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magnifICA's Tagaytay Escape

Our friends from magnifICA went on a Tagaytay excursion yesterday wanting to try out Sanctuario, Bag of Beans among others and here are their reviews:
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Hi magnifICA,

Just want to share with you our experience in Tagaytay yesterday. Overall, the Sanctuario experience was ok. I ordered the Bulalo Pasta. The meat was tender but it was a litlle bland for my taste. The Bangus Carbonara and the Pasta Aligue were good! The raisin bread was also up to expectation. It was soft and the sweetness was just right. The ambiance was nice. We were seated at the Ground Floor beside the glass window where we had a great view of Taal. After lunch we passed by the Pink Sisters Shrine. Maong and I took some great shots there.

We then stopped by the newly rennovated Taal Vista Lodge. The Lounge was nice. It was a huge transformation from the old interior which was dark and rustic. Now it was bright and romy. It somehow resembled the lobby of Edsa Shangrila. We then went outside to the vista point and took some pictures.

Our last stop was Bag of Beans near the town proper. Personally that was the best part of the trip. From the road you can only see the small coffee shop. It's deceptively small but they have a garden below which has an assortment of flowers and plants. It resembles a little bit like Sonya's Garden but more cozy. They had little nooks in the garden for small groups, and a covered area for bigger groups. We had dessert and coffee. The apple pie ala mode was superb! Yumm! The coffee's good and CHEAP! It costs P55 and it's reffillable. It's a very conducive place to hang out and chatter up. We had a lot of laughs and near miss experiences.

It was a really great adventure! We're planning on repeating this every month. Kind of like a monthly out-of -town get together. There are plenty of unexplored dinning places out there. So I hope the others can come along next time.

'Til then... Di

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To add, parking at taal vista now cost P100 unless you have your ticket validated at the coffee shop. For those who have pets, you can bring them at Bag of Beans. We saw a number of patrons in the garden with their dogs. Maong.

Giving Birth @ Asian Hospital in Alabang

Recommended.

It was our decision to give birth in Asian Hospital despite the fact that it was 20mins away from our Malate condo and despite some complains from family and friends that it was too far. I did not regret the decision and we enjoyed every moment that we stay in Asian. In fact, we wanted to extend for a few more days because our P1,600 room rate (small private room which is as big as a large private room in Makati Med that costs 3,000+); is almost shouldered by our health care in the office. Imagine P1,100 is shouldered by Philamcare and P400 is shouldered by Philhealth. We are just paying P100 per stay that already includes food hotel food, nurse at a touch of a button, and free utilities&services (daily cleaning, aircon and drinking water).

What I love most about Asian Hospital! 1. Candelight Dinner and Makati Skyline Food. Yes, Makati Skyline serves the food so you feel like in a hotel rather than anguish at the sight of hospital food everytime it is delivered. There are 5 patient's meal served at 6.30am,9.30am,12nn,3pm,6pm. So keep your expectations low, and taste the food in Asian --- it is really good. The clincher is the candelight dinner on your last day. Although the candelight dinner is hosted inside one of the converted hospital rooms. The waiter said it used to be held outside in the patio but then they realized that it is not good for the mom. In any case, the steak meets our expectations. There is a glass of wine, salad and dessert. 2. Only 1,600 private room that looks like a hotel. Of coures, you could argue that a room in manila doctors would costs P1,200 only and even cheaper in polymedic. However, if your benchmark is Makati Med or St. Lukes, the cost of the room is too cheap. It already includes, a ref, tv, a nice restroom, 1 sofa fed, door curtains, pantry service (water, ice, and microwave). The only tip is that these rooms are limited. If you are not able to get one, you'll be assigned a large private room costing around P2,400 which is still cheaper vs. P3,000+ rooms of Makati Med and St. Lukes. 3. Giving birth in Genesis. Genesis is located in the 3rd floor of Asian hospital where the birthing rooms are located. The birthroom is exactly like a small private room but the bed converts into an operation bed so it is really convenient. I think the delivery fees were reasonable: Normal induced birth with epidural costs = 20,000 Huggery (Nursery)                               = 8,800 Anesthesiologist (In-House)                = 14,800

Other small stuff we love: (a) FREE parking basement or public, (b) FREE local calls, (c) visiting hours is 6am until 9pm (d) you'll really know who among your friends & relatives would extend an extra effort to visit you in Asian.

Other tips:
-- rooming in your baby is a great experience -- try it out,
-- make sure you already fill out your philhealth forms and let your OB sign it already.
-- finally, WE LOVE OUR PEDIA! I'll write a separate posts on why we love her.

WHAT I HATE ABOUT ASIAN HOSPITAL 1. Understaffed! It is not true that the staff is "bobo" or does not do their job well. We found that some of them are good and helpful, except that it is either there are too many request that they cannot attend to all the patients at the same time OR they have just been assigned and lacked experience regarding the hotel's operation or experience in handling patients. When you call for nurses, housekeeping or the huggery, it takes them almost 20mins to respond to your needs.

2. Overkill charging of our OB! Our OB charged us P37,000 as her professional fees and P5,500 for circumcision. I'm not sure if it is because she does not hold clinic there and there are additional charges for practicing in Asian or she really charges too much.

3. Inadequate tools. Specially there was a specific tool needed for circumcision that the Huggery did not have and they said that they need to order it from abroad. Also, the billing system is inadequate and process is not that great. You should be careful what they are charging you and you really need to understand your bill .

Added Feb.10 by Anton

4. Birth Certificate Hassle. We got baby Aidan's certificate after two weeks and this was great. However, it does not contain a registry number and you need to get it from the Muntinlupa city hall. What a hassle?!

MORE INFORMATION
Asian Hospital & Medical Center
Filinvest Alabang, Muntinlupa
Take the Filinvest exit , then turn on the first right after the toolgate.

The launch of Aidanacio.us!

aidanacious, originally uploaded by antondiaz.

We would like to share with you the launch of http://aidanacio.us/ with the mission of taking one great photograph of Aidan a day until his wedding day. This is to share with our family & friends the joy of Aidan and my love for photography. Thanks for you support and I do hope you enjoy the site!

P.S. Please post a comment on the guest map so that we would know the people visiting the Aidanacious.

THANK YOU for visiting me! -- Baby Aidan

Family & Friends who visited., originally uploaded by antondiaz.

Thank you to all the family & friends who visited Baby Aidan over the past 5 days. It really feels great to see all of you who extended an extra effort either to visit in the hospital or at home. We appreciate all the welcoming text messages, food, flowers and gifts for Baby Aidan -- maraming salamat. You've touch our lives and Baby Aidan with your caring and support during this momentous occasion. We hope we can reciprocate someday or pay it forward. Thank you. Here is the complete link of the pictures over the first 5 days. Enjoy!
         Episode 1: The Birth of Baby Aidan
         Episode 2: The 2nd day of life
         Episode 3: Aidan's Home Coming

Sincerely, Anton, Rache and Aidan

Happy Birthday Baby Aidan Dominic!!

@ 7.54am on January 19, Baby Aidan Dominic was born in Asian Hospital! After 6 hours of having an induced labor in the triage of the Genesis center of Asian Hospital, we finally have a successful normal birth.

There were alot of challenges along the way:
First, at 12.30am my wife noticed that she was having mucous secretion and we suspected that the bag of water ruptured already. We immediately proceeded to the Asian Hospital and got confirmation that the bag is leaking and we have 24 hours to give birth or else it would be risky. She was already at 3cm but irregular contractions. As per doctor's advise, we decided to have an induced labor to mitigate the risks.
Second, yes, we tried Lamaze but decided to go epidural when she was 6cm (after 3 hours) and she cannot bear the pain any longer. Also, it was early in the morning and I personally feel drained because I did not get any sleep yet. Our deepest respect for those mothers who are able to have successful Lamaze birth.
Finally, she had difficulty pushing the baby so the nurses needed to assist by pressing on her tummy (pundal move). At one point, the baby had difficulty getting out and the baby's heart beat dropped to 70 bpm (normal is 120) and there was tension in the room. The OB needed to step up under pressure and do the pundal block herself. I started to pray and in a few minutes, I can see Baby Aidan coming out.

Thank God for ensuring safe delivery for Baby Aidan. Thank you for all the prayers and support over Rache's pregnancy. Happy Birthday Baby Aidan!

The bag of water broke!

It's a boy (Oct. 9, 2004) - 6 mos old
Originally uploaded by antondiaz.

We are soo excited. As I am writing this, we think that her bag of water broke and we will be seeing Baby Aidan soon. There was some mucuous substance, reddish liquid which we think is a sign that Baby3 is coming. Her expected due date is January 20 and according to Baby Center only 5% of pregnant women give birth on that expected due date. All our bags are packed, and there is still time to get a quick shower. We hope and pray that there is no complication and Good luck to mommy rache and baby Aidan. See you soon Baby Aidan! We are off to Asian Hospital...

Clauds' Sunday Birthday Lunch

This is my first netomat created. This is sooo cool! Please feel free to go through the 3 pages and edit them with your comments. You can also opt to include fun stuff, pictures, etc. on the netomat by using the editing tools. The only downside is that this might take some time to load if you are using dial-up. I've checked the RSS feed in bloglines and it is still able to receive the netomat. Here is the complete Photo gallery --> Clauds Birthday Lunch Photos. Enjoy!

Kikufuji -- Authentic Japanese in Little Tokyo

Diaz Family @ kukifuji
Originally uploaded by antondiaz.

Recommended . My friend Shigo-san ( a japanese national based in Manila )recommended that Izakaya Kikufuji serves the best authentic Japanese food in Little Tokyo. It was my Brobo's last night in the Philippines before going back to the states, and this was the perfect time to try out Kikufuji. Check out these pictures --> Kikufuji Photos The sushi's and sashimi's were excellent specially the rice that they used for the sushi. Although it costs P200/order, I think it was worth it if Japanese food is your favorite. We also liked the chicken "sukiyaki" in a big hot pot enough to serve us. My friend Shigo was right. Try it out for yourself.

More information
Kikufuji is located in the Little tokyo area and the restaurant is located along pasong tamo beside Makati Cinema Square.