Looking back on a helluva 2013

This is the second draft of this blog post. After typing a thousand words, I deleted them all.

So many things has happened this 2013. And even if they're good or bad, heartbreaking or joyous, I am so thankful for each and everyone. And like so many times in the past few years, I truly feel that I am exactly where I should be in my life.

My life has taken quite a different turn from what I've been envisioning since 2013 started. Five months after the new year, I was suddenly taken on to an entirely new path -- and one that I've always wanted to do but never had the guts to explore if I could actually do it.

The first four months of the year were great, but the next eights months were, well...like a rollercoaster.

I...

• Discovered my true friends.
• Rediscovered my strong, independent self and became slightly more patient
• Finally got started on the path towards a healthier lifestyle
• Got to revisit Singapore (and shopped my heart out at my favorite store, H&M <3)
• Backpacked my way to Caleruega for an overnight chill-out date with friends
• Tried the best hot choco I've ever had
• Watched my first ever ballet
• Saw a real-live panda
• Finally got to visit Camiguin!
• And stayed in a treehouse...in the suite room to boot.
• Visited a miraculous site
• Started trying out the dream career I've always wanted and picked up a dream again that I've already put down at the start of the year, convinced it wasn't for me
• Finally found a new favorite chocolate cupcake after years of searching
• Tried out Maple
• And revisited to Bohol.

Trying out Maple

I've always wanted to eat at Maple ever since I kept reading (and hearing) that I should try out their Eggs Benedict. I was supposed to eat here last November but plans went awry a few months before that my plan to eat here was pushed indefinitely.

Menu and bread with butter

Then someone offered to treat me to lunch wherever I wanted one Saturday and I agreed. Fortunately, we were in Shangri-la mall that morning because I was buying a gift for my dad. I immediately said, "Maple!" and that was that.

My friend Chichi (the same one I was with in Camiguin), kept telling me to try out Maple. I was expecting, well, you know, scrumptious food. My sister, on the other hand, told me that they are not good for my cholesterol, so I was expecting scrumptious, oily, good-and-bad-for-me kind of food. Also, that their servings were huge so I only have to order one or two dishes.

We ended up ordering four. Hahaha. Thank you for the treat.

We got the Eggs Benedict, Huevos Rancheros, fish and chips, and 'kids' mac n' cheese. We didn't order any drinks but they have milkshakes that I really wanted to try out. But for the sake of pretending that I care about calories and my waistline, I had to forego ordering it...this time.

Their Eggs Benedict platter looks like a face.

Their serving is huge, alright! For only P315, we got two servings of Eggs Benedict and heavy-on-the-tummy french fries. The eggs' base were croissant. I was pleasantly surprised while slightly alarmed at my cholesterol levels. Since I'm a new convert to Eggs Benedict, I cannot accurately judge it. Is it the best so far? I think the one at 2nd's was better, but for the price at Maple's, I'd choose this one. The sauce, however, was very yummy, and I found myself swiping the fries across the leftover sauce on the serving plate.

There was Canadian bacon in here, supposedly, but the serving of it was too small to make any mark on my memory. However, the Eggs Benedict was delicious, so I'm definitely ordering this again.

Huevos Rancheros at P340.

Next is the Huevos Rancheros, which tasted a lot like the chicken salad we used to order at Chili's. There was a side of sunny side-up eggs, which my companion ate on its own instead of eating it with the rancheros. The menu said this is a Mexican breakfast, with nachos. The nachos on the bottom were soggy and I barely tasted it at all. It didn't taste any different from the usual salad. I just had a couple of bites of this since I didn't get into the taste as much.

We also ordered fish and chips. In other restaurants, the fish is usually cream dory, right? I was confused at first bite because the fish used instead was tilapia. I have nothing against tilapia, in fact we eat that at home frequently, but I was surprised because I was expecting dory. Well at least it was truly a fillet. I didn't like the fish so much without the sauce. I only had two pieces of it. I felt like it was overpriced due to the taste, but then tilapia fillet is pretty expensive.

Fish & Chips at P480.

Last is another one of my favorites. When I saw the kiddie menu, I immediately ordered the mac n' cheese. This is another one of my quirks: I have to try out the mac n' cheese every time I go to a restaurant and it's on the menu.

The mac n' cheese was definitely cheesy. I felt like clapping my hands when I saw the star-shaped cheeses on top because I love stars. I used to insist to my college orgmates that my name was Haejastar. Plus, my library at home has clouds painted on the ceilings with glow-in-the-dark stars stuck on them. Not to mention my room which has glow-in-the-dark stars on the ceiling, cabinets, walls...you catch my drift.

Mac n' Cheese at P250.

The Mac n' Cheese was tasty and not too cloying. In fact, I wanted to eat the whole serving but of course I had to follow *ehem* my sharing is dieting motto. I don't know what in the world that white stuff is on top, or if it added to the flavor, but I enjoyed this dish the most.

I thought Maple was your typical couple date place, but it didn't have that ambiance at all. We went to the branch in Shangri-la (the first was in Forbes, and there's a new one opening in Alabang) and there were families and groups of friends having lunch as well. There's also a kiddie corner on the side stocked with several books and toys.

Maple didn't quite live up to my expectations, but I enjoyed it enough. It wasn't as pricey as I thought it would be, and it's definitely a place where I would someday bring my family for a treat.

If you're looking to try their food, I've taken a photo of their menu as well. If you're dining there with your girlfriend, I'd say prepare around P1000-1500, and if with friends, at least P500-1000/person. Enjoy! :)

  
 






Full Disclosure: We paid for our meals. This blog post expresses my own opinions. All the places we visited and ate at that are featured here were not sponsored. I did not receive compensation for my post.

Maple Restaurant
LG/F Shangri-la Plaza, East Wing,
Shaw Blvd cor. Edsa,
Wack-Wack, Mandaluyong
(02) 477 8027
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A sweet secret in the south

Display of goodies at Sweet Cluster with ate Rea in the background.

About five years ago, I was able to taste the best cupcake of my life. It was sweet, pure chocolate goodness with cream cheese. Unfortunately, the baker only made it for a specific event and he never put up a shop (I'm still hoping he would). So since then, I've been on the look out for the alternative favorite chocolate cupcake. After visiting so many stores and spent hundreds of money, trying to convince myself that a particular cupcake is 'good enough' (and believe me, I've been to all the popular commercial cupcake stores in the metro and have tasted some online-bought goodies), I finally found it.

I've been passing through Severina for over two months and I saw this little nook that was barely noticeable unless you're looking outside. I was shy to ask my sister to stop on the road because she hates doing that but one day I finally asked if we could stop by, and she agreed.

What followed were several hundreds paid and a couple of inches on my thighs probably, but oh so worth it. I finally found my alternative favorite chocolate cupcake!

Now, my family knows I don't share my chocolate but I have this new motto, sharing is dieting, so I let my sister take a bite of my cupcake. She managed to eat half.

The next day, I bought two cupcakes. My sister asked me again if she could have some. My sister. Who doesn't like chocolate that much. Yes.

Belgian Choco cupcake P55/piece

The cake itself is moist and not too sweet, not cloying. The icing on top was a little hard and very generous. I don't really like the icing of most cupcakes because, combined with the cake, it can be too sweet. But I found myself eating this cake as a whole, not separating the pieces. In fact, it's better that way. They also add chocolate sprinkles on top, but I guess you could tell them to not put any. For me, it's barely noticeable anyway.

My sister kept buying blueberry cheesecake instead. She said it wasn't an 'oh my god the best cheesecake ever' experience, but then she has never eaten a blueberry cheesecake she hasn't liked. But she did like it. Enough to order it three times.

Blueberry cheesecake at P95/slice

What my sister liked about this cake is that the cheesecake part is very generous and it tastes like they didn't scrimp on the flavors and materials (this also applies to their chocolate cupcake). Also, the blueberry serving at least reaches until the end of the cake. It's a bit small, but she said it's actually okay for the price because in other stores this would be more expensive.

And my mom liked the goods as well that she asked us last Friday if we could go to Severina to have some dessert. :)) We bought two cakes. One was another blueberry cheesecake and I decided to try a different cake this time to see if their other desserts taste just as good.

Chocolate Bliss cake at P150/mini cake

I ordered their Chocolate Bliss this time. I was supposed to get the Amaretto cake but they only sell it as one whole, not by slice/piece. The Chocolate Bliss mini cake is a chocolate mouse cake with a half-inch chocolate sponge cake base, covered with chocolate and gold icing and surrounded with walnuts. The cake itself was very good. Again, not too sweet but sweet enough to satiate your chocolate craving. The walnuts added a weird taste to the cake because it's taste was very overpowering, but it helped to balance the cake's sweetness, too. Their mini cakes are quite big and even for someone who loves chocolate like I do, I definitely was not able to eat this in one sitting. This can be shared between two or three people. Their cupcake, you can choose to share with someone but if you're like me, you can just buy one for yourself and another one for everyone else to share. ;;)

Ate Rea at the Sweet Cluster is very nice and welcoming. She packs the cakes into plastic containers and brown paper bags if you're bringing it to go, complete with a plastic fork or two. However, you can also choose to dine in. There are several chairs and she serves water for free. There are also magazines available, and yes, a small comfort room. I can definitely see people hanging out here although not staying for long if you need to work on your computer because I didn't see any outlets. They also serve tea, hot chocolate, and juice. My sister is excited to come back and try out another one of their cakes. Me, I'm wondering if I can persuade her to visit Sweet Cluster on Christmas Day. :))

The waiting bench for dine out customers.

You can hang out here with friends!

Sweet Cluster's menu and pricing

As Ate Ria told me, they are now accepting orders for Christmas and will put your orders in special Christmas boxes (for a fee).

Sweet Cluster is inside Severina Village, just through Severina Diamond gate, and right across the car wash. Coming from the gate, it's on the right side, sandwiched between a parlor and a laundry shop.

Sweet Cluster
Cakes | Cupcakes | Muffins | Cookies
43-E Severina Avenue, Km. 18,
West Service Road, Parañaque City
(02) 994-9638
sweet_cluster@yahoo.com

One step forward

I used to think that traveling only happens outwardly. You look up a place to visit, you buy the tickets, and you visit the place. And ta-da! It's a new journey.

I've forgotten that sometimes, the journey can happen inside of you.

I just remembered yesterday that it's not always about the outcome; the path towards your goal is also important. I was debating whether to blog about this journey here, or to create a new blog where I can write about this new travail of mine. But since this is also a journey, and since I haven't ironed out the details of this new venture of mine, I decided to write about it here.

This 'inwards' journey has happened to me as I embarked on several new projects the past five months. Without going into specific details, I stumbled upon something that offered me the chance to dip my toes into the kind of career I've wanted my whole life. All I had to do was send my e-mail declaring my intent and availability.

I debated with myself for several minutes before I finally mustered up the courage to open up my email, type a suitable letter of intent, and sent it to the person in charge. All the while I was thinking that maybe I won't get in. Maybe I'm too green for this. Maybe I don't know enough. What if I ruin the other person's project because I don't really know what I'm doing? And so on. I battled with myself, pulling myself down before I even knew what the reply could be. Before I even knew if I really could do it, or not.

And then came the response: it was a yes. Oh my god, you don't know how I jumped for joy at that. I couldn't believe it! And afterwards, I received two emails of inquiry, asking if I would like to join them in their project. I couldn't believe my eyes. Here was my chance.

What if I chickened out? What if I let myself pull myself down before I even tried it? Then I wouldn't have known if I truly had it in me to achieve my dream career. I'm not saying I did it perfectly. I made several mistakes. We had to go back and forth. But in the end, they appreciated my inputs and I received glowing feedback. And I must have done something right because they asked to work with me again.

As part of our working together, we both asked each other if we could meet up, even just once. All our interactions before then have all been online. And when I met up with both of them, I walked away feeling so inspired. So excited that I'm doing it. I'm living my dream. How many of us don't do our dreams because we are so afraid to fail, that we end up truly never fulfilling our dreams? We don't believe in ourselves, so we stop ourselves from even taking the first step.

And I thought that was that. That my whole takeaway from the experience is that I am doing my dream job. It's not even a job (because I did the first two for free).

But after several encouraging words from them, I finally sat down and tried my hand at what they do. Honestly, it has been my long-time dream. But I didn't know what to say. I only got up to a few pages, before I walked away, convinced I didn't really have anything to say. So after several years of trying to finish project upon project, I finally gave up, convinced it wasn't for me.

Until one night, my sister and I were joking around, bouncing off ideas randomly, when I finally got it. I finally knew what I wanted to say.

So that night, I sat down. And in five days, I was done.

The only thing left to do was to find someone to go over my work and help me improve it. And that's just the first step. And it was going to cost me. I vacillated between finding someone or trying my best to be critical of my own work, but in the end, I finally admitted to myself that I need help. That I don't know what I'm doing, and if I'm going to send my work out there, I need someone's expertise.

So yesterday, after much debating than I could possibly admit, I finally sent another letter asking for help. And she agreed to help me. It's going to cost me a lot of money without any promise of getting that money back. But I'd rather have tried than never to have tried at all.

But before I sent that second email, I wondered: should I do it? What if no one wants it? What if she doesn't want it? What if I'm not good enough for this? What if I don't really have what it takes?

I had a lot of what ifs, most of them pertaining to failure, in the middle of the project. Until from the far reaches of my mind, one question pushed its way to the forefront and asked: Ah. But what if I succeed?

That was when I realized I truly am my own worst enemy. I'm my biggest critic. I'm the one who looks at myself in the mirror and tells me I can't do it. To don't even try because I might fail. Might.

But I took a chance. Two chances, if you count the first one I took five months ago. They haven't paid off for me monetarily, but they have paid a lot for me, deep inside.

Lao Tzu said one of my favorite quotes: The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.

This wasn't a journey that took me to somewhere far away, racking up Mabuhay Miles points. This was a journey that took place in my little corner at home, where all I truly had was a computer and my fluctuating self-confidence and determination to see this thru. Everything happened internally, true.

But I already feel like I've been somewhere so far away just by taking one little step forward towards my dreams. I feel like I've come a long way simply by braving my own personal demons and taking a chance.

Maybe this won't work out. Maybe I won't reach my goal. Maybe I'll have spent P8,000 to 12,000 for nothing at all.

Ah. But what if I succeed?

Pensive moments via The Bluebird of Happiness

Due to a spontaneous decision to accompany my sister to Ortigas and just wait for her until she finished watching The Bluebird of Happiness, I found myself inside the Meralco Theater as well on the chance that I might still be able to purchase a ticket on the spot. I did, and it was quite...an experience. The lessons in the story felt like a reminder for me as well, and I found myself reflecting on my life and current goals (like an original LV Bandouliere or Speedy. Oh, I know, I know) while watching the play. It was disconcerting, especially since I watched to be entertained and to be transported from my usual thoughts. In fact, I was just quiet afterwards since I was still feeling a bit disturbed by my decision to veer away from a dream that I held to my heart since I was in high school (which is like a decade ago).

The Bluebird of Happiness is actually an original Filipino musical play, but the songs were purely in English. This was my first time to watch a play by Trumpets, so I really didn't know what to expect. Actually, my sister watched it because she's friends with Tracy Santuyo, who is one of the chorus. But what I didn't expect was to be blown away by certain performers in the play.

I'm not sure who the lead kids were in the show we watched (8PM last Saturday), but their voices blended quite well together. However, I was a little sad with the girl lead because there were times when her voice would truly shine and I would hear the beautiful quality of her voice, but that was not shown throughout the whole three hours. The character I liked the most is Night, played by Joel Trinidad. I thought he was a different Filipino theater actor, and this is actually the first time I've heard of him (sorry, no offense) but I am now a fan! His portrayal of Night as this devious character was just amazing and totally enjoyable. His delivery of his puns were just spot-on, and the adults definitely laughed at every perfect punch.

The costumes and sets were very nicely made, and the performance by the whole cast made me see why Trumpets shows are very notable in the theater scene. However, I felt every minute of the latter two hours of the show after an hour has passed. By the end of the show, my butt felt like it was stuck to my seat. It felt like there were too many songs, and maybe it was just me, but I did not clearly understand the lyrics of all the songs.

The Bluebird of Happiness is a show that reminds everyone, both kids and adults, to be content with the material things you have and that the thing that matters most is family, and that having more material things won't necessarily make you happy. It definitely made me a little pensive by the end of the show.

It was my first time to watch in the Meralco Theater. While waiting for the show to start, I enjoyed looking at the walls with the lights behind them, which gave a soft glow to the walls. I don't know if it was just the sound system but there were times when the sound would overpower the performers. Also, the seats were not very comfortable. However, I like that it's closer to the stage and even if we just sat on the balcony side, we were still able to see the entire stage.

Aside from the required plays we had to watch for school, this was my first time to watch a local play, and it was an eye-opener. Despite the few misses, I feel like our local theater scene has a lot to offer and I'm looking forward to catching more local plays.

Till the next musicale. :)

The Legends and The Classics Encore

Seeing them so happy in the box, and I know the cost was worth it. :)

One day, I suddenly had the urge to watch Cecile Licad perform. I don't know why she suddenly popped into my mind. All I know is that one minute I was thinking about her, and the next minute I was searching online if 1) She's actually in the Philippines, and 2) If she's going to perform anywhere any time soon. I soon stumbled into Ticketworld about her upcoming concert, The Legends and The Classics Encore, with fellow multi-awarded, internationally recognized Filipina performers, Lea Salonga and Lisa Macuja.

I know my parents also want to watch them perform, so I started begging them to watch the show with me. Since the show is scheduled for 8PM, I needed a safe ride to and fro CCP. Luckily, my parents and sister agreed to watch it with me. I was so excited, especially since I've never seen Lisa Macuja perform as well, and she's retiring this year already! It was my last chance.

Due to the death of my uncle last week, my dad flew to Davao, so we had one extra ticket. With some time management, we managed to get my eldest sister, ate Apple, to free up her schedule and watch with us for free.

Since watching The Phantom of the Opera from the balcony seats (it was one thing I sorely regret until now), I have decided that I will watch future shows somewhere closer to the stage. Because the tickets were a bit pricey, my parents and ate Mako only wanted to get the lower balcony seats, which cost P2000. I then offered to upgrade our seats to Upper Box seats instead, which was my hitting two birds with one stone moment: ate Mako and I once pledged that we will watch a show in the Upper Box seats, and I'm now nearer to the stage. Hurrah! My mom said that instead of paying P6000 for my ticket and their upgrades, I should just purchase the P6k orchestra seat for myself, but I thought, where's the fun in that?

I'm glad I chose to upgrade their seats instead. It was truly a night to remember!

First, because having our own box was just fun. There are six seats per box but the two seats remained vacant throughout the whole 2.5-hour continuous performance. My mom had quite a jolly time switching from seat to seat as she tried to find the seat that would enable her to see the stage the most (we're all pretty fun-sized).

Second, it was incredible seeing all three spectacular stars in one show! Us four were just in awe the whole time, listening to Lea's amazing voice, and we were entranced by Cecile's total performance on the piano, and Lisa Macuja's emotion-inducing performances.

I've seen Lea before in Miss Saigon (we won orchestra F6 seats!), so I already know that she's an incredible performer. But it was such a treat to see Cecile Licad, oh I can't even describe how much! I recalled my music teacher in college once told us that if we ever have the chance to watch Cecile Licad's performance, we should do so because she's truly something. Cecile Licad just intrigued me. She looked like this awkward, beautiful, soft woman (and sometimes, she seemed unsure if she should join the two other ladies at the center of the stage), but as soon as she sits down, by golly, she transforms into something else. As she played, her fingers racing across the keys of the piano, she would look at Gerard with huge eyes, as if daring him to battle with her. You can see her (well, I was aided by binoculars the whole time) say "pam pam pam pam" as she pressed on the keys. And no matter how she hard or scary she looked like while performing, the notes sounded so melodious. And after the performance, it seemed like all that confidence would just drain away and she'd be this awkward woman once more. She seemed so shy, but put her in front of the piano and you cannot find a more confident pianist. There were times when I would just sit back, relax, close my eyes, and simply listen to the music. At that moment, while listening to Cecile Licad perform, I truly felt that music is one of the greatest blessings in life.

Watching Lisa Macuja was like a dream come true. I've always been interested in her, more so since I watched Giselle, and I just kept imagining how it would be like to watch her perform. She seemed so lithe and she made it look so easy, spinning on her toes and doing all those leaps like she weighed nothing. It was enjoyable to see her end each of her performances with a proud and strong lift of her arms like the letter V. The most surprising treat was when she danced the swan song from Swan Lake, one of her most famous performances. I wanted to cry when I realized I will never see our very own (and sole) prima ballerina take to the stage as the black swan (or even the white, cause she's awesome like that).

Lea, Lisa, and Cecile only performed together a few times, to a few popular Filipino songs (at least popular to the older generation). As I mentioned, it was a continuous 2.5-hour performance. I didn't time them but each star had her time to shine without overshadowing the other. I didn't feel like I wanted to see more or less of one of them, which speaks for the good management of the show's director.

It was so energizing to see all three of them on stage. Lea, despite just standing by the corner most of the time, could certainly hold her own and project a presence even without moving much. I enjoyed hearing her lilting voice. My mom was very happy when Lea sang one of her favorite songs, Memories, from the Cats musicale. Lea performed songs from her various Broadway roles, and I was so happy that even if I never got to see her perform in all her shows, I was still able to hear her sing her pieces.

It was also my first time to hear the Philharmonic Orchestra (choirmaster: Gerard Salonga) perform live. They were the main musical background of the three ladies, except for the times when Cecila Licad would do her solos. One of the violinists, Tito Rodel, is my sister's ex-choirmaster, and he was surprised to see us there. It felt nice to surprise him, too :)

I'm so grateful that I received so many blessings this year - and getting to watch The Legends and the Classics Encore is definitely one of the best so far.

Fifty-foot Divine Mercy statue at Divine Mercy Hills in El Salvador, Misamis Oriental

One fine discovery in CDO: Missy Bon Bon

A cozy nook in Missy Bon Bon

One of the things my companions and I have agreed that we must do in CDO is to eat in a place that is exclusive to the city. Because of its proximity to our lodgings, Discovery Hotel, we ended up in Missy Bon Bon. It looked like a quaint little place that was bustling with people, and we decided to have breakfast there on Sunday morning.

Missy Bon Bon had different types of chairs and couches, which just added to its charm. Since the morning sunlight hits the window, they have blinds to keep the place from heating up. My friends and I found the temperature and the overall ambiance definitely comfortable. At first, we were wary of eating there because the food seemed too pricey, and we were afraid that we would still be hungry. But since the dining places available at 6am were very limited, we decided to give it a try.

The place opens 6am daily, and my friends and I were there by 6:30am. We were surprised to see different age groups - from teens to yuppies to elderly (and I mean senior citizens) - eating at the place. I think they take note of their repeat customers, because Ate Mako's friend who met us there was greeted by name by the staff. I like that part of their customer service.

We were also amazed with the range of food offered by Missy Bon Bon. They have all day breakfast meals like pancake; American-type breakfast fare like bacon, ham, sausage; Filipino fare like bangus, tocino, tapa; and other dishes like pork chop, eggs benedict, sandwiches, and even pasta. They also offer hot and cold drinks, soup, shakes, juices, cakes, salad, bottled water, and even gelato. The only thing I didn't see there were cookies and pizza. This seems like an ideal place for friends and even family members who are on a diet, or even just to hang out. They also have magazines available for you to read.

We ordered the bacon breakfast (P150) and the tapa breakfast (P125). The food was nothing remarkable, but it was fit for the price and the place. However, if you're super hungry, do avoid getting the bacon breakfast in the morning. It felt like a snack to me. Chichi and I also bought bread, thinking we might get hungry on our way to El Salvador and back. They have really delicious looking bread on the display. And if you're into the cronut craze, they also offer it at P75/piece, and they have about four different flavors (Strawberry Frost, Chocolate Dazzle, Sweet Missy, and Blueberry Burst). They had plenty on display in the morning but they ran out when we were there for lunch. (When we passed by the night before, we were told that their bread was at buy 1 take 1 and their cronuts was at 30% off - I'm not sure if this is a nightly discount).

Their bread display filled with their delicious bread.

For lunch, we went back to Missy Bon Bon because it was near the shuttle, Glorymer (it's just right outside), that we were going to take for the ride to the airport. Chichi and I wanted to eat the bread we bought in the morning for lunch, thinking the food we ordered might be insufficient for what could be a long wait at the airport. I asked if they would kindly reheat the bread we bought from them and they agreed and even served it to our table.

Chicken turnover

I was delighted to find their bread tasty and delicious. Their pastries are reasonably priced, and if it wasn't for my limited budget, I would have bought more bread. I had the chicken turnover (P39, I think?), and I liked it so much I ordered another one to eat at the airport in case our flight was delayed. Chichi had a tuna turnover and she enjoyed it too.

At Missy Bon Bon, you have to order your food at the counter, and if you're dining in, they will bring the food to your table, complete with utensils and water. They have two counters, but for that morning and lunch, only one counter was open. The cashier took quite a long time, and I was getting impatient because we were in a hurry. The kuya before me also asked for an official receipt, which added to the long wait. Thankfully, he noticed my agitation and just told the cashier to ring up my purchase before finishing his receipt, which the cashier was just taking years to do.

Their pastel is also a notable treat, as some of Chichi's friends from Manila, who have already tried their pastel, requested for her to bring them some. People said it's a good alternative to the original pastel from Vjandep (pronounced as Vandep, the j is silent).

Three-cheese pasta

For lunch, Ate Mako ordered their pesto cream pasta (P145). Me, being a cheese lover, tried their three-cheese pasta (P155). Sadly, the three-cheese pasta tasted too bland. I did not enjoy it so much. I tasted the pesto and it was delicious. I wished then that I ordered their pesto as well, or tried their eggs benedict.

But what I liked about this is that the quantity of the pasta was more than what we expected. While the taste was not to my liking, at least the price was justified for the quantity. The meat was plenty, and tastier than the pasta. The bread was also tasty, but then I already expected that from Missy Bon Bon by then. Their pasta dishes, for me, are more sulit than their American breakfast dishes, in terms of price.

Missy Bon Bon has the usual culprits, I mean flavors, with some...unique ones.

One-scoop gelato

We were tempted by their gelato display, and since it was reasonably priced, we decided to give it a try. Their one-scoop in a cup is only P55. In the photo above, the P55 gelati are the ones with the yellow tag. The purple tags cost P68/cup and the blue tags cost P100/cup. Their gelato on a cone are a bit more pricey. I got the plain chocolate gelato (lol, of course, chocolate), but they have the usual other flavors like Sansrival, Roasted Almond, Strawberry, Pistachio, Mango, Biscotto, Cookies and Cream, Ferrero Rocher, and Pistachio Sansrival. But they have other unique flavours as well like Stracciatella (I don't know what that is), Fruit Salad, Melon, Black Forest, Mixed Berries Yoghurt, Bubblegum, and...Love Potion #9! I don't know what the Love Potion contains, I should have asked, but I was too excited to eat my gelato.

I have had my fair share of chocolate gelato (it's the only flavor I actually eat - or with nuts if they're available), and Missy Bon Bon's chocolate gelato has nothing to be shy about. It has this cocoa taste, but instead of it being a detriment, I actually enjoyed the somewhat bitter taste it brought to the mix. It somehow tempered the sweetness of the gelato.

Pastel Gelato sandwhich

One scoop is sufficient to satiate those taste buds, even for a chocolate and sweets lover like me. Looking at my cup, it does not even look like a one scoop but a one cup filled to the brim. But if you really want some more, they also offer two and three scoops servings.

Chichi, on the other hand, ordered their unique treat, Pastel Gelato Sandwhich (P45, I think), which is a Missy Bon Bon pastel with a scoop of gelato in between. The gelato flavor depends on your choice (but I'm not sure if the price will change if you get the purple- or blue-tagged flavors). She said it was really delicious and definitely worth trying out. If you're a fan of pastel and gelato, I think this is a definite must try.

As I mentioned, the cashier takes a long time to ring up the purchases, so when I bought my pasta, I already ordered my gelato. I just told them I will have it after my meal, and they agreed. Did I mention that I really liked their customer service? And oh yeah, to top it all off, they also have a somewhat reliable free WiFi service.

To add to the awesomeness of Missy Bon Bon, they also have a clean bathroom with a separate urinal for the males. The bathroom has mirrors all over, so no matter your height you can check out your reflection. Also, some of their tiles have green plants, which was pretty unique. Missy Bon Bon was just oozing with charm and uniqueness.

If you want to eat al fresco, they also have several tables and chairs available. The seating options are available for two to four people, so you can definitely hang out with your friends and family here.

From the ambiance, to the customer service, to their food, Missy Bon Bon is definitely a gem in Cagayan de Oro. If I ever get to visit CDO again, I will make sure to pass by again.


Missy Bon Bon
LKKS Address: Rosario Drive, Limketkai Mall, Lapasan, Cagayan de Oro 9000
Robinsons: Level 1, Robinsons Place, CDO
Gaisano: Ground Floor, Gaisano Mall, CDO
Email: missybonbon.cdo@gmail.com
Tel: +6388 8566852 (if you live in the Philippines, just dial 088 instead of +6388)
Missy Bon Bon Website
Missy Bon Bon Facebook page

A six-hour tour around Camiguin

Camiguin waking up before 6am.

As mentioned in my post about how to commute to Camiguin and our stay in Enigmata Ecolodge, we had a pretty eventful vacation over the weekend. Our two-day, fifteen-hour itinerary was drastically cut to just over six hours. (*Note: The photos in here, aside from the watermarks, are not processed or edited, unless they came from my Instagram, which I will note.) This was our tour package:

First day:
Walkway to Old Vulcan via crucis
Sunken Cemetery
Guiob old Church ruins
Soda water pool
Sto. Nino cold spring
Katibawasan falls
Ardent hibok-hibok spring

2nd day:
White bar/island
Mantigue Island
Zipline

We were able to go to Ardent on Friday night, but the rest of the itinerary was cut to a 6am to 1pm schedule of:
White bar
Walkway to Old Vulcan
Sunken Cemetery
Guiob old Church ruins
Katibawasan Falls
Mantigue Island
Zipline

And this was further reduced to exclude the White bar because the coast guard only allowed the tourists to go to the white bar at 1PM, and at 1PM we had to be finishing our lunch already. Bummer. We didn't get a discount from Kuya Teddy, and we let it go, hoping that Kuya Robert will get an even bigger share.

So after almost 20 minutes of taking pictures at Enigmata, we were on our way to our supposed first destination. But before we got there, Kuya Robert stopped beside the road to take photos of us with the mountain as the background (refer to photo above). It was beautiful, but then my companions decided we should take photos with a slightly different background...and we ended up here:

My heart is ozzing black... Just kidding.

We don't know what Kuya Teddy was thinking as we took photos of ourselves sitting (or in my case, lying down) on the road but he gamely took photos of us. There were no other people on the road since it was still way too early. However, a multicab (the one and only!) saw us on the road taking photos and they slowly passed by us, while looking at us with questions on their faces. We ignored them, hehe.

Me taking a shot of ate Koku taking a shot of Chichi. Whew!

Then off we continued on with our journey. We reached the Walkway to the Old Vulcan first. I was so excited to go here, thinking I'd like to go all the way to the top, but apparently that would take us half a day. We couldn't finish the Via Crucis either because that would take us 2.5 hours. This is one of the things I'll really do to if I ever get the chance to revisit Camiguin. (My friends, let's go back to Camiguin!)

The Walkway is filled with life-sized depictions of the Stations of the Cross.

After just two stations, we had to continue on to the Sunken Cemetery. It was amazing to see it from the road. The waves were coming in a circle around it but it kept stopping around the cross. It was like the sunken cemetery became holy ground, respected even by the sea.

A glimpse of the Sunken Cemetery from the road.

The waves never broke past that circle. It was amazing.

There were two men there, I think they were boatmen, and Kuya Robert told them to take pictures of us because they know some "tricks". After maneuvering our hands, they came up with this:


After several more photos of this type, we decided to say goodbye and continue on with our journey to the Old Church Ruins.

I didn't enter this place because it felt too crowded inside.

The 7am sun peeking through the ruined walls to shine on us.

A majestic tree by the ruins. I just had to take a photo.

After the Guiob Church Ruins, we passed by the White sandbar again and were told that we could only go out at 1pm. We decided to forego it and continue on to the next stop on our list: Katibawasan Falls. A little trivia about the White sandbar, as told by our guide: The sandbar used to be much bigger until one day, a ship came and docked near there. After the third time that it docked there, they finally realized that it was siphoning off sand from the White sandbar, so it's smaller now. It was only after the third time of docking that the ship was banished from going there. If this is a true story, I hope the government of Camiguin did something to punish those who stole the sand instead of just banishing them.

Okay, let's shake off the bad vibes for now. I thought Katibawasan Falls was going to be warm and cozy...and it was. It was cozy, but definitely not warm. We were freezing our bums off, but once you get used to the cold and you keep moving, you won't get too chilly. The upside is that if you go out of the water, you won't get cold from the breeze.

Katibawasan Falls

While swimming, I could not help but imagine how nymphs must have felt when they first swam here, with just the mountain around you. It was utterly quiet and peaceful, and the water was so clean. If it wasn't for our hurried schedule, I would have liked to stay longer.

And the water is so clear. If you don't have eye problems, you will be able to see the bottom clearly. It's not deep, really. It's just about two to three feet. At the end, where the falls drops, the area is cordoned off. They say that it's too deep there and the current might suck you downwards.

I don't know why we're laughing here, but I like how happy we all looked!

The ground is slippery so my sister and I wore our Sandugo sandals while swimming. Chichi went barefoot, but she barely left the stairs anyway.

It was in Katibawasan Falls that we had our first taste of their scrumptious fried chicken. Kuya Robert told us to just order from one of the stalls outside Katibawasan and he'll bring our food to us while we swim. When he finally arrived with our food - there's no other word for it - we devoured it. And I mean we were like people who haven't eaten anything in days! (And we had a filling buffet the night before :p) We all had fried chicken, and it was just so delicious. We paid P45 each, p35 for the chicken and p10 for the rice. The p35 is enough for one small person, but it's just one wing. It's pretty pricey, but we didn't know it would be that small, and we just decided to have a big lunch.

After Katibawasan Falls, we were finally on our way to Mantigue Island. Mantigue is not as popular as the White sandbar of Camiguin. It's this small island near Benoni Port and the population there is so controlled. According to Kuya Robert, their electricity is through solar panels. Based on the few blogs I've read online (which made me decide to convince my companions to go to Mantigue), it is just utterly beautiful there, and it's a great spot for snorkeling. Me, I love to snorkel - it's a fantastic way to see the fish and corals without having to dive if you're not a good swimmer - so I was really looking forward to looking at the fish here. I recall that Kuya Teddy told us that he will foot the snorkel gear at P50/person. He really said that. But Kuya Robert did not get us snorkel gear, and I only noticed that when we got to Mantigue. I was quite disappointed, but I didn't want to be pissed off so I just shrugged it off.

My first photo of Mantigue Island, facing Camiguin. That's Kuya Robert carrying my backpack from My Drawing Room

Since we were having the most eventful vacation ever, I was not surprised anymore when our little boat was suddenly battered by huge waves. The water was very calm when we left shore; in fact, we kept joking that we should just go back to CDO then while the water is still calm. But, as the boaters told us, that was the first time that the waves were huge on the way to Mantigue, as the water is usually so tranquil there. Oh, aren't we just the luckiest? :p

A little piece of this not so well known paradise. And yes, the sand is really white!

Since the waves were too huge, it wasn't a good time to snorkel or go around the island. It's a good thing we didn't get those snorkeling gear then! The sand looked so soft, I just had to take off my sandals and walk barefoot. It was a good decision because the sand was great to walk in on. It reminded me of when I was in Boracay 20 years ago at the age of 5, and I was running across the sand. It felt like that then - clean, powdery, and unspoiled. There are also a lot of corals on the beach of Mantigue, and also a few holes on the sand which Kuya Robert told me were made by crabs.

I love that our carefree moment has been captured on film :)

The fine quality of the sand didn't fully sink into my consciousness until the wind blew so hard, and my sister and I watched with rapt attention at the sand flying over the beach. It was the first time I've seen sand in a beach do that.

My sister and I had so much fun in the water, and we met some other yuppies from Manila as well. Meeting other people and discovering more information about the place I'm visiting is one of the things I love traveling :)


After Mantigue, we went straight to J&A Fishpen for lunch. Kuya Robert also said that we can shower there. Since we already checked out of Enigmata when we left in the morning, we had all our things with us, and we didn't have anywhere else to go. We were in dire need of washing up. We had to pay P30/person. The shower stall is small, and the door is a little rotted, but it was sufficient. The staff at J&A might tell you to put your things in a chair outside the stall. Don't. Otherwise you might have to open the door butt-naked just to grab a towel. There is a hook inside the door where you can hang your bag. The water was warm and it was pleasant to take a bath.

After we all took our turn in the shower, we had a delicious lunch of shrimp and another round of their delicious chicken. Right after that, Chichi and I went to ride the zipline. The ride costs P400/person, but you will ride twice. You will zip over the water, too. It was a great way to see more of Camiguin overhead. It was pretty secure and I didn't feel scared that I'm going to fall down. The one thing I didn't like about the ride was that in the jeep that brought us to the tower where we will start our ride, they brought two metals that we will need. However, it kept rattling and just blasted our eardrums. My ears were ringing afterwards. You have to wear the helmet before you ride the jeep to the tower because the road up is not cemented and I kept banging my head on the ceiling of the jeep.

The zipline ride was over before I know it! Before I went to the tower, my sister asked me how she will know if it was me on the ride. I said, "I'm the one flapping her wings!" True to form, I did flap my arms like a bird on the way back to the restaurant (the first zip is towards the opposite side of the tower. The second zip is towards the restaurant, which is in the middle of the tower and the first stop). I was fearful at first, this was only my 2nd or 3rd time to go zipping, but after a few seconds in the air, I stopped being afraid and just tried to enjoy the sunshine, the wind on my face, and the view of the sea. It was such a novelty experience for me to go zipping over water!

Port of Benoni

Right before 2pm, we were able to go to Benoni port, which is about five minutes away from the zipline. As of this writing, there is no terminal fee in Benoni. It looks new and was clean and spacious inside. As soon as our jeep entered the terminal's compound, several porters jumped on our jeep, ready to grab our bags and earn some bucks. It was pretty disconcerting, to tell you the truth, and this coming from a Manila girl. We ignored them and bought the tickets ourselves. They said, "the tickets are P530!" but the tickets only cost us P510. So do be wary and just go straight to the ticketing booth.

I was so eager to get to our favorite seats (it was the same roro we rode from Friday night) that I walked right up to the entrance of the roro as the vehicles were being unloaded. I watched, fascinated, as they sprayed something on the wheels. I don't know how I must have looked like to the men in the pier, me with my kiddie-looking backpack and huge eyes, but it was one of my treasured memories of my trip to Camiguin. They were spraying something on the wheels, and I asked out loud, "Ano po yang snspray nila sa gulong? (What are they spraying on the wheels?)" One of the men turned to me and said, "Ah, disinfectant. Kayo rin, ginanyan nung pagdating niyo dito. (Ah, disinfectant. Even you were given that when you arrived here.)" I was taken aback and said, "Hindi ah! (No, I wasn't!)" and he said, "Diba may tinapakan kayo? Yun na un! (Didn't you step on something? That's it.)" So, when you reach Benoni and you have to go through this small passage where there is a wet mat on it, do step on it. Let's keep the place safe.

Again, the water was calm when the roro departed the port at 3pm...and true to form, of course, the waves started to get big. A lot of people got pretty seasick. Me, I just stared out into the water. To help my sister ease up, we started singing some of our favorite songs until we reached Balingoan. For some reason, on the right side of the ship, where the sun is, it looked like there were huge clouds, and like beyond the sea, everything was disappearing into nothingness. On the left side of the boat, there was barely any sunlight and looked so peaceful. And then at the end of the horizon, the ship will drop off to the edge of the earth (I blame the Pirates of the Carribean:At World's End for this dramatic illusionary :p)

And I think it was only fitting that we exit Camiguin with the same beautiful view as we entered it:

The view as we bid Camiguin farewell. Oh so beautiful.

And that's how we were able to tour Camiguin in six hours. We were always in a hurry, but the beauty of the place, coupled with our boatloads of humor and patience, and great company, helped us to relax and enjoy the time we had.

The time we had was actually very insufficient, but I'm glad we were able to make the most of the time we had. If you're wondering why didn't we just go switch our schedule and stay in CDO then go to Camiguin on Saturday and go back to CDO on Sunday, it's because we weren't sure if we could get back to CDO on Sunday enough to pursue our other plans. By the time we could have gone back to CDO that Friday, we would not have been able to pursue our other must-do activity - one that was specified by my sister that we should do. :)

Our tour was arranged by Kuya Teddy, but our driver was Kuya Robert. Kuya Robert is awesome! He took a lot of photos of us while we did our thing, and he would tell us how long we have that we could spend per tourist spot. Also, he made sure our things were safe, and he would even carry our things with us. Please keep in mind that your tour guide/driver's meals are not included in the package. I thought we were, and he was so shy to tell us that it wasn't included, so I just shrugged it off and said we'll take care of him. Do take care of your tour guide, and he'll return your generosity. :)



Kuya Teddy Pabualan - for complete tour packages with/out housing
Mobile: +63939 2440521 (Smart) or +63906 4912604 (Globe)
Website

Kuya Robert - just for tour and multicab rental
Mobile: +63919 3286404 (Smart)