OUR AWESOME PLANET

[World Pyro Series.1] Awesome World Class Fireworks!

Where can you find the fireworks of 10 nations all in one venue? Yes, Ladies and Gentlemen, Only here in the Philippines and it would be sad if you miss even just one of these 5 day World Pyro Olympics event in the Esplanade (formerly Promenade), in the Bay City Central Business Park, Pasay City. It is like the Y2K Fireworks experts of China, Australia, US, Russia, Korea, Germany, South Africa, UK, UAE and the Philippines all in a spectacular five-day show. Day 1 has been the show of China and Australia, and watching the Australia fireworks show is literally ground shaking and the entire dark sky is lit up in one spectacular colorful painting of light. After watching this, the Ayala Mall Fireworks would be a cheap baby version of these fireworks. Literally you would hear aahhs, and oohhs, in the crowd and at first I was not doing it, but the Australia show was so spectacular that the oohhs and aahhs just comes out of your mouth.

I encourage you to go even just to support Philippines on the last day Friday. I'll share with you some tips on how to get the best experience and you'll be glad you read this before going...

Test Drive of World Music Room @ Promenade

Finally, a third option for a Karaoke Gimmick aside from Red Box and Music 21! I was excited to hear this and it is located @ Promenade in Greenhills, so we sing our hearts out on Christmas Day with our cousins. It boast of high end facilities (LCD Plasma Screen TV and BePro Double Speakers for resonant acoustics) at competitive prices of P85/hour. What I love about it is that the food is great a lot better than Red Box and Music 21, the room acoustics are great, and the price for a gimmick would be P550/person including food and the room rental. What I hate about the place, is that the rooms are a lot smaller than Red Box (for a 10 person room, there is no room to dance which is critical); the sound proofing of the rooms was not done very well (people can here you even if the door is closed or even more if it is opened); and lastly, the songs are still not updated like you cannot find all the songs of eraser heads (only 3 songs), or songs of cueshe or other of the popular pinoy bands. But of course, Pinoy Ako (theme song of Pinoy Big Brother) is available which is now part of any Karaoke repertoire :)

Great Crepe Wrap but Lousy Photos

I must admit that Crepes & Cream will surely become a dessert destination from now on in The Fort (There is also a store in the ground floor, The Podium in Ortigas). It is besides the UCC Cafe Terraces which is now famous for that great night cap conversation with friends. The concept is simple, Great Crepe wrapped in a cone + Delicious Ice Cream + Yummy Toppings! Their main tagline is "Crepe wraps bursting with assorted filling, delectable ice cream, milkshakes, sundaes, coffee, and a whole lot more... "

Although, I would say that the photos in their main advertisement above well lacks the artistic touch -- people bowing their heads, looking at the ice cream, or it lacked that authentic look of "I love crepes & cream". So we also decided to make our own version of the photos... just a suggestion :)

KO:HI:KAN (500th Store and 100th Store outside Japan)

Before dismissing this as another coffee place, you should try out their Sumibi charcoal roasted coffee and decide for yourself. Wysgal described it as a "poor man's" UCC and she loved their Matcha (Green Tea) so that's a second reason to try out this place in Greenhills promenade. I would also agree with her that the restaurant selection in promenade was well thought of and will become a destination place for men and women. Historically, I would avoid greenhills because I detest shopping specially walking several tiangge shops with no guarantee if its good quality or not.

Kohikan was established by Mr. Kunio Manage way back April 1970 in Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo. Its aim was to develop a multitude of coffee shops across Japan for it wishes to share its great coffee and service to the public (what a generic vision, though). We decided to check out the coffee...

Watching Metro Manila Film Fest @ Promenade, Greenhills

Christmas Day in our family is a day of making our little cousins happy. It is usually spent in the malls and watching a Metro Manila Film Festival entry. We wanted to try out the new Promenade mall in Greenhills. On a usual day, this area is soo traffic specially during the Christmas season but we knew that Christmas day would be a lot better. I would say that Promenade made the usual gimmick in Greenhills more than just shopping but also eating (new restos), watching movies (added 3 new cinemas in Promenade), Fully Booked :) and finally a new karaoke place (world music room)...

Finally, the Galileo Enoteca Experience I was looking for!

The night was perfect and Galileo Enoteca provided the backdrop for this picture perfect shot of the reunion dinner of my P&G friends and their kids. I learned a lot from my previous dining experience in Galileo, and I made sure that I would get that perfect Christmas Dinner Party for a special reunion with friends. Talking to Vanessa (Galileo's lovely manager) is critical in getting the right menu in place, and we agreed on a P500/person menu which is a full course menu which includes fresh olives and spanish sardines, the antipasto and different cheeses, salad in vinegrette, 3 kinds of delicious pasta served family style, chocolate gelato, and overflowing ice tea/ wine. Aside, from the disappointing salad and wishing that we got the sala 4 (last table), the reunion christmas dinner was a night to remember.

March 2006: A Pinoy Conquers Mt. Everest!

Good Luck and We will fully support you, Romy!!

Fun Hydrotheraphy @ Ace Water Spa :)

Ace Water Spa has been on my list of things to blog about and yesterday, me and my brobo went out to check out the place. They were on a buy 1 take 1 until Dec. 31, so we took the chance for only P240, entrance fee, you get to enjoy 25 massage systems, 9 heated pools, and 1 cold pool (really too cold). It took us 2 hours to fully enjoy the place and the crowd is mostly family with children playing in the big jacuzzi and occasionally some tourists. We actually felt like a child again and I spend my time playing with my brother. Except for the aching body after that enjoyable hydrotherapy, I would definitely go back. I'll give you a rundown on what to expect and to bring to have a fun experience @ Ace Water Spa since you cannot read anything on this except the advertisements in magazines and newspaper.