Ha-Inan sa Manda

 Malamang may ilan nakakaalam na sa resto na to sa Mandaluyong pero pasensya na, bago para sa akin - so, husgahan na yan!

Ha-inan opens at 9AM and closes at 10PM for dine in customers, but their delivery service ends at 9PM.  Tingnan nyo na lang ang menu.

Nagtry kami ng 2 large Sisig and 1 large Kare-kare all for 1200 + 100 delivery charge dahil nasa BGC kami.  Pang dinner namin for a group of 9.  Not bad, dahil di naman kami kumakain ng madaming rice. 

Since kainan time is 6PM, nagorder ako mga 2PM para me time to prep naman sila. Ok naman daw. Dedeliver nila before 6PM. Push.  Sabi ko na lang na magtext or call pag paalis na sa kanila or if nasa baba na ng building para mapuntahan ko agad. Push.

True enuf, 5:20 pa lang may nagtext na ... nasa baba daw siya.  Aligaga naman ako bumaba kasi kala ko mga 5:45 pa.  Mainam!

At eto na ang order namin!!!!

Yung isang sisig di ko na sinama sa picture.

Maganda at maayos ang lalagyan. Hindi nakaplastic bag! Nakalagay sa plastic ware...hahahha... di ko lang naitanong if microwavable siya.  In any case, malinis naman at di natapon ang sabaw ng Kare-kare. Goodjab sila jan!

Ang bango ng Kare-kare. Unang bukas ko pa lang naamoy ko na agad. Di ako fan ng mani at lasang mani (no pun intended) pero appetizing at nakakaenganyo ang amoy ng Kare-kare nila.  Ang sisig naman, di ko inasahan ganun pala kalaki. Looks OK naman. Pero since fan ako ng mga crispy sisig, di ako masyado na excite.

Husgahan time. Mababa lang naman ang expectation ko sa KareKare since ganun naman talaga eh... expect mo mas masarap ang home-cooked recipe ng mga mahal sa buhay. Nakakadismaya lang kasi ang konti ng gulay. Mga 3 or 4 pirasong dahon ng pechay, konting talong, may konting twalya, konting bagoong na di-naman-masyado-matamis-pero-masarap-naman na nakalagay sa maliit na lalagyan. Pero in fairness naman, isang swimming pool ng sabaw. Kung titingnan mo ang ratio ng sabaw at laman - tawag siguro dun ay - nalunod! Tapos ang ratio ng bagoong sa size ng KareKare considering the sabaw, siguro pang 3 tao lang. Press release nila sa menu pang 8?! Sa bagay baka sa 8 na sinasabi nila 5 ang hindi kumakain ng bagoong.

Sa lasa, pasado sa panlasa ko! Masarap.  Di ko inexpect na ganun naman pala ang lasa. At bilang di kumakain ng twalya, natuwa na ako sa swimming pool na sabaw.  Pano kasi, onti nga lang ang gulay.  Pero lasa ang mani, mejo matamis, creamy namam siya, hindi malabnaw at higit sa lahat, mainit pa nung diniliver! Perfect!

Sa sisig naman.... masarap din. Lukewarm lang talaga ang reaction ko kasi di ako mahilig sa hindi crispy sisig.  Pero in fairness naman, may texture siya.  Texture - yung kakaibang "feeling" ng paghagod ng pagkain sa dila mo. Paano di magkakaroon ng texture eh makikita mo ang ilan ilang puting cartilage (na finely chopped naman). May konting crunch. May konting matigas. Fiesta sa texture. Pero uulitin ko, i am not a huge fan.  Pero kumain pa rin ako kasi masarap naman siya.  Take note lang na hindi na sizzling ang sisig namin kasi delivery siya.  Alam nyo naman na kumumunat ang sisig pag mejo di na sizzling. Hahhahaa.. pero siguro if sizzling pa talaga yun pag nasa dine in sa resto - im sure magugustuhan ko.

Mauulit pa ba? Oo naman! 

Recommend ko siya sa mga nagwowork sa BGC or Manda area or baka Makati pwede pa. Convenient at maayos kausap ang supervisor n si Robert na siya nakakausap ko.  Ayoko kausap sa fone ying babaeng receptionist kasi feeling ko wala siyang magagawa sa mga request mo - mas mabuti rekta ka na sa supervisor.  Binibigay naman niya ang fone kay Robert.

Mabilis lang ang delivery at maayos pa at mainit init pa ang food pag nadeliver.  Yun lang, sorry sa night shift, 9PM lang ang last delivery - pero sa dine in 10PM.  Di ko alam san ang tindahan nila sa Manda, pero I dont mind if di ako makakakain sa resto nila. Sapat na ang delivery.

Btw, meron pala silang "suki card" na nilalagyan ng sticker everytime magpapadeliver. May freebie pag 4th and 8th delivery.

Again, this is not a paid ad.  Share ko lang..baka meron magpapakain jan...

Me naka try na bang iba?

  

What's NEX?

The Narita Express is an express train that brings visitors from the Narita Express to Tokyo and vice versa - meaning, it does not stop at any station anymore.  This is the fastest way to go to Central Tokyo coming from the airport.  I will share my personal experience with the service when I was in Tokyo last November.

The Narita Express is operated by Japaneast Rail, one of the many train operators in Japan.  You can buy a Japan Rail Pass before you arrive in Japan and that Rail Pass entitles you  to unli train ride from any JR operated trains in Tokyo, including the Narita Express.  The Japan Rail Pass though is a bit pricey and impractical if you will just stay in Tokyo. My companion and I did not avail of the pass when we went to Tokyo.

How then can we avail of the NEX?

The JR Ticket booth is located at the lower level of Narita Airport. You can queue up and buy a NEX ticket. It costs around 6040 Yen or approximately Php 3000 oneway. Yes, it is expensive. You can, however, get a discount if you buy a round trip NEX Ticket.  Round trip ticks cost only 8000 Yen - which means you get a 4000 Yen far one way for a 2000 yen discount each way.  Believe me, 2000 yen is a huge thing when in Japan. Dont worry because the lady in  the counter will be kind enough to offer you round trip tickets anyway. 

So, the NEX has reserved seating.  After ur pirchase of your ticks to Tokyo, it will have a seat number, a coach number and a platform number. This means you cant just sit in any coach.  You will see the platform number on the floor when you get to the station.  The coach assigned to you will automatically be the coach that stops at the platform. Once you enter the train, you can leave your baggage at the baggage area and lock it, or bring it with you to your assigned seat - but most people leave their luggage at the luggage area.

The train is on time and on point. It arrives at the station on the exact time that you see on the monitors, and leaves at the exact time printed on your ticket as if it is in sync with every watch.

Once you are on your way, you can relax, recline your seat to a comfortable angle, and yet still have nice leg room.  It doesnt feel awkward to recline since the person behind you will still have a lot of leg room. You can switch on your wifi, register, then surf the net for free. Well, to be perfectly honest, it is not the most reliable signal though - but at least it's there and that you can probably use it to check your next ride from Tokyo to your destination/hotel.

Your return ticket on the other hand, is an open ticket for 14 Calendar days - meaning, you should use your return ticks within 14 calendar days.  Well, most single entry Japan visa is good for 15 days anyway.  Lemme give an example.

If you arrived in Narita on January 1 and purchased a round trip NEX ticket, you can use the return tick until January 14 - meaning, if you will fly back to where ever from Narita, you can use your NEX return tick anytime from Jan 2 to 14.  Simple.

Reserved seating still apply for your return ticket.  To do that, you need to go to a JR East office for reservation.  What we did is, we went to the NEX office in the Shinjuku station to reserve our return seat to Narita.  In the office, you can select the day and time of the departure from your chosen station. In our case, we were scheduled to leave on the same day on a 10pm flight. We reserved our seat in the morning for a 6pm departure of the NEX from the Shinjuku to Narita.  Same thing applies, there were seat numbers that you need to follow.

There you go. That was quite easy and seamless. It was easy, really, as compared to reading stuff online. 

I hope this helps. Enjoy Japan! Enjoy Tokyo!

I-SURF Mo Yan

Why Surf?
Sa lahat ng produkto na pwede isulat.... bakit sabong panlaba?!
Bakit hindi?! Di ba nilalabhan mga suot nyo?

Maybe wala naman pumapansin sa pang araw-araw na gamit sa bahay dahil karaniwan lamg ito, but it makes sense when you look at it closely.

I have been using Surf since I discovered its scent. I do not believe in fancy tv ads promising kaputian and all... but I believe in the  14-day scent!
There are a lot of scents to choose from. Mas maganda if matry nyo isa isa. Wala ako favorite. Unfair naman yun. Navrorotate ako ng scent para iba iba ang tema ng damit everytime nilalabhan.
Totoo. Mabango siya - lalo na kapag partner sila ng Surf na fabcon. What fabcon? Yep. Di naman talaga feeling fabcon eh. It's supposed to make clothes 'softer' and almost 'wrinkle-free' pero nah .... wag na kayo maniwala jan. Lahat sila di ganun. I basically use fabcon para pabango sa damit after binanlawan.  Soaking it in fabcon-water mixture for 10 to 15 mins then piga - then sampay. Balik tayo sa scent.  Ang totoo sa Surf ay - it does last long. The scent I mean.  Nakatambak lang sa cabinet ang mga bagong labang damit and syempre mejo aabutin ng 2 weeks bago masuot ulet - and yes, mabango pa rin siya. That is primary the reason why I use Surf.
Di tulad ng iba na may pa rub rub pang nalalaman... ano yun, rub rub mo tapos madumi kamay mo kakalat ang dumi, ganern?!
No fuzz ang Surf.
This is not a paid ad.  Just sharing why I use surf.
Price? Di hamak mas affordable kesa rub rub brand. Mas affordable kesa brand na may ipuputi pa daw ang puti. Like duh - kung may ipuputi pa ang puti - invisible na siguro tawag dun.
In any case - try nyo lang. I use it with the washing machine - ang saboni mean. Ang fabcon naman gamit ko ang 10 kamay para magbanlaw.

Expensive Experience

Flying has never been frequent and easy for everyone today.  With all the presence of all airlines online, customers can easily book a flight and explore the world.

Sa Pilipinas, ang presence ng Cebu Pacific at mga seat sale nila mas nakakaenganyo pa ng maraming mga travellers na umalis at mag explore.  Minsan nga lang, kelangan lang talaga natin maging super conscious sa oras ng flights..... to avoid spending much.

I learned things the hard and expensive way when travelling.  

I booked a flight that was originally scheduled 4AM on December for a flight in March.  otiCebu Pacific changed the schedule to another time - and I was advised through email.   Yes, I read it, but did not really gave much though about it.

Flight day.  All the while I thought my flight was 6AM.  I woke up at 4AM and prepared to leave.  I hailed an Uber and it was the only time I checked my itinerary again.

Boom.

The plane leaves at 5AM.

I received notifications on online/mobile check in but I ignored them because I want to personally check in so I can request for a seat at the back row.  

It was already past 4 when I got to the airport.  Check in was closed.

I was late.

Rebooking costs a hefty 5K.

A new ticket costs about 3.7K.

One way.

My original ROUND TRIP tickets cost only 3.5K.

Ouch.

2 options.

Rebook and spend money on the penalty and the difference between the new price and the original price I purchased.

Purchase a new ticket and fly later the same day.

I opted for #2 - since there is a need to get to where I was going.

Expensive.  Hard.  Stressful.  Sad.

The most expensive lesson I learned when flying - always check the itinerary.  NEVER ignore the online/mobile check in notification.

Had I checked in online, even if I was late for the counter check in, I could have gone straight to the boarding gates and be on my original flight.  I could have really saved.

Regrets.

Anyway, it is too late.

Very expensive.

Tipid Tipid sa Japan

Oh yes. It was in November when I went to Japan --- specifically Tokyo.  Ilang buwan na rin yung lumipas pero di ko pa rin makalimutan ang Japan experience ko. I love the country... and I swear babalik talaga ako doon... sana sa Olympics sa 2020.

Anyway, ang palaging tanong:  Magkano ba ang gagastusin papunta doon?

Based on my 3-day Tokyo experience, dalawa kami nun.... sapat na ang 50K... so... individually naka 25K din kami.  For 3 days - all in, kasama airfare.  Mahal ba? Well, that is a safe budget I should say.  May ilang tips lang ako paano makatipid.

1.)  Syempre bantay salakay ka ng seat sale ng mga airlines.  Madami na ang mga eroplanong lumilipad sa Japan - PAL, CebuPac, Vanilla Air at iba pa.  So, magtiyaga sa seat sale.

2.)  Instead of hotel, as in hotel, mag AirBnB na lang kayo.  Bakit? Mas mura in the long run - coz may mga pad na pwede magluto.  Make sure lang na pumili kayo ng place na malapit sa mga pasyalan - which is, mas mahal tignan sa website PERO, believe me, mas makakatipid kayo dahil MAHAL ANG TRANSPO SA JAPAN!!! I learned this the hard way. Nagbook kami ng place na 30-45 mins away sa Central Tokyo - mura nga sa place pero gastos sa tren...and sayang ang oras sa biyahe.

3.)  Visit grocery stores and buy food you can cook - yan ay kung naka place kayo na pwede mag cook... pag hindi naman ----

4.)  Kumain sa fastfood. WHAAAAAT?!

Tama po, fastfood aka McDonalds or Burger King.  I know nasa Japan ka na...might as well tumikim ng authentic Japanese food.... well... yes, pwede naman.. pero kung uber tipid ka, pwede na yan.  Mahal ang food sa Japan. Imagine nyo na lang na ang converted presyo ng food nyo ay aabot sa mga 250 to 500 per person.... habang... sa fastfood nasa less than 200 lang. 

Bakit fastfood? Dahil, ang ilan sa mga menu nila - wala naman sa atin.  You can taste an authentic Japanese version of the usual fastfood na kinakain mo dito.

5.)  Buy pasalubong sa mga "japan japan" store aka mga Daiso Daiso or Japan Home natin dito sa Pilipinas. Tawag sa kanila 100-yen store. Nagkalat ang mga thrift shops dun... pero madami options.  Mura lang din doon.  Makakabili ka pa ng mga KitKat na matcha flavor.  Take note lang na hindi lahat ng items dun 100 yen ang presyo ha - pero mura, mas mura kesa mall.
6.)  Buy pasalubong sa mga toy vendo machines.  Yes po.  Madami nagkalat na vendo machines na ang niluluwa ay mga miniature toys or figures ng anime, robots, kahit ano.  Nagvvary din ang presyo, from 100 yen to 300 yen.  Pero di hamak na maganda naman at sooo kawai (cute) ang makukuha mo.  Di ka pa mamomroblema sa packaging kasi maganda ang lalagyan. 

7.)  Bring your own yosi.  Mahal ang yosi doon. 

Ilan lang yan sa naisip ko.  Dadagdagan ko yan pag me naisip ulet ako.