Piaya biscuits - Pasalubong treats from Bacolod, Philippines

Merci! Thanks, M ;-)


My colleague brought this biccies back from the Philippines for me ... sweet. Very sweet!


Where's Bacolod? I looked it up on Wikipedia...
Bacolod City (Filipino: Lungsod ng Bacolod) is the capital and largest city of the province of Negros Occidental. Having a total of 499,497 inhabitants as of August 1, 2007, it is the most populous city in the Western Visayas Region.
It is notable for its MassKara Festival held during October. Known for being a relatively friendly city, it bears the nickname "City of Smiles" and the "Football City of the Philippines". Bacolod City recently ranked no. 1 in a survey by MoneySense Magazine as the "Best Place to Live in the Philippines".

Flight MH705 back to Malaysia ... Yay!

Flight: MH 705
Route: Manila - KLIA

Thanks to a 2 hour delay, we managed to catch a last minute flight back to KL :-)


Very ordinary-tasting chicken with noodles ... Couldn't wait to arrive in KL for some proper food!


Lucky me ... had ALL these seats to myself!

Manila Ninoy Aquino International Airport, Philippines

A rainy afternoon in Manila bid us farewell...


Arrival at the Ninoy Aquino Manila International Airport


View from the airport...


Be prepared to see LOTS of people at this rather basic airport...


ps. This was a photo I should have posted earlier, of the Immigration checkpoint at Arrivals, note the hand-sanitizer in-light of the H1N1 outbreak.

Another rainy day in Manila ... Time to say goodbye

It was really rainy weather in the Philippines in mid-July ...

Time to say goodbye to the Philippines ...

Price of gas or petrol in Manila, Philippines

Price of gas or petrol in the Philippines is ... RM$2.74 per litre. That's pricey by Malaysian standards! I believe its still RM$1.80 per litre in "tanahair" of Malaysia ... :-)

Pork Sisig, Makati - Phillipines

Hmm ... perhaps an acquired taste! This is Pork Sisig.


Funny that Anthony Bourdain describes it as a "mosaic of pig parts"!!

An interesting sour soup, with long beans and slices of aubergine. Interesting!

Breakies again at the Mandarin Oriental, Makati

A really good selection of different breakfast meals at Mandarin Oriental ... I tried them all!

English ....


Oriental ...


Japanese and Indian too!

Night in Manila, Philippines

It was a really short visit to Manila, these were about the only non-hotel and non-office photos I took! A rainy night in Manila...


What's MFHRI? Manila Floating Hotel and Restaurant :-)
This ship is docked at Pier 15, in the port area of Manila near the hotel relic that is known as the Manila Hotel.

Statue of Jose Rizal (1861 - 1896) ...

Shangri-La Makati, Manila - Shang Palace Chinese dinner

Add: Ayala Avenue, corner of Makati Avenue, Manila 1200, Philippines
Tel: +63 2 813 8888

Possibly the most elegant hotel in Manila ... this is the Shangri-La :-)


We were taken to dinner at the ubiquitous Shang Palace.


The food turned out to be reasonably good, I especially enjoyed the sweet and sour pork with almonds :-) SLURRRRP!

Breakfast time at Makati's Mandarin Oriental - Philippines

Breakies at the Mandarin Oriental in Makati, Philippines.


Ah... a nice fry-up, with PORK. Bliss :-)
The pork sausages with hints of tomatoes and other herbs were superb .... I think I had three!


Finished off the meal with something a little healthier ... fresh local fruits, including pomelo.


Wanna know what Makati is?

The City of Makati, or simply Makati, is one of the cities and municipalities that make up Metro Manila, the greater metropolitan area of the national capital of the Philippines. It is the major financial, commercial and economic hub in the Philippines, often referred to as the financial capital of the Philippines since many global companies have their offices and headquarters in the city.

Mandarin Oriental, Makati - Philippines

Add: Makati Avenue , Metro Manila, Makati , Luzon 1226, Philippines

Welcome to ... Mandarin Oriental.

Old world charm bathroom...

This is what the club room looks like on the 4th floor, clean, reasonably spacious, and a very comfy bed. Nice!

My first flight to Manila ... Super satay on MAS!

Flight: MAS MH704
Time: 12:00pm - 3:50pm
Route: KLIA - Manila

Ah... got my favourite seat (Two in fact!) all to myself ... Emergency Exit aisle seat :-) all the legroom in the world!


Hmmm ... on my first flight and trip to the Phillipines, I wasn't initially impressed by the styrofoam box of food. Hmmm .. but the Ferrero Rochers perked me up!


Best of all, when I unwrapped the golden foil ... there was some delicious looking satay sauce starring at me, and the three skewers of beef satay and the rice turned out to be delicious too. WELL DONE, MAS! MH does stand for MALAYSIAN HOSPITALITY now ... :-)