Food Adventure at Binondo China Town

27 Septemeber, Binondo Manila - Food. Food. and Food everywhere. Aside from food, Chinese, Chinese, and Chinese everywhere. When put together, Chinese Food everywhere. Almost every country that I have been to has their own China town from Petaling Street of Malaysia to Chinatown, Singapore. I have not been to Mainland China so I do not really know how authentic Chinese food taste like, but Chinatowns' foods are the most authentic that I could get every time I am travelling be it in South Korea, Singapore or any where in the world. 

Philippines Chinatown also known as Binondo is just a few minutes walk from Manila Central Post Office, and from the famous shopping lane of Divisoria. I have been to Binondo many times but still have not explored much of the food there. So this time, we give it a try to explore Binondo's hidden food gem.  With our deep love with Chinese food, we will take all the risk and cost of this journey just to satisfy our cravings for it. So after our countless readings for food blog reviews, and thorough research about the area, these are some of the places that we have been to. We haven't reached our target of ten food stops, but five food stops is really not that bad.

Dong Bei Dumplings (642 ET Yuchengco St. cor V Tytana St., Binondo Manila) - Famous place for their own Kuchay dumplings and also their Xia Long Bao. Their Xia Long Bao is even included in the Looloo's Xia Long Bao's list to try in the Metro. Their dumplings is made to order and you can even see their staffs doing it once you order it. Better be in the restaurant early as the seats could get crowded on meal time and only limited to a few customers. Also one thing to try is their Wong Lo Kat herbal tea to quench the heat and to pair for your dumplings. 

Wai Ying Tea House (Benavidez St., Binondo, Manila) - We ordered Curry Pork Siomai, Hakaw and Chiuchao dumpling. We also ordered their Milk Tea. Hakaw must be my favorite among on what we ordered. Curry Pork Siomai tastes also great but just too oily for me. Chiuchao dumplings is made of chicken, peanuts, and some herb, which make it taste weird for me. But over all, I like it all except their Milk tea. Comparing their Milk tea in what is sold in the streets of Thailand and mamak of Malaysia, theirs is way way behind. I also somehow find it overpriced. 

Eng Bee Tin - A trip to Binondo would not be complete without bringing home flavored Hopia. This place is famous for their flavored hopia aside from the normal flavor of monggo and ube. You can try their famous Kondol (Wintermelon), Buko Pandan, Mochacinno, and Custard. Each pack of four hopia will not cost you more than $1.00. Not bad, eh?

I know these are just few of the restaurants out there but due to time constraints, we haven't visited much of it. Our target was to try almost ten restaurants but we got very full even only on our third food stop. Maybe next time, we could give it a try for the other ones out there. That's how passionate we are with Chinese food. We will never get tired of it even over and over again. So if you ask us how much is the total damage, I must say more or less P500 ($12.0). Really not bad, eh? Delicious Food, Cheap Prices - What's not to love about Binondo, right?

Yours Singapore, My Second Time Around

August 20, Singapore - When I first went to Singapore last January 2014, I intentionally skipped Universal Studios so I have a reason to go back Singapore again. I promised myself that I if ever I will go back Singapore, I will make sure to visit Universal Studios and Sentosa, but not this year. It just so happened that I have a really long holiday to spend in Malaysia and decided just to dropped by Singapore. Also, since when I was in Singapore, I visited Lego Land instead of USS, then I think it is time for me to visit USS since I have been to Lego Land.

I left Kuala Lumpur early in the morning by train going to Singapore. It took me around eight hours of travel, including the immigration process to reach Woodlands, Singapore. The moment I stepped out of Woodlands Train Station, I really knew that I was in Singapore with the clean road, organized traffic, fresh air, and vibrant greens. Singapore comparing to other cities that I have been through is really different so you will really know that you are in Singapore.

It was around 4:00 PM in the afternoon when I arrived, and it was drizzling.  I directly went to the hostel where my friend, Risdy, was waiting for me. When I arrived at the hostel, I was like complaining like hell because of the long train travel from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore. I somehow regret that I book a return train ticket which costed me a lot and has greatly affected my mood on that day. I should have bought a train ticket going to Singapore, and should have taken the bus going back Kuala Lumpur. I was somehow satisfied with the train even though it is too cold inside considering it is an old looking train.

After our short rest, we started our journey in Masjid Sultan in Arab Street which is just a few walks from our hostel. Then, we decided just to go around Downtown and breathe in some fresh air there to spend our first night in Singapore. We had our dinner first in Bugis Mall before we headed Downtown. After we had our dinner, we went directly to Gardens by the Bay. Just right on time, we have witnessed the light show of the Super Trees. Then from there, we walked to Marina Bay Sands Hotel. We just look around the hotel since we cannot go Casino since he forgot his passport. We walked a little bit more going to the Helix Bridge. But before we crossed the bridge, we were on time for the water and light show at the back of the Marina Bay Sands hotel facing the beautiful skyline of down town Singapore. After the show, we continued our walk from Helix Bridge going to Merlion Park while enjoying the city lights and fresh air. It was my first time to watch all those in Singapore and to experience Singapore city at night. Since we got tired from our long walk from Gardens by the Bay to the Merlion Park, we called it a day and went back to our hostel to rest for our long day at Universal Studios the next day.

Early morning the next day, we just had our breakfast and, then, checked out of the hostel. We went directly to Universal Studios Singapore to enjoy our day. We did not expect that the people would be that much since it was not a school holiday in Singapore nor in Malaysia, but we have not took in consideration that it is a holiday in South Korea, Japan and China. Anyway since we could not do anything about the people going in the park, we did our master plan to enjoy the park and take full advantage of our ticket. We first ride the Transformers The Ride: The Ultimate 3D Battle. With that just alone, it took us an hour queue time, but all worth the wait. It was one of the best ride ever in the park. After that we went to the Revenge of the Mummy. It is almost the same heart attack as Transformers but still Transformers is better. We still continue to walk around the park going to the Lost World, and Far Far Away Palace.

Since almost all the rides in the park has a queue time of an hour or more, we took the opportunity jut to take pictures with the characters and celebrities there from the Fairy Godmother to Charlie Chaplin. We have taken some more rides before the rain started to pour and which caused the Water World show to be cancelled. While waiting for the rain to stop inside the theater hall, we have bumped into a Korean girl and another Filipino guy travelling together in Singapore. It is just so funny that the other Filipino guy have not thought of me as Filipino. We just let the rain to stop inside the theater before we all started to roam around the park again. The heavy rain has also caused some of the outdoor rides to close down early so we really have not ridden almost all the rides in the park. Good thing that we went back to the Transformer Ride and was surprised that the queue time was just less than15 minutes. We took it again for second time and still enjoyed the ride. I do really suggest this ride if ever one will visit USS. 

After our Universal Studios escapade, we parted ways in Vivo City Mall. He went back home to Batam while I met my other friend, Mimee, whom I have met during AYLE in Singapore. We had our dinner together inside the mall and went to China Town to have some drink and to catch up a little bit. It was just a short meeting with her since I still need to take the train going back Kuala Lumpur that night, but even with our short meeting I still enjoy it and longing for more.  

With this trip, I am really grateful that I have friends like Risdy and Mimee whom I can meet anytime if I go Singapore. They surely made my trip in Singapore fruitful and memorable. It is really not the country  that I have visited but really my friends whom I have met even before going SIngapore: I met Risdy in Philippines, and Mimee in Singapore and Philippines. I will surely visit Singapore again, and again because of them and because of the memories that we all have made. 

ASEAN Future Leaders Summit 2014

Once again, I have been chosen to be one of the lucky delegates of one of the best ASEAN summit I have ever attended. I did not expect that this would be as memorable and as exciting until I was there. I was expecting a little less, but then the people behind it proved me wrong. 

ASEAN Future Leaders Summit (AFLES 2014) is a nine-day exciting program that invites student leaders from universities in ASEAN region as well as other international universities. This is the second endeavour in bringing partner universities under one program and to enrich them with the leadership capabilities. This program intends to create a networking platform for participants to share idea and knowledge in critical issues of higher education, leadership and student participation and to aid in policy making to create a sustainable tomorrow for younger generation. 

During the nine day program, we are exposed to various plenary forum sessions, educational trips, networking lunches, and of course cultural presentations and gala nights. We also got to experience exceptional hospitality of the organizing committee from Higher Education Leadership Academy of Malaysia (AKEPT), Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM), Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), and Prince of Songkla University, Thailand (PSU). Aside from the amazing organizers, delegates and speakers, here are some of the amazing experiences and realizations that I had during AFLES 2014:

With upcoming ASEAN Economic Community 2015, it has been the hottest and trendiest topic throughout the program. Almost all the forums, seminars, and presentations revolved with the topic on ASEAN integration. Not only we learned more about AEC2105, but also we got to learn different topics on leadership, cross-cultural mindsets, and ASEAN tourism.

Aside from the discussions we had in the plenary hall, we also got to learn more outside with all our educational trips around Malaysia and Thailand. While in Malaysia, we had the chance to visit Putrajaya, the emerging city of Malaysia; Malacca, the historical state of Malaysia; Penang, the pearl of the orient; and of course, Kuala Lumpur, the gem of Malaysia. On the other hand while in Thailand, we visited Hat Yai, the business center of South of Thailand, Songkla. Not only we traveled around, but also we experienced and tasted different cuisines of each countries, and have witnessed various differences from our culture in our home country.

In just less than ten days, we were thoroughly exposed to the culture and traditions of the host countries, Malaysia and Thailand.  Not only we learn about Malaysia and Thailand throughout the program, but also we got to have an overview of the culture of other countries in ASEAN from Brunei to Vietnam. Even in just a short period of time, we experienced cross-cultural exchange from the delegates from our home country to the rest of the ASEAN region. 

The main goal of AFLES is to enrich each delegates with leadership qualities needed in the ASEAN region, including building network and friendship. With almost two weeks of getting together from our first night in Nilai, Malaysia to our last day in Hat Yai, Thailand, we have created a strong bond of friendship that we will surely remember and will surely last forever. So at the end of the program, we only not brought home learning from the plenaries we had and memories of our good travel, but also friends that we will cherish and will be looking forward to meet again in the future. 

Me with Prof. Anees of USM

With all the delegations that I have been through, AFLES 2014 is the best that I have attended be it locally or internationally. It was not just about the travel and tours that made it exciting, but the people that I have met who have made the delegation more exciting and more memorable for me. I will surely keep this experience of mine as a real treasure and will always keep the message of AFLES 2014 forward for other people to experience it and have the same opportunity. All thanks to Professor Anees Janee Ali and Mr. Ehsan Kh of USM for organizing such awesome event. Without them, and also the organizing committee from AKEPT, USIM, USM, PSU; AFLES 2014 would not be realized. I hope that you will continue the legacy for the next years of ASEAN future leaders to come. Oh hail, AFLES 2015! AFLES 2016! AFLES 2017!

Once an AFLESer, always an AFLESer!

Disclaimer: All photos are from the Facebook webpage of ASEAN Future Leaders Summit 2014. Taken by the official photographer, Jonathan Tan of USM. 

Not Your Typical White Sandy Beach

July 05, Malabrigo Beach - Part of my month long birthday celebration, I have decided to spend one of my boring weekend in a secluded beach far from the noisy and polluted city to relax and to feel refresh after. When I was searching for places to go, almost all website are pointing me to beaches in Laiya, Quezon and some other fine sand beaches, but Malabrigo Beach. Malabrigo Beach is not your typical white sandy beach because all you will see is small to medium size pebble scattered around. So I decide to give it a try visiting the beach even if it is almost four to five hours away from Manila by commute depending on the traffic. I love adventure, anyway. 

Going there is quite easy. I just followed the routes the same as what I have read in other blog except the prices has changed. We left Manila at 8:00 a.m., and arrived Lobo, Batangas at around noon. It took us around four hours to reach Lobo which includes almost an hour zigzag road going there from Lubijo. We took a short lunch break in a local restaurant there and have their famous Batangas noodle delicacy, Lomi Noodles. While having lunch, we got to chat with the owner of the restaurant and got to know some of the directions and time schedules of the last trip going back Batangas. 

After we had our lunch, we walked a little bit to take a tricycle ride going to Malabrigo. We asked our tricycle driver to drop us at the Malabrigo Lighthouse. After half hour tricycle ride along the road beside the rice fields and mountain ranges, we then arrived at the hill top where we have seen the majestic Malabrigo Lighthouse. The lighthouse is one of the two lighthouses in Batangas province, the other is in Calatagan as per the caretaker. 

The lighthouse was built during the Spanish period, but still is functional until now. We took a short walk around the lighthouse and have some short chat with the caretaker. The caretaker then pointed us the direction going to beach side which is just few big steps down the steep stair near the lighthouse,I tell you it’s the most tiring thing you will do there. When we got to the last few steps and got to see the beach side, almost all our hard work going down the steep stair has washed off and we felt just to run naked toward crystal clear water. The water was so clear that you can see fishes swimming around, and the waves were not that strong as those in beaches in Quezon. The place was so calming since it is far from the residential area and we are the only one swimming in the beach aside from the other guys. The sun was not that hot and air was so refreshing, all perfect just for a short beach nap. The place is really ideal for those who planning to relax, to do yoga, or just to skinny dip.

Around 3:00 p.m., our driver picked us up in the beach side and told us that we should leave to catch the last trip of the jeepney going back to Batangas. We then dressed up just behind the big rocks and went up to the lighthouse. Before we left, we still got to have short conversation with the caretaker about lighthouse. We left Malabrigo satisfied and with a perfect suntan, just right for a weekend getaway. 

Malabrigo Beach is truly one of the hidden gems of the Philippines. The beach was very secluded and uninhabited so you will rarely see trash around the area. I just hope that people will keep the area as it is. I also hope that the government will help to maintain the lighthouse and also, the beach side. This trip really made me beach sick and wanted to see more of the beautiful hidden beaches of the Philippines. Now, it is time for me to plan for my next beach adventure again! 

How to get there: From Buendia Taft, take the bus going to Grand Terminal, Batangas, From there take a jeep going to Lubijo. Then take another jeepney from Lubijo going to Lobo, Batangas. Finally, hire a tricycle going to Malabrigo. Tell the driver to drop you off at the Malabrigo Parola. 

What It Feels Like to be an Exchange Student in South Korea?

Last 2010, I have received an opportunity that I have never expected that would change me for a lifetime, which until now I still can't believe that it had happened. An experienced that really changed the way I live and the way how I see things. It was really a life changing experienced that when I got home, a new and better me was born.  

I have went to South Korea without even any knowledge of their language, culture and customs. It was my first time to go out of the country and I was literally culture shocked. As days has passed, I eventually learned how to cope with their culture and language. Just after two weeks, I  can haggled and asked for directions  every time I go downtown, or somewhere. After a month, I can ask for something, and order my food in the restaurant all ALONE.

Also being an exchange student in South Korea has also given me a chance to visit from the northest to the southest of the South Korean peninsula. I have been to the almost north of the South Korea, the Demilitarized Zone in Paju, where I had a glimpse of the North Korean city of Kijongdo, and visited the underground tunnels and military base camps along the border. Also, I have walked along the streets of Seoul where I have seen the famous Gyeongbuk Palace, Insadong, Dongdaemun Market and of course the Namsan Tower. Also I got a chance to visit the the archaeological and historical city of Gyeongju where I have visited various temples and shrines such as Bulguksa, Seokguram, Anapji pond and more. I also got to see different beaches around the coast line of South Korea from Pohang to Tongyeong but Busan. And also I experienced climbing up the different mountains around Gyeongsan province like Apsan, Guamsan and Palgongsan, and have explored the daily life of locals in my second home city, Daegu.

It has not just let me visit different places, but also to experience the authentic Korean culture from the Chuseok celebration of my host family where I felt so welcomed and accommodated to the jjimjilbang in Seoul where I first got naked in public. Not only that, I have also experienced singing with a group of Koreans in a norebang, took a long train rides with KTX, tried the bizarre street food, Beondegi, in Gyeongju, and countless night of drinking with friends and classmates all around the university campus.

Being in South Korea is not complete without trying their food. I have been thankful that I grew up not a picky eater. I eat vegetables, meat or anything edible that has been served to me, so eating out is not a problem for me. I have the opportunity to try almost all of their cuisines from their famous Bibimbap and Bulgogi to their not so famous Jjimdak and Samgyetang. I also have tried their famous street foods such as Tteokbokki, Odeng, and more. I also have tasted some of their alcoholic beverages such as Soju, Makkgeolli, and Maekju. 

Even though it seems that being an exchange student in South Korea is full of fun, I must say it comes with a bigger responsibility behind all of that. I have been granted a scholarship grant from the South Korean government so I have to maintain a good academic standing in spite of all the parties and the outside trips that I have. I took five regular business courses from International Manners and Protocol to Economic Development and Global Marketing. I have also taken a special Korean language course to ease my learning of the Korean language. All has been a good courses for me, and as a normal student I also do skipped classes and sometimes slept on class. Luckily, when everything ends, I do received a GPA of 4.30 out 4.50. I almost got a straight 4.50 except one. Having said that, even though I have to maintain a good grade or not, I have never lockup myself abroad just to study and maintain the scholarship. Hence I go out and explore! And that's what exchange is all about.

Even though, I have only stayed in South Korea for only one semester, yet i have learned a lot of things and met a lot of people. Being an exchange student in South Korea, I must say, is fun and exciting since you will really experience life away from your parents and away from your home. It is a challenging and an interesting experience.  You will literally get lost in translation and you would experience how it is to be alone and be an alien in a foreign land. And eventually, you will realize how great you are as before.