OUR AWESOME PLANET

Chefs' Quarters - Malate version of Duo

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I'm happy that Robinsons Manila Midtown is bringing a new life to the restaurant scene in Malate. One interesting concept is Chefs' Quarters which offers fine dining at P200-P400 price range.

What do Le Soufflé Restaurant in Makati, French Corner in Alabang, Duo Steakhouse and Wine Bar in Serendra and Chefs' Quarters in Malate have in common? Answer:  the tandem of Larry Cortez and Chef Mauro Arjona. They were pioneers of Le Soufflé, worked with Billy King to setup Voulez Vous now French Corner in Alabang before they decided to setup their own restaurant Duo in Serendra and now, their second restaurant, Chefs’ Quarters in Malate.

We love the concept of great service, good food at a casual dining atmosphere. We recommend the breakfast menu and they are open as early as 7am. There are plenty of parking spaces in Robinson's Manila Midtown and we like to hang out here this holiday season to avoid the crowds.

Chefs' Quarter's Menu
Sharing Appetizers, Salads, Soups | Fish Selection, Pasta & Rice Selection, Desserts | Beef, Lamb & Poultry Selection | Breakfast Menu | Snacks and Pica & Pica |(Photo Menu) Breakfast, Pasta and Rice Selection, Beef, Lamb Poultry | Desserts, Fish Selection, Salads, Sharing Appetizers

"Smile, papa!" said Aidan. This is one of those rare occasions when we would bring syoti with us during our food trip.

Hot Chocolate in a mug (P100).  We love this Belgian Hot Chocolate! You must try this.

Tessie Tomas Salad "Old Time Favorite" (P295+). A Combination of Roasted Prawn, Marinated Salmon & Shitake Mushroom with Mesclun Salad in French Creamy Balsamic Dressing.

This was described by inquirer in the article Fine Dining on a budget as "A mainstay on the menu and definitely an attention-grabber is the Tessie Tomas Salad, named after the Imeldific’s occasional alter ego." I would describe it as an ordinary salad with a bit of branding to give an excuse to charge P300+.

Pan-Fried Salmon Gravad Lachs (P280+). In dill mustard; served with scrambled egg, hash-brown potato and coffee.

The breakfast menu items in Chefs' Quarters are something to rave about. We were quite impressed by the quality of the salmon, and the way it was cooked.

Chef's Quarters Steak (P395 +). 6oz US beef top blade marinated in chef's special blend with potato vegetable compote and garlic-parsley butter.

Rache loved this steak although I find it a bit oily.

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Heads or Tails - a new kaya place in Mall of Asia

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Heads or Tails is a franchise from Thailand and I heard stories of people lining up in the food court of Siam Paragon (The flagship beautiful mall in Thailand) just to get a taste of their buttered toast and kaya toppings. We love kaya so we decided to try them. They are trying to replicate the concept in Manila by situating Heads or Tails in the food court of Mall of Asia. 

(BTW, I forgot to ask why it is called Heads or Tails)

Heads or Tails specializes in Buttered Toast and Toppings. We tried the Strawberry Fruit Jam topping (P40) and the Taro Kaya Topping (P40). We like the Taro Kaya but we find the fruit jam ordinary which I ordered for Aidan.

She is a Thailander on loan to train the local staff. They just opened middle of December in Mall of Asia.

We would suggest to try the kaya toppings which come in Taro, Vanilla or Pandan flavor.

Heads or Tails
Thailand - Singapore - Malaysia - Indonesia - Philippines
2nd Level, Main Mall, in front of SM Food Court.

Paseo de Bahamas - Great Hangout place in Midtown

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So after breakfast at Chefs' Quarters and dessert in Sucree, we came back on December 25 evening to hang out with my brother. We were surprised to find an inuman place that serves great food.

We were brainstorming on how to go about our 100days tour of the Philippines in preparation to write my book, Our Awesome Planet: Philippines. I was convincing him to join me and we would start a weekly internet show called Our Awesome Planet Live or Where in the Philippines is Aidan? (any other suggestions?) during that 100 days trip. You should see the awesome wedding videos of my brother Rommel and Iggy who are partners in Cinematic Concepts. I would like the internet show to have the same cinematic treatment but filmed you tube style.

We were dreaming on Christmas Day and hoping in comes true in 2008. We were dreaming of being sponsored by Canon for all our photo and video equipment. We love Canon and we won't settle for anything less :) (sorry for the Nikon fans out there...)  We were inspired to give an alternative show to see the beauty of the Philippines in our own eyes and share it with the rest of the world. We plan to do it ourselves with the help of some friends, the support of our families, few sponsors that we would like to work with and a few donations from friends of OAP.

So much for that dream... let's go back to Paseo de Bahamas.  We love the service, the great food that we did not expect and the beer tower concept. Check out their menu:

Sharing Hot Tapas, Bread and Pizza, Soup | Sharing Cold Tapas, Soups, Fondue | House Special Creation and Dessert | Juice, Beer, Softdrinks, Water, Coffee |Beverage List | Titania Wine Cellar |Paseo de Bahamas Bahamas Treats

Beer Tower (3 Liters) (P450).  Aidan was our taga-tagay and we finished this beer tower which contains probably about 8 bottles of San Mig Light.


The 450 Beer Tower comes with this pica pica platter.

Spaghetti Arabiata (P158). Spaghetti Pasta with eggplant  & bacon in spicy tomato herb sauce.  This was the cheapest pasta but not the cheapest in terms of taste. The serving size is about right for one person with a good appetite.

Salmon Duxelle - Grilled Salmon with mixed vegetables (P250).  My wife and I kept raving about the juicy salmon taste of this grilled salmon.

Beef Shank "Osso Buco Style" with Mushroom Rissotto (P385+).  The Osso Buco is tender with an awesome mushroom risotto and mushroom gravy sauce (I think).

Banana Split with Chocolate Sauce & Nut (P145) and Amaretto Caramel Flan (P115).  We tried the dessert and we would recommend to go to Sucree instead.

Charisse, Rommel and Aidan's version of the Korean pose.

Paseo de Bahamas
Level 1 - Alfresco Space
Robinsons Place Manila-Midtown Ermita, Manila
Telephone: +632 528 4017 or 567 1911
Email: paseodebahamas@yahoo.com.ph

Sucree -- Midtown's Dessert Place

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Sucree Torte (P850 Whole/ P125 Slice). Imagine a double layer of chocolate-almond sponge filled with chocolate ganache followed by a silky layer of creme brulee and amaretto flavored chocolate mousse, enrobe in shiny chocolate coating. A torte that truly deserves our name.

Sucree opened their second branch in Robinson's Midtown. After eating in Chefs' Quarters, Sucree is the dessert place to be. The virginity of Sucree was featured in Lori's Manila's 10 Best Desserts, 2007 and was described as:

"Anyway, the aforementioned Virginity is what I’d expect in a cake tagged with that appellation. It’s pristine in color — almost white actually, (virginal!) – a sponge cake perfumed in vanilla caressed by the lightest layer of dulce de leche. Occasional bursts of macadamia praline add textural interest and keep the mouth enticed. Truly, while this cake is purely immaculate in looks, there’s nothing virginal about it in taste."

We decided to try the most expensive cake which is the Sucree Torte but we were disappointed. The creme brulee was out of place in a chocolate cake. We should have stick to Lori's recommendation.

Sucree Cake Menu 1 | Menu 2 | Menu 3

Sucree Patisserie & Cafe
2nd Floor Robinson's Place Manila-Midtown
Original Branch at Sct. Borromeo, South Triangle, Quezon City
Tel. No. +632 4150943
Mobile No. + 63 922 8042253

San Miguel Bay Walk @ Esplanade, Mall of Asia

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Thanks to Henry Sy for creating the Perfect Bay Walk Gimmick Place in the Esplanade @ Mall of Asia. For those who missed the Manila Bay Walk demolished by Mayor Lim, the Esplanade is a better alternative because it has...

• Manila Bay walk ambiance with decent restrooms...
• Seaside Paluto restaurants with Aling Tonya's, Trinity or Julie's iHaw-iHaw...
• Pier One and Padi's Point inuman place with a nice view of the fireworks...
• Clean and secure ambiance with security guards on motorcycles...
• Plenty of parking space and near SM Mall of Asia...

The entire place is branded as San Miguel by the Bay which means only San Miguel products are sold (I don't mind).  The only thing is they built it tooo close to the bay. I do hope they will able to maintain the cleanliness of the place and Manila Bay.

 

Missile Head Art Work

Kids' exercise machines...

If you are lucky, you can meet these Cosplayers...

Seaside Wet Market...

Seafood Paluto Galore... No need to make reservations because there are plenty of tables for everyone.

Just in time for the festive holidays we have now.  Have you been here?  Do share your story!

Merry Christmas To You!

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Merry Christmas to all friends of Our Awesome Planet!

We celebrated Christmas with Aidan and baby Josh at home. When Aidan woke up, he saw a lot of gifts but it did not occur to him that all of the gifts were for him. He still does not understand the concept of Santa Claus giving gifts on Christmas. We don't want to hype up Santa Claus but rather emphasize that it is the birthday of Jesus and we should spend Christmas together as a family.

How did you spend your Christmas?

Our Christmas gift to Momma Rache is this paper clay caricature art from JNBM Art Shop at Mall of Asia. It is very addicting but it is also a bit challenging to complete than I expected. Looks easy huh! 

I will share with you a photo once we complete the art work.

HAVE A MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Ligligan Parul - Pampanga's Giant Lantern Festival (4.30pm to 12.30mn)

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Related Posts:
Claude Tayag's Bale Dutung - The Best Kapampangan Restaurant in Pampanga
a Memorable Ultimate Kapampangan Show-Off (7.30am-12.30nn)
Lunch with Claude Tayag and Among Ed (12.30pm to 4.30pm)
Ligligan Parul - Pampanga's Giant Lantern Festival (4.30pm to 12.30mn)

Every second Saturday of December, San Fernando would hold The Giant Lanterns Festival at the back of SM Pampanga. This was the highlight of the tour and perfect way to end the Ultimate Kapampangan Show-Off. The Department of Tourism does not market this festival and I would bet that most Manileneans have not seen these giant lanterns.

This year there were eight (8) giant lanterns, each measuring 18 feet in diameter, who joined the festival versus 12 of last year. The program started on time because the Diplomatic core was watching the show. Since there were only 8 lanterns, the entire festival was already finished by around 10pm. We still had time to eat a midnight snack before we head back to Manila.

Allow me to finish the story of the Ultimate Kapampangan Show-Off....

After Claude Tayag, we had to return the 5 gallons container of the Buko Sherbet. But before giving it back, most people had another serving of the Buko Sherbet. This was a testament to how good the sherbet was.  Aidan would have loved this...I miss my boy who stayed at home this time.

For the fourth surprise of the tour, we gave everyone a box of our favorite Aurely's special (P125 each). It is an inverted brazo de mercedes that I gave out as a Christmas gift to my officemates as well. You can only buy this in Pampanga.

Aurely's Bakeshop
Mac Arthur Hi-Way, San Agustin, San Fernando, Pampanga
Telephone No. (+63 45) 961 - 1006

We promised to have a light dinner after the Claude Tayag Lunch. We decided to buy each one Jun-Jun's famous Barbecue (P42 per stick). We asked them to bring it in their bayongs on their way to the festival.

The last foodie surprise for the night was Nathaniel's Puto Pao (P60). This was the best puto with adobo filling and red egg on top. Nathaniel's became famous for its buko pandan but we loved their puto pao for pasalubong.

Nathaniel's Bakeshop
Km 69 Olongapo-Gapan Road, Dolores City, San Fernando Pampanga

You can watch the festival standing in front of the lanterns or if you have the right connections, you can enter the tent area where there are chairs available for the guest. The tickets for this area is not for sale but they are given to the sponsors of the event. We were lucky to get 20 tickets to this reserved seating area in exchange of promoting the festival in our blogs :)

GIANT LANTERN FESTIVAL
by San Fernando, Pampanga Official Site                                                                                                   
The dynamic interplay of lights and color that precisely move with the rhythm of brass band, the magnitude of size and their intricate designs, and so much more, these are what spectators get to marvel at as the giant lantern of San Fernando is the event  that the province of Pampanga is most known for. And it is because of these giant anterns and the San Fernando lantern-making industry that the City of San Fernando has been dubbed the “Christmas Capital of the Philippines”.

Old folks say that the first lantern festival was held in 1928, to honor President Manuel L. Quezon, who was made an adopted son of Pampanga. At that time, Quezon made Arayat his rest area and converted the legendary Mount Arayat his rest area and converted legendary Mount Arayat into a tourist resort. As  a show of gratitude to Quezon, the people of San Fernando held a Christmas lantern contest to honor   the first family. Quezon himself donated the prize for this lantern contest, which was personally awarded to the winner by First Lady Aurora Aragon Quezon.                            

In the years that followed, more innovations were introduced to the giant lanterns. Colored plastic replaced the traditional papel de hapon. Large steel barrels called rotors also substituted the hand-controlled switches to manipulate the light. And lanterns have grown in size, approximately 20-feet today and illuminated by about 3, 500 to 5, 000 lightbulbs.

The result, a magnificent display of Fernandino artistry! So come and watch the Giant Lantern Festival  every December, only in the City of San Fernando, Pampanga… the undisputed Christmas Capital of the Philippines!

There were three rounds in the competition. The first round was a 7-minute solo performance where each lantern would show off its colorful dance based on a medley of songs of their choice. Brgy Telebastagan, the 2007 champion, showed off with this Merry Christmas and Peace on Earth display with the Holy Family at the center of the lantern.

The second round is a 5-minute face off where each lantern dances to the same Christmas tune.

The third and final round is a 5-minute show where all the lanterns dance to the Christmas Tune of a brass marching band. We wemt out right after this round to avoid the crowd. Congratulations to Brgy. Telebastagan for winning the championship and for Brgy. San Felipe for winning the second place!

Check out Manila Boy's Pasko Na! blog posts.

Most of the restaurants in Pampanga are closed at 9pm on a Saturday Night except for Jun-Jun's which closes at 11pm. All of us decided to have a midnight snack of Barbecue, Sisig and Bibingka before heading back to Manila with smiling stomachs...

This was truly the Ultimate Kapampangan Show-off!

Related Posts:
Claude Tayag's Bale Dutung - The Best Kapampangan Restaurant in Pampanga
a Memorable Ultimate Kapampangan Show-Off (7.30am-12.30nn)
Lunch with Claude Tayag and Among Ed (12.30pm to 4.30pm)
Ligligan Parul - Pampanga's Giant Lantern Festival (4.30pm to 12.30mn)

Lunch with Claude Tayag and Among Ed (12.30pm to 4.30pm)

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Related Posts:
Claude Tayag's Bale Dutung - The Best Kapampangan Restaurant in Pampanga
a Memorable Ultimate Kapampangan Show-Off (7.30am-12.30nn)
Lunch with Claude Tayag and Among Ed (12.30pm to 4.30pm)
Ligligan Parul - Pampanga's Giant Lantern Festival (4.30pm to 12.30mn)

Kapampangans are proud of their food. I was privileged to give the introduction to Claude Tayag's Bale Dutung which I regarded as the Best Kapampangan Restaurant in Pampanga. Unlike any other tour, we would like to take our time to enjoy the place. We spent 4 hours slow authentic Kapampangan lunch with Claude & Maryann Tayag.

And just recently, Pampanga is also in the news because of the first governor priest of Pampanga, Among Ed. We invited him to join us because it would be his first time to have lunch @ Bale Dutung and we would like to meet him personally. Also, we offered our help to promote Pampanga as the next tourist destination even better than Tagaytay. Among Ed said that he needs to survive the storm first before he focus on tourism in Pampanga. In the recent 436th anniversary of Pampanga last December 11, not a single one among the Provincial board members, the 21 city/ municipal mayors, and the basketball coach/ vice governor, attended the official celebration. (see ISOLATED, But not ALONE by Manila Boy)

Claude Tayag never fails to impress me. This time, he has a pritchon dish (oh yes!) that everyone was raved about throughout the entire 4 hours. I personally liked the aroma and clean taste of the Binulong na Manok soup. Alsom I can't stop raving about Claude's XO sauce, balo balo (fermented rice with shrimp) and taba ng talangka which he also sells. My personal favorites were Kare Kareng Dagat and the Pritong Hito with Mustasa and Balo Balo.  One of our motivations for creating the tour is to be able to go back again and again and eat at Claude Tayag's Bale Dutung. Brilliant idea indeed!  Claude said, for the next trip he would serve us 5 ways of serving Lechon!  So be warned to those who would be joining us in our next Pampanga trip, please bring your medicines with you!

a Memorable Ultimate Kapampangan Show-Off (7.30am-12.30nn)

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Related Posts:
Claude Tayag's Bale Dutung - The Best Kapampangan Restaurant in Pampanga
a Memorable Ultimate Kapampangan Show-Off (7.30am-12.30nn)
Lunch with Claude Tayag and Among Ed (12.30pm to 4.30pm)
Ligligan Parul - Pampanga's Giant Lantern Festival (4.30pm to 12.30mn)

First of all, Merry Christmas to all Friends of Our Awesome Planet !

At 1am last Sunday, I was driving Ivan Mandy and Spanky to their house in Oroqueta. We just finished our first and ultimate tour showcasing the Best of Pampanga. All of us were physically tired of the 17-hour Pampanga journey but our spirits were still high. We knew that we just executed the first and Ultimate Kapampangan Show-Off. It was the confluence of events, friends who enjoyed the same interest in travel and 4 bloggers clicking at the right moment that made this Pampanga experience a memorable one.

We would always say it is not a tour but an experience to remember. We wanted to create an experience with people who entered as strangers/ foreigners and who exited as friends because of the memories that we shared.  We will share with you the entire tour and our contacts. We would encourage other people to create their own tours or explore Pampanga on their own. Our vision is to elevate the level of tours delivered in the country showcasing the Filipino hospitality and creativity; and the great food we have in our country.   

Allow me to share with you the Ultimate Kapampangan Show-off Experience....
(Please let us know what you think about it.  And maybe you would want to join us next time.)

We started on time for the 7.30am meet up in Starbucks 6750 and by 9am we were already in Pampanga. We had 16 participants + 5 bloggers (Spanky, Ivan H, Ivan M, Anton and Bikoy who joined us to film the entire event). We filled up the entire coaster and took a mental note to limit participants to 15 people on our future tours.

Originally, we had a dilemma of using a coaster or a bus. We wanted the cozy type of experience that a coaster offers but if we were to increase our profits we need to target a bus. In the end, our consensus was to use a coaster for future out-of-town trips.

We designed the tour to have surprises the entire day. We liked the idea to give goodies/ pasalubongs (ala Oprah style) throughout the day. Also, the coaster was loaded with drinks -- mineral water, juice and beer.

The first surprise was Imang Salud Dayrit's San Fernando ensaymadas. We all give them a bayong to carry their goodies and we gave them this huge ensaymada (6 inches in diameter) which cost P150 each. It literally melts in your mouth in softness, a yummy buttery taste and topped with generous servings of queso de bola. One of the participants had an Anton Ego' Ratatouille experience when he took a bite of the ensaymada. Flashes of childhood memories flooded his head and he raved about it throughout the tour.

Imang Salud Dayrit's San Fernando Ensaymada's
Legaspi Sunday Market (7.30am to 2pm)
Telephone: +63 920 947 8819

On our way to Pampanga, we showed some videos about Pampanga but unfortunately, the coaster's sound system produced poor quality sound. And so, we took a mental note to find the best coaster out there that we can use for the tour (please post a comment if you know one).

In Cebu Pacific fashion, Spanky led the group in singing Pampanga's famous song:

"Atin Cu Pung Singsing"

Atin cu pung singsing (I once had a ring)
Metung yang timpucan (With a beautiful gem)
Amana que iti (I inherited this)
Qng indung ibatan (From my mother)
Sangcan queng sininup (I stored it as well as I could)
Qng metung a caban (In a hopebox)
Mewala ya iti (But i just suddenly disappeared)
E cu camalayan! (I didn't notice)

Ing sucal ning lub cu (The heartache inside me)
Susucdul qng banua (Is as high as the sky)
Picurus cung gamat (My crossed hands as I pray)
Babo ning lamesa (Are upon the table)
Ninu mang manaquit (Whoever would find that)
Qng singsing cung mana (inherited ring)
Calulung pusu cu (My poor heart that's aching)
Manginu ya queya! (Shall forever worship him/her)

At around 9.30am, we are already in our first stop -- The Bacolor Church. Our gameplan in the morning is to only give them light food for breakfast and to give them a workout to prepare them for Claude Tayag power lunch. The Bacolor church survived the 1991 lahar and this is what's left of the church.

Bacolor is an old Filipino town and before 1991, it has the most number of well maintained ancestral houses among the Pampanga towns. Just read Toto Gonzalez' remembrance of Bacolor, Pampanga before 1991 in his blog Remembrance of Things Awry. Just look at the above photo of the mighty Bacolor church before it was submerged in lahar. Just imagine the number of houses buried in Bacolor.

After boarding the bus, we gave out our second surprise -- Turrones de Casoy (P59/each). This is an original Kapampangan pasalubong where you have to eat the paper wrapper which taste like the host during communion.

Tita's Special Pampanga
Tita's Commercial Building, Olongapo-Gapan Road,
Dolores, San Fernando Pampanga
Tel# (+63 45) 961-7071 to 72 and 961-1562

Next stop was Pampanga's oldest church -- Betis Church in Guagua, Pampanga. It is compared to the Sistine Chapel because of the mural paintings on the church's interior by local painter Victor Ramos which were mistaken to be Simon Flores originals (a famous painter active in the 19th century).

The best time to visit is when there is a wedding. We were on time for the 10am wedding and we stayed throughout the wedding procession. We were surprised to see a lot of kids and sponsors as part of the entourage. It was beautiful to say the least.

After Betis, most of the participants would agree that the Buko Sherbet of San Jose, Pampanga was the best surprise of the entire day. I only heard about the legend of this buko sherbet from Ivan and Spanx. The minimum order was 5 gallons and we brought it on board the bus. It was a hit! The sherbet was smooth and sweet. But the best part of it was, you keep coming back for more. Hindi siya nakaka-umay.  Aidan would have seconds, even thirds of this.  Suddenly, I miss my boy.

Roger's Ice Cream & Sherbet
San Jose, Panlumacan, San Fernando, Pampanga
Tel no. (+63 45) 961-7564   

It was very difficult to enter one of the ancestral houses along Consunji street in San Fernando, Pampanga -- not unless you are with a relative. Thanks to Spanx!

"Santos-Hizon House. Built at the turn of the century by the couple Teodoro Santos and Africa Ventura. Purchased by Maria Hizon, a nurse of the Pampanga Chapter of the Philippine Red Cross during the Philippine Revolution. Was inherited by her brother Augusto Hizon ans is currently owned by his heirs.

This ancestral, exemplifying the architecture prevalent during the american colonial period, is an important heritage edifice of the city."

As we were eating our Buko Sherbet, the Ivans shared the story of this ancestral house. My dream house is to have a replica of this house overlooking a beach.

Thanks to the Hizon family for giving us a grand tour of the house. Merry Christmas!!

Related Posts:
Claude Tayag's Bale Dutung - The Best Kapampangan Restaurant in Pampanga
a Memorable Ultimate Kapampangan Show-Off (7.30am-12.30nn)
Lunch with Claude Tayag and Among Ed (12.30pm to 4.30pm)
Ligligan Parul - Pampanga's Giant Lantern Festival (4.30pm to 12.30mn)

 

Old Manila Walks Gmail Account Hacked!

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So That You May Know...and keep your eyes OPEN! 

The email address of OLD MANILA WALKS (oldmanilawalks@gmail.com)  was hacked last December 18, 2007. There has been VERY DUBIOUS messages under this specific email address going around about us being stranded in an African country and soliciting money. Please DISREGARD this as it is a HOAX. 

We are not sure if we'll be able to get back to our system but  unless we do, please be wary of any messages from oldmanilawalks@gmail.com, especially those that involve ASKING FOR MONEY. If it doesn't concern Manila or walking tours for that matter, then it was probably not sent by us.

Lessons of the Day:

1. Please be wary of your mails, even if its from the same email company as yours.These hackers can be very, very, VERY deceiving with the way they word their email.

2. This can NEVER be overstated but never, never, NEVER give out VITAL INFORMATION to any one or any company apart from those whom you personally know.

3. Sometimes, the simplest reminders are the ones over looked. In the end, they're the ones who cause the biggest headaches.  For those have received the HOAX email and are not sure what it's all about, please visit our website or drop us a message at oldmanilawalks2@gmail.com.

Thanks for your patience and we apologize for any inconvenience, this is a major stub on our toe and we're limping at the moment but for sure, WE'RE  STILL WALKING….

Ivan Man Dy
Old Manila Walks
www.oldmanilawalks.com

 

P.S. Thank you Anton of Our Awesome Planet for helping disseminate our message. Over the last few days, we have received over 30 text messages and phone calls confirming this HOAX email. Thank you to all those who took time to inform us.

Barney Live in Manila!

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Aidan was speechless. It was priceless to see the wonder on his face when we saw Barney Live on its opening night last Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2007. We told him that there is a surprise that awaits him that night. I'm sure he did not expect to see Barney live :)

Together with his cousin Carlos, they danced the night away with Barney. He was so happy.


Baby Bop, B.J. and Riff joined Barney in his adventures in Manila. It is like watching the actual Barney CDs live. Rache and I enjoyed seeing Aidan, Carlos and other kids dance with Barney.

This is our favorite Barney song "I Love You, You Love Me" which was the last but memorable song for the night.

I love you, You love me
We're a happy family,
With a great big hug And a kiss from me to you
Won't you say you love me too?

I love you, You love me
We're best friends Like friends should be
With a great big hug And a kiss from me to you
Won't you say you love me too?

 

You still have time to catch it until Dec. 23, Sunday @ the Araneta Coliseum.
For ticket inquiries call  911-5555.  P1,575 | P1,260 | P1,050 | P945 | P735 | P525

The Why Not Forum 2.0

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For those who missed the first Why Not Forum, check out the second Why Not Forum at Mag:Net Cafe Bonifacio High Street

The Why Not Forum 2.0
Jim Paredes of the Apo Hiking Society
Leonard Co, Ethnobotanist
Erik Mana, Master Illusionist
Grace Dimaranan, President of the Animation Council of the Philippines
Fr. Jomar Legaspi, Founder of Learn.Ph
The Philippine Everest Team
+ spoken word performance by Juddha Paolo and Kooky Chua

Related Posts:
The Why Not Forum 1.0 -- Bakit Hindi?
Light Symphonies and ROX @ Boni High Street

Ark of Avilon

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37 Jesus said to his disciplines: "As  it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38 In those days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day that Noah entered the ark. 39 They did not know until the flood came and carried them all away.

So will it be also at the coming of the Son of Man. 40 Two men will be out in the field; one will be taken, and one will be left. 41 Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken, and one will be left. 42 Therefore, stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come. 43 Be sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour of night when the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and not let his house be broken into. 44 So too, you also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come." (Matthew 24: 37-44)

This was the Sunday Gospel last Dec. 2 when Ark of Avilon soft opened to the public. Seeing it for the first time gives you a visual feel of Noah's Ark. As we enter the huge facade, you'll start to see the animals interacting with people similar with the setup of Kinder Zoo in Manila (beside the Manila Zoo). The days of Avilon Zoo's Ark of Avilon has arrived (located beside Fun Ranch in Tiendesitas).

Our favorite was Jenny Orangutan. She was playfully innocent and wants to interact with people.

On one side of the ark, you can see one pair of puma, lion, jaguar, and tiger.

The Albino Python was a little bit scary for Aidan.

You can have a close encounter with the white breasted Sea Eagle.

Anyone care for a donkey ride around the Ark?

Brahminykite (commonly known as Lawin) and Philippine Eagle Owl

Rufos Eagle, White Breasted Sea Eagle and Baby White Horse with Baby Aidan...

Alligators under the bridge...

On the other side of the ark, you can see the Silvery Gibbon Monkeys, Sunbear, Booted Macaque, Gullem and Orangutan.

As you go up the second floor, you'll see more birds and the soon to be famous butterfly cafe

Turtoise similar to the ones we saw in Kinder Zoo.

Coffee is served by Cafe Amadeo in the butterfly cafe. They said that butterflies only has a 7-10 day life so they constantly change the butterflies on a weekly basis.

At first, Aidan was scared but some of the little girls showed Aidan that these creatures were harmless.

Aidan kept on raving about these live interactions with the butterflies as we went home...

ENTRANCE FEE: 250/ head

By the way, thanks to Jojo Gloria for the tip!

Silverlens Portfolio Review with Romy Vitug, Derek Soriano, and Isa Lorenzo

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I wanted to take my photography to the next level and I'm glad that Silverlens organized these portfolio reviews with the photography masters. I submitted my best pictures to the PAL photo contest and it failed to even reach the short list. I was devastated and thanks to Silverlens photos for organizing these portfolio reviews to get direct feedback from the masters on how I can take my photography to the next level.

Portfolio Review with Isa Lorenzo, Derek Soriano, and Romy Vitug. (Dec. 8, 2008)

All of them gave me the feedback that most of my photos were generic. They were postcard perfect but they do not reflect my personality or my own signature style of photography. The photos don't jump out except for those pictures taken with Aidan. It was devastating to hear na walang kwenta ang mga larawan ko.

Isa had some useful suggestions to create a collection of photos about a place and take a lot of photos about that place. I do hope to discover my own artistic style to the point that people looking at my photos will immediately identify that it was my photo.

I also learned that one of my photo strength is Aidan as the subject. Most of the photos were taken with love that's why Aidan comes out alive. I plan to create a portfolio of photos in time for Aidan's 3rd Birthday in January. Maybe I can do an exhibit somewhere in Serendra (if possible)

In the meantime, I'm thinking of selling my photos as postcards :)

No More World Pyro...

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I was sad when I learned that there won't be any World Pyro Olympics for this year. What happened? I was looking for more info from the net and I can't find one. Have you heard anything about why they decided to cancel World Pyro this year?

Pampanga's Giant Lanterns

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Last December, I met Ivan Henares and he was kind enough to tour me around Pampanga which culminated in the Giant Lantern Festival of San Fernando, Pampanga! Ever since then, I got fascinated with these giant lanterns that are 18th feet in diameter. I vowed to visit these lanterns when they are being constructed to appreciate them better.

Check out how these lanterns are created...

Last year's winner was Barangay San Felipe whose lantern was created by Roland Quiambao -- one of the famous lantern makers in Pampanga. He created the giant parol that showed an angel with moving wings. And so,mnbbbbb gs//. we went to Roland's lantern factory to see how these giant parols are created...

In Rolands' lantern factory, they reuse the bulbs dipped in car paint by removing the wires and the paint itself.

Then they start to put a new set of wires with white electrical tape on all of the bulbs.

Roland started to design Barangay San Felipe's giant lantern parol entry to this year's festival.

They would use cardboards to separate the set of bulbs. Each set represent a "pixel' of the parol where each one can change its color to blue, red, green or yellow color.

Just look at the complicated wiring mechanisms needed to power these lanterns.

From the outside, you can see the different colored bulbs behind the translucent paper.

The parol lights are operated by these huge cylindrical trigger mechanisms. It has patterns dictated by the masking tape on its body. Every time the contact leads of the bulbs touches a non-masking taped portion, the bulb lights up.

Thanks to Roland Quiambao for showing us how they created these giant lanterns!

This year, we decided to create our first tour with the giant lantern festival as the culminating event. Join us and we already have 27 people reserved and we are thinking of using a bus  instead of a coaster to accommodate a few more people....

The ULTIMATE Kapampangan Show-off!
Saturday December 15, 2007 | 7:30 am - 12:00 mn| Tour cost P4,500 (all in plus surprises)

The Tour Summary
"Well, not quite Manila but still close.... Journey to the Northern heartland as we immerse ourselves in things Kapampangan! From Baroque to Betute, its fun-filled day as we poke around and get intimate with the very best of Pampanga's cultural offerings. We'll gawk at the jewel-box of church in Betis while wading through the half-buried town of Bacolor. We'll stuff ourselves silly with the best Kapampangan fare by one of the country's best known Pampango chefs! To it cap-off, we'll have front-row view of the most dazzling display of Kapmpangan artistry- the Parul Festival of San Fernando! A tour screming with Pampango pride!"

The Tour Experience
* Betis Church* Town of Bacolor*Claude Tayag's Bale Dutung Restaurant* Pampanga Specilaty Shops* Ligligan Parul  Festival in San Fernando
    
This tour is brought to you by  Our Awesome Planet, Ivan About Town, Manila Boy and Old Manila Walks . This will be the best Pampanga tour experience by people who love Pampanga!

To reserve for this tour, please pay P4,500 before December 12, 2007. Email me anton@diaz.ph on payment arrangement and details...

The Starbucks Planner

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I can still remember our excitement in the office when Starbucks first opened its first cafe in 6750 building. Some of our meetings then are held in Starbucks so that you are seen as cool. We feel so happy to have our Starbucks coffee every morning. A P100+ Starbucks coffee was a big deal at that time and there was a debate on why you should pay for that price.  I realized that Starbucks 6750 opened 10 years ago, December 4, 1997. Happy 10th Year Anniversary to Starbucks!

For the first time, I will be raving about their 2008 Starbucks planner. They have been doing this for 5 years now and this is the only planner that appealed to us. The leather cover was more than enough for me to ignore the marketing messages embedded into the planner. It is similar in feel to the moleskin notebook that  I use. In our office, it is cool to have one of these planners and the race for these planners started last November 6, 2007.

After 24 cups of coffee (12 Christmas blend + 12 usual flavors), you will get this 2008 Starbucks Planner. You can collect the stickers until January 15, 2008.  For each redeemed planner, Starbucks will make a donation to Project Sparkhope, a joint program with UNICEF Philippines providing early learning facilities for pre-school children in remote barangays all over the Philippines.

The Ultimate Kapampangan Show-Off!

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The ULTIMATE Kapampangan Show-off!
Saturday December 15, 2007 | 7:30 am - 12:00 mn| Tour cost P4,500 (all in plus surprises)

The Tour Summary
"Well, not quite Manila but still close.... Journey to the Northern heartland as we immerse ourselves in things Kapampangan! From Baroque to Betute, its fun-filled day as we poke around and get intimate with the very best of Pampanga's cultural offerings. We'll gawk at the jewel-box of church in Betis while wading through the half-buried town of Bacolor. We'll stuff ourselves silly with the best Kapampangan fare by one of the country's best known Pampango chefs! To it cap-off, we'll have front-row view of the most dazzling display of Kapmpangan artistry- the Parul Festival of San Fernando! A tour screming with Pampango pride!"

The Tour Experience
* Betis Church* Town of Bacolor*Claude Tayag's Bale Dutung Restaurant* Pampanga Specilaty Shops* Ligligan Parul  Festival in San Fernando
    
This tour is brought to you by  Our Awesome Planet, Ivan About Town, Manila Boy and Old Manila Walks . This will be the best Pampanga tour experience by people who love Pampanga!

To reserve for this tour, please pay P4,500 before December 10, 2007. Email me anton@diaz.ph on payment arrangement.

Finally, we have taken the first bold step to launch our first awesome tour. We plan to redefine the way tours are done in Manila and elevate them to world class standards. It is a bold statement I know, but the Filipinos can do it and we can show the world the beauty of the Philippines. Our vision is to provide hassle-free worry-free all-in-cost tours to all the awesome places in the Philippines starting with Pampanga. We are hoping that we create unique experiences that each participant of our tours will never forget.   

We also intend to post all free information if you want to do the tour on your own. We will be launching OnePhilippines.com (soon!) to be the one stop shop for all travel information for Filipinos who would like to travel. We are looking for sponsors, investors, or contributors for this project if you are interested.

Intentionally, we did not put all the details of the tour because we want to provide a lot of surprise element into it. I personally have been to Pampanga more than 10 times and I’ve learned how to organize an awesome tour. Spanky, Ivan M, Ivan H and me have been brainstorming about how we can create an experience people will never forget. We are going back to Pampanga this Sunday to do more research, to do a travel time study, and to brainstorm further on how we can make this worth more than P 4,500 J 

I am personally excited and we target to have 20 people and we have confirmed bookings of more than 10 already. Thanks for having faith in us and let's have fun on Dec. 15!

P.S. Here is a sneak peak on what you would see in the tour...

Know the story of the Bacolor Church buried by the Lahar.

Have you been to Betis Church , the Sistine Chapel of the Philippines?

You should experience this 4 hours awesome slow lunch by Claude Tayag in Bale Dutung!

Have you seen these Giant Lanterns of San Fernando Pampanga? Simply Awesome!

Claude Tayag's Bale Dutung - The Best Kapampangan Restaurant in Pampanga

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My love affair with Claude Tayag's Bale Dutung (House of Wood in Kapampangan) started last March when 22 foodies decided to bravely go where none of us have gone before. I was speechless. I was not able to complete my blog post on Claude Tayag's Bale Dutung last March 20, 2007 because of the overwhelming emotions that I don't know where to start. It is like a dream come true experience where you relive the experience in your head and rave about it to yourself. I felt writing about it will not bring justice to the experience because I would only write – Awesome food! Awesome hosts! Awesome ambiance! I was contented with reading the food trip account of Wysgal (Rants and Raves), Mila (Watergirl), Spanx (Manila Boy), Nena (Ramblings from a Gypsy Soul), Anne (Eat Bangus) and Joey (80 Breakfasts).

Six (6) months after that experience, my brother, Lorenz and wife, Carmina, who got married just last October, requested me to organize a Pampanga Tour with Claude Tayag’s Bale Dutung as the highlight of the trip. How could I refuse? We were lucky to get a booking at Claude’s on the last minute because you would need advanced reservations. He usually only accept one booking per month and you need to be at least 10 because Claude and wife, Mary Anne will be your personal hosts for the 4-hour lazy weekend lunch. People often ask me on the direction of the place. You would have to dr