If you want me I'll be in the bar

So goes a line in my favorite Joni Mitchell song.

Peekaboo! Do you see me in the photo? Here I am in Cable Car, winding down after another busy day at work.

See more Weekend Reflections here!

Shabu Shabu

I can't cook to save my life, much to my mother's consternation ("But how will you find a husband?" she would wail fearfully). Except for fried eggs and bacon and hotdogs and some spaghetti, I really am pretty useless in the kitchen. That is why I love shabu-shabu. I can pretend like I am the best cook ever. Shabu-shabu (hot pot) restaurants are pretty popular here in Manila. I may not know how to cook, but I know how to find the best places to eat around here.

For art's sake

Here is... well, I dunno what this is exactly. Still, here we are at the lobby of Resorts World. I suppose this is some important piece of work, as it's cordoned off, but well, it's not something I'd like in my living room, for sure. But that's just me.

Kaleidoscope

At Resort World, a luxury entertainment area in Manila, features a casino, a mall and a dining center. It is literally right across our International Airport. I love how the lights change color. First we have blue...

Then we have pink!

Resort World is also home to the newest and swankiest club in the metro, Republiq. In my younger days, I might have gotten a drink or two in this club, but these days I prefer chilling out in quieter places. Where the drinks are cheaper and the music is less defeaning. Oh my, I am growing up! How about that.

Here's the view from above, just when the lights are green.

Happy hour

... started early for me. I took this shot of Cable Car, a popular hang-out bar in the Central Business District, before anyone else got there. Nothing like a good, cold beer to end another uber-busy week. Cheers!

See more Weekend Reflections here!

The cat's pajamas

Continued from yesterday...

Just to give you some perspective of how big the Suites were, here's a shot of the living room. My favorite feature is the flat screen TV.

Here's another one of the rooms. Not as swanky as the Master Suite, but just as comfortable.

The Suite comes with a dining area and a kitchen with fancy schmancy gadgets like touch screen ovens and hi-tech coffee makers and stainless steel refrigerators. Awesomeness.

My other favorite feature in the Suites is the bathroom. I love the mosaic walls. Plus it comes with a sauna area, two sinks and a bathtub with a TV.

Tomorrow, the pool!

Lap of luxury

Here we are at one of the rooms in Oakwood Suites. My friend had a despedida (going-away party) and she treated us to an overnight at one of these places. The place was so heavenly we almost forgot our sadness at her leaving. Well, almost. But man, what I wouldn't give to come home to this everyday!

In front of these super comfortable couches is a flat-screen TV with a DVD player. Oh heaven.

To be continued tomorrow...

Sanctuario

Here's a close up view of the stained glass in the Sanctuario de San Jose. Stained glass is so pretty. I don't think I've seen stained glass that wasn't.

Walking down the aisle

Here's the front portion of the Sanctuario. It's a good, long walk to the altar along these marble floors, which I imagine many brides would love. In case you are wondering, no, I'm not getting married. Not soon anyway.

Peace

This is the entrance to Sanctuario de San Jose. It's beautiful. No wonder this is a popular place to get married in.

And there was light

It's the first day of August, which means Theme Day again! Pretty soon it'll be the start of the -ber months and pretty soon it'll be Christmas! My favorite time of the year. Happy theme day folks! Here's the beautiful stained glass window at the Sanctuario de San Jose (Sanctuary of St.Joseph the Patriarch), a parish Church in Greenhills, Mandaluyong. Tomorrow I'll show you another one of their magnificent stained glass designs.

St.Luke's Hospital: Farewell

I noticed this sculpture of the Holy Family by the elevators in the hospital. I like it, and the great mirror behind it too. It's comforting in an odd way. Have a great Monday folks!

St.Luke's Hospital: The dining arcade

The hospital is complete with a shopping and dining arcade. See the ceiling? It's covered with glass so during the day, natural light filters through and illuminates the whole place. At night, the ceiling becomes carpeted with stars.

St.Luke's Hospital: Health and Wellness Center

So here's their "Health and Wellness Center," for people who undergo Executive Checkups. This is where they sit and worry about their test results. Why suffer in a doctor's stuffy office when you can suffer in style!

And this is me! Couldn't resist taking a photo, with that huge mirror just beckoning for me and my camera.

So, it turns out you might have heart disease, but at least the view's good.

St.Luke's Hospital series: The Kitchen

My friend is good friends with the Executive Chef of St.Luke's, Brando Santos. He was kind enough to take us around his "office" also known as the hospital's kitchen. The meal above is a typical meal of those staying in the hospital's suites.

The "Food and Nutrition" section is, predictably, squeaky-clean. Too bad we just missed the "factory line" of meals and the "plating" process.

The kitchen keeps copies of each patient's dietary requirements, whether a meal should be low in sugar, low in fat, low in cholesterol, etc. I guess you could say their job is a matter of life and death. They keep the meals in these pink trays, which are especially insulated to keep the food warm.

The boys below were kind enough to smile for me. Except for that fellow whose back is turned. I suppose he's a bit shy.

Finally, Chef Brando himself.

Tomorrow, the Health and Wellness center.

St.Luke's Hospital series: The Presidential Suite

The Executive Suite of St.Luke's Medical Center costs a whopping PhP49,000 a month or a little over a thousand dollars. When he needed medical treatment, the First Gentleman, husband of our former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo stayed here.

Look it even has a jacuzzi and a designer chair. Not just any other plain ol' bath and stool. No, it's a jacuzzi and a designer chair.

The pillows, the attendant says, cost PhP2,500 each (or around $60). The photographs on the walls are photos by famous photographer Wig Tysmans.

Just like an apartment, the suite comes with its own dining room.

And finally, what is a Presidential suite without a view of the city?

Tomorrow: a trip to the hospital's kitchen.

St.Luke's series: The Lobby

Things have been crazy busy lately, so forgive me for being on an inadvertent blog hiatus. Anyhow, to make up for my lack of posts, I'll be posting several photos each entry for the next several days. For this week, I'll take you around a tour of St.Luke's Medical Center. A hospital? you ask. What's so special about a hospital that it merits not just a day, but a week of photos? Well, we may be in a Third World country, but man, this hospital is definitely world-class. Just look at the lobby.

Tomorrow, I'll show you the Presidential Suite, where the former First Gentleman, husband of former President Gloria Arroyo stayed during his confinement. The room looks like some swanky Upper East Side New York apartment.

Nail Tropics

And here's the nail salon I was talking about. It's called Nail Tropics and they are simply the best nail salon in the metro. In my humble opinion, anyway.

They have the best interiors too. Modern with tropical touches. I think in my other life I was a frustrated architect or interior designer.

Anyhow, sorry for the delayed posts. I just hate it when life gets in the way of, well, life. Har har.

Where time is of the essence

Guess where this is? Haha easy enough. Welcome to the Manila International Airport. We're in Terminal 2, or Centennial Airport. Definitely not to be mixed up with Terminal 3, which is also an international airport. It's not exactly the most fun thing in the world to get those two mixed up just when you're hurrying to check in time for your flight. I should know.

Hole in the wall

I like discovering hole-in-the-wall restaurants such as this one. This is Mama Chit's, a rinky dink resto that serves one of the best cheeseburgers in town. And I like the knick-knacks that decorate the place. I will definitely have to go back here.