How's THIS for a Date? :D

Cy and I had the most interesting Sunday date--ever. And not in a million years would I have ever imagined something like this could have been possible--ever.

It's the sweetest thing I boyfriend could ever do too--ever. Enough of the dramatic intros?

the oddest trio ever

Well...let's just say I managed to bring together my very strict father and the most amazing boyfriend ever, to go to church, lunch, and after-lunch coffee/chat with me. This may not be so significant for some, but to those who are close to me would know how this is pretty big, as I am your typical daddy's girl who grew up in a very strict environment, your typical lady who was brought up not to go out on a gimmick 'till she graduated college, and the type of lady that up until now, still needs to have a very good reason such as work or someone's birthday to be out of the house (and I'm turning 29 this year--mind you). The kind of lady who, if her parents knew 90% of what she's really up to could very well be damned in hell. Haha.

I just wanted to share this pretty significant day, as it leads to more significant things to come ;)

XOXO,

Kai 

What's New in Pontefino?

My first time in Pontefino was way back in 2005 (or was it '06?) for one of my client's team buildings. How was I to know that a couple of years later, I was to be with one of the guys who actually launched this hotel? Feels weird how that works right?

Anyway, so it's been what? 4 or 5 years since my last visit in Pontefino? It was just a matter of time before Cy took me here, which he did a couple of months ago, together with his family.

So what's new in Pontefino? Three interesting things actually. But before that, let me just remind everyone that I've always been pretty clear with my stand on being unbiased, honest and frank when it comes to Cy's restos. So I will. And with that being said, the first update on Pontefino is the new menu of their resto, Robusta. I was looking forward in trying their food because a "celebrity" chef, who wishes to be unnamed actually developed the menu for them. He doesn't want to be named, but I will give obvious hints...think Chelsea and Mr. Jones. Hehe.

And I'm sorry to say that I wasn't a fan of the food. Let's leave it at that, shall we? The second update on Pontefino, is their lovely residential area. One look at these houses and I wanna pack up and stay in Batangas for good!

The houses reminded me so much of Frisco, and they are almost sold out, can you believe? But I think they are making new ones--sigh...I wish I had the money to buy one right about now....

And finally the third update on Pontefino, and my favorite, is their day trip tie-up with the "secret" island Cy and I just absolutely love. Pontefino being the first and only high-end hotel this side of Batangas, they have access to one of the most amazing private islands I have ever been to, thus far. Am I being annoyingly vague? Go and stay in Pontefino with your significant other and find out for yourself :)

XOXO,

Kai :)

The Gleeks

I'm missing Glee right about now, don't you? Before they went on a break, Cy and I used to curl up and watch Glee -- at the condo, even in the car during a traffic jam, at his house, etc. My sister bought me the Glee OST on my birthday and it's strategically placed in my side of the car so Cy and I can just listen to it when I'm feeling blue.

And what completes a Glee marathon besides the singing? Drinks and take-out food!

What makes Dinelli (The Fort) the coolest take-out and companion during a DVD marathon? Well for starters, their beers reminded Cy of the micro brews he used to have in Oregon so that was pretty awesome for him sans the price.

Second of all, they've got really good sandwiches and Cy and I are just fond of sandwiches (okay that sounded a little dorky, no?) Cy got their lamb sandwich and Cy got me the halibut sandwich and we they were really good!

If I may add, their breads and pastries are also good--better than Alexandre, actually. I just can't wait for Glee to be back on air. I miss these nights! In the meantime, sing with me!

XOXO,

Kai :)

Uncle Cheffy

Uncle Cheffy's Oven Baked Larry's Craving Pizza

Last October 2009, Cy and I discovered a great resto find hidden in Eastwood Mall's 2nd floor, al fresco area. This resto has since been one of our favorite restos, so much so that I've brought my family here as well, and my mom even celebrated her birthday here last year

So what do we love about Uncle Cheffy? 

First off, it has an UNEXPECTED MENU. It doesn't seem cohesive but it somehow works. It's like a win-win situation when Cy craves for a good 'ol pizza and I want my fix of some good 'ol Indian Roti w/ curry.

Next, not only does it have an unexpected menu, the food is just FLAVOURFUL. Our favorites are the Pad Thai and their Brick-Oven Panizzas that are very similar to Yellow Cab's Dear Darla where you make it into wrap but it's so much better! I love their spicy olive oil too! It just makes everything else taste perfect!

Lastly, it's one of the most REFRESHING, COMFORT FOOD we have discovered in a very, very long time, from the ambiance, to the menu, to the pricing, the overall concept is just pretty good. 

I've been meaning to blog about Uncle Cheffy for quite some time now. Apologies for this super long, overdue post. Have you guys tried Uncle Cheffy yet? I'd love to know! 

XOXO,

Kai :)

Chateau Hestia

While driving around Tagaytay, Cy and I were feeling a little spontaneous and wanted to randomly try a restaurant that we've never tried before. This is how we discovered Chateau Hestia. A couple of friends have mentioned it before and all we had to do was do a Google search from our Samsung Star phone, then the site as well as Anton Diaz' blog about it popped up. While Cy called the resto and we began our search for the hidden restaurant, we read a couple of stuff about it such as how the owners promise really good food, a homey ambiance, and a peaceful experience.

We loved the fact that Chateau Hestia felt really private and laid back. Like you could read a good book and lounge in their backyard the whole day. We also loved that the place sort of feels like you are in a scene from The Secret Garden.

We were also impressed with the fact that the staff was very knowledgeable, very friendly, and accommodating, considering that they were pretty much on their own when we went there.

We decided to order the set menu of the day plus an order of their Ossobuco

We enjoyed the freshly baked bread and their special spread. The Lentil Soup was not so bad either

The salad was a little too basic, while my crusted fish was a bit inconsistent depending on which part of the fish you were eating. 

Cy was excited to try their Ossobuco as it is the specialty of the house but he said it was just okay. The dessert was very delightful and we enjoyed it a lot. 

AT the end of our dinner, we were given a taste of their homemade wine, which was pretty strong like sweet Absinthe. It was very warm but a little scary as it had super high alcohol content. 

Though we weren't totally impressed with the food, we still enjoyed our dinner at Chateau Hestia. We appreciate that the place and the food are thoughtful and that the overall experience was pretty relaxing and peaceful. According to our friends, we should have tried Bawai instead, but we still opted for Chateau Hestia because Cy and I are not too fond of Vietnamese food but a lot of people really rave about Bawai so we want to try it the next time we are in Tagaytay. What are your secret discoveries in Tagaytay? I would really love to know. Best comment could get you GCs at Qasa 61 :)

XOXO,

Kai :)

Para Sa Happy 22nd Monthsary! :)

Cy's little surprise to make me smile :)

Have you guys ever noticed that we haven't celebrated our 22nd monthsary yet? Cy and I have had a really hectic Jan-Feb 2010---what with work plus Qasa stuff, Cy and I had to delay our monthsary for the very first time.  But it's okay. Cy made sure the delay was well worth it :) 

 It was like we were on a secret adventure. It started at 5AM on Friday on a road trip listening to some Vitamin String Quartet and Glee music, then we parked the car "somewhere" to ride a boat. After about an hour of hopping from one boat to another, we finally ended up going to a "secret", heavenly private island where everything was just so peaceful and perfect.  

Here, we were happy just being one with nature. Our room felt almost like part of a forest where birds were singing on and on. We napped the day away, then we had a hike up to the highest point where we had a sunset massage in an open-air kubo spa place. At night, the stars were out and I swear, I have never seen so many stars in my life--imagine the grand finale of a fireworks display and you pushed the "freeze" button. That's how it looked like, and with no exaggeration--I promise.

When it was time for us to leave, we took one last look at our secret spot and promised to go back soon.

The second part of our adventure,  took us back to where we parked the car about 4PM of Saturday.  We were now off to our next road trip. After being lost for quite a while, we finally arrived our  destination.

Our next stop was also nice. However, having just spent the night in a very serene and heavenly island, our expectations when we arrived Balai Isabel was just too high I guess. Our adventure suddenly turned slightly off the course--from scaring each other with mysterious Taal stories, to having a hard time sleeping with boisterious neighbors, then having to wake up early at around 5AM Sunday because of an annoying rooster, aggravated by a stressful massage, and my hair going bonkers as if someone voodoo-ed me, we finally decided to end our adventures and head back home. 

I have the sweetest boyfriend in the world, don't you agree? When Cy and I got home, my hair became  and even bigger mess that Cy had to patiently do some DIY hair treatments for me. He knew I was getting a little stressed so to make me smile, he surprised me by spelling out the number 22 with some Coke bottles (22 to remind me to be a little Happy cuz we are celebrating our 22nd Monthsary) then we shared the Coke with his family afterwards. 

 On a really positive note, our 22nd monthsary was super duper memorable--roadtrips, boat rides, secret islands, misadventures, hair problems, family, and Coke. Cheers to another HAPPY Monthsary!

XOXO,
Kai

Tate Cafe - The final BKK Post

Fish Burger at the Tate Cafe

And so it ends. After 2 months of blogging our Bangkok adventures (I've had to make way for other posts that were relevant during the season), I've finally come to the end of my posts with our last discovery of this trip -- the Tate Cafe at the Suvarnabhumi Airport. 

I guess what really draw me in to pick this place out of all the other restos in the airport was the fact that it sounded very Brit, the fact that it stood out with its hot pink and black color scheme, and the fact that the coffee-burger joint concept sounded interesting.

Cy didn't find anything special with the place and he wasn't fond of the fact that his burger had a special sauce (he likes his burger as simple as possible with just the basic essentials in it).

But I liked it because I am always appreciative of a place that takes into consideration vegetarian customers like me who also want to enjoy burgers. I also appreciate it when a place has a decent cafe mocha so I was quite happy with this find. I would really recommend Tate Cafe as a hang-out place for anyone who is just as O.C. with me when it comes to being super early in the airport. 

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank my best friend Ken and his fab friends PB and Dra. in really taking the extra mile to make sure Cy and I had a great time in Bangkok. 

I've had to bump off a lot of old dates Cy and I had to make way for my Bangkok, Xmas/Holiday, and Vday posts so hopefully I could find the time to revisit those dates and post them from hereon.

For those who are interested to read all our BKK adventures, here's a quick short-cut *CLICK HERE*

What was your favorite Happy Monthsary BKK post? Anything you'd love to try when you go to BKK with your loved ones too? Best comment could get you GCs to Qasa 61! :)

XOXO,

Kai :)