Cebu Part 1: The Cebu Pacific fiasco, NS Royal Pensione, Casa Verde and Tops

Yey! Part 1 of the BFF diaries in CEBU: The Queen City of the South! :)We've had this trip booked early this year and it's one of the most awaited trip of the year for me. Too bad it was just me and BFF Trency, so we promised BFF Amanda that we'd make bawi and have another trip and to make it BONGGA! :)) And oh pardon this long post, this is going to highlight DAY 1 in Cebu City. :p

Mom wanted to see me off, so we first drove to Rockwell where I'd be leaving my car. Then it was breakfast over at Grams where we had a lovely breakfast of U.S. Tapa, fluffy eggs, and garlic rice, and of course COFFEE. Oh they call it Patriotic Breakfast. So good!


After a short breakfast with the Mother, I had to take a cab that would take me to NAIA Terminal 3, the assigned terminal for Cebu Pacific Air. We went early because the day before we left, a fellow blogger, Trip Or Treats and Carlos Celdran were cursing Cebu Pacific for their delay. We got scared we'd end up missing our flight, so it was better to be early.

Check-in went by smoothly, but Cebu Pacific's ground stewards were really MASUNGIT! Seriously, you guys have no right to be all grouchy at customers who are also really pissed off with your awful service! I wish I took note of the name of that girl who was super masungit. We get that you're tired and all, but it's your freaking job. If you want to be angry at the world, either you wait until after your shift ends or get the hell out of that job.

After surviving check-in, we had so much free time at our hands, Trency and I crammed research on Bantayan Island, our destination this summer. Thank God for Illy's free wi-fi, although it was on and off (well mostly off).

After having coffee, we decided to go to the departure lounge to wait for our boarding time. Since it was past 12NN, we had lunch at Let's Chow, a super cheap-ass Chinese stall. Trency had sharksfin siomai and I had wanton noodle soup. Really good! And for Php90 NOT BAD AT ALL! :)



Since our departure time was 1.55PM we went to our gate early. Our hearts sank when we heard the announcement that said our flight was going to be delayed. We were so pissed! It was my longest-ever stay at an airport! The stupid Cebu Pacific plane arrived past 2PM, and we got to board at around 2.30PM. And to top of our unlucky Friday the 13th stint, we were stuck on the runway for a good 20 minutes due to a congested runway. We were finally up in the air at around 3.30PM, our supposed time of arrival at Mactan International Airport.



Finally at almost 5PM, we had arrived in Cebu City. We quickly forgot about that harrowing airport fiasco and put on our vacation game faces ON! We were finally here! And no we weren't going to let anything get in the way!

We were to stay overnight in the city, so we only had a few precious hours. We checked-in at NS Royal Pensione, the hotel we stayed in when we were in Cebu last year for my cousin's wedding.



It's funny because the room they assigned to us was the same room we got when we stayed there. So there was that knowing feeling already. Plus the hotel's really cozy, and the staff, really friendly. It's a really modest hotel, but it has got the most basic necessities.




We were on our toes since we wanted to make the most out of our stay in the city. We freshened up a little then went to dinner at the famous CASA VERDE. Luckily it was within walking distance from our hotel.

Since it was payday Friday, families and barkadas filled the place up. Casa Verde has 3 branches, the one we went to was a house in a subdivision. It really is a HOUSE, with the restaurant on the ground floor and the living quarters on the 2nd floor.


We ordered the famous Brian's Ribs, which I must say must be one of the best ribs I've ever tasted. They served it to us hot, with the meat almost falling off the bones. I suddenly remembered why Mom loves meat that sticks to the bone. She says it's very TASTY, and I think these ribs are a true testament to that fact. The meat was very, very tender. However, Trency wanted more sauce.

Trency also wanted seafood, so we ordered this filleted shrimp dish. It was soooo good! It had 8 pieces, and we inhaled it! Forget about your diet when you eat at Casa Verde.

Then as if we weren't full, we ordered dessert: Lauren's Lava. We both loved how the warm chocolate syrup mixed with the cold vanilla ice cream on top. Plus it wasn't THAT sweet, so it was just perfect!

After dinner, we walked back to our hotel to decide on our next step. Trency's friend suggested we go up to Tops, the highest point in Cebu. So from our hotel we hailed a cab, please note that you have to talk to the driver. You'd have to ask them to wait for you. Luckily, we had a very accommodating driver, and for Php800 took us to Tops.

Tops is situated at the top of Busay Hills and is about 2,000 feet above sea level, and it offers a good view of both Mactan and Cebu. I must say, the view was absolutely breathtaking!





Even at almost 10PM a lot of people were coming up to Tops that night. It's open 24 hours and has a cafe and a bar. It's the perfect place to just lounge around and enjoy the cool, night air. Trency and I drank here, too.

After Tops, we went back to our hotel to rest up.

Stay tuned for our BANTAYAN ISLAND ADVENTURES. I'm gonna make it more of a photoblog, so you guys won't get bored with my narration. :)

CASA VERDE
#69 Lim Tian Teng St., Cebu City
Tel Nos. (032) 2536472, (032) 2538234, (032) 2536472

NS ROYAL PENSIONE
Juana Osmeña Street, Cebu City
Tel Nos. 032 254 5358
Website: http://www.nspensione.com/about_us.html

10th Christmas Together and a Welcome Back Celebration

It's a very special Christmas for us this year. It's our 10th year of being a barkada! High school friends are indeed forever, and I am just so happy that we have survived 10 years and I'm sure there will be more 10 years of togetherness. And to those who know our group, you know how CRAZY we are when we're all together! :D

Earlier this year we've gone to the beautiful Bohol (an island in the Southern Philippines) to celebrate the season of the sun. So for this year, we made another special arrangement to have a Christmas celebration. If you've read my blog entries, we are such big spenders when it comes to food. All we do when we have a get together is eat, and EAT A LOT!

So far, our barkada has done American, Thai, and Meditteranean foods and shabu-shabu. And they're not exactly cheap (hahaha!).

We all decided to meet at the new, hip, and happening place Burgos Circle at The Fort in Taguig City. urgos Circle is tucked behind rows of condominiums so the area is quiet and cozy. Nice place for people to meet up and chow down!


Our dinner was supposed to be at Cafe Juanita at 7.30PM. But seems like unfortunate events happened - we were all late, one got lost, another missed her exit, and the restaurant was packed - so we moved to next-door Original Mile Hi Diner. It's just so small, from the main door you can see everything with one sweep.


Same as upstairs, you can get one good look as you go up the flight of stairs. There was one big group who already claimed the 2nd floor, and you could hear their laughter even from outside!


Since Gladys, boyfriend Luke, and I arrived first we got first dibs on the menu and decided to order appetizers:


The nachos were really good, chips were cripsy and the salsa with a little twang. But it lacked ingredients that were written on the menu such as jalapeños and sour cream. This did not make Gladys happy!

When we were finally complete, we all exchanged gifts! Here you see Trency giving in and completely failing her emotional quotient test. She already opened Amanda's gift - a cute clutch bag which screams Trency's name! :D


When the orders started arriving, we didn't even know how to place them on the table. This is a lot, as usual, so just be ready (ha!).

Amanda ordered Clam Chowder and Caesar Salad. The clam chowder was bland, watery even, and it was not hot.


Trency and Luke ordered Porkchops. Trency had it with rice, while Luke had his with mashed potatoes. I tried a small piece and it was really good. The meat was tender and tasty. They must have marinated it for quite some time so the meat was able to mop up the flavors.

Mike ordered Chicken Platter which had Chicken Lollipop, Buffalo Wings, and Chicken Tenders. It also had French fries and quesadillas for side dishes. The quesadillas was SO GOOD! Cheesy and soft! It was a sure fire hit with Gladys.

Gladys had the healthier version of Mike's platter. She had the seafood platter with calamares and fish fingers. Quesadillas and French fries accompanied the platter too!

I had the misfortune of ordering Chicken Cordon Bleu. It was too salty for my taste, and it just looked so blah. Good thing the salad and the mashed potatoes tasted really good or else it would've been a complete disaster!

We had a couple of rounds of beer, and a lot of chit chat about our high school life, and how 2011 would treat us. It was funny because even if did not really talk about DRESSING UP for this occasion, we all ended up looking glam! FABULOUS! :D

We had a swell time reminiscing our high school days, it was the time when we really didn't care about anyone. Admittedly we were the weird ones, we talked about politics and religion when the other girls talked about boys and going out. We had our own fun during those days. It's just that after 10 years, that when we started coming out of own shells and stepping out into the big world.

Afterwards we moved to Rue Bourbon, a small bar and restaurant just a block away from the Mile Hi Diner, to have cocktails. It's a cool place to hang out in, the music wasn't too loud, and their chairs were soft and cozy.

Here's us toasting to more years of friendship (through thick and thin) and to the NEW YEAR!

To my girls: I love you all so much! You are all the sisters I never had! Always know that I am here for each one of you. I LOVE YOU!! BALI FOR OUR TRIP NEXT YEAR!! :D

We ate at:
Original Mile Hi Diner
Forbes Town Center
29th St. (P. Burgos Circle), Bonifacio Global City
Taguig, Metro Manila, Philippines
Tel. No. 556-2530

Cocktails and a little partying over at:
Rue Bourbon Bar and Restaurant
Burgos Circle, Bonifacio Global City
Taguig City
Mobile No. 0932-7649478

Diner Style ala Grams

Diner-style establishments amaze me because they're not a Filipino concept. It's not an everyday thing for us, so when an opportunity comes to get to eat in one, you just go grab it. Given it's price and it's inaccessibility to some, diner-style establishments only cater to a specific crowd, which is a bit saddening. There are so much stuff in their menu that's not available in a McDonald's, and they have different twists to their meals that make it such a fun place to go to.

I remember falling in love with "diners" when we ate at Mr. Jones. A bit pricey, sure, but dear God it was really good. And I'm glad I was able to experience it all over again, this time at Grams.

Located at Rockwell, this place is a bit hidden. It's clumped along with Starbucks and Pancake House. It's quite popular with the young ones, since it's very near Ateneo Professional Schools.

It was a stormy Thursday night, when I accompanied two very hungry Ateneans (yikes! :p) Trency and Kenn. Since I was still full, I only had coffee which was unbelievably REFILLABLE (yes, I was thrilled to the bones!). But the two hungry ones had this.
My refillable coffee! I ended up having 2 cups that night!

This was Trency's Chicken and Pork Adobo. Really good and very tasty! Tender meaty goodness. I also loved how they cooked their scrambled egg. Highly recommended! :D

This would be a very hungry Kenn. He had 2-pcs. fried chicken with mashed potatoes and buttered vegetables. Sorry we weren't close so I didn't have the guts to ask for some dibs! :D

Looking around, I saw people eating merrily. It was kind of weird because it was close to 12mn but there were still a lot of people milling around. In fact, the place was as noisy as hell!


I'm sorry, about this, but this was just too cute. This was their bathroom sign. Since it was the bagno for both male and female, they came up with a totally creative sign!

I'd definitely want to come back to Grams and EAT. I just hate that I was too full that night. But I will be back just so I could taste something that came from here. And yes, compared to Mr. Jones, Grams is definitely more affordable! :D

Now I think, it's also time to taste Johnny Rockets at Eastwood. :D


Grams
The Rockwell Club
23 Amorsolo Drive, Rockwell Center
Makati, Metro Manila, Philippines
Tel. No. 756-1535