Peter Lee's Tea House

We were staying at the Luneta Hotel over the weekend and while the room rates were reasonable, we found the food prices at their Cafe Yano just too expensive!

Overnight at the historic Luneta Hotel

For my mom's birthday, she wanted to try out Luneta Hotel, which was originally built in 1918  and was regarded as one of the most elegant hotels in Manila. It was one of the few buildings that survived World War 2 but fell into disrepair over the years. 

Old photo of the original hotel from the lunetahotel.com website

Random adventures in food

 My aunt sent us a big slab of smoked salmon and I thought I'd make a salmon and cream cheese spread just like the one Chef Jessie Sincioco of 100 Revolving Restaurant makes.

Father's Day at Italianni's plus some other restos

 We haven't been to Italianni's in quite a while but thanks to a gift certificate from Twinx, we found the perfect opportunity to use it ---Father's Day!

Mother's Day in Cristina Villas, Antipolo

 I had never spent the night in Antipolo and we hadn't gone out for summer yet so I thought, why don't we combine our annual pilgrimage, our summer vacation and Mother's Day in one trip?

Where I ate in Bohol

Alona

 When we first went to Bohol, my family didn't want me to spend so much on food, that's why we went away from the beachfront restos which were generally more expenisve than those by the provincial road.
Now that I was here on my own, I still went to the road but this time, I was going to splurge a little to dine at what Lonely Planet and a local tv show declared the best restaurant in Alona Beach, Bohol: L'elephant bleu.

Alona Beach and Dumaluan Beach, Bohol

Alona Tropical's nipa hut-styled roof

I've been to Panglao's Alona Beach before and I loved how it's less crowded than Boracay, though Lonely Planet calls it a "congested strip of resorts".

Back in Bohol

I arrived on a cloudy day and I have not adjusted the photos so that you can see what Bohol looks like in the off -peak season

I love Bohol and if ever there is one place in the country I'd love to go back to, it would be this province. It has the everything I want in a vacation: nice beaches, plenty of activities to do, and a vibrant culture!

Holy meal! Ristorante delle Mitre

or Possibly the closest thing to heaven on earth in Intramuros, Manila.

So we went to the San Agustin museum in Intramuros Manila last week but what really got us excited was where we would eat. I've eaten at Ilustrado but while the food was excellent, the prices were too steep. I thought we could try out Barbara's , which is also a well- known establishment which had friendlier prices. 

New discovery: Recipes by Cafe Metro

I've always been wary of Shangri-La in Mandaluyong because it looks so chi-chi and expensive. Luckily, my friend Mara treated us to lunch there and took us to Recipes.

Namnam: Filipino food with a twist

 For Jon's birthday, we just had to try someplace new. We'd had food from most of the restaurants in the Ayala Triangle so my curiosity was aroused by an internet post about the best new Pinoy restaurants in the city. While most of them were in Quezon City, I read about one that was in Greenbelt 2. I was a bit wary because most of the restos along that lane like Italianni's and Cyma are on the expensive side but a few clicks on google revealed a menu with reasonable prices!

Best and worst of 2013

It's been a year of ups and downs and while I don't believe the numbers have anything to do with it, 2013 brought death, a super typhoon and a traffic accident but it also brought hope, new friendships and my comic strip going mainstream.
But enough of that, let's do a throwback to 2013's Best and Worst of the Year! This is, of course, a personal list with input from my friends so don't feel bad if you don't agree with me

Film

Best: Sana Dati

There were lots of contenders foreign and local like On the Job and Gravity , and Frozen (which I loved) but the one that hit me like an an arrow through the heart was Jerrold Tarog's Sana Dati. I was unprepared for it because the story was really not that original and it didn't tackle any big socio-political malaise but it resonated with me in a way a good movie should. One moment I was laughing at the wedding host's booboos, the next moment I didn't realize I had tears streaming down my face. Jerrold Tarog is fantastic when left to make the movies he wants to make like his first movie "Confessional."(Watch it!!!) 

While his mainstream works like that "Punerarya" episode of "Shake, Rattle and Roll 12" showed flashes of brilliance, it's really in his own movies that you see him shine.