TAO YUAN RESTAURANT: authentic Chinese food at its best

What to do after an accounting exam that contains words I have never encountered (or taught to us)?

PIG OUT

(Though not in a "fast food" type of way)

After the mass (really asked for guidance and divine intervention after that exam), we went to Resorts World to eat at Tao Yuan. I have been begging my family to eat here for around a month but because of my sister’s midterms, we weren’t able to do so.

Just a suggestion, make a table reservation. You can only make a reservation for 6 pm and 8pm (not so sure why they have this policy. I think because they assume it takes 2 hours for a family to eat dinner, thus the allowance. Just guessing), so make sure you have one. We waited for around 30 minutes to get a table and we were already so hungry because we really prepared for this dinner (aka emptied our stomachs for the day to pig out on dinner). Though, the wait was worth it.

First of all, I would like to commend their friendly service crew. They are really accommodating and if you have questions about their specialties or you are looking for something specific, don’t hesitate to ask them. Believe me; they know what they are selling.

Even though I’m not Chinese and I haven’t been to China, I believe (and think) that they serve authentic Chinese and Singaporean dishes. How can I tell? Well, there are a lot of Chinese restaurants here in the Philippines and I never really liked them. Even if you ask my friends, they would attest to this. I would rather go to American, Italian, and Japanese restaurant.

But when my mom forced us to try this, after seeing it on TV, I vowed never to eat Chinese food, EXCEPT in Tao Yuan.

Here’s our staple menu! 

OHHHH!!! THIS ONE'S OUR FAVORITE!!!!! IT'S A MUST ORDER!!!!  Its Fujian Fried Rice; like yang chow rice in a more "soupy" way (kind of like the lugaw) but it takes really great! You can eat it as is!

The famous Hainanese Chicken. Really healthy! Great for health conscious people. The chicken is boiled but if you are worrying that it has not taste, let me tell you that their Hainanese Chicken is so flavorful!

Condiments to enhance the flavor of the Hainanese Chicken

The one is garlic spareribs. Good for kids who are still doubtful about flavors that are not usual to them.

This one is my dad's favorite. This is Taiwan pechay; smaller than the usual pechay.

READY TO EAAAAAT!!!

 So guys, the search is over for the best Chinese Restaurant in town.Visit Tao Yuan and it won't only be the best restaurant but it will be the ONLY Chinese Restaurant you'll ever come to!
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Pictures taken by Ivy Dela Torre.
                   -offers her photography services in any kind of event. Email her at ivdelatorre@yahoo.com
Want to be featured?  email me at annabeatrixdelatorre@yahoo.com

THE G-SPOT (Got to visit Spots): Thailand Version

When I opened the Yahoo webpage, I saw one of the headlines of Yahoo news about the top tourist spots in the world. I clicked on the link and to my surprise, the number one spot didn’t belong to Paris (totally, my dream place to visit!) or even New York (In New Yooooork! Concrete jungles where dreams are made of…).

  

The top tourist spot in the world belongs to…. *drum roll* THAILAND!!!

But when I think about it, it is not impossible for Thailand to grab the top spot.

FIRST PROOF! I have been there twice. Why would I even waste my money to visit a country twice, right? It’s because I just couldn’t get enough of Thailand and everything about it! 

Night life in Thailand

SECOND PROOF! It’s cheaper to go here than to other countries. Flights from Manila to Thailand are way cheaper than a trip to Japan or Australia, especially during seat sales (watch out for Cebu Pacific seat sales!).

The food is also incredibly cheap! Imagine, we are four in the family and we only spend around 300 Baht for lunch and another 300 for dinner. And di namin tinipid ang aming sarili ha!  We are already so full with that value of meals. We already have our Phad Thai (the famous pansit  of Thailand), Thai Iced tea (it’s color orange and perfect to quench your thirst), and green curry with rice! Their food court is an experience in itself. Have you ever seen a food court that uses prepaid cards to pay their food instead of money? It’s really amazing I swear! Before you can order your food, you would have to go to the reloading stations and get a card in exchange for your cash. For example, in exchange for your 100 Baht, you’ll get a card with a 100 Baht load. Then you go to the station where you want to order your food and hand them the prepaid card. Don’t worry if you don’t finish all the credit, you just have to keep the card and you can use it again next time to buy your food. THAT’S WHAT I CALL TECHNOLOGY!

Enjoying the Thai Iced Tea while shopping

The Prepaid Cafeteria

Yum yum!

More food!!

If you are a risk taker when it comes to food, they sell fried crickets, grasshoppers, and other insects in the side streets and you can buy it for only 10 Baht. Tried it for myself and it is like what people say; it tastes like chicken.

Enjoying my edible friends

The fruits are also cheaper! This is the reason why my mom agreed to spend for this trip. She is a fruitaholic (if there is such a thing). We pass by every stall of Durian sellers and she would eat it while walking. Even though I hate Durian, I ended up eating Durian with her while walking the streets of Bangkok. It is creamy and flavorful! Just don't mind the its strong smell.

Besides food, Thailand is also famous for their massage. Here in the Philippines, this would cost around 1000-3000 pesos. But in Thailand, it just cost around 150 Baht or 225 pesos. You can find them along the streets of Pratunam. It is my first time to experience a full body massage. They will put you in a more comfortable, costume type of outfit before the massage begins. Afterwards, I feel rejuvenated and energized to walk the streets of Bangkok again.

The Thai massage outfit

Need I mention the hotels? The hotels also come in cheap prices without sacrificing the quality of the room. The rooms are clean, big, and some of them already come with free breakfast. We actually reserved our rooms via internet. If you are kind of iffy (in doubt) about reserving via internet, I’m here to tell you that you have nothing to worry about! It’s actually easier (and cheaper than walk-ins) and you can customize it if you want to avail of the breakfast, be fetched in the airport, or give you a ride back to the airport. Since we can’t decide whether to get an expensive or cheap hotel, we ended up spending two nights in a cheap hotel and spending the other two in a more expensive one.

Our first hotel was My Hotel in Pratunam. Even though this was cheaper than other hotels, the services and facilities didn’t disappoint us. It was a newly built hotel near the Pratunam Market and Platinum. The halls actually smelled new! The rooms though were not that spacious but it was well lighted and clean. Their free breakfast was also amazing! If you are the type of tourist who is on a budget but still want to get a nice room, I recommend that you get this hotel! Really worth it, guys.

Our second hotel was Baiyoke Boutique. When you go out of this hotel, you can immediately see the stalls of clothes! Love it, right? The hotel lobby was really cute and posh. In every floor, there were different designs for the elevator doors. It really added a little cuteness to the hotel. The rooms were big and the room decorations were really chic. The only thing I didn’t like about it was that the whole hotel was carpeted. You know what happened to carpets after being stepped on by thousands of visitors in that hotel, right? If you are with your barkada, I really recommend this hotel for you.

Our hotel room in Baiyoke Boutique with all the thing we bought

Hotel lobby

The cute elevator doors

 

THIRD PROOF! If you are a shopaholic like me, Thailand is the perfect place! Not only THE PERFECT PLACE, it is paradise.

Just a short story about how perfect Thailand shopping experience was. Since it was already our second time to visit and we have already experienced the temples and all the tourist attractions in the country, our plan was to spend all our money on food, shopping, food, shopping, and SHOPPING.  During our first day, we didn’t waste time and our first destination was Platinum, which was a walking distance from our hotel. When I entered the mall, I was overwhelmed with all the beautiful clothes! I really had to pause in front of the mall and took in everything! Not exaggerating here, guys. They had a whole floor for clothes, shoes, accessories, and shoes. You can also try the sky walk that was used to connect the different malls, namely

• Central World
• Siam Paragon
• Erawan Shopping Arcade
• Gaysorn (for syala (gay linggo for sosyal or rich people)
• Siam Center and Siam Discovery
• MBK ( largest shopping center)

But just to add, nothing beats Platinum.

OTHER TIPS:

Biggest shopping center in Thailand

SHOPPING TIPS! I recommend that you buy in bulk since the shops there are wholesalers. They give lower prices if you buy more than one item from there shop. Choose a shop that has lots of beautiful items you want to buy so you can get bigger discounts.

Streets of Thailand

Since we didn’t have the chance to visit the famous floating market of Thailand during our first trip, we decided to try it out. We went to the Damnoen Saduak (there are other floating markets such as Bang Kung Whia Floating market). FUN FACT!!  This was actually a location in one of Tom Cruz’s Mission Impossible films! We paid 800 Baht per person, which includes the van and the boat ride. Not sure if this was the best and cheapest package out there, but from what I heard, they charge tourists around 800 Baht just for the boat ride! So be careful guys! For me, I expected more from the floating market. I thought it was really a market with all the fresh fruits, flowers and locals selling goods, but it lost its “authenticity” and just turned to a tourist spot. Though, I recommend that you try the noodles that were sold in the boats and the sticky rice with mangoes. 

Loving the floating market!

The yummy noodles!

Another, be careful with the Tuktuk and the cabs. They usually charge tourists more. The cabs come in different colors and my mom told me to suggest in my blog for tourists to take the green cab. So guys, mothers’ know best, ride the green cabs.

Sorry if my blog entry is lengthy, but I just could not stop gushing about my Thailand trip experience! I wish I could write more but I know people have short attention span and you would probably just close my blog page. To cut it short, Thailand is the best!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Peace out.

Amazing Thailand!

GNO (Girl’s Night Out) at Saint’s Alp

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 I always look forward to GNO moments with my girlfriends! It really helps me release the stress from school and from life, itself. Akala mo ang daming problema eh. Anyway, I haven’t seen my girls in a while so last night was our time to catch up on chismis (gossips), happenings, and everything! And what’s the best way to do this? Of course, with food!

After eating dinner, I asked my friends if we can try something new so I can write about it in my blog. I’m such diva, I know. Good thing I have such good and sweet friends! Even though they were not really into milk tea that time (since everywhere in UP and Katipunan is full of milk tea stalls), my friend drove us to the new building built beside KFC, along the Katipunan Road. Actually, it was the only shop open in that building.

When we entered Saint’s Alp, we were welcomed by the friendly crew of the shop. The place looked very pristine and well-lighted. The ambiance was pretty much cozy and perfect for a night of chismisan with my girlfriends. Parts of their menu were different milk tea, milkshakes, yogurt, and desserts. Items in their menu were already marked as bestsellers or recommended so we didn’t waste time choosing our orders. We each got different bestseller items. Eka ordered the milk tea with pearls (as they say, nothing beats the original), Nikki ordered Almond milk tea with pearls, Nina got their tea coffee with nata, and I ordered the Taro milk tea with pearls (I really got curious with the Taro flavor since I have never encountered something like that).

The super friendly crew!

With no exaggeration (didn’t get paid to say this, though that would be nice. I kid.), it’s the best milk tea we have tried so far! The consistency is thicker than the usual milk tea, which what actually makes it extra special! The sweetness is just right without losing the authentic tea flavor in it. The presentation is also an added touch to the whole. Though, it is more expensive than the usual milk tea (their milk tea is priced around 80-110 pesos depending on the flavor and has a smaller serving), it is super worth it! It is like the high class version of milk tea! Totally worth your money’s value. 

The stars!!! L-R Milk tea with Pearls and my ultimate favorite Taro milk tea with pearls (100 pesos)

Ms. Lakwatsera loves it!!

And her fellow lakwatsera's love it too!!

So guys, try this one out and you’ll surely go home with a GV (good vibes) night.

Happy Night!!!

NOTE:

Sorry for the low quality pictures! I didn’t bring my SLR because I didn’t have a car and I was carrying many books (nerd mode). Tried my best to work it with my digicam, though. Enjoy!

The G-Spots (Got to visit Spots): The Beautiful Danger, Mt. Pinatubo

Beautiful Danger: The view of Mt. Pinatubo

Everyone from the Philippines must know by now what happened during 1991, when the sleeping giant, Mt. Pinatubo suddenly shook the whole country when it erupted. It destroyed thousands of lives, properties, houses, and a lot more. Just by reading these first two sentences, I bet you would not want even a strand of your hair to get close to that volcano after what happened. What if I tell you that I even took a swim in that crater? .

Mt. Pinatubo is now considered a tourist spot in Tarlac, which is a round 3 hours from Quezon City. Before seeing the actual crater, you have to ride a 4 wheeler truck for about an hr and a half that is so cool because you can get the Indiana Jones vibes from this. The experience can be compared to a jungle adventure! And just like every explorer's journey, there's hiking! The hike is just around 30 minutes, don't worry. Our guide even told us that the oldest person who has come up to the crater is 70 yrs old! So if you want to bond with your grandparents, why not try this one? I kid. Well, just make sure they are capable to even walk a meter length.  The walk can be a little bit tiring but once you see the crater, IT IS SOOOO WORTH IT. It is way beyond what I imagined it to be! It is like a picture from a post card or a mountain in some country! You can see the clear blue skies and the amazing crater! I really suggest that you visit this place during summer (to avoid bad weather) with your family or friends.

4x4 trip to the hiking spot

View from the 4x4 truck

My cousin, getting ready for the hike! GAME FACE.

The hike to the crater

View from the top

The crater's lake!!!

Jumpshot!

Solo pictures while loving the sun

other beautiful shots of Pinatubo

I <3 Pinatubo!!!!

Beach? That's so cliche! Visit Mt. Pinatubo and let the Dora the Explorer in you come out! :)
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Pictures taken by Ivy Dela Torre.
                   -offers her photography services in any kind of event. Email her at ivdelatorre@yahoo.com
You can send your inquires and orders via text, 09175204508
Want to be featured?  email me at annabeatrixdelatorre@yahoo.com

Cooking with Lakwatsera’s Momma: Chocolate Oatmeal Cookie Recipe Edition

Another edition of cooking with Lakwatsera’s Momma! This time, I would like to share my mom’s chocolate oatmeal cookie recipe. Let me tell you how good these cookies are. I eat them for breakfast, brunch, lunch, snack, and dinner. And sometimes, I just find myself (unconciously, SWEAR) walking to the kitchen, opening the fridge door, and eating the cookies. I just couldn’t stop myself! It’s that good! You know what’s the other plus to this delicious oatmeal recipe? It’s healthier than the usual cookies! Obviously, because we use oatmeal (DUH)! Same taste, less the guilt, baby!

With only 5 steps, you’ll be able enjoy this guilt-free bite of heaven!

INGREDIENTS: can make around 30-40 cookies

2/3 cup margarine, softened

1/2 cups flour

2/3 cup sugar

1 tsp. baking soda

3/4 cup dried cranberries (or dried fruits of your choice like dried apricots, apples, and the like)

1/2 cups chopped walnuts

2/3 cup chocolate chips

1 1/4 cups oats

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

STEPS:

1.       Preheat the oven to 356 Fahrenheit.

2.       Using an electric mixer, beat margarine and sugar together in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Add eggs, mixing well.

3.       Combine oats, flour, baking soda, and salt in a separate mixing bowl. Add to butter mixture in several additions, mixing well after each addition.

4.       Stir in dried cranberries and chocolate chips. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.

5.       Bake for 10-12 minutes.

THIS IS AS EASY AS ABC! Nakakaloka! What are you waiting for? Move your butt people and start baking your chocolate oatmeal cookies!

ENJOY!

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Pictures taken by Ivy Dela Torre.
                   -offers her photography services in any kind of event. Email her at ivdelatorre@yahoo.com
You can send your inquires and orders via text, 09175204508
Want to be featured?  email me at annabeatrixdelatorre@yahoo.com

The G-Spots (Got to visit Spots): Ilocos Sur Version

View of Vigan

 Every year, we come back to Ilocos Sur, not only to visit relatives but to come to these places. We just can’t get enough of these wonderful and breathtaking locations only found in Ilocos Sur. Even if you are the indoor, outdoor, beach babe, or chill lang type of person, Ilocos Sur has the G-Spot for you. Here are my top two favorite places in Ilocos Sur!

1.       Pug-os Beach in Cabugao Ilocos Sur

Who says we only have one white sand beach in the Philippines? Then you have never been to Cabugao’s pride, Pug-os Beach. Akala niyo, big time na rin to! Even Boy Abunda and Kim Chiu have visited the place and are amazed by it. It still has its serene and untouched ambiance. You can even book your hotel room infront of the beach in Cabugao Beach Resort. They have wonderful accomodations. They have clean and comfortable rooms and even a swimming pool. If you are looking for a place to reflect, chill out with friends, relax, and unwind, then Pug-os beach is the perfect place to visit! No need to go far, people. No need. 

Pug-os!!

Picture of me enjoying the beach

2.       Vigan, Ilocos Sur

Even if we usually associate Vigan, Ilocos Sur with antique and old stuff, it doesn’t mean that the place is boring. Totally not! Can I just say na kakaiba ang energy in Vigan! Why? There are a lot of things you can do in that place! One of the most famous spot in Vigan is the Calle Crisologo where you can find a whole street of antique houses with souvenir and food specialty shops, and restaurants inside.

And like what I said, Ilocos Sur is a home for every type of person, even for party girls. In one of the antique houses, you’ll be surprise at night when you see one house with party lights and *tugstugs* party music. Yes, they have a club in Vigan! Legacy is the place to be for Ilokano party goers and for visitors who just couldn’t miss having a drink at night.

Vigan is also famous for its Kalesas. You can ride a horse drawn carriage with cute names like Rossana, Maganda, and Diyosa. You can also visit their church that is so ancient I bet all you can do is be amazed by it. I really recommend that you visit Vigan during the holy week because they have this special prusisyon tradition. You can literally see the whole streets full of people!  Everyone just joins in and walks solemnly around Vigan during this holy time of the year.

In Calle Crisologo

During the Holy Week

Cute pictures around Vigan

See! I told you Ilocos Sur has a lot to offer! Biruin mo pati club meron? San ka pa ‘di ba? Well, I hope I satisfied your G-spot curiosities about Ilocos Sur. So friends, if I have not convinced you that Ilocos Sur is a got to visit place, then I have just confirmed that something’s wrong with you.

BTW!!! My sister and I are such fan girls! We saw Chavit Singson and asked if we can have picture with him. Here's the proof guys :) Just sharing...

SUCH FAN GIRLS!!

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Pictures taken by Ivy Dela Torre.
                   -offers her photography services in any kind of event. Email her at ivdelatorre@yahoo.com
Want to be featured?  email me at annabeatrixdelatorre@yahoo.com