Island Spa: An oasis in the midst of the city

 First part of Noah's birthday celebration.

This was a surprise birthday gift.. few days before I have been looking for a good massage service for us since we've only tried some and want something new. And of course I want that something to be not so ordinary. Ive checked some blog sites and Island Spa was one of the top faves for it's good  service yet reasonable price =) and so I made reservation for June 30th, holiday and Noah's birthday =)

After my work he picked me up thinking that we'll just have dinner at Zuni, but I made an alibi that we drop by Jupiter first since my friends were there somewhere. As we reached Island Spa, at first he was clueless until he realized that were going to have a massage! And so he smiled.... excitedly =)

I would say their over all service would be 10 out of 10 from the receptionist to their masseuse. They were all friendly, polite and accommodating.

For the facilities, it  was clean and cozy, they have automated locker system, and I love the sauna, it was usual but I just had a good feeling afterwards =). One thing though which I noticed not suitable in the place were the flat screen tv's mounted on the wall of each rooms. It's not so relaxing to hear the tv programs from the other room while you're having that "moment".. The nature background sound alone would be a lot better.

Couple room =)

Complementary ginger tea after the massage

Max's Chicken All You can

As Max's Chicken is celebrating their 65th anniversary. They are currently holding Chicken all you can from June to July 2010. For only P165.00, customers are given the chance to eat all sarap to the bones chicken from 6pm to 10 pm. Chicken lovers flocked to take advantage of this event! And we counted ourselves in!

We had chicken and pinakbet for dinner! Noah had 4 quarters of chicken = 1 whole chicken! While I only had 2 quarters..

Their signature ketchup!!

Pinakbet =)

poor chicken.. they will hunt Noah! =)

Amici =)

Amici was formerly known as Amici di Don Bosco.
Noah and I were craving for Italian, and so we headed at Amici in Atrium for dinner, missing their pasta also, this was a good time to re-unite! We had an Italian-seafood fest, each entree is below 300.00!
However, if I were to compare then and now, their pizza and pasta before was better.. =(

For appetizer, we had Mozzarella Fritto

Frutti Di Mare Pizza (mixed seafood)

For pasta we had Spaghetti White Vongole E Gamberetti
sauteed mixed seafood in olive oil

For the drink we had 1L of Tropicana Juice =)

Hotrocks. no frills just good food.

Whenever we pass by Libis, we always see this open-air steak house named Hotrocks which offers a not-so-costly steak. So before heading to Eastwood to watch a movie last night, we decided to have dinner and try-out their best seller.. Porterhouse Steak. As we entered the place we didn't know that they have an air conditioned area downstairs, so we stayed there instead. The place was almost packed, and 2 tables were available, lucky to get one!

Their wall design

Pacman's

Porterhouse (large cut) priced at P330.00. We had it cooked medium well.

Pork Liempo priced at P130.00

I like their steak sauce!

Mashed potato ROCKS!

Boracay 2010!

Summer Season Ender: Boracay!
The last time I went here was a couple of years ago. We frequently go here during the month of December and this was my first time to visit the place on a summer because I'm avoiding the seaweeds during this season! To compare, Boracay is better on December's because the water is cleaner and clearer.
It saddens me that the island was not as clean as before the last time I was here. There were some cracker and candy wrappers and chips' foil along the shore and in the beach as well =( . Well I hope that cleanliness will be maintained in one of our best known beaches in the country.

Our flight bound to Kalibo was at 4:35 pm.. so we'll be in the island before 8pm =)

After having dinner, had a fire dance picture!

Lunch at Astoria

Headed to the reef walking area

Reef walking is fun!!!!

Beach time!

Can't get over with fire dance!

Booze and Sisha at Club Paraw

I want to try kite boarding!

Enjoying the beach!

Banana Choco Peanut butter shake at Ariel's Point!  Jonah's moved at the main road already =( 

Morning coffee at Starbucks =)

Momo

Noah and two of my colleagues had dinner at Momo at the ground level of Eastwood mall after work. We had a hefty meal I must say. Their reasonably priced serving is already good for two. But the four of us had a feast!


While waiting for our meals, they gave us garlic bread with spread (but I forgot what they call it!).

For starters, we had Nachos with vegetable sticks and dip

Then for the salad we had the The MOMO! Gourmet
(roasted garlic shiitake mushrooms, candied walnuts, fresh white cheese, raspberry-balsamic vinaigrette, mixed greens, sliced oranges, and hard-boiled egg)

For the main dish...

Sweet and Smoky Hickory BBQ Rib-lets
(fork tender and off the bone, with mashed potatoes, topped with onion rings, and corn)

Pan Roasted Shiitake Muchroom Crusted Norweigan Salmon
(sweet teriyaki orange glaze & spinach cream risotto)

Raspberry and Dalandan Frozen Iced tea!

Love it here!

Banapple!

My colleagues and I planned to have dinner at Banapple after our church service.. and so we did.
I have been raving this place since the day they started operating 3 years ago in their first branch at Katipunan, Banapple has been one of my "comfort resto" since then. It never fails my taste buds! So we headed to their most recent branch in Katipunan Ave., and as expected we were on a waiting list! Good thing there were available seats for us upstairs, it's non-aircon though but it was fine since it was a rainy night.

Their price is not as much as you expected.. Most of their meals are less than 200.00

We had:
Baked Creamy Cheesy Penne.

Cream Dory

Tiramisu for dessert!!

We'll definitely come back soon!