Adventures in Taipei: Day 1

We arrived in Taoyuan International Airport past 9:00pm already. Siyempre, picture picture muna inside the airport.

Hubby and Me

Hubby and Kuya Bimbo

Ai and Me

In order to go to our hotel, we were suppose to hire a rent-a-car but there are no cars available. We were left without a choice but to take a cab. Akala namin mas mura pero halos pareho lang if we hire a rent-a-car. We still paid 1,080.00 NTD.

When we arrived in our hotel, sobrang gutom kami. Nakakapagod kasi ang biyahe eh. Buti na lang girl scout ako at may dala akong baon - rice and PI chicken adobo. Wipe-out kaagad sa amin!

After dinner, we decided to start our Taipei adventure. As I mentioned in my previous blog, nag food trip kaagad kami.

Here are our pictures:

On our way to the food street...

Finally, we arrived. You could see that my hubby is very happy already!

Deep fried taro balls! If you happen to go to Taipei, you should not miss this! I'm telling you that these taro balls are very addictive. Super haba ng pila dito, talo pa ang box office movie.

Some food stalls...

Hubby and Kuya Bimbo tried these Chinese sausages...

Noodle stand...

Want some grilled seafood? You can also have them here.

Hubby craved for some noodles and we tried this noodle house...

Hubby and I ready to eat...

Oyster cake. Yum! Yum!

Hubby and Kuya Bimbo with their bowl of noodles...

Sobrang busog kami that night. Hindi na kami halos makalakad sa kabusugan. Buti na lang at nakabalik pa kami sa hotel. Hehehe.

Watch out for our Adventures in Taipei Day 2!

Lunch at Tao Yuan Restaurant

One day, after we picked up my parents at the airport, we went directly to the Newport Mall to eat lunch. When we arrived there, the stores are still closed. Hindi siya tulad ng mga normal malls na open na at 10:00am. Kaya ayun, literal na nagwindow shopping lang kami. Hehehe. Buti na lang ang mga resto dun they open at 11:00am.

As usual, we ate in a Chinese restaurant (yun kasi ang favorite ni madir eh). We tried Tao Yuan Restaurant.

The restaurant is huge with many big tables (very typical of a traditional Chinese Resto).

Restaurant's Facade

Here is their menu. Parang ampao envelope lang ang dating eh.

Here are the food that we ordered...

The kulilits loved the noodles. Ang dami nilang nakain.

Fried Noodle with Assorted Seafood

I only got to eat the jellyfish, duck and century egg. Alam niyo na, no beef and pork pa rin ako. Hehehe.

Assorted Cold Cuts Combination

The lapu lapu that they used here is fresh - manamis namis and juicy kasi.

Steamed Fish

The kulilits liked their fried rice also. Malinamnan and not that salty kasi.

Fried Rice with Salted Fish and Diced Chicken

I loved the mushrooms and broccoli!

Sauteed Mix Mushroom in XO Sauce

For dessert, we had buchi and almond jelly which I forgot to take picture na.

Overall, we are satisfied with the food but there is nothing special to the dishes that we ordered. Same lang din halos ang lasa with other Chinese Resto. One thing na medyo negative is their price. Medyo expensive kasi considering na maliit yung serving nila.

Warak!!!

Whether expensive or inexpensive toys, ang masasabi ko lang ay...

"Walang matinong laruan sa Twins of Destruction!!!"

Want proof?

O di ba?

In less than 3 days, sira ang bagong drum set ng mga kulilits!

Ilan pa kaya ang sisirain???? Abangan...

Driver's License Renewal

I renewed my driver's license on the exact date of its expiration date. Oh yes, it was my birthday.

I had it renewed at the LTO Driver's License Renewal Center near Alabang Town Center. I went there at around 10am and finished at around 12nn. Ang bilis no? I should have finished earlier kaso I had a problem with my urine sample. It's not what you think ha. I'm not into drugs. Hehehe.

Nung una kasing try ko mag pee, hindi shumoot sa bote. Bad trip! Ang hirap naman kasi kapag babae no! Hindi tulad ng lalaki super dali. So para mapabilis ang take 2, I went to Makati Supermarket to buy 1 Liter of water. Nilaklak ko yung water ng isang upuan para makapee ako agad agad. Ilang minuto na ang nakalipas, hindi pa rin ako makapee. Tinext ko na nga si hubby kung pwepwede kong haluan na lang ng tubig yung pee ko. Wag raw at baka mabisto. Hehe. Tapos
nung nagtry na ako, gapatak lang ang lumabas. Pressured?! Hahaha. In short, half lang ng bote ang napuno ko. Eh dapat daw punong puno. Pinakiusapan ko na lang yung technician. Sabi ko ginawa ko na ang lahat ng makakaya ko at ayaw talaga lumabas. Sabi ko rin na ayaw ko na maabutan ng cut-off. Buti na lang at pumayag.

Then sa loob ng LTO, ang bilis lang. Nung pagdating lang sa picture taking ako nahold. Hindi pa raw updated ang records ko sa kanila. Maiden name ko pa rin daw ang nasa record nila and ipapa-update muna raw niya. Anoveh? Kala ko ba centralized na ang LTO? Tapos di ba nagchacharge pa sila ng computerization fee? Isang mahabang haaaayyyysssstttt na lang.

Anyway, at least natapos din ako kaagad and it only took me 2 hours to renew my license. Aside from that, hindi ganoon karami ang tao unlike sa mga LTO office mismo. Pero may drawback din, temporary driver's license lang ang inissue sa akin kasi sira raw ang printer nila. I have to go back there on Monday to claim my plastic license.

So what lessons did I learn from renewing my driver's license? Here they are...

1. Huwag muna umihi bago umalis ng bahay para pagdating sa pagkuha ng urine sample, ihing ihi ka na talaga.
2. Kapag babae ka, magdala ng improvised tabo pangsalo ng pee. (Pwede na ang pinutol na bote ng mineral water)
3. Maagang magpunta sa renewal center para hindi maabutan ng cut-off.
4. Magbaon na ng malamig na tubig para sigurado kapag kailangang mag-take 2 sa pagpee.
5. Huwag maprepressure. Lam niyo na! Hehehe.

O siya, sana naman at may napulot din kayo kahit papaano sa aking experience. Hehehe.

Mama G's Laughtrip: A Secret Affair

This afternoon at Lucky Chinatown Mall when I saw a poster of the movie A Secret Affair...

Me: Ma, di ako nagandahan sa movie na yan. Ikaw, nagandahan ka ba?
Mama G: Ha? Di ko nga naintindihan eh. Inglesan ng Inglesan!

Napatingin na lang kami sa isa't isa at sabay na nagtawanan...

Ang kulit talaga ng mommy ko no? Kaya love na love ko yan eh. Love you Ma!

Ay wait! May pahabol pa pala...

Me: Ma, tawang tawa talaga ako sa comment mo kanina.
Mama G: Eh bakit? Totoo naman ha. Kaya nga Tagalog ang pinanood ko tapos Inglesan sila ng Inglesan. Huh!

Birthday Celebration of Lola Es

This is a super duper late post already. Pero better late than never di ba? Hehehe.

Last October 10, we celebrated my MIL's birthday at City Buffet Restaurant located at Robinson's Galleria. Ang layo ano? We checked-in kasi at EDSA Shangri-La Hotel since hubby is going to attend a product launch of a certain pharmaceutical company that day. Since we are there, my FIL asked me to search for a buffet restaurant within the area.

I asked for the help of Mr. Google that's why I discovered City Buffet. What made me choose City Buffet?

• It is located at Robinson's Galleria which is very near EDSA Shangri-La Hotel
• It has great food variety
• It is cheap: Monday to Saturday Lunch - P449.00; Monday to Saturday Dinner - P499; Sunday & Holiday - P599.00 (inclusive of refillable drinks already)
• I read somewhere that  it is a sister company of Yakimix and Buffet 101

So there we went at around 7:00pm. We did not have a hard time looking for the place since the restaurant is very big. When we had our seats already, attack kaagad kami sa buffet table. Hehehe. Here are some of our plates...

This is their soup. Parang chicken pot pie ang peg pero mushroom soup yung nasa loob. Sarap icombine yung pastry sa soup. Limited lang yung serving ng soup na ito that is why kumuha na kami ng MIL ko para sa lahat.

Assorted sushi and sashimi. Dito lang solve na eh!

Grilled fish and seafood.

Some of their desserts.

Actually, marami silang food but I didn't manage na to take pictures of them. Yung sa desserts, may ice cream, halo halo and some pastries pa.

Overall, from 1 to 10, 10 being the highest, I rate City buffet 8. You could not expect too much naman for a P499.00 buffet right?

Going back to my MIL's birthday celebration, we had so much fun that night. My MIL seemed very happy...

May mga kilig moments din...

Oh di ba? Parang Richard and Dawn lang ang dating? Hahaha.

And the best part of it is that we are complete (except for JC who works in Singapore)...

After dinner, we all went back to EDSA Shangri-La Hotel and had some coffee. Hindi sa hotel lobby ha, sa hotel room lang! Hahaha... Tapos kulitan galore na!

Super saya that night. Natapos ata kami mag 1:00am na. Yung mga kulilits nga ang tibay din, ayaw pa matulog hanggang nadun yung mga Tito Ninong and Tita Ninang nila.

The following day, nagbonding ang mga kulilits and ang kanilang Lolo Em...

After we checked-out from the hotel, we headed back home already. =)

Food Discovery: Isang Galong Yakult

I'm baaaccckkkk!!!!

Grabe, hindi ako halos makapagblog. Ang dami ko ng kwento pero di ako makapagsulat. Super busy with the kulilits eh.

Anyway, to the Yakult addicts there, share ko sa inyo ang picture ng isang galong Yakult. (Yes, they do exist!)

1 Gallon of Yakult

I saw this at Sogo Supermarket in Taiwan. All the while akala ko malaki na yung binibili namin sa convenience store kasi parang 500ml ata yun pero nashock talaga ako when I saw this one. Parang wala ng bukas eh.

Bakit kaya dito sa Pinas wala pang ganito?

Calling, Yakult manufacturer...gawa naman kayo ng something like this please. Pretty Plweease... 

Hello Taiwan!

Have you noticed my lack of post nowadays? Well, I've been preparing kasi for our Taiwan trip the past few days. Medyo excited lang kasi ako kaya hindi ako makapagsulat. Hehehe.

Anyway, hubby, Kuya Bimbo, Ai and I are in Taiwan right now. We arrived here last night. Sobrang pagod ang biyahe, nanakit mga katawan ko. Better talaga kapag morning flight kaysa sa evening flight. Ayan tuloy, medyo masama ang pakiramdam ko ngayon. Nooooooo!!! Hindi pwepwede yan, kailangan gumala gala muna bago magkasakit! Hahaha.

Guess what? Nagfood trip kaagad kami kagabi. As in major food trip. Ang mga ngiti ni hubby, lagpas hanggang tenga! Wasak kaagad wallet ko kagabi. Hehehe. I'll blog about our Taipei food trip soon.

Super puno itinerary namin. we're going to avail a 2-day pass of the MRT para sa tour tour namin. ok naman transport system nila dito and very tourist friendly kaya carry na ang magtour on our own.

O siya, got to go!

Xoi Vietnamese Kitchen (A Photoblog)

I told you in my blog here that we ate our dinner at Xoi Vietnamese Kitchen.

Honestly, looking at the restaurant's facade, it is not that enticing to eat there. Kung ikokompara sa babae, walang dating/walang appeal and boring.

We checked their menu and it seems interesting naman so we decided to eat there.

Here is a picture of the restaurant's interior. Still, it is very simple.

The menu cover. Parang may kamukhang Filipino actress di ba? Si Kuh Ledesma ata. Hehehe.

Here are what we ordered:

Assorted spring rolls with peanut sauce.

Bo Bia Chay - Vegetarian rolls with jicamas, carrots, peanuts, eggs and tofu.

I love this one. It is the only spring roll that I can eat. Hehehe. Sakto yung sauce sa bland flavor ng rolls.

P 100.00

Goi Cuon - Fresh spring rolls with shrimps, pork, lettuce and noodles.

P 150.00

Bo Bia - Fresh rolls with dried shrimps, Chinese sausage, jicamas, carrots, peanuts and eggs.

P 120.00

Sup Bien - Fisherman seafood soup with fish, mussels, shrimp, lemongrass and cilantro.

This one is yummy parang Vietnamese version ng sinigang natin.

P 375.00

Ca Chien Gion - Crispy fried whole fish served with herbs, vermicelli, and rice paper wraps. (I really don't know why the food description did not match the actual food).

The fish is crunchy from the outside and succulent from the inside.

Price is based on the weight of fish

Rau Muong Xao Toi - Wok stir-fried water spinach with garlic.

Eto ang tinatawag na pinasossy na kangkong. LOL! Kidding aside, this is delicious.

P 90.00

Com Chien Dac Biet - Chef's fried rice with Chinese sausage, shrimp and eggs.

I find this fried rice a bit salty pero masarap naman.

P 120.00
photosource

Ca Phe Sua Da - Iced Vietnamese Coffee with condensed milk.

Wala pa rin tatalo sa original iced Vietnamese coffee, the one they sell along the sidewalks in Vietnam. Medyo matabang kasi yung timplada nila dito eh.

P 100.00

Overall, we had a great dining experience here at Xoi Vietnamese Kitchen. Aside from the taste of the food, the price is affordable also.


Xoi Vietnamese Kitchen
Lower ground level
Corte De Las Palmas Expansion
Alabang Town Center
Tel. 379.1029
www.xoivietnamesekitchen.com

Manang's Spoof: Puwet!

One time nung nag dyebs si Ian...

Manang: Come here Ian. Let's wash your puwet. Wash wash puwet. Wash wash puwet.
Me: Manang, what's the English of puwet?
Manang (confidently): ANUS!

Lakas tawa ko ha! OO nga naman. Ang huhugasan niya is yung butas ng puwet kaya Anus. LOL!

Why Mama G and Papa G?

Siguro nagtataka kayo kung bakit "Mama G" at "Papa G" ang gustong ipatawag ng mommy at daddy ko sa kanilang mga apo.

Sa totoo lang, ang mommy ko talaga ang pasimuno nito. Nung nagbubuntis pa lang ako, pinag-iisipan na talaga niya ng bonggang bongga kung ano ang itatawag sa kanila ng kanilang mga magiging apo. Pauso kasi ang mga teleserye sa pag-gawa ng pangalan sa mga lolo't lola eh. Nandiyan ang Mamita, Mamu, Wowa at iba pa.

Hanggang isang araw, inannounce na ni mommy ang itatawag sa kanila ni daddy...

MAMA G and PAPA G daw!!!

Ano ba raw ang ibig sabihin nito?

Pwedeng Mama Garcia and Papa Garcia. Pero sa totoo ang ibig sabihin daw nun ay Mama Ganda at Papa Ganda.

Ang vain ng mommy ko no? Hahaha...

Anyway, may kwento ako...

Nung binanggit niya ito sa Ninong Rody ko (nakababata niyang kapatid). Pinagtawanan siya. Bakit kamo? Kasi raw ang akala niya, ang ibig sabihin ng Mama G ay "Mama Galisha". Lakas tawa ko talaga dito. Si mommy mangiyak ngiyak na sa pang-aasar ng Ninong ko eh. Kasi nung bata pa sila, tawag nila sa mommy ko Galisha kasi ang dami niyang mamera sa legs niya (sensitive kasi ang kanyang skin kaya konting kamot sugat kaagad).

Pero carry pa rin ni mudra! Basta raw "Mama Ganda" ang ibig sabihin nun.

Usapang Mag-Asawa: P300K Jewelry

Share ko lang...

Remember my previous blog post regarding the Jewelry of Dawn Zulueta in Walang Hanggan?

I went to Miladay to inquire about it. Aba, muntik na akong mahulog sa kinatatayuan ko nung marinig ko ang presyo. Tumataginting na P300,000.00 plus. Nung narinig ko pa lang na "three hundred thousand", bigla akong nabingi eh at pinagpawisan na ng todo todo.

Nakakashock naman ang presyo nun. Tama ba yung saleslady sa pagbigay ng presyo sa akin?

Anyway, pagkalabas ko ng Miladay, I texted kaagad si hubby:

Me: WTF Bebe, 300k yung gusto ko jewelry na suot ni Dawn. Hikaw pa lang yun wala pang pendant. Lab u!
Doc Padu: Antay moko, bibilhin ko. Lab u!

Niyek!

Ang lakas talaga ng sense of humor ng hubby ko no?

Some Goodies from Lola Es

Si Lola Es, very generous yan. Basta kaya niya, ibibigay niya. Ever since yan, kahit nung magboyfriend pa lang kami ni Doc Padu lagi siyang nakakaalala.

Last Monday, papunta ako sa SM to buy milk for the kulilits. She told me na magkita kami kasama ng kanyang kambalistik apo.

We went to the grocery kasi bibili nga ako ng milk. Ayan na, sabi bili na rin kami ng Chuckie for the kulilits. Pagdating sa counter, hindi na rin niya pinabayaran yung milk sa akin. Siya na raw ang magbabayad kasi para kay kambal naman daw yun. Galante ni Lola Es no?

Kaya we went home with these...

Big box of Enfagrow A+.

More than a week supply of Chuckie. Favorite ng mga kulilits yan. Pagnarinig ang word na "Chuckie", dali dali yan pupunta sa harap ng ref at sisigaw ng Chuckie! Chuckie! Chukie!

Cream Puffs! Para sa kambal lang daw ito. Bawal namin kainin. Hehehe. Binili pa ito ng MIL ko near her work.

Siyempre, hindi lang ang mga kulilits ang may bubong from Lola Es. Binigyan din kami ni hubby and Kuya Bimbo ng Sansrival. Sorry, di ko na nakunan. Ubos na eh! Hehehe. Aside from that, binigyan din niya ako ng sayote tops. Binili pa niya yun sa taga Baguio malapit sa pinagtratrabahuhan niya. Masarap naman talaga kasi and healthy pa.

To Lola Es:

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Sobrang naaappreciate namin lahat ng ginagawa niyo sa aming mag-asawa at kambal.

And of course, Happy Happy Birthday! We wish you more success and happiness in life.

We love you.

Love,

Ryan and Cheryll