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Friday, October 31, 2008
1,000th Blog Post and the Next 1,000
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After 1,000 blog posts in 3 years and 10 months, our family is thankful for the 4,000+ OAP friends who read our family's food and travel adventures. We are honored and blessed for achieving this blogging milestone.
I want to take this milestone opportunity to share with you the results of the OAP survey conducted last June 2008. A total of 543 OAP friends responded to the survey. I read each one's comment and reflected on how I can apply them to take OAP to the next level. I'm committed to constantly improve Our Awesome Planet until the day I have to pass it on to Aidan and Joshua. Based on the readership's candid feedback, I would like to share with you my strategies and plans for OAP 2.0!
The Next 1,000 Blog Posts
1. The Mission of Our Awesome Planet:
" To use my never ending curiosity to discover new things and my internet marketing experience to inspire the minds and touch the hearts of Filipinos to live an Awesome Life in the Philippines! "
One of the secrets of OAP success is our desire to give as much value as possible to our OAP readers. OAP will continue to be the story of our family's adventures. It will continue to be the number one source of food and travel insider's secrets in Manila shared through word-of-mouth.
Our Awesome Planet will NEVER ...
- be formatted or written like a lifestyle magazine. I want to keep the content fresh, honest and most importantly, fun.
- spam our readers with advertorials. I have a policy of not accepting any freebies from restaurants and hotels before or after I review them. I'm committed to remove any bias and perceptions of any conflict of interests in my posts.
OAP will continue to support blog advertising through Blog Bank, Google Adsense Network, and Red Sight Media. I will let the Blog Advertising Networks to talk to advertisers and create a firewall between us.
2. National Geographic Photography, Conde Nast Traveller Writing Quality and Doreen Fernandez Food Writing Caliber
I am committed to "kaizen" or continuous improvement. OAP is a historical view of my professional development as a photographer, travel writer, and food critic. I am happy that 82% of the readers are either Very Satisfied (50%) or rated OAP as Awesome (33%). The Photography is rated highly at 84.5% (44% Very Satisfied/ 41% Awesome!) - my photography classes have paid out. The Articles are rated 78.6% (58% Very Satisfied / 21% Awesome!) overall because they are relevant, engaging and honest.
For the next 1,000 blog posts in OAP, I'm focusing on improving my Writing. I aspire to write Philippines-related articles for Conde Nast Traveller. I'm inspired to write as good as Doreen Fernandez when it comes to food reviews. In order to achieve that dream, I need to improve the way I write. I already mastered writing from the heart, and I will master editing with the mind. I tried to get an editor for the blog but with the fast rate I am writing my blog posts, the editors cannot keep up. Releasing timely, relevant and engaging articles is key to the success of OAP.
I get the message loud and clear from the comments. Thank you for the concern and I can only return your love with noticeable improvement on my grammar and writing style.
3. Focus on New Restaurants and Travel Destinations in the Philippines
I tried to experiment with a lot of topics in the survey and most OAP readers love the blog posts on New Restos and Travel Destinations in the Philippines. I will focus 80% of OAP's content on these topics. (20% will be focused on Aidan and Joshua and other cool topics.) To be specific, I will write more on proposed itineraries and budget travel deals. I will describe better the taste of the food. In order to do this, I plan to attend culinary classes and learn the ins and outs of the cooking process. I will also learn more about wines -- watch out for it.
I got comments to make the blog less personal by not showing posed pictures of my family in the restaurants and places that I review. I acknowledge this comment but at the same time I cannot help featuring my family in most of my blog posts. What I can do is make the shots as candid as possible and less on the posed shots.
Culture and arts scene in Manila will always have a spot in my heart. From time to time articles on these matter will be seen in OAP. It is a personal advocacy to show the world the best of the Philippines.
As for the other topics in the survey, I decided to create separate blogs for them. I will announce them in due time. I promised not to write anything about blogging, internet marketing or IT related stuff in OAP. I agree it is not appropriate and I'm launching antondiaz.com soon to tackle these topics separately.
4. Give Back to OAP Readers by sharing knowledge on Photography, Blogging and Building an Online Business.
As a way of expressing my gratitude, I am going to honor OAP readers by giving exclusive deals! The first batch of my Internet Marketing School will be offered solely to avid OAP readers. I will teach photography, blogging and how to build an online business to aspiring internet mavens. OAP readers will get a very good offer for those who want to be in the pilot group. This is my own way of saying Thank you!
5. Actively contribute to shaping the History of the Philippines in 2010.
The year 2010 is a historic milestone for the Philippines. I am excited because for the first time we will have a chance to shape the history of the Philippines. There are three events that will dramatically change our lives in the Philippines:
1. For the first time, the young will select the best President for the Philippines. Traditional Politicians should be scared. Don't ever underestimate the collective power of the youth.
2. For the first time, Philippines will be in the Tourism Map of the World when Chocolate Hills in Bohol and Underground River in Palawan win as one of the seven natural wonders of the world!
3. For the first time, Internet Marketing businesses will boom and change the business model of the different industries in the Philippines.
I am sharing with you my personal predictions and I'm excited to see what will happen in 2010.
May You Live an Awesome Life,
Text and Photos by Anton Diaz. Copyright 2008.
Blog: www.OurAwesomePlanet.com
Mobile: +63917-LOVEOAP (5683627)
Email: anton@diaz.ph
October 31, 2008 in 01. My Favorite Blog Posts | Permalink | Comments (26) | TrackBack
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Ukkokei Ramen Ron - One of the Best Shoyu Ramen in Manila!
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Ukkokei Ramen Ron by Mrs Awesome Planet
OAP Goes Japanese Related Links
Ukkokei Ramen Ron - One of the Best Shoyu Ramen in Manila!
Ukkokei Ramen Ron serves the best shoyu ramen in town! I got this tip from my Japanese foodie friend, Atsushi Matsuura.
Before reading the rest of the blog post, you need to be aware of unique policies of this ramen house:
1. The Ramen is not available for take-out. You can only enjoy it in the restaurant.
2. There is a NO-SHARING Ramen policy which means you cannot share the ramen between two people. (Even if it is good for two people)
There is NO dessert in Ukkokei Ramen Ron.
Drinks | Lunch Set | Miso Based Ramen | Shoyu and Shio Ramen | Other Japanese Treats
Ukkokei Shoyu Koumi (P330 + 5% S.C.) Beef Ramen with Shoyu Sauce. Savor the smell of the ramen and look at the glittering oil before eating it.
Ramen 101
There are three types of Ramen: Shoyu (soy-sauce based), Shio (salt based) and Miso (Miso soup based). You can have it hot or cold.
In Ron, we would highly recommend ordering the Shoyu Ramen. Most of the ramen would have this sesame oily taste. The shoyu taste is smooth and clean like swimming in Kayangan Lake in Coron. I like the way the ramen noodles are cooked al dente. It is fatter than most of the commercialized ramen houses in Manila. The miso based ramen did not leave a good impression on us.
The best time to go is during lunch time. They have a set lunch menu (P380) of Ramen, Mini Donburi, Salad and Kobachi. Order the ones with gyoza and rice. During dinner time, the ramen is usually priced individually at P300-P360.
Ukkokei Nirra Niniku Karamiso (P360 + 5% S.C.) Vegetable Ramen with Miso Sauce.
" ... This was all-vegetable soup with some spiciness. The slices of shitake mushroom you see were not very tasty…maybe because it all went to the soup. I liked the soup for it was very flavorful but I always get distracted with the soup’s oiliness and the vegetable (I had lots of the hard parts of the petchay.) that I forgot to really take note of the flavor. I would like to think that the oil that I was referring too was the chili oil. "
-- Ukkokei Ramen Ron by Mrs Awesome Planet
Ukkokei Ramen Ron has a simple modern japanese interiors with a ramen and bowl display as the highlight. I like the Japanese tables where you leave your shoes before sitting on a thin seat cushion and letting your feet hang and swing around.
Gyoza (P120). This was gone in seconds. Eating gyoza is the best way to start your meal. We heard that Shinjuku serves the best gyoza in town.
What is your favorite Japanese Restaurant in Manila?
Ukkokei. Tesoro Bldg.,
822 A. Arnaiz Ave. (Pasay Road), Makati.
In between Paseo de Roxas and Amorsolo St.
Text and Photos by Anton Diaz. Copyright 2008.
Email: anton@diaz.ph
Mobile: +63917-LOVEOAP (5683627)
Blog: www.OurAwesomePlanet.com
October 30, 2008 in 26. Best Japanese Finds, Restaurants | Permalink | Comments (15) | TrackBack
Mang Rudy's Puto @ T-House (Ultimate Tagaytay Tour 8 of 8)
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The Ultimate Tagaytay Tour Related Links
Loumars Buko Pie (Ultimate Tagaytay Tour 1 of 8)
Ilog Maria Story (Ultimate Tagaytay Tour 2 of 8)
Ilog Maria Store (Ultimate Tagaytay Tour 3 of 8)
Bawai Vietnamese Lunch (Ultimate Tagaytay Tour 4 of 8)
Chateau Hestia Happiness (Ultimate Tagaytay Tour 5 of 8)
Yoki's Treasure (Ultimate Tagaytay Tour 6 of 8)
Yoki's Farm (Ultimate Tagaytay Tour 7 of 8)
Mang Rudy's Puto @ T-House (Ultimate Tagaytay Tour 8 of 8)
Our final stop of the tour is a sunset chill-out merienda with Mang Rudy's Puto in T-house Dining.
OAP Related Posts:
The Definitive Guide to T-House, Tagaytay
T-House Dining's Fluffy Pancakes!
T-House Romance
It is a very relaxing place specially during sunset. It lives up to its name T-house which stands for House of Tranquility.
I just love hanging out here for chika chika until the sun sets and before we go back to Manila.
Mang Rudy's Puto is a very traditional puto made of galapong rice. This is the best kept secret puto in Tagaytay.
Most of the people love this simple Japanese salad with Japanese sauce and nori on top.
Aidan loves these big pebbles fountain in T-house.
The Flavored Banana Fritters with langka, ube or macapuno are our personal favorite. You don't know which flavor you'll get until you take a bite.
A healthy merienda of fresh fruits skewer...
Yes, our Lil' Mr. Terror :)
Thank you to our Ultimate Tagaytay Tour Pioneering Participants: Charles, Asunta, Oskie, Dodjie, Teng, Wendy and Andy, Franklin and Jasmine.
Text and Photos by Anton Diaz. Copyright 2008.
Email: anton@diaz.ph
Blog: www.OurAwesomePlanet.com
October 30, 2008 in 18. Ultimate Philippines Tours, Tagaytay | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBack
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Destination Wedding Tagaytay: Lessons and Tips On How to Make Your Day Special
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Happy Anniversary Enzo and Carmina! They are expecting their first baby soon! I'm sharing with you a blog post from my brother about that special day. - Anton
Destination Wedding Tagaytay – Lessons and Tips On How to Make Your Day Special
By Enzo Diaz
Readers of OAP are privy to the little experiment I had two years ago. I went to a regression session. See the article here: a Frances Gloria Regression Experience . My brother Anton gave me a surprise experiential Christmas gift-- that of having a regression session with Frances Gloria. Part of the experience is supposedly taking a peek into the future. Based on the notes from Frances, the name of my future wife is supposed to be “Carly”. We are supposed to be married in some vineyard setting and the date is September 14th, 2007. The honeymoon will be at some mountain retreat in some foreign country.
My date in the altar came on October 28 2007 (date is off by 44 days). I got married to Carmina (first syllable is correct though). I got married in Caleruega, a chapel on top of a hill in Tagaytay (not really a vineyard) and we had our honeymoon in a beach resort at El Nido, Palawan (really far from the predicted mountain retreat in some foreign land).
Lesson: Don’t ever believe in hula, predictions and pre-destinations.
In this blog entry, I will share with you our experiences in setting up what I consider a destination wedding. Being based in Los Angeles, making it happen 8,000 miles away is a real project management challenge. I hope I will be able to add value to other couples out there who are based outside the Philippines and want to get hitched in their home country. We hope that by sharing our hindsight views and experiences with our vendors/ suppliers, you will be able to make your day awesome and memorable.
On Setting the Date
The date of the wedding is usually the first thing that the couple will decide on. There are different methods by which couples decide on “the” day. Some people like to be guided by feng-shui. Others take their cue from availability of suppliers, priests or church or reception area. For some, they probably take into consideration the low seasonality for travel since this will be easy on the couple and their guests to make travel arrangements - and this is exactly what we prioritized. We decided on October precisely because of this reason. Air ticket to Manila is only $800.00 per person roundtrip as opposed to more than a thousand if it is near Christmas. We ended up having it on 28th due to the availability of Caleruega.
We set this date hoping that we will not be rained on. But nature and the Almighty decided to shower us with a lot of blessings.
Lesson: The weather could spell a big difference on how your day will be remembered.
On Choosing the Church
Being a photographer myself, my primary consideration in choosing the church is its sheer beauty and the photogenic images it will render. There are a lot of good looking churches in Manila but for me nothing beats Calereuga. Its size is just right for 200 of your guest to easily fill up the pews.
We also tried to be unique and get something off the beaten track but we didn’t find any church that would satisfy our criteria. Aside from this, we had a great time here during the wedding of Anton and Rache. Akin to starting a family tradition, we decided to make it all happen here.
On choosing Caleruega, there’s one thing that we didn’t count on. Tagaytay is considered “out of town”. Our suppliers added traveling fees ranging from 10% to 50% of their normal.
Lesson: Be prepared for out of town costs, for this could affect your budget.
On Selecting the Reception Venue
After selecting the church, the next thing you need to nail is deciding on the reception venue. Of all the decisions that we made, the reception venue selection proved to be an ordeal by itself. The reception usually commands the biggest part of the budget so you want to get it right.
There are a lot of reception venues in Tagaytay. You have a wide variety of choices that range from restaurants to club houses. When we decided on our venue, our primary consideration is uniqueness…meaning it is not yet gasgas as far as usage is concerned. We wanted something that was less photographed and less popular yet will still deliver.
When we were selecting the venue, we trimmed the list down to these four sites:
We decided to go for Balai Taal due to that pioneering feeling that we were one of the first few people to have a reception party there. When we were researching for wedding photos in Balai Taal in the Internet, we were only able to find a couple. This was a solid sign to us that the place was relatively undiscovered. We learned that that there was only one wedding held here in 2005. In 2006, there were only six. For 2007, they were set to hit 18 weddings by year end.
Another reason why we went for Balai Taal is the theme and motif of our wedding. We threaded our wedding with the Verdant Leaf theme. Nothing comes close to Balai Taal in providing a good fit to our wedding concept. For photos and articles related to what’s in Balai Taal, see previous entry here: Balai Taal, Tagaytay
Antonio’s recent renovation and expansion made it an ideal venue for weddings. The food here there is hailed as the best in all Tagaytay bar none. Only problem with this site is that the tables are spread across different floors. You will not have that “intimacy” since guests are spread out. On top of that, you will have to really limit your guest since it can accommodate only up to 150 to 160 guests. See article here: Antonio's Tagaytay, Still the Best and Nothing Beats an Antonio's Dinner @ Tagaytay .
Another unique reception area is the Ledesma’s Hacienda Isabelle. This was originally a private Tagaytay retreat that recently opened its doors to the public as a dining place (by reservation only) It is a place of character in its own. We didn’t go with them because they only allow food served by their chef. We figured that if we factor in the food, we are better off going with Antonio’s. See article here: Ville Sommet, Tagaytay
Ville Sommet is another area that is well manicured and set up for big weddings. Their glass house pavilion is something to be admired once you do your set-up. The glass house is huge and we figured that we will be spending a lot of resources in styling the place. If you are having a wedding in a rainy month, you might want to go for the very well covered area they provided. See article here: Hacienda Isabella's Lazy Sunday Lunch and Hacienda !sabella , Celebrate Life!
Other venues that you might want to consider are Splendido and Tagaytay Highlands.
In the end, selecting the venue is a matter relegated to preference, wedding concept, budget and weather. You will never go wrong with the choices listed here.
Tip: Have a wedding concept or theme. This will make your decision making faster. Make this theme as unique as possible since this will help making your wedding distinct from the rest.
October 29, 2008 in 18. Ultimate Philippines Tours, Tagaytay | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBack
