Impressed by Air New Zealand

I fly economy.  Because of the economic condition of my wallet, the only flying option that I got for both domestic and international flights is to go economy class.

I have flown quite a number of airlines from the coolest to the most senseless.  And my recent Air New Zealand (ANZ) experience seem to stand out among all these air travel providers.  It came as a big surprise actually.  Except for the pre-flight safety video, I never expected this airline to possess and feature high standard facilities and services.

lighting before the take-off

lighting before the take-off

lighting during the flight prior to dinner service

lighting during the flight prior to dinner service

lighting prior to bfast service

lighting prior to bfast service

My recent flight from Auckland to Singapore was something to remember.  I need not encounter a lifesaving scene nor a bizarre experience nor an out-of-the-ordinary circumstance for me to get impressed with the quality of service and facilities of this airline.  The simple features are the ones that really impresses me.

The airline food was superb for one.  As compared to the nightmarish quality of food chomps that other airline serves, ANZ (for me) was above average.  I particularly loved the Kapiti Premium Ice Cream.  It was so delicious I asked the crew for another cup.

Aside from the above average meals, the airline serves generous amounts of tasty New Zealand premium red and white wines.  Flights crews would walk the aisle with large bottles of wines ready to fill passengers’ thirsty cups.

Another simple surprise by ANZ are their cleverly designed cabins and seat-space.  The actual height and look of the cabin makes you feel like being in a very big airplane.  The leg space in particular was indeed very good.  I for one who possess rather long legs would usually have difficulty fitting in a rather small space but not with Air New Zealand.

awesome... this kept me from not reading my book

awesome… this kept me from not reading my book

Another plus in my being captivated by this airline was their inflight entertainment system.  The high definition touch screen was simply stunning for every passenger who enjoys viewing movies and TV programs or simply playing games during long haul flights.  I discovered that it has a feature called “seat chat” where you get to send instant messages to your friend and family seated in another row.  And everything seem to be in that small high definition screen: from turning on your reading light, to good music and even on the need to talk to an airline crew.

And lastly are the flight crews.  I hate it when crews on board are too chatty or too snobbish.  My ANZ flight just had the average cool dudes and dudettes as flight attendants.  They were simply friendly, helpful and thorough, which for me was a big plus.

I was in economy class during my ANZ flight, but it felt more than the usual economy.  ANZ was such a big surprise.  I was impressed!

Pang mayaman…

Quote

Facebook has recently put words into my mouth.  And this is what according to Facebook is my personal quote:

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I would like to believe that these powerful words and intelligent thought really came from me. Thanks heaps Facebook for such an amazing job! Hahaha!

Bur seriously, if I’m to relay a personal quote on Facebook or in any other social media format, it would be…

Neil's Quote

‘Di nga? Mamatey?

 

11 Blocks by Wrabel

wrabel (photo taken from his fb page)

wrabel (photo taken from his fb page)

Hey! Look and listen to who I discovered! His name is Wrabel.  I don’t know if he’s an indie or a mainstream artist.  And I have yet to look and listen into his body of work.  But one thing is for sure… I love his single entitled “11 Blocks”

I peeped into Wrabel’s Facebook and found this poignant and soulful expression on his page…

tonite i quite literally set the past on fire.

ready to move on.

ready for change.

ready for new.

ready to leave for this tour and ready to share these songs and these stories and my head and my heart with whoever will listen.

hehe this is a bit dramatic.

but sometimes it just has to be

Listen to 11 Blocks before everybody is singing it and before this song blows out of proportion.  I really like this and I hope you do too…

May potenshal… Super nays ‘di ba?

Happy Chemicals Caused By The Robert & JT Moves

It’s already midday Tuesday in Manila before night time falls in California.  Does this means that we in Manila needs to be more patient and takes more time to wait before we could watch the next dance routine of JT and Robert?

a magical tandem

a magical tandem

a great storyteller

this cute boy is a great storyteller

That’s exactly what I thought when I patiently waited for the airing of SYTYCD: The Next Generation season after they were gone for 2 weeks to give way to the airing of the Summer Olympics.  And when I saw the phenomenal Mr. Jobangles routine, my impatience just suddenly vanished.  It was worth the wait!

JT and Robert on the dance floor are simply magical!  They’re the best thing I’ve ever seen on SYTYCD!  Their partnership is something so joyous.  Their routines week after week speaks volumes!  Their routines are no longer about the technicality of their dance moves.  It’s no longer about their having good lines and flexibility.  It’s already about awesome and touching storytelling in which happy chemicals are emitted by the people who sees their dance performances.

Now watch and be touched…

https://youtu.be/oHUCtdv3Hj0

Ninakaw ng dalawang ‘to ang puso ko.

Three Immediate Benefits of Playing Pokemon Go

It is official!  I am part of the world’s population who has been bitten by the Pokemon Go bug.  And my avatar is aptly called Nengkoy (of course!).

It’s my third day of playing this massively popular game.  And at this early point in time, I can already identify three major benefits of playing Pokemon Go.

stylish pokemon go avatar... appropriately named NENGKOY

stylish pokemon go avatar… appropriately named NENGKOY

First, playing Pokemon Go entails lots and lots of walking.  Thus, I will be consuming lots and lots of unwanted body fats and calories so as to search around for those lots and lots of elusive monster Pokemons.  As a matter of fact, according to my Samsung S Health isometric app, I was able to achieve my walking goals on the first 2 days of my joining and playing this game.

a PIDGEY found inside my unit trying to fit my Marc Jacobs slippers...

a PIDGEY found inside my unit trying to fit my Marc Jacobs slippers…

Second, playing Pokemon Go requires the use of mobile phone’s Global Positioning System (GPS) as well as the aptitude in reading maps.  Aside from, being able to appreciate the architectural, historical or cultural value and significance of sites chosen as PokeStop, my poor navigational skills will have no choice but to improve and be sharpened so as to search for those hard-to-pin-down Pokemons.

Lastly, it’s fun!  This I guess need not be explained.  Pokemon Go will not be explosively popular worldwide if it ain’t fun at all!

Magtago na kayo! Let da geym begin…

Palawan & Me: Saying Positive, Staying Positive

According to Nengkoy, if you have anything good to say, SAY IT!  That has been one positive mantra that I have learned from my mother.  With this viewpoint, let me express two awesome thoughts.

First is to applaud the beautiful tropical island of Palawan for besting all other islands of the world.  Congratulations to Palawan for being chosen as the number one island in the Travel + Leisure World’s Best Awards.

got Nacpan Beach in El Nido  all for myself

got Nacpan Beach in El Nido all for myself

Big Lagoon

Big Lagoon

Though I am very much elated by this awesome recognition, I am a little sad because this once hidden place of a paradise is slowly being discovered by world travelers.  I would love to keep Palawan unspoiled.  I hope that the blue and emerald green waters, the jungle-filled mountains as well as the incredible and colorful wildlife both underwater and on land of this beautiful paradise will be well preserved.

Second is to convey gratitude to my Facebook friends for “liking” my profile picture.  I am delighted and overjoyed because it is the first time ever in my being an FB account user that my profile picture reached more than 200 likes.

my most "liked" FB profile

my most “liked” FB profile

Thank you FB friends!  Your “likes” in some ways makes me stay positive! I am not a popular FB account user, but my reaching 200+ likes felt like winning the award for being the best island of the world.   And just like Palawan, I think I need to preserve my positive bearing and uncomplicated being because I’m starting to get “popular”! Hahaha!

Parang Palawan, pasikat na ako!

Excited for Celias Café

People living in Alaminos, Pangasinan (and those who would visit this fast developing city) has something awesome to look forward to.  Celias, a new modern Filipino coffee shop, is due to open on Saturday, July 16, 2016.

egzoited!!!

egzoited!!!

I am excited because the last time I visited Alaminos, Pangasinan, there seem to be no decent café or coffee shop where we could enjoy good coffee and some sumptuous meal.  I and my friends (after touring the Hundred Islands) settled on eating at a trivial fastfood joint inside a trivial shopping mall.

What I’m most excited about Celias Cafe would be their all-day-breakfast Pinoy food offerings as well as that of their coffee concoctions.  I am excited because I know, on a personal level, the owners of this café. And I know that these owners has lived for years in Osaka, the culinary capital of Japan.  Hence, these new proprietors knows what good food is and I believe they have acquired impressive palatal sense.  They know what delicious is!

I will definitely be heading to Celias Café and will give you my two cents on what this new exciting café has to offer!  Celias is located beside the SSS Building along Marcos Avenue, Alaminos City, Pangasinan.

Si yu der…

China Blue Makes My Blog Look Expensive

Let me add some class, sophistication and culinary elegance to this blog by posting photos of the interiors, table set-up and a couple of tasty food dishes of China Blue.

China Blue Manila

China Blue Manila

the set-up (especially the beautiful plate chargers) speaks a lot about elegance

the set-up (especially the beautiful plate chargers) speaks a lot about elegance

Thin Crispy Beef... my personal favorite

Thin Crispy Beef… my personal favorite

elegant interiors... round chandelier in manila, square chandelier in tokyo...

elegant interiors… round chandelier in manila, square chandelier in tokyo…

Steamed Truffle Mushroom Bun... the most "sosyal" and ostentatious "siopao"

Steamed Truffle Mushroom Bun… the most “sosyal” and ostentatious “siopao”

inside Conrad Hotel Manila

inside Conrad Hotel Manila

China Blue Manila inside Conrad Hotel (the newest five star luxury hotel in Manila) is not the first on the planet.  The first China Blue, a classy modern Chinese cuisine restaurant is in Conrad Hotel in Tokyo.

O ‘di ba? Ang sosyal sosyal ko!

Pancit Batil Patung at Shallots-All-You-Can Joint

The usual main aim of an out of town adventure is to see and experience for yourself the scenic view of your planned destination.  While the food in your destination would usually come in as an additional perk to an already awesome adventure.

But this is not the case with my recent out of town adventure in Tuguegarao, Cagayan province.  I, MJ, JB and Willie (my officemates) went to Tuguegarao for a long weekend with two major aims in mind:  to visit the majestic Callo Cave and to take a bite of Tuguegarao’s unique noodle dish.

 

super special batil patung at jomar's

super special batil patung at jomar’s

Pancit Batil Patung on my first chomp was like an explosion of flavors in my palate.  The delicious mixture of ingredients was so awesome it will make your taste buds wanna grow hands for it to give a good round of applause.

But let me digress from the as-expected delicious taste of this dish to that of the surprising and unique experience we had when we went and ordered our Pancit Batil Patung at Jomar’s Panceteria (panceteria: English translation, noodle house).

Jomar’s Panceteria only serves Pancit Batil Patung and there’s nothing else in the menu.  Thus, you would really conclude that their noodle dish is one of the best since it’s the only dish that keeps their store alive.  Nevertheless, their pancit are of three varieties, i.e. regular, special and super special.  All four of us of course did not settle for less and opted for the Super Special which only costs eighty pesos (or less than US$ 2).

happy tummy...

happy tummy… (with mj, jb and willie)

Our astonishment in the restaurant was further driven when we noticed at one corner of the dining area was the presence of a ginormous chopping board, several knives and a huge sack full of pungent shallots.

While we were having the first bite of the pancit (egg noodle), we noticed people were actually proceeding to the monster chopping board and were actually peeling off and mincing the shallots.  After which they would place it on a small saucer and bring to their table.  We then saw them pour soy sauce and scooped a generous amount so as to top it on their Pancit Batil Patung.

We then asked our companion Willie to peel and chop red onions for us.  And when he could no longer take it he went back to our table serving a meager amount of minced shallots with uncontrollable tears in his eyes.  We on the other hand were laughing so hard!

big portions!!!

big portions!!!

extra challenge part of the adventure!

extra challenge part of the adventure!

pose muna

pose muna with the “cusinera

That’s when we realized that Jomar’s Pancit Batil Patung was a shallots-all-you-can panciteria!  I was actually telling my companions that Jomar’s should replace the knives and chopping board with a food processor so that it would be “no-more-tears” and would be easier for their guests.  But then again, I realized that if electric food processor would be installed, the odd extra-challenge, fun and uniqueness of the whole experience would be expunged.

Where in the world would you find a restaurant that has this kind of an offering?  Pancit Batil Patung at Jomar’s was definitely one unique, enjoyable and tummy-filling part of our adventure in Tuguegarao.

Sibuyas pa mor!

The Majesty & Magnificence of Callao Cave

20160630_182248.jpgI can’t recall if I have been to a cave.  This is until my attention, interest and curiosity was called upon by the beauty, majesty and magnificence of Callao Cave in Tuguegarao Province.  This grand and imposing natural formation is known as the site where the oldest human bone of a Filipino has been discovered.

Being inside Callao Cave can be considered a blessing.  It was such an awesome sight.  The grandiose rock formations and the dramatic effect of natural rays of the sun seeping through the holes and crevices above the chambers and domes were really breathtaking.  I never imagined that such a place actually exists!

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with mj, jb and willie playing with the rays of the sun…

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dramatic!

the rarest chapel ever!

the rarest chapel ever!

the stunning lighting effect are all natural...

the stunning lighting effect are all natural…

Me and my colleagues (MJ, JB and Willie) felt so blessed for we were fortunate enough to behold such a magnificent work of nature!  The stunning site gives you an insight that the caveman who lived inside Callao thousands of years ago must be spending some auspicious lifestyle!  His architect and interior designer was no less than Mother Nature.

My experience and beautiful impression of Callao is worth a memory that can be tucked securely in a corner of my mind which can readily be pulled out later, maybe for a poem, or a short story or a song.  And it will definitely take a lot for the succeeding caves that I will step into for me to get as impressed as that of the first cave that I have been to.  Callao was one stupendously gorgeous cave!

Hayop sa ganda ang kwebang yon!