Tag: philippines

Breakfast at Kilimanjaro Kafe

Breakfast at Plantation Bay Cebu is definitely the best at Kilimanjaro Kafe.  Kilimanjaro Kafe is one of the 4 major eating places at Plantation Bay, it serves international cuisine & is open for 24 hours.  We decided to have breakfast there twice.  The place is situated just in the middle of their artificial pool/beach which is perfect because you really feel as if you’re on the seaside enjoying your meal.

The view anywhere in Plantation is great, but Kilimanjaro is definitely the place to be during breakfast as you are surrounded on all sides by the beach, the trees, and the beauty of such a resort.  In fact, you definitely see a lot of people enjoying their swim, even as early as 9 or 10 in the morning.  With Kilimanjaro, you not only get a great breakfast, but you also get the relaxing atmosphere of that beachfront setting.

Kilimanjaro Kafe is especially full during breakfast, because of its central location, relaxing atmosphere, great food, and definitely their amazing breakfast buffet.  As you see in the picture, most of the guests are foreigners.  We, on the other hand, are Filipinos but I must admit I feel like a tourist there.  I really have to take some time to tour our beautiful country.  Lots of sights to see, Plantation Bay is one of them.

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In Kilimanjaro Kafe, you can either go Ala Carte or avail of their buffet.  We tried both since we stayed at Plantation Bay Cebu for 3 days & 2 nights.

Ala Carte

If you’re not that hungry, then I would suggest you just go & opt for Ala Carte.  There weren’t too much choices (I distinctly remember their breakfast menu only has 6 items hehehe!).  On our first morning at Plantation, we arrived just as the buffet was ending, and there weren’t as many diners as probably earlier.

We were served bread while we waited for our orders, with butter on the side.  It was newly toasted and tasted yummy!  the pandesal was especially nice, and most probably baked that morning.  There’s nothing like fresh baked pandesal to start off any breakfast!

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Nick ordered the Filipino breakfast (Php 450) which includes longganiza (Filipino sausage), 2 eggs (cooked any style), with garlic rice & coffee or tea.  You can also opt for the danggit (crispy fried fish which is pretty popular in Cebu).  While this particular dish wasn’t that much of a full plate, nor was it made in any special fashion, for tourists, this would definitely be a great way to be introduced to a Filipino breakfast.  It’s exactly what you would expect longganiza to be, a bit sweet, nice seasoning, and just delicious.  Eggs and garlic rice definitely make this a complete Filipino breakfast.

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I ordered their omelette.  I guess I wasn’t too hungry that time.  It was basically mixed omelette with ham, cheese, mushrooms & eggs 😛  Again, nothing special, but just the right amount, made like any ordinary omelette, but doesn’t disappoint either.  I shouldn’t eat too much of this though, can’t have too much eggs in a day.

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Breakfast Buffet

We didn’t avail the rooms w/ breakfast, so it wasn’t really mandatory for us to take breakfast, just depended if we woke up late or if we weren’t hungry at all :p

On our 2nd visit to Kilimanjaro Kafe, it was still early & I was starving.  I asked if we could have the breakfast buffet (Php 900) for that day.  Nick, who wasn’t even that hungry that time, ended up just availing of the breakfast buffet too 😛  Actually, because the ala carte menu is just a bit too limited, and for just a few hundred pesos more, you can at least get more variety.  And boy, do they have VARIETY!

They have more than enough choices for breakfast.  Croissant which according to the Plantation Bay brochure is the best out there.  Not shown in the picture are also a lot of choices for bread.  Nick seemed to like their banana bread, which he went three times to get :p  He said that it was moist and baked just perfectly making it not dry and very flavorful.

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They have different choices for cereals with milk available too ofcourse!

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And even with a buffet, one can still choose to go the healthy and light route with salad.  Kilimanjaro Kafe’s breakfast buffet also included a salad bar which had items such as kimchi, crunchy cucumber, insalata verde, frutti misti aceto balsamico, insalata caprese, garlic & chili fingers with dressings such as blue cheese dressing, thousand island dressing & french dressing.

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And of course, the usual choices: bacon, rice, pasta, sausages, squid, pork, beef & vegetables.  What was also nice was that they also had pizza, although i didn’t take any since I was more interested in the bacon.  I took like 3 servings of bacon, I just missed it!  I think though that I’m experiencing the result of such choices, as my physical exam results showed that I have extremely high cholesterol level.  The lesson here is to take moderate amounts of food especially the ones full of cholesterol & fats..

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My favorite section has always been the ones with the chef cooking the food in front of diners at the buffet.   In Kilimanjaro Kafe’s case, it’s the omelette section.  You can ask the chef to cook omelette (mixed, ham, ham & cheese or mushroom) or ask to cook sunny side up or scrambled eggs.  I asked for a mixed omelette, delicious!

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Fresh juices are also available (bottomless).  I tried both (mixed fruits, orange) but I liked the orange juice better.  When it comes to fruit juice, I prefer just having one fruit instead of mixed.  It just doesn’t taste the same.

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The fruit section is another favorite of mine.  Especially because there was yellow watermelon!!!!  Boy, I have been craving for that since 1997 (13 long years!).  The last I tried it, I was in Taiwan.  I remember I always end up being the last to leave the dining table as I was finishing up all the yellow watermelon leftovers hahaha!  I was getting nonstop of the yellow watermelon in Kilimanjaro until the buffet ended.  But of course, there were choices of mango and even melons.  Again, Kilimanjaro always seemed to have just the right amount of variety, and their fruit bar was no exception.

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I didn’t try their lunch or dinner buffet as we tried what the other restaurants in Plantation Bay had to offer.  I guess it’s nice too because we really enjoyed our breakfast meals in Kilimanjaro Kafe.  I would highly recommend, if you arrive early at Kilimanjaro Kafe, to avail of their buffet.  Only because for a few hundred pesos more, you really do have more of a variety.

Lastly, I just love where the place is located, in the center of their artificial pool, with the view of the rooms, the tourists swimming, and the sound of people just enjoying themselves.  The delicious food, the waters, the people, the atmosphere — Kilimanjaro at Plantation Bay is a must for breakfast.

Here are our pictures:

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Kilimanjaro Kafe
Plantation Bay Resort and Spa, Marigondon, Mactan Island, Cebu, Philippines 6015
(02) 505 9800

Room Service at Plantation Bay Cebu

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Just this past Holy Week, we stayed in Plantation Bay Cebu for some rest and relaxation.  We stayed in one of their Japanese-themed rooms which are the rooms when you get the spa indulgence package.  We did decide to get room service, not once but twice.  During our 1st night, knowing full well that we still had two more days and another night ahead of us to enjoy the whole of Plantation Bay, we decided to just get room service, stay in and just rest.   We called & ordered the ff. for dinner & planned to just watch TV while we enjoy the yummy food of Plantation Bay Cebu:

  • Gambas Al Ajillo (Php 600)

shrimps plantation bay

I super enjoyed this dish!  Anyone who has been a regular reader, knows that I just love shrimp and in this dish, not only were the shrimp excellent but it was seasoned quite nicely.  Just enough tomato taste, and even the veggies weren’t overcooked which added to the dish just  a bit more.   It’s always great when cooking gambas the tomato sauce used to cook the dish enhances the flavor of the shrimp, and this dish didn’t disappoint.  The shrimps were just enough for the rice so I didn’t feel “bitin” either.  I was smiling all throughout the meal and actually finished every bit of item on the plate.  You know it’s delicious, when you really clean the plate! :p

  • Chicken & Pork Adobo (Php 350)

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You really can’t get more Filipino than adobo I guess.  And when you don’t know what to order, sometimes you just go with something familiar.  This dish had just a slight twist since it contained both pork and chicken.  Very interesting combination.  It wasn’t as refined as some high end adobo is cooked, but it wasn’t bad either.  It wasn’t oily, which is always a plus for adobo, and it wasn’t salty either.  It was definitely your classic adobo.  It did taste good, but nothing out of the ordinary, and the portion was just enough too.

As I said earlier, we did order room service twice.  The next day, after our spa treatment, we decided to rest a bit in the room.  And as usual, I was hungry, and asked if we could just order room service for merienda.  I was too lazy to get up and walk around Plantation Bay since it was soo hot out at that time. We planned to walk around and take in the scenery later that afternoon when it cooled down since early afternoon is just too hot to really enjoy a scenic walk :p

For our merienda through room service, we ordered chicken lollipops!!!  Well, they called it Sweet Chili Lollipops (Php 330).  I guess they call it that, not only because it comes with chili sauce, but it does sound better on the menu hehehe 🙂  This is basically deep-fried chicken lollipops served with chili sauce.  It was yummy!  It’s still a mystery to me how chicken lollipops are made though, do they collect the chicken bones then put chicken meat around it then fry? hahaha I have no idea.  One thing I do know is that the breading was yummy and the chicken cooked moist and not dry, which is always important with fried food too.

chicken fingers plantation bay

This is where we ate in the room.  Since it’s Japanese theme, the chair and the table were lowered and basically almost ground level.  I didn’t feel comfortable sitting (because I’m not really used to it) but I didn’t mind coz the food was delicious.

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One major comment I have is the price.  It was really expensive (Don’t get me wrong though, it’s not unreasonable, it was just expensive for my taste)!!!  Well, all the items in Plantation Bay are expensive but I think this takes the prize for being the most expensive room service I have tried so far 😛

Room service at Plantation Bay is still definitely a convenience especially when you just want to relax or if it’s just too hot outside, they delivered at a reasonable time frame, and the food was always hot and cooked well.  Even with room service, I think Plantation Bay really does go out of the way to cater to your needs.

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Plantation Bay Resort and Spa
Marigondon, Mactan Island, Cebu, Philippines 6015
(02) 505 9800

Noynoy Aquino & Hacienda Luisita

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The meetup with presidentiable Noynoy Aquino was one of most anticipated among Blogwatch writers. After a long wait, we finally had our chance to meet with the presidential frontrunner. Like previous Blogwatch events, we were allowed to ask only one question. My question was focused on what many think is one of the more controversial issues surrounding Noynoy and his family the Cojuancos – The issue of Hacienda Luisita and land distribution to farmers.

The following was my question:
Regarding Hacienda Luisita, a lot of people think that one reason CARP failed is because of the Stock Distribution Option (SDO). Also, it is seen that the SDO has been able to keep farmers out of their land. The main beneficiary, seem to be your very own family. And in the end, farmers still receive barely anything from what they have put into Hacienda Luisita. Do you think this is right & what will you do different as president that will give the balance of power & justice towards the farmers?

Senator Aquino answered me in tagalog. He made it clear though that he only owns less than 1% of Hacienda Luisita. Noynoy’s answer was simple. The farmers have been with the Aquino family for decades. They wouldn’t want to burden the farmers by selling the land to them. The farmers are good at tilling the land but they are not businessmen. Hacienda Luisita land is also still in debt, how would the farmers be able to pay it without much experience in managing the land? Noynoy also said that there are currently 10,000 farmers. If they distribute the land as is, 1 farmer can only own less than 1 hectare, and also not all of the land will be equal in terms of fertility. There’s nothing a farmer can do if a non-fertile land was given to them.

Noynoy stressed that if they wanted to be selfish, they could just easily sell the land, possibly getting Php 4.5B without worrying about debt or his image in the 2010 elections.

Php 4.5B = Php100 per square meter x 10,000 square meter per hectare x 4,500 hectares

But according to Noynoy, the Aquino family treats the farmers like their own family (they were workers since 1958). With that, they would want to transfer the land to them debt-free. Noynoy Aquino even gave me a timeline that by the year 2014, the land will be fully transferred to the farmers. Noynoy already asked his extended family to find means to transfer the assets free of debt. While this is being worked on, they will follow what current agrarian reform program has. He said that 70% of Hacienda Luisita is still owned by the Aquinos/Cojuancos while 30% will be paid as stock dividends to the farmers.

Read the rest of the article at Blogwatch.PH.

References:

Official Website of Rochelle Sy Chua on media, events, travel, food and restaurant experiences in Taipei, Taiwan, Manila, Philippines and Asia.

Avilon Zoo

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Avilon Zoo
Bo. San Isidro, Rodriguez, Rizal
(02) 941-8393

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It’s funny that I have lived all my life in the Philippines but I’ve never been to any of the zoos in the country.   In all my travels, I  have always made it a point to visit the famous zoos.   I’m really glad that at least for once, I was able to visit the more popular zoo in Manila, the Avilon Zoo.

Entrance fee is at Php300 and I think it’s more than worth it considering the # of animals on display.  The place is well designed and they are still renovating.  I just hope they maintain it better though.  It will be such a waste if they don’t take care of the zoo.  It can be one of the best in the world, I really believe it.

The highlight of my visit was definitely the fact that I was able to hold several animals.  We just needed to pay Php50 for each animal.  Let me show you some of the pictures that I took with the animals.  The monkey was my favorite one!  Her name is Trixie & if you notice in the picture, she’s wearing Crocs!!  She’s sooo sweet too, see how she hugged me in the picture.

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This one I love too!  The bird was a bit heavy, so the caretaker had to help me carry it.

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I’m sooo scared of snakes.  I knew I had to conquer this fear one way or another, and Avilon Zoo gave me that chance, so I took it.  It was definitely an experience.   I won’t be able to forget it, I’m still scared of snakes though 😛

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Aside from being able to hold some select animals, we were also allowed to feed some animlas.  Below is a video I took of the Arapaimas.  The other guests were feeding the fish with chicken heads.  Each small bucket costs Php20 which is pretty cheap 🙂

Other animals that can be fed are farm animals.  Here’s the menu they prepared:

  • Carrots – Php 20
  • Okra – Php 10
  • Sitaw – Php 10
  • Talbos – Php 10
  • Chicken Feed – Php 10

It’s the biggest zoo I think in the Philippines.  I took soo many pictures but below are some of the best ones.  Enjoy the view!

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It’s just too many to see.  I also heard they have a mini version of the zoo located in Tiendesitas.  The Montalban, Rizal zoo is a must-see though.  It took us about 3-4 hours to visit the place.  Might take longer for you.  The rest of the pictures can be found in my Avilon Zoo album.

Official Website of Rochelle Sy Chua on media, events, travel, food and restaurant experiences in Taipei, Taiwan, Manila, Philippines and Asia.

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