Hamilo Coast's Pico de Loro Beach & Country Club

Hamilo Coast's Pico de Loro cove is one of the thirteen coves being developed by Hamilo Coast as a leisure lifestyle destination near Manila. Pico de Loro cove boasts of a beach and country club, and properties such as residential condominiums, villas, residential lots and a hotel.



We were able to inspect the property recently, see the development happening in the cove, and enjoy what Pico de Loro gives to its members and guests.



Pico de Loro Beach Club offers an unobstructed view of the sea. Some of the activities you could do, besides swimming in the sea and in their pools, includes going through the eco-trail, kayaking, scuba diving, birdwatching, or touring Hamilo Coast's magnificent coves.



On the other hand, Pico de Loro's Country club offers a variety of activities and services everyone can enjoy. It has a huge pool, kiddie center, library, function rooms, tennis, badminton and basketball courts, table tennis tables, gaming consoles room, bowling and billiards area, and a beautiful view of nature.



If a day is not enough to fully enjoy the grandeur of nature and the great scenery, a nearby hotel, Pico Sands Hotel, will give you the chance to extend on overnight or week-long visits - just like what we did! The hotel offers great accommodation, great food, a relaxing spa service, and the right relaxation and rejuvenation one needs, away from a stressful city life.

Kokoro Ramenya: Authentic Japanese Ramen Restaurant in Manila

Kokoro Ramenya is the latest Japanese Restaurant that opened in Manila, located along Roxas Boulevard in Ermita. It prides itself for having a great selection of popular regional Japanese ramen prepared by Japanese head chef and ramen connoisseur, Susumo Murata.



Kokoro Ramenya takes ramen-making seriously, it even has its own Japanese noodle-making machine to ensure noodles are of the highest quality and served fresh daily. Aside from ramen, the restaurant also serves popular ala carte dishes, sushi platters and affordable special lunch set to provide a delectable Japanese dining experience to everyone.



Chef Murata highly recommends the Karakuchi-negi, Seafood Sapporo Ramen, Gomamiso, and Kokoro Ramenya original, Hakata Classic – rich and creamy Tonkotsu noodle soup boiled for 18 hours topped with kikurage, chashu and soft-boiled egg.


Kokoro Ramenya started with two Japanese friends who were chatting over their Japanese instant noodle lunch when they suddenly, they had a great idea of putting up an authentic Japanese ramenya in Manila. After a year of research, various cooking experimentation, food tastings and a few Filipino friends’ support, Kokoro Ramenya was born.



It was the passion for perfecting the quintessential hearty Japanese meal, the RAMEN, that made Kokoro Ramenya what it is today. Soup broth is cooked meticulously for 18 hours to achieve its unique delicious flavor and ramen noodles are made fresh daily to ensure the right creamy texture and flavor. All this for a slurpingly good meal in Kokoro Ramenya.

Taipei's #1: Share Tea in San Juan

Share Tea is a Taiwanese tea-beverage store which specializes in milk tea and tea. It started in 1992 and has since expanded to over 180 stores worldwide, including Singapore, Malaysia, China, Hong Kong, Macau, United States, Dubai UAE, Brunei, the Philippines, and is still expanding rapidly.



Share Tea is most loved for its classic pearl milk tea drinks as well as for their other specialty drinks like rock-salt cheese drinks, natural fruit teas, and handmade taro with fresh milk, which are all exclusive at Share Tea.



My second cousin, Christy, invited me to try out Share Tea. One Sunday, before going to Victory Greenhills, we passed by the tea shop to try out what they have to offer. Since Share Tea is new to me, I let them decide what they wanted me to try out.

Menu of Share Tea
I tried the (a) Rock Salt Cheese with Cocoa - a mix of sweet cocoa drink with salty cheese cream; (b) Taiwan Classic Pearl Milk Tea - an all-time favorite, they say that no other milk tea comes close; and (c) Handmade Taro with Fresh Milk - A must try, handmade yam drink.



The three drinks I have tried are really good and refreshing. I personally like the Cocoa with rock salt and cheese. It's comparable to Happy Lemon, or actually even (arguably) better.

The pearl milk tea is another staple. I think you can judge if the shop is good from this most basic drink they offer. After the first sip, I can safely say that Share Tea is one of the milk tea places worth going to :)

The hand-made taro drink, on the other hand, was interesting. It's refreshing and unique, but it's not for everyone I would think. For me, it lacked sweetness and texture.



Share Tea (They Deliver!)
Wilson, Greenhills: +632-7278888
Pioneer, Pasig: +632-6545555
Facebook: Share Tea Philippines

MARU: Korean Restaurant in Manila

MARU is a relatively newly opened Korean Restaurant in Robinsons Place Manila. We were curious about the place since its opening because of its well lit interiors, and a bit classy but cool look from the outside. One day after work, my friends and I decided to eat dinner and try the place out. Thankfully, it was actually a good restaurant, with good food.



SAMGYEOP SAL (PHP 300) - A popular Korean dish, which consist of thick fatty pork belly meat, somewhat like bacon, but not marinated or seasoned. It's usually accompanied by two kinds of sauces, namely, ssamjang or a paste with chili and soybean paste with sesame oil, and gireumjang, which is made of salt and sesame oil The meat was good, but it lacks flavor. I expected too much from their description that it was similar to bacon, but I guess nothing beats the good old bacon strip, eh?



JEUKSUK BULGOGI (PHP 420) - Marinated thin slices of tender beef, which cooks perfectly on the grill. A must try if you decide to dine in this restaurant. It definitely won't disappoint as it's really tender and juicy. This one's my favorite! :)



But before the main course, they will give you around 8 plates of different banchan or side dishes or starters if you may, which includes the usual Korean dishes such as Kimchi, and some others which I don't know what they're called. They also give you this plate with lettuce, chili and garlic. You use the lettuce as a wrap for the meat you grill. I tell you, the food is really good, and healthier.




Yuri of Lost Tsinelas and Sheena of (insert blog name here later), two of my really good friends. Good Food + Good Friends = Great Fulfilling Evening :) Until the next food adventure! Can you suggest a restaurant we can try? ;)

Dot Connecting at co[LAB]: Let's Change the Philippines!

"Imagine having 40 of Manila’s prime movers and shakers — all wanting to create change in the country — sitting in one room."

This was the scene at co[LAB] in Makati last Wednesday - 40 of Manila's influencers from different sectors of society (Arts and Media, Youth, Government, NGO, Business...) gathered to talk about what Change and Progress meant to them, what is it that they are doing, and why they do it. 

For me, this is one real PPP (Public Private Partnership), brought together by dot-connector, and fellow Philippine Tourism Ambassador, Sarah Meier-Albano, her husband, Banj of Project Heal Manila, and guest speaker, Filipino-American writer and advocate Miss Ruby Veridiano, who helped synthesize and put everything together. 

PHOTOS: TOP: Banj + Sarah Meier - Albano, and Miss Ruby Veridiano. BELOW: Joey and Mon of Team Manila.

"You turn to the left and you can talk to someone from media. To your right, you can exchange ideas with someone from the fashion industry. There were people from government, lovers of music, filmmakers, graphic designers, writers and bloggers. The energy was just bouncing off the walls, and the exchange was geared towards one common passion: harnessing our creativity and talents to bring change to the community we live in." - co[LAB]

PHOTOS: Bianca Gonzalez, Alex Lacson, Quark Henares, Pia Magalona, and Erica Paredes.

“Too many of us know how to hurt, without knowing how to heal right. And really, a lot of this is for me, who can’t seem to learn how to be happy, but be willing to offer my deficiency to build those who feel half-full. Because this is all that I’ve got. And my arms, it is all I’ve got to offer. And I know it is cliché as hell, but I can be here to catch you.  So if you are falling, don’t trip. Love. I swear. I’ve got you.” - Ruby Veridiano

Here's a short video by Sarah showing a glimpse of what transpired during the "Meeting of Minds":

"Connect with us by keeping #ManilaMinds as an active column/search on your favorite Twitter application, and we will be in touch soon for the next dot connecting session." - Sarah Meier-Albano.

Surely, our "meeting" did not stop there. It transcended that event, and it is still ongoing, everyday, as we continue to hope, inspire, and create. We cannot sit idly. No. We must act, influence, and change ourselves, and others around us (in our work, in our circle of friends, in our spheres), and continue to be dot connectors, as we strive to unite and be one in changing and improving our society, the Philippines. 

----- PILIPINAS, TARA NA! -----

FULL SUITE's co[LAB] serves as a hub to a collaborative community that shares the same values of entrepreneurship, creativity and integrity. This shared workspace is ideas for freelance professionals, home office workers, startup businesses, entrepreneurs, solopreneurs and graduate students.

"We like to work, and we like to be around people. So we decided to create a space that enables collaboration, encourages creativity and engages you, our community."

They have this monthly JELLY, open to everyone, to experience how co[LAB] works. What's good about this is it is actually free. You just need to bring yourself, and whatever it is you are working on so you can actually work on it there.

This April's JELLY will be on April 05, from 1:00-6:00pm at the FULL SUITE, Inc., 4th Floor Optima Building, 221 Salcedo Street, Legaspi Village, Makati City, 1229. For packages, plans and pricing on working in co[LAB], you may refer to their list on Facebook.
All photos courtesy of Arriane Serafico and her new Canon 600D, and co[LAB]. 
"We are all dot-connectors. We connect people, we are connected. We come together as one for a cause greater than us. It may be for good governance, for poverty, for tourism, for art, for media, for clean water, for a lot more problems and issues we have. We come together, and act. We share ourselves and become one. What's important is we act. We act as one." - Brian Ong

Manila, Manila, I keep coming back to Manila!

Note: This is a personal blog post :))

I will be signing a contract that will make me employed once again! :) I am excited and nervous at the same time. I hope this new job will be as exciting, challenging and at the same time rewarding as my previous one. Thank you for all those who believed and helped me grow as a person. Shout out to the Office of the Speaker, to my bosses and colleagues and all those I have met and interacted with while I was there. I really had a grand time. This is a new adventure in my book. Let's make it as great at it can be. ;)

Big Daddy's Chicken (大雞排): Taiwan's Famous Crispy Chicken Chop

Big Daddy's Chicken (大雞排) just opened its Mall of Asia branch a few days ago to serve Taiwan's famous crispy chicken chops to the public. It was fortunate that we saw the brightly lit orange store which opened on that day, when we were looking around for a place to have lunch. Mind you, from the outside, it smelled really good - it will make you go curious about the food. We checked out the menu, and decided to try it, and blog about it.

Their bestseller, as indicated in the menu below, is the chicken chop (Php 80); but since we were really hungry that time, we decided to go for the original chicken chop with rice and mushroom soup (Php 90). To our delight, it tasted really good. I hope to go back soon and try the chicken chop with creamy pasta (Php 95)


BDC Crew chopping our Crispy Chicken Chop for lunch :)

Big Daddy's Chicken Bestseller the Original Chicken Chop, with rice and soup. You can have the chicken chop in a variety of flavors (Chili, Nori, Lemon or Pizza), or 2 flavors mixed in one order. I like the original the best.


Big Daddy's Chicken Beverages - African Red Bush Tea (Php 30) and the Iced Green Tea (Php 30). Personally, and I think my best friend would agree with me, I like the Iced Green Tea more. I really can't wait to go back! :)

Philippines' Best Cars: Manila Auto Salon 2009

Last November 26-29, The Manila Auto Salon 2009 was mounted at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay. It featured the best of Manila's cars, and gathered car aficionados from all over the place.


"Manila has been the site of several local auto shows and car competitions focused on the automotive aftermarket accessory industry. This popularity of motor sports and custom cars has turned into a nationwide craze. The largest city in the Philippines, Manila is the hub of the country’s automotive aftermarket industry, the home of manufacturers and service providers, producing the Philippine’s best customized cars and trucks."


The event was "envisioned to be a showcase of the Philippine’s best in car tuning and customizing." From years of conducting local car competitions, it has "developed skilled craftsmen in this field."


Look at what's fashionable and hot for cars...Louis Vuitton! I was surprised to see this in the show. I think girls would really love to have this piece, don't you agree? :P Wonder what my best bud Tiffy would think about this? HAHA!


As for me, they say that "libre ang mangarap," or it's free to dream and believe that something will come true. I say, I wish that someone kindhearted will give me this as a Christmas gift. :) Yeah, in my dreams, huh?