My New Fitbit Achievements

I've been walking a whole lot more this year and with my Fitbit measuring my activities, I actually get to see how much work I'm putting in. Earlier this month, I achieved what was then my best week. For the first time since I got my Fitbit almost a year ago, I exceeded all my daily targets for steps (10,000),

distance (8.1 kilometers),

and calories (2,700).

I also hit my weekly target of 150 zone minutes, which is the total number of minutes of moderate activity.

I ended up walking a total distance of 66.56 kilometers over 7 days, or an average of 9.5 kilometers a day. At that point, I achieved personal records in steps (96,099) and distance (66.56 km) in a single week (since I started using my Fitbit, of course). Wow!

As if that wasn't enough, I practically matched that achievement the following week. While I missed my daily target on March 22, the total steps I took (97,066),

the distance I covered (67.21 km),

and the calories I burned (21,309) that entire week actually eclipsed my totals in the previous week.

In fact, my total steps and distance became my new personal records, besting my achievements the previous week. Awesome!

To top it all off, from March 9 to 21, I covered a total distance of 132.01 kilometers. That means that in those 13 days, I averaged more than 10 kilometers per day. That is the best 13-day stretch I've had so far!

While the only exercise I'm doing is walking, I am covering pretty good distances and I'm definitely not living a sedentary lifestyle. While I do want to start exercising more properly again, I'm just happy that my Fitbit is encouraging me to walk more and be more active again.

Rest in Peace, Maricel

My dear cousin Maricel passed away.

She's not that much older than I am but unfortunately, she got sick. While there were moments that gave our family hope that she would pull through, she eventually succumbed to her illness. I was able to visit her at the hospital shortly before she passed on and I am grateful that I still got to talk to her. On that visit, I brought her and her family a box of Bake cheese tarts, hoping she would be able to eat a bit of it. Thankfully, she did and her mom and her sister both told me that she really enjoyed it.

Any death in the family is difficult but what made this loss somewhat easier for everyone was seeing how strong Maricel's faith was. She understood that this cross that she had to bear was God's will and she embraced it fully. Even amidst all her trials, her faith never wavered. Even her doctors were moved and inspired by her steadfastness.

It was a bright, sunny day when we laid her to rest. While the weather didn't really match how we all felt, maybe it was God's way of telling us everything was going to be okay. Rest in peace, Maricel! We love you and we miss you.

March Hodgepodge

I got to try the Afternoon Tea Set at the lobby of the Peninsula Manila. My mom and I were in Makati one Sunday afternoon and we were hungry so I thought it would be nice to go to the Manila Pen lobby, which in my opinion is the best hotel lobby I've visited so far.

Manila Peninsula Lobby

We got there mid-afternoon and as it turned out, the hotel parking was full (I needed to have the valet park my car) and when we got to the lobby, it was packed. My mom and I were placed  in the waiting list but as it turned out, we didn't have to wait too long because a table became available for us quite quickly. The afternoon tea set came with a choice of coffee or tea - both my mom and I got coffee - as well as a 3-tier cake stand filled loaded with many different pastries and savory appetizers. Each item comes in a pair because this tea set is meant to be shared by two people but I do think that it can actually be shared by three people, considering the volume of food. I've always wanted to try the Manila Pen afternoon tea set so I'm happy that now I have.

Afternoon Tea Set at the Manila Pen

I also got to plant another tree through GCash! This time around, I planted Bakhaw Babae at the Tanon Strait. It's worth 19,108 G Energy so it took a while for me to earn enough to plant it so I'm really pleased that I finally did.

A Bakhaw Babae tree was planted in my name!

On a recent visit to S&R, I purchased a few tubs of ice cream. As I paid for my groceries, the cashier told me that I qualified to get a couple of ice cream bags for free (I figured this was because my ice cream purchase reached a certain amount). It's strange to think that something like this would actually make me happy but it does. I often bring ice cream to my family and having these bags keeps them from melting (or at least melting too quickly). I've used these bags quite frequently since I got them.

Free ice cream bag from S&R

And since we're talking about sweets, I also purchased some Valentine's Day donuts from Krispy Kreme last month. I especially enjoyed the chocolate-coated heart-shaped donut with a rose and caramel drizzle. In fact, I bought one again for myself on a subsequent visit to Krispy Kreme.

Valentine's day donuts from Krispy Kreme

I also forgot to write about this in my previous post about get-togethers but I attended the first birthday of the son of my cousin. The celebration was held at Alex III in San Juan and it was great seeing Guilly in person for the first time. The food was really good but the company was even better.

Guilly's first birthday celebration

Finally, I got to renew my passport. It expired during the pandemic but now that things are getting back to normal and international travel seems to be a bit easier again, what with less Covid-related requirements, I decided it was time to renew my passport. Now that I have it, I need to start planning trips abroad again.

Half Saints

I discovered Half Saints when I was looking for restaurants in the Tomas Morato area that I hadn't tried before. I checked out their social media accounts and I thought that their menu looked really interesting. When I found myself with some free time one late Saturday afternoon, I decided to have an early dinner here. For my main meal, I ordered the Gravlax and Schmear, which is house-cured salmon in salt and dill, spiced cream cheese, red onion pickled in mirin, dill, lemon, olive oil, and black pepper. It is served on their housemade pain au lait (milk bread). You can add poached eggs to this dish (I did) and it was pretty good.

Gravlax and Schmear with poached eggs

Since it was my first time here, I had to order something else. There were a lot of dessert options but I ended up choosing something that wasn't exactly a dessert: the Flower Tartlet Trio. It includes a Calamansi and Extra Virgin Olive Oil Tartlet, a 64% Dark Chocolate Tartlet with Himalayan Pink Salt, and a Queso de Bola and Paprika Lava Tartlet. While I absolutely enjoyed all of them, I think my favorite was the cheese one. I would absolutely love to have it again!

Flower Tartlet Trio

The place is small and cozy, which means there is limited seating. When I arrived, I was asked if I had a reservation and I didn't. Thankfully, there were a couple of empty tables in the bakery area. The food, and especially the desserts, are not cheap but I thought the quality was excellent and everything I had was delicious. I definitely plan to visit this place again.

Half Saints
halfsaints.com
62 Sgt. Esguerra Ave, Diliman, Quezon City, Metro Manila

Tamang Hinala by Rumors

A very long time ago, I heard a song on the radio while driving that I really liked. Unfortunately, the title of the song wasn't shared. I took note of the some of the lyrics I heard, specifically the ones that I figured could uniquely identify this song: "Bigla na lang nagdadabog" and "Naiinis sabay alis". I searched these lyrics online after but I couldn't find the title of the song. The only hits I got back then were pages or sites where people were asking for the title of the song with the same lyrics hahaha. Apparently, other people heard the same song, remembered the same lyrics, and tried searching them online to no avail.

For the some reason, I kept those lyrics and I searched every now and then to see if I could get the song title. For a long while, my efforts were futile. That is, until I got a link to the song Tamang Hinala by a band called Rumors. I clicked on it to see if it was the song I was looking for and indeed, it was! Hallelujah!

Check out the song here:

video uploaded in YouTube by Rumors MusicOfficial

As soon as I found it, I added it to my liked videos on YouTube. Since then, I would play it every now and then. I'm not particularly sure why I like this song, but I really do. What do you think?

Toyo Eatery

Last long weekend, I had dinner with my friends at Toyo Eatery. Guests are served many small courses during service, making it a haven for foodies who want to try many different dishes. It's a very expensive restaurant but I had been curious about this place for a while so when my friend asked if I wanted to have dinner there, I agreed. We were served 8 courses, although some courses had more than one item. The waiters explained each item to us in detail, including its history and the inspiration for making it. They don't provide a menu so I don't remember the details of everything we ate. The theme was seafood and vegetables, probably because of the Lenten season, but a few meat dishes were also served.

Toyo Eatery

First up were grilled mushrooms that were styled like street food. We were also served a very hearty and delicious vegetable soup.

This was followed by vegetarian dimsum and some Philippine-style sushi.

Next came Ilocos empanadas and baked oysters. I'm not normally a fan of oysters but I actually really liked this preparation.

We then had fish kinilaw. This might have been my second favorite dish of the night.

My favorite was the one that came next, a blue crab dish (I think it was blue crab). I'm not sure exactly how it was prepared - I do remember there were rice cakes in it - but it was really good and all I could think of after consuming it was that I wish I could have more of it.

We were then served a "Bahay Kubo salad". It is called that because apparently, it is made with all vegetables that are mentioned in the song Bahay Kubo.

Next up was some kind of fish wrap. I call it a wrap because you fold the leaf around the fish and try to eat it in one or two bites.

We then had their version of tortang talong, which comes with Toyo's own banana ketchup. As our waiter explained this to us, he asked us if we knew what Maria Orosa is known for and I did because it was a question during a trivia contest I previously participated in. The answer: Maria Orosa invented banana ketchup!

Before moving to the next dish, we had sorbet as a palate cleanser.

We were then served what I believe was the main course: black pig with vegetables, a very crispy bisugo, and pork fried rice. Everything we had prior to this dish could be eaten in 1-2 bites so this was far and away the biggest and heaviest set of food we got. I actually started to feel quite full after this.

Our meal was not over yet, though. Next up was dessert. Shockingly, we were served 5 dessert dishes! I honestly can't recall what the first one was, but it was the biggest dessert we got. Despite feeling a bit full, I still managed to eat the entire thing.

Our second dessert was what seemed to be their version of strawberries and cream.

The third dessert was salted caramel ice cream. What made this extra special was the salt it came with, called Asin Tibuok. This salt is very expensive because it takes a long time to produce. You can read more about it and how it's prepared here.

Our final two desserts were served together: cassava squares and chocolate truffles.

It was a really unique dining experience made even more memorable by the fact that the dishes we had deeply honor their ingredients as well as Philippine history and tradition. Case in point: before leaving, we were given "baon" - some Pinoy-style biscotti - because according to the waiter, it is customary in our country to take something home after a meal. Very cool! I will say though that I think I'm not the target market for Toyo Eatery. While some dishes were spectacular, some were just okay to me. Personally, I would have preferred to have more of the dishes that I really loved. I also realized that I don't particularly enjoy having a couple of bites to eat then waiting 10-15 minutes or so for the next one. That said, the dining experience was truly topnotch and the wait staff provided exceptional service. I am happy that I got to have dinner here. If you can afford the price tag, I do recommend you to try Toyo Eatery.

Toyo Eatery

https://toyoeatery.com/

Address: The Alley at Karrivin Plaza, Chino Roces Extension, Makati
Email: reservations@toyoeatery.com

 

Board Gaming Bonanza

One of things I'm really thankful for is that I am starting to play board games more and more frequently now. Just this month, I got to play three times. The first game night was hosted by Cla at her house. She just got a copy of Flamecraft, which is a relatively new game that has been getting really good reviews from people. Players take turns placing dragons in shops around town, gathering items, and casting enchantments. The actions per turn are simple so this is quite an easy game to learn and play. It also looks really cute!

Flamecraft

I feel like it's a good game to play with casual gamers and I was tempted to get a copy but I decided against it because I still have way too many board games that I haven't played yet haha. We played Flamecraft twice that night, and I was lucky to win both times by really slim margins (in fact, the first time we played it, I won by only 1 point!)

Winning my first Flamecraft game by the slimmest of margins!

We also played Acquire, a game which Cla says she really loves. The good thing about this game is up to 6 players can play it so all of us that night were able to participate. This game is essentially a business and stock investment game. It mirrors reality quite well because you have to predict which businesses will grow and which ones may acquire others, and your decision to invest in stocks will be based on these predictions. It took me a while to get the hang of it, but an early decision to invest in a certain stock that grew massively turned out to be a great move. I ended up winning the game, much to my great surprise!

My winnings in Acquire

We also played Acquire, a game which Cla says she really loves. The good thing about this game is up to 6 players can play it so all of us that night were able to participate. This game is essentially a business and stock investment game. It mirrors reality quite well because you have to predict which businesses will grow and which ones may acquire others, and your decision to invest in stocks will be based on these predictions. It took me a while to get the hang of it, but an early decision to invest in a certain stock that grew massively by the end of the game turned out to be a great move for me because I ended up winning the game!

My next game night was with my FGTC friends (yes, our board game group has a name!). I used to be able to play until dawn with them but since the pandemic, I realized I don't have the energy to play until the wee hours of the morning anymore so now, I am usually the first person to leave. Despite this, I was able to play a few games with them that night. The one I enjoyed the most that night was The Lord of the Rings: Shadows over Middle-earth Exit game. This is like a tabletop version of escape rooms. We managed to figure out most of the challenges unassisted save for one, and for that, we had to get a clue. It took us about an hour and a half to solve the game and we had to get a clue so I thought we didn't do very well but we actually did get a decent score.

We also got to play That's a Question, a really interesting game where you present a questions to one of the other players and everyone else has to guess what that player's answer is going to be. If all players answer it correctly or no one does, you score zero points. If no one gets it correctly, you also score zero points. But if some people get it, you score points. On other players turns, if you answer the question correctly, you also score a point. It's a really interesting and fun game but it works better if you know the other players well enough.

Just last weekend, I met up with another set of friends for my third board game day/night of the month. This time, I got to play with some people who hadn't played board games since before the pandemic, including Denise and Mike. Most of the games played that night were games I had played before, including Lords of Waterdeep which Denise requested, Parks which I asked Mitch to bring, and Wingspan which Mike really wanted to play.

I have several more game nights lined up in the upcoming month so I am definitely looking forward to those. The key now is for me to start playing more of my board games that I hadn't played before yet.

[Throwback] Mt. Pulag

A few weeks after our white-water rafting adventure, my friend Mike organized a hike up Mt. Pulag in Benguet. At 2,928 meters above sea level, it is the second highest peak in the Philippines after Mt. Apo. I was definitely looking forward to this.

Mt. Pulag

The plan was to drive up to the basecamp and leave our vehicles there. We would then hike up the mountain and set up camp for the night. We would then wake up at the break of dawn and head to the best spot for photographs at the summit just as the sun rises.

Unfortunately, our plans got badly derailed. First, I got a flat tire on my way to basecamp. Worse, once we arrived, it started to rain heavily. Since we were already there, we all agreed to continue with our plans.

The hike to the campsite was about 4 hours long, made even more difficult by the fact that it was absolutely pouring. Once we got there, Mike and I set up our tent and invited everyone else to stay inside it to keep as dry as possible while we set up the rest of the tents. While this seemed like a good idea at the time, when we were done, we were absolutely drenched. Also, the inside of our tent was soaked. This made for a terribly cold evening that left me shivering badly all through the night. I'm not sure how I managed to fall asleep.

Our campsite

We woke up very early the next morning but I wasn't sure whether I wanted to get up because I was feeling sick (understandably). Still, all my efforts that weekend would be for naught if I didn't have the full Mt. Pulag experience so I willed myself to join everyone else. Thankfully, as soon as I started moving and it started to feel warmer and I felt stronger and more energized. When we got to the top of the mountain, we were all rewarded with some stunning views!

View from the top of Mt. Pulag

Unfortunately, we didn't make it there before sunrise, which I guess was expected given how tired and miserable we all were the previous night. Also, we didn't get to see a sea of clouds covering the mountains, a sight for which Mt. Pulag is known. Still, it was a truly magnificent experience being atop the tallest peak in Luzon.

I needed a photo despite my bedhead (hey, there's no shower on top of the mountain! haha)

Once we had our fill of taking photos at the summit, we made our way back down to our campsite. It was there that I had another unexpected and memorable moment: an absolutely sumptuous meal. We brought a lot of cooking equipment with us to the summit and there were three exceptional cooks (including trained chefs!) in our party. Together, they whipped up several delicious pasta dishes. After a difficult climb up the mountain and a cold, damp night, it was an absolute treat to be able to feast on hot pasta ! Even watching my three friends work together to prepare our meal was an absolute joy. They all really knew what they were doing!

Heading back down to our campsite from the summit

We took a few more photos at the campsite before packing everything up. Interestingly enough, it started raining again. I was just thankful that it rained when we were already about to head down. It took us about four hours to arrive at the basecamp. We drove to Baguio where we had dinner at a Mongolian Barbecue restaurant. A few folks spent the night there but the rest of us headed all the way back to Manila that evening.

It rained again on our way back down

This of course was way before TPLEX was built so the trip from Baguio to Manila was still several hours long. It was past midnight when we got home and I was absolutely exhausted but grateful that I was able to experience a very memorable hike up Mt. Pulag.

[Throwback] Adventure Weekend in Tuguegarao

A while back, my friend Mike left the country to study abroad but before he left, he wanted to go out of town a couple of times. I joined him in a couple of these weekend trips, the first of which was an adventure-filled weekend in Tuguegarao that included white-water rafting, kayaking, and caving.

White-water rafting at the Chico River (photo taken by my friend Mike)

We joined a tour organized by Anton Carag, the co-owner of Adventures and Expeditions Philippines, Inc. We departed Manila on Friday night, taking an overnight bus that arrived in Tuguegarao very early the next day. We were picked up at the bus station and taken to Casa Carag, which would be our home for the next two days. After getting settled and having breakfast, we boarded jeepneys that took us to the Chico River for our first activity: whitewater rafting. (About a decade later, I visited the Chico River again; you can read more about that trip here.)

A still moment on the Chico River (photo taken by my friend Mike)

The experience was exhilarating! It was my first time to experience whitewater rafting and getting to feel the power of mother nature was really incredible. The buzz you get from putting all energy into paddling while working with others and following the instructions of the guide is hard to explain. I remember getting off the raft and promising myself I would do it again in the future.

Chico River rapids (photo taken by my friend Mike)

Shortly before sunset, we were taken to the Pinacanauan River to witness thousands upon thousands of bats heading out of their cave shelter. I wonder what it is in their instincts or wiring that make they head out at the same time and fly together in the way they do. In any case, it was a magnificent spectacle that was a great way to end our first day.

Bats flying out of their cave (photo taken by my friend Mike)

More adventure was lined up for us the next day. We started by exploring a couple of caves. Callao cave is quite easy to walk around in and it is quite popular for its amazing skylight that makes for amazing photo ops.

Natural skylight in Callao cave (photo taken by my friend Ray)

We then made our way through Roc cave, which was a lot more challenging due to the fact that we really had to go through narrow passageways. It was quite the experience!

Squeezing through Roc Cave (photo taken by my friend Tim)

After lunch, we did our last activity that weekend: kayaking on the Pinacanauan river. I love kayaking but that was my first time to do it on river rapids. Pinacanauan is actually milder than Chico but because you are alone in your kayak and it so much lower and closer to the water than the raft, it actually feels scarier and less stable. Which also means you get an amazing adrenaline rush! It was definitely more challenging getting through the rapids on a kayak, as proven by the fact that a few folks fell into water. Of course, this is a known risk, and some would even say it's a fun part of the experience, so our guides were properly positioned along the river to help anyone who fell off. It was a source of pride that I managed to stay on my kayak, although I think it would have been cool to have fallen into the water myself haha.

Kayaking on the Pinacanauan River (photo taken by my friend Paul)

We took the overnight bus later that evening. We got a flat tire at some point - I remember waking up in the middle of the night wondering why we weren't moving - and I think we lost a couple of hours. I was still quite young back then so I still had the energy to go to work on Monday morning but I ended up being late because of the flat tire delay. Still, it was such a fantastic weekend. Aside from the awesome outdoor activities, the food was fantastic, and Anton Carag was an incredible host and guide. That I got to do this with my friends made it truly special and absolutely memorable.