FOOD: Feeling King at King One Rotary Hot Pot

Heads up! This is a photo overload post. You've been warned!

Saturdates are dedicated to eating or just plain having the time of our lives. If I'm not out of the road, I'll be indulging my taste buds with the good stuff (and as much as possible, affordable). :D

The highlight of yesterday's Saturdate was King One Rotary Hot Pot in Hobbies of Asia in Macapagal Avenue. I've been hearing so much about this place since last year and my expectations were fully met.


Talk about Seafood and Meat overload.


The most interesting thing about King One is their conveyor belt from where you can directly take a plate of your choice ingredient (well, that is if you're seated right next to the area. So when we arrived, I asked if they have a table beside the conveyor belt, I personally want to experience getting my food from it.



And so we were seated on the last available table, the area was a little crampy but it will do. They gave us a few papers which are actually menus wherein you'll get to check your choice of soup stock, side order (an extra treat from them because it's for free) and ingredients for your hot pot.

We chose the Satay and Szechuan (spicy) soup base.


Satay on the left and obviously, from the floating chilies that got me scared, Szechuan (spicy) soup on the right. The Satay soup had a distinct taste and that if you add some of the house sauce, it has that spicy kick that was just perfect to my taste. Szechuan on the other hand, was delicately spicy so no reason to be scared from its hot red color and feast of chilies and pepper. Just add a few of spring onions, garlic and their house sauce to suit your liking.

Tip: Enjoy the first serving of your soup, upon asking for refill, they will just add (if I'm not mistaken) hot water to it so the soup flavor gets a little bland.


Red, yellow and greens in combination is always pleasing to the eyes.


They also offer bottomless drinks for Php65. There is also a choice for fruit shakes (the server said it's not bottomless though) but that got us confused since it indicated there "ADD P20" (maybe add 20 to the buffet rate?) so we just opted for Sprite and Lemon Green Tea.

On Growing Up.

Time flies fast indeed. One day you're dead bored on a class you dislike so much then the next you're making crucial decisions in life.

Earlier this week, the reality of growing up slapped me in the face. I thought working, expanding relationships, growing responsibilities, a battle of semi-quarter life crisis every now and then, shuffled priorities and everything in between are the best of what growing up can give. But I guess not. For me and my beloved friends, we are all just starting to grow up.

Lea, a very close friend of mine, more of a sister actually, told me the news that she's leaving the country to work in Indonesia. The first thing that came to mind was, "Wow, that's good news." Well, for her. It is a very good opportunity for her and I know she deserves it more than anything.  But honestly, it was a sad news for me. We're the best travel buddies together with Vince, Lei was one of those people who, during my saddest times, was always there for me. And I just can't take the fact that we won't be seeing each other for a long time. :( I know I will certainly miss her a lot, miss our random night outs, eat outs and everything else.

But I always believe in "There's a reason for everything." That's why I'm choosing to just be happy for Lei and I always believe in "If there's a will, there's a way." I'm worried we won't see each other but there will always be Skype and my love for travelling is a good excuse to visit her in Indonesia, we won't be able to talk to each other physically but there's BBM and Twitter.

I'm happy and sad at the same time to see us at this stage of life. Hm, maybe mostly happy because we've reached this far altogether. :)

To Lea, I know you will do best there! :) We're always here for you to support you all the way. And I hope to see you real soon! And more life adventures with you, Vince and the SuperFriends. I will always be praying for you. You take care there! Me loves you!


Distance won't stop us. We will still travel! This is still our year!




Shameful photo dahil antataba ng mukha natin. Hahaha. But we three look so damn fine! CHOS.


Milktea Buddies.


BBM Buddies. Keeping us connected. (LOL, unpaid advertisement.)


My SuperFriends. I am excited and anxious to see us all grow but I am confident that each of us are in good hands and we will grow up as responsible, good adults who have the youngest of hearts. We're on our way and so forward we shall march. :)

FOOD: Hainanese Delights

Our hefty order that surprised us (L-R, clockwise): Hainanese Chicken Delight, Tofu Terrific, Bring the Beef and Tender Beef Tendons Noodles.

I was finally able to had my taste of Hainanese Delights in Robinsons Pioneer last week. I was already eyeing this place since last year because of my sudden addiction to Hainanese Chicken after my first taste of it in Bangkok, and fortunately this time, our paths have crossed.


And the best part of it? UNLIMITED HAINAN RICE. That sounded golden to us.
Their Hainan rice ain't as authentic as you wish it would be but it is good enough and goes well with their Hainanese Chicken. Their Tender Beef Tendons Noodles was probably my favorite, the beef was indeed tender and the soup was really flavorful.

I wish to soon taste the Hainanese Chicken of Singapore. *fingers-crossed*


The view from where we sat.


Hainanese Delights is one of those bang for the buck food place. The food is good and not expensive and they offer rice-all-you-can, a place worth to visit.


My eating buddy. :) We eat a lot. And I really mean, A LOT.


Our total damage for our meal. Considering the amount of food we had (that can feed up to 4 persons), it was a good deal for what we paid. I will certainly go back there and have a quick fix of Hainanese Chicken.

And oh, I loved their Sparkling Berry drink. :)

A Wanderlust's Must Have.

I was having a planner dilemma when 2011 was closing to its end, there were a lot of options but I was too choosy with the paper and other details. I already had last options in mind but I'm not satisfied. One's planner is a mirror of their personality, so I was really hoping to find a planner that speaks "ME". Two weeks ago, I crossed paths with the "Wanderlust". THE planner perfect for the travel lover. Sounds perfect to me too.


Finally got my Wanderlust planner yesterday!

I was hoping to have a dark-covered planner but white/cream works fine. Or I will have something to do about it. We'll see. It is always an opportunity to do some artsy fartsy stuff. :)

First page of the planner is the Traveler's profile. It is always good that a planner has it's owner's information in case it gets lots or an emergency.

The Wanderlust planner is the brainchild of these awesome people.

It features a spread called a "dream destinations board". Wonder if I can fill this up!


Each monthly opening page features a festival that occurs on that month. It would've been more awesome if they were in color. :) Makes the photos more interesting.

On every month's end, it has an info page on the festival, suggested itineraries, tips and a page for you to write down your own itinerary and other travel plans.

Now the paper test. It is of cream paper (so they say) and of 40gsm, quite thin but workable.

I used a calligraphy pen and it bled on the other page. I really like the planner so I will have to find the pen that will work on it. Can't wait!

And the bonus for this planner, discount coupons on various travel destinations!! :)

The Wanderlust planner will hit the bookstores, I believe, in the coming week but you can already pre-order one thru their facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/wanderlustjournals
They are selling it on a special introductory price of Php399.

Ain't the Wanderlust planner perfect for the travel junkie in you? Whether you're a seasoned traveler or just a beginner (like me), this travel planner is a motivation of sorts to just go out and explore the world! Especially our own Philippines (because it's more fun here)! :P So, if you still don't have a planner for 2012, then this might just be the planner that will suit you.

January 1st -- The Lame Attempt to Think for a Better Post Title.

So let me begin by saying, HAPPY NEW YEAR to you person who is patiently reading my blog! You have no idea how much you are appreciated by me and how I love you. Haha! How was the welcoming of 2012 went for you? :)

So. Hello 2012. It's 2:36AM in the morning and I have seriously no idea on how to make this post bearable to read for you guys. A surge of thoughts is currently in my head and I don't know how to put it in words.

Well, I'm just thankful. And very happy.

I guess that's how I really feel right now. I hope you all understand. :) I do promise to make it up next time! *pinky swear!*

So for now I will just give a little of what I had for my first day of 2012. :)

Family dinner bonding! :) I am so thankful for my family despite our own little flaws. We might not be complete but we're very blessed with each other and my family, IMHO, is the best out there! Don't we all think that way? Haha!



Got my hands on the jumbo-sized Serenitea!! It was crazy! I know that I am not a fan of milk (it just makes me sick) but Okinawa is an exception. But this much? I think I that will be my last dose of milk tea for this year.

After the family, it was time to celebrate the new year with the beloved. (Sorry, I don't know any other endearment to call you.) :P

I called him up for a challenge at Ice Skating in MOA but good lord bless the crowd. So we'll save that for another date and we ended up riding their new attraction -- the Giant Ferris Wheel! They say it is the biggest and tallest in the country, though I'm not so sure about it. I still feel EK is the tallest but that's just me.

A ride costs 150php per person. The carriages are enclosed and airconditioned but it wasn't really that fun because the glass is frosted and you can't really enjoy the view outside, it would've been more fun if the glass was clear though. There are also tinted carriages (I think those are the special ones) and I don't know how on earth will you enjoy the ferris wheel with a tinted view. *frowns*

And I suggest that if you decide to have this as your date activity as a pair, buy 4 tickets so that you can have the whole carriage to yourselves as they accomodate 4-6 passengers and if there's only two of you, you will definitely share it with others. So either bring the whole barkada with you or get 4 tickets (if you're willing to shell out more kachings).

P.S. We are both kinda scared of heights. Well, I am scared of EK's ferris wheel. I cried when I tried it. And I was already in college when that happened. Shame on me.  Maybe because it's not enclosed unlike this one wherein I felt safer.



Then we ditched MOA because we aren't really fans of the crazy crowd and so we ended up in Grand Carnival just across Blue Wave Macapagal. So what is Grand Carnival, you say?

IT IS A PERYA IN THE CITY! Entrance is 20php.

I am a fan of the old-school peryahan. I doubt the safety of the rides but I always loved the games. I wasn't able to take photos because I don't want to risk my camera to the possibility of getting nabbed, maybe next time. :)

We tried the bump cars (old and heading into dilapidation but can pass as 'okay na') -- but we had fun. I got nostalgic. I am so proud to be a 90's kid and actually grew up with these kind of simple joys.
Then there was this roller coaster ride that seemed dangerous, but that thrilled me and made me want to try it (I am crazy, I know.) And we even rode it twice (yes twice!) and I think I just had one of the most fun nights I had in my life and what makes it better was that I was able to spend it with a person who understands my oddity. ♥

Thank you wonderful person, you know who you are! And thanks for supplying me with all the piso I need for the games and winning that 60 points for chocolate mallows at a game of pellet gun shooting. I really wanted to take home a mug or something of the like, but our luck with winning around 50+php and a pack of Oishi is priceless. And how we found out that being at the last car in the roller coaster is the best ever -- that was epic. Our 60php for that ride was well-spent.



I really had a wonderful first day of the year. And that makes me look forward to the coming days.
So who cares if 2012 is the end of the world, just make this year a Happy YOU Year. :) So just in case the predictions are true, you won't regret anything.