Kamay ni Hesus Shrine

Kiong Hee Huat Tsai! Xin Nien Kwai Le! Happy Chinese New Year!

Warning: This is a super late post! Hahaha! This has been sleeping in my draft folder for almost a year now. But as promised, I'll try my very best to publish all my pending posts, so let's start the ball rolling... 

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I visited this place twice last year, on February 17 and March 10, thus, I have divided this post into two section...

1st Visit: February 17, 2013

Together with my family, I celebrated my birthday in Lucban, Quezon. I have been longing to see Kamay ni Hesus Shrine (KNHS) and since it was my birthday, I thought that was the best time to go and see the place, magpapaka banal ako kahit sa birthday ko man lang, hahaha! 

a group of bikers resting under the marker

We took the Antipolo route hoping that it was a shorter and less time consuming route. We left our house in QC at around 6 am and arrived at Kamay ni Hesus Shrine by 10:20 am. Ganun din pala, it took us more than 4 hours to get there, wrong timing because the Pagsanjan-Cavinti road was under construction that time so we have no choice but to go around Cavinti area which was an added approximately 1 hour of travel. But nevertheless, we, especially my husband, enjoyed the route and the sight, he had so much fun driving on the winding road connecting Antipolo and Laguna.

We're able to attend the 10:30 am mass. As expected, a crowd of churchgoers filled the place, we were seated at the covered area beside the chapel. Nevertheless, I could still feel the solemnity of the place. People rushed inside the chapel the moment the priest walked around to bless the crowd with holy water.

Beside the chapel are several souvenir shops where one can buy KNHS items for personal use or pasalubong.

It was raining the entire time we were there, so it was difficult for us to enjoy the sceneries and have our picture taking.

Noah's Ark



We made an attempt to reach the peak, but since it was raining, the steps were slippery, thus we decided not to continue with the climb for safety reasons.



buti na lang panandaliang tumila ang ulan, may matinong family picture kami ;)



As the rain would not stop (ang hirap tuloy kumuha ng matinong picture!) we decided not to further explore the place, instead we just had our lunch at Palaisdaan Restaurant.



2nd Visit: March 10, 2013

Since it was raining and I failed to reach the peak the first time we were at KNHS, I promised myself that I would go back to the place and make it to the top. Hence, we joined my cousin's family on their trip to KNHS.

This time we took the SLEX-San Pablo route (the same route we took on our way home on our 1st visit) just to see the time difference compared to the Antipolo route, halos pareho lang din.

Again, we were able to catch the 10:30 am mass. And since we arrived a little early, we were able to get a seat inside the chapel.

Luckily, the weather was nice that time, so we were able to wander through the place.

Finally, my son and I made it to the top!

My son and I, together with his nanny, joined my cousin and her daughters in climbing. My husband and my cousin's husband were left downstairs to rest since they will drive back to Manila, while my mom and aunt stayed in the chapel. In the middle of our climb, my son got too tired climbing the stairs on his own so his nanny and I took turns carrying him up to the top... and we made it, yey! Thus, it was a very fulfilling and memorable experience for me. Relating these experiences in real life perspective, I'll never get tired of carrying/supporting you my son 'til you reach your own summit. ♥

Welcome 2014!!!

Happy 2014!!! Happy Feast of the Black Nazarene!

Yes I'm back from a prolonged hibernation! I'm happy to be back in the blogosphere! =)

Gosh, I super miss my blog! It's been months since I last logged in here. Sad to say I wasn't able to fulfill my goal last year which is to be active in blogging... ooops, to be honest, majority of those goals weren't fulfilled... knowing myself, I made lots of twists and turns, hahaha! Anyways, today's another year, time for a fresh start, hope I can achieve those goals and more. ;)

Well actually, I haven't totally forgotten this blog last year, once in a while I tried making some posts, but all of them were left hanging in my draft folder awaiting to be finalized, hehehe, I kinda reached a point of busyness in my day job and mommy duties. Now, I'll try my best to finish all those draft posts and publish it ASAP!

So there you go, just wanna share this kickoff blog post of mine for the year (pampaswerte ba!). Happy reading! =) 

Figaro treats from Globe Rewards

Since I started using a mobile phone, about 15 years ago, I have been a loyal prepaid subscriber of Globe network ;) Good thing the network has this MyRewards MyGlobe program where all active subscribers of the network gets to earn reward points for every reload/usage. Read more on this here.

 

Last year I was able to redeem a 4GB USB using my points. Now, even if my husband and mom shared their reward points to me, sadly, my current total points are not sufficient to redeem any GC's, not even another USB. I don't want to use it naman to redeem call and text services, for I want something that I can truly enjoy or have a good use of. And to make the situation worse, my points earned in 2012 will expire on the 30th of this month, waaaaah! So I was thinking hard on how to maximize the use of my points, I don't want it to be forfeited just like that, yet I don't want to compromise the benefit I would get out of it.

 

Luckily just a few days ago, I received a text message from Globe (4438) saying that reward points can be used to pay for Figaro treats... yahoo! At last my points will be put into good use, it's a happy tummy again for me! ;)

Text message I received from 4438

So last Sunday afternoon, I decided to use my points before it becomes forfeited... and yes I redeemed my treats at Figaro Tomas Morato branch. The redemption process was such a breeze. I went straight to the cashier, asked for the mechanics, they took my orders, and then I was given an instruction on how to transfer my points to them. Once the message was sent and confirmed, my orders were given to me. I'm so happy and thrilled because I got lots of goodies without handing out a single centavo. I'm such a proud wise mom that moment!

Tomas Morato branch

My bag of goodies! ;)

Paid everything by my G-Reward

By the way, I'm not a coffee drinker, but a certified dessert lover, hence the reason why I chose to order purely these sweets. If these are not your thing, don't worry, according to the cashier the points are applicable to all Figaro menu items. Here's a snapshot of my goodies... =)

L-R: Cheese Muffin, Chocolate Cake, Tuna Pie, Figaro Carrot Cake and Pandan Cake

My Liam enjoying his cheese muffin

My family and I truly enjoyed these treats!  =)
 

 

 



Valentine's Day 2013 at Sincere Cafe & Restaurant

For V-Day 2013, we had our family date at Sincere Cafe & Restaurant in Banawe St., Q.C.

Initially, we were supposed to dine in another restaurant, but it was too crowded and we were 4th on the waiting list so we decided to transfer and look for another. Luckily, we saw this relatively new restaurant and by the time we went in, there are only few diners. I was kinda hesitant at first... only few diners on this hectic day of dating?... it made me wondered. Then I remembered reading on their signage "Sincerity Group of Restaurants", I quickly asked the server if this is the same as the Sincerity Restaurant located in Binondo... thank God she replied YES... we were relieved, our hungry tummies were comforted by the fact that we will be overly satisfied with the food we are about to eat ;)

The restaurant is located on the 2nd floor of a building, hence, take time to look up so as not to miss it... this maybe the reason why prospective diners overlook the place.

 

As I've said, this is a relatively new restaurant here in Banawe. It opened last August 2012. In general, the place was simple, airconditioned and has ample space for the customers. Aside from the chinese writings/characters on their signage, one would know that it's a chinese restaurant because of the chinese goddess/figurines displayed at the entrance.

 

A couple of minutes after we have settled on our table, diners started to arrive, add to that those customers who'd picked up tons of boxes of fried chicken as their take-out orders. As of this writing, they only accept delivery service within their vicinity due to lack of motorized service. 
 

Sincerity in Binondo is well-known for their Sincerity Fried Chicken (our favorite). From QC, we would travel all the way to Binondo just to satisfy our cravings for their chicken. Lucky us, there's this resto now near our place =)

Menu (colored version)

Food prices here are very reasonable, you get your money's worth. The same reason why we keep on coming back to Sincerity-Binondo.

We ordered the following:

Sincerity Fried Chicken (whole) Php300.00

Fried Oyster Cake (small) Php140.00

The fried chicken and oyster cake are staple part of our order each time we dine in their Binondo branch... of course, we can't afford to miss them here at Sincere Cafe to prove that the quality and taste are the same. And we were not disappointed... love the flavor of the chicken and the gooeyness of the oyster cake!
 

Broccoli with Shredded Beef Php200.00

Chami (small) Php90.00

Rellenong Hipon Php50.00

Overall, we had a tummy filling and satisfying family V-Date, not to mention the savings we had because of its affordable prices. We will definitely be coming back here!

V-Day 2013

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Sincere Cafe & Restaurant

2/F RBL Building,
549 Banawe St., Quezon City.

Tel.#: +632 711-0280 / 711-0212

 

I am A.L. turns 1

Photo Credit: www.123rf.com

Woohoo! Today is my blog's 1st year anniversary. With a very few posts I had since the birth of this blog, I never expected to managed this for a year... yun oh! hahaha! Honestly, I've never imagined myself to be involved in blogging... I absolutely enjoy reading blogs, I find it very informative and entertaining, but I never thought that someday I would write my own. I'm not a techie-type of person, neither a social media addict, for I don't have the luxury of time to spend on it since I have a day job and a son/family to take care of after work and during weekends. I have no Twitter account, I have forgotten my Friendster and Multiply accounts, my Yahoo inbox had piled up because I have no time to check and delete unnecessary emails one by one, lastly, Facebook account ko nga lang di ko ma-update, blog pa kaya... hahaha! That's why I was kinda hesitant and scared when I started this thing. But all those hesitations and fears were replaced by joy and sense of fulfillment right after I published my very first post... I told myself "kaya ko pala" and I have proven myself that I'm not an ultimate technotard, I can still understand the basics in blogging... hahaha!

 

So, why did I create this blog exactly 1 year ago??? 

It started just so I can post our first ever Family Valentine's Date, I was so ecstatic to share and document it because it's another "firsts" of my son. Another factor was the inspiration I got from reading my favorite blogs, hands down to them, ang galing nila grabe! Lastly, I wanted to have my own space where I can express my thoughts, share my experiences, discoveries, and everything running through my mind. I used to have a personal diary during my teenybopper years, but had outgrown it ;) Now, I'm trying to regain the habit of the diary thing in a techie way... hahaha... this blog serves as my online life journal. 

 

I'm happy writing this anniversary post... my first ever anniversary post and hopefully not the last... hahaha! Cheers for my blog's 1st anniversary and for more posts in the future! =)

 

Lam Tin Tea House

Looking for an affordable Chinese food? Try Lam Tin Tea House. It’s a casual dining restaurant that serves reasonably priced food. This is our favorite place to dine whenever my family and I are craving for Chinese food on a tight budget. Been here for numerous times already yet their food never failed to disappoint me, I always leave with a happy tummy ;)

 

Last night, as my mom was not in the mood to cook our dinner, she suggested that we just eat out. We don't want the typical fast food thing at the moment, and payday is still way too far, hence, we all agreed to have our dinner here once again.

 

 

 

Our all-time favorite is their Noodle Feast. This dish is large enough to share. It's a serving of flat noodles with bits and pieces of everything... white chicken, spicy pork, beef, dumplings and Chinese pechay. This comes with a semi-sweet sauce usually served on top of the noodles, but in our case, we always request them to serve the sauce in a separate bowl simply because we want to be in control of the taste.

 

Around Php240.00

 

Another thing we like here is their yang chow fried rice. It has generous pieces of shrimps, pork asado, scrambled egg and green peas. One can enjoy it even in the absence of a main dish... hehehe.

 

Yang Chow Fried Rice Php90.00 - Good for 2 pax

 

We also love their version of buttered chicken, sweet and sour shrimp, and fried squid (sorry, got no pictures of it). These are what we usually order every time we dine here. And of course, as a typical Chinese restaurant, they also offer free tea plus refillable soup! =)


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Lam Tin Tea House
30-U Banawe St. cor. Cuenco St.,

Brgy. Sto. Domingo, Quezon City.

Tel.#: +632 425-7093


 

February... my Feborite month!

Woohoo! It’s the first day of the Love Month ♥♥♥ My Birth Month too! I can’t explain my excitement every time this month arrives, the same way I feel towards the month of September (our anniversary month) and November (my son’s birth month). These months have a special spot in my heart!

I’m such a hopeless romantic person, a sucker for love stories, a believer of happy endings, even emotional at times. And to justify this craziness, I’m correlating it to the fact that I was born in the Love Month… hahaha!

Surely, I’m excited to spend another Valentine’s Day with my family, but I’m more excited to celebrate another year of my life with them. A few days from now another year will be added to my age… uh-oh!... but hey, they’re just numbers, I can have a selective amnesia for that… hahaha! Well, seriously, I think that the additional year to my age is a reminder that now I have to be more cautious with my health and diet. I need to have a healthy body, mind and spirit so my family and I can spend a lifetime of years.


  

Goals for 2013

There are a lot of things I want to accomplish this year... and here they are... I hope I can achieve all of them... just a wishful thinking! ;)

By the way, they are in no particular order...

 

• Be active in blogging. I really admire those who manage to maintain an updated blog... how I wish I could do the same. Well, to start off, here I am making my first post for this year ;) 

• Lose 30 lbs. From 100 lbs. back in college (year 2002), I consistently gained weight year after year... hahaha... thanks to my superb appetite, not to mention those pounds I gained during my pregnancy days... thus, I'm now weighing 150 lbs. Booo! =( So for this year, I'm trying to go back to my "dalaga" weight which was about 120 lbs. Sana lang makayanan ko... hahaha!

• Invest in a mutual fund. For my son's future.

• Witness the Hot Air Balloon Fiesta. I have always been fascinated with hot air balloons. For so long this has always been listed in my yearly plans, but never ever materialized due to time and budget constraints. Kasi naman lagi kasabay ng birthday ko yung event, kaya tuloy laging wala kong budget for this... hahaha!

• Dine at Antonio's Garden. Ironic how I'm dying to lose weight and here I am fantasizing of dining here. But pardon me, I was in love at first sight with the place the first time I saw its pictures in the net and other blog sites.

• Explore Ilocos Norte and Ilocos Sur. I have been to Vigan during my teenybopper years, when I played a part on my cousin's wedding entourage held in that province. Wasn't able to maximize our stay there because the focus then was on the wedding. I only had a few minutes walk on the famous Calle Crisologo. I once told myself that I'll definitely come back here and explore it.  

• Experience Boracay. Who doesn't want to huh???

That's it for now. I don't want to make a long list, for the longer it is the more impossible it will be for me to achieve.

Blue Coral Beach Resort

Another late post... =)

My little family spent this year's summer at a beach resort in Batangas. It's my second time here in Laiya. The first time I was here was way back in 200? I was single then with my MBA buddies and stayed in a different resort (Sabangan, just beside Blue Coral, hehe).

A relative of hubby's officemate (whew ang hirap i-connect!) owned this resort, thus we were lucky to be given a 30% discount on our overnight room accomodation... Yehey! We stayed in a Deluxe Room (Php5,800.00 peak season rate exclusive of the discount given to us) which has a capacity of 4-6 persons, located in the main building. The room has an en suite bathroom, television, mini ref, 2 extra mattress, and a balcony.

What I like most about this resort was that it has a kiddie pool... yes, for a mom like me, it's a must! My son really enjoyed it, especially the kiddie slide!



Liam's 1st beach experience... he was so amazed with the waves ;)

Another thing that I liked in this resort was their mini grotto. Impressive and interesting.

 

Blue Coral by night, view from our balcony



For guests staying overnight, meals are mandatory. Thus, we availed of their meal package of Php1,250.00 per head, inclusive of dinner, breakfast and lunch, all served buffet style with unlimited lemonade (dinner), iced tea (lunch) and orange juice or coffee (breakfast).

Upon checking in, guests will be given their meal stubs for their entire stay so be sure to safekeep your meal stubs ;)

Top Photos: Dinner
Bottom Photos (L-R): Breakfast and Lunch 

Food were served buffet style at their restaurant located at the ground floor of the main building.

Restaurant

Breakfast buffet spread

 

Ang batang nag-enjoy sa swimming, tulog sa picture taking... Bow! ;)

Indeed, we had a great summer vacation here.

  

April 29-30, 2012
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Blue Coral Beach Resort
Laiya, San Juan, Batangas
www.bluecoralbeachresort.com.ph

Chinatown's Best Food Restaurant

This post is way too late already, hehehe... but I can't help not to blog it simply because I sooo love this restaurant =)

 

We've been here for several times already and we kept on coming back because of its yummy food. When hubby and I were still in the bf-gf stage, we're patrons of their buffet (no wonder we grew this big... hahaha!), but since we now have our Liam we've been conscious with our budget, hence we're OK with their a la carte and set menus ;)

 

To prove how fanatic we are of this resto... this is where we held the reception of our son's Christening last December 2010.

Last March, as an advanced celebration of my mom's birthday, we treated her to a dinner. We tried their promo package for a group of 4. We chose package C (around Php700) which includes nido soup, yangchow rice, mixed vegetables, fried chicken, fish fillet in lemon sauce, shrimp tempura, and brownies. Drinks are excluded in the package.

 

Nido Soup




Yangchow Rice

 

My son loves their yangchow rice and nido soup... he actually ate a lot of it, as in purely yun lang, he didn't bother to eat ulam (matipid ang anak ko) hehehe ;)

Mixed Vegetables

Fried Chicken

Fish Fillet in Lemon Sauce

Shrimp Tempura

Brownies

 

The mixed veggies and tempura were superb, love the mushrooms and the crunch of the tempura coating! The fried chicken was also yummy. However, the fish fillet in lemon sauce was too tangy for me. While the brownies were a little dry (not moist and chewy as I dreamt of, hehehe) but hey, who am I to complain, it's a cheap promo package remember.

Nevertheless, we were very satisfied with the food and their service, plus the affordable price that came with it, quite a steal I guess. ;)

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Chinatown's Best Food Restaurant
589 Banawe St. cor. Don Manuel St.
Quezon City.
Tel.#: +632 712-4249 / 711-1444

                 740-8649 / 741-7942

www.chinatownsbestfood.com