Sunday 8 June 2014

Sagada Walking Tour

On our last day in Sagada, we went for a walk around town. Just a few minutes walk away from the main road, we were able to reach the famous Echo Valley. People took turns shouting and waited for their echo to sound back. From here, you can already see some of the hanging coffins on the sides of the valley.

If you want a closer look, you can trek going down the valley to view the hanging coffins up close.

Just nearby, you can find the St. Mary's Escopal Church. There was an ongoing wedding celebration when we passed by so we were not able to take pictures of the church from the inside.

Behind the church, you can find a busy market set-up only during Saturdays. You can find goods from nearby provinces like Baguio being sold here.

While you're in Sagada, don't fail to try out their halo-halo (Php 25) which had a little of everything. Their halo-halo had macaroni, ube, corn kernels, coconut strips, melon strips, watermelon, avocado and an assortment of jellies. They even added a stick-o with no extra charge. Yummy!

If you still have energy, you can walk much further to reach the Sagada Weaving Center. When I got in their shop, I was quite disappointed to see that they don't sell much merchandise at all.

Behind the souvenir shop, there's a small house where locals do their weaving. You have to be quiet while you're in this area and be respectful to ask their permission first to take pictures. They don't like to have their pictures taken, they will only let you take pictures of their work but not with their face.

Just in front of the Sagada Weaving Center, you can find a souvenir shop, Sagada Collections where you can taste their Peanut Bars. I don't think these bars are sold anywhere else in Sagada and they are quite expensive - one pack costs Php 200. They are made of peanuts and white chocolate, they were really delicious. Everything in this store were expensive. If you are looking for affordably priced bags and wallets, you can buy them at the Indigenous Handicrafts & Inn.

The main road in Sagada has lots of souvenir shops so you have to do some canvassing if you want to find cheaper items. Their key chains and ref magnets range from Php 65 to 100. Coin purses in Indigenous Handicrafts & Inn range from Php 50 to 130 depending on size and design.


Resto Review: People's Lodge and Restaurant, Banaue

Before going back to Manila, we had a couple hours stop over in Banaue which gave us enough time to look around their Public Market to try out some of their local snacks and buy some souvenirs.

We decided to eat dinner at the People's Lodge and Restaurant which had a great panoramic view of some terraces and the city.

I ordered their set meal People's Rice (Php 160) which includes a cup of mountain rice, vegetable chopsuey, fried chicken, asparagus soup and a piece of banana. It was a tasty meal but nothing out of the ordinary.

My husband ordered their Pork Adobo (Php125) and a cup of their Rice (Php 25). Their adobo was pale in color and not saucy. The meat was chewy and sauce was just so so.

Dining here was not pleasant because their staff were snobs and not that attentive but I can commend that their food portions were generous for its price.

Saturday 7 June 2014

Resto Review: Yoghurt House, Sagada

The Yoghurt House is one of the restaurants found on the main road of Sagada that you won't miss. They are popular for their yoghurt but we didn't ordered any because we heard from our fellow travelers that theirs were much sour.

My husband ordered Pork in Bechamel Sauce (Php 220) and Roasted Pork with Vegetable Salad (Php 200).

I commend them as their serving portions were big and their presentation was appealing and appetizing. Their vegetables were fresh and crunchy and their meat were cooked just right to be tender but their sauces were nothing extraordinary.

If you are looking forward to eating a heavy meal, we suggest the Yoghurt House given that money is not an issue. Oh! Before I forget, bring your own water as they don't serve house water.

Resto Review: Bana's Cafe

For our last day in Sagada, we decided to dine at Bana's Cafe which was popular for their coffee. It is located in the basement of a souvenir shop so it may be quite hard to find.

We ordered Banana Pancake Plate (Php 150), Longganisa Meal (Php 100) and a cup of their Cafe Mocha (Php 80).

The Banana Pancake Plate had two fluffy banana-filled pancakes, two sunny side-up eggs, slices of bacon and fresh melon slices. This plate is actually good for sharing. Their pancakes and bacon were delicious.

Their Longganisa on the other hand was huge and so tender and juicy. I love how they add slices of fresh fruit on their plate as it makes the meal complete.

Finally, I tasted their Cafe Mocha but was not that impressed. For me it was just any ordinary coffee mocha but I'm not such a fan of coffee so maybe I'm just biased.

Our experience with Bana's Cafe  was a pleasant one and we recommend dining here as they had fast service, good tasty food, big portions and a nice view too.

Yummy Diet 5 Day Package

After going through with one week of all veggie lunch and dinner, I am now venturing into a whole day diet meal service. And since I can't accommodate early morning deliveries, I took my chances on ordering 1 week of Yummy Diet meals. They deliver your meals the night before you start your diet which I was reluctant at first because of possible food spoilage. Lucky enough, no food went to waste as long as you immediately place your meals in the refrigerator once you get it. Read on to find out how my experience went...

Day 1

Breakfast: Sunny Ham & Cheese and Black Coffee
AM Snacks: Orange
Lunch: Baked Mayonnaise Fish with Steamed Red Rice
PM Snacks: Ginataang Mais Oatmeal
Dinner: Grilled Chicken with Pesto Sauce and Hot Tea

Day 1 Review:
My first day with YummyDiet was really hard. I was so stunned at how small each meal portion was compared to what I previously had with LunchBoxDiet. It took me a lot of convincing to not be tempted to eat anything else except for the ones they provided.

Anyways, my breakfast was quite indulging you won't even think that you're on a diet except for the fact that your sandwich is missing the top slice of bread. hehehe But come past 9AM my tummy already started to grumble. Even though I am not fond of oranges, I had to eat it because I was hungry but after devouring the slightly ripe orange my stomach was only half-contented.

Here come lunch time, my greatest peril of all was to see how so small my meal was. So I ate my food really slowly so as to savor every bite of it. The fish was really good by the way. And since I left my dinner at home, I opted to eat my afternoon snacks at late 5PM so that I won't get that hungry on my way home. The Ginataang Mais oatmeal was delicious, I wonder how they made it taste like that.

As I reached home past 7PM, I quickly heated my meal and prepared my hot tea. My head was already spinning and aching from hunger. My chicken was disappointingly dry - maybe I heated it too long but I did love the pesto sauce it had. And so ends my 1st day with YummyDiet, I hope I adapt to this fast because I don't like having a light and aching head while at work.


Day 2
Breakfast: Mushroom Stronganoff with Garlic Red Rice and Black Coffee
AM Snacks: Apple
Lunch: Fish and Cream Cheese Roll Ups
PM Snacks: Choco Dipped Grapes
Dinner: Chicken Marsala with Steam Red Rice and Hot Tea

Day 2 Review:
I woke up this morning happy to see that my breakfast had rice but unfortunately my viand was only mushrooms. It was tasty and juicy but was not that filling. The black coffee was actually the one that made my stomach full.

While in office, I opted to eat the grapes for my morning snack because I think the chocolate started to smell weird. It was a really bad idea to coat the grapes with chocolate - I didn't feel that it was a good combination. As for lunch, I also swapped it with my dinner meal which was the chicken marsala. Once again, their chicken was dry. Another unsatisfying lunch for me. The only treat I had out of my YummyDiet meal was the small apple which was crunchy and juicy.

Come dinner time, my head was once again spinning from hunger that I had to eat something filling so once again I broke my diet by eating out with my husband. We only had sushi, gyoza and hot tea so I did not feel that guilty for doing so.

I did ate my supposedly lunch time meal the next day in addition to my breakfast. I sure am glad I did not take the roll ups as my lunch time because it won't surely give me the energy I need for my day. It had too little tuna on it too.

Day 3

Breakfast: Bacon & Spinach Scramble with Garlic Red Rice and Black Coffee
AM Snacks: Banana
Lunch: Sauteed Pork with Lemon & Parsley and Steamed Red Rice
PM Snacks: None
Dinner: Royal Cucumber Sandwich and Hot Tea

Day 3 Review:
Yes, you read that right! There's no afternoon snack provided. =(
Fortunately my day turned out to be a busy one so my stomach didn't ask for a morning snack.

Today's breakfast was admittedly yummy but in really small portion. I just wish they gave me more of those egg scramble. As for my lunch, I was surprised to see pork on my plate but immediately got disappointed after taking my first bite into it. It was bland with just a little hint of lemon.

And once again, my battle with dinner time hunger strikes again. I didn't eat my dinner time meal again because I am already getting famished from the work and travel time from office going home that I had to grab a bite to any nearby food I see. I did ate the cucumber sandwich the next day for my breakfast and it was terrible! Just imagine, thinly sliced cucumber and cheese on a sandwich?! Oh how my husband pitied seeing me go through all these meals.


Day 4
Breakfast: Pork Tapa Breakfast Salad and Black Coffee
AM Snack: Baby Mango
Lunch: Pinoy-style Chicken Curry with Steamed Red Rice
PM Snack: Turon
Dinner: Corned Beef Pandesal and Hot Tea

Day 4 Review:
I can't believe my eyes as I open my 4th day package. Never in my entire life did I ever see a mango this small! And it's ripe too! I wonder if they own a bonsai mango tree to be able to get such a small-sized mango. Amazing! But I am not happy to only have to eat this small of a mango for my snack.

For today, I loved my breakfast. The tapa slices were tasty and the greens were fresh. The only con was the dressing, I think it was too sour. Lunch time was also a delight - even though the serving was small, I appreciate that it was flavorful and for the first time, their chicken was not that dry.

My merienda was a slightly seared turon which had a not so ripe banana on it. It was not bad but not as good either. Dinner time was also a sad meal, they provided a really small pandesal - smaller than the mango they gave for that day. And the feeling was just ordinary corn beef. The one really big off from this meal were the potato chips because all soggy and oily. =(

Day 5

Breakfast: Skillet Souffle with Greens and Black Coffee
AM Snack: Apple
Lunch: Tofu Noodle Salad with Orange-Sesame Dressing
PM Snack: Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwiches
Dinner: Sausage, Chicken, & Vegetable Skewers and Hot Tea

Day 5 Review:
Yehey! Today is my last yummy diet meal. My breakfast for the day was good. It had greens and salsa, a small pandesal and two slices eggs. I was not able to eat my apple though because it was weirdly sticky. I washed it several times already yet the skin was still sticky so I didn't dared eat it unless it's peeled.

Lunch this time was Asian pasta and it was yummy. But once again, I hoped that it had more. Not soon enough I was already uber hungry that I had to eat the peanut butter jelly sandwiches that was only half of a sandwich portion.

I failed to eat my dinner time meal again and ate them for breakfast the next day instead. The sausages were burnt and the chicken was dry. The mashed potato was just so so.

Overall:
I would not want to go through this again. Their meal portions were absurdly small and did not give me enough energy to go through my day. My stomach was constantly grumbling and my head ached in the afternoon. Their diet meal package really made me feel that I was on a diet which urged me to eat other food aside from what they provided. Although their delivery was always on time, the quality of the food and nutrition I get from them is still what's important to me. But this is just my opinion, feel free to try it out yourself. Yummy Diet just won't work out for me.