Vikings: Eat all you can Buffet

Okay... so i have heard about Vikings for years! Yeah, my officemates even go to Mall of Asia for a treat at this restaurant. So I wonder what's it all about... I have tried Yakimix, Dad's, Cabalen, Something Fishy, ChinaTown's Best but not Vikings... they sure have an expensive Saturday Rate. 

Am I glad that to hear that Birthday celebrants eat free! So there's the hope. haha So Off we went to Vikings, there are a lot of people already waiting in line at 10AM in SM North Edsa.
The buffet feast starts at 11AM and so we thought we are early.. not! 

And... since it was my mother's Birthday... all she had to present was her Voter's ID and that's it. We are all set. She even got herself a free birthday cake from Vikings!

Moving on... Vikings sure has a lot of food, i wasn't able to try them all. Here are what I can remember:

1. So They have Carving Station (my favorite) serving turkey meat, lamb leg, angus steak. They will slice and slightly grill for you as you order.

2. Asian Section serving Sushi, Maki, hotpot, dimsum (siomai, chicken feet, braised pork, etc).What I do not like about this section was the Tempura was always out! They refill the items so slowly you will forget you want Tempura. (in ChinaTown's Best or with Dad's you wouldn't wait for a tempura!... just saying...)

3. Beverage Section with unlimited beer! Of course they have a tasty four seasons juice drink, softdrinks (pepsi products)

4. Grill Station, this is the least place you will see people... there are a lot of sate's barbecues waiting for diners to pick them up and be grilled. :D

5. Dessert Station is located in the middle of the Vikings, the different desserts all lined up there seems to be inviting you! I tried and love their doughnuts. Their cheesecakes are not so good. They have the ice cream section, the Filipino desserts are served as well with puto-bumbong, and bibingka and of course halo halo. 

Overall Though, I would not shell out another thousand bucks for the Carving station. I'm not very satisfied with the taste of the food, 80% of the food I tasted here are just plain ordinary. Its not very worth the Weekend rate..

When the sun sets...

I have always loved looking at the sky. I especially love the sunset... seeing how the day slowly hide itself. Isn't it amazing that Our world is such a wonderful place... that every day, every hour miracle happens and yet we do not take notice.

When the sun sets, family once again are complete... coming home from the office, from school...
When the sun sets, we get to have our own time... be alone and far from the busy life
When the sun sets, it gives us that feeling that it is time to take a back seat, relax and reminisce... 

One day I will see all the world's sun sets... For now, I would admire them in the photos here... :D 


 
 

Subic - Zoobic - Subic

Oh yeah, so a friend of mine came from Indonesia and no it wasn't a short notice trip but then, our mistake we weren't able to get ourselves a flight and be gone to a place better than what we can find traveling north by land. LESSONS LEARNED. Next time, we'll plan and fly off somewhere else... though it wasn't really such a bad idea. One, we got to experience Zoobic, and we got to see the new Naval Ship of the Philippines! =)

 Off we went to Subic at around 9AM; and went to place we booked for our overnight stay. It was someplace in the Barrio Barreto. It is a beach front place and boy was it really a nice place! Our friend picked a really nice time to come as there were not a lot of people having a beach vacation. We had the beach all to ourselves, literally.

 We left our bags, freshened up and off to Zoobic which was a few kilometers from Barrio Barreto. For this Zoobic trip, we reserved four tickets from metrodeal and claimed our 50% discount! he he he
We were asked to wait for the tour with other groups, there are probably about 30 people there.  Not included in the Metrodeal was the tram ride which was only 50 bucks. You have to ride with the group otherwise bringing in your own could prove to be a lot of trouble. he he suggest that you also have a bottle of water for yourself. Its a bit expensive in there!
So we toured Zoobic... Serpentarium, where all the snakes are... the Crocodile Park, Savannah where all we see are hogs (potbelly pigs) and ostriches, Close encounter with the Tigers (hmm but it was stinky in there - smelled of animal piss).  I did enjoy the whole Tram ride though as it was really refreshing. In the Bird Sanctuarium, you can actually buy 10 pesos worth of seeds and the love birds can all be in your hands, pecking for the food. he he
The Crocodile park was a nice place too, you will walk through steel bridges with gaps so you can see the crocodiles directly at
your feet. Scary now that i think of it.. especially hearing about the news in China where a foot brdige collapsed in one of their  tourist spots. Imagine if there were crocodiles in there. Boy they would have quite a feast!
surely, this one in the photo is hoping for that, looking up as we walk past them, or as we look at them taking naps, relaxing and simply preserving their energy. he he he

For a fee of 300 (I think), you can have a chance to have that photo taken with the tiger cub. You get to feed him with a bottle of milk, but it only happens about 2 mins tops. no more no less!

After the tour, we were gathered at the mini holding area, and there came the Aetas performing for the whole crowd as part of the tour.

The next day.... We checked out early and headed to the Extremely Espresso Cafe... They say you never really visited Subic if you haven't stopped at this cafe. It was early and there were already a lot of people in the cafe having their breakfast served. I'd say i am not much of a coffee fan, but since all their meals are served with a cup of coffee.. why not try it?  I even had a refill! ha ha (Refills are free until 11AM.)

Team Building @ Club Balai Isabel

It was something new for the team, Usually when there are team buildings, it is at the expense of the employee and there was no activity that would really bring out the employees' potential. This year, were different though. Given that our new head has endorsed a team building and was approved... We were scheduled to go to Club Balai Isabel. It was an overnight team building and we have about 5 activities that day so that we would build relationships, say whatever we want to share... and so on. 

Given this, we of course had little time to go around the place.. but of course we managed to do so and off we went to check out the place and see if its worth going in here. We actually thought we could swim in the lake... but then swimming was not allowed in the place and only water sports were allowed. Too bad, we were so close to the Taal volcano you can see it from one of the road in Club Balai Isabel. It would have felt really wonderful to swim and feel being in the same place as the famous volcano! 

The resort was huge, there were private villas, the one assigned to us had 3 rooms that could accommodate a total of 10 people at the very least. The villa had a comfort room in each of the bedrooms, a kitchen and a sala which is spacious as well. Hmm.. even with the supposed directions, i really found it hard to find places in this resort. The villas are all over the place, it was like a small subdivision... with the function hall and the pool side far from each other. he he 

The Pool was huge though, it looked like an infinity pool from the view... it has a kiddie pool and as you swim the pool gets deeper, even reaching up to 8 feet if i am not mistaken. :D Club Balai Isabel also has their own church, but unfortunately we weren't able to find it as you had to go around a certain road.

Weekend at Terrazas de Punta Fuego!

I have never really imagined being able to go to Punta Fuego because its members only... But I did!! =) Thank you for the kind soul for inviting me over for a weekend at Punta Fuego... It was indeed a memorable one.

Guest Pass at the Clubhouse

We were stopped at the gates, and was asked for the member's name and if they have left a name of their guest (us)... and we were asked to enter after a few minutes of them checking. :D whew! I thought
we're not going to get through! ha ha

The place was so cool, it was literally at the top of the mountain. and you can see a breathtaking view of the sea, the sky and just breathe fresh air! :D

I loved the infinity pool! It was breathtaking to be there, dipping and just enjoying the warm water! The pool was enough for a day's dip... and there's still the whole sea for us to explore, actually. 

And we did! Banana boat was cool... but after experiencing water rafting, its nothing compared to the adrenaline rush in the rivers or CDO. but banana boat drop is still cool nonetheless. hehe

I wasn't able to get a photo of the Jacuzzi, below is a partial photo of the Jacuzzi / relaxing pool area.... it was working perfectly and was as relaxing as you would have thought. =)

Across the Beach of Punta Fuego, there's the small rock/mountain formation that we were able to climb and it was so cool in there!!! 

When we decided to swim in the middle of the sea, it was one of the best decision ever! he he The water was really clean, and cold. It was one of the best dip in the sea 20 feet deep, because the water was calm, and it was not too wavy.

After the day's activity, the place is still not ready to just let you go... you are still captured by the beauty of the sunset... this place has never failed to make you feel so one with nature. 

Lazer Tag night and a good pizza!

I live so nearby and its just about a 10 minute ride from our place to the Centris Walk... but I have never been to the place. It was only when I have scheduled a Lazer tag event with my officemates that we went to the location... it is beautiful there! Its like a small BGC! =) 

Okay so our main agenda was to play a Lazer Tag Game. We got ours from an ensogo deal and the game was worth of 200 for 15 minutes, is only 95 pesos. it was quite a deal so we did availed of it. :D 

The place was a bit small when you go up the venue, There were 20 of us so it was a bit small for us, there were some kids in the place.. and we were adults! haha We decided to divide ourselves in 2 teams, and from there we planned how we will beat the other team. so the goal is to shoot as much as you can, and to not be shot! 

It was only 15 minutes, but it was such a workout!! You need to bring a face towel and an extra shirt! Its no fun to be sweaty after such a game =) So it was Green vs Blue and our Team won!! :D 

They have many restaurants and established within the area. And what caught our attention was the Larry and Mau restaurant. They are sister company with the Uncle cheffy so we did order from the Uncle cheffy and also some from the Larry and mau. 

Uncle Cheffy's one of the best pizza i have tasted, seriously speaking! =) And... Larry and Mau's got the biggest burger I have seen served in the City! You really should try it. 

Banapple: More than desserts

I have always seen this restaurant every time we drive along Libis. Many times I have thought how come a lot of people would be waiting for a parking just for cakes and muffins (never really a fan of sweet stuffs). 

It was when my officemates/Team mates had set a lunch at Banapple near our office that I have tried this place. First, the seats weren't really that plenty, it wasn't really comfortable because there wasn't cushion in them. But their tables are very nice! Full of different colored marbles.

Banapples is a self service restaurants, You may have your orders served at your table after you order from their counter - much like your average fastfood restaurants. Their menu is quite of a number, ranging from pancakes and waffles of different toppings and types, to rice meals and pastas served with protein, and even salad options. Of course, there are also the many selections of cakes and pastries (including muffins and cupcakes). 

I have so far tried Lasagna, Chicken Parmigiana (rice meal), Pork tenderloin in gravy (rice meal), and Peanut butter with choco chips pancakes. For desserts, i have only tried their carrot cake which was very good too. i love the moist texture of their carrot cake, as this is really not good if all dried up.