Cagayan de Oro At Night

Experienced:  CDO Nightlife

I can't recall if this was on a Friday night but it sure was a bustling one.  Cebu City is already a city, but most people from Luzon still call it "probinsya" which is rather annoying, REALLY!  Now my significant other labelled CDO as "probinsya" which I will never call as such.  Take a look at these...

They have Bo's Coffee!

This complex is Limketkai Mall.  It's even bigger than Ayala Center Cebu.  And they have Bo's Coffee, hello?

A cockpit diner

My apologies to the proprietors of this place.  I had to Google the exact name of the place.  And it's P. Joe's Diner!  It looks like a plane sticking out of the place, but then it's interior is a cockpit.  Nice concept, huh?  So are we still in a "probinsya"?

We don't have this in Cebu

Taza Coffee

I'm not familiar with the Taza brand of coffee.  But the ambiance is good, as if you're not in the Philippines.  Upon further research, Taza is local brand which sprang from Cagayan de Oro City since 1998.  Not bad, huh.  Their coffee tasted good and wouldn't mind going back there again, especially during Christmas.  Hopefully I can try their other delights in the near future.

Hope to see you soon, CDO! 

Going through the Backdoor Part Trois

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Going through the Backdoor Part Deux

Seen:  Cagayan de Oro City

And so my adventure continues....  It was a 5-hour journey from Oroquieta, to that place where we took a barge, seen Maguindanao from afar, had lunch in Iligan at a small Chinese restaurant with generous helpings and finally arrived at CDO. 

So we made plans to go white water rafting the following day.  When asked whether we want the basic or the advanced course, my significant other advised us to take the advanced course we can go through 7 extra rapids, plus, we should allow the raft to flip for fun and to get our money's worth. 

We entrusted our lives to the capable hands of a guy named Jerome, who runs the tour.  I forgot how much we paid but we got a discount.  The fee is inclusive of 1 snacks and lunch that is served at the end of tour.  I was pleased with how Jerome did the introductions and safety reminders plus the fact that there has never been an accident in any of the tours conducted by his company.  So with that info in mind, we were set to go.

Getting ready

At the start

Ready for the push off

This is it!

The first rapid

Anyway, at the end of the tour, we were really ravenous.  And so we ate and slept after.  Next adventure please!

Going through the Backdoor

Seen:  Oroquieta in December

Finally made a trip to Misamis Occidental in Mindanao, Oroquieta City to be specific.  My significant other gave me an invite to spend some time there, see what his life is like, and meet his parents.  My stay in Oroquieta City was brief but I made it a point to shoot almost any scenery.

My friend and I arrived via Ozamiz and it took us about an hour from there to Oroquieta City.  We passed by rice fields mostly and it's quite nice to see food growing out there.  So once we arrived, we had lunch and had a brief tour and here are the pics for posterity.

My friend, Kitin on the hanging bridge

 My friend, Kitin here, is hanging on for dear life as my significant other tries to gently sway the hanging bridge (just for laughs).  It was quite windy so I told him not to overdo it or else we'd end up in the water.

Ukay-Ukay

This here is the ukay-ukay.  Appararently, they sell nice stuff that's way too friendly for your wallet.  Would definitely give it a try the next chance I get.

Going to the bay area

 This is the way towards the bay area, and the market.  Went around for a drive around siesta time, so not a lot of people milling around the area.

Next came this interesting piece of oddity...

It's not the Flying House, it's just the SuperFerry House

Right smack in your face is this house.  My significant other said that the former Miss Oroquieta (circa 2000s) or was it a former contestant lives in this very house.  I asked him if her parents are WGA employees, well he had no idea.  The structure in front of the house is a Brgy Tanod Outpost in a shape of a tugboat (unfortunately not captured in this frame), most likely to complement the nearby house.

Town Circle

 After a wonderful dinner, we decided to go around that night.  Here's the town circle, quite similar to the Fuente Circle, strung up with lights for the Yuletide season.  I think their town circle has outdone ours since they even had laser lights.

The Boardwalk

This here reminds me of a scene from Benjamin Button, the place where he goes to see the sunrise.

Now on to their different displays...

The Nativity

They have different versions of the Nativity.  There's even one done in stained-glass fashion.

Stained Glass Nativity

Christmas tree

Santa sans the reindeers

So these are most of the things that I have seen during my short stay there.  I hope they have the same dedication and enthusiasm to put up the same or even better displays this year.

Next stop...CDO

Raided The Pantry

By Taste:  The Pantry at The Gallery, Mabolo

I got off from work shortly after 1 pm on a Saturday.  I had nothing specific to do, no plan in mind, except to get me a hearty meal considering I missed breakfast and haven't had lunch.  The sun was finally shining after a few days of scattered rainfall and cloudy skies.  Still, not a lot of people were milling around at 1:30 pm.  I decided to forsake the mall after having been there the day before to do some retail therapy.  Where to?   A.  BTC, B. IT Park, C.  The Gallery....  Well I recently asked a friend to help me out with nice places to eat and The Gallery came up and I have it on good word that I should give The Pantry a try.

Traffic was light en route to The Gallery, again not a lot of people were milling around.  People are probably taking their siesta, or decided to head to the beach to take advantage of the vast amount of sunshine that day.   

 Thank God the place was open.  Most restaurants located outside the malls are closed around 2 pm and will be open again at 6 pm.  Kinda European, having a siesta break or cost cutting.  This place caught my attention since last November but it was closed for inventory.  I chose a seat with a view outside the window and the display as well.  

 Looking at the outside, you get the feeling that the place is a nifty gift shop where you can buy some goodies as presents.  But upon entering, it has a homey feel to it except that you have people awaiting to take your order.  They have an ice cream bar with FIC (Fruits in Ice Cream) Ice Cream and you can choose your own topping to go with whatever flavor you like.  Their menu is written on the chalkboards behind the counter from the different flavors of ice cream, ice cream cake and pies, cupcakes, sandwiches, sausages, hams, and beverages.  Their display area shows the different sausages and hams on hand, which are imported from Europe.

 Just beyond the display case is where they cook your meals and bake the cake.  It gives you a glimpse of the wonderful goodies but just enough to keep secret of their trade.  Now on to the chowdown.

Goulash

I started my 1st meal of the day with Goulash (pronounced as "gulyas" but the "l" is kinda silent).  It's a Hungarian dish, a soup or stew made with beef, onions, vegetables, spices and paprika.  I find that this is to my liking considering that it's spicy.  Other soups available in their menu is the tomato soup and pumpkin soup (I think there were 4 but I can only rattle off 3).

Rice, Sunny Side Up, English Bangers, Atsara

Pedro's Brunch

For the main course, I chose Pedro's Brunch in order to be ah, appropriate since I haven't had breakfast and lunch yet.  You get several choices for your sausages, such as the Filipino breakfast (too bad the waitress couldn't fully explain by what their Filipino breakfast is, probably they served longganiza or whatever), English bangers and I forgot what the other sausage was.  Suffice it to say I was really intrigued and tickled with the English bangers and decided to give it a taste.  I wonder if in the near future, they'll be serving some spotted dick!  The English really have their own way of naming their food.  Makes you have second thoughts on trying it or, you can choke on it while trying to stifle a laugh.

To cap everything off, I ordered one of their ice cream pies, the Butterschotch Espresso.  It tasted good, not too sweet, with a healthy dose of butterscotch drizzle on top.  At this point, everything was really good.

Cost wise, it's fairly reasonable considering that most of their food items are imported and most likely it's the first time that you have come across and sampled such items.  As for the ambiance, it's perfect for spending a lazy afternoon where you can read your favorite book or write a memoir.  

I would definitely recommend this place to all the girls out there.  If you're going to bring your man, he might have misgivings about the ambiance but he can easily be bribed with the wide array of sausages and hams that they have.

Give this place a try, chances are you might bring home some fabulous pastries and cupcakes with you.  Their cupcakes are homemade and they have different themes per day (such as a chocolate day, velvet day, etc).  If you do find yourself at a dilemma as to what to give as a present or housewarming gift, I'm sure that this place has something for everyone. 

I Finally Won!!! (Thank you, The Lead Character)

After having gone to several parties, it's disheartening that not once did I ever win a prize in any of the raffles  (sniff, sniff).  But my luck took a different turn when I came home one day after a hard day's work and decided to go on line.  So I made my cursory rounds with Facebook, my email, and finally my blog.  I also decided to check on what my fellow bloggers have posted.

The Lead Character's post got my attention.  He was having another contest and the prize is a 2011 Starbuck's Planner and since the previous winner couldn't get his prize, I also get to keep it.  It was a Jose Cuervo Tequila.

I arranged for a meet up with The Lead Character at Cakewalker's Caffe.   Unfortunately he didn't have a camera with him so no photos were taken of me receiving the prize.  Anyhow, per request, I decided to post this with my photo holding the prize.

Thanks so much to The Lead Character.  Will be using these items real soon.

Over at Cakewalker's

So in my previous post, I was talking about my test run of the Aerosoles footwear.  I trekked in it en route to Cakewalker's Cafe.  I had to head over there to claim my prize from The Lead Character.  So I had to do some waiting for my prize to arrive.  

It's not my first time at Cakewalker's.  A few weeks back I was there to meet up with my "fairy godmother" at itago natin siya sa ngalang Punky.  I already have several clothes made by Punky, from my workwear to something that I have to wear at a wedding.  To while away the time, I had to order something.  So I decided to go for a macadamia nut latte.

My first taste of their coffee

 As for the taste, it tastes like a decent latte, nothing really special.  I would definitely would have loved to have a few extra shots of the macadamia syrup to enhance the taste.

The bar area

The bar is a decent area.  I have no idea as to what brand their espresso machine is, or what kind of beans they are using.  They have an array of flavored syrup but so far, the Torani brand.

 And these are my views from the table where I sat.

 

Another drink that I tried was their Nutty Raspberry.  The raspberry and "nutty" flavors could be discerned in the iced latte.

They may not serve exceptional coffee but I still have yet to pass muster on their cakes.  After all, it's called Cakewalker's Caffe.

So I finally got my prize...a bottle of Jose Cuervo tequila and the Starbuck's 2011 planner.  Thanks very much to The Lead Character for having wonderful prizes for your fun contests.