Visiting Australia for the First Time

For the first time in my life, I got to go to Australia.

Gold Coast, Australia

I went there on a business trip actually. To be honest, I never imagined ever going on an international business trip so this took me by surprise. In fact, I was only told a little more than a month before my trip that I had to go to Gold Coast to attend a conference there. While getting a visa to travel to Australia is not as difficult and doesn't take as long as getting one for many other countries, there were some internal company approvals we had to secure before I could travel.

Broadbeach in Gold Coast

The timing of my trip was also not that great. It conflicted with some plans I had, including a reunion that I really didn't want to miss. As such, I couldn't extend my stay by a couple of days to see more of the city, which meant that my trip was really purely business. I didn't really get to do much else.

View of Sydney from the plane

If I had more time, I would've wanted to visit the SkyPoint Observation Deck and maybe even do the SkyPoint Climb Experience. A friend of mine who  has been to Gold Coast also said it would be nice to visit Surfer's Paradise. Alas it was not to be. Thankfully, my hotel - Meriton Suites Broadbeach - was just a couple of blocks away from the beach so I got to see the ocean.

The ocean was just a couple of blocks from my hotel

I took a short stroll along Broadbeach where I saw the Robert Gatenby Boardwalk.

The Robert Gatenby Boardwalk

I was also introduced to Borobi, the blue koala who was the official mascot of the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games. I later discovered that Borobi means Koala in the Yugambeh language, which is an Australian Aboriginal language. After the 2018 commonwealth games, Borobi has become the official mascot of the Australian Commonwealth Games team and a champion of Australian indigenous languages with the Yugambeh Museum.

Borobi, official mascot of the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games

Right next to the beach was The Oasis, a shopping mall that had a Woolworths, a popular supermarket chain in Australia. I ended up going to that Woolworths on my first night and on my last night in Gold Coast. I bought a lot of Tim Tams, especially the flavors that you can't find in Manila, as well as a couple of bags of The Killer Coffee.

The Killer Coffee

There was also a souvenir shop at The Oasis and I decided to get a couple of fridge magnets. I also got a really cute Barney Gumnut and Friends tea set from Ashdene that I gave to my mom. 

Barney Gumnut and Friends tea set

Arguably the most popular Australian animals are kangaroos and koalas which is why most people get souvenirs that feature these creatures. However, my personal favorite is the wombat. When I saw this mug with its really cute wombat design, I just had to have it. Not surprisingly, it is now my favorite mug.

My Ashdene wombat mug

Since I didn't get to do much more while I was in Australia, I just tried to get as many photos as I could, including this one with a turtle statue right next to The Oasis mall.

I also saw several Australian white ibises in the city. In fact, the first one I saw shortly after I arrived.

Australian white ibis

Over the next several posts, I will write about the rest of my experience in Australia, including the conference I attended, the hotel where I stayed, some restaurants I visited, and other experiences I had.

Next: Business Trip

Aperitif Cafe at SM Megamall

A few years ago, whenever I would pass by the cinema area of SM Megamall, I would always see the Aperitif kiosk there. I noticed it because even before I saw it physically for the first time, I would get ads about Aperitif on social media. After passing by the Megamall kiosk a few times, I finally decided to try one of their cookies and I absolutely loved it! So when I discovered that Aperitif now had its own permanent location still on the 3rd floor of SM Megamall where patrons can have a seat and enjoy their food with coffee, I decided to visit. And after my first trip here, I ended up enjoying their sweet treats several more times.

Aperitif Cafe on the 3rd floor of SM Megamall

Before I talk about the food I've tried here, let me first talk about how much I absolutely love their design. The far end of the cafe feels like a very luxurious yet cozy and charming alcove. I am not an expert of different art styles so I don't know if what they have is renaissance, neo-classical, baroque, rococo, or something else. Whatever it is, I love it!

Even the ceiling in the main area is quite stunning.

And the Venus de Milo at the entrance, with the mosaic tiled section of the floor, really adds a wonderful touch.

Now let's get to the food! On my first visit, I had to try their Ooey Gooey Cookie again. It really is good, although its price has increased since I first tried it. (I also have to say, I love how they serve your order on an elegant tray that they leave with you. I always enjoy my order while everything is still neatly placed on the tray.)

Ooey Gooey Cookie

I love donuts and Aperitif as a really fancy selection. The first one I got to try was the Nuts for Nutella. This donut has Nutella filling, Milk Chocolate, Chocolate Chantilly Cream, and a Hazelnut Top. This was dangerously good!

Nuts for Nutella Donut

The Very Berry donut, with its Strawberry Cream, Pink White Chocolate Glaze, Chantilly Cream, and White Chocolate Shard is also very delicious.

Very Berry donut

They also have gelato and I tried one of their gelato flavors in one of my visits here. I can't recall which one I got though (it might have been tiramisu).

Gelato

There are a lot more items on their menu which I want to try. I also saw photos of their ther branches in Metro Manila and they all look really classy and stylish. (I want to visit their BCG branch!) If you want to enjoy delicious baked goods and sweet treats in a lovely setting, Aperitif is the place for me. I am certain that I will be visiting this place (or maybe its other branches) many more times in the future.

Aperitif
https://aperitif.com.ph/
Locations: https://aperitif.com.ph/pages/our-cafes

Jessica Sanchez Wins AGT!

 Jessica Sanchez is the Grand Champion of America's Got Talent! Woohoo!

 

 video uploaded in YouTube by America's Got Talent 

This was such an incredible result. Her incredible audition where she sang Beautiful Things made her a front runner and thankfully, the voting public managed to carry her all the way through. It was a couple of months between her audition, where she was about 6 months pregnant, to the quarterfinals, where she was 8 months pregnant already. I can't imagine how difficult it must have been to sing on stage while you are 8-9 months pregnant but Jessica pulled through exceptionally well. Her finale performance - Die with a Smile by Bruno Mars and Lady Gaga - was an incredible end to her AGT journey.

video uploaded in YouTube by America's Got Talent 

I've been a fan of Jessica Sanchez since she joined American Idol in 2012 and I really wanted her to win that season. She finished as the runner-up but she wasn't really able to break into music mainstream. Hopefully, winning AGT will allow her to achieve more success in the music industry but even if it doesn't, she did win US$ 1 million. The fact that she will soon give birth and that she had her baby with her each time she stepped on stage and performed will probably make this win even more meaningful.

Congratulations Jessica and I wish you all the best in the future!

Grail Sneaker Care

I've been a customer of Grail Sneaker Care for almost two years now.

I had seen ads of Grail Sneaker Care in the past so when I needed to have two pairs of shoes cleaned in late 2023, I went to their kiosk in Greenbelt 5. It turns out they have a 2-year membership promo. This includes 5 premium deep cleanings and a good discount on any other cleaning you want to have done. I decided to avail of their membership since I was already having two pairs of shoes deep-cleaned and the price of membership is actually lower than five separate deep cleaning services.

Grail Sneaker Care used to have this kiosk in Greenbelt

I availed of their services again after my family and I went to Kenya. My shoes ended up getting really dirty due to the massive amounts of dust during our game drives.

My two-year membership was about to expire and while I had already used up my five premium deep cleans, I decided I wanted to have more of my shoes cleaned using my discount. As it turns out, the Greenbelt 5 kiosk which I went to before was already closed. They have another branch in Podium so I went to their shop on the 4th floor there.

Grail Sneaker Care at Podium

I wanted to maximize my membership before it expired so I had four pairs of shoes cleaned. I also decided to have the soles of one pair of shoes repaired because it already started to get detached. 

If you, like me, don't particularly like washing and cleaning your own shoes yourself, Grail Sneaker Care is a good option. You can look them up on Instagram.

Grail Sneaker Care
https://www.instagram.com/grailsneakercare
+63 917 103 1495 

Alas Pilipinas Men's Volleyball Team Make History at the World Championships

Congratulations to the Alas Pilipinas Men's volleyball team for a fantastic showing at the FIVB Men's Volleyball World Championships (WCH) that were held in Metro Manila.

SALAMAT SA LABAN, ALAS ❤️🇵🇭

The Alas Pilipinas men’s volleyball team bows out of the 2025 FIVB World Championship after a grueling five-set loss to Iran.

Follow #GMASports for more #FIVB updates. pic.twitter.com/CzJgZp6rba

— GMA Sports (@gmasportsph) September 18, 2025

To qualify for the FIVB Men's Volleyball World Championships, you need to be (1) the defending champion, (2) a top three team in your continental championships, (3) one of the top 15 of the world rankings that have not yet qualified based on criteria 1 and 2, or (4) the event host. The Philippines was actually world # 88 in volleyball leading into this event so we were ranked very low compared to every other team that qualified but we made it to the pool because we were the hosts.

To be perfectly honest, I was worried that the Alas Men's team would lose comprehensively to all the other teams they would play against because everyone was ranked so much higher than we were. We were placed in Pool A with the Asian champions Iran, the African champions Egypt, and world #24 Tunisia. It was quite intimidating to think that we were ranked 64 places lower than the 2nd lowest ranked team in our pool.

And I guess the thought that we were up against volleyball powerhouses and that the Philippines was playing for the first time in the world championships made the team nervous. In our first match against Tunisia, we made way too many errors in the first set and calmed down a bit in the second before putting up a staunch fight in the third. The final score was 25-13, 25-17, 25-23 in favor of Tunisia. The first set was a bit of a blow-out but the tight third set showed that as long as we were not too nervous and that we played our game, we could actually compete (and maybe even beat) one of these top tier teams.

Our second game was against African champions Egypt. I got to watch this match on cable TV and it turned out to be very thrilling and exciting for the Philippines. When we edged out Egypt in an exceedingly tight 29-27 first set, the nation celebrated as it was the first ever set that the Philippines won at the World championships. Yahoo!!! Egypt took the second set but again, it was very close at 23-25. The way our team was playing, it felt like they really could compete against the world's best. And when we took the third set 25-21, we as a nation started to believe that maybe we could see it all the way through. When the Philippines finally took the fourth set at 25-21 and the game to stun Egypt in a surprise upset, the nation rejoiced. Egypt was ranked #20 in the world so we had just beaten a team ranked 68 places above us. Amazing!

HEAR THE CROWD ROAR 🗣️🇵🇭

The Mall of Asia Arena crowd erupted in cheers as Alas Pilipinas Men clinched their historic first-ever win at the 2025 FIVB Men’s World Championship, defeating Egypt in a four-set Pool A showdown. | via LJ Abadinas#OSOnTheSpot #AlasPilipinas #MWCH2025 pic.twitter.com/TNhbi9BeiJ

— One Sports (@OneSportsPHL) September 16, 2025

The interesting thing about Pool A was that everyone had 1 win and 1 loss after their first two games. The Philippines beat Egypt who beat Iran who beat Tunisia who beat the Philippines. As such, the winners of final two games (Philippines vs Iran, Egypt vs Tunisia) would advance to the quarterfinal round. The Philippines had a chance, but to make it, we had to overcome the biggest obstacle we had in Pool A: world #14 Iran.

This match was the tightest one in Pool A and arguably, the entire World Championships. The Philippines and Iran split the first two sets, with the Philippines taking sets 1 and 3 and Iran taking sets 2 and 4. It all came down to set 5 and a race to 15. You have to say that Iran was heavily favored in that 5th set, being the Asian champions and having significantly more experience in the world stage. And when Iran led 10-6 in that final set, I thought they would run away with it. But the Philippines showed so much grit and poise and we actually held our own against the much higher ranked team. The team leveled the score and challenged Iran all the way through, resulting in the score going past the 15-point mark (you need to win a set with a lead of two).

The most painful moment in this match for the team and the nation happened when the Philippines was leading 19-18, with our 6th match point. We seemingly scored a monumental block, giving us the point and the match and everyone started celebrating the win. But Iran challenged the point, saying that we touched the net. Sadly, we did. this meant that instead of winning 20-18, we were now tied at 19-all. The sudden rush of adrenaline of the team and the possible relaxation after thinking you had already won followed by the feeling of having all that taken away was not an ideal mental state to be in. And Iran, who may have thought they were already eliminated then suddenly still have an opportunity to win, would then have their spirits buoyed by this second chance. Unfortunately for the Philippines, Iran did take this match four points later, beating us 22-20 in the fifth. We were so close to a quarterfinals appearance at the World Championships, only to have it taken away at the last minute. So it goes without saying that our team and many of our kababayans were gutted by the painful loss.

That said, the Philippines made a very strong statement in this global tournament. We played against the very best in the world and we held our own. So much so that we actually ranked 19 out of 32 teams. In fact, we placed right behind volleyball powerhouses Brazil and France and better than Japan and Germany. Whoa!

Final na. Top 19 ang Team Philippines out of 32 elite teams sa 2025 FIVB World Championships! Second best ranked Asian team! 😭 Congratulations, Alas Pilipinas!!

Sana makalusot na sa Asian Championships next year.#Philippines2025 #FIVBWCH2025 #MWCH2025 pic.twitter.com/L2dTKLrwLw

— Kevin Ona (@kibinona) September 18, 2025

Many of our players made it to the top ten rankings of the individual skills: Bryan Bagunas was the #3 scorer, #7 best blocker (tied), and #9 best server (tied). Mark Espejo was the #4 best receiver, #7 best blocker  (tied), and #10 best server (tied). Owa Retamar was the #4 best setter and #9 best blocker (tied). Leo Ordiales was tied for #9 best server. Kim Malabunga was tied for #9 best blocker and #10 best server. And Josh Ybanez was the #5 best receiver and #7 best digger. These are sensational results for individuals and a team that was playing at the World Championships for the very first time. I also need to give major props and thanks to the team's coach, Angiolino Fragoni, and the rest of the coaching staff who did and continue to do an exceptional job making the team very competitive against some of the world's best and making exceptionally good decisions during our matches.

ALAS ON STATISTICS ♠️

Best Scorer / Attacker
#3 Bagunas

Best Blocker
#7 Bagunas & Espejo
#9 Retamar & Malabunga

Best Server
#9 Bagunas & Ordiales
#10 Espejo & Malabunga

Best Setter
#4 Retamar

Best Digger
#7 Ybañez

Best Receiver
#4 Espejo
#5 Ybañez#MWCH2025 #AlasPilipinas pic.twitter.com/Zf1ga4yO8K

— Alas Men's Volleyball (@PHNMVT) September 19, 2025

The Alas Pilipinas Men's Volleyball team may not have made it to the quarterfinals, with some players openly expressing how painful that loss was, but they leave this tournament with their heads held very high. I can't help but feel very proud of this incredible team and I wish them even more success in the future.

Made Nice in Rockwell

My friends and I got to try a restaurant for the first time: Made Nice. This place has been around in the Rockwell area for a while now but none of us had eaten here before. Maybe it's because it's not in the mall; it's actually at a corner of the Joya building right across Powerplant Mall, so it's not exactly top of mind when people head to this area. We wanted to try a place we hadn't been to before so we thought this was the perfect choice.

Made Nice in Rockwell

Made Nice seems has some kind of collaboration with Mamou because when you eat at Made Nice, you are given both a specific Made Nice menu as well as a Mamou menu. Since we had all eaten at Mamou before, we wanted to try dishes that were specific to Made Nice (otherwise, we could have just eaten at Mamou haha). We started out by ordering an appetizer: Pekeng Duck. The dish meant to mimic Peking Duck dish where you wrap thin slices of duck in a thin spring pancake. It is appropriately and very wittily called Pekeng Duck ("fake duck") because what you have in this appetizer is oyster mushrooms and not duck. This was delicious and I think it's name actually made it even more enjoyable to eat haha.

Pekeng Duck

We also had the Octopus appetizer. It was good and I loved the presentation.

Octopus

We also enjoyed a couple of main courses and a couple of pasta dishes. The Iberian chicken was really good,

Iberian Chicken

as was the Linguine Vongole.

Linguine Vongole

We wanted to order the Prime Rib from the Made Nice menu but unfortunately, it wasn't available on the day we were there. As such, we just went with the 200g USDA Prime Angus Ribeye from the Mamou menu instead. (You can't really go wrong with Mamou steaks anyway so it was a good substitute.)

Mamou 200g USDA Prime Angus Ribeye

We also ordered the Lorenzo's truffle cream pasta, also from the Mamou menu. This pasta dish is a perfect and standard companion to Mamou steaks.

Lorenzo's truffle cream pasta from the Mamou menu

It was a really good meal and we were all stuffed by the time lunch was done. We were in fact unable to eat everything so we took our leftovers home. I also have to mention the complimentary bread. To quote my friend Michelle, the bread was divine! There weren't a lot of people when we were there so we felt a bit more relaxed having our meal. But I think even if the place was fully occupied, it wouldn't have felt crowded because it felt like there was ample space between tables and the vibe is quite comfortable and chill. Service here is also great. All in all, we had a really good dining experience at Made Nice. It's on the expensive side but it's a good place to go if you want to splurge a bit.

Made Nice
https://www.facebook.com/MadeNicePH/
Address: G/F 122, Joya Lofts & Towers, Plaza Drive corner Amorsolo Drive, Rockwell Dr, Makati City, Metro Manila
Phone: 0917 183 6423
Opening Hours: 11am to 10pm Daily 

More Reasons to Celebrate

My dear friend Joyce celebrated her birthday last month and because it was a milestone, she organized a big party at Frisky Hipon at the corner of Sct. Torillo and Sct. Fernandez. Joyce said that we could be there as early as 4pm and I know that parking in the Tomas Morato area is difficult so I decided to arrive early. Thankfully, I did because I got a good parking spot and shortly after I arrived, all the available parking slots at the restaurant were occupied.

Frisky Hipon at the corner of Sct. Torillo and Sct. Fernandez

Joyce told us that the reason she picked this place was because she liked the food here and I agree. Most of the invitees to the party were people from our high school so it felt like a grand reunion. I also turned into the evening's accidental entertainment. The party had a mini-stage with a microphone so earlier in the evening, I was asked to sing a song (I performed Callum Scott's version of "Dancing on my Own"). Towards the latter part of the evening, our group of friends decided to sing Fra Lippo Lippi's "Everytime I See You" but they struggled with the verse due to unfamiliarity with the non-chorus parts so I took over and the moment I had the mic in my hand, it stayed there pretty much the rest of the night haha. I ended singing a lot of songs including U2's "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking," Guns N' Roses' "Sweet Child O' Mine," and When in Rome's "The Promise." It was probably past midnight when we called it a night, with everyone happy that we got to celebrate Joyce's birthday with her and with everyone else.

birthday decor at Frisky Hipon

My friend and ex-colleague Jay also came home to the Philippines so a few of us from our previous company met up with him while he was there. We normally meet up at the BGC area but this time, we had dinner at Locavore in Estancia. I love Locavore and even if I eat the same food here whenever I visit - my two staples are the sizzling sinigang and the lechon and oyster sisig - I don't get tired of it. Most establishments in Estancia close when the mall closes but Perfect Pint stays open so after dinner, we moved there for some drinks. It was a wonderful evening and while I normally avoid staying out late and even having some drinks on a weeknight, Jay being in town felt like the perfect time to make an exception.

Sizzling Sinigang and Lechon and Oyster Sisig

My board gaming friend Kat also came home for a few weeks from her international assignment. While we normally play boardgames on Saturday nights, we couldn't find a Saturday schedule where more than a couple of people were available. Thankfully, enough of us were free on a Friday night so we agreed to have game night then. It's been a while since I last saw Kat - I actually didn't get to see her right before she left the Philippines for her international assignment - so it was great to catch up and play board games with her and the gang again. I will say that we played one game that night that I really dislike: Buffet Boss. I dislike it because I don't particularly like dexterity games and this one requires you to balance irregularly shaped food items on top of each other. (I did win both rounds of Pokémon Go that we played so that night wasn't too bad haha.)

My losing attempt at building a Buffet Boss food tower

My nephew also turned a year older and to celebrate, we had lunch at Texas Roadhouse. It's been a while since we last ate here as a family so it was nice that we got to visit again. I am clearly a creature of habit when it comes to restaurant food because I had my usual order of Roast Beef (I really should try more of their dishes, like the Monterey Chicken) but I did try one new thing: Turtle Pie for dessert. It was pretty good.

Turtle Pie from Texas Roadhouse

Just about a month ago, I wrote about having several special moments with family and friends. A few weeks later and here I am, writing about more celebrations. I really do feel very grateful that I am able to continue spending quality and quantity time with the most important people in my life.

A Small Donation and Other Random Stuff

Before our dog Wolf passed away, the vet told us that we needed to manage his diet and nutrition by feeding him Royal Canin Urinary SO. It was difficult to find this particular dog food so I bought a couple of week's worth of it when I finally found it. Sadly, Wolf passed away and we were left with several cans of Royal Canin Urinary SO that we didn't have any use for. My research also indicated that it's not good to feed it to dogs that aren't sick. I learned from a friend of mine told me I could donate our remaining cans to Animal Kingdom Foundation. I reached out to them on Facebook and they told me that they I could indeed give them the specialized dog food I still had. They are only open during working hours on weekdays so it took a while for me to finally send them the dog food but finally, I did. Hopefully, it can help another dog (or dogs) get better.

My dog food donation to Animal Kingdom Foundation

Going from giving a donation to being the recipient of something, I recently received a couple of gift certificates of Golden Delight ice cream. You can get this particular brand from Icecreamhouse which has several branches in Metro Manila. One of the GCs I had was worth P300 and I used it to get a half gallon of Cookies and Cream and a pint of Sans Rival (I would have preferred to get a half gallon of sans rival since it isn't a common flavor but it wasn't available in a gallon size). My family used to buy ice cream from Icecreamhouse but we haven't done that in a while so it was good to enjoy Golden Delight again after such a long time. 

Golden Delight Ice Cream from Icecreamhouse

Since we're talking about nostalgia, I recently downloaded Plants vs Zombies again. I'm not particularly sure what triggered this. I think I revisited a place where my nephews attended a Plants vs Zombies-themed Halloween party when they were still very young and that memory suddenly made me want to download and play it again. I don't think I know anyone who still plays Plants vs Zombies but I will say that I still enjoy it.

Plants vs Zombies

I'm also really happy that what seemed to be a bit of a frivolous purchase I made a few months ago has turned out to be a brilliant decision. I wrote about buying American Eagle jeans that I didn't exactly need just because they were on sale, with a discounted price of P900. As it turns out, my other good pair of jeans just ripped at the butt area, in the section adjacent to where it had already been previously patched up. I had a tailor look at it and they said that if they put another patch on it, it'll get too thick and possibly uncomfortable to wear. I decided not to have it patched up anymore, which means that my new pair of jeans has now become my primary pair of jeans. So I guess I can now consider it to be a valuable purchase and not a frivolous one haha. Cool!

PLDT High Speed Hitters win their second PVL Gold!

What a result! Just a few weeks after winning their first ever PVL championship, the PLDT High Speed Hitters win another one: the 2025 PVL Invitational. They achieved this feat without dropping a game the entire tournament, defeating guest team Kobe Shinwa in four sets in the final.  

TWO WEEKS, TWO TROPHIES 🏆

From preseason glory to Invitational dominance, the PLDT High Speed Hitters sweep their way to the 2025 PVL Invitational crown!#PVLInvitational #PVL2025 #TheHeartofVolleyball pic.twitter.com/5TYPnVkeIF

— One Sports (@OneSportsPHL) August 31, 2025

There are few more amazing stats about this title run. First, PLDT was the only team to beat the Japanese team Kobe Shinwa and they did it twice - once during the round robin matches and again during the finals. Second, PLDT remained undefeated throughout the tournament, winning all five games they played. This is the second consecutive tournament that PLDT didn't lose a single match. This now takes their win streak to 13 consecutive games. For a team that were always so close to a podium finish for 3 years, it's amazing to see them now achieve great success.

RING THEM TWICE ☎️🏆

The PLDT High Speed Hitters keep their momentum alive by adding the 2025 PVL Invitational crown to their preseason title with a clean, undefeated slate!#PVLInvitational #PVL2025 #TheHeartofVolleyball pic.twitter.com/y96CTGscyq

— One Sports (@OneSportsPHL) August 31, 2025

I am also really happy with the awardees. First, Savi Davison, who has continually been a key player of PLDT, won the Conference MVP for her excellent performance throughout the tournament. Well-deserved, Savi!

SAVI IS PVL INVITATIONALS MVP 🏆

PLDT's Savi Davison wins her first Most Valuable Player award as the 2025 PVL Invitational Conference came to a close on Sunday.

READ: https://t.co/dqicKElO98 pic.twitter.com/TenPMOD7jx

— ABS-CBN News (@ABSCBNNews) September 1, 2025

Also well-deserved: Team Captain Kath Arado was awarded Finals MVP. While she has won multiple best libero, best digger, and best receiver awards, this is the first time she has won an MVP. Congrats, Kath!

CAN’T GET PAST KATH 🏆

Kath Arado rings in the Finals MVP award, steering the PLDT High Speed Hitters to the 2025 PVL Invitational crown with her full coverage defense against Kobe Shinwa University!#PVL2025 #TheHeartOfVolleyball #PVLInvitational pic.twitter.com/zrrBrsbeoC

— One Sports (@OneSportsPHL) August 31, 2025

Congratulations PLDT High Speed Hitters and may you continue to achieve success in the future!

La Latina in Greenbelt

My family and I had dinner at La Latina after my nephew's performance at the Kaliwa't Kanang Kalabitan concert. This restaurant in Greenbelt offers many dishes from the different countries in Latin America. We didn't initially plan to eat here but it turned out to be such a wonderful new discovery and a perfect choice for us.

La Latina in Greenbelt 5

I say that we didn't initially plan to eat here because our idea was to have dinner somewhere in Ortigas. My nephew's girlfriend watched the concert with us and we thought of having dinner in Ortigas since she lives in that area. When we left St. Scho, I used waze to help us figure out the best route and I saw that we would take Ayala Avenue. By this time, everyone was hungry and the traffic was still bad, so I suggested that since we were already along Ayala, we could just have dinner at Greenbelt and my family agreed.

Even in Greenbelt, La Latina wasn't our first choice. I thought of having dinner at Tartufo because my friends said that this is a really good Italian restaurant, but when we got there, they didn't have a table that could fit us. La Latina and Sentro were next to Tartufo and both of them still had available tables so I asked my family where they wanted to eat. My brother said that we always have Filipino food so our decision was made. La Latina it was!

We ordered a variety of dishes from all over Latin America. And yes, I say Latin America and not South America because their menu included many dishes from Mexico which is geographically in North America. That said, the menu actually also includes some Spanish dishes such as paella and croquetas. I ordered the Croquetas De Marisco - seafood croquetas made with shrimp, octopus, clams and mussels - for our appetizer.

Croquetas De Marisco

Many of us tried Mexican food. We shared Camarones al Ajillo, or garlic prawns cooked with salsa macha, a traditional Mexican sauce made with chiles.

Camarones al Ajillo

My nephew's girlfriend ordered the Quesabirria, which are slow-cooked beef short ribs with melted cheese. My mom had the Tacos Gobernador, which had sauteed shrimp, veggies, and melted cheese and was served with salsa macha. I absolutely love the presentation of the tacos, which were served in a shrimp-shaped holder. It was super cool! 

Tacos Gobernador

I also had the Mole Poblano Beef Cheek. The only other time I've had mole was when I went to Mexico back in 2004 so I thought it would be great to have it again. This dish involved cooking the beef in one of the quintessential sauces from Mexico and it is served with corn tortillas and rice on the side. It was delicious and the beef was very tender!

Mole Poblano Beef Cheek

We also ordered a couple of items from Argentina. I got Empanadas Argentinas for us to share. Argentina is known for their beef empanadas - I was lucky to try it when my mom and I visited Argentina in 2018 - so I thought the rest of my family might want to try it too.

Empanadas Argentinas

My nephew ordered Milanesa, which takes it roots from the Italian Milanese dish and has become a staple in many countries in South America, including Argentina (I actually also had Milanesa during my Argentina trip). It's a beef dish that is thinly pounded, breaded, and fried then served with a sous vide egg and creamy truffle bechamel. Their Milanesa was quite huge so my nephew shared some of it with the rest of us.

Milanesa

We also enjoyed a couple of dishes from Peru. My brother ordered the Tuna Ceviche, which is served with cilantro and coconut milk, and I ordered another one for everyone to enjoy. Ceviche is like the national dish of Peru and my mom and I got to enjoy it when were there. The version in La Latin was really good!

Tuna Ceviche

Finally, my other nephew ordered the Tiradito de Salmón, which is raw salmon with jalapeño and aji amarillo emulsion. It is apparently a fusion of Peruvian and Japanese culinary techniques.

Tiradito de Salmón

Aside from the great food, I also love the design of the restaurant. It has very festive decor that livens up the atmosphere. Even the restroom is very aesthetic and clean. I love how there are cacti and plants next to the sink.

La Latina restroom

I have to say, it was a such a treat discovering La Latina. It's on the expensive side but everything we had was great. The fact that we got to try dishes from different countries with different flavor profiles made our dining experience even more enjoyable, as if we ourselves were traveling across Latin America through the food. I also love their presentation. I mentioned the very cool shrimp taco holder but our complimentary nachos were also served in a brightly colored pepper-shaped bowl. Cool!

Complimentary nachos

Our plates were also really eye-catching, with everyone getting a plate with a different animal on it. I got a bull...

...while my nephew got a tiger. (I wonder where I can get plates like these. I want some for myself!)

Our dinner at La Latina was the perfect way to celebrate my nephew's successful guitar performance. I really do highly recommend La Latina and I hope I can eat here again soon.

La Latina
https://www.facebook.com/p/La-Latina-Manila-100084879604244/
https://www.instagram.com/lalatina.ph/
Address: G/F, 5 Greenbelt Dr, Makati City, Metro Manila
Phone: 0966 958 7020