Blogger Update

I can't believe how time flies by so fast. Half of 2020 is already gone! A lot has happened during the first half of the year but sometimes I feel like I also didn't do enough. Seems like time is fast but the actions aren't. Maybe because I wasn't able to accomplish what I supposedly accomplish based on the time frame I set. I haven't even updated this blog for more than eight months. There's just so much around that I barely have the opportunity to think about this hobby.

We needed to resolve several issues concerning our house construction, my husband went through surgery to remove his gallbladder, the expensive hospital expenses, the challenges of moving in to our new house, my own health scare, and the fear this Covid-19 brings. I've been paranoid since the first positive case in Iloilo and all I did was over think. There was even a time when I needed to work my ass off in the garden to divert my mind off the issue the world has been facing since the beginning of the year. It's exhausting especially during my husband's recovery period since I needed to be the runner of the family, the only person of the family authorized to leave the house during quarantine period.

Babi Goes To... La Puerta Al Paraizo

[Babi Goes To... is a series to document our travels with our child. This is to help other parents decide if the destination is ideal for their own children.]

It's officially summer in the Philippines! Have you been to the beach or any summer destination this year? If not, I have a suggestion for you. Go visit La Puerta Al Paraizo in Nueva Valencia, Guimaras. We've been there last weekend and I fell in love with the place a few minutes after we got there. It's now my new favorite beach in Guimaras.

Villa Igang used to be a favorite but the beach in La Puerta is better in my opinion. It's calmer which is ideal even for young kids. My almost two-year old son didn't get scared playing along the coastline and I can even let him walk on his own in the water without worrying that he might fall due to strong waves. The beach isn't rocky as well which, again, is ideal for kids. During low tide, I love that the beach still looks as inviting.

Playtime at Kidzoona SM City Iloilo

Looking for a new place for your kids to have fun? Well, you need not look further. Kidzoona in SM City Iloilo is now open to welcome kids and kids at heart looking for a place to enjoy without leaving the mall. Aside from its convenient location, it is also the biggest playhouse under the roof of SM City Iloilo.

It opened late last year but there are Ilonggos who have not visited the place yet so I'm blogging about it now.

As soon as you enter the premise, this is what will greet you. This is the locker area - the orange ones are for shoes while the green ones are for valuables. The use of both lockers are free of charge however they will ask you for a deposit of Php 100 for the use of green lockers. You will be able to get back the deposit once you return the locker key when you go out.

Adjacent the locker area is the "Role Play Town". Here, kids can pretend to be making burgers and pizza and serving cakes and ice cream.

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Proud and regal this bird. I feel happy each time I see birds flying around our place because they all look so healthy. They, too, definitely love the provincial life!

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Ice cream, anyone?

Friday Photo: 18 | 28

We collect our vegetables scraps for composting and we unconsciously added squash seeds to our bin. Instead of decaying, the seeds sprouted and have grown into this. We can learn a lesson or two here...

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My one-year old is scared so we just watched it go round and round.

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Waiting for the danger to pass.

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Restaurant... with chairs still up! It's because it rained so hard before we arrived and water got inside the establishment. But that didn't turn me off because their pizza, particularly their All Meat topping, is a favorite.

Pizzaro
SM City Iloilo Southpoint

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A big section of the store for colorful neck pillows? Only in Miniso! I love dropping by this store, though I don't need to buy anything, because the whole store feels relaxing and so kawaii. That is why I love strolling around and check their items for sale. Who knows? I might find something I need... or something I think I need. 😀

The store only opened last month (May) so expect that it is always crowded these days.

Saturday Dinner at Hukad sa Golden Cowrie, SM City Iloilo

Change is inevitable.

If you’ve never been to Iloilo for a couple of years or so, you might not have seen how progressive it has become. New business establishments are sprouting everywhere and the existing ones have been renovated to cater to the growing needs of the people. One of those establishments that has just gotten a facelift, or at least an expansion, is the SM City Iloilo in Mandurriao.

The expansion gave way to various shops, service centers and restaurants including Hukad sa Golden Cowrie. Hukad, which originated in Cebu, offers all time Filipino favorites such as lechon kawali, kare kare and adobong pusit along with many Visayan menus.

The other week, we tried their chicken pandan, ngo hiong and bulalo soup.

Chicken pandan (Php 146), deep fried marinated chicken wrapped in pandan leaves.

Korean Restaurants in Iloilo

Earlier this week, I, my husband and some friends enjoyed a Korean buffet dinner in one of the many Korean restaurants in the city. The day after that, pictures of a friend eating in another Korean restaurant appeared in my Facebook timeline. I then thought of other Korean restaurants I have been to before as well as the ones I haven’t been to. I realized that, indeed, the city has a lot to offer for this nationality when it comes to food destinations. Hence, the idea to list down these Korean restaurants is born.

Here, I am sharing this information not just for the Koreans by blood, but also Koreans by heart as well as those who just want to have their kimchi and galbi cravings satisfied.

Kang Byeon Riverside Restaurant

This is the first Korean restaurant I’ve been to. It is located in Times Square Building across University of San Agustin. I love the ambiance of this restaurant as it is located along the Iloilo River, as the name implies. From the glass window, you can see the growing mangroves on the other side of the river bank, the Jalandoni bridge and of course, the river itself.

While I like this restaurant in terms of location and ambiance, I cannot say much about the food because we didn’t actually ordered Korean food. We ordered Japanese food in a Korean restaurant. LOL! Yeah we’re weird like that. I was craving for sushi that time thus explains it. But I think their food is okay based on the people coming to eat.

Don Galbi Restaurant

This is the second Korean restaurant in the city I’ve been to. It is located in Ledesco Village in La Paz, which for me is quite inconvenient to visit. But then, it is just beside the Korean salon a friend is raving about so one can just simply hop next door to have his or her Korean fix after having the mane fixed.

I love the setting of this resto for it is very Korean starting from leaving the footwear at the door to using Korean tables (table with short legs) with the customers sitting on the floor.  I love their galbi and they do not scrimp when it comes to side dishes. Service is fast too!

Hancook

This is the third and recent Korean restaurant I’ve been to. It is located in Doña Aurora Subdivision near University of San Agustin. The area is small and can accommodate I think only around 25 to 30 people at a time. Also, since the area is small, they have few manpower too. I think there is only one or two servers thus the delay in delivering foods especially when they are running a promo like the Php 249 buffet we recently availed.

Mountain and Waterfall Escapade: Nadsadjan Falls, Igbaras

The Province of Iloilo is home to few mountains and when there is a mountain, usually a waterfall exists. Last week, I and a few friends head to the town of Igbaras to explore one of the waterfalls in the area.

We left Iloilo City at around 6:00 in the morning and by 7:30 am, we were already in their public plaza waiting for the motorcycle that will take us to the drop off point. The hike, and even the motorcycle ride, is not for the faint-hearted. Two or three passengers plus one driver were crammed in one motorcycle and have to endure the approximately 30-minute bumpy ride. The ride can be tiring but the view of the mountain ranges is really worth it. The motorcycle ride ended before the bridge that is ruined by flood and is no longer passable, both by people and vehicles.

New bridge and hydroplant area (Photo credit)

With this, we crossed the shallow river where a hydro plant is also being built. From the river, we hiked the uphill dirt road that is more than 100 meters long. For me, this is one of the toughest parts of the trail as I almost ran out of air and had to take minute-long stops to rest and catch my breath. Maybe, this didn’t happen if I have been consistent with my running. :D

From the dirt road, we turned right to enter the real trail. Along the trail, there are various kinds and sizes of trees as well as rocks. There are rocks taller than me, smooth ones as well as rough ones so be careful when passing on those as they can be slippery. Wrong placement of your feet or distribution of weight can land you flat on your face so take extra caution. 

Big rocks along the way. (Photo credit)

Nadsadjan falls from afar (Photo credit)

A Photo A Week: Antonia

I know summer is over. But I have to include this photo to my "A Photo A Week" series simply because of its beauty. The island is called Antonia (an-to-nee-ya), one of the islands in Islas de Gigantes in Carles, Iloilo. I want to go back there because I can't get enough of its bluish green water and I still have to visit a nearby cave. Indulging in the beauty of this island for a night or two is surely worth all the effort.

See my detailed post here...

A Photo A Week: Summer Kite

Please excuse my bag in the picture. :D

Summer is the best time to fly colorful kites. We were thrilled when we saw this one at National Bookstore but unfortunately, I think the creator of this one isn't really aware about balance or something... or perhaps haven't flew a kite. The head is heavier than the tail thus this poor dragonfly cannot soar high. Good thing we bought another kite that is really created to fly.

Joy-Joy's Talabahan

If you are from or have been to Iloilo, you probably have heard about Joy-Joy's Talabahan, a seafood restaurant along the coastal rode in Leganes. While it may not be as popular as Tatoy's or Breakthrough in Villa, Joy-Joy's Talabahan is famous on its own way.

The restaurant is mostly made of bamboo and is standing over a pond not so far away from the road. As such, people need to walk over a short bamboo bridge in order to get to the restaurant. The restaurant is covered with black screen/net up until the top of the wall. I think it is a wise idea not only to keep people and their belongings safe from falling off the pond but also to prevent them from throwing thrash and let it float in the water.

We got there just before lunch time hence we were able to choose our table. From then on, people started coming, some in pairs and others in group of three or four. There are also customers who came in big groups thus the need to occupy two or three tables.

We ordered one whole managat which is split into two; grilled and sinigang. We also had steamed shrimps and oyster.

Grilled Managat

Sinigang na Managat

Steamed Shrimp

With yummy dishes and abundant supply of fresh air, we went home with full tummy and that refreshed feeling - ready to face another week sitting in front of the computer.

How to get there:

From Jaro Plaza or Tagbak Terminal in Jaro, ride a Leganes PUJ to reach the town of Leganes. Fare is Php 12. Ask the driver to drop you off the terminal to Nabitasan. From the terminal, ride a tricycle and tell the driver that you are going to Joy-Joy's. Fare is Php 10 and the resto can be reached for around 15 minutes.

To go back to the city, ride a tricycle to town proper and then jeepney to the city. If you want to go straight to SM City, choose a PUJ bound for SM City/Doctor's Hospital. Leganes - La Paz will get you to La Paz.

A Photo A Week: Fireworks!

I am not blessed with talent in capturing beautiful sceneries into photos so when I captured this, I became quite excited and proud of myself. :D I know this shot is not spectacular but it made me really happy. This was taken during the Dinagyang 2012 Luces in the Sky Competition held at SM City Iloilo Car Park.

A Photo A Week - Can You See the End?

 This is where I spent my weekend. No, not in that dock specifically but in a place where that dock is located. It is in Cabaling Beach Resort, in Sitio Cabaling, Brgy. Espinosa, Jordan Guimaras.

Borrowed the picture from Liza

A Photo A Week - Swan in the Sky

This has nothing to do with a swan flying up in the sky. There's no swan in the picture at all... just a swan-like formation of orange clouds we saw while waiting for the sunset at Plazuela de Iloilo. An opportunity to witness formations and images like this is rare and we are just lucky enough to capture it.

This photo also reminds me that though things didn't turn out as planned, you can always get something good from every experience.

photo credit: leomkun

A Photo A Week - BlueGreen

I wanted to update this blog as often as possible but considering my hectic schedule, there is no way I can do that. I cannot even check to find out if someone happened to stumble across and leave some meaningful comments. With a 9 - 6 work, a part-time job and a small business venture, it is impossible for me to find time and think of worthy topic much more put into words the ideas running around my mind. Heck I cannot even get the required number of hours of sleep each night.

The picture was taken a couple of weeks ago when we went to Iloilo Golf and Country Club in Sta. Barbara. Unfortunately, we were never given the chance to linger their for as long as we want since there's a game going on and visitors are not allowed during those times to prevent possible accident.

Good thing we managed to sneak in and take a few pictures before a security guard escorted us back to the front desk.

Photo credit: leomkun