Big Buddha's concept is chinese and western combined. The chinese part of course pertains to the food they serve and western part is ambiance and big service (plus the chatting of patronizers). This restaurant can be tagged as "dine after office resto" or "barkadas (group of friends) resto". Their customers are mostly groups of people or families. Some of the reasons why i say that are because: -food is great (esp. my fave beef brocolli) -they serve filipino favorites (rice especially & in big servings) -affordable price (P 300/meal est.) -they accept credit cards -excellent service (we always call here for reservations, place is clean, staffs are always smiling, they attend quickly to every customer and they sing for you *if it's your bday) -ambiance is casual -free dessert for celebrants Of course, there are still some points this restaurant needs to reconsider and i think adding more selections to the menu is what they should first. i just hope they won't charge more whent they do that :)

Sometimes, you don't need to travel far to enjoy a day, neither do you need to do some touristy stuff in order to make the most out of it. Sometimes, all you need is just one usual place and the right people for a perfect day.

Glorietta Mall, for example, would be one usual mall in Makati City but could be the best place to meet the nicest people like James (79stomper), another TB member that I met for the first time. We had a sumptous brunch and some coffee at Starbucks (haha, I found another fellow coffee fan! woohoo!)  but then I had to rush because I had to pick up Jacklyn, my colleague, who was arriving from Singapore, at the airport.

After I picked up Jacklyn, we went back to Glorietta mall to have a late lunch where James joined us as well. There was more time after lunch, so we decided to watch a movie. So there ya go, in a couple of hours you could see an American, a Filipino and a Singaporean enjoying the movie Mama Mia over some popcorn and coke. I enjoyed this movie so much and I would not be exaggerating when I tell you that I was smiling during the whole duration of the movie!

We called it a night after the movie. Although if Jacklyn and I didn't have an early flight the following day, we would have joined James for some clubbing.

What a nice day it was.

Are you into sexy Latin music? This is the place to be! The theme of the bar is Cuban, they have a live band that plays Latin or Salsa music. The beat's just really gonna make you wanna dance all night long!^_^ When you're there, it's like United Nations day 'coz you'll see people from different races dancin' their booties off. The dance area is just very small, so you gotta know how to bump people the right way, or you'll get smashed with a bottle on your head by one of the drunken expats ^_^

It's all coming back to me.

That time when I used to walk around the Makati City central business district: going to work along Ayala Avenue, having lunch in food centers of the different skyscrapers, shopping at Glorietta mall,  hanging out at Greenbelt 3 area - watching movies on the cinema, Powerbooks bookstore at the second floor, Starbucks at the ground floor and that nice chapel filled with both happy and sad memories of my prayers...

Spending one full 8 hour work day in this place this time, not anymore as one of the young professionals of Philippines' work force, but as a tourist, was of course, something I find...the word isn't really fascinating, and also not really bizarre but well, somewhat in between.

Hmm, are you sensing some confusion here?

I do.

***
Yes, parking fee around the Makati city area is expensive and my parking fee for that day was equivalent to the mininum wage salary of the Philippines for a day.

The entire time I have been preparing for this trip I have heard about the tattooists here.  How talented they are and how they takle their art very seriously.  I have found since being here that although it is not unaccepted in full, that tattooing is still kind of taboo.  Of course that peaked my interest.  I had a few conversations with some cats who had some work done locally and after seeing what the artists were able to accomplish had to get one done.  I wondered around Makati looking for a particular artist at Black Strawberry at City walk in Glorietta.  I never found him.  I was searching for an entire day.  Anyway I ended up getting fully lost and found a place called Miano Ink.  It was a very small store front barely bigger than an average bedroom.  When I walked inside the artist RJay started sizing me up a little, looking at my work and talking about where I had them done.  After about 15 minutes of talking to him he asked to design a peice for me.  Of course, that's why I came.  Instead of showing me flash or pictures of his work, he started showing me his friends/co workers/people walking by.  All of them had some peices he had done.  It was pretty amazing.  I agreed to get one done but had to come back the next day and at that at 9am.  So they opened early on Sunday and I walked in, had a cup of rice coffee-ew, and we were off.  About 30 minutes into the tattoo I started feeling faint.  I hadn't eaten anything and had been out playing a show the night before so it was not a good ocmbination. Within a minute this guys steps out from behind a curtain and starts to massage some pressure points in my hand.  About 5 minutes in I felt fine, it was the weirdest experience ever.  Absolutely amazing.

After 3.5 hours we were done.  Over all the experience was amazing, probably the best one I have ever had.  RJay was able to create exactly what I had pictured in my mind after only a 30 minute conversation and transform it into a beautiful flowing work of art on me within 3.5 hours.  He was extremely proud of his work and we took about 25 pictures of his new friend from NY.  Much respect to RJay and the crew down at Miano Ink at Glorietta.  They are all evry talented artists, professional and really friendly.  Thanks guys, see ya next time.  Also when people talk about Philippino style of tattooing and art, they are serious.  The people out here know their shit and they take it very seriously.

So this weekend I had a chance to go to Manila with the client, or rather was told that I would be headed to Manila with the client.  Yay, I had been working 16 hours a day for the past week and just wanted to hit the outdoors to chill and instead was stuck going to the city again and with the client so it would be all work.  Dude, serious bummer.  When we arrived in Makati I saw everything that I thought I would, wall to wall people and traffic that makes NYC look like an empty road.  Yay yet again.  I checked into my studio and decided to go out to dinner with some local friends I had met.  When I arrived I befriended a kid named Z who was in a band that was playing that night at an underground club.  I have been to a lot of undergrounds before so I was a little leary but interested at the same time.  I called my client and told him that my cousin would be joining him instead of me because I had an opportunity to see a couple local bands and possibly play with them.  So I went.  Driving there I was told not to wonder out to the street for fear that I would get ice picked and that the club was an old house turned into a club.  There was no advertisment instead it was all done via word of mouth.  Sweet.  We walked in through a gate to a courtyard filled with tattooed freaks, you know how those kids with ink are... ha.  I crack me up.  So I just sat around drinking San Miguel and listening to some really great music.  The Filippines has some really good music once you get out of the lovey dovey top 40.  There were people all over the place, sitting on the floor against the wall, it was standing room only.  I was in heaven.  We sat around and watched for a couple of hours and then everyone started getting antsy.  I went up and hung out with Z for a while and then we all left.  I hopped into the car and we were off.  Our first stop was a top 40 club because I wanted to see what that was like, essensially hip hop up stairs and a cover band downstairs.  The band was pretty good, vocally the singer was awesome, they did Summer of 69 which was spot on and fantastic.  After this we hopped in to the car and drove for a while to go to another club.  I walked in to a normal enough looking club and then it hit me, I was at a miny rave.  Pretty cool with crazy crap being shown on the walls like dancing trees and houses.  very nice. 

We left there after about an hour and the guy I was hangin with said, I got a club for you.  Oh crap, we went through this door paid someone some money and walked through anouther door, down some stairs around a hall passed oone bar and into another room where we had to pass another bouncer to get in and passed the line to get in.  Sweet.  It was awesome.  I met some cats from Sweden and Germany and we partied until about 5 am.  I ditched the group from there feeling a tad worn out.  Hopped in a cab, which is an awesome part of Manila, and went back to Makati.  I found a restaraunt called Next Door and had some wonton soup and I watched the sun rise.  From there I wandered around the city just taking in all the sites when I got the text message from hell.  The client was waiting for me to do breakfast.  Ok, I went to the Intercontinental-oh after I took a shower.  Then I got into another car.  The driver took us on a tour of Old Manila, the pictures from there are on another camera, hopefully I can update that tomorrow.  Old Manila is a great place, really beautiful with a ton of rich history.  Although I can't imagine taking a historical landmark and putting a golf club in the middle of it.   And then we were off to shop.  We went to Greenhills and were there forever.  Seriously FOREVER.  Once they were done we were back to Makati.  Dropped them off and I went to Greenbriar for dinner.  I ate at a place called Kitchen, I figured it would be good cause their name said kitchen and thats where you cook. It was decent.  Oh the night before I had the best steak I have had in so long at a place called Mr. Rockefeller.  Really recomend this place assuming you stay away from the appetizers, just go for the steak, so good.  Alright, so another all nighter of walking around the town, sitting on the roof of the condo building watching the cars and people go by thinking about everything in my life, like my family back home all the work ahead of me, some new things on the horizon.  It was nice. In the morning I ventured out again and ended up eating breakfast at a place called eggs in heaven.  I sat on a parch swing and had a really good breakfast while reading the newspaper and sipping a rootbeer.  From there I hit Starbucks, now I firmly believe in Friends don't let Friends drink Starbucks, but I haven't had a good cup of coffee in three weeks.  I grabbed my coffee and hit the roof again.  I think it took me 3 hours to drink that cup of coffee.  I just sat watched the world go by for a couple of hours and then found a little guitar shop where I played the most beautiful guitar I had ever played.  Alright so we left and came back to Clark. 

All in all Manila is a beautiful place filled with music, great people, good food, hard working people and is on my top 5 list of places that I have visited.  This weekend was a great chance to sit back and relax after working so hard, I didn't even mind having to work all weekend in between everything. This weekend we are going to hit Subic so hopefully there will be better things to say then.

First u will see pics of our party in the room in the middle of the night. These girls are like my family. I am so lucky to have them in my life. I have known them for over 20 yrs! We spent the day together going to Glorietta in Makati. G4, G5 whatever it is called now. They keep building new ones. We ate a lovely lunch at a french-Filipino fusion restaurant called Chateau 1771. It was...different. Not bad but nothing outstanding and quite expensive for what you got. The atmosphere was beautiful and the view was nice. We went shopping here during the day, then Candy had to go to work so she dropped us off and Tahne and I had dinner at my fave Thai restaurant in Manila, Banana Leaf Asian Cafe (which is a franchise of the Banana Leaf Curry House from Hong Kong). Food was really good! And yes, they serve the food on banana leafs and u are supposed to eat with your hands (I think?) but I asked for silverware. I am Asian, but not that Asian! Come on now! :D

Ok 2 days have passed and no pics..that is because I was left alone in Manila! Tahne and I already had our flights planned out but with the injury she had to go to the hospital. I went to Manila alone. I really wish I knew the Manila TB's at the time, I might have been able to meet them. So during my 2 days alone I went to guess what foot spas, shopping, massages, etc.

So on this day Tahne came and we met up with Candy and Ate Ruth, elementary friends of mine! I stayed at the Shangri-La Edsa, excellent hotel! So many Americans there. Candy came to pick us up and we went to eat at Pier 1. I heard its popular at night time but we were there during the day. We ate Kare Kare, Garlic Chicken, Chop Suey, and Sisig. We also went to a foot spa, and it was small, so since there were 4 of us, we took up the entire place, soooo lovely. Fell asleep and woke up an hour later. :)

Then we went to High St. and went shopping, went to Sonja's cupcakes YAY! Yummy cupcakes. We shared 2 cupcakes among 4 people. The cupcakes were SO rich, just needed a little bit. I love High St. A must go next time in Manila! It reminds me of 3rd St. Promenade in Santa Monica. People walking their dogs, dogs in clothes lol, etc. We dropped Tahne off at the hotel since she didnt wanna go clubbing (with her big cast on her leg) and we went to Embassy. I have to say, I saw the most eye candy here. :) We stayed out really late and went back to the hotel room, woke up Tahne and drank in the room!!! hahah, sooo fun! Then we had a big sleepover. Good times!!

This was a very exciting day for me. I'd finally experience Bohol!!! Before this trip, I used to just know about Bohol through postcards and history/geography books, but ever since I can remember, this was the place that I've always wanted to visit. Well, the day of reckonign has arrived =D

For this trip, I'd be going with my friend Ross who, like me, has never been to Bohol. Our flight was at 12:30 (or so I thought), so we had plenty of time to prepare. It was a Tuesday, and we both came straight from work the previous night (we're officemates). I got out at 7AM while Ross got out at 9AM.

So, since we still had some time, we decided to drop by the mall and get some stuff for our trip and grab a bite too. After brunch, I remembered that I haven't printed our online plane tickets yet! So we dropped by a net cafe to do so. By the time we're done and headed back to the office, it was already 11:40. And when I looked at our flight schedule, I found out that it's at 12:15 and not 12:30! We still had to go back to the office because we left our luggage there, and it's a 10-minute walk from the mall. Then, travel time from the office to the airport could take another 15-20 minutes. So we made a run for it!

We're both sweaty and gasping for breath when we arrived in the office.  We just grabbed our luggage before rushing downstairs to get a cab. We didn't even had the time to freshen up. By the time we got one, it was already 11:55. On the way, nothing was on my mind but the fact that we might miss our flight and it would all be for nothing. Apparently though, the cab driver sensed our plight and tried his best to get to our (final?) destination as fast as he can. And boy was he fast! We arrived in the airport in exactly 10 minutes! Hoooraaayyy!!!

Well, it was still early to celebrate hehehe. When we got to the first inspection and showed our booking print-out to the officer, we thought he would tell us that it's too late. But no, he let us through. One down! Then came more checking and inspections before the moment of truth: checking in. But thanks to our lucky stars, the airline people said we can still take our flight. Whew! After that, we started breathing normally, but at the same time, swore to ourselves that we would never go through the same dilemma again.

While in the waiting area, we found out that our flight was delayed for 15-20 minutes due to this and that. Not very surprising, since we're taking Cebu Pacific, and they're known for being late (at least they're consistent hehehe). In fact, I didn't even care. All I could think of was the fact that we made it to the airport on time (kinda) and that we're still going to Bohol! That's all that matters, y'all!

Finally, we boarded our plane. That was it! Bohol, here we come!!!

We bid farewell to the resort staff and went on our way. Ahhh, another 5 hours of butt torture. We did pass by a store where one can buy local 'pasalubong' for our friends back home. After that, no more stops for us. On and on we drove, barely talking to each other, each lost in his own thought. This went on til one by one, we got out of the van. Kenneth, Pam, and Rhea and I were the last people to get off, this time in Makati to drop some stuff and left-over snacks in the office before going our separate ways.

We've come full circle...

My day started after work (7AM). I went home to shower, change, and pack a couple of shirts for the trip. Our group rented a van for the long trip ahead of us. We wanted to be on our way as early as we could (we had to wait for those whose shift ends at 9:30AM) but unfortunately, the driver lost his way around Makati (the business district where we work), so we ended up leaving at 11AM.

So, it was a bright, sunny Saturday morning. We were all very excited to see Potipot Island of which we heard a lot of good feedback from other officemates who've been there before. But, in typical Manila fashion, we were stuck in what I always consider as the main reason why I hate Manila sometimes: TRAFFIC. Cars honking loudly, big buses trying to squeeze in between smaller vehicles as if the drivers can't wait to get to the toilet, trucks of all shapes and sizes spewing black smoke enough to put the infamous London smog to shame. All to make our trip gruelingly memorable. Or maybe we were just extra impatient that day after having worked the previous night through.

So, what's supposed to be less than an hour to get to the expressway turned out to be more than two hours. Unbelievable. Then, we had to stop by a super gas station (complete with Starbucks, several fast food joints, and a convenience store).  That day, Jollibee was having their opening day and so the mascot was moving around entertaining the kids and posing for pics. And who was I to resist? Of course I had to have my pic taken with Jollibee! Aside from that, we bought our food and went to the lounge because after that, we wouldn't be having any stop-overs anymore.

It was smooth-sailing after that. We passed by the provinces of Bulacan, Pampanga, and Bataan before we got to Zambales. Little did we know that the town of Candelaria where our resort for the weekend was located, was at the northernmost part of the province. We really didn't mind if not for the fact that we would be sitting inside the car for 5 hours. Butt torture indeed! However, the views along the road were very scenic in most places. We got to see sleepy towns, farms, and mountains meeting the sea. It reminded me of the times when I used to go with my grandma to her province to visit her relatives. It was such a long, long time ago. As a matter of fact, the last time I've seen and been to this part of the country, there were still dinosaurs roaming the area. Yes, it's been that long :D

Finally, after 5 hours of sitting, listenign to music, trying to sleep but can't, and asking for directions, we arrived at our destination: Isla Vista Resort.

Oh, cupcakes are just everywhere. But what makes Cuptails and Dreams' special is that they are infused with your favorite cocktail drink! Imagine your cakes in various flavours of Cosmopolitan, Margarita, Pina Colada, Tequila Sunrise and Lemon Drop which come in these colorful cupcakes. My favorite is the Margarita cupcake (PhP55 or USD1.3) that is lime cake with tequila with lime butter cream frosting as topping. It will make you forget about the liquor because of its sweet and tangy taste. I also tried the Pina Colada (same price) that is pineapple upside down infused with just the right amount of coconut rum and topped with pineapple butter cream frosting. Non-drinkers are welcome here, too. They also offer non-alcoholic cupckaes like the Con Cappuccino (Php45 or USD1) which is a mocha cake with mocha frosting and freshly ground cinnamon. Contact Number: +632 927 5653261 Email: orders@cuptailsanddreams.com Pick-up point: 10am-12nn or 1-5pm at People eServe Corp. G/F Mapua IT Center 333 Sen. Gil Puyat Ave. Makati City. The building is along Buendia corner Reposo corner Jupiter Street.

Am in a hurry right now so I will first enumerate the names of the bars, I'll describe them later:

1) Warehouse 135 -
Yakal St., Makati

Newest (opened in Feb), Has the best dancefloor--wide and spacious, The DJs are awesome - they have world-class foreign and local DJs spinning every day.

2) Embassy SuperClub-
The Fort Strip, Fort Bonifacio, Makati

Where the beautiful people converge - celebrity sightings almost daily, Dress to impress at this place, entrance is 500 pesos inclusive of 3 cocktail drinks. Not bad for a classy club. Can be cramped and crowded on weekends.

3) Saguijo
Guijo St., Makati

Club for the grunge/alternative crowd. Live bands almost daily. If you're the artsy type, this is the place to be. The place is small & can be a bit crowded but it's definitely perfect for those who want to get thisclose with their fave bands/ artists.

They have a art space/ gallery upstairs and a vintage store called Baul nearby.

4) Piedra
The Fort, Makati

5) Temple Bar
Greenbelt 2, Makati
A posh bar with a giant buddha in the middle of the restaurant.

6) Government
Makati Ave., Makati

A classy bar for gays.

===

Other notable mentions which I have not been to, but have heard great feedback on:

Fiama - Jupiter St., Makati

Martini - Mandarin Oriental, Makati Ave.

Nuvo - Greenbelt 2 Mall

Gweilos, Bistro - Palanca, Legaspi Village.

Capones - Salcedo Village (I've been here, laidback place...kind of small though)

Sidebar - El Pueblo, Ortigas (I've been here also, CHEAP drinks and laidback atmosphere. FULL on weekends.)

Guilly's - (A place for the singles to mix and mingle. Was classy last time I went, I heard some stories though that some drunk customers are starting to get rowdy at times.)

===

Still can't decide? Try going to JUPITER St. near Buendia/ Makati Ave., GREENBELT 3 Mall, THE FORT and SERENDRA at the Fort.

You're sure to find a good classy bar in those places. If you want nice atmosphere and laidback conversation, Serendra is the place for you. Greenbelt, Jupiter and The Fort also have their share of laidback joints as well as trendy dance clubs.

APARTMENT IS SUPER FOR THE PRICE; REALLY BIG ROOMS WITH FANTASTIC VIEW AT THE TOP FLOORS; VERY CONVENIENT LOCATION FOR SHOPPING AND BUSINESS; HIGHLY PROFESSIONAL AND ATTENTIVE STAFF; DELICIOUS BUFFET BREAKFAST WITH LOTS OF CHOICE; FITNESS FACILITIES AND SERVICES ARE TOPS; HAVE BEEN STAYING THERE EACH TIME WE VISIT MANILA AND WILL STAY AGAIN THERE IN ANY OF OUR FUTURE VISITS; HIGHLY RECOMMENDED FOR FAMILY VISITS AND BUSINESS PEOPLE AS WELL.

It's been said that you can already know when you have good food in front of you even without tasting it... but just by the smell of the dish. This saying holds true for one of my favorite restaurants in Makati--- MASAS. Well presented with a very relaxing ambience, Masas is a modern Filipino restaurant is fast becoming popular amongs local and foreign customers. The food presentation is so artistic, making it look even better and more delicious. What I like about Masas is that food servings are good for two to three guests which will definitely be enjoyed by Filipinos which has been part of our MEAL CULTURE. My ultimate favorite is the PRITONG TAWILIS (USD2.5), a small one and a half-inch fresh water fish which can only be found in Taal Lake, drenched in flour and cooked at high heat to achieve a crunchy exterior, but leaving the meat soft and tender. For the dessert, nothing beats their layered Buco Pandan (USD2). It is made from cream mixed with coconut meat overlapped with pandan extract gelatin. LOCATION: Greenbelt 2, Ayala Center, Makati City TELEPHONE: +632 7281454