This is Lovelee: July 2011

28 July 2011

FOODIE THOUGHTS: Teriyaki Boy at Trinoma

And yet again, I could not resist the pull of Japanese food.

My friends and I found ourselves at the entrance of another Teriyaki Boy branch. Same old story -- We were hungry and we wanted a place where we are familiar with so not to sacrifice the quality of the food that we are going to eat.

It was a good time to be there because there's just a couple of diners inside. We had all the peace and quiet that we need so to continue our chika moments. We ordered then waited and after 10minutes, our orders are delivered.

We shared everything -- Yakimeshi Rice, Kakiage tempura, Tofu Steak and Katsudon. All the dishes were good for sharing for us. These selection is our usual favorites so there's nothing that could go wrong. Haha! We were all filled to the brim but yet, very happy with our choices.

I would like to commend as well the service that the attendants have given us. They were attentive and we did not have to ask for water because they automatically refilled our glasses. Little things like this are worth much more when it comes to excellent customer experience. I hope they keep it up.

FOODIE THOUGHTS: Conti's at Greenbelt 2

I am loving Conti's! We just walked from our office which is in Buendia corner Paseo in Makati to

Greenbelt 2 so just imagine how tired we all were..and hungry! Good thing we were a bit early so

usual Friday crowd and got a table at the second floor and we're set to order but it took us, maybe,
5 minutes to finalize our choices.

Here they are:

Buffalo Wings P180

Here is our appetizer..Buffalo Wings! More on the sweet side which I like best. The chicken meat

was tender and the sauce poured on it was just the exact amount so it was perfect!

Chicken Ballotine P225

My choice. I wanted to veer away on beef or pork so I opted for chicken. It was like

embotido topped with a generous amount of sauce so you can never say that it's

lacking in taste. That's how I want to describe it. I said to myself that I would not

finish all my rice serving but If I remember correctly, I did finish it all. Tsk tsk.

Beef Tapa P160

My officemate was craving for tapa so here it is. Just the day before we ate here,

she already ordered Tapa King but she was really looking for its taste so it followed

us here at Conti's. She was not able to eat all of it so I had several pieces of her tapa

and I find it very tender and tasty. With drops of vinegar on it, it was fantastic!

Seafood Au Gratin P240

Another officemate's choice because she wanted seafood and something that

would have cheese on it. Her first two choices were not available (bummer!) so

she quickly delved into the menu and looked for her third choice and finally got

one. It was delicious too but the seafood parts were a little bit lacking. By the way,

I ate all of her Russian salad because she found it a little bit on the bland side

but I didn't so I benefited from that.

Of course, I could not go out of this place without ordering their famed Mango Bravo.
Oh my, I loved it! I fell in love with it on my first forkful of this. Yum!

Our dinner was great. It lived up to my expectations and that made me
very happy that night. I am craving for their Mango Bravo right now but next time,
I'll try to order a different dessert for the sake of experimenting. But maybe, I can
order 2 cake slices, why not, right? Hmmm.. Gluttony! Haha! Let's see.

26 July 2011

My Sunset Photo Collection

I love the sunset..or sundown..whatever we prefer to call it. Whenever that event happens, I just look at that vast horizon and for a short moment, I feel peaceful and so much relaxed. Aaahhh, sweet, sweet life.

With every chance that I have, especially when I am in a place that has an amazing view of that sunset, I take advantage of that.

I still have a small collection but I made a vow to make this grow, eventually. Let me share what I have so far..

19 July 2011

I ♥ BOHOL: Virgin Island

The second island that we visited when we did the island hopping series is the Virgin Island. Most certainly 'virgin' because no signs of civilization there. There are the occasional vendors that offers merchandises from fresh sea urchins to cultured pearl accessories and even fresh buko juice for that beat-the-heat feeling. Very diverse choices, I say.

From Balicasag Island, I think, it took the boat around 20-30 minutes to get to this pristine island. Very small only but it gives you the best of all things possible in this natural environment. Clear water, a good snorkeling spot when you go beyond the clear waters invisible 'line' and a magnificent sand bar. Though at that time, it was a bit high tide already so we did not get to experience the sand bar when dry nor walk to the far edge of it, but, who says that we did not enjoy it! :)

Immediately after setting foot on the glittering, hot and white sandy beach, we took in the environment and right away loitered around to choose a perfect spot. The sun was at its highest so looking for a shade was essential, so we can leave our things but at the same time, be able to see them while we are at the water. After settling in, we jumped in the crystal clear and cool beach like small children. Cannot get enough of it, not minding at all that we are fully exposed to the harsh rays of the sun and that our sunblock was helpless in protecting us. FYI, this is where we got burned to a crisp. Really! :)

Check these out!

There it is..Virgin Island!

Oh-so-clear waters!

I forgot that the sun was scorching hot. I did this position for more than 20 minutes, I think, not realizing that I was getting baked! Haha!

Inner child in us..feeling free in the waters

Have some of that white sand

There's our special spot and our fresh buko. For only Php10!

And here is our tindero, the name is Raymond. Nice kid. He helped his dad sell their buko.

Loving the moment!

We got a starfish! Yehey! But this one is crawling, haha, I placed it on my shoulder and he was crawling slowly.Creepy feeling but okay :)

Up til now, we would still remember how this exact scenario played out everytime we reminisce about this particular vacation... We just wanted it to rewind and rewind. :)

There's the tail of their famous sand bar that we did not get to walk on because its high tide, but we did some quality time on the other side of the sand bar just by sitting and talking while my friend's trusty umbrella was trying to provide us some shade

Back at Panglao... 4 sun-baked individuals, who, during this picture-taking session, was badly feeling the effects of a nasty sunburn

You can really see the difference. Sigh.

For people who loves the sun and sand and some solitude, do not miss this spot. You will regret it if you do. :)

Check out my Bohol 2010 Trip:

Sagbayan Peak - http://thisislovelee.blogspot.com/2011/06/i-bohol-sagbayan-peak.html

Bilar Man-Made Forest - http://thisislovelee.blogspot.com/2011/06/i-bohol-bilar-man-made-forest.html

Hanging Bridge - http://thisislovelee.blogspot.com/2011/06/i-bohol-steppin-it-up-at-hanging-bridge.html

Loboc Church - http://thisislovelee.blogspot.com/2011/06/i-bohol-loboc-church.html

Tarsier Sanctuary - http://thisislovelee.blogspot.com/2011/06/i-bohol-tarsier-sanctuary-cute-little.html

Prony the Big Python - http://thisislovelee.blogspot.com/2011/06/i-bohol-prony-gluttonous-python.html

Baclayon Church - http://thisislovelee.blogspot.com/2011/06/i-bohol-baclayon-church.html

Sandugo Site - http://thisislovelee.blogspot.com/2011/06/i-bohol-sandugo-blood-compact-site.html

Albuquerque Church - http://thisislovelee.blogspot.com/2011/06/i-bohol-albuquerque-church-in-town.html

Calape Church - http://thisislovelee.blogspot.com/2011/06/i-bohol-calape-church.html

Rio Verde River Cruise - http://thisislovelee.blogspot.com/2011/06/i-bohol-rio-verde-river-cruise.html

Dauis Church - http://thisislovelee.blogspot.com/2011/06/i-bohol-dauis-church.html

Hinagdanan Cave - http://thisislovelee.blogspot.com/2011/06/i-bohol-hinagdanan-cave.html

Balicasag Island - http://thisislovelee.blogspot.com/2011/07/i-bohol-balicasag-island.html

18 July 2011

I ♥ BOHOL: Balicasag Island

Island hopping! Yes! Finally going to see those beeeeautiful islands that Bohol is surrounded in. Your travel itinerary must not forget this activity for it's one of the main highlights.

First stop is Balicasag Island and from what I've gathered prior to our trip, one can do snorkeling, diving, basically, anything that can be done in the water. We were excited..I was giddy even if I don't know how to swim. Yup, that is correct, swimming is not my forte but I can float on my back. I guess that still counts, sort of. But that did not stop me from taking a peek at the wonders of the ocean.

At the start of our day, we woke up at 6am, we had our generous breakfast, compliments of our resort, and we had it at our simple table but our view was beachfront. Haha! What a great way to start the day. Just feeling the soft breeze and the sound of the soft waves lapping at the sand. As if beckoning us to go to the beach and enjoy ourselves right away.

We were supposed to leave at 6am bound to Balicasag Island but since we overslept a little, that very short time difference made an impact on our trip because we nearly missed the dolphin watching. Well, we sort of missed it because we just saw their fins from afar. 7am was already too late. So my advice to travellers who plans to go here in the very near future, stick to the original time that was advised because they are not lying, it is indeed true. ;p

Moving on, we just enjoyed our bangka ride going to the island. Our size of the bangka was just right, not too small yet not too big. We had a lot of space to stretch and be alone with our thoughts. It was so relaxing! The waves are tempting you to fall asleep as they swing from one side to the other. I love this feeling! As we near the island, we were all excited and the water is so clear that you can see the bottom. And this was a deep part. Scary! :)

We docked at a rocky side of the beach with lots of sea plants floating, it gives an icky feeling when your skin touches it but keep in mind that these are plants so it's alright. Anyway, check out the photos below of what happened to us at the island...

The start of our day..around 6:30am

This is what we have seen of those magnificent dolphins..just the tails and fins. People, do not be late. Do not be like us! :)

There it is! Balicasag Island!

Look at that! very clear water even from a deep end

Welcome to Balicasag Island!

A few snaps here and there..and here and there again..haha!

Weird name for a boat :)

Peaceful island life..Tranquility at its finest

Time to go snorkeling. Our little boat, the Sea Turtle, if I remember correctly, costs at around P250-P300 for all 4 of us already

Hanging on to dear life. For me, that was the scenario, manong bangkero did not give us any life vests.When I peeked underwater at one side of the ocean, I saw a deep end that promised bottomless depths (exaggerating!) but really, it was so deep already. I got scared. :)

But that did not stop me from enjoying it. Forget your fears! I even saw Nemo, by the way, and this big blue starfish. :)

I got this for remembrance. When I jumped in the ocean, I hit a coral and it hurts so bad but it became numb eventually that's why I was able to enjoy the experience