Spa, Newport Mall, Pasay and Makati (in order) see the links below:

https://www.facebook.com/IslandSpaRW

https://www.facebook.com/islandspa

An Impromptu Date at Banapple Pies and Cheesecake, Tuscany, Taguig

Since I had the car, I promised Ain that I would pick her up from work, which I did. Nearby her workplace were new condominiums with commercial spaces slowly opening up for public. In one of the commercial spaces, I excitedly spotted an open and crowded Banapple branch!

Banapple started to become a hit among my circle of friends when they opened a branch in Ayala Triangle Gardens in Makati. Ain and I ate had a dinner date there a few years back and I remember loving their pies and cakes. But as it was always over-crowded and a little out of our usual ways, we didn't revisit the said branch, choosing to explore other restaurants instead.

However, as mentioned earlier, I became excited to find out that they opened a branch near us that had a nice ambiance which, I also suppose would not yet become as over-crowded as their branch in Ayala Triangle Gardens.

Upon my pick up of Ain, I excitedly proposed to have dinner there instead of at home because my mouth was simply watering just thinking of their yummy cakes! Thankfully, she agreed! Yey!

So, we went inside to line up, pick out what we would like to have and finalize our orders at the counter. The place was of two floors. On the first floor, where the counter was, only seats a few since they had shelves of cookies and pastries on display as well as of cakes just beside the counter. On the second floor, (I didn't really go up anymore but saw it from the outside only) were more seats than that of the first floor. They chose to have these soft yellow lights around the place which reminds one of the comforts of home mashed with the feeling of watching the sunset. They had these outdoorsy chairs and tables (the metal ones you would pick as a set for an outside venue such as at a backyard or a garden).

The staff was very attentive. First, we were asked if we preferred to wait for an indoor table, were informed that we were second in line for a table then offered us a table outside which was already available for us.

We chose to sit at an outside table since it was busy inside. It was much peaceful to sit outside then (and the heat wasn't so bad since it was at night anyway). The ambiance outside was comfortable and relaxed. There was a bench for any who would need to wait for a seat as well.

Once seated, they brought us two glasses of water even without our request. Just a few minutes after they served us water, came our smoothie. We didn't have to sit for 15 minutes before our food arrived. And, the staff even asked if we preferred to have the cake served together with main dish or at a later time. Of course, we chose to have it served last, which they did.

For myself, I ordered one of the best seller main dishes, Chicken Milk Shroom. It was the first time that I would try it out and found it to be tasteful.

The Milk Shroom which was the sauce on top of the chicken was creamy, with the right amount of saltiness. The boneless fried chicken meat was the right amount of tender - wasn't too crispy that would hurt the gums but wasn't soggy at all. The combination of the chicken and sauce was just wonderful.

The rice that went with the meal tasted good as well with right amount of flavor. It can also be eaten on its own! The meal also has these salted and buttered corn kernels which I loved especially. The taste was just right for me!

I would surely order this again!

Of course, I had Ain taste my food (so that I can also taste hers)! Haha! She ordered another of the best seller main dishes which was Hickory Ribs. I am not a fan of pork, you see, so I don't normally eat it. But I took a taste and actually enjoyed the dish.

The pork meat was really tender. But there are some tender meat that when you bite into, you will only taste blandness. This dish though, was not that well-tendered but bland pork dish. All-in-all, the dish was actually nice since it had the same set of rice and corn kernels as mine had. But, to our taste, the barbecue sauce was a little over-powering - a little on the sour side as I remember.

The serving was actually a pretty good size. Since I easily feel full, I don't believe I'm quite a good judge of serving protions for most but for those like me, an FYI, I did not get to finish my food. I had the leftovers for take out instead. Actually, Ain and I could possibly just share a plate as long as we still order a smoothie and a dessert. But then again, Ain usually has a huge appetite so probably still not! Haha!

Together with these dishes, we ordered just 1 drink which was the specialty - Banapple Smoothie. The banana used to make it seemed to have been a little under-ripe which caused the drink to have a bit of the banana aftertaste. But I still liked it as it was a fruit smoothie anyway. It wasn't too sweet that it would over-power the fruit flavors but you would taste the creaminess of the milk as well. It also wasn't filled with too much chunks of ice (which I hate in a smoothie or any other cold beverages). It was real smooth. (And a glorious drink during the summer season!)

For desert, we chose to try a different cake than the most popular Banoffie Pie. Instead, we tried a cake that we both haven't tried yet - Santa's Chipper Slice. Now, where to start with this??? Top to bottom it is!

The cream on top is heaven. The cheesecake in the middle which had tidbits of chocolate mixed in, was heaven. (The cheesecake alone was heaven enough even without the chocolate chunks actually. The crust was also delightful. Eaten together at once, the cake was a great finale to a wonderful meal!

To summarize my experience (at this particular time):

Food: GREAT
Service: GREAT
Value for Money: Pretty GREAT actually
Location/ambiance: GREAT for any day
Over-all Dining Experience: GREAT
Would I dine there again? I'm looking forward to it! (I'm even craving for their cakes as I write this blog!)

Orders:

Chicken Milk Shroom - Php175
Hickory Ribs - Php185
Santa's Chipper Slice - Php110
Banapple Smoothie - Php105

For more details on Banapple Pies and Cheesecake (their branches and menu), please see the link below:
http://www.banapplekitchen.com/Banapple.html