Riding Off Into The Sunset (Sunset Bay, La Union)

the view from the resort's infinity pool

Summer's in and thoughts of heading off to the beach, going out of town and bringing the fambam come to mind. Of course, being the Summer Capital of the Philippines, our town gets swamped with visitors who want to get away from the heat of the low lands. The same can be said about us townies...we get out of the city to get away from the tourists!

An often booked destination is Sunset Bay Resort in the province of La Union. An hour away from Baguio, it's near enough for day trips. What makes Sunset Bay different from all the other resorts is it's all around family friendly atmosphere. It's a great place to take the kids swimming, to enjoy the sun while drinking a cool bottle of beer and a great place to enjoy assorted continental dishes (be warned, servings are HUGE).

The place isn't 5 star or anything like that, but it is clean, relaxing and quite frankly, charming. Maybe it's the customer oriented staff, the quirky decor, the cool waters of the infinity pool, the newly built/furnished rooms and the delicious offerings from the resort's restaurant  (menu here) or their low room rates, but we simply do enjoy coming to this place.

beautiful sunsets at Sunset bay 

MAX on his first time in a pool

Apparently, we're not the only. Getting a room might be a tad tricky. Don't expect to walk in and book a room at a moment's notice just because it's the off peak season. You could try though by getting the contact details from their website.

taking MAX out on a dip in the beach (it's his first time)

the water was this clean!!

The beach front property does not have a huge coastline, but it is big enough for you to go walking on the shore, build some sandcastles or bury dad in the sand (lol). The water is quite clear too.The resort staff takes a lot of care to make sure that those areas are kept clean.

that's seaweed on the shore

Safety is also a priority for them. Vendors aren't allowed to pedal their wares inside the resort, so be assured that no stranger would be tapping you or any of your family on the shoulder to show their wares (of all forms).

the construction at the back is where the latest upper deck suites and rooms are

Depending on the room you booked in, their deluxe AC rooms are quite spacious for a couple with two kids. They also have honeymoon, family rooms and suites not to mention their upper deck rooms and suites to cater to families, groups and guests of various sizes. It's quite affordable too (rooms are around 2000 php and above).

inside our deluxe room

the weather beaten exteriors just add to the resort's charm. The interiors all look brand spanking new :)

Most of the pictures on this blog have pics of the first time we brought MAX to the beach. We've been there a couple of times since then, for meals and what have you while we're in the area, but I'll still have to look for those. The Sunset Bay of these photos is roughly the same only with more newly built rooms.

the pool at Sunset Bay

Check out Sunset Bay whether you're there to enjoy their food or checking in for some r&r. It's worth it for sure :)

the boss, enjoying his first time at the beach and pool (2009)

with all the places we've been, Sunset Bay is still a great place to go to!

From TMW,  may all your wanderings be better than ours!!

High On Hainan: Hainese Delights

Ever get the feeling that fastfood's simply about deep fried, mayo'd to death and just plain oily? Not that I'm complaining or anything, as burgers are always appreciated, however, there are days when I feel that my kid's gotta eat something more than that. Something more substantial yet affordable.

yummy Hainese chicken

Just discovered one such place that has apparently been open since December at our local SM (and I think most  SM Malls in Metro Manila have this franchise). The place is called Hainese Delights.

Hainese Delights is Chinese fastfood joint that offers flavorful and decent food selections especially for those on a budget. Most of the dishes are 120 php or less. All dishes come with free soup and ala carte meals come with unlimited Hainan Rice.

Try their bestseller, the Hainese Chicken. Perfect with the ginger oil, soy and chili condiments on the side. It comes with unlimited Hainan rice (which tastes a step better than regular rice).

The hot chick is also a good bet for those who want a little bite to their chicken.

the dumplings

We also tried their beef brisket noodles (brisket could've used 15 more minutes in a pressure cooker). Not fond of their dumplings too as I feel that it's closer to the texture of fish balls rather than minced pork or shrimp wrapped in a dumpling wrapper.

the oil on the top was from the chili oil  added by Phil

The place itself is quite spacious,  well lit, properly ventilated and clean. They also have  their own C.R. (WC, toilet, or whatever is the term from your region) so you won't have to look for that of the mall's. Even that area is well maintained and quite new looking.

The staff is quite friendly, accommodating and quite attentive (someone keeps on asking you if you want more rice or soup every 5 minutes..no kidding!!!)

By the way, here's a look at the menu (click pics to enlarge):

We've eaten there with our toddler twice or thrice, and so far, MAX has pretty much eaten well. Not a bad place, food is quite ok and the service, A plus!!

From TMW, may all your wanderings be better than ours! 

Life In 360: The Go Pano Micro Review

panoramic shots and videos are all the rage, but taking them requires a steady hand and moving in a perfect circle for a perfect 360 degree shot (this shot, btw was taken with a Sony lifecam)

Compared to last year, we don't have a whole lot of trips scheduled for this year (yet). We have one planned in April (and probably one in May) though and that being said, we felt that documenting every aspect of our next trip should be a priority, to give you, dear readers, a better TMW experience. 

For this, our resident technophile, Phil has another new gadget up his sleeve in the form of Go Pano Micro! From the makers of Go Pano, the Go Pano Micro is a lil thingamajig for your iPhone 4 or 4s that allows you to take 360 degree videos without having to move around and trying to make sure you don't move too fast and blur the video. Just point your lens forward and voila! It will take the 360 shot for ya! 

Lightweight, it's such a breeze to carry with you on your travels. If you want something like this for your cameras instead, there's the GoPano Plus (a bit pricey for us mere mortals at around $600).  It takes both 360 degree videos and panoramic images.

Here's more on the Go Pano Micro (from the Go Pano website)

Tech Specs

Compatible with iPhone 4/4S only.
Ultra-wide field of view (360° horizontally and 82° vertically).
Resolution: 1920 x 456 for iPhone 4S, 1280 x 304 for iPhone 4
Records complete 360° videos. (not photos).
Dimensions: 47mm diameter/82 mm height / 28 grams(lens) & 28 grams (iPhone case)

The company also has a free web hosting of your 360 degree videos that can easily be embedded in your websites, blogs, Facebook and Twitter.

Go Pano Micro costs around $79.95 (US for all the monetary values in this blog). Add shipping, Phil spent around $120 - $130 for it. 

Now you may ask, is it worth buying? Depends on your needs. If you have all the time in the world to take a panoramic image or a 360 video during your travels, don't buy one. If you're the type who's always on the move, but wouldn't want to miss a thing,  (like us) this one's for you. Phil tried it out on the golf course while driving a golf cart. One hand steered, the other held the Go Pano Micro. The result? A great 360 degree shot of the course, his golf buddies riding in the cart with him and the interactive experience of seeing things from his point of view. On the iPhone, just swipe the video up and down, left or right to see the world inside that video. On your computer, just mouse over the video and direct it to where you want to look! Pretty fabulous stuff :) 

** Sample videos loaded on the Go Pano website. Will upload one of our own soon...(try this link here)

On a practical side, it's a perfect tool for realtors, surveyors, cinematographers and any one who would have the need to document an ocular inspection and make sure they won't miss a thing. 

And hopefully, we won't miss a thing when The Mediocre Wanderer hits Bangkok next month =)

From TMW, may all your wanderings be better than ours!

Kitchen Wanderings: The Cheesecake Affair

In our country the Philippines, March is often pegged as graduation month (our school year starts in June). A time of completion, of knowing that one's hard work has paid off. In our house, it's the sign that summer vacation's just around the corner!

Having an almost all male household , summer signifies a surge in food shopping quantities, not to mention, finding the energy to cook for them. A sure hit snack/dessert that we keep making are no bake cheesecakes. I've tried various recipes, but this is the one that works best for us. Got this off a cream cheese box label. Uninspired? Maybe. But much simpler and the people at home just looooove it:

margarine's ok if you don't have butter,
 however, butter DOES make the crust much tastier

big block of cream cheese makes around  4 8" pans of cheesecake
selecta milk just tastes like vanilla ice cream :)

No Bake Cheesecake:

Ingredients: Crust: 1 1/4 cups	Graham Crackers crumbs
1 tsp	Cinnamon (optional)
1/3 cup	Melted Butter
1 tsp	Lemon rind (having a microplane citrus zester is the bomb!)
2 tbsps.	Sugar
Filling:

1 pkg. (250 gms)	Cream Cheese, softened **
1/4 cup	Sugar
1 tbsps.	Unflavored Gelatin (Knox will and always be the best for this) dissolved in
3 tbsps.	Fresh Milk
1 cup	All Purpose cream, chilled
1 cup	Blueberries in syrup (or strawberry, raspberry and even crushed Oreos!)

**if you're from the Philippines, look out for those 1kg blocks of Magnolia cream cheese. They don't have the magnolia label on them and just look like ordinary brown cardboard boxes, but they cost 100 php cheaper compared to buying four packages of cream cheese (the equivalent of one of these).

Procedure:

you can use crushed Oreo cookies too instead of grahams!

To make crust, mix crumbs with cinnamon, sugar, margarine, and lemon rind. Press on a 9″ pie plate or removable bottom pan. Chill.

my 3rd son Kicco, helping me press the crumb and butter mixture in the  pans

when in a hurry, I stick the crust in the freezer for about 15-20 mins as I make the filling

For the filling, beat cream cheese and sugar until light and well blended. Meanwhile, dissolve unflavored gelatin in Milk over low heat and add to cream cheese wile still hot. Continue beating to blend well. In a separate bowl, whip cream until stiff and fold into cream cheese mixture. Pour over crumb-lined pan. 

pour the filling according to how thick you'd want your cheesecake to be

Top with blueberries  in syrup (or whichever topping you prefer). Chill for 1-2 hours. (using Knox unflavored gelatin makes it settle faster. Readily available in most groceries in the Philippines).

spread the love...this time, we've got blueberries

To make more (we're a one-pie-pan-per-meal household), just double (or quadruple) the ingredients EXCEPT the unflavored gelatin. Based on experience, that tiny pack of unflavored gelatin is enough for a recipe of four pies. You could also get creative by using crushed Oreo cookies instead of grahams and topping the pie with it for a delicious Oreo cheesecake.

serve and enjoy. Bon appetite!!

Have a happy cheesecake day!

From TMW, may all your wanderings be better than ours!