Santa’s Garden at Baguio Country Club’s Christmas Village

Posted on March 13, 2019

The purpose of our December 2018 trip to Baguio was more for rest and relaxation rather than exploration of the city as we have already done that in 2016, and boy, was it tiring! But we still went out to eat and see some of the places we have previously visited, like Solibao Restaurant, Burnham Park and Mines View. We also got to visit Baguio Country Club’s Christmas Village, a popular attraction of the City of Pines during the holiday season. The Christmas Village’s theme for 2018 was Santa’s Garden.

The Christmas Village was open from October 27, 2018 until January 6, 2019 from 2:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. on weekdays and from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. on weekends and holidays.

Thousands of beautiful and colorful flowers (combination of fresh and artificial) adorned Santa’s Garden. The Christmas Village attractions included the Nativity Pageant, Snowfall, Blinking Lights Show, Picture-taking with Santa, Wishing Wall, and Live Performances.

Entrance Fees to the Christian Village are as follows: Php120 for adults, Php85 for senior citizens, Php50 for children aged 4 to 12 years old, and FREE for Baguio Country Club members, children 3 years old and below, and PWDs (Yey, thanks!).

The Snowfall is one of the most awaited activities inside the Christmas Village. It’s fun to watch the young children’s giddy faces as they tried catching the snow. This is artificial snow, however, in the form of bubble foam, which I believe, is made from detergent. Still, it makes the place more festive and Christmassy.

The line to the Christmas Village was long when we went. I guess most of the visitors that night were first-timers like ourselves, and that explains the sense of curiosity and excitement among them. I also realized that there wasn’t a picture of us at the Wishing Wall perhaps because there were a lot of people crowding the place that we got impatient and hurriedly moved to the next activity. 😉 The Wishing Wall, as the name suggests, is a wall where visitors post their wishes written on paper.


WHAT WE LIKE
• The place is festive and Christmassy.
• Everything inside is picture-worthy.
• PWDs and very young children get FREE entry to the Christmas Village.

WHAT CAN BE IMPROVED
• There was no designated parking spaces for visitors. We were able to park our car very far from the Christmas Village, so we walked a good number of minutes from where our car was parked to the Christmas Village and back. It’s actually more convenient to ride a cab going there.
• The place is not too big. You can finish seeing everything and having your pictures taken inside in less than 30 minutes.

Reminders for those who plan to visit the Christmas Village: Foods, drinks, pets and rubber slippers are not allowed.

Baguio Country Club Christmas Village
Baguio Country Club Road
Baguio City

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Posted in Baguio, Baguio Christmas Village, Baguio Country Club Christmas Village, Baguio Trip 2018, Blinking Lights Show, Christmas 2018, Nativity Pageant, Santa's Garden, Snowfall, Wishing Wall | Leave a comment

Tefal Spherical Pot Rice Cookers: The Revolutionary Way to Cook Rice and More

Posted on March 4, 2019

If there’s one food item that I can’t live without, it would be rice. And if rice is softer, fluffier, and cooked perfectly, so much the better! This actually explains my excitement over the launch of Tefal’s latest and most innovative rice cooker at the SM Makati Ground Floor Concourse recently.

Ms. Issa Litton with Chef Jonas Ng demonstrating the versatility and ease of use of Tefal’s spherical pot rice cookers

Hosted by Ms. Issa Litton and with a cooking demo by Chef Jonas Ng, the event formally introduced Tefal’s spherical rice cookers, the most functional kitchen appliance you’d probably have, that combines the best of two worlds: modern technology plus the goodness of old firewood claypot cooking.

Japanese Tuna Rice cooked with Tefal spherical pot rice cooker

Tefal Spherical Pot Rice Cookers

The Tefal Optimal Spherical Pot Rice Cooker (RK8145) and Initial Spherical Pot Rice Cooker (RK7405) are noticeably different from the usual rice cookers as they are round in shape, which resembles the palayok or traditional claypot Filipinos used in the past for cooking rice and other viands with.


Five Golden Features of Tefal Spherical Pot Rice Cookers

Tefal’s spherical pot rice cookers have five remarkable features that set them apart from the rest.

1. 3D Heating Technology
Instead of the one-sided heating element found in traditional rice cookers, which sometimes results in unevenly cooked rice, heating elements are placed in the spherical pot rice cooker’s side, bottom and top, giving optimal and balanced cooking performance.

2. The Tefal Exclusive 62-degree Golden Angle
Tefal introduced a unique technology for rice cookers, designing the Spherical Pot with a double 62-degree golden angle, forming it in the shape of a palayok and upgrading it from the usual vertical sides of rice cookers. This makes each grain of rice fluffier, fuller, and flavorful.

3. Super Durable and Resistant
The Spherical Pot has 6 durable and qualitative multilayers in its inner pot, up to 2.5mm** thickness, with durable and resistant ceramic non-stick coating for optimal heat circulation.

4. Fuzzy Logic AI Technology
Tefal incorporates the Fuzzy Logic technology in the Spherical Pot. Artificial intelligence in the form of a microchip in the Spherical Pot automatically adjusts cooking time and temperature, depending on the types of ingredients used, providing perfect and tasty results.

The Tefal Optimal Spherical Pot Rice Cooker (RK8145) optimizes cooking functions with is 35 built-in cooking programs that can cook not only rice but porridge, congee, soup, and desserts, among others. This also allows you to cook rice in different ways – soft, hard, crispy and normal. The Tefal Initial Spherical Pot Rice Cooker (RK7405), on the other hand, has nine cooking programs to choose from.

From left to right: Chef Jonas Ng, Tefal Brand Ambassador; Mr. Michael Yu, Marketing Director (Hongkong and Philippines) GroupeSEB; Ms. Julie Lim, Vice-President, Business Development, Collins International Trading Corporation

Michael Yu, Marketing Director Hongkong and the Philippines of Groupe SEB Asia, the world leader in small domestic equipment that owns Tefal, said that Tefal reinvented cooking with the non-stick pan, when it tried to address the need of the market for a simpler, attractive and multi-functional kitchenware.

“And Tefal is still at it – reinventing cooking – this time with rice. This staple food for every Filipino is very easy to cook, and anyone can do it – and yes, you can use any kind of pot or rice cooker to do it. But for Tefal, rice cooked in just any type of pot or electric rice cooker is not enough. This is because Filipinos deserve the perfectly cooked rice every time. And they can do just that with the Tefal spherical pot rice cooker. That’s why it is revolutionary,” Yu said.

With Tefal’s spherical pot rice cookers, perfectly cooked rice, however you like it, is achievable! They’re now available in leading department and appliance stores.

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Posted in 3D Heating Technology, 62-degree Golden Angle, Artificial Intelligence Technology, Chef Jonas Ng, Fuzzy Logic, Initial Spherical Pot Rice Cooker, Modern Technology + Old Firewood Claypot Cooking, Product Launch, Rice Cooker, Tefal, Tefal Optimal Spherical Pot Rice Cooker, Tefal Spherical Pot Rice Cooker | Leave a comment

Review of Grand Sierra Pines Baguio

Posted on February 8, 2019

We had a very pleasant 3-day Baguio trip last December as we got to stay at Grand Sierra Pines Baguio (Sierra Pines), big thanks to the hubs for booking us there! Sierra Pines is a 4-star eco-friendly hotel located on North Outlook Drive in Barangay Gibraltar, Baguio City.

Of the four times we’ve had a family vacation in Baguio, I can honestly say that Sierra Pines is by far the best hotel we’ve stayed at in the City of Pines. Let me tell you the many reasons why we love this hotel and why we’re looking forward to going back there again.

What to See at the Hotel Lobby

The hotel lobby is so warm and inviting. When we arrived at Sierra Pines, Christmas was definitely in the air with real poinsettia plants adorning every nook and cranny.

Why, even Santa struck a pose in the middle of the Koi pond on Sierra Pines’ lobby!

This is the Atrium Lobby Café. Lovely, isn’t it? Open every day from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., The Atrium Lobby Café serves delectable Pinoy comfort food at affordable prices. They also serve buffet breakfast from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.

If you’d rather have Western food, that won’t be a problem either as a few steps away from the Atrium Lobby Café is the The Outlook Steak & Grill with breathtaking view of the vicinity. Our dining experience here is now up at Delight My Appetite.

Now if you’re the outdoorsy type, you’ll love it even more at Sierra Pines because they have a huge garden where you and your loved ones can play backyard games. They have bonfire nights, too, at this garden to delight the vacationing guests.

Our Deluxe Room

This is our Deluxe Room at Sierra Pines with a private balcony, queen-sized bed, couch, small table with chairs, LED TV with cable programming, mini bar, electric kettle, ceiling fan, air con, in-room safe, separate toilet and bath, and free Wi-Fi.

It’s bright and cozy you’d actually want to stay in bed the whole day. But Baguio is so lovely a place to get holed up in our hotel room, so yeah, we’ve been in and out of this relaxing haven to explore more of the country’s summer capital.

This is our favorite spot in our room, perfect for picture-taking!

Father and son doing their most favorite thing (eating) in bed. Remove the crumbs, please!

An Eco-Friendly Hotel

If you noticed or not, Sierra Pines is surrounded by pine trees. Moreover, Sierra Pines has a rain catcher system installed in the hotel that catches rain water. The system is connected to a pipe leading to the garden area where rain water is treated and then brought back to the cistern for the hotel’s daily use.

And did I mention that the hotel staff are so polite and friendly, too? That and the other reasons I mentioned previously are what will bring us back to this very lovely hotel. The sooner we are back, the better for us!

P.S. Grand Sierra Pines Baguio has its own wellness center and art gallery, too, but we weren’t able to see those during our visit.

Grand Sierra Pines Hotel
43 North Outlook Drive
Barangay Gibraltar, Baguio City
Telephone Nos.: (074) 424-9430, 32-33
Mobile Nos.: 0928.846.6566/0995.489.0873
Email: info@sierrapinesbaguio.com
Website: www.sierrapinesbaguio.com

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Posted in Atrium Lobby Cafe, Baguio, Baguio Trip 2018, Grand Sierra Pines Baguio, Hotel Review, Hotel Staycation, Sierra Pines, The Outlook Steak & Grill | Leave a comment

Get the Best Deals from Lazada’s Biggest Baby Fair Happening on January 22 to 24!

Posted on January 23, 2019

Great news to all the moms and dads out there! Lazada’s biggest online 3-day baby fair is here once again! Happening on January 22-24, 2019, you can expect up to 80% off on a well-curated line-up of products at Lazada. Get the best deals from over 100 popular brands including Pampers, Akeeva, Cotton Stuff, Chicco, Enfant, Tiny Buds, Avent, Johnson and Johnson, and Mustela!

Here’s a lowdown of some of the best deals available at the Lazada Baby Fair:
• Purchase 68 pieces of Pampers Baby Dry Diaper Pants for only Php 371, 30% off from the original price of Php 530!
• Buy one take one 500ml JOHNSON’S Milk + Rice Baby Bath for only Php 238? That’s 50% off from the original price of Php 476!
• Save almost 30% upon purchasing Philips Avent Natural 4oz Bottle Twin Pack, priced at only Php 669 from Php 950!
• Black Akeeva Aerolite Pocket Stroller is about 55% off! Get it for only Php 5,500 from the original price of Php 12,000!
• Get two packs of Enfagrow A+ Four Powdered Milk Drink 1.8kg for only Php 3,222! What’s more, it comes with a free pack of Enfagrow A+ Four Powdered Milk Drink at 1.8kg, all at 34% off the original price of Php 4,833!
• A set of three Cotton Stuff shirts will be available for only Php 200 instead of Php 299.
• At 26% off, moms can get two boxes of Tiny Buds Natural Laundry Detergent Powder for only Php 424!
• Stay hygienic with this 3-pack Enfant Nipple and Bottle Liquid Cleanser for only Php 420. That’s 24% off the original price of Php 550!
• Save more than 30% with this Chicco 2 in 1 Sterilizer priced at Php 1,959 instead of Php 2799.75!
• Get a 20% discount on this useful Medela Swing Maxi Double Electric Breast Pump priced at Php 10,800 from its original price of Php 13,500!

To make the most of the 3-day Lazada Baby Fair, make sure to “Shake It” and “Slash It” to get even more discounts and promotion vouchers!

For more information, stay tuned to Lazada Philippines’ official social media accounts, on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LazadaPH and Instagram: @Lazada_PH. Log on to www.lazada.com.ph/, too, or download the Lazada Mobile app via the App Store or Google Play.

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A Pink Christmas It Was!

Posted on January 18, 2019

Our family celebrated a pink Christmas last December 24 at my brother’s house in Imus, Cavite.

We shared a hearty potluck feast of Amber’s and Fish2Go specialties, plus a roasted Peking duck and some home-cooked favorites.

This annual family get-together was an opportune time for us to catch up on each other’s lives and to have a heart-to-heart talk with our dear Nanay who apparently is not in the pink of health.

Nanay underwent quadruple bypass surgery in 2010. Now she is a candidate for kidney dialysis. To lower her creatinine levels and to delay dialysis, she was instructed to follow a protein- and salt-restricted plus fiber-rich diet, something she detests but one she has to follow for her own good. Her being diabetic further complicates things. The whole family is now bracing for the worst but still hoping for the best.

Now that I think about it, I guess it was actually timely that we all wore pink for last year’s family Christmas gathering. Why? Bourn Creative says “pink is the color of universal love of oneself and of others.” Pink reminds Nanay and all of us to love ourselves by taking care of our health. It also reminds us to look after the people we love because that’s what family is all about.

I hope you all had a happy Christmas, and may 2019 be a better year for us all!

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