The Photoblogger

Happily ever after, yeah right

February 21st, 2011 by The Photoblogger

I love a good story. In fact, I grew up reading a variety of tales from different countries. If there was one thing I can say about them it would be that they contained variety and they were not as predictable as I’d see it to be.

Nowadays people are developed on “Fairy tales” and “Happy stories” where the ending would ALWAYS revolve on a happily ever after.

Sometimes people just need to wake up and realize THAT NOT ALL STORIES END WITH HAPPILY EVER AFTERS.

I just have to say that it’s in weddings that I see the manifestations of what true tales of what I read when I was once a child. Sometimes the groom leaves the bride or the bride leaves the groom. Sometimes they both do get married but they later leave each other. Whatever the end result is I just want to focus on what a photographer immortalizes in a wedding shoot.

I’m always impressed with how photographers can catch a moment of love, never mind if it is fleeting, fading or staying, that moment immortalized in a photograph always intrigues me.

Some services like James Ruane Wedding Photography offer awesome photography packages.

So whatever ending the story may have, I have always been curious enough to read the once upon a time. Fortunately I grew up not always expecting a happily ever after.

2 Comments / Posted in Others

Cyma Greek Restaurant in Ayala Terraces

February 12th, 2011 by The Photoblogger

Cyma Greek Restaurant

It was around December (near shobe’s birthday) when the family decided to go for lunch in Cyma at Ayala Terraces (and we later had our new year Dinner there too)

Cyma is the only Greek restaurant in Cebu that I’ve tried. I also do not know if there are other Greek restaurants. The restaurant is quite small but that doesn’t mean a big family like ours won’t eat there. The place has a nice feel to it. It’s so… white. I also find the waiters’ uniform interesting: white long sleeve polo with white neck tie.

Saganaki Mozarella

We started the meal with a Saganaki-Mozzarella. This was some kind of sizzling cheese with alcohol and bread served on the side. I didn’t really find this food that good (and note that I’m a cheese lover) but I ordered it anyway cuz it was one of those dishes that they serve with a huge flame and all the waiters in the restaurant shout: Opa!

It’s worth 200php. I wonder if we only pay 50php for the cheese and bread then 150php for the entertainment only kidding!

Flaming cheese: Opa!

Then we also had some salad to the start the meal. Their salad was the family style Greek Salad. I enjoyed the large serving of salad which came with small bits of goat cheese (yum yum) the salad is priced at 430php. Family price too.

Then we also had the Dakos-Greek Bruschetta (265php). It looked like cinammon buns but it wasn’t. I loved the capers on top of it though.

Greek Salad

Greek Brushcetta

After which we had the Chicken gyros served with Greek potato. The Chicken gyros is priced at 160php. To add the potatoes just add 100php. I recommend the Chicken Gyros and if you’re one who likes spicy food just add a bit of the hot sauce that’s served on the side.

Chicken Gyros for only 160php add 100php for Potatoes

Mom had the Red Grouper (or what we locally call the Lapu lapu). 510php for 0.51 kilograms. Nothing really special with the way they served the fish though.

Red Grouper or Lapu lapu

Then we had Pastitsio which was some kind of Pasta. It was okay but I’m not really a big fan of Lasagna or baked macaroni (which was what it was like).

Pastitsio for 330php

The last dish had to be the best one and my favorite in this restaurant. In fact, if I do go back to Cyma I will be ordering this dish again. Achi described this dish as “heaven in a plate”. This dish at 390php is the Greek Wagyu Burger.

Unlike your usual American Burger this burger comes with a huge slab of Goat Cheese. This burger is what will entice me to go back to Cyma again.

Greek Wagyu Burger

Luckily for Shobe it was also her birthday recently so the restaurant surprised her with a cute cup of ice cream.

Ice Cream

Shobe finally a teenager, welcome to the world of rebellion

Conclusion

Cyma Greek Restaurant in Ayala Terraces is indeed the only Greek Cuisine restaurant in Ayala or maybe even in Cebu. I find their dishes interesting and most of them, superb. I highly recommend the Salad, Chicken gyros and especially the Greek Burger.

For the menu you can check this link:

CYMA Greek Restaurant Menu.

And you can also check out some specialties that’s not on their menu.

CYMA Greek Restaurant Specialties

Of course this whole family nomnom session won’t be complete without achi’s peechurs.

Achi

Achi again

8 Comments / Tags: Cebu greek restaurant, Cyma Greek restaurant, Cyma in Ayala, Greek cuisine Cebu / Posted in Cebu, Food

La Buona Forchetta da Paolo

February 12th, 2011 by The Photoblogger

Achi getting ready for some serious nomnom

Back when I was young (well I’m still young you know *wink*) okay, back when I was youngER, the family used to go to this small authentic Italian restaurant in Jones. Back then it was the only Authentic Italian restaurant in Cebu that we knew of.

Fast forward to today and now we once again visited this Italian restaurant called La Buona Forchetta. (Google translate says it means “good fork”)

This now much bigger restaurant is rather hidden and can be found in the end point of Acacia Street which you can get in by turning right from Escario Street. Popular Landmark is the Autolab. Address is Advent Business Cente 139 Acacia St., Kamputhaw Cebu City. Telephone nos. 231-3398|231-3399.

I love this restaurant because of how private it is. If you plan to have a romantic date I will rate la Buona Forchetta as one of the most romantic restaurants in Cebu to take your date to. I will warn you though, it’s also the most expensive Italian restaurant I know of in Cebu.

Focaccia con Sotacetti

la focaccia

We had our starter dish: the focaccia served with sotacetti. Till this day it’s in this restaurant that I love the focaccia the best. I also love their sotacetti which no other restaurant has ever done better than this. This is one of my favorite childhood nomnom memories.

Sotacetti

The Sotacetti comes with three mixed pickled vegetables (sotacetti in italian for pickled vegetables). They were the white mushrooms, eggplant and tomatoes bathed with Olive oil and some kind of vinegar (which to this very day I don’t know what it is).

Together the Sotacetti and focaccia is priced at 200php. (it used to be 150php why price increase ah?)

Tomato Soup

Shobe had the tomato soup. I’ll be frank, I love tomato soup but their tomato soup was not really anything special. It’s just tomato soup. But if you’re really into tomato soup then you might as well give it a try.

Pizzas

Paolo Pasini (the owner) has this motto about Italian cuisine: Authentic Italian restaurant is NOT fast food”. I think he means that the pizza he has here is indeed not the usual pizza you get to eat in fast food pizzerias.

We ordered three kinds of pizzas. The first one was the Pizza Diavola. The spicy pizza consisted of cheese, tomato sauce and the spicy meat topped over the pizza. Despite it being spicy I still couldn’t help but add Tobasco to increase the hotness (daring am I now?) Actually it’s not as spicy as I expected the pizza to be which is why I added the hot sauce.

Pizza Diavola

The second pizza was the Pizza Hawaian. Nothing special about this pizza. Think of it as a thin crust pizza with the usual hawaian toppings: pineapple, ham and cheese. We ordered it anyway because it is shobe’s favorite.

Hawaian pizza

The last pizza was the Pizza Capricciosa which composed of green and black olives with button mushrooms and some meat. I liked this pizza the best. I find pizzas with more vegetables more visually appealing at the same time more appetizing. (I’m not a vegetarian)

Pizza Capricciosa

One pizza we didn’t order but I personally liked was the four cheese pizza or Quattro formaggi. It consisted of four types of cheese in one pizza. This is one extremely cheesy pizza.

The biggest downside with their pizzas is their price. Each pizza is priced at 450php. 0_0

Pasta

I know the pizza is damn expensive but if I had a reason to go back to la Buona Forchetta it would be because of their pasta. The pasta is also at 450php each. 0_0 but it’s so damn delicious. This is one thing I always look forward to in La Buonna Forchetta.

Gnocchi Salsiccia

This first pasta is the Gnocchi Salsiccia. Gnocchi is delicious and I love the soft feel of potato with tomato sauce in my mouth. They also serve this with paremsan cheese on the side.

Quadrifogli

And the last pasta, my favorite of all the dishes here: the Quadrifogli. This spinach pasta served with some cheese is best eaten with freshly made focaccia.

Conclusion

This restaurant is still my favorite Italian restaurant and I’ve been eating here since I was a small kid and it’s those rare Sunday moments that the family just suddenly decide to eat there. I know the prices are high and yes I agree it is very expensive (Oh before I forget, there’s 10% service charge) but if you’re after a nice romantic or private meal, the la Buona Forchetta offers that exclusive feel.

If you’re not really into pizza I don’t recommend their pizzas as you might be disappointed considering their prices. I would however, recommend their pastas such as the Gnocchi and Quadrifogli.

Shobe full and happy

4 Comments / Tags: cebu italian cuisine, italian cuisine cebu, italian food cebu, italian resto cebu, la buona forchetta, romantic restaurants Cebu / Posted in Cebu, Food

Philippine Hawk Owl (Ninox philippensis)

February 4th, 2011 by The Photoblogger

The Philippine Hawk Owl

Rescued again from some poachers, these Philippine Hawk Owls (Ninox philippensis) were also from Negros. Just like the Scops owl they were also mere babies or owlets. Though they were not as cute as the Scops owl they still have some awesome wide eyes that resemble the Philippine eagle owl.

Because they are smaller than the Eagle owl, these are then called the Philippine hawk owls. I think their wings also resemble the hawks, looks rather pointed unlike the usual curved wing tips of the other owls.

A baby Philippine Hawk owl

This is known to be an earless species and it’s distinct marking is the “X” white marking on its face. Take a good look at the Hawk Owl picture below. You can see that white “X” mark.

Again a reminder to those who think they are “master bird keepers”. Owls are sensitive and don’t thrive on some self made diet. These owls need to be free and only certified conservation facilities like Crocolandia should keep these.

These owls are cute and cuddly until cruelly cilled, I mean killed.

I know they're cute but they should not be kept as pets

Philippine Hawk owls in Quarantine

4 Comments / Tags: bird of Cebu, Birds of Cebu, Cebu Birding, Cebu Birds, hawk owl, local philippine birds, ninox philippensis, Philippine Birds, philippine hawk owl, philippine owl, philippine owlet, wild birds of the Philippines / Posted in Animals

Skechers Shape Ups Review

February 4th, 2011 by The Photoblogger

When I first saw these in Ayala Active Zone, I laughed at it thinking of those funky platform shoes that they had back then. This was supposed to be a feeble attempt to increase my height.

The thing is, the reason for buying it was not for my need to increase height but it was because it’s extremely comfortable! I love walking around with it. You see that thing in it’s base? It’s really soft.

They have all these claims about losing weight and giving you a better structure. I have to say the design of the shoes does make slouching difficult as you will fall off. The height of the shoes is noticeable and you really do feel taller with it (but again this is not my goal for buying the shoes).

Design

I like the smooth casual look it brings out. I specifically bought this design, although there are other designs which make it more look like rubber shoes. This design fits perfectly as my school shoes. Since I do a lot of walking around in school then it was perfect.

Do note that the perfect smooth look you see in the pictures right now won’t last forever. There are now noticeable wrinkles in some corners of the shoe surface.

However the base design doesn’t really help in gripping in smooth surfaces which are wet. I had my share of almost falling down.

The BIGGEST PROBLEM, this doesn’t go well with slim fit pants and shorts. You need some loose shorts or pants to match it.

Comfort

Yes it is comfortable. Though it adds a considerable amount of weight to my feet (which I find helpful because it trains me not to drag my feet but to actually lift them up when walking). Even after walking for the whole day (and I seriously do a lot of brisk walking in school)

Running is not a good idea, I tried giving it a sprint and it worked pretty well (once you get used to it) but if you do shift direction all of a sudden then get ready for a big fall.

I do love the soft feeling around my feet. My feet don’t feel too suffocated.

Waterproof

One of the criteria for choosing shoes is the waterproofness of the shoe. I wouldn’t say it’s 100% waterproof but in the couple of times I tried it on rainy days and puddle-filled roads it kept my socks nice and dry.

CONCLUSION

Design is okay, pleasant enough for eyes to look at it without burning
comfort is great (my main reason for buying)
durability, it’s almost a year since I bought it and it’s not showing any signs of tearing apart
Price is high, but I guess it’s rather worth it
the whole health claim? I don’t really believe it but didn’t stop me from buying it either
Fail: hard to match with my usual clothes. Only does well with my school uniform. My usual casual attire doesn’t work out and same goes for my formal wear.
DO NOT RUN WITH THESE. They were built for brisk walking and NOT RUNNING.

Disclaimer: Skechers company did not give me free shoes, and if they did well then that would be nice but they didn’t. I bought these shoes (or rather mom bought it for me because my leather shoes kept smiling) because I needed a good pair of school shoes. All the things I wrote here are based on my experience and I was not paid or fed with good/bad food so that I will write this review.

3 Comments / Tags: does shape ups work, skechers review, skechers shape ups, skechers shape ups review / Posted in Photoblog

Crocolandia 10th Anniversary

February 4th, 2011 by The Photoblogger

Crocolandia, the number one Conservation facility in Cebu, celebrated its 10th year of operation last Sunday. I was very fortunate to be able to volunteer on that day (even if it was just a half day).

Crocolandia 10 years ago

I remember visiting Crocolandia when it first opened to the public. I was just 10 years old when it happened. From what I recall, I wasn’t too happy with the place because, me being an animal lover, didn’t see that much animals. I was basically disappointed and I thought crocodiles sitting down and doing nothing was boring. We went fishing for some Tilapias and that was that. From then on if people asked me about Crocolandia I wasn’t too eager to recommend it to others.

Crocolandia Today

Now, after having gone through the whole facility I can say Crocolandia has grown A LOT! The hardworking staff, excellent facilities and enclosures, and great variety of collections is enough to make me exclaim that this is indeed THE BEST ZOO IN TOWN! I am always excited to go back there as I can truly say there are still a variety of peculiar behavior that I have yet to observe among the different species. I particularly enjoy the raptors, snakes, and hornbills. The more you go there the more you develop a relationship with each animal and grow to see their unique characteristics. I even miss a particular writhed hornbill back there.

10th Anniversary Programs

If you happened to be there then you would have chanced upon the different activities that were available during that day. Different schools competed for the Trash Recycling Contest, Treasure hunt and the small trivia games that made all the children go run around looking for answers.

Trash Recycling Contest:

The trash recycling contest was quite interesting. Although I’ll be frank and say that some of the schools didn’t really do too well in the contest and to the point that I had no idea what in the world they were trying to make. While some schools created some real works of art like the awesome Chandelier, the Designer bag, and the ingenious shelf container for paraphernalia.

The Designer bag and the shelf for paraphernalia won the contest. I initially was expecting the chandelier to win but the judge had a point as to pertaining to the chandelier as something that we don’t usually use everyday.

Treasure Hunt:

The students were invited to participate in a fun treasure hunt as they searched for clues everywhere! The clues were in the plants, the signs, and cages. The students needed brains to be able to find the clues as they clues usually led to animal enclosures with specific names. I love the enthusiastic faces of the students. Quite the energy emanating from the young’uns.

10 years and going!

Now at their 10th year Crocolandia continues to improve every year. They are the ONLY facility I know of that is complete in the standard required by DENR and even is quite close to the international standard requirements. Even after my required OJT hours, I will continue going back to the place and continue to promote it as Crocolandia is an exemplary example for Passion for conservation of our native species. More power to the Crocolandia family!