Panicuason Hot Spring & Adventure Park

Hello everyone!

Summer is here again. There’s no escaping the heat. They said we are experiencing the El Nino phenomenon right now, and there was also the water shortage in Metro Manila which was all over the news a few weeks ago. Yes, it’s summer time, indeed. Summer heat may be aggravating but with it comes the excitement of adventures to come and dreaming about trips that we may or may not actually take but enjoyed planning for anyway haha.

So, my first summer adventure was just within the city, we went to Panicuason Hot Spring Resort and Adventure Park. Everyone in Naga probably has seen this place before, it’s the main go-to destination. Even I have been here before.

The resort is located at the foot of Mount Isarog and if you are the nature lover type, you will most certainly like it.

We had fun in their hot and cold spring pools. The temperature in the kiddie pool was just right (not too hot and not too cold like the other pools) so I lingered there even though it was pretty crowded. 

The most fun part though was our adventure uphill to see the infinity pool. We did not expect that there would be that many steps. The best thing about it though was the view (and the exercise!).

A lot more walking than we signed up for…………

Across the fields, we went….

Only to find that the infinity pool was being cleaned and we will not be able to swim. Darn it!

The view was still nice though, so we took more pictures like normal people.

In the canteen, they also sell organic produce and products. Unfortunately, we forgot to buy some to take home.

This trip was a nice way to kick off our summer. I must admit that if it weren’t for that uphill hike, our outing would be kind of bland and ordinary. So, if you visit Panicuason Hot Spring Resort, make sure you’re up for a hike to the top of the hill where their infinity pool is.

Entrance Fee: Adult – Php200.00, Kids – Php160.00

Entrance Fee to the Infinity pool: Php50.00 (additional)

 

 

Advertisements

Naga City Ecology Park

I’ve Google searched this park a few times before and I’ve read some Trip Advisor reviewers say that Naga City Ecology Park (located in Barangay San Felipe) was mediocre, “so-so,” not well-maintained and not even worth the Php20.00 entrance fee. However, I beg to disagree because our trip was worth it.

I admit those unsatisfied reviews and the lack of pictures on the internet were the reasons why it took me so long to visit the park. We went there just this morning though and I am glad to learn that we have a beautiful place like this in Naga City.

As I noticed that there are not a lot of features and blog posts on Naga City Ecopark online, I am now going to share what awaits you, what you can expect when you visit and the things to see and do. Let’s go!

Take a relaxing walk while enjoying Mother Nature.

Discover the different kinds of trees, plants and flowers… 

Even some fruits like this unripe chico and these curious berries (which are not edible BTW).

Explore the maze.

People seem to think that the maze is the main attraction of the ecopark but for me, this place has more to offer than just the maze. It was a dry spell when we visited this morning so it was not very green as I would have liked it to be. Looking at my photos, you cannot even tell that it’s a maze.

Visit the Topiary Garden

The Topiary Garden was where I felt that the short trip was worth it. It was well-kept, clean and as you can see, well-manicured trees!

Flowers are everywhere in the Topiary Garden.

Let your kids enjoy in the Graceland Ecopark Playground.

Visit Ellen White Garden (where all the flowers are white)

Find Inner Peace in Hardin ni Ina

Visit Jose Rizal Mini Eco Park

You have to kinda lower your expectations though and maybe you should save this one for last because it was not well-maintained and not much to see.

Over-all, Naga City Eco Park is a great place to visit in my opinion because there is no other place like this in Naga City. It is a great place to commune with nature and enjoy its beauty.

A VERY VERY IMPORTANT reminder though, please clean up after yourselves. Let’s not throw away trash anywhere around the park.

Till next post! Bye!

Annyeong Samgyupsal

Annyeonghaseyo yeoreobun!

Hello everyone! It’s me again, and I would like to take you on yet another food trip here in Naga City, to another Korean resto along Magsaysay Avenue (infront of Villa Caceres Hotel) that offers unlimited Korean barbeque for Php299.00 – it is called Annyeong Samgyupsal. So what are we waiting for? Let’s eat!

Samgyeopsal or Korean barbeque may be one of my most favourite Korean dishes. It’s right up there with Korean Seafood pancake, which I love oh so much, by the way. So when we had a meeting and what might be considered as a “company lunch” at Annyeong Samgyupsal, I did not pass up on the opportunity to try it out.

I found the ambiance to be a bit better than in Cjzave because Annyeong has a bigger space, the air conditioning is better and they have suctions for the smoke coming from the grill. I noticed it being a big hit with the teenagers, probably because of the nonstop K-pop music blaring from the speakers and the way the resto tried to imbibe everything Korean in their design to give their customers an awesome dining experience. Jeongmal daebak!

Let’s talk about the food. Korean food is always good. I admit some restaurants do it better than others but if it’s Korean food on the table, especially grilled pork belly, fresh lettuce, various side dishes and samjang (fermented soy bean paste), it’s always good, right? I’m sure K-food lovers out there would agree.

The barbeque was superb because the meat was very fresh.

It went really well with the equally fresh lettuce greens and pickled cucumbers. I also found the baby potatoes side dish really tasty. Their kimchi was the best one I have had so far, probably because it was fresh kimchi and not at all the fermented kind (which I find too tart). I found it delicious, crunchy and packed with just the right hint of spiciness. All that food was downed with bottomless pitchers of refreshingly cold cucumber lemonade.  

I just don’t know how much I love the grilling part though. At some point, it would feel more like a race against time, followed by overcooked and burnt meats. Can’t help but think how much nicer it would be if these restos had grilling services as well.

They also have flavoured or marinated pork, beef and chicken. All the meats have to be ordered from the attentive waiters while the side dishes were placed near the liquor bar where you can get as much as you like.

 

Until our next food adventure. Annyeong!

Wings N’ Things

A few weeks ago, we happened to try the new chicken place in SM City Naga – Wings N’ Things! As I love chicken wings, I was really game to try what they have on offer. The place is always packed and I remember trying a couple of times to eat there (with my family) but we just couldn’t get a table. So, that day was our lucky day.

Cutting right to the chase, we ordered the Grand Slam meal (Php 768.00) which is good for four persons. There were only three of us though, and I eat like a bird, but what the heck.

That was a lot of chicken wings and chicken fingers! And we got to choose different kinds of sauces. My fave was Garlic Parmesan and Honey Barbeque. We also needed to put our plastic gloves on because things got messy pretty fast.

Grand Slam came with three cups of rice, four glasses of iced tea and a serving of fries with gooey cheese on top.

I’m actually getting a little hungry as I’m writing this, remembering the yummy taste.

The ambiance of the place was nice, pretty Instagrammable. It is also cool because SM has centralized air conditioning anyway so it was comfortable.

Hope you guys enjoyed that, and sorry if you got a little hungry too! Till the next post! Bye!

 

Aling Cely’s Kinalasan

As they say around here, “Another day, another bowl of kinalas.”

Yep, no such thing. Made that one up just now haha. Lately, I’ve been struggling for lack of better words and then there’s lack of energy left after doing other stuff (like my day job). Thing is, I have another kinalas story to tell because, well, I live in Naga anyway where it is hands down the most famous delicacy.

This time, we tried the locally famous Aling Cely’s Kinalasan in Dimasalang St, Brgy. Sta. Cruz, Naga City, it is located very near Naga Metropolitan Cathedral. The place is very simple and basic, just like every other local eatery, but people are drawn like moths to the flame.

People come to Cely’s for their famous kinalas, of course. For those who are not familiar with this local delicacy, that is what Bicolanos call this bowl of goodness. It is a noodle dish with thick rich broth, pork or beef, topped with onion chives and boiled egg (by request). For a more detailed description, you can read my previous post on kinalas.

There are also those who prefer to eat Loglog (just noodles and broth, no meat and eggs). It costs less and parents often order this for their small kids.

When Naguenos think of this dish, they almost always think of Cely’s Kinalasan. Yoy said it is because many students frequently eat there as it is close to UNC and Universidad de Sta Isabel. Even he himself frequently ate the dish at Cely’s along with his closest friends so he’s got a lot of good memories associated with the place. He always ate kinalas paired with baduya (fried bananas).

Julienne herself has become partial to eating kinalas. The Sorsoganon in me though prefers to eat stuff like a lot of dried fish, dried squid, mud crabs and balaw (fermented shrimp). So, kinalas is not my all-time favorite, but it is a yummy Nagueno delicacy that is a must-try when in Bicol, particularly in Naga City.

By the way, if you notice, sometimes the quality of my photos are different with every post. When my photos are really nice and clear, it means I used my digital camera but when the pictures are somewhat pixelated like in this post, it’s because I used my phone to take the photos.

Thank you for reading! See you again soon! ❤

 

 

 

Manna Korea (Avenue Square, Magsaysay Ave.)

Hello everyone!

This is my second time to blog about Manna Korea. The first time I did, it was still located in Barangay San Felipe. Now, they have moved their business in Avenue Square building along Magsaysay Ave. in Balatas so it is now easier to find.

So, during the first time we ate at their new location, we noticed the prices have gone up a bit for some of their dishes. However, I must say that they were able to maintain the quality and taste of their food.

We ordered half of this dish called Tangsuk for Php 200.00. It was deep fried pork and sweet potatoes with salad greens on the side. The pork was awesome and not oily at all.

At first, we mistook this one (below) for another dish that we did not order so we called the attention of the waitress. It turned out to be the dipping sauce for the Tangsuk, a sweetish sauce with carrots, apples, pineapples and spices that was served in this big pretty bowl.

Of course, we had my absolute favorite Korean dish – Korean seafood pancake!

Then, the Soy Garlic Chicken (this half order costed Php 200.00). Yum! I can say with all my heart, Manna korea has not disappointed me yet.

I was not able to take pictures of the place because it was a bit awkward to put a camera infront of people’s faces when they’re obviously busy stuffing it with food and spending quality time with their families. The place was simply packed for dinner. It just didn’t sit well with me that time. So this is all I got for you, this nice painting on the wall.

So, till next time. See you again! Anyeong!

Kinalas at Mister Sabaw

Last Sunday was market day for us. We bought our pork cutlets and buto-buto (for sinigang) at Lehman’s in Magsaysay Avenue then we went to Robinson’s Supermarket along Diversion Road for our groceries. After that, we went to Centro to try to buy aranghita or dalandan (local citrus fruit resembling ponkan oranges but green even when ripe). Unfortunately, we did not find any aranghita to buy that time.

After all our errands,  Yoy, Julienne and I were so hungry that we went to Cely’s Kinalasan only to find it closed. We then went to Dayangdang and came across this attractive little eatery called Mister Sabaw (Bulalo-Kinalas). 

I wanted to try the Lechon Kinalas (Php 65.00) but it was not available that time, so that’s a shame. Yoy and I each had the Pork Kinalas. My fast verdict: The soup was savory and satisfying but the pork bits still needed more cooking time. 

A little info guys, according to Wikipedia, “Kinalas is a Bicol dish created by cooking noodle garnished by scraped meat from pork or beef’s head and other parts, enhanced with a thick deep-brown sauce coming from the brains of a cow or pig. The dish is further flavored with spices and served in hot broth. Boiled egg added is optional.”

As to how attractive that sounds, I just don’t know. Actually, prior to this writing, I didn’t know that the sauce came from the brains of cows and pigs. How was I eating this stuff and never knew about this? Anyway, looking at the dish, there was just no telling that all those gory details had to transpire in order for me to enjoy this Nagueno delicacy lol.

Kinalas is paired best with these condiments – ground pepper and red chili oil.

Julienne had the Loglog (just noodles and soup, no meat) for Php20.00 only and her favorite soda pop (any drink is her favorite as long as it’s carbonated).

It was our first time to eat at Mister Sabaw and I hope to try their Bulalo (bone marrow soup) next time.

Thanks for reading! =)