Restaurant Review: Sariwon Korean Barbecue

My love of Korean food started since my first taste of the flavorful appetizers and yummy beef galbi dipped in sesame sauce and chili paste, then wrapped in a lettuce leaves. My mouth waters just thinking about it.

Sariwon Korean Barbecue is the most convenient place for me to get my dose of Korean. It's just a stone's throw away from the office - located at the West Superblock of Bonifacio High Street Central. It's just beside Geisha (a japanese restaurant) and above Jumba Juice.

After being seated you will be offered towelettes and some hot tea. The tea is good, you should try it. ^^

A variety of appetizers comes with any meal, and you can ask for unlimited refill. :) I particularly enjoy nibbling on sweet baby potatoes while waiting for the main dish - and I love Kimchi with my galbi. The selection of appetizers changes everyday so don't be surprised if you get a different variety each visit.

Unlimited appetizer selection changes everyday.

Any kind of meat will do, but Ggot Galbisal, being one of the priciest item on the menu, is a definite must-try. You can have Beef Galbi/Seng Galbi for a cheaper alternative. Aside from the food, one thing I like about Sariwon is the smokeless grill, so you don't end end up smelling like firewood after your meal.

Ggot Galbisal (P595) for sharing.

I usually go for plain white rice when I eat Korean, but one day we ordered Dolsot Bibimbap and I knew I wouldn't order the plain rice again. It was delicious!!!

Dolsot Bibimbap P380.

Right after the main meal, they usually serve a complimentary serving of Sikye, a traditional beverage dessert made from rice and malt. It was a bit strange for me to see rice floating in my drink but after several visits I got used to it and now I find it strangely good and refreshing.

Sariwon is currently my Gold standard for Korean dining. The service and the atmosphere is great. A must-try!

Travel: Venice, Italy

I was in Kranj, Slovenia with a colleague and we had 1 weekend to spare. We had the option of strolling around Ljubljana - Slovenia's capital - or strutting our stuff in Venice. Easy choice, right?

Transport
The first thing was to figure out the most economic and convenient was to get from Kranj to Venice. I searched online for flights, but they were darn expensive. Next option, take the train. It was a little bit cheaper, but it would take too much time - and we only had 1 weekend. We don't want to spend most of our time on a lousy train cabin. Amazingly, Google led me to a site called GoOpti.com. GoOpti offers transfers to airports and other key points in Central and Western Europe. For our chosen dates, we only had to pay a little more than 40€ each, roundtrip. What a steal!

Accommodation
Next, a place to sleep in. It was too late to place requests in Couchsurfing and I was traveling with a colleague, so I reckoned a hotel would be a better option. I look around Tripadvisor, as I always do, for an inexpensive hotel with good reviews. I found a nice, strategically-located hotel called Hotel Santa Lucia. We booked a double room with shared bath. The bath was just across the corridor so we didn't mind. The bathroom is regularly cleaned - I found clean, fresh towels every time I used it.

With packed bags, a printed map and high spirits, we headed to the Ljubljana railway station where GoOpti was to pick us up. The van arrived right on-time and in about 2.5 hours we were in Piazzalle Roma! We went to the hotel - which was just walking distance from the plaza - to check-in, leave our bags, then we were off gallivanting on the streets of Venezia! We stopped at a restaurant to have our Italian dinner (pasta and pizza, baby!), have some beer, then walked some more to take in that Venetian vibe.

Venice Love
The following day was spent just strolling around. In Venice, it doesn't matter where you go, or which turn you take. Every little alley has a charm of its own. Most streets are marked with signs pointing to major attractions like Rialto or Piazza San Marco. And if yuo don't find you way the first time, it's fine. Venice is a beautiful city to get lost in.

Day 2. My love of glass beads took us to one of the islands - Murano. We did our glass gifts shopping and took more pictures!

Hands down, Venice is one of the best cities I've been to. It's unique, lovely, photo-perfect and romantic! I'd love to go back someday - and hopefully with a loved one! <3 p="">

Travel: Hong Kong/Macau 4-day Itinerary

Here's our 4-day Hong Kong/Macau itinerary.

I've included the estimated price that you'd spend on each attraction. We've paid a bit higher for our hostel because we booked the rooms last minute. You can get better hostel rates if you'd book way ahead of time. We stayed in CityPlus Hostel in Mongkok, but you can also try Hello Inn and Yuifai Guesthouse - they have great reviews.

Some prices of food/shpping expenses were over-estimated to provide some leeway. Transport expenses are exact, though.

You can get a discounted attraction tickets in hostels/travel agencies/hotels. Discounted prices I'm aware of are as follows: Oceanpark 260HKD, Disneyland 370HKD, 3-in-1 Peak/Madame Tussauds 195HKD.

For other Hong Kong travel tips, click here.

I hope you enjoy your Hong Kong - Macau adventure as much as we've enjoyed ours! :)

DAY	TIME	ACTIVITY	PRICE HKD	PER PERSON HKD
Day 0	2255H	Departure MNL
Day 1	0055H	Arrival HK - night bus to hotel	23	23
	0130H	Check-in City Plus Hostel	2460	820
	0700H	Wake-up, Breakfast	30	30
	0900H	Transport to Ocean Park	22	22
	1000H	Ocean Park Adventure	280	280
	1300H	Lunch	100	100
	1900H	Transport to Victoria Harbor	16	16
	2000H	Symphony of Lights
	2045H	Ladies Market	5	5
	2100H	Shopping / Dinner / Food trip	250	250
	2300H	Walk to Hotel
Day 2	0600H	Wake-up, Breakfast	30	30
	0700H	Transport to Victoria Harbor Star Ferry	5	5
	0730H	Star Ferry to HK Central	3	3
	0800H	Walk to The Peak Tram
	0930H	Peak Tram/SkyTerrace/Madame Tussaud Wax Museum	223	223
	1330H	Late Lunch	50	50
	1500H	Hong Kong Museum of History	10	10
	1700H	Transport to Causeway Bay	11	11
	1830H	Stroll in Causeway Bay
	2000H	Transport to Happy Valley	3.5	3.5
	2030H	Happy Valley Racecourse/Dinner	100	100
	2300H	Transport to Hotel	8	8
Day 3	0600H	Wake-up, Breakfast	30	30
	0645H	Transport to Macau Ferry Terminal	11	11
	0715H	TurboJet Ferry to Macau	163	163
	0830H	Arrival Macau/Immigration/Brochures
	0900H	Take Venetian Macau free shuttle
	0930H	Shoppes Canal / Casino
	1130H	Transport to Senate Square	6	6
	1145H	St Paul / Fortress Hill / Camoes Garden / Lunch	80	80
	1630H	Transport to Fisherman's wharf	6	6
	1700H	Fisherman’s Wharf Sightseeing / Early Dinner	80	80
	2000H	Transport to Wynn Hotel free shuttle
	2030H	Fountain Show at Wynn Hotel
	2130H	Transport to Ferry Terminal free shuttle
	2145H	TurboJet to HK	174	174
	2330H	Transport to Hotel	11	11
Day 4	0600H	Wake-up, Breakfast, Check-out	30	30
	0830H	Transport to Ngong Ping 360	16	16
	1000H	Cable Car to Ngong Ping Village	125	125
	1040H	Ngong Ping Village Giant Buddha
		Walking with Buddha/ Monkey Theatre(optional)	36	36
	1140	Return Cable Car
	1230	Transport to Disneyland	13	13
	1300	Disneyland Adventure	399	399
		Lunch / Dinner / Snacks	150	150
	2100H	Transport to Airport - taxi	50	50
Day 5	0140H	Departure HK
	0340H	Arrival MNL
		TOTAL		3369.5

Travel tips: Hong Kong / Macau

It was a last-minute decision to book a flight for the holy week to Hong Kong. Oh such impulsiveness! But in the end, the money spent and the panic cramming were well worth it.

Two other friends and I spent a 4-day getaway to Hong Kong, with a 1-day visit to Macau. It was a fun, amazing, heel-torturing adventure.

For our 4-day itinerary, click here.

Here are some tips when going to/around Hong Kong and Macau:

Check the weather - Before going, check the weather. Hong Kong is way more beautiful on a clear day especially if you'd like to enjoy the scenery from Victoria Peak or Ngong Ping 360 cable car. Also, pack clothes accordingly. We weren't prepared for the cold so we had to spend more time and money looking for sweaters and wind-breakers.

Money exchange - don't bother exchanging your PHP to USD. You can change your PHP to HKD directly in Hong Kong with a very good exchange rate, especially somewhere near Central - where a lot of Filipinos gather.

Octopus card - Get one from the nearest MTR station. It's convenient, you can use it almost anywhere and it eliminates the need for small change. You can get it for 150HKD (100HKD will be available to you and 50HKD will be a refundable deposit. Any unspent amount will be refunded with your deposit when you return it. Oh, but there's a 9HKD handling fee if you return it in less than 90 days.)

Shopping - if you see something you really, really like, buy it immediately. You might not find something like it again.

Take the bus - If you're not in such great hurry, take the double-decker bus instead of the MTR, it's a great way to move around the city. It's cheaper and you get to do a lot of sight-seeing.

Tram ride - When you're in Hong Kong island, take the Tram to move around the city. It's super inexpensive for only 2.3HKD and the views are amazing. On your way to HK island from Kowloon, you might as well take the Star Ferry too.

Food - Although there are a lot of McDonalds and BurgerKings around, try looking for authentic hole-in-a-wall places where you can find unbelievably amazing food in a super cheap price. For example, we found this small noodle place near the Ladies Market where they offer different varieties of noodles for only 22HKD.

Attractions - Ask your hotel/hostel for discounted tickets. They normally have cheaper rates than the actual price.

Macau
Food - try the beef jerky and the egg tart. Delicious!

Free shuttles - almost all hotels and casinos offer a free shuttle to/from the Macau Ferry Terminal, avail of these shuttles to save some money on transportation.

Gambling - even though you're not a gambler, allocate some money for a little betting on Macau's many casinos. I'd recommend The Sands as they have tables with low minimum bets. It's a great experience! But of course, if you've lost the allocated money, know when to stop.

Hotel Review: Taj Guesthouse Boracay

In March 2012, I found myself with a booked flight to Boracay and no place to stay at. So I crossed my fingers and sent an email to Taj Guesthouse, hoping they'd have some vacant rooms. I immediately got a reply with the available rooms and rates. I reserved a room for two for a fair price of two thousand pesos per night.

Taj Guesthouse is located minutes from the D'Mall, in a small alley. The main building is just a few steps from the beach (it's almost beachfront). But since it's a guesthouse, don't expect a pool or a huge lobby. The staff, however, are very friendly, courteous and helpful.

I got a room in the annex building. It's a bit farther than the main building but I didn't mind the short walk. I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the rooms Taj Guesthouse has to offer. They can be compared to a 3-4 star hotel with a flat screen cable TV, refrigerator and A/C. My room has a double bed that can comfortably accommodate 2 people. They also provide towels and bath soaps. The only thing I missed was a safety vault.

I have enjoyed my stay so much. Everything was clean and working. Even though it's not a hotel with security guards on duty, it still felt very safe.

Make sure to book in advance if you plan to stay here. It could be very busy especially during peak season. But if you're already in Boracay, there's no harm in checking if they still have available rooms. 

Taj Guesthouse Boracay

Boracay Island, 5608 Balabag, Philippines

tajboracay@gmail.com

T (36) 2884628  / (36) 2885695

M 09209196509