Return to Nature at Eden Nature Park

One of the perks of working in the corporate world is sometimes you get to go to places for business. Although if it's just a short trip, there's usually only a few hours of personal time. On this trip in particular, most of the personal time we got was just for sleep (and it's not even enough sleep for me!). It's still nice though to be able to get out of the office on what should have been a regular work day.

 Our first two days was spent up in the mountain at Eden Nature Park. Their tagline, "return to nature", is perfect because you'd feel like you're in the middle of a forest inside the resort. Amazingly, they say most of it is actually man-made. It's the owner's private garden and vacation house before it was opened to the public.

T's Frazzled Cook Birthday Celebration and My First Civet Coffee Experience

It seems destination restaurants have sprawled around the metro in the last couple of years. These off-the-beaten path eateries offer something special other than food and somewhere to eat. It could be a unique location, rare delicacy, authentic cuisine, kitschy decorations, mood-altering food or doubling as an art gallery (like this restaurant in my previous post). For me, the thrill is in the discovery of something new and the overall dining experience.

One of Frazzled Cook's tables.

The Frazzled Cook hits a few of the destination restaurant offerings I've mentioned. Their location is an ancestral house in a residential area in Mandaluyong City. Their kitschy decoration consists of books, magazines, mismatched chairs and dining tables, antique chandeliers, old postcards and a group of chinese lucky charm cats. The rare delicacy they're offering is Civet coffee or Coffee Alamid as it is known in the Philippines. Sounds interesting, right?

Coron Part 3: Coron Island Tour (Nemo Found!)

On our second day in Coron, we were scheduled to have the Coron Island tour. According to our tour guide from Be Cool Travel and Tours, it would normally cost Php1200 per person for the whole day tour (from 9am to 5pm) with lunch. Since it was already included in the package we got, we didn't have to worry about this. Our tour guide and boatman were very nice and helpful throughout our trip, unfortunately, I can't remember their names (I'm so bad with names!).

We were picked up at the resort at around 9:30am. After some introductions, we got on our way to our first stop, the Marine Sanctuary. You can rent snorkeling gear from them for Php150, which you can use for the whole day. It's better to bring one of your own though or just use goggles, if you like snorkeling, just to be on the safe side.

Coron Part 2: Mount Tapyas and Maquinit Hot Spring

On our first day in Coron, we arranged to go to Mount Tapyas and Maquinit Hot Spring. Our resort got tricycles to bring us to these places and where ever else we wanted for around Php100 per person. A maximum of 4 persons can ride in one tricycle. Although more people can actually fit in it, that would make it a difficult climb to the foot of Mount Tapyas.

Our first stop is Mount Tapyas. It takes 700+ steps to climb to the top. What's there? Well, according to our pseudo tour guides (they're really just kids selling bottled water), you can see a good view of the Coron islands and Culion islands, the historical leper colony. I would just have to take their word for it because I wasn't able to climb all the way to the top.

Coron Part 1: Dive Link Resort

Coron is on the northern part of Palawan Island, famous for its rock formations, beaches and for divers, shipwrecks and rich marine life.

Our flight from Manila, although scheduled for an hour, landed in Busuanga airport 30 minutes earlier. Upon exiting the small arrival area, you'd see a number of tables outside, where different resorts have setup to welcome guests. It is highly advisable to make your reservations before arriving in Busuanga because I noticed the area was almost deserted once all the tourists have met up with their resort. Another reason is I don't think there's any public transportation from the airport to Coron town.

We went straight to Dive Link's table, where a friendly staff welcomed us and patiently answered some of our curious tourist's questions. The ride to Coron town, where most of the hotels and inns are, is 30 minutes from the airport. From the port, there's a 10-minute boat ride to get to Dive Link.

A piece of Taiwan in Ortigas

One of the things I look forward to on a regular work day is my dinner break. Fortunately for me, my Ortigas office is just a short walking-distance from two major malls, a few minutes drive from a couple of other malls, and the sprawling neighborhood restaurants in Kapitolyo just a quick drive away.

Shi Lin is one of those restaurants I go back to again and again after I discovered it. Their interiors may be modern but they serve traditional Taiwanese fare, and even their background music is authentic! It reminds me of the times my mom plays her cassette tapes of Chinese songs.

Xiao Long Pao

Their specialty is Xiao Long Pao( Shi Lin spells Pao as Bao. As someone who's of Chinese descent, I'm used to the Pao pronunciation, so that's what I'll use throughout this post.)

Art in the Park 2012

The Manila Art in the Park is on it's sixth year this 2012. Although this is my first time to visit the event, I've heard it has gotten bigger and received more visitors each year.

For those who have not heard of Art in the Park, it's an annual event that happens just one Saturday in February. It aims to bring affordable art to the masses (at least the masses who can afford to spare a few hundreds or thousands on art). This year, the maximum amount that participants can sell is Php30,000 (If US$1=Php44, that's US$682). It increased from last year's cap of Php20,000 (US$455). Either way, it's still a lot cheaper compared to prices in galleries.

A piece of France in Makati

Tucked away in a side street, in an area known for Manila's version of a flea market in Bangkal is Le Bistro D' Agathe. It's a quaint French bistro and art gallery by chef and owner, Patrice.

Wall art outside the bistro.

We accidentally found this bistro on a flea market excursion in Bangkal. We were going to have lunch at Fat Michael's, but found out that it has closed and Le Bistro D' Agathe has taken over it's location. The paintings on the wall caught my attention and as the sign says, it's also an art gallery. Interesting. We told ourselves we'll come back some other time since it was closed that late afternoon.

On the early evening we returned, the bistro is open and we're the first customers for the night. Inside, the place is dimly lit and cozy. The interiors are simple, probably for patrons to give more attention to the artworks on the wall. The place is small. With only a few tables and chairs, it's a perfect venue for a romantic date.