bgc food tour passion fest 2010

sweet cupcakes, tasty Vietnamese delicacies, buffalo wings, yogurt feast and italian Pizza consumed in just four hours?!! a gluttonous day with my favorite food guide Ivan Man Dy.last weekend was a big treat for some bloggers and the other foodies as we were invited to Bonifacio Global City's food tour, which was part of the Passion Fest 2010. our first stop was at [Cupcakes by Sonja] for a cupcake fiesta where we had five sorts of cupcakes all served in bite size. choco cream pie, melt-in-your-mouth flourless chocolate cupcake, vanilla sunshine, red velvet vixen, chocolate overload all served at the perfect size for us to try each variance. let me say that my favorite is the red velvet vixen.it was quite unusual to start a food tour with dessert but let me say that i liked it that way. in the first place i'm a dessert person. our next stop was just a wall away [Ms. Desserts]. home to some of the best cakes in the city. the soft and so tasty lemon cake was perfect!our next stop, [Zao Vietnamese Bistro] still in Serendra. next to loving Japanese cuisine i go for the savory Viet food. so this will definitely not disappoint me. first to be served was the Zao pho, flank, brisket, fishballs, tendons and rice noodles!followed by Zao Satay platter, crispy spring rolls and my favorite fresh rolls with shrimps pork noodles, bean sprouts, greens and peanut dipping sauce.that was just the first part of this... more stops in the coming posts. so are you ready to join the next batch of foodies with Ivan Man Dy? be there this Saturday on a first come first serve basis 1:00pm at concierge booth Bonifacio High Street B8. i won't be able to join you as i'll be in Boracay this weekend. enjoy the food trip! enjoy Bonifacio Global City's Passion Fest!

born to be wild dvd launch

way back 2008, when i first learned about a local TV show dedicated to nature's preservation and awareness. i can't forget its first episode which featured the macaques of Negros. immediately after that i knew that i'll be a follower.when it first started it was hosted by mountain climber Romi Garduce and experienced veterinarian Doc Ferdz Recio. they did great underwater explorations, animal rescue and revealed a lot of places to explore.some of my favorite episodes includes the unidentified flying creatures in a cave in Cebu, the humpback whales in Babuyan islands and the sea snakes in Sibugay. but it was the feature on Kapurpurawan that gave me the interest of going to Ilocos and see this rock myself.just this month they finally released the DVD volume one at Powerbooks in SM Megamall. present were hosts Doc Ferdz Recio and the new host Kiko Rustia, who shared their experiences of their explorations.Born To Be Wild remains to be my favorite show and i would like to congratulate the whole team. the volume one DVD is now out available on movie shops. episodes included on this DVD are as follows:

[1] Crocodile Oddysey and Humpback Whales
[2] Anguish of the Bears and Mt. Pulag
[3] Sea Snakes and Sculptures
[4] The Born Project
Bonus: The best of Born To Be Wild: Season 1

hagimit falls samal island davao

reaching the area, small bodies of water almost on each side of the path. mostly calm the rest, fast flowing. it was hot that day yet our energy seems to have been recharged after the Maxima experience. it was unanimous, we have to make one last stop in this island, we chose Hagimit falls.just few minutes motorbike from Maxima to a lush uphill bumpy ride. we reached the main gate and paid a minimal entrance. this time we have to walk long way down. the place reminded me so much of Mambukal in Negros Occidental.just few minutes, we reached the area walking under shades trees. crossing small man-made bridges and on some parts crossing rocks that crosses the path. we had no one guiding us yet we let the flowing water guide us down. this time seeing bigger basins of water, a sign that we were getting closer to the main picnic site.the cyan colored waters was so appealing. there were cottages and small houses around the area. some people were enjoying in the big basin with small waterfalls flowing in it.with so less time, we have to leave the area without even getting our feet wet. it's a nice place but not something one shouldn't really miss. if one has enough time, this can be a good stop.

maxima samal island davao

i knew that our Davao trip won't end without one more adventure as we actually left our itinerary on our last day open to any activity. but i never predicted that it will be something like our Maxima experience.an addition to Davao's long list of adventure activities is Maxima Aqua Fun located mid-West of the island of Samal. offering coastal and water activities with a bonus of having a canopy walk. going back as to how we ended up choosing this activity, when we were in Gensan the bloggers there introduced us to the Davao bloggers who were also there supporting the Kalilangan Festival. they learned that we were going to Davao the next day, so Ria and the rest recommended us Maxima in Samal island. they mentioned about water activities with a long tarpaulin slide as the highlight. how can we resist that?we reached the place by renting motor bikes from central Babak district. ride took about 30minutes passing by the town of Penaplata. part of the route is a rough road leading to a downhill area.when we saw the coast and the slide, we didn't waste our time as it was this type of activity that we were looking for. i tried a similar mud slide in Pugadlawin Batangas during ROAM magazine's treat for us and i found it exciting.so how can this be different? we will end by falling on a 120-feet sudden deep sea water. a challenge i never tried but dared.we were given our life vest as no one is allowed to slide without it. looking at the sign "Do it at your own risk" on the platform, adds thrill to this slide. i volunteered to do it first yet seconds before sliding, i still felt the sense of fear.made the drop and it was fun all the way down. extreme fun. we swam back to the wooden pathway back to the platform and made another plunge. until i ended doing it five times and if not of the long way up, we could have done more.on one side, we noticed that another slide was being constructed. it actually looks like a longer and steeper slide. something that we can look forward the next time we visit Davao. a good reason to come back.special thanks to Sir Sonny Dizon owner of Maxima Aqua Fun Davao for giving us a day pass to this adventure through the recommendation of Davao blogger and new friend Ria.for reservations, you may call Maxima Aqua Fun (082) - 282-2339 or (082) - 271-2626. other activities available are kayaking, snorkeling or plain swimming in the clear waters of Samal. note: canopy walk is only open on weekends.

paradise resort samal island

if Cebu has its progressive Mactan island, Iloilo with a beach haven Guimaras island, Bohol with the peaceful island of Panglao, Zamboanga with the unique pink beach of Santa Cruz, Davao can't get behind with its island garden, Samal.after the splashes created by the white water rafting experience, here comes the calm waters of the Davao gulf. it was just time for us to be in an island again, a short 15-minute boat ride brings us to Samal.there are several options to get to this island but we took advantage of the special boat trip offered by Paradise Resort in Samal. they have boats big enough and is geared with lifevests enough for the strict number of passengers.when we reached the shoreline of the resort, i was so surprised to see the clear waters despite it being just infront of Davao's oil tanks. it strongly proves how serious Davaoenos are in protecting their natural resources.the water reaches the beach shelters along its beach line during high tide showing only a little part of its fine sand. i actually didn't like much the idea of those type of shelters along its shoreline because it actually limits what could have been a beautiful shoreline.the resort has a wide area with sandy paths and coconut trees lined on the side. which i liked the most. it even has its own bird sanctuary with some other animals.Paradise Island Beach Resort seems to be the default resort when tourists visit the island of Samal simply because of its accessibility and well maintained area. one thing that i didn't like was the long way from our rooms to the beach. there were no shortcuts.but it remains a good option since it has a well maintained area, good resort crews and staff and the free wifi access near the beach line.to get to Paradise Island Beach Resort Davao take their exclusive boat trip at the Sasa pier. boat has regular trips daily for only P15 per head. contact them at (82)-233 – 0251, (82)-2341229, (82)-3002343 for accommodations.