We hit another milestone. Yay! Ronan and I loved to celebrate anniversaries far away from home. Far away from chores. Far away from responsibilities. And for this, we thought of spending this eventful occasion at Malagos Garden Resort since we have never been to this place. Ever!

Interestingly, it was not a typical wife-husband date, but a kind of group date where my mother and some friend joined in. As the old saying goes, "the more, the merrier", isn't it? Actually, we already make this out-of-home celebration a family tradition yearly. Just last year we went to Eden Garden in Toril, and this year we settled into Malagos Garden after our deliberation, (lol) . And hopefully at Pearl Farm next year. (Ronan take note, wink...)

Back to Malagos...

Malagos Garden Resort is a 45-minute drive from Bago Gallera where we live. Ronan drove the car. The trip was smooth, no traffic at all. We got there safe at noon, just in time for lunch.

Welcome Signage

Reception Area for Guests

At a very affordable price of 2, 400 per night, we stayed at Standard Room (Medenilla) which can accommodate a family of five. The cottage is air-conditioned, provides hot and cold showers, has 4 bedrooms and closet, lobby for TV viewing, and a little veranda with overlooking on the nature that gives a delightful ambiance, making us forget the daily worries and fast-paced lifestyle in the city. The room rate is inclusive of breakfast, use of swimming pool, plus a free watch of Bird Interactive Show.

Standard Room

The Interior

Little Veranda

Lobby

Free Use of Pool

Children's Playground

Children's Playground

Giant Chess

Being raised in barrio for most of my childhood years, I must admit I haven't ridden to kalesa yet, so we seized this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, Kalesa ride. For 50 pesos each, it wouldn't harm our pockets. We were being ushered by this horse (of course with the tour guide, lol) to round the Malagos garden for 10-15 minutes. An awesome experience, indeed!

Life is short. Don't miss opportunities to spend time with people that you love. -John Osteen-

Kalesa Ride

Ring

Jump Shot at Soccer Field

To be one with nature once in a while is one way to improve our quality of life. It gives us happiness, inner peace, and harmony. It will also help us reflect that we are connected with nature, without them our life is not balanced.

Treat the earth as if your life depends on it. Genesis 2:15

Malagos Garden

With loved ones

Just Me

Orchids

Blooming Flower

One of my favorite aspects of the trip was the INTERACTIVE BIRD SHOW, designed to entertain guests through spectacular birds tricks, and educate everyone as well about birds' habitats and behaviors, and how global warming has impacted their existence. Don't miss to watch it, otherwise, you'll miss half of your life.

Ducks Evacuation Scenario

The amphitheater was filled with the audience including students and day tour guests.

Birds Performing Tricks

Picture taking after the show.

The foods offered make our taste buds happy. Though pricey, but worth trying. What I liked most was the sinigang where they used batuan (freshly picked from the garden), to make the soup sour. The sourness has a distinct taste and it's heavenly.

Free Breakfast

Lunch consists of sinigang na malasugi, garden salad, calamares, and fresh juice

Dinner includes kinilaw, chicken soup, fresh fruits, pork BBQ, sweet and sour fish.

Mama and close friend at Koi's Cafe

Koi's Cafe

Souvenir Shop

Contact Information:

My original plan was to buy Asus Zenfone 5 as a Christmas present for myself.
However, I was interrupted by this news.
This news was intriguing. Really.
And this came from my husband who often mentioned that there was a new Smart Phone called Redmi which was reportedly a threat to Samsung and Iphone in terms of affordability.

To verify, I googled the news and finally confirmed that this China-made mobile, owned by Xiaomi company, was one of the fastest growing smartphones in the world, ranked in 3rd spot behind Iphone and Samsung. (more news here)

via: http://www.mi.com/en/redmi

Convinced, I told my husband to order at Lazada. Good to know it was already on sale because by the time my husband checked it out,  a day before we bought, there was a notice displaying, SOLD OUT! You see how in demand the mobile is?

photo credit: http://www.lazada.com.ph

Luckily, yesterday, when we re-checked the page at Lazada, it was already available for sale, though there was already a count down timer installed on it before you could purchase, running for more than 2 hours, so Ronan had to wait longer before he was able to buy. Surprisingly, we got a big discount.  Instead of 5,509, we only paid 5,009 plus a chance to win the Redmi note.  Yay!

As soon as it will be delivered at home by next week, I promise you to make a review on this phone.

Thanks for reading!

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One of the things I love to do almost every weekend is to bond with my loved ones.  I believe that doing away temporarily from regular routines and chores will improve our quality of life, in other words, it will make us happier and healthier.

So a couple of weeks ago, my family and I bonded together by strolling to SM here in Ecoland, since it is second to the nearest mall from where we live, (the first is Gaisano, Toril). One of our most favorite routines after grocery-shopping and running errands like paying internet and electric bills is to look for the most recent restaurant where we could dine and relax. As you see, bringing along a 2-year-old toddler is exhausting.

And here we are at Peri-Peri.  Suffice to say, the ambiance is cozy, classy, and less crowded (as you see in the picture). If you opt for privacy, this place is meant for you.

Pardon the combs on the table, we  let Chesska play on them while  the foods are underway. Actually those are giveaways after  buying creamsilk conditioner.

Honestly, we've never been to Peri-Peri before despite being regular customers of SM for several years, not because I am known for being thrifty, it's due to the fact that I'm not so obsessed with processed foods like deep-fried foods, and much less oily foods. However, I promised in my previous post to blog all restaurants at SM, so I erased the thoughts of processed foods in the meantime. hehe

Back to peri-peri

Peri-Peri offered a wide selection of menus that you might want to try one of these days. And wanna share with you the foods we ordered.

Peri-Peri Kids Meal with Ice Tea Served 
Price: 165

It includes 2 pcs. Cornflaked Chicken Tenders, Macaroni, and Cheese Fries. Obviously, Chesska couldn't consume this platter of foods so I decided we would share together (na lng).

All I can say is that the macaroni is tasty, creamy, but too sweet which makes me satisfied easily. Probably my taste buds can no longer tolerate too sweet and flavorful foods since I am already used to "matabang" (less tasty). Ever since we chose to have a healthier lifestyle, we made sure to minimize sugary or salty foods in the house.

On the other hand, the corn-flaked chicken is crispy, yummy, and tender though the servings are bitin (not enough to make us satisfied). The fries have just an ordinary taste much like from any other food chains.


Chicken Rappa without Drinks
Price 158

This is what Ronan ordered, consisting of fries and grilled chicken breast with lettuce, tomatoes, and sauce wrapped in warm tortillas.

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Disclaimer: I am not compensated for this review.

I'm not a fan of pizza but my family and I found ourselves at Shakeys for lunch, one Halloween weekend at SM Ecoland. But before we landed to Shakeys, we first went to "Hukad", and began browsing their menu but most of the dishes offered were heavy (typical lutong-bahay with a twist and unli-rice), and due to the fact that I started dieting due to weight issue (ha!), we left and hopped to Shakeys.

I was not kidding when I said this was my fist time to enter Shakeys (since pizza is not my favorite), but Ronan and I  had long planned to try out all restaurants within SM since we used to grocery-shop, window-shop, pay bills, and dine there.

Ok fast forward. The foods I ordered were not mainly pizza, but I assured you it was much lighter than the usual viand-and-rice. The other two, mama and Ronan just nodded in approval.

While the foods were still underway, I turned the idle moments into picture taking.



Finally, the foods were served 10 minutes later.

This is what I ordered - Salad, Chicken 'n' Pizza which consists of half-garden-fresh salad, one piece fried chicken, a slice of a Hawaiian pizza and mojos ( sliced potatoes, lightly battered & fried to a golden brown.). 

Price: 165


What makes this menu even better is the inclusion of the garden fresh salad since I am a semi-vegetarian gal, and mojos (potatoes coated with breading mixes, I guess), that is a good alternative for rice. The amount served is just enough to make my taste buds happy.

While Ronan ordered a Bunch of Lunch - chicken, spaghetti, garlic bread, a Hawaiian pizza, and mojos.

Price: 170



Lastly. mama ordered Hero, Salad 'n' Chicken which contains half hot hero sandwich, chicken, and half salad.

Price: 160


And for the finale,  we ordered Sundae, topped with chocolate syrup, cherry, and whipped cream.

Price: 50 


The ice cream has its distinct flavor and sweetness that is fun to eat for dessert. There's no sawa (you will not get sick of eating even you try it over and over) factor.

Even without rice, the dishes have brought our tummy up to satisfaction level. Not so heavy, and not so light. And obviously not a gluttony.

Although the place where we seated was less spacious and the air-con was not that cold, however, I assured you we had a great dining experience due to good services and foods. My rating is 4 out of 5 for Shakeys.