Rich Cervales Blog

Villa Escudero

May 11, 2013UncategorizedLeave a Comment

I\’m happy that I was able to celebrate New Year 2013 with my family. This is one of the rare moment that we are all together. As a token of appreciation for my dad who covered my airfare, I decided to treat them to a day trip in Villa Escudero. The place is beautiful! You can literally be in two places at once because they lie in between the San Pablo, Laguna and Quezon province border.

I\’m not on my photo-taking mode so I left it in the hands of my sister. I just used my phone.

First stop: The pink church but museum in the inside.

Inside is a vast collection of ancient jars, artifacts, war memorials, costumes and a whole lot more.

They also have a wide array of traditional Filipino dresses from the Spanish till American Era

Spoons and Oxfords

I remember making one of the revolution flags when I in highschool

Aling Charing\’s playground. We just felt our inner child bursted out and we had fun riding the merry-go-round horses.

Up next: The ride going to the falls and buffet meal.

No pimpin\’ required for our ride.She\’s a cool albino carabao (water buffalo). She has a name BTW, Tisay. She\’s a bit camera shy.

We were serenaded by folk songs and OPM. The employees here are courteous, helpful and talented. I think they should be featured in Philippine Tourism ads.

We rode the muscle spasm-inducing bamboo raft. Balance, agility and patience are the key to keep yourself dry.

Siblinghood Bonding 🙂

I think the water is deep I doubt that anyone can swim there.They have adult and kiddie pools available. They have this jacuzzi type of pool as well, perfect for lounging. Don\’t expect any infinity pool. I have to tell you that the pools were clean and well-maintained.

And now the food…

They had me at Peanut Sauce. Really! I didn\’t know it\’s a good combination with salads and grilled fish. Sumptuous but healthy. A lot of food to choose from.

Check out their camera. They still use film. Old school = Cool

Ecosystem and mini hydroelectric power plant

Unique chandeliers

Like I said, the employees deserve a spot on Philippine Tourism ad. They are trained by Cultural Center of the Philippines. They promote our heritage by showcasing traditional dances and folk songs. They even have the bandurria ensemble.

This is the perfect place to go, especially for balikbayans. For my fellow expats, if you want your children to have a glimpse of our cultural background, this is one of the place to be.

I want to go back here and stay overnight the next time.

XOXO

Ikea and Anchorpoint

May 5, 2013Uncategorized1 Comment

I love Ikea restaurant\’s Swedish ~~horse~~ meatballs well that is aside from their home furnishings (Even if it was horse meat, it was delish and nothing happened to me, bletch!).

At times if I\’m bored or just want to get out of the house, I come here to window shop. It\’s just nice to look at Ikea showrooms. It\’s amazing how they can maximize the use of a small space and either make it look glam, homey, minimalist, child-proof etc. in a modern way.

I have this bedsheet and pillow case.

After some eye-strain in the shop. Time to eat!

My usual: Cheesecake (the cheapest but one of the tastiest cheesecake that I\’ve had), meatballs and garden salad to-go. The rest of the plates is my roomie Sharon\’s meal. That we will eventually share. Spell TAKAW.

I love the Ketchup dispensers. Squirt-squirt…

After the delectable feast. You can go shopping again in Anchorpoint, right in front of Ikea. For budget shoppers you can get your Cotton On, Charles and Keith, Billabong on big discounts. These are outlet store branches. So get ready for a shopping adventure.

I was able to get a Cotton On mullet skirt and shirt for $5 each. A big steal as compared with their mall prices.

Enjoy!

XOXO

Kilig ako!

May 5, 2013UncategorizedLeave a Comment

Because my ina-idol na blogger Ms. Chuvaness told me I have great taste…

This comment is my second over the years that I\’ve been reading Chuvaness.

You continue to inspire me, in more ways than one. Fashion/style, on taking photos, blogging, writing, quality vs. quantity principle, family et. al.

At first there are somethings about you that I don\’t understand. But what I like about you as blogger is your humor. As days went by, I get to know you more through your posts. I\’m hooked. Though I have to admit you had a \”lost blogging mojo\” era. I visit your blog and I find your posts bland. I\’m just glad you\’re back. Your posts are not as much as compared before, I still understand because you have a family. They have to come first.

More power!

Chocolates

May 4, 2013UncategorizedLeave a Comment

Ever since the world began… I love chocolate. I\’m very particular with it being as purely chocolate. I don\’t want any nuts, almonds or whatsoever. I find it intrusive of the chocolate\’s taste (this is to no offense for people who loves chocs with nuts et.al.). As I grow older I learned to appreciate its other form and texture (but still no nuts for me). People are getting creative and artisanal chocolates are starting to have a niche in the pop market. The choices are endless.

1. Theo and Philo

Cacao from Davao, Sugar from Bacolod

At our factory, each batch of chocolate is produced in small quantities (actually, it would be \”micro\” in industry standards) and overseen personally by people instead of machines. We take great care, time and effort to ensure that each step starting from the selection of the cacao bean to the final step of molding and packing, we are only offering the best we can offer.-Philo, Founder

First saw them in TFC as Pinoy\’s who makes a difference. Yup they are making waves. Who would\’ve thought that Philippine Lemon and Dark chocolate can make a nice combination. Though I have yet to try it because the last time I dropped by at the Team Manila Store in SM MOA they are sold out.

Got this from @lucytgomez\’\’s instagram.

I tried their milk chocolate variant. I like it because it doesn\’t melt quickly and not that sweet. It feels lightweight when you\’re chewing it so it doesn\’t really stick too much in between the teeth ( but toothbrushing is still a must after eating chocs).

2. Royce

ROYCE\’ was founded in Sapporo in 1983. Through acquiring the best techniques and enriching our experience, we are able to make chocolate of world-class quality in Hokkaido where the climate and the clean air are ideal for making confections. The fundamental principle of Royce\’ has been and will always be the painstaking sourcing of high quality ingredients. —-SOURCE

I found out about Royce from ina-idol na blogger Chuvaness.

I got a first taste of it when I got lost in Makati and stumbled upon Greenbelt. They offer free taste for certain products. I tasted one of the Nama chocolate. I felt the Ratatouille fireworks again. If at that time I\’m not in my sanity, I could\’ve just grabbed the jar from the salesperson and eat everything. It\’s very delicious and not that sweet!!! Out of my price range so I just settled to fantasize about it.

I just want to thank God for the opportunity of affording it now. One of my guilty pleasures every pay day.

Chocolate Bar

Chocolate Truffles. My favorite is the one with champagne (Pierre Mignon)

3. Mark and Spencer\’s Tea Cakes

In our side of the world we call it Chocolate Mallows. Though we also have our own version. I like the M&S version better because of the soft biscuit base.

I remember when I was in college, I was selling chocolate mallows to have extra baon. And we also used to sell it (together with cookies and crackers) as a fundraiser during our Community Health Nursing. Through a kakilala, I was able to get directly from the factory at a lower price. I\’m not sure this factory in Mamplasan are still making mallows. This said mallows are almost magka-level with the tea cakes.