CNY 2012

I'm so fond of Chinese New Year. It's so full of many tiny bitty details which tickle my interest. But because I'm not really Chinese and no immediate family is one ( an aunt said some percentage run in our blood thu' ) I don't really celebrate it the way we do our own Jan. 1 new year. My Chinese friends keep me posted thu'. I would say I'm one of those annually loyal expectators of this grand event.
It's even bigger today (1/23/12) cos it's officially declared as a non-working holiday here in our country. Thanks to our President Noy who obviously favors his very own Chinese lineage.

As my take on this celebration, last night I took my family to a little dinner. Some Chinese inspired buffet, really cheap cos I bought it from an online voucher store, haha. With that super discounted deal, a table reserved for me was the least that I expected when we got to the place. I was actually prepared to eat without a table, even to eat standing in a corner, that kind of cheap, haha.

Apart from well accommodated table above, nothing else  to rave about the dinner, so that so it made me think twice  if I would share it in my food blog. If there's something to it_ it would be a post full of rants, haha. As always, best thing with my family, together we never failed to find ways to enjoy no matter how scarce resources are . We found our mini-est Chinese New Year laughters in fortune cookies.




For some mystic reason, why is that a fortune cookie always hits the one who cracks it? It never failed. Especially to my daughters who love every little word in it.

My youngest, a 12 year old adolescent got this one. It's so true of her. She's now, more than anytime, very conscious of her individuality. " Character is what you know you are not what others think you are".

My nearing debutant girl who always plays a role of a leader in her school got this cookie to say. " We teach little by what we say. We teach more by what we do but we teach most by what we are".

The dad got a push from his cookie. " A good intention that is not put into action will not achieve any good deed".

And yours truly. . your Ascertain Bliss friend here got this _ "You make people realize that there exists other beauties in the world".W the #?!! Was it coincidence or what? Don't ask my daughters. .cos that's exactly how they always describe me. and my blog.




How about you? What your cookie says? Happy CNY everyone!!!!

Raffles Hotel

I marveled around the grace of Raffles Hotel, Singapore. It's colonial-styled architecture exudes no less than timeless elegance.



Dominated by whites and splashed with rich golds, the luxurious hotel is pleasantly balanced with greens. It has a number of courtyards which could easily be translated as lush tropical gardens.



You could easily forget that the hotel spans in the middle of cosmopolitan area. Well, where else in Singapore is not cosmo anyway.

It reminds me so much of our own Manila Hotel, only in so much grander scale.



We were supposed to have a high/afternoon tea at Tiffin Room but it required a prior reservation which we failed to do, about which we were offered to come back after two hours. Besides, I was in jeans and not sure if I would be allowed. As usual, we were always running after time, so we dropped the idea of the high tea at the Raffles, maybe next time.



Raffles Hotel Arcade houses nothing short of luxurious international brands like Tiffany & Co. and Louis Vuitton. Definitely not my brands, maybe in my next life, haha.



Here's a glimpse of how royal the suites of the Raffles can get. Again, maybe in my next life, haha.



The timeless look of the facade of the hotel goes against the modernist hotels around the metro. The history being restored way back from 1887 when it was opened. The grand hotel is being favored by known celebrities, royalty and writers.

Sonya's Garden

I had this photo of Canyon Cove Beach Club taken on a boat ride in Nasugbu, Batangas  months ago. My girls thought we must pay it a visit the next time.

Last, last weekend, a quick breakfast at Tagaytay with the sun beaming beach-happy to us, made us push the dad to continue our random road trip down to Nasugbu Batangas. The truth was all the while the girls and I had ofcourse a hidden agenda_ we actually included swimsuits in our daytour bags, haha.
It took us more than an hour to reach Nasugbu from Tagaytay. There was a partial road reconstruction going on along the way. Hmm. . we could smell a stench of karma there, haha.

We entered the resort and intentionally ignored the front desk. We wanted to see the place first. The reception lobby was too busy anyway to attend to us. From the open lobby we took a quick glance of the huge pool fronting the beach. All bareness. Nothing follows.  That quick glance was all we needed to cut the beach day idea. Right away, we went back to the car with the dad who hadn't even  yet unloaded himself  and alibied to him that it was fully booked. White lie. We didn't like the resort. It looked so contrived to us. Sorry.

We decided to go back to Tagaytay. To compensate for the useless/failed  Nasugbu drive, we made a stop at Sonya's Garden in Alfonso Cavite. The girls, guilty of the tiring driving task imposed to their father, thought to make up by treating him ( remember, at this time of the year, the girls' wallets were still fat from the holiday's aguinaldo )  to his favorite indulgence_ massage! Husband had the spa's signature massage for about P800 which the girls paid willingly.




Since it was my girls first time at Sonya's, they spent the waiting time (for their dad) checking each corner of the garden.

daybed

rose petal pot

terra-cota garden chimes

Lunch done outside ( good news to my wallet, haha. actually, dining here is quite costly but soo worth it ). The girls enjoyed freshly baked goodies from the bakeshop of the garden resort. Check them at my food blog.

We also went to check the country store of the garden.




I bought a bottle of an oil-based insect repellent which I thought would be very useful on our  trips.




The youngest member of the family, my budding religious daughter had her eyes on religious items, whatelse?   She bought a rosary bracelet.




scented candles & soap

so italy

pure cuteness

pure chessy-ness,haha

Sonya's Garden is so conducive for spending the day doing nothing but to relax. It also offers a B&B cottages. Hmmm. . wish.wish. we could spend even only for a single night here next time.

Silangang Nayon

I watched that uncanny flying/zipping plane crossing back and forth above the sea right infront of me.

For some minutes I watched it with blank stares.. you know like when you're too tired and your eyes mindlessly work independently off the brain, without analyzing the image. .it was like that. Then my eyes went back to work with my brain. .




. . then it dawned on me_ it was the "flying waiter" I've seen in other blogs. I didn't recognize it at first cos it wasn't colorfully dressed-up as I've seen it in blog photos. Plus ofcourse I was kindah space out that afternoon when we made a lunch stop there at Silangang Nayon on our way back to Manila.

The zipping plane transports the foods from the resort's main kitchen, to serve those guests who opted to dine in the area above the sea. Otherwise, you could imagine how tedious it would be if the waiters would manually serve the foods. They have to walk miles away, walk through the stilts bearing trays of food and drinks.

At first, we also wanted to dine in the stilts area. It was so scenic, who wouldn't have wanted to dine in the sea? Not us. .

. .but the wind was blowing stronger by the minute, then the rain fell. So we decided to occupy one of the landed huts instead.

It has a mini zoo but nothing so much to see. .

. .this iguana amused my girls thu'.




.  .and the free range birds ( don't know what kind )? walking happily in the grounds near the entrance of the resort.




Silangang Nayon is in Pagbilao Quezon. It's a park and dine place. A breather for long drive trips in Quezon and Bicol. I first had a glimpse of it when we went to Pueblo Por La Playa which nestles almost right beside it
ps: foods at My 3rd & 7th Sense.