Holiday in Subic

So as I mentioned in my previous post, we selected Moonbay Marina for our staycation. Moonbay Marina offers villas with and without a kitchenette area, and price ranges from Php 4,000 - Php 5,000.

I had the El Sol Villa (with kitchen) booked as early as April of the 2014th, since I knew that it would be fully booked by the middle of the year. So, here's how the El Sol looked like:

        

I wasn't able to take a photo of the living area, but it was spacious enough to accommodate up to four more people. I love the kitchenette! It was perfect because we brought some meats for our New Year's eve dinner.

The bedroom is really spacious, and the bed and linens were very comfortable. My only complaint was that they only offered two bed pillows, so we had to get some of the throw pillows on the sofa to supplement our pillow needs.

In addition to all of this, the bathroom was also nice and roomy. It comes with the usual bath tub and shower, with a water heater and complete with bathroom amenities.

Of course, the compound has its own heated swimming pool and jacuzzi, and the biggest one (I think) out of all the hotels that I was able to check out near the area. I also love their very welcoming frontage.

    

(Pool photo grabbed from the internet. Credits to the owner)

I really loved this Villa! It felt like our home away from home. For just Php 4,500 per night, it's a real steal! I honestly enjoyed my stay here more than my previous stay in The Lighthouse.

The rate already comes with a breakfast buffet. Limited choices though, and the buffet doesn't include the American breakfast choices, so, no bacon for me... :(

They do however, have an egg station and a coffee, juice and cereals area. Pancakes are also part of the buffet, but you have to order this from their servers.

For our NYE's dinner, I just prepared steak and pork chops (bought from S&R), and some hot coco to warm ourselves before watching the fireworks display.

     

Moonbay prepared a wonderful display of fireworks that lasted for about 20 minutes! Here are some moments that we were able to capture:

     

     

Check out the following day was a breeze!

Overall, we enjoyed our stay in the El Sol. I would definitely recommend this place for those of you who want to experience Subic.

Rating: 4.5 / 5 MOONBAY MARINA VILLAS Block 5 Lot 1 Moonbay Marina Ave.,Subic Bay Freeport Zone, Philippines

Landline: +63 047 252-9718 Mobile Numbers Smart: +63 999 997-5022 Sun: +63 943 700-8029

Email: contact@moonbaymarina.com.ph subic_coastal@yahoo.com.ph

Yarn, yarn, and more yarn!!

Hello my dear readers, I bring good news!

For those who love crochet clothing, the answer is here, YARN IT! Yes, YARN IT can satisfy to your knitted cravings.

I am in love with my very own YARN IT creation!



Do drop by their instagram account ( yarnit_ph ) to see some of their works, and while your there, give them some love. ;)

By the way, they also accept "made to order" items and ship nationwide. Happy shopping!

SUBIC Food-venture : Version 2.0 (DAY 1)

We spent our long Holiday and celebrated the coming of 2015 in Subic. I could say that it was a food-filled vacation!

Early word of advice, if you plan on going on an out of town trip or want to stay in a hotel within the Metro, it’s always best to book your rooms early. We booked ours as early as April, to avoid any possible inconvenience.

For our accommodation, I wanted to try the villa that I saw during our stay last April, Moonbay Marina Villas. Moonbay is located just across Lighthouse. I'll be writing about it in a separate article. :)

We left the Metro around 6 AM and drove for roughly 2 hours. Since it was still too early for check-in when we reached Subic, I suggested that we have breakfast in Xtremely Xpresso.

Xtremely Xpresso is one of the known cafes in Subic, part of their menu is their signature Big Ben, which is a twenty inch pizza with a generous amount of toppings. Since it was still too early, we just opted for their breakfast menu.

My personal choice was the Tocino (Php 120), while Kyle and his sisters got the Tapa (Php 150). His folks opted for the Filipino Breakfast (Php 180) and Longganisa (Php 120). All breakfast meals came with complimentary brewed coffee. We also ordered an additional Hot Choco, since Kyle is not a fan of coffee.

Our hot drinks were served first, and it was a lovely way to warm our tummies. They serve Lavazza brewed coffee, and we all loved it! The Hot Chocolate was nice, but nothing really special.

Their mugs have catchy quotes on it, the only turn-off is that, it looks so worn out already. Maybe it's time to change them? :)

     

The food was served, and we were all excited to get our fill. Apologies since I was able to get pictures of mine and Kyle's dishes only.

     

The Tocino was tender and had a good bite to it. It also had the right amount of fat, and its sweetness was not overpowering. It was also cooked to the point where the meat is already caramelizing, just the way I like! The garlic rice really had a good amount of garlic in it, and it was the perfect pair.

The Tapa was also good. It was actually like eating steak strips.

All the breakfast rice meals come with an egg, done your way. We always go for a runny, sunny-side up.

Everybody enjoyed their breakfast selection. The only thing that made our experience there a bit disappointing was the fact that they did not inform us that their coffee was refillable...it was REFILLABLE! :(

On a side note, I love the homey feel of the cafe. They also have al fresco dining since it does get packed during the weekends and holidays.

After breakfast, we went for a stroll in Harbor Point.

     

Nothing really special here, just your typical mall.

After our stroll, we went to our hotel / villa to see if we could already check in. Luckily, we just waited for a few minutes and was checked in  around 12-noon. We settled in our Villa, and rested until around 2PM.

We then went out in search of another known foodie place in Subic, The Coffee Shop. This establishment is famous for their "Jumbo Taco", and we were eager to find out for ourselves.

The Coffee Shop is located outside the SBMA area, along the streets of Barrio Barretto. It was actually a bit of a challenge to find, but our trusty GPS guided us to our destination.

We arrived, and I honestly got a little worried when I saw the inside of the restaurant. It looked like your typical street "karinderya", and I just couldn't help but doubt on what those various reviews said. Then again, the taste of the food should not be judged based on the appearance of the restaurant.;)

Since we were a party of 8, we occupied 2 table areas. We browsed over their menu, and they had a lot of promising choices! Of course, we had to order the taco, among others. So me, along with 4 others, had the Soft Taco (Php 95), while Kyle and Keith ordered the Hard Taco (PHp 95), in addition to the Steak and Eggs and The Beefsteak.

We anxiously waited for our food to be served. Finally, the soft taco was placed in front of me, and I was speechless. They weren't kidding when they said that it would be a jumbo sized taco. After a short while, the Hard Tacos, Steak and Eggs and Beefsteak were served.

      

       

The Tacos were very meaty and flavorful! It just lacked a hint of spice, which could be cured by adding some hot sauce. The Hard Tacos were a bit of a challenge to eat. The best way to battle this beast was to make it into a taco salad. :)

Nothing special about the Steak and Eggs, but for it's price, you can't really complain. The Beefsteak, on the otherhand, was packed with flavor! Wasn't able to get the exact price of these two items, but both were less than Php 200.

The Coffee Shop is a stop-over worthy restaurant! Definite a bang-for-the-buck!

So this concludes our Day 1 Subic Foodtrip. Watch out for Day 2 and my review of Moonbay Marina. :)

Quality Ube Halaya in the Metro

For a couple of month's now I've been seeing a man who sells ube halaya along the side walk of Edsa, near the Ortigas MRT Station.

I was really skeptic from buying his product, until I found this article published by When In Manila.



(Photo grabbed from When In Manila. Credits to the owner)

The first time I bought from him was last December 23, 2014. I bought one for Php 65, and his ube halaya did not disappoint!

Just last night, I was lucky enough to see him again in the same spot, and luckier that there was one piece left of his ube!

        

It may not be that photogenic, but I promise you that looks won't matter after you get a taste of it.

I love the soft and silky texture that it has, almost pastillas-like. For the taste, it is indeed competitive with that of Good Shepherd's, although I prefer this because it has a more buttery flavor. No need to travel all the way to Baguio (or Tagaytay) just to get your favorite Ube Halaya.

My dear readers, if you happen to be around Ortigas, and have the time to pass by the MRT station, I would advise you to do so and buy Ube from Manong Willy. I guarantee that it will definitely be worth it!

Just a side note: I admire Manong Willy for his positive outlook in life! Even though he suffered from stroke, he did not make it a reason to lose hope, instead, made it his inspiration to work harder in life. More power and God bless you kind sir!