Sherlyn Meets China Town : It's chow to go Binondo!

- My Food Trip adventure in Binondo 

Kung hei Fat choi! Happy Chinese new year! I'm watching Eat, Pray, Love right now. At this point, I'm really convinced that I have to push things to their limits. I need to enjoy life, no pleasing other people cause that wouldn't bring me anywhere, it leave me miserable. Soo much for my travel, this time I will try to have a special adventure with my super mega special "friend".

I don't have Chinese blood, But I do love Chinese foods. I am a big fun of Chinese food and I love dim sum so much. I have asked my friend to join me in my food trip adventure. When my friend and I went to Manila cruise, We decided to head over first to Binondo.

Along with my friend, We made an agreement to meet at Don Antonio , Quezon City. At exactly 11am if I'm not mistaken we are all set for our gastronomic adventure at the Chinatown. 

Let me give you a short introduction of this place, Binondo, which came from the word Binundok (meaning boondocks or mountains), is primarily populated by Chinese immigrants living in the Philippines.  Popularly known as the Chinatown of Manila, Binondo is located across the Pasig River from Intramuros and is the center of commerce and trade for all businesses being run by Chinese merchants. See? I can be historian too. 

Chinatown in Binondo, Manila, may not be the cleanest, most pleasant place in the Philippines, but visitors usually leave happy, having found the best that the Filipino-Chinese community can offer.

As a digger of cheap but worthwhile buys, I tend to frequent Chinatown in Binondo, Manila. Of course, there’s the challenge of balancing price and quality, considering most of the products here are genuine fakes. Still, it is a good place to be familiar with because of the bargain prices. 

According to the blogs that I've read  fried siopao is very special, different from other siopao I've ever tasted. I wasn't able to taste it, so sad. Because there were so many people on the line. 

To those who would be going to Binondo, Waying is a must! On the outside, Waying looks like a really old restaurant. It doesn't have the sleek and sophisticated look of modern Chinese restaurants. But, as the saying goes, don't be deceived by appearances! Waying is in fact a foodie haven. Seriously. It serves a great variety of delicious dumplings, noodles and rice meals that are all reasonably priced and are relatively affordable. 

Strike a post! While choosing for my orders.. 

Chinese tea. I didn't like it so much. 

                                                          

                                                              Japanese Siomai ( 65php) 

The dumplings were really great! Fast food dumplings or those which you can buy from foodcarts in malls don't even compare.. Waying's was the real deal. The ingredients are fresh and they have none of those extenders added in commercialized foods.The noodles...mmmm...so hot and filling (I'm sorry I didn't have a photo, as I was already too busy eating hehe). Also, the milk tea was yummy and refreshing. It has the right blend of creaminess, sweetness and that earthy flavor of tea. Hay, I'm running out of adjectives hehe, so just better try it!

Shark's fin ( 55php) 

Beancurd roll ( 55php) 

beancurd roll ( We thought it was delicious, nothing so special it was just  lumpiang toge  in the Philippines) 

Black gulamaan ( 65php) 

Mango Juice ( 65php) 

Chicken dish ( 110php) 

So full, I wasn't able to enjoy our noodles, I liked yangchao too. 

Eng Bee Tin Chinese Deli Home of the Best Hopia, Tikoy and Ube Pao. I bought tikoy for my father and diff. flavors of hopia. It was so delicious. 

Speical Tikoy of Eng bee tin. 

Special products. 

Meet my new "BEST FRIEND" END BEE TIN mascot. I like her. 

 Fireworks along Ongpin st. 

Anyway, I actually wrote this post to share my Binondo food trips so that those who would like to check out Binondo and experience gastronomic pleasures could have some ideas on the wide variety of offerings of the food places there. We decided to leave binondo roughly 3pm because We still needed to be 30minutes ahead of time for our Romantic cruise. 

Sherlyn Meets Suncruise : Manila Bay Cruise

My Romantic Hearts day at Sun cruise :)
- Dinner Cruise

Well, Valentine’s Day is just to arrive and the time is not far when all the streets, shopping malls and restaurants will be decked and dotted with love-struck couples queuing up in front of all kinds of places to while away time in each other’s company. For a person who is single the sight might seem stupid, irrational and quite irritating for sure. Some people might feel singularly left out on such occasions and delve into the comforting caress of depression while others might turn extremely bitter and skeptical about life as a whole. But wait. It won't happen to me. I can celebrate valentines on my own. Yes. So I decided to pick a new location for my February adventure, definitely this would be for the celebration of my valentines. I ended up buying 2 sun cruise tickets 1 week advance,

I was able to buy our tickets using my Paypal account. But they gave it back after they informed me that February 11 was no longer available  to my dismayed I did not purchase again. I called another travel agency for this and they booked me on Sunday instead. There was no promo that time, but still It was really affordable. I was able to pay 650 each ( 1,300/ 2 tickets). Anyway, I reserved our tickets 1 week ahead of our desired schedule. It would be better If you'll reserve your ticket at least 2 weeks prior to your desired schedule.

This were the tickets we had, It was kinda expensive because It was a holiday plus Valentine is just around a corner.

Inclusions are:

     1hour and 15minutes of cruises along Manila Bay
     2 Set dinners ( Eat all you can)
     Romantic Serenade on board
     Live Entertainment

There are 3 trips: These are the sailing schedule:

1st sailing: 4:30pm to 5:45pm
2nd sailing: 6:15pm to 7:30pm
3rd sailing: 8:00pm to 9:15pm

We selected the 1st trip cause we really liked to witness the captivating sunset and the lights of nearby buildings which is also an attraction in itself.

We arrived at the Sun Cruise are located at the back of Folk Arts  Theater in Manila at 4pm. Just in time for the registration. My friend  lined up and gave the vouchers.

Waiting for boarding.. Picture Picture..

This was not my first time to travel through water but still I was really excited that time.

Ohhh.. This was really romantic..  I was just thinking that someday I will find the one who will watch every sunrise with me until the sunset of my life.. I Just need to be patient.. Who knows? That would be this year..

  The crews are all friendly and helpful but the reviews that I read about the buffet are true. The food is so-so. Nothing really spectacular. Everything tastes the same and they are all bland. The way they setup the buffet stations also defeats the concept of a buffet style dining as you will not be able to go back for a second round as the cruise will last for only an hour and so with the long line, you will not have much time to line up again to get food.

There is a live entertainment on board and they have great instrument too and so they were able to play good music that entertained the guest during the cruise.

After the dinner, Of course the camera whoring. We moved towards the front part of the ship and we do the strut.  I felt like I was Rose in Titanic. This was really romantic.

I felt great about being single for Valentine’s Day, and I've always felt great. The only valentine I need right now is my self and My God. I don’t think it is depressing at all because I am happy with myself, not everyone can say that.

Valentine’s Day is not meant to be depressing, but instead filled with so much love, even if it is just you. Being single doesn't mean you have to spend it alone or in your room all day. There are many things singles can do, such as taking yourself out to eat, catching a movie or even giving your close friends Valentine’s gifts. You can even grab some other single friends and head out for the night. This was a really memorable Valentine's date for me.

If you will ask me if I will try the cruise again, I would say that I am happy I did it once with my friend and I will probably just spend my money on some other restaurants that I know can offer much more. This was a great experience though.

The cruise experience was indeed great. It could have been better if the food they served is good. The crews are attentive and the view aboard the yacht is great as well. =)

Sherlyn Meets San Rafael Bulacan!

October 2012


My friends and I decided to unwind after the stressful battle in our company. I wasn't able to sleep well because of this problem, So I think I I really needed to relax and forget about this hell week. Anyway, My friend decided for an overnight swimming at bulacan.


I thought It was very near, Going to the resort was a real challenge. We left Cubao around 6PM and started our adventure. It took roughly 3 hours for us to reach our destination. There was a heavy traffic that time.

The whole place is really spacious. They have three big pools in there, one for the kids and two others for adults, and numerous cottages. They also have rooms for those who intend to stay there for a few nights. They are complete with facilities like rest rooms and a store where you can buy food and other stuff like souvenirs. One more thing, their statues where you can take pictures with are also nice, as well as the staff. The people there are so approachable.

We decided to rent a room because we were so exhausted.  We needed to have some sleep. 

The moment we are settled and rested (from the long travel) We ate and we excitedly changed to our swimsuit and shorts and proceeded to the swimming pool. The water was not that cold so I really enjoyed it. They also offers videoke-for-rent for those who wants to sing-their-lungs out , billiard table and horse-back riding.  The kids will love to have their picture taken with the mini-jeep scattered inside the resort's premises and miniature of cartoon characters.

The resort boost of a cave bar, cave pool with stage for the live band and singers of the night and Jacuzzi. They also have a large pool with orca slide, a hanging bridge with a man-made running water and a cute garden.  At the far end of the resort, at the back of the parking lot is an open space for a vegetable garden or such.  Terraces of eggplants or so I thought, are visible from the hanging bridge area.  They also have a huge space right in front of the resort for a parking lot (still in progress) and a farm. 

I enjoyed the Jacuzzi. Though when we went there the water was still cold, so the maintenance needed to reheat the water. 

Beautiful flowers are everywhere. They were so lovely. 

I have a suggestion for you guys. If you want to go on an outing with your family and friends, "The Big Rock Farm Resort," may be the place for you to go. Last October.  I and my friends, went at this so-called hidden paradise somewhere in Bulacan. It is an ideal place for you if you intend to be in a place really far from urbanity and of course, far from pollution.

Tips: 

       Its advisable to have your own transport when going there for the resort is located a little farther from the main road.  If you are to commute,  you will take a tricycle from the main road to the resort entrance after you get off from the bus (100Php).  Entrance fee for day tour:100Php/pax, a night swimming will cost you 130Php/pax and overnight is around 150Php/pax.

Food is kind of limited.  There's a souvenir shop/store that also sell food, beverages, swim wear and other stuff necessary for resort's goers but may not provide the specific brand that you need and the price is quiet high compared if you buy it outside the resort.  Its advisable to purchased the above mention stuff in the city for the next available store is a little too far from the resort's location.  You may also order meals from the store and prices varies from the menu