A Taste of Both Worlds

Bro's Treat at Pancake House

My bro asked me to accompany him in Trinoma last Friday as he was shopping for a new pair of black shoes and some polo shirts, he kinda needed my not-so-professional advice on what's hot and not.  Between you and me, he do believe that I have a good sense of fashion style, and for my sake and his, I believe that it is true *grins*.  And so, we spend a few hours looking and picking some stuff, and when were done I asked him to treat me to dinner, which is just right, I helped him out and he forced me to ride a bus (which is one of my natural enemies, I'll elaborate some other time).

We had an early dinner at Pancake House, I would have order some pancakes plus a main course but my brother is such a tightwad so I had to contend with what he wanted to give me *grins*.

Note:  Pardon for the not so appetizing food shots, as I was with my bro and he's not used to me taking pictures before I eat, he prevented me from turning the flash of my camera on as it may disturb other people (daw) add that to the fact that the lighting in Pancake House-Trinoma branch is not great for taking pictures.  'Nuff said!

Photo above is a Hamburger Steak Special set, it has hamburger steak (of course!) with gravy, an order of spaghetti and mixed vegetables, corn and carrots in my bro's case, plus a glass of iced tea.  You have to spare 215php for this, but looking back at how fervently he's eating his order, I guess, it's quite okay to say that you'll get your money's worth.

A Bite at Manila Ocean Park Cafe

A few weeks, or is it months *grins* ago, we went to Manila Ocean Park, it is located behind the Quirino Grandstand (Rizal Park) in Roxas Blvd.  It would have been nice to blog about what I and my family had seen and did inside the water park but sadly, it wasn't as much fun as you might think, it sort of failed our expectation.  Don't get me wrong, I am [so] happy that we Pinoys have our own ocean park, and from what I see, I think it can even stand on its own, it may never top or equal the ones that other countries have but I firmly believe that it can run its own show.  The problem is, visitors like us cannot fully appreciate the beauty and wonders of the deep, or even acknowledge the coolness of the park itself, as there were so many people scrambling around, forcing their way in and fighting for individual space.  Well, I can't blame the MOP clientele, as expected, they all paid to get in so they will get their money's worth by hook or by crook, right?  The problem lies on the staff and, of course, on the administration, can't they just have a maximum limit of people inside, when some people get out others can get in, a simple case of ratio and proportion will work wonders I think.  Anyway, we spend an hour and a half max, shorter than I ever imagine, because my son was terribly uncomfortable due to the non-working (properly) air conditioner, add that to the jam-packed place and you'll get hell on earth, as in it was super hot, you won't even have the chance to breath and take in the marvel in front of you.  That one and a half hour was mostly spent in the souvenir and arcade area at the second floor (?), not a good first impression, if you'll ask me.  But, here's a big but, given a chance, we would like to try again, but this time we're gonna call to inquire if there's any scheduled school, company or community outings the day we're gonna visit *grins*, better safe than sorry.

And so we went out and decided to roam around Rizal Park, it's been ages since we've been there but as it was scorching hot, we decided to cool down in the Manila Ocean Park Cafe which we found out is owned by a woman who also co-owns the ocean park, how's that for rich?  It is an open-air establishment with a number of those big air-conditioner/blower units around, which was a definite turn on on that hot, hot day.  One more thing, it has yellow and blue tables and counter tops accented with pretty flower centerpieces, it oozed of coziness and comfy-ness.  Adventurers (read:the three of us - hubby, me and bebe) who didn't get a good start found a haven to rejuvenate, hmm... did we, really?

We Got It Grilled at Kenny

My son had his monthly growth monitoring a few days ago in his pedia's clinic somewhere in Caloocan City, used to go to Chinese Gen. but the clinic is way accessible than the hospital so we decided to have a location change.  Anyway, after a few pokes here and there, weighing and measuring and a booster shot, we were home-bound but, as usual and expected, my bebe complained about going home without even eating or playing or toy-gawking, so we decided to go to Grand Central Mall.  We were hoping to eat at Shakey's and we earnestly plead and cajoled our son to try Shakey's pizza until he, finally, gave in, but to our heart's dismay, the Shakey's branch in that mall was occupied by another dining establishment already, so, it was bye-bye Shakey's and hello Kenny's for us.  Oh, by the way, we had to go through another bout of pleading and cajoling and we had to take a different path going to Kenny Rogers so as to prevent him from seeing the Pizza Hut chain in the same level of the mall.  A parent got to do what he/she got to do *lol*.

The Kenny Rogers Roasters in Grand Central is a cozy place to eat, it's not crowded and minute, you can sit and lounge for a moment, and do a bit of thinking before you place that order in the counter.  The staff were alright, they did their jobs accordingly and they are more than courteous to the customers and patrons. 

The only problem is, they were kinda out-of-all-stock when we went in and it was lunch time, the peak hour in fastfood business, right?  I had to ask my hubby for a change of order twice as his preferred food were not available, imagine a Kenny Rogers Roasters without a roast chicken, unimaginable, think again.

Be that as it may, and though picking the grilled stuff in their menu was our last resort, it may as well be their saving grace.

The Partial Solar Eclipse and Something To Remember It By

This is not really an update but a new post, nonetheless *grins*.

The longest total solar eclipse of the century had happened last July 22, well, as I am a Philippine resident, I was only a spectator of a partial one but being a part of something monumental as such is a good enough opportunity for me.  It had happened a week ago, why am I only writing about it now, you'll ask, well, I had posted something about it in my other blog prior to the actual event but I am writing about it now, just so I have a remembrance, of sorts.  About me being late, yet again, in updating, uhm, I say, what's new *grins*?

 

I Just Had a Taste of Razon's

Razon's started decades ago in Guagua, Pampanga but as it has developed into a big business over the years, one doesn't need to go to the province to have a taste of their famous and YUMMY product line.

A few weeks ago, we (me, my son, two sis-in-law, 2 nieces) went to SM Mall of Asia to buy some stuff for the then coming school year and give the kids their last summer hurray.  As it was an impromptu gimmick, we reached the mall an hour before the sun set, giving us limited amount of time to pick the stuff in our list so we did some mommy magic and then boogie with the kids.  We roamed around the mall until my son dramatically told us that he's hungry, and as usual, he wanted to eat in Pizza Hut but because we were MOA newbies, we couldn't find the said pizza place and we ended up eating in McDo as we were so tired of looking and walking, so, when we saw the inviting seats and umbrellas outside the said fast food, we just couldn't say no anymore.  Anyway, we made it to Timezone and then wasted some more time in the children's playground and fountain area and then, were off to Razon's to rest, eat and watch the weekend fireworks display.

Razon's is famous for their halo-halo (one of the traditional Filipino dessert and summer treat), unlike those of other brands, theirs is simply made out of cubes of sweetened banana, strips of macapuno, ice shavings, milk and leche flan.  For those who are uninitiated, it may come out as lacking as most Pinoy halo-halo are overflowing with ingredients and full of color but one taste can change that perception.  Razon's halo-halo is sold at 70php and it's worth every penny, I promise.