Food in the Philippines

I still can't get over the fact that after 2 years of being away from home, I've eaten the Filipino foods I craved for. Though I am loving Thai food, nothing beats food from the Philippines. I actually made a list of the food I have to eat and am glad to say I ticked almost all of them. So here they are in no particular order.

On New Year's Eve we had a full table prepared with food. My sister specifically made sure that we have Lechon. It is what we name the well roasted pig in the middle of this table. Usually this is the star of Pinoy parties. Surrounding it are fresh fruits (for new year luck), bread, smoked fish and my mother's delicious Filipino style spaghetti.

Another one on my list is the Choc'o Flakes from Baguio. I was first introduced to this snack way back in college from a dorm mate who lived in the mentioned province. Actually, its just corn flakes covered in brown or white chocolate. Simple as it is, I like it so much and always try to buy it every time from the airport.

This is the top view of my Halo-halo (that I mixed already before I remembered to take a photo). This consists of ube ice cream, cornflakes, some jelly and fruits, ice and milk. This is especially good to eat during the summer when its so hot. 

It was said that you haven't been to Butuan until you ate chicken at Weegol's Garden. Well, I've lived in Butuan for 2 years of my high school but this was my first time to discover the place. (I know right?). It was packed with people for lunch and no wonder because of it's delicious chicken barbecue in a set including 1 and a half rice. 

I had a gastronomic treat in Cebu thanks to my sister who brought me to Buffet 101. There was a huge variety of food, including Japanese cuisine that I super like. 

One of my top priority was to order Alberto's Pizza. This pizza is what me and my house mates used to order after a gruelling hospital shift. The chain has grown so big now with a lot of branches at different provinces. It has managed to offer different pizza flavors that fit my budget perfectly.

I deeply miss Jollibee and ate some right after landing in the capital city. Since I was a child, I loved eating Jollibee and I haven't grown out of it. Though it already has branches in some countries but I feel the quality in the Philippines is still the best. Nothing beats lasagna from Greenwich, too! Tip: if you have OFW friends coming home to the Philippines, usually they would like to treat people with Jollibee because there is no other like it abroad.

The joy of eating in a roadside restaurant with puso (hanging rice), tasty pork liempo and paired with cold softdrinks is pure joy! I forgot to take a photo of the siomai that we also bought. My mouth waters just thinking about it lol.

I was almost afraid I would miss eating sisig. See my wide smile just by looking at it. It's a Filipino dish made from parts of pig's head and liver and seasoned with lemon and chilli peppers. Oh what a treat!

I made this post to remind me of what a good time I had in my recent holiday because of my family, friends and with all the food I tasted. I even attempted to stuff my bag with some more food for presents and my own consumption. (lol)

For those of you who haven't visited my beloved country yet, I hope this will inspire y'all to come and visit, not only to see our beautiful sights but also to eat.

Thank you for reading and 'til next blog!

Buffet Dinner at Baiyoke Tower

A friend of mine really wanted to try out the dinner buffet offered by Baiyoke Sky Tower. When we were in Bangkok last year, we tried to walk in but was overwhelmed by the crowd hovering in the counter. So before coming back to the city, we booked online and readied our voucher. We were not able to get the slot for dinner at 17:00H, so we opted for dinner at 20:00H. We paid close to 700 THB (roughly 20 USD) each.

We would have wanted to catch the sunset on the Revolving Deck located at the 84th floor of the Tower. Entrance to the tower is already included with the buffet. However due to meetings and preparations, we arrived at 7pm. We were informed to take the lift to the 83rd floor and take the stairs to the 84th floor. The 83rd floor's view already took my breath away. I tried to take a photo but my reflection from the glass wall is obvious.

It also has a giant poster perfect for photo opportunities.

I took the short flight of stairs to the 84th floor and this greeted me.

At first, the revolving deck made me dizzy but I later got used to it. There was a thin wire to keep the guests from falling over. The view was magical. I can see how big and busy Bangkok is.

At certain stations, they placed signs on how far a certain country is from the tower. I learned that my beloved country is about 2,205.64 km away.

We stayed on for a few minutes and then decided to go the 78th floor to eat. Before going in to the dining hall, I can't resist to take some selfies from the mirrored walls. #sorrynotsorry :-P

The staff happily gave in to our request of a table near the windows. The perfect spot to take in the view while enjoying dinner with a good friend.

It was an international buffet and it was wonderful to choose from sushi, pad thai, steaks, pastas and a whole lot more. Cake slices of a lot of kinds were for dessert along with fruits in season. I loved that the drinks was not for one round only. I can get a second or third glass of iced tea or fruit juice. I was not able to get take a photo because I was already famished. 

I was so full and happy to have fulfilled this on my bucket list. On the way down, we saw this model of the entire tower.

Some say that it was not really nice considering the number of tourists coming but it was still a great and memorable experience to dine at Thailand's tallest and most scenic hotel. Thank you for reading and 'til next blog!