How to reach Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA) in Clark, Pampanga

I've read a lot of blogs and information online that helped me reach DMIA easily.

That SMART Tent is where you'll wait if you happen to arrive too early from your scheduled flight.

Our Cebu Pacific flight to Hong Kong leaves at 7:05am on a Sunday. We need to be at the Check-In counter at least 45 minutes before departure so we can be boarded on the plane. Boarding time is 15 minutes before departure which falls at 6:50am.

Promo Airline fares make traveling abroad possible :-)

We'll be coming from North Luzon, Olongapo to be exact, and based on my regular trips to and from Manila, travel time usually takes from 1 to 1.5 hours between Subic Bay Freeport Zone and Dau in Pampanga via the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX).

The earliest trip via SCTEX from Olongapo leaves at 4:15am. If we'll be taking this trip, our latest time of arrival at the Bus Terminal in Dau would be around 5:45am giving us only 65 minutes to transport ourselves to the airport inside Clark Freeport zone.

So here's how it went =D

0030 - Woke up

0100 - Web Check-in

(Cebu Pacific's web check-in facility is now offered for free so I grabbed the chance to give us another 30 minutes allowance upon arriving at the airport. This service is available online from 48 up to 4 hours before your scheduled flight.)

0310 - Tricycle to Victory Liner Olongapo terminal

0330 - Had Breakfast first since tickets for the 1st trip will only be sold at 4am

0415 - 1st trip via SCTEX (Actually left 3 minutes earlier)

0518 - Arrived at Dau, Mabalacat Bus Terminal

0533 - Shuttle to Airport

 (We were lucky that 4 other passengers were there going to the airport, transportation to DMIA is more expensive when you're a group of less than 5 as shuttles here charge a minimum of Php500 for a one-way trip to the airport. When passengers are more than 5, they charge Php100 per head.)

Look for the Air-conditioned jeeps painted White and Green or ask any barker beside Mister Donut (they will text/call the shuttle operators/drivers)

  0602 - Arrived at DMIA Departure Area

0605 - Travel Tax Payment Counter

0612 - Claimed Boarding Pass

0615 - Terminal Fee Payment Counter

0626 - Immigration Checks

0640 - Boarded Aircraft

0705 - Aircraft took off 10 minutes earlier than scheduled

This is my bee's first airplane ride. And she liked it. Yey!

Cha-Cha and Mapo

Dogs are man's best friend. Indeed. :-)

Meet Cha-Cha and Mapo. My cute and much-loved puppies.

Cousins :-)

They eat together. Sometimes they fight over food and sometimes share 'em.

Looks like each other.

Cha-Cha likes watching TV.

And likes to stay in bed.

Mapo likes to go outside and run around.

Afraid of the vet.

Looks scared :-(

They enjoy playing together :-)

These cuties welcome you and take away the stress from a long travel home.

Love them <3

Breakfast @ Macky's

What's planned usually ends up cancelled.
And what's unplanned usually pushes through =D

Cute little chef figurine holding Macky's signage =)

From our workplace at New Manila, me and four other friends went all the way to Macky's in Marikina. Worth the trip as Macky's offer filling meals at affordable prices.

Take a look at what we ordered =)

Breakfast!

Pork Strips

Palabok

Matches perfectly!

Tokwa't Baboy with their very delicious vinegar ;-)

Goto

Iced Banana

Each of us didn't go over 100 pesos each. The food was amazing and is very much pocket-friendly.

You can reach Macky's by train (Alight at LRT 2 - Katipunan Station) then take a jeepney bound to Calumpang and you'll be there in a jiffy 

(just let Manong driver drop you off just before the Church, you won't miss it).

Visit them soon!

Time Consuming Applications @ DFA and NSO

I'll be having another trip to Hong Kong, this time with Sharelle and her dad.

We're bringing my bee to Disneyland. Yey!!!

First comes first, we need to have her Passport processed.

One of the requirements is a birth certificate, and we all know that almost every establishment, institution, company or agency requires the certificate to be issued by NSO.

So I scheduled the appointment with DFA and headed to NSO.

Here's what greeted me early in the morning, barely 8am :|

Pila balde :|

That's just the line to get your application form and Queue #. Another line goes to the verification counter/tables then another for payments.

This was taken a few minutes after 7am. See how many the applicants are? Geeeeezzz :|

I got Queue# 894 and had to wait 1.5 hours to finish the process. Then I learned that I have to wait another 2.5 hours for releasing. Stressful. =(

I just told the guard that I'll return the next day for releasing, which was (gladly) allowed.

When Sharelle's Birth certificate was released and the DFA's appointment came, I couldn't believe that another loooong line of applicants await.

Sandamakmak ulit na applicants :|

Siksikan :|

Counters everywhere :|

When will these government agencies find a more efficient way of providing documents to their citizens without the hassle of such looong lines. I'm not complaining about falling in line but they should watch it when lines go beyond a thousand and not even half of it are served :|

Basix @ Dusit Thani Manila

This is my first ever take on hotel buffets. 

I've tried Dad's and Red Kimono with my officemates before and I hope to enjoy Basix as much as I did with the two other restos.

This dining experience was made possible by a voucher bought from CashCashPinoy. Got the deal at 50% off!

Since I'm new at this, I already did some research/reading prior to dining at Basix.

I'm a plus size gal but not very good when filling myself up with food.

I know when to stop when I've had enough.

Here's what I had from their spread :

Greens and Cold cuts

Grilled Salmon and Squid with I don't remember what the meat was called

Pasta in white sauce with Mushrooms, Bacon and Shrimps

Oysters and Mussels

Fresh fruits, Siomai, some cheese and Tempura

I so loved this plate! Very tasty dimsums! Plus free-flowing grape juice :)

And for dessert I got :

I love their cakes!

Something sticky in the middle made me not eat what appears to be rice crispies

The caramelized walnut can't go wrong

This one had a hint of mint which I really liked

Fruits in syrup was a delight!

I enjoyed my dinner and left Basix with a bulging tummy =)

Also worth mentioning is how courteous, friendly and helpful their staffs are.

From the reception to the Chefs and waiters, I thank them all for such special treatment. =)

Kudos to all of you!

I'll surely come back if I have a chance to grab a deal again =) 'Til next time!

Quezo de Bola Cheesecake by Irene

I am a fan of cheesecakes! Almost any flavor of it!

But this one is such a standout that even my daughter wanted me to bake one only if I could.

I was searching online for cheesecake goodies near our office for some unscheduled cravings and came across this blog by canDIshhh. I got so "takam" when I saw the pictures of the Quezo de Bola cheesecake featured in her blog. I just had to try it!

So I texted Irene and ordered two 4.5inch cheesecakes. We agreed on the pickup date and boy! I'm just too excited!

I didn't mind riding the MRT (Siksikan!) just to pick it up. I just got off from work and really wanted some creamy dessert to sink my teeth in.

Picking it up was no hassle. I texted Irene when I reached the lobby of Astoria and her husband came down and delivered it right away. I just wished I had some paper bag of some sort with me 'cause I had a hard time carrying the two boxes.

I promised myself to just try one small slice so I can still enjoy it during the coming weekend restdays. But I failed. See how much I ate at first contact. That's how delicious it is! I almost finished one whole! LOL

I brought the other one home to Subic that weekend. I had to freeze it overnight so it won't get soggy during the trip. My daughter and beau loved it to so much! Until next time Irene!

Here are Irene's contact details, try it now!

Indulgence by Irene

For Orders: 0922-8303900/0917-6225800

Quezo de Bola Cheesecake
9 inch - P900
4 1/2 inch - P200

Pick up in Ortigas
Meet up in Magallanes - Weekday mornings and afternoons

Check it out on Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/IndulgencebyIrene/info

Michelle's Sweet Kiss : NOT SWEET AT ALL :|

Forgive me for not writing sooner. I've been very busy with all the office works, family events and personal issues. But, I'm back! =D Hope to keep a longer streak with my blog this time.

The last post I published was about the cupcakes and mini cake vouchers I bought from Metrodeal which I promised to let you readers know how they'll pass my taste buds (considering I'm not maarte when it comes to food). And I'm telling you, I did not like them one bit. The cupcakes were dry and oily. You can even see the oil marks at the bottom of the box.

Dry and Oily :|

The Mini Kamasutra cake lacks the moist texture being advertised. And the golden mini balls which supposedly are chocolate balls were nothing but hard, unacceptable part of the food. It didn't even taste that chocolatey. It was a complete failure!

Disappointment :|

Moving forward, with food again! Haha! I bought another voucher almost the same time I bought the ones I used with MSK Cupcakes but from a different group-buying website. This time I bought from CashCashPinoy.

It's a voucher for Dusit Thani's famous buffet spread @ Basix.

Up Next! 1st Take on buffets! Yeah! =D

Not so Heavenly Cupcakes and Mini Cake

I bought a voucher on Metrodeal. The deal is described as follows:

Photo from Metrodeal's website

And so I went on and bought this deal. I actually read online reviews of the merchant first and believe me they were not good reviews. Most of them are rants. Rants about deceit and misrepresentation. But I just had to try the cupcakes 'cause they are still selling and people are still buying.

I reserved through e-mail. Sent them my order on Jan. 31st and I got a reply 2 days after (not very proactive... tsk tsk). My requested time of pick-up (8am) was too early as I was informed that they open at 10am. I actually wondered why because if I'm not mistaken this is a home-based business and it wouldn't hurt if I go there early, right? So I decided to move the pick-up date to Feb. 10th later in the afternoon around 5pm. I replied to their e-mail on Feb. 2nd and guess what? I got a confirmation 5 days later (Argh! Come on!).

So my order was confirmed for Feb. 10th pick-up. My expectations were mixed. I thought maybe those previous customers were a one-time / isolated incidents (think positive!). But then I'm kind of expecting some not so good-looking cupcakes.

I rode LRT to Betty Go Belmonte station, walked to Manga Road and reached Casa Nueva. The guards didn't seem happy to let another customer in. Manong guard said "Sa kanan #3". Okay. So I walked and turned right and reached House# 3. There was a red car parked in front and a little table served as their reception (disappointing). There was just one stool around the corner and it was steaming hot without any fans around.

Without further ado, I gave the lady my name and she found this invoice with my name on it. She said "Cupcakes, OK." I then told her "And 2 orders of Kamasutra cake". She said that it's not listed but I told her that I ordered all these in one e-mail. She looked hesistant so I prepared my sent items and searched for the one where I sent them the voucher codes. She called someone inside asking if that person took my order. I didn't hear any answer though. So I waited for roughly 10-15mins there and hoping that I wouldn't need to go back just to pick-up 2 mini cakes.

The lady started fixing up these tiny boxes which I thought to be the mini cake's container and I turned out to be right. She brought out the 2 mini cakes first and I was surprised at how "MINI" they are.

Look at the size compared to my iPhone's pouch :|

"Tiny" and not Identical Cakes :|

If I had known that this is not mini but "tiny" then I shouldn't have bought it. I wouldn't pay 150pesos for it and so I guess they made the cakes to match the deal price of 69pesos (disappointed again).

We'll let you know soon how it tastes. I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt.

After around 3-5minutes more, another lady came out holding a box which happens to be my "Heavenly Cupcakes". They did not look heavenly at all.

The choco cupcakes in the middle are smaller than the others :|

The Red Velvet was not Red. It was Pink and looked dry.

The Choco Cupcakes were smaller than the others.

The Butter Cupcakes looked rushed and dry as well.

If you'll compute, the deal said that the original price of these cupcakes is 600pesos which makes it 50pesos each. Holy cow! I'm not going to pay 50 bucks for one piece of this! No way! So AGAIN, so I guess they made the cupcakes to match the deal price of 220pesos for a dozen.

Again, I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt, I will let you know how these cupcakes taste soon.