I was in the mall and I didn’t wanna go home yet. I decided then to just watch a movie since it has been a few weeks since I last saw one. Good thing my friend was available or else I could have watched Rock of Ages alone. I saw the trailer and I knew I would love the movie especially since it was about Rock and Roll!
Also, with a superb cast consisting of Tom Cruise, Alec Baldwin, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Mary J. Blige and Paul Giamatti made it much more exciting to watch! I wonder how they can rock the movie and sing those songs which are obviously not in their comfort zone.
The movie revolved around 2 characters – Sherrie Christian (Julianne Hough) and Drew Boley (Diego Boneta), on their journey to reach their dream to become famous rock singers. Love, Talent, Friendship, Music and Loyalty are things that you can see in the movie.
The movie stars that I was looking forward to watching in Rock of Ages were actually supporting cast members. However, I love that every character had its own unique qualities and special moments in the movie. I appreciate the flow of the story and how all the characters fit into it. Rock of Ages will really make you remember your love for rock and roll. I, myself, did!
While I recommend the movie, I do not think it’ll suit children or even young teens. They might follow what Stacee Jaxx (Tom Cruise) was doing in Rock of Ages, hahaha! Considering the multiple tongue action, breast fondling and sex that rock stars do, we don’t want the youth today to be doing those things. However, we wanted to preserve Rock and Roll! Let’s just concentrate on the music and not follow what rockstars usually do behind the scenes, alright?
The music blew me away (featuring the music of Bon Jovi, Guns N’Roses, Def Leppard, Foreigner, Journey, Poison, Pat Benatar, Reo Speedwagon, Whitesnake, Night Ranger & Twisted Sister). I realized how I missed listening to beautiful rock & roll music. Actually, I ended up searching for the soundtrack of Rock of Ages in the iTunes Store as soon as I came home! I must say the soundtrack is just as awesome as the movie! Even if you haven’t watched Rock of Ages, the soundtrack itself will make you sing your heart out! I never even thought that Tom Cruise could sing!
If you watched the movie and bought the soundtrack, it’ll double the fun! Rock on! 😀
Last month, my friend Jen called me up if I wanted to stay overnight at Casa Ibiza Antipolo with her and another friend. She told me she availed of a promo, Php 3,500 for a one-night stay with complimentary breakfast for 6. The coupon was expiring already so she wanted to use it. She asked if I have any friends who wanted to go with us, but considering we were planning to stay on a weekday, I couldn’t get anyone. We pushed through with only just the three of us.
It was a 1.5 hour drive from Quezon City. Our friend knew where Casa Ibiza is so the ride was pretty quick and smooth.
When we arrived inside the resort, we went to the first unit among the colorful villas to register. I loved the design of the exterior that I took my camera out to take some pictures. Surprisingly, the place looked so much better in pictures. If we can describe people as photogenic, then Casa Ibiza was picturesque.
We all wanted to just relax so I didn’t really plan on blogging about this. I actually didn’t plan to take pictures too. However, blogging is already in my system so I took a few photos just in case I wanted to write about the experience.
The villa was good for 6 people. It had 3 floors: 1st floor just had a bathroom, 2nd floor had the living room and kitchen while the 3rd floor had 3 bedrooms. The villa was okay, but nothing spectacular. It wasn’t even hotel-like so if you’re expecting ‘wow’ interiors, I don’t think Casa Ibiza will be your place of choice. Casa Ibiza grand villas would be a good place for group of friends who wanted to hang out, play cards, drink alcohol and chit-chat the whole night away. It’s like a townhouse you can rent for yourselves.
We spent the whole night playing cards – poker, tong-its, pusoy dos, name it, we played them! We made it a bit exciting by gambling a bit of money. I shouldn’t have agreed as I was the biggest loser then (I wish we were playing for number of pounds LOL!).
Breakfast was served at 10AM as we woke up so late. We went to the pool area where the food was served. I noticed the consistency of the design of Casa Ibiza. Apparently, the resort’s theme was Mexican.
I was obviously disappointed with the food. I guess we really got what we paid for. It’s a good thing, we were only three people because we got ourselves, two servings of those breakfast meals (since we paid for 6 pax). The serving was like so small, imagine two spoonful of corned beef, and the egg seemed like just a half-egg. The drink was powdered orange juice. Nothing to rave about but the food was decent. I hope they improve this a bit as the food was really, really disappointing.
Anyhow, I didn’t concentrate on my disappointment as I was in good company. We got ourselves double serving anyway so it doesn’t matter 🙂
Casa Ibiza has a spa room which can also serve as a conference room. It was a pretty neat room. I don’t think anyone availed of their spa services as no one was around when I went in to check it out. I didn’t bother trying it out too as we didn’t have time left for a one-hour massage.
The pool was really nice and I must say Casa Ibiza had great ambiance. The beautiful garden and the way the cabanas were positioned around the pool area was pretty cool too!
My key takeaway from my first visit to Casa Ibiza is that it’s a perfect place to have pictorials. Really, the place was just built for photographers. I guess engaged couples should consider this as one of the destinations to have their pre-nup pictures.
Group of friends who are camwhores would love this place! I assure you your pictures will come out really really good especially if you have a good photographer with you.
I was surprised myself when I saw the photos I took of Casa Ibiza. It was astoundingly beautiful there, much more beautiful than it is in actuality. I’m not sure if it’s a good thing for the resort. I guess if guests had seen the pictures from Casa Ibiza’s website, they might be surprised when they see the place in person as it wasn’t the same. We can’t blame the resort though because Casa Ibiza was just too photogenic 🙂
I now believe that some people OR places can transform in photos. Casa Ibiza indeed is.
——————– Casa Ibiza Sapang Buho Road, Barangay Dalig II, Antipolo City, Rizal, Philippines 1870 +632-4823487 management@casaibiza.com.ph
I once tried out Teppanyaki Eat-All-You-Can at Guangzhou China when I was on business trip last year. I couldn’t get over how delicious it was. So when I found out that there is indeed that kind of restaurant in Manila, I couldn’t contain my excitement! The place is called Yurakuen Japanese Restaurant and it’s located at the ground floor of Diamond Hotel Manila.
Be ready to splurge about Php 1,970++ per person when you avail of Yurakuen’s Teppanyaki Eat-All-You-Can. If my memory serves me right, it’s Php 2,500 net per person. Price is already inclusive of free flowing standard drinks (iced tea/softdrinks), local beers and kirin beer. You can order anything from the menu. However, if you want premium food items like spine lobsters, black cod, chilean sea bass, black sea bass, US black angus beef tenderloin, US wagyu beef sirloin center cut, US wagyu beef striploin & US wagyu short ribs then you need to shell out Php500 for each on top of the standard price. The price is a bit steep I know but this will be all worth it. This has got to be one of my most memorable dining experience in Manila. I’m already planning my next visit within the year with my friends.
I find it sad that I only found out about Yurakuen Japanese Restaurant now in spite of it being around for several years. It’s actually one of the award-winning restaurants in Manila having been awarded by Asian Tatler Dining. But it’s better now than never, right? 🙂
Yurakuen is indeed a Japanese culinary paradise having three different kinds of dining experience to choose from:
Main Dining Room
Yakiniku Room
Teppanyaki Eat-All-You-Can
While I was curious to find out the other offerings of Yurakuen Japanese Restaurant, I still prefer the Teppanyaki Eat-All-You-Can for my next visit. I guess after having sampled most of the Teppanyaki menu, I wanted to go back for more!
I was greeted by Yurakuen’s kimono-clad food attendants as I entered the restaurant. I was escorted to one of the four Teppanyaki tables available. The first thing I noticed was the beautiful view that I could see from the room. There was a rock garden full of plants and cherry-blossom tree. Having seen the costumes of the server plus the wonderful view reminded me that I was in for a Japanese treat!
Each Teppanyaki table can accommodate up to a maximum of 8 people. This is especially perfect for small groups since they can enjoy their meal in privacy. This is not the same as what I have experienced in Guangzhou. I actually prefer Yurakuen, it has a personal touch in it.
One of the reasons why I loved my first visit at Yurakuen was the nice, cheerful and talented chefs in the restaurant. We enjoyed how the chefs in our respective tables cooked the food in front of us complete with flare-filled presentation.
There are a lot of items in the Teppanyaki menu but considering we only had 2 hours to eat and our stomach can only take so much. We were able to try out some items..
Appetizers – Sashimi, Sushi, Temaki, Maki, Salad
I skipped the appetizers as I wanted to have more space for seafood, hehehe! I wish I was able to try the crab stick salad, tuna salmon sashimi, california temaki & tempura temaki served to us though.
Vegetables
I was like a kid excited to watch the chef cook the veggies in front of us. The chef was all smiles and was even dancing at certain point when he was cooking. I was so looking forward to eat those food that was fondly prepared by him.
We were able to sample asparagus, spinach, enoki mushroom, shitake mushroom and vegetable jelly. Surprisingly, I’m starting to love mushrooms more and more. I guess it really depends on how the food was cooked. I’m now a convert (I used to hate eating mushrooms)! The spices put into the veggies plus the right amount of time it was cooked made us like the first batch of items we tried out at Yurakuen Japanese Restaurant.
We could have more servings of the veggies but the portion given to me was more than enough as I knew there were more items to eat later on.
Meats
For some people, I believe meats especially lamb chops would be a favorite food item at Yurakuen. Considering you can have unlimited servings of those premium quality meats are just divine! I was drooling just by seeing the raw meat platter at the table, hahaha! Yeah, I’m a foodie and I’m always so giddy and ecstatic about food! 🙂
I loved it when the chef did the flaming trick! Such awesomeness!
US Beef Rib Eye, US Beef Tenderloin, Baby Lamb Chops and US Wagyu Beef Striploin (additional Php500) were among the items we tried out.
Food were neatly served to our plates. We were so spoiled 🙂 Loved the awesome service in Yurakuen!
Of course, I had to give special attention to the lamb chops as it was the item that I loved the most in the meat platter. The chef was very cautious of what the guests prefer as he asked us first if we wanted to have the mint sauce combined or separate from the meat.
Fried Rice
I felt that I can’t just keep on writing my thoughts about my experience at Yurakuen so I decided to take a video of the chef while he was cooking our seafood fried rice. I wanted you to see it for yourself how cool the chef was. The video also gives you an idea what to expect in Diamond Hotel’s Teppanyaki Eat-All-You-Can.
And this is the finished product! Nothing beats a newly cooked, fresh from the grill fried rice!
Trivia: Japanese eats their fried towards the end of the meal.
Seafood
The seafood was the main reason why I can’t wait to go back to Yurakuen. I actually already told my best friend that we would be having dinner at Diamond Hotel for their Teppanyaki Eat-All-You-Can on Christmas. I’ll make sure that I would just have those yummy seafood over and over and over and over again till I can’t eat any longer.
We had black cod/gindara(additional Php500) and salmon. I know my companions that night would have wanted to eat the salmon raw. For me though, I hate anything raw so the fishes cooked teppanyaki way was preferable for me.
Tiger prawns – just one word DELICIOUS!
the winner of the night for me was scallops! It was huge! And boy, when eaten right after it was just cooked? Oh my gosh, heavenly!!!! H-e-a-v-e-n-l-y!!! I must go back to Yurakuen for this! I don’t care if this is the only item that I’ll eat the whole meal!
Lobsters
Among the premium items that Yurakuen Japanese Restaurant has, I believe the lobsters has got to be the item of choice. I wouldn’t mind shelling out additional Php500 just to be able to get unlimited servings of spine lobsters,
I think made a lil shriek when the chef started to cook the mouth-watering lobsters! I couldn’t contain my excitement! Luckily, noone noticed hahaha!
I appreciate that the chef removed the meat from the shells making it easy for us to eat the uberly delicious lobsters!
The group was also able to try out Lobster Miso soup. It’s miso soup combined with lobster head and shells resulting to a unique soup experience.
Dessert
Last, but definitely not the least, dessert. Unfortunately for me, I was too full already to eat any of those. We were served with assorted fruits and pancakes w/ black beans & ice cream.
I think for my next visit, I’ll still skip the dessert. (Sorry, I have my eyes on the scallops)!
I’m really thankful that I was invited by Diamond Hotel to try out Yurakuen’s Teppanyaki all you can. Because if that didn’t happen, I wouldn’t even know that there is indeed a Teppanyaki all you can here in Metro Manila.
Oh boy, this post literally took me ten hours to compose (no kidding!). My gosh, reliving the experience is really hard especially remembering how nice the dining experience was. Uggghhh… Such punishment and I shall avenge by eating more scallops when I go back! 😀
——————– Yurakuen Japanese Restaurant Teppanyaki Eat-All-You-Can Php 1,970++ per person 11:00 am to 10:00 pm G/F Diamond Hotel, Roxas Blvd. corner Dr. J. Quintos Street, Manila 1000, Philippines +63-2-5283000
I became a big fan of Yeng Remulla after I read his book, Productive Pinoy. It was the first book written by a Filipino that I got so impressed with! Productive Pinoy has so many lessons in it that I felt a lot of people can take advantage of.
In my case, I do not have a dad. However, reading Productive Pinoy felt like I do have that father-like figure who was providing me life-long lessons to live by. Each chapter is a gem in itself. Yeng was too selfless in sharing all those important lessons in life with us through the book.
So when Yeng sent me an email and asked me to be one of the speakers on his free Start Something seminar, I couldn’t say no. Two reasons why I said yes even if I had some reservations on speaking in public:
I wanted to finally meet Yeng in person!
Somehow, I do not want to turn down an opportunity to finally speak in public.
The Start Something Seminar by Productive Pinoy was held at Fully Booked, Bonifacio High Street last June 8, 2012. It was a free event and it was a successful one! The forum was full of registered participants all ready to learn from Productive Pinoy himself, Yeng Remulla.
Yeng wanted to help the participants start the idea they’ve been dreaming of doing by providing the free seminar. I guess the Productive Pinoy group wanted to inspire the participants through Yeng’s personal productivity tips as well as the guest speakers’ testimonies on how they started something.
As Yeng said in his blog, “Whether you’re planning to write a book, start a business, shift careers, or put out your art, I hope this event will help you jumpstart the work that you’ve been dreaming of.”
An activity was done during the Start Something seminar which I found very effective.. A paper was given to each of the participants and everyone was asked to draw the idea that they have been putting off for quite some time.
Then some participants volunteered to share their ideas to everyone. Upon hearing some of them, I was just blown away. Their ideas were so good! I felt that they are destined to work on their ideas. I mean why would they attend a ‘Start Something’ seminar if they didn’t have the willpower to start what they have thought of, right?
When it was time for the guest speakers to talk, I started to really get nervous. I didn’t even know if I could make it on stage , hahaha! I just said to myself to suck it up and think that I might be able to inspire people by sharing how I started my blog.
Here’s a transcript of my 5-minute speech:
Hello everyone! My name is Roch and I’m the blogger behind HeaRty’s Haven. You can find HeaRty’s Haven at rochellesychua.com. I’m here to talk about how I started with blogging but first, I’d like to say that I became a big fan of Yeng Remulla after I read his book, Productive Pinoy. The book is just too good! I highly suggest you get one now if you haven’t. It’s a good compilation of lessons that we can live by. For me, it was like taking different self-help trainings molded into one book.
Now, how did I start blogging? I’m working in a multi-national company which I have been dreaming to work in for the longest time. I wanted to improve on my work every single day so when I got feedback that I needed to improve on my written skill, I decided that I need to do something about it. I thought of writing a diary but it just won’t cut it for me as I hate my own handwriting and I rarely use pen and paper due to the advancement of technology. I ended up creating a blog wherein I put all my experiences whether it’s food, travel, gadgets or movies, I just put it all out there. Don’t try to check out my 2008 entries because I assure you, they suck (haha)! Anyhow, I never thought that my site views went up from 0 to 60,000 a month! I was able to turn a weakness into a strength. I was able to improve on my writing plus I was also able to find a new passion/hobby.
Always remember like what Yeng said in his book, Productive Pinoy, that we should stop being a spectator, we should take a lead and start something! Because we can do it! 🙂
I was afraid while I was doing the speech as I do not believe I’m good in speaking public. I have stage fright that I can’t seem to get over with. I tried to work on it by attending effective presentations training and joining toastmasters but I couldn’t sustain it. I guess I have to try to speak in a public forum to finally realize how fulfilling it is. I would like to thank Yeng of Productive Pinoy for giving me this rare chance to talk to everyone. I’m not sure if I was able to inspire the participants but I really hope I did 🙂
It’s really such an honor to have known such great motivational speakers like Cornel Bongco (Yoyo Gospel Man), Malvin Dinlasan (BroTalks) and of course, Yeng Remulla (Productive Pinoy) in the Start Something event. It’s truly an unforgettable experience!
Yeng’s How to achieve Major, Major goals are as follows:
take inventory of your abilities and resources
dream big
start small
break it down into pieces
involve others/do not do it alone
expect challenges and setbacks along the way
Start Something seminar was very inspiring, informative and really nice!
Straight from Tagaytay, I went to the mall so I could catch the first day screening of Snow White & the Huntsman. As the title implied, the movie is about Snow White. I remember a few months ago that I was able to catch Mirror Mirror which was another movie version of Snow White. Mirror Mirror was lighter, cuter and more fairy tale-like while Snow White & the Huntsman was darker, more action-oriented and I guess caters to a more mature audience.
The story basically revolved around 2 women:
Snow White (Kirsten Stewart) – daughter of King Magnus (Noah Huntley) and Queen Eleanor (Liberty Ross). Snow White was destined to surpass Ravenna as the fairest of them all..
Queen Ravenna (Charlize Theron) – a powerful sorceress and the Dark Army’s master whose power was only as strong as her beauty. Ravenna captured beautiful women and drains them of their youth.
This is a Snow White movie. The mirror that the evil queen depended was part of the movie. Of course, the 7 dwarves were also present or else it wouldn’t be a Snow White movie. Significant details that involved those characters/thing include the Mirror telling the Queen that Snow White would both be her ruin and her salvation. According to the mirror, if she takes the young girl’s heart, she will become immortal. While the seven dwarves naturally helped Snow White as she is the only one who can defeat Ravenna and end her reign of terror.
A handsome prince was in the Snow White & the Huntsman too but this time around, there were 2 guys. Even until the end of the movie, I couldn’t tell if Snow White ended up with the Huntsman or the Duke’s son. Considering Snow White was portrayed by Kirsten Stewart, I couldn’t help but relate Snow White to Twilight. There was even a scene when Snow White was resurrected from death, which was actually similar to the scene in the last Twilight movie.
I like the movie only because Charlize Theron was there. She was very effective as Queen Ravenna. Even if they made Charlize Theron look 20 years older, she still looked stunning! I actually doubted the mirror when it said that Snow White would surpass the Queen’s beauty hahaha!
I also prefer Snow White and the Huntsman over Mirror Mirror. This has something to do with my age, I guess hahaha! But of course, you might not agree with me. It really would depend on your preference 🙂
My Rating for Snow White and the Huntsman: 3.5 out of 5 stars
