Taste Bud Tickler: Hole In One

Hindi ito tungkol sa golf.

Pagkain po ito.

Nauuso kasi ang food parks.

Eto mejo bago pa.

Hole In One along Bayani Road in Taguig.

Around 10 food stores selling iba't ibang food.

Sa bungad may Liempo, Chinese Food, Dessert, Drinks.

Sa baba, kasi mejo pababa siya, may Japanese, Korean, Mexican, American, Italian, Filipino food.

So basically - solb ang tiyan mo at madami ka pagpipilian.

I wont discuss anu ano ang food na binebenta...para may next time pa.

Overall, relaxing naman ang lugar. Malinis. Hindi mainit - well maybe dahil gabi na at nasa Ber months na tayo.

Pwede mag inum ng alak or beer.  I wonder lang if may nag away na dun dahil sa kalasingan... pero I doubt it.

Downside is - till 12MN lang siya pag weekdays. Lemme check kapag weekends.

Mejo madali lang naman hanapin ang lugar - though di siya masyado visible sa kalsada... kasi katabi siya ng Shell gas station na sarado.... nagiisa lang naman ang Shell sa Bayani Road.

Worth it naman itry.

Food price - sapat lang. Lagpas 100 ang food items nila.  Meron din ilan ilan na below 100 lang. Pero pansin ko wala naman umaabot ng lagpas 250.  Pwede na.

Mukha pang may nagpperform sa weekends kasi may speakers at merong larang stage. I am not sure. Weeknight kami pumunta eh - pasarado na nun.

Try nyo lang. Baka magustihan nyo.

Wander: Friendship for Visa

Going to Japan requires a Visa.  My upcoming trip will be my first time in Japan and there is nothing more stressful than prepping and waiting for the result of the Visa application.

I previously have written the things I prepared to apply for my Japan Visa.  I mentioned that I went to Friendship Tours to submit my documents.  It was easy, breezy fast!

Friendship Tours is located on the 3rd Floor of Dusit Hotel in Makati.  If you don't know where that hotel is, well, it is just beside SM Makati.  If you dont know where SM Makati is, probably you know where the MRT Ayala station is. If you got there, the you should be able to find your way to the hotel.

If you have a car, you can park at Park Square, which is just in front of the hotel. 

There's gonna be 2 of us going to Japan. We initially went to Reli Tours as their application fee is just Php950 - but there was a long queue.  So while waiting, I decided to go out and check the neighboring travel agency and there I saw fewer people in Friendship Tours, which by the way, is just in front of Reli Tours.

We decided to go there instead.

Since we have not filled out our Visa Application forms yet, we took a number from a box and while waiting, we were filling out our application form. We were about 2 or 3 numbers away from the current number being assisted so we have ample time to finish filling out the form.  Pens were provided by the way, but I suggest you bring your own.

When it was our turn, we went to this cubicle and the lady assisted my companion first.  She handed us a paste so we can put our photos on the application form.  She also checked the documents if they were complete.  She inserted the documents in one of the pages of our passport and told us that she will also get the payment. Talk about a one-stop station!

Each of us shelled out Php 1200 for the application fee.  The lady informed us that it will take approximately 5 to 7 business days for us to get our passports back and that our application will be forwarded to the Japanese Consul on Monday - since we went there on a Saturday morning.  After the payment, she handed us a receipt (for the 2 of us) and advised us that they will text any one of us if the passports are ready for pick up.  We left and hoped for an approval.

Fast forward and on a Wednesday afternoon around 4pm, I got a text message that my passport is ready.  I asked my companion if he got a text and he also did.

Thursday morning at 9AM, we went back to their office and waited for 2 other claimants before us to complete their transaction.

We handed our receipt to the guy at the claiming station and he handed us our passports - opening at the page with our approved Visa.

Yey!

I checked the back of our passports and yes, there was a white sticker - which indicates a good news.  I have read in some other blogs that a white sticker indicates good news and a red sticker is the opposite news.

My friend said that the 2 others before us had red stickers on their passports and could be asking a lot questions why before leaving thus it took us a while to be assisted.

In any case, an approved visa means you can immediately leave with a huge grin and be more excited for the next stage of the trip - planning.

Was it worth it to pay 300 extra as compared to the other travel agency?  I would say yes. For the very short time we spent waiting for us to be assisted in submitting the application and documents and the fast result, we can never complain.

So maybe next time we apply for a Japan Visa on our next trip, we would consider Friendship Tours again.

Meanwhile - I still have a huge grin, this time planning where to go and what to do in Tokyo.

Taste Bud Tickler: Purefoods Pulled Pork BBQ

I am not sure if this is new but I saw this on the shelves.  Worth trying of course.  You can see how much it costs for a 210g can.  It may be a little expensive for those who are kinda into a tight budget, but gotta wait till it touches your taste bud.

Pulled pork reminds me of sandwiches.  I gotta try this with..... rice. Hahaha..

Before the verdict, here are a few more pics.  There are a lot of them in SM Hypermarket.  If you are lucky, some promodizers might be roaming around and ask you to try their sample. 

Anyway, the packaging is typical.  Purefoods. Reliable brand.  

Here's a pic for the diet concious consumer. Nutrition facts.  I dont care that much.  Basta masarap.

Anyway, it comes in an easy open tab. Di mahirap buksan.  Ang ginawa ko, pagbukas, buhos sa mainit na pan na may konting mantika.  By konti, I mean just enough na hindi dumikit sa pan.

 I dont have a non stick pan by the way.  Maybe if you do, just dump it in the pan to heat it.  You will instantly hear the sizzle and smell the aroma of BBQ! Nakakatakam na smell. Pramis.  Saglit mo lang naman ihheat. Maybe enough na uminit na lahat.  Some people may want it dry, by all means, but I prefer na mejo hindi masyado tuyo.

Anyway, eto na, huhusgahan ko na.  Pinatong ko sa mainit na kanin.  Umuusok na kanin. 

Ang bango.

Ang sarap.

Nakakatakam.

And... yummy!

It tastes like barbaque.  I really thought kalasa niya ang corned pork but hindi. Iba ang lasa.  It tastes smoky too.  Smoky - parang pinausukan, but not naman pinausukan taste na parang tinapa.  Iba. 

Sa bawat nguya mo sa kanin, parang may burst ng BBQ. Masarap na ulam kesa palaman sa tinapay.  Pero pwedeng pwede rin talaga gawin sandwich. 

Im sure mapapabili ulit ako nito pag nadaanan ko sa grocery.  I am not sure lang if may smaller can.  This can may be good for 2 or 3.  Sa akin... pwede ko siya ubusin mag-isa....together with mga 2 or 3 cups na sinaing na bigas.

Anyway, this is not a paid ad.  Share ko lang ang bago ko natikman.  You might wanna try it too.