Bliss Café body mind soul

It was few weeks before our [not-so-grand] wedding when Paul and I went up to Baguio to finalize some details. The preparation was in full swing and we had to finish everything before lunch time so that we can get our lunch and go home to Manila as early as possible.

In the midst of a chaotic environment, I asked Paul if we can try a new restaurant in the city. It was as if he felt my longing to go to a quiet place and agreed even if we only had a few hundred bucks to spare. Mahal magpakasal noh. Hindi basta-basta ang paggastos sa mga panahong naghahanda. :P

So we rode a taxi from Upper Session Road and went straight to Hotel Elizabeth which houses the Balinese inspired café. The view inside was a feast in my eyes because of the bright orange wall contrasted by wooden furniture together with some silver and brass ornaments. It was bright! It was refreshing! It was uhm…. something new.

I researched about the café before we headed to the city so I know that it serves vegetable based food. We ordered plant-based adobo and the plant-based sisig. Since we were seated in front of the kitchen, we knew that our orders are prepared just after we placed them. Talking about freshness here! :D

We were immersed in wedding details discussion so we were not so keen on looking around. But if opportunity will knock twice then I’ll probably take lots of pictures of the place.

After a few minutes, our orders were served warm. I can smell the adobo overpowering the sisig. Hmm… delish delish delish!

No Quack Duck

Veggie Sisig

The adobo was a bit salty for our tastes but it was good still. They tried to mimic the taste of a duck and I must say “Bravo” to that. On the other hand the sisig was a little bland. Sorry but I did not find anything special on it. Hey people, honest opinion here.

After our lunch, we had a quick talk with the servers. There are really lots of warm people in a cold place like this. After few more Q&A’s we paid our bill and went out. Another place to cross out in my list!

Inside Bliss Cafe

Till next time. ^_^

Bliss Cafe facebook page is here.

Ang New No Arts.Design.Café

Being at the suburbs means only one thing for me. That is to explore cafes and restaurants with unique design and good tasting chow. And being near the art capital of the Philippines, some of the qualities I look for are the artistry of the place and location location location.

It was when a facebook friend posted pictures of Ang New No Café that I got curious about it. I told myself I should try this because it’s just near our house and somewhat new.

Since I was working on night shift and got up relatively early, I asked Paul if we can have our early dinner at the café. We did a quick search on google and decided to give it a go.

We ordered their creamy alfredo and tinapa pizza.

I was expecting something different since this seemed to be a specialty café but I think my expectation was too high. Their creamy alfredo was like my usual pasta in our house and the pizza dough was just like the dough you get from the supermarket. 

I think they also need to work out their customer service because we were billed incorrectly. The bill said Tinapa Pizza but the price indicated was for another pizza dish. We told the waitress about it and she promptly said sorry and corrected the error.

On the other hand the ambiance is cool with all the paintings hanging on the wall and the novelty items scattered around.

PS: It is located at the side of the highway so expect noise when seated outside.

What will make you stay and what will make you leave?

Epic question of the night! Whew!

When someone asked you that question, what will be your answer?

Anyhow, let’s get to my story.

I was out last Saturday-Sunday July 20-21, 2013 together with my friends to climb a mountain in Batangas renowned for its grassland peaks and not so friendly terrain. Or should we say, we are getting old for this kind of past time? Na-ah! Kalabaw lang ang tumatanda!

We met at KFC-Cubao at around 9:30AM. Armed with nothing but the will to have a great outing, we boarded an ALPS bus headed to Lipa, Batangas. We alighted at Tambo Exit and went straight to an eatery to fill our tummies with yummy goodies. After which, we hired a jeepney for 1800Php to take us to the jump off point. It was a total of 5 hours commute to the jump off. We were tired even before we started the climb.

It was already quarter to 5Pm when we started to ascend. It was steep and I was breathing like a horse 15 minutes after. I think this is the effect of working 12-14 hours a day without exercise and eating crap. Hello company! Thanks for the time off. :D

It was already getting dark when we reached the humble abode of our guide – Mag Zac. Majority decided to just spend the night at Mang Zac’s because some of us are not well prepared for the rain. It was good that we bought roasted chicken in San Juan because we were able to save time in preparing dinner specially that we only had 1 cook set and 1 burner. Dinner was fabulosa nonetheless. BUSOG!

We slept at past 12 midnight and woke up not so early the next morning. Thanks to 3 Emperador Lights and a small bottle of Lambanog we slept like a baby. :P PS: I only drink with Team Injury and Team Injury alone. And if my husband is around.

We scaled the last half of Mt. Daguldol in about an hour passing by lots of fruit-bearing trees like Avocado, Atis and Guava. I was so happy I took some. ^_^

It was like a playground in the sky at the top of Mt. Daguldol. The grass is so lush and the wind is so cold. The view is peaceful and the water is calm. I’m so happy I indulged myself in this kind of leisure. I really need the calmness of nature.

After savoring the freshness of everything, we decided to descend and pack our things. It was again an epic getaway to remember. Lucky for me I have some fruits to bring home. As of writing I have not eaten any of them yet. Maybe tonight.

Side Trip

On our way to the carinderia, we walked along the beach (lakad sa aplaya as they say) and passed by La Luz beach resort. I sat for a moment and took this picture which reminds me of Bohol Beach Club. Description: Cool^_^

Till my next adventure folks. J Need to boost my savings first. Oh Lah!