Excursions: 2014

Real Italian Food is not a Fast Food: La Buona Forchetta!

Food is what makes us all alive. But beyond eating to physically survive, there is something in food that makes us feel delighted. Who wouldn't remember a food hopping scene of the famous Julia Roberts in Eat Pray Love shot in Italy?

Yes! Italy is indeed known for its famous Gourmet. This blog entry will bring you to the world of Italian dishes. Let's go and dine at La Buona Forchetta in Cebu.

La Buona Forchetta or "The Good Fork" in English, is an Italian restaurant serving authentic Italian dishes.

Location:

Advent Business Center, 139 Acasia St, Kamputhaw, Cebu City

Hours of Operations:

Mon-Sun 11:00AM - 2:00PM

5:30PM - 10:30PM

Mode of Payment:

Cash, Visa, Mastercard

Contact: 0999 336 4130

12.28.14. This was a night well spent on the Holiday season with some of my closest friends in the company. Truly, good food are best shared with good people to celebrate friendship and milestones at work.

We started with the "Focaccia e mixed vegetables" as appetizers. I personally loved how the crispy Focaccia topped with fresh eggplant, tomatoes, and mushroom blended its taste and the unique texture it gave when in the mouth.

Since everyone in the group loves pasta, we had 3 orders of it. Each plate could serve 1-2 persons.

"Zucchini eTonno". This pasta goes out to all veggie & seafood lovers who couldn't resist pasta. The irrisisting taste of Tuna and Zucchini (summer squash) cooked in an orgasmic olive oil, makes you crave more. I loved the taste even more when I mixed their home made chili sauce on it. We had it finished quick thus, made us get for one more order.

Señor Paolo (the Italian born owner) shared to us his one of a kind twist of this dish, that was topping the pasta with grated Parmesan cheese. It tasted odd, but it was great.

"Alla Bolognese". This next dish is common to everyone, A pasta mixed with tomato sauce and ground pork.

Going Pizza. I definitely am picky when it comes to pizza. Yes, I am not a fan of it and would only grab some when its dough is as thin as skyflakes. lol

Good thing the house has great pizzas to offer. All at their thinniest dough. This is "La Buona Pizza". It's made of a thin dough topped with seafood combination i.e. Shrimp, Squid, and Tuna.

By the way, i didn't realize i failed to take a photo of the other pizza - "Romana". It's topped with mozarella cheese, capers, and anchovies.

"Filleto Alla Paolo". It's made up of marinated beef tenderloin with potato.

It was such a great dining experience for us all. Indeed, Real Italian Food are not Fast Food. They are prepared and cooked well ensuring they are worth waiting.

What better way to cap the night than imbibing to an all Authentic Italian alcoholic drinks. Thanks to the young and handsome lad (also, the only son of Paolo), Giovanni for these complementary drinks. His hospitality not only made us feel so welcomed but also enjoyed our entire dining experience.

See this glass of alcohol lit up? Yes, you'd need to dip your finger, letting the alcohol transfer to your mouth with the flame burning. It was cool! The flame made the alcohol sweeter.

Groupie: (L-R) Guy, Me, Joy, Giovannie, Marcial, and Laarni.

Come and visit them and indulge yourself in an Authentic Italian cuisine.

"eating is just eating, unless you dine with friends"

- Josh

Full menu:

Skin 911

So Holiday is certainly just around the corner. This is the time to feel good and look good. Speaking of looking good, i had some delimma on unwanted warts around my face. It just distracted me every time I stare on the mirror.

So I decided to avail a groupon coupon for an unlimited warts removal at Skin 911. Their new home is located at El Durado building in Banilad right near the fly-over, besides Julie's bakeshop.

This is the lobby which will greet you once you enter their 'homey-feel' clinic.

Their receiving area...

Prior to the wart removal, I decided to have my diamond peel done first, just to remove some dead skin and white heads. Their diamond peel was just a very short procedure, started with cleansing, then preaking, and lastly, peeling. To me, it was just an ordinary service compared to some posh clinics. But it was fine though as the price was just cheap.

Wart removal. Their procedure involved putting an anesthetic cream on top of the warts to be removed. Then, I had to wait for 30 minutes before the attendant started to burn my warts. The procedure is called Electrosurgery and curettage. This procedure involved burning of warts to remove them.

It was a bit painful procedure and I'm waiting for these scars to recover. Will update this article once I get its full result.

Relieving stress at Michel's Deli and Café

It was one heck of a week with lots of escalations at work. Finally, Friday is about to embrace the weekend. My colleague invited me to go with her to unwind and grab some wine at Michel's Deli along Ma. Luisa Road Banilad Cebu.

We arrived quarter to three in the afternoon. Yeah, headed there directly after work. The place is cozy and is perfect for some mind travel. Yeah, it's not a traditional café you see in PH.

Take a look at the inside of Michel's Deli and Café below.

This is the shop with plenty of wine, Cheeze, sausages, meats, oils, etc. inside.

Great selections of wine, price ranging from Php199 up.

They're ready for Halloween! Wine bar filled with some Halloween stuff.

This place is perfect for shopping some imported wine, cheese, and a lot more plus, you can also dine at the same time. A cozy set up below for quick drinks and some eating!

A closer look of a rack of wine!

The bar/counter.

This piece has really caught my attention. I just love the the wall and its clock hanging there. It is very French! And gues what? This is a comfort room.

THE MENU: great selections of pasta, burger, sausages, cheese, desserrts, and stake for their main course. Prices range from Php250 up.

Here's my Tomato pasta with lots of Mozarella! Uh oh, mind you I don't like cheese but this one I really good.

Joy's seafood pasta sautéed in olive oil.

A beautiful masterpiece! A wine bottle holder.

The obligatory pose! Yeah, ruggedly sitting the chair.

Michel's Deli and Café is owned by Sr. Michel Lhuilier, a french man married to Madam Ampartito Lhuillier. They also owned the jampacked La Vie Parissine in Lahug Cebu. And by the way, they were there at that time, a lovely couple indeed.

Luxury in the city: Shangrila Mactan

On my previous blog, i featured details of my birthday. This time, will show you the best of Shangrila Mactan it has to offer to its guests.

Honestly speaking, there ain't any good beach in Mactan Cebu. All the beaches you'll see in huge resorts were already developed the artificial way. But who cares? They are still awesome.

Well, when it comes to beaches in Mactan, Shangrila holds the most beautiful of them all. Its long stretch of powdery brownish white sand is perfect for anyone who just wants to lounge by the beach.

Take a look at the beautiful beach perfected by a lavish of trees backdrop.

I have always been so fascinated of Shangrila Hotels ever since i saw them in post cards and online. So it's now my time to experience the luxury this brand has to offer to its customers.

I was about to celebrate my birthday and was planning to just spend it somewhere near Cebu City so i could just relax without having to travel long. You know traveling can be so exhausting.

So i decided to book an overnight stay at the Shangrila Resort in Mactan Cebu in a De Luxe Room on September 25, 2014. Yeah, Shangrila, known for its 5-star rating, is quite expensive and could really damage your wallet badly. But anyway, i only spend my birthday once a year so be it in Shangrila then.

Cafe Noriter

Here's my photoblog of Cafe Noriter. All photos herewith are all original (unedited) captured using Canon EOS 55D.

Cafe Noriter

Archbishop Reyes Ave, Cebu City, Cebu, Philippines

The entrance...

The Bar...

Group selfie...

The over priced bread. LOL

A stairway to the top deck...

They only have very few coffee and food selections...

With my NCR officemates...

I love Teddy!!! BTW, those 2 koreans behind me are the owners

It's all in Bohol, Bohol has it all!

Bohol has always been a dream destination for many tourists both local and international. Who wouldn't want to visit this island full of beautiful white sand beaches?

Here's a photoblog featuring 2 of the most sought staycations in Bohol, Amorita Resort and Bellevue. All photos herewith are original (unedited) using a Canon EOS 55D.

A white long beach of Dumaluan.