Beachside meals at Panglao Island

The trip to Panglao last April was reinvigorating as it was our first long vacation after spending some weekends in Laiya, Batangas and Caliraya, Laguna. We were able to go around Bohol for the usual touristy things like going to Chocolate Hills and seeing the Tarsiers. The best memories though will be the trip to Balicasag where, along the way, we saw dolphins and then got to enjoy snorkeling and swimming with practically the waters to ourselves (only our boatmen and the local guide were there with us in the water). Then, of course, there are the beaches both in Balicasag and the resort where we stayed at. The South Palms was carved out of what used to be the expansive Bohol Beach Club. I had stayed at the BBC twice before including the first time I traveled to Panglao back in 1996. South Palms I thought was able to get the better part of the property and 'leveled up' on the food and accommodations. And so we enjoyed really good meals that we ordered and were served beachside - refreshments and nourishment as we enjoyed the waters.

Fries and dips

A loaded pasta bowl

Barbecue and chips

Fish and chips

More on our trip to Bohol in future posts!

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Sachi Ramen, SM Seaside Cebu

We were back in Cebu after about 2.5 years. My last travel prior to the lockdowns due to the Covid-19 pandemic was to Consolacion in January 2020. Our first meal back was not the typical to expect as we had our daughter with us and the first thing she spotted and fancied was a ramen restaurant. We decided to have lunch first at the SM Seaside mall before proceeding to the Cebu Ocean Park when she saw the restaurant as we emerged from the escalator.

Sachi Ramen menu

Restaurant interior

Their ramen is homemade. The noodles are not imported or sourced from another maker.

Tonkotsu ramen

Shoyu ramen

We were pleasantly surprised about the quality of the ramen here. They made the own noodles and the ingredients were the right taste and texture especially the eggs. The chashu was also of high quality (not too fatty like in other ramen restos that do not have a Japanese pedigree). The price was also just right for a generous bowl of ramen.

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Back in Mactan, Cebu after 3 years

I refrained from posting the past few days as I am officially on vacation. My last visit to Cebu was in January 2020 or 2.5 years ago. That was for a project we did in Consolacion town, which is the municipality after Mandaue City heading to the north of Cebu Island. The last time we were in Cebu for a vacation was in July 2019 - three years ago. Here are a couple of photo taken early this weekend from the balcony of our room at the resort we stayed at.

The room's balcony offered a breathtaking view of the sea. Olango Island can be seen in the horizon, and farther can be seen is Bohol Island.

The view from the balcony of one of the swimming pools and the beach in the resort we stayed at.

We kind of missed Cebu and decided to come here rather than return to Panglao or try going to Puerto Princesa in Palawan. More photos from our trip to Mactan, Cebu in future posts!

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Some recent acquisitions

I had to let go of a few watches in my collection as those were no longer having the so-called wrist time (i.e., being worn more regularly). We have, after all, only two wrists and its kind unusual to wear two or more watches at the same time (joke). Among those I let go were my Sicura world time-diver, one of my Citizen Homer Second Setting watches (I had 4), and a vintage Swiss-made chronograph. All three are collectible and were sold quickly through a friend. 

That said, these were quickly replaced by what to me are even more collectible and desirable. These are a Seiko 6139-6010 chronograph, a Seiko SKX401, and a Seiko commemorative watch ("Dr. Yellow").

A fine specimen for the Seiko 6139-6010, one of the models collectively nicknamed "Bruce Lee". The actor-martial artist wore the black dial version of this watch.

The Seiko SKX401 is unofficially (because Seiko itself has not confirmed it) one of the first divers that were exclusively released or sold in the Philippine market. The other one is the SKX399, which has black dial and bezel insert. This one has a dark blue dial and "Pepsi" bezel insert.

A chronograph commemorating the shinkansen (bullet train) maintenance/inspection train that is fondly named "Dr. Yellow".

While I already have one each of the blue "Bruce Lee" and the 401, I gave in to temptation to acquire a second one of each. These recent ones are actually in better condition than my previous ones. The "Dr. Yellow" is a second shinkansen commemorative watch. I had earlier written about my Hayabusa. I will write about each of these watches in future posts on this blog.

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Back at Alavar Seafood Restaurant in Zamboanga City

One of the things we truly miss from the travels prior to the Covid-19 pandemic was the food. We usually tried new places to eat at. And then, of course, there are the old reliables and certain restaurants we definitely try to eat at when were in certain cities. One of those restaurants is the Alavar Seafood Restaurant in Zamboanga City. It gets pretty crowded when you come in even for an early dinner so the timing should be to arrive between 6:00 - 6:30PM. Whole families eat out here even without an occasion to celebrate.

There were already a lot of diners when we arrived at around 6:15PM.

Noticeable for me were the changes in the interior. They actually rerouted the entrance so you proceed to the larger, more spacious dining hall instead of the original air-conditioned restaurant.

There were 6 of us so we decided to order 2 seafood platters.

Here's the second platter. The platter or bilao sets already come with a big bottle of iced tea that can be shared by 3 to 4 people.

The staff informed us that they also serve the popular Knickerbocker. We ordered one each.

Here's a close-up of my Knickerbocker

A sala set near our table. I assume one can have a meeting here where you order some food and drinks like coffee and merienda.

We were not disappointed with our food. I would say that Alavar will always be a "go to" restaurant for us whenever we are in Zamboanga City. The restaurant's main dining hall is spacious and obviously laid out to meet or comply with the health protocols. The staff always wears masks. There's a temperature check at the entrance of the restaurant but they do not ask for proof of vaccination (i.e., vaccination card).

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Vintage Swatch Chronograph Diver - Lilibeth

Among the Swatch chronograph diver's watches I got from Japan in 2001 was a brightly colored Lilibeth model. The original one was misplaced by my wife but the leather strap was already replaced as the plastic buckle was broken. It was replaced by an aftermarket silicone strap that could be used for swimming. Fast forward to the present and I was able to find a New Old Stock piece from a seller in Germany. It was also being sold for cheap so I didn't hesitate acquiring this watch that I am featuring in this post.

The watch features 3 sub dials like our other Swatch chronographs. The bezel rotates unidirectionally and counter-clockwise.

View showing the crown and the chronograph buttons. All are working and as crisp as a new watch.

The other side view, again showing the overall excellent condition of the watch.

Photo of the back showing a transparent case and the battery compartment.

Close-up of the very colorful dial - it is a "fun" watch that you can wear casually on almost any occasion.

 

Close-up of the back, which shows water resistance at 200m.

Close-up showing the watch being a 1993 model (1994 collection or release). That makes this watch 29 years old.

The watch came in complete with the box and manual.

I still hope I can find the first one that I think was misplaced and probably in a bag or shelf somewhere in our house. That still works the last time I saw it though I am not sure if the chronograph function is still okay.

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A vintage Seiko 6138-0020 Tokei Zara

Another rare watch in my collection is this model from the 6138 series of chronographs. It is called Tokei Zara for clock (tokei in Japanese) and the shape of the watch head (zara for the oval dish). Some will refer to the shape as similar to a helmet and there are 2 other popular but more common 6138 models that bear this shape - the Darth Vader and the Stormtrooper.

The chronograph features two sub-dials and day and date complications. The days are in English and Roman numerals. The watch head is helmet-shaped.

Side view showing the crown and chronograph buttons

 

The other side view showing the overall good condition of this watch

 

Close-up of the dial

 

The case back shows the correct model number. The serial number indicates the date of manufacture to be in July 1972.

Close-up of the bottom of the dial showing the correct dial number for this model

 

The obligatory wrist shot

I don't have a photo of the movement but this runs on the Cal. 6138, beating at 21,600 A/h. The strap is not its original but one I got from another 6138 model whose strap I replaced with an aftermarket one that is more appropriate. I thought a leather strap won't do justice to this watch.

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Snorkelling at Balicasag

I have several unfinished articles on our recent trip to Bohol. This is one of them and about our visit to Balicasag Island, which is just off Panglao Island. I remember my first time in Balicasag was in February 1996, weeks before I was to leave for my first international travel (Tokyo, Japan). If I had not written about that, I will be writing about it soon. Meanwhile, here are photos around Balicasag taken last April 2022.

Our guide towed the boat himself rather than paddle, as he searched for aquatic life around Balicasag Island.

Our daughter was fearless the first time she snorkelled. She swims very well and the monocle seemed to fuel her enthusiasm and confidence.

She could easily go on her own but knew when to return to the boat. Our guide was surprised at how she was very good in swimming as well as following instructions where to go and where to look.

A sea cucumber

The cucumber and the starfish

Words are not enough to describe how happy she was with the experience

I included this photo to show how clear the waters were around Balicasag. We went there on an afternoon and the weather wasn't the best so we ended up being the only guests there! We were lucky that the weather 'cooperated' and it was just perfect for swimming and snorkeling.

You can compare this photo to a previous one where we were closer to the beach. These are deeper waters and beyond the buoys delineating shallow waters from the deeper ones. Our daughter didn't mind and happily swam around.

Deeper waters do not deter a good swimmer who is also brave

We thought her first snorkeling experience was most enjoyable to her. We promised to return to Bohol soon if only for this. Of course, there are other places to visit like Palawan and Cebu.

Sunset photo near the border to even deeper waters.

We will definitely go back to Bohol, Panglao and Balicasag in the future (hopefully near future). There's a lot to see and do there and these are happy places for us where we have lots of happy memories and experiences.

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Dinner from Lander's - pizza and pasta

During one of the times I decided to stay at our other home in Bonifacio Global City (BGC), I opted to get my dinner from the nearby Lander's supermarket. Similar to S&R, they have a nice cafeteria/canteen set-up where there are many choices for the hungry and thirsty among us. I opted for some pizza and pasta there instead of the Italian restaurant that recently opened. They have good enough choices for both pasta and pizza. They also have rice meals, sandwiches, salads and soups.

I opted for the cheese pizza and the truffle pasta. I got some orange juice to wash it down.

I thought this was a good choice given that I had to have a working dinner (I was finishing a correcting exams that evening). If I were free, I would have explored other restaurants in the area especially the ones I haven't tried eating at. Of course, you need to be a card-holding member to be able to buy food there but there's usually a lot of people since only person needs to have a card to buy their food and drinks there. Price-wise, I thought the prices were fair given the quality and quantity of the food on a per order basis. But that doesn't mean I would eat here frequently given that there are many other restaurants and cafes in the area, cost notwithstanding.

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Chocolate review: Trapa Intenso 80% Noir

It's been a while since the last chocolate review so here's something I started to write in February but only posting now. We found this bar among other stuff on sale at a nearby convenience store at a gasoline service station. They have lots of nice food and other items at that store and their prices are not as much or high as those in convenience stores (e.g., 7-eleven, Family Mart, etc.). We decided to pick up a couple of dark chocolates on sale, and those included this bar from Trapa.

Trapa Intenso claims to be an 80% dark chocolate

Details on the chocolate at the back of the box

The ingredients state the bar to have a minimum of 80% cocoa. This chocolate is from Spain.

Nutrition information on the chocolate

We thought the chocolate was borderline smooth/bitter. It was good but not something I would quickly purchase if there were other chocolates to choose from. The bar is priced at 185 PHP, which for a 175g bar of this quality is fair. I've written before about more expensive chocolates but were well worth their price in terms of quality.

 

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