Who would ever think that a gasoline station would be famous for food? Specifically those to crave for - heavenly sweet, deliciously baked goodies? Shell Magallanes made it all possible. It owned this trademark with the infamous Ms. Polly’s Chocolate Cake. A proof that indeed it were able to set a new, promising business channel its rival company, Caltex Buendia, followed shortly with its own banner Chocolate Cake. With such trends in existence there are certainly too many sweet palates to please in all corners of the Foodie world.

It’s been quite a while since I last dropped by at Shell to grab its well-liked chocolate cake. Much to my delight in my next visit, there are new sweet stuffs to try. New names that put my sweet appetite into craving are Ceilin’s and Redado’s. After I mulled over this and that, my husband and I decided to bring home Cielin's Brazo de Mercedes and Redado's Choco Fudge Brownies. I was enrobed with excitement until these goodies get through to my taste buds. As I chomped through each of them; momentarily, my excitement collapsed. Honestly, neither tasted the way I expected it to be. The Brazo de Mercedes is beyond a creamy, eggy, tasty treat. The custard filling felt paste-like (soft gelatine) in consistency.

On the other hand, the brownies rests in between a bready and a gooey texture. It's a little tough actually. Overall chocolatey taste is less sustaining. I tried to refrigerate it for a while to see if some moisture will enhance the bite, luckily it did. However, largely this experience left me less contented. These goodies were priced competitively, in fact very affordable. But somehow, I refused to think that the price speaks of its quality. Anyhow, everything is about preferences. On my next pit stop to Shell Magallanes, and I feel like indulging, I'll grab Ms. Polly's Chocolate Cake and Sansrival without hesitation. But if I'm tickled by the adventure of trying new things, I must be set for the risk I'm taking. Anyway, how would I know unless I give in to the experience, right?

I've been in this resto for a number of times and there are good reasons why Kalye Juan sits in my family's list of dining preferences in MOA. The leading one perhaps is because it offers delightful Filipino Cuisine in very affordable prices. It does not boast of a long list of choices but as its menu states, it got Pagkaing Pinoy... Mga Paborito ni Juan dela Cruz (Filipino Foods... Typical Favorites of a distinctive Filipino). This is your kind of restaurant for all meal occasions. They have food offerings anytime of day. Tastewise, Kalye Juan delivers to what it calls for. Generally, the food taste like your conventional pinoy meals at home. There's nothing special to rave about but acceptable.

For a usual Pinoy meal, what could be more appetizing than green mango with bagoong (sauted shrimp paste) to start with? The Dulong (small fish) cooked in olive oil intrigued me because its in the saleable list so, I digged in. Apparently its another conventional yet gourmet dip that will perfectly match your cracker. The Kare-kare and Tokwa't Baboy are both tasty and served generously. Your money really goes a long way here.

And of course, we will not leave this place without indulging into its Sisig sa Kalye. The Sisig here is actually not something to shout out for but still is an appealing choice. Besides, what is a genuine, delectable Pinoy treat without it? More often than not we liked that Filipino dining table to sizzle hot.

It's almost 3 months now since Manila Ocean Park opened for public viewing. A lot of good and not so good tales about the park made a buzz around the country. According to its leaflet it's "the first world-class marine themed park to adopt a fusion concept - bringing together in one complex an Oceanarium, a mall, a restaurant row, boutique hotel, open water marine habitats and multi-purpose function facilities". Unfortunately, up to this writing, it's only the Oceanarium that's completed, others are still being constructed and hardly even nearing completion. Nonetheless, it still stirred up some curiosity so, off we went and experienced it ourselves.

The Oceanarium was described as "the first and largest aquarium facility in the Philippines. It promises an experience of a wide variety of species indigenous to the Philippines and South East Asia. Getting inside the park, a dome shaped entrance hall is what will welcome the visitors. It's ceiling is a large showcase of photos of marine animals alongside its sponsors. A very friendly queue is what you will experience in a weekday visit (see photo below). If you want to avoid all those tiring hurdles and difficulties in buying the ticket, I highly recommend a morning weekday visit. We went there at 11:00 am, just an hour after it was opened and we managed to enter the park in a breeze.

The Oceanarium boasts of 7 sections to tour. It will take about 1 1/2 to 2 hours to complete the water world journey. There are available tour guides in each zone for any help or queries. There's supposed to be an audio narration but we didn't hear any during our visit. (Is it just a promise in the guide map or we really missed something? The tour could have been more engaging if an audio narration was provided).

The tour starts with the 1st zone, AGOS (FLOW). This is where you're supposed to learn about the natural flow of water from land to sea. This explains the sounds of flowing water as you roam around the area. The highlight of Agos is the "touch pool". Guests will have a chance for a hands-on experience with some of the Park's inhabitants such as starfish and sea cucumber.



The 2nd zone is BAHURA (REEF). This is the most vibrant area for me and perhaps where the most familiar species are. Think of Nemo and Dori, you'll find them here. Thanks to the movie "Finding Nemo", it famed that vivacious, sparkling clownfish kids are now fond of.


Third zone is LAOT (FISHING GROUND). It features marine species living in the deep waters of the sea. Big aquariums are located here but ironically houses only quite a few. The most interesting subject of this zone is the giant grouper (Lapu-Lapu) which can weigh as much as 660 pounds. That bony fish is real big! This is pretty much the darkest area as well and the "no flash photography" is strictly being implemented. The designs of the aquariums are by the way notable.


The 4th zone is perhaps the main attraction of the Oceanarium, BUHAY NA KARAGATAN ( THE LIVING OCEAN). This is what they said is the real deal of the Park, the 25 meter-long tunnel encasing various marine animals. Manila Ocean Park claims big about this glass tunnel beating that of Singapore and Hongkong. But did it? Apart from the sharks, sting rays and other lots of marine inhabitants graciously swimming above my head, I can hardly see the vastness they said they're showcasing. Yes, it is quite big but content wise, I'm still craving for more.



The 5th zone is ANG KALALIMAN (THE DEEP). This zone features the different kinds of schooling fish such as the Barracuda. Again, very few schools can be found.




Manila Ocean Park

It's amazing how time flies so fast really. I can't believe it's already been a year of blogging for me. A year filled with wonderful tastes of life. A writing experience rich in unforgettable memories. Having Our Taste of Life online, felt like giving birth to a baby needing to be nourished to be able to grow poperly (like how I first mentioned it here).

All 95 posts were written from our own share of life experiences, and everything there was in living a happy life. The 112 comments state how the blog is still slowly building its readership. Still very young in terms of readers' involvement. Nonetheless, the blog's visits and page views along with its other statistics are more than enough reasons to keep me going and yes, celebrating.

For first timers here, thank you for dropping by. For those who have been here a number of times, my warmest gratitude for patronizing my humble abode in the world wide web. I'd like to share with you how Our Taste of Life had become in a year. Join me in reminiscing the highlights of this blog. Cheers! :-)

Fun Ranch recently opened its third play center in Westgate, Alabang. As it says, it is a place where kids definitely rule. For us, this new branch means the fun is now much closer to home. (Hooray for my kids!). Unlike the Pasig Play Center, this one is a little smaller though. It’s not a compound but a building that houses the active fun center, play area, reading area and the Big Red Barn restaurant. This place was our host in celebrating Mother’s day last sunday. My kids surely had a blast in their second Fun Ranch experience. It’s an hour of jump, play, laugh and fun. I got exhausted running around with them, but seeing them having the time of their lives paid me more than enough.
As I watched them play, I can’t help but think down memory lane on how kids amuse themselves during my youngster years. Back then; we do not have giant slides to climb but we have the trees all to ourselves to mount up. We do not have trampolines to jump up and down but we have hammocks (usually made of plastic sacks) tied under the tree to swing at. We do not have air-conditioned playground but we have no less than the open field or grassy land with a breath of fresh air to roam around. We do not have mini laptops neither techi gadgets to get busy with, but we had so much joy with pick up sticks, jackstones, hula hoops, chinese garter, tumbang preso, piko, patintero to name a few. I found myself nodding, indeed time has changed for the kids. Fun and play have evolved differently through the decades. I know generations of today are so much luckier in many ways but there are times that I would wish they can still live our good old days; even just for its simplicity.

Before the summer ends and the effects of global warming turn the already unpredictable weather even worse, we took the chance of splashing into the most raved resort in Nasugbu, Batangas today, Canyon Cove Residential Beach Resort. This resort was previously owned by the UCPB group and used to be known as White Cove. The resort went a complete renovation after it was taken by the Canyon Woods group, thus the change in the name as well. Except for the dilapidated buildings situated near the entrance gate of the resort, everything looked different from the time we first visited it in late 2003. The hotel is now fully constructed and there's a huge swimming pool to take pleasure in other than the beach. There's a restaurant where you can have a decent meal without going through the hassle of preparing and bringing your own food. The downside however, is that the food is overly priced! A buffet lunch costs around P450 with very limited food choices. A set meal of grilled foodstuffs (squid, tilapia, chicken) with a glass of iced tea costs P350. These are the only options you have since bringing in of food is prohibited. Unless you're too hungry, the grilled meal is already a good pick. It's just enough to fill your tummy but quite insufficient to satisfy your taste buds.

On the resort's facilities, it's generally clean. The overall landscape is a beauty but not something that will blow you away. The beach view is also nice and serene. When swimming, you have to be watchful of some jellyfish as they might be enjoying the water the same time you do. There's really not much to do inside the resort other than swimming and enjoying the company of family and friends. The only available activities are water sports such as jet ski and kayak. For the kids, there's a small playground to enjoy. The service of some staff was pretty slow specially in the reception area. Nonetheless, the warm and friendly accomodation of Batangueños was there to welcome us.

When you have small kids to bring with in any out of town activities during summer, you were always limited with nearer locations to choose and shorter distance to travel. We're one of those who were faced with this kind of dilemma. Those who have killer twos and tots will probably agree with me on this. Fortunately, there are spots that are still equally enjoyable nearby. Many have recommended VILLA GREGORIA TERRACE RESORT for an out of town summer day trip. It sits in a breezy, richly filled nature in Brgy. Buboy, Nagcarlan, Laguna. To prove that indeed it's one of the hottest spots in the area, the resort was awarded by Governor Ningning Lazaro as the cleanest and best landscaped resort in Laguna in 2006. You will be greeted at the entrance gate of the resort by no less than its congratulatory banner.

Approximately 2 hrs away from Manila, Villa Gregoria offers a cool nature ambiance to its visitors. The water is really cold. No need to worry though, for it will just counter the hot, sweaty, sunny weather we have these days. Just perfect for a mid-day swimming affair. Living up to its award, the resort is generally clean. Swimming pools and cottages are maintained well. But due to its popularity and affordability (P60 entrance fee - adult, P40 - kids >3 yrs old), expect for a big lot of patrons. There are 5 swimming pools inside the resort. The largest and perhaps the cleanest is the 13 x 33 meters mini Olympic pool.  There are also fully furnished appartelles and air-conditioned rooms for those who will opt to stay overnight. Likewise, if privacy is what you want for your family there's a pool that can be rented exclusively.

Villa Gregoria is a typical mid-range resort. It's not strict in the sense that bringing in of food is allowed and wearing of proper swimming attire is not firmly implemented. If I have but one thing to comment about the resort, it's the latter. In order to maintain the cleanliness of the pool (which is the main reason why people come here for) and for general hygiene, proper swimming attire should be required. I can imagine people plunging into the water straight from the car, huh?! (It might be an exaggeration but hey! still not impossible). Other than that, the terrace resort's clean facilities, well-manicured lawns, cool water, nature ambiance and welcoming service are more than enough reasons to pay it a visit.



Villa Gregoria Terrace Resort
Brgy. Buboy, Nagcarlan, Laguna
Tel. #: (o49) 5633656, (049) 8070405
Mobile #: 09179278943

It seems that the doughnut industry in the Philippines is becoming more and more competitive these days. One thing is for sure, it's not destined to go plain and stagnant. Gone are the days when we were trapped in choosing either Dunkin Donuts or Mister Donut for a yummy home treat. Today, these are not the only choices left for the sweet Filipino palate. Since the arrival of Go Nuts Donuts and Krispy Kreme, a new set of standards on how good doughnuts should taste like were born. And, as if the competition is still not enough, there's always a new brand that comes to the market. One of them is Cello's. Five boxes of Cello's Doughnuts & Dips landed in our office's pantry. In a flash, we felt instant sugar rush in our blood streams. Definitely too sweet! I almost hesitated to finish a piece. However, since it's started to create a buzz in manila's sweets industry, I endured this sensory challenge at my throat and tonsils risks. Was it worth it? Texture wise it's more of an "ensaymada" bite rather than a soft, chewy, melt in the mouth kind of doughnut. It's a bit bready. Taste wise, it's too sweet that I can hardly perceive the overall flavor in it. Consuming a piece felt like meeting a daily requirement of calories already. (I don't know how it is for those who have high sweet threshold). But for most of us who have tried it, we all share on this aspect. On the flavors, I personally liked the peanut most. Next is the cheese, the rest I will just say pass. Check out any of these branches for your own share of Cello's experience.

Katipunan: 928 2649
Taft: 521 6236
Greenhills: 723 9632

This is the second pasta dish that's part of our holyweek repertoire, Creamy Tuna Basil Spaghetti with quail eggs. I've added the quail eggs to make it more appealing to the kids. I run out of fresh basil leaves but the dried ones worked as a good alternative.

250 g spaghetti noodles

1 can tuna flakes in oil, drained

250 g quail eggs, hard boiled

1 tsp dried whole basil leaves

3 tbsps olive oil

1 small onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

275 ml all purpose cream

1 cup of pasta water reserve

salt and pepper to taste

1. Cook spaghetti noodles according to package directions. Set aside.

2. In a sauce pan, saute garlic and onion in olive oil. Add tuna flakes and mix well. Season with salt, pepper and dried basil.

3. Add reserved pasta water and all purpose cream. Simmer for a few minutes until the sauce is slightly thickened.

4. Stir in cooked spaghetti noodles and quail eggs. Mix well.

Sometimes it really pays to read some food and lifestyle magazines. You get inspired and suddenly you want to dash something off to your kitchen. Because I had so much time to splurge last vacation, I had a chance to peruse some in my rack and rendered certain recipes into our family plate. I'll be sharing two pasta dishes we enjoyed last holyweek. From our pot to yours, Chicken Tomato Basil Spaghetti. Bon a petit!