Author: ajay

During a recent trip, we were supposed to be in Davao City for less than 24 hours, if not for the cumbersome flight cancellation by Air Philippines. When you’re in a faraway place for so short a time, there’s a tendency to do everything.

Some of the highlights: buy shawls in Aldevinco Shopping Center: check! sip durian coffee at Bluegre, eat sisig in Jack’s Ridge… check! check! Our gracious host recommended one more, and that’s to visit Chema’s By The Sea, a picturesque resort in Samal Island. Who can say no?

Never mind if we had to wake up at the unholy hour of 6 a.m. What we did first was to wait at the spacious grounds of the Waterfront Insular Hotel , for the boat that would take us on a 10-minute ride or so to Samal Island. Needless to say, I get a kick out of these boat rides (for as long as the water is serene ) It never fails to make me appreciate the beauty of the Philippines.

As we were docking, we were greeted with a scenic scene like this:

Chema’s By The Sea is not one of those high-profile resorts. People can only go here by reservation. A day trip costs only P125 per person, and this will already enable you to use its facilities like the lounge chairs by the beach and a tour of its lush gardens.

Chema’s also has an infinity pool facing the ocean:

For those who want to stay a bit longer, the resort has six cottages or pavilions within the compound that can accommodate from six to eight people (rates from P3,000 +++ to P8,000 +++ ) Food service needs improvement, but it is cheaper than the nearby Pearl Farm Resort.

Serenity, calm and beauty. I wished that day would never end!

To reserve for Chema’s By The Sea, call or text:
Mr. Quinco Gueco - 0917 814 0814
Resort Telephone Numbers: (82) 303-0523, 302-0235

The past week has been very busy as I joined my first roadshow which had us flying to Davao in Mindanao, Cebu in Central Visayas and back again to Manila for DigitalFilipino.com Club’s bloggers’ networking events. Here, I witnessed first-hand “Blogger Power” and the charisma of Ms. InfluentialBlogger herself, Janette Toral, to pull in the numbers.

It was my first time to join blogger events “on a mass scale,” with the exception of the Blog Awards, and I liked it. It was great to know the faces behind the blogs, and I like the part where everyone introduces themselves. There’s bound to be an interesting story on how one got to blog, or what one has gained from it so far. It’s my first exposure to DigitalFilipino and I think am joining it soon, haha.

Our first stop was the boom city of Davao, home of the Mindanao Bloggers. Close to 100 bloggers had fun in PAGCOR-Davao’s Pantawan Hall where we ate and drank the night away, capped by a friendly tournament of Texas Hold ‘Em Poker.

At the Teatro Casino party in PAGCOR-Cebu, members of the Cebu Bloggers Society came in identical “Blogger Ko Bai!” shirts which showed their complete solidarity. Couldn’t resist buying one.

That’s Kevin Ray Chua , author of the Sen. Mar Roxas for 2010 blog, bringing his own laptop to the dinner table, haha.

But I liked best the gathering Manila (PAGCOR-Paranaque, to be exact) because this is where most of my friends are, and I feel most at home here. Still, it was nice to be acquainted with the bloggers I saw for the first time…..

Like the Reyna Elena herself, one of the most popular overseas Pinoy bloggers who was on vacation all the way from the US of A. Reyna’s field is in investments, but still hopes to settle in the homeland someday. We are shown here with Angela of HeyoKity.

Kodakan galore! Am quite fond of these two young girls, Ada and Sabrina, who do kick-ass designs for Friendster blogs. In fact, their vixenart.net (Alexa rank: 8.703..whew!) should be on the list of the Top 100 Blogs, if only because….

Top Blogger Jehzeel Laurente with Belo girl Micamyx and Carl of WebMagazine. Jehzeel brought along his mother who proudly showed us photos of her one and only boy.

Maki Eduardo, Dine Racoma, a publicist from Full Circle Events, and Fitz Villafuerte of Ready To Be Rich.

Angel Cuala, the Fatherblogger and my fellow Visayan who is behind Bloggista.com.

(To be continued)

Mario’s Restaurant has been there for as long as we can remember. During a dinner recently, we were surprised to find out from Mario’s scion Fil Benitez that the original Mario’s in Baguio City is 37 years old, while the one in QC is 28 years old! I believe these two are the only surviving branches now; still, that’s impressive for a highly competitive industry where the average life span is from five to ten years.

In the case of Mario’s, it pays to be known for something. It has always been a preferred place for cozy meetings and romantic dates. We learned that they pay attention to nitty-gritty details like installing the right lighting, comfy nooks, and even a “back entrance” for personalities who want to stay away from the public eye.

Then of course, there’s the food. Even with the Wagyu craze around, Mario’s rep (reputation) as a place for mouth-watering steaks has stuck. I must say its Caesar’s Salad is one of the best in town, and will easily turn a carnivore into a vegetarian overnight. House bestsellers include Spanish specialties like paella, lengua and cochinillo (roast suckling pig).

The Paella Valenciana is a classic Spanish rice dish made more flavorful with seafood, veggies, chicken and chorizo. Mario’s serving (P595) is good for two to three persons.

The callos a la Madrilena (P360) is a rich savory casserole made from ox tripe, sausages, garbanzos and other ingredients stewed in tomato sauce.

Because I wanted a little bit of everything, I ordered a new item on the menu, the Tuscany Platter (P595) THis had a trio of beef tenderloin, cajun prawn and pan-fried fish fillet. Rating: nomnomnom goodness!

…. but not without stuffing my plate first with the appetizers like Oysters Rockefeller, gambas and mushrooms with garlic.

What’s a Mario’s dinner without indulging in something like Steak a la Pobre? I think the Philippines is one of the few places in the world where you can find this kind of steak, which is “for garlic lovers only!”

For dessert, we had Mango Jubilee (P310) and the head waiter prepared it in front of us. Mango balls were flambeed in butter, brown sugar, and triple sec then topped over vanilla ice cream.

We were full and satiated. But what made this degustation memorable was meeting with new blogger friends and bonding with old ones.

That’s me with ‘Ambassador’ Ivan Henares, ‘Manila Mayor’ Spanky Enriquez, ‘ Little Miss Martha Stewart’ Toni and La Chica Feliz Stephie.

Thanks to Mr. Fil Benitez for hosting a wonderful evening filled with fun, food, and uhmm, flambeed mangoes. Wish you could open a branch near Manila soon

It was only in the Philippines where you find a member of the so-called Manila’s Finest being apprehended for the crime of snatching. It is also only in the Philippines where you can now find the “biggest outdoor art gallery in Asia.” The latter is good news. We love it when things turn for the better, and aren’t screwy, as some events and happenings in this country are.

This humble space can’t help but laud the gigantic effort of the Outdoor Advertising Association of the Philippines (OAAP) to mount works of art in the metro’s major highways. While it is human to ogle at those beautiful faces and sexy bodies in billboards peppered by artistas and lingerie-clad models around the city, contemplating about art while stuck in the traffic rut can be an edifying experience. And this commuters will see with masterpieces about nature and preserving the environment dominating ad spaces in some of the country’s major roads.

The Manila Outdoor Art Gallery route coming soon in the highway near you. Featured are the works of the most promising Filipino artists Popo San Pascual, Riel Hilario, Eddie Boy Escudero, Jose Terence Ruiz, Mario V. Fernandez, Gari Buenavista, MM Yu, Christina Quisumbing Ramilo, Lotsu Manes, and Tina Fernandez .

More pictures after the jump:

LOLcats say nomnomnom when something is yummy, and I just gotta say “nomnomnom” after visiting Chariya’s Thai Kitchen over the weekend. It’s a fairly new (more than a month old) establishment serving authentic Thai food near Makati’s Bel-Air-Kalayaan Ave. area. We say “authentic” because a sister-brother Thai tandem is behind it. Chairya Thaikupt is a teacher of Thai cooking at Gene Gonzales’ culinary school while her brother Jok Bhamornsoot used to be a chef at the Four Seasons hotel in Bangkok.

Still, nothing in the menu is above P150 which makes it a must-visit if you want to taste Thai food without digging deep, deep into your pocket. I beg to differ when the owner said it’s a “hole in the wall” because I found the area quite spacious and airy. The place used to be occupied by that successful Thai food joint Som’s Noodle House. I guess this is where one of their many similarities lie.

Chariya’s pad thai (P!20) is one of their specialties. Turned out to be delicious that I can manage to eat two plates of those And the green papaya salad (P70) , with its perfect blend of sweet-tangy dressing, will perhaps convince me to become a vegetarian a la Natalie Portman. Hah.

Chicken wrapped in pandan (P140) is another classic Thai recipe served at Chariya’s, and goes perfectly with the teriyaki-like sauce, served separately.

Bagoong fried rice (P120) - with chopped onion, siling labuyo, julienned slices of green mango, scrambled egg and marinated meat pieces. Mix everything, then it becomes a meal in itself.

Red curry beef (P150). The picture doesn’t do it justice, but this was yum!

Their serving of Tom Yum soup (P140) has a pair of large prawns. Again, this was good.

Other items on the menu include salads, curries, grilled favorites, fried rice, assorted meat and seafood that’s stir fried with either garlic and pepper or basil. YOu won’t miss on Thai classics too like fried spring rolls or pho pia, crispy pork with kailan leaves, chicken with ginger and Thai halo-halo.

Rating: Must go back!

Chariya’s Thai Kitchen is at 1776 N. Garcia (formerly Reposo)
corner Milagros St. Makati City
Tel. No. 382-1616