Zuzuni - A Big Disappointment

On our last day in Boracay, Aileen and I decided to eat out instead of joining the conference lunch. We've been eating Regency food for three days and we want to sample other offerings. Zuzuni is among the top in our list since it offers Mediterranean dishes which we both love. It's also just a few minutes walk from Regency and so we decided to give it a try.

The restaurant has a quaint interior. Framed mirrors line the wall and all tables provide a nice view of the beach. We arrived at noon after a few minutes of leisurely walking. We were the only guests and was readily attended to. The first thing that struck me was how expensive the food offerings are. I ordered the salad that has arugula, lettuce and walnuts in Balsamic Vinaigrette dressing (forgot the name) - similar to Cyma's Roka Salata. The salad costs more than P200. We asked the waitress to split the salad in two. Then I asked her how big the Gyro is since it is priced at P190. She said it was just small. We ordered one and asked to split it in two again. We thought it might be bigger than the waitress thinks given the price. I ordered frozen Mango Daiquiri. Aileen opted for Coke Light.

The Mango Daiquiri was pretty good. It was scorching hot so I could use the refreshment. Aileen was served with an expired can of Coke Light and had to replace it. Then the salad came. The serving was very small. There was not a single piece of arugula. The lettuce leaves were wilted. We could hardly see the chopped walnuts. The dressing was pretty good but we were already too disappointed to appreciate that bit. For the price, we expected at least fresh greens. And if they didn't have arugula, they could have mentioned that when we ordered. Then came the Chicken Gyro. It was tiny. It didn't taste particularly great either. I have no idea how they ended up in the 2009 Phil. Tatler Best Restaurants. We were so disappointed that we decided to get dessert somewhere else. We already spent way too much for something that didn't even tickle our palates. We should have gone to Cyma or even Cafe Med.

And so we flew home without a sample of Boracay's culinary delights.

Ariel's First Birthday

If life begins at 40, then Ariel just celebrated his first birthday last January 28th. We weren't able to take time off from work on the day itself but we were able to take Friday off. So on Thursday night, we drove home to Cavite to start our weekend a day early.

We got up late the next day, and just enjoyed a quiet morning in bed - reading, catching up on facebook, and playing computer games. By the time we were ready to drive to Tagaytay, it was 11am and we were famished.

Our first stop was Antonio's Grill. It was my first time here, Ariel's second. It has a very casual, shabby chic ambiance. The restaurant was furnished with white tables and chairs, similar to Antonio's but more mainstream. The screened windows were wide open, letting in the cool Tagaytay breeze.


Ariel ordered the squid sisig.


I opted for the crispy vegetable omelette which I really enjoyed.


We also ordered fried hito with burong dalag, sago't gulaman for Ariel and sugarfree calamansi shake for me.

After our filling lunch, we walked to Starbucks for coffee. Nowadays, I had to be content with decaf, non-fat latte with sugar free vanilla.


Ariel went for his usual cafe mocha, this time with a shot of mint since he loved the seasonal Peppermint Mocha which is no longer available.


We checked in that the Nurture Spa by 2pm. Last time we were here was at least 5 years ago and we stayed in the Ifugao hut. This time, we booked the Forest View aircon room. Our room was deep into the Nurture Spa compound, past the pool and outdoor treatment area. The interior has an Asian minimalist look. It was furnished with queen-sized four-poster bed, side tables, and a solid wood armoire (not seen in the photo below).


There's also a dresser table with mirror. A double door opens to reveal the "forest" of lush greens and trees right across the creek. To the left of the double door is the toilet and bath enclosed with capiz curtain.


I would have preferred more privacy for the toilet, although the capiz shells add charm to the room.


There's a bay window by the tub that offers a gorgeous view of the forest.


There was no TV in the room which was perfectly ok with me, but of course, Ariel would have preferred to have one. Good thing he brought his PSP and laptop to keep us entertained.

By 4 pm, we were ready for our first treatment - a 30-minute facial at the outdoor treatment area.


It was a bit breezy and chilly in the outdoor area but the ambiance was very relaxing.


Ariel and I enjoyed the facial. Our face was slathered with sweet honey (I had to keep myself from licking the honey!) and then gently massaged by the therapist. Our skin felt so smooth and supple afterwards.


After the facial, we decided to go around to take photos.








I got a chance to play with my lensbaby.


Ariel played while I took photos around the area.


This is the pool, and above it is the main dining area.


We were blessed with a beautiful full moon that night. I later found out that it was called the Wolf Moon - which pertains to the first full moon of the year.


We had dinner at 6:30pm in the main dining area. It was very cold! Ariel started with a cup of mushroom soup while I opted for the Asian salad. Then Ariel had the lechon with rice for his main course. I opted for the cream dory fillet with steamed veggies.


Dessert, which I skipped, was banana cake with chocolate syrup.


After dinner, we just rested until our scheduled massage at 8pm. Our package included one hour of Magsing-Irog Massage which we "upgraded" to 1.5 hours. Our therapists knocked on our door at 8pm and took us to the treatment area, right across our room.


There were two massage beds in the treatment room. Soft music was playing, and a minty scent lingered throughout the room. There was a separate shower and bath area for treatments that require soaking and/or rinsing (e.g. Body Scrub) or for those who want a shower prior to the massage.

The massage was very relaxing and before we knew it, Ariel and I dozed off. It was almost 10pm when we took the few steps from the treatment area to our room. I fell asleep right away, while Arie played with his PSP until the battery died.

We woke up at 8am and opted to have breakfast first before taking a shower and packing up. Ariel ordered a Filipino breakfast - tapsilog - while I chose my usual healthy, protein rich vegetable omelette. Ariel wasn't so happy with his food, but I certainly enjoyed mine and made sure that I complimented the cook.

Just before we checked out, we took a few more souvenir photos in our room.


We checked out at noon and decided to have lunch on the way. We stopped at Santi's where I picked up some veggies and cheese, then at Gourmet's where I bought some of their bottled laing, cherry tomatoes and a couple of potted herbs. Then we stopped in a plant nursery shop in Silang where I bought 3 sacks of garden soil for my herbs, and a pine tree which Ariel will plant in our yard.

Our last stop before lunch is Ilog Maria Honeybee Farm. I've been hearing about this place so we decided to check it out. We bought some oils, soaps, teapot, oil burners, lib balm, nail and cuticle balm, Royal Jelly and Honeybee Pollen.


We roamed around the area and saw the wooden boxes that house the honeybees.


They have a nice toilet that is shaped like a bee hive.


Inside, the toilet bowl is surrounded by a nicely arranged garden.


After Ilog Maria, we had a quick lunch at Recuerdo's. Ariel ordered Dinuguan, and crispy shrimps. I got the Chicken Inasal. It was a simple but very tasty fare.

Then it was time to relax back at home.

Our Adventures and Misadventures in Vietnam and Cambodia - Part 3

This is part 3 of our Vietnam-Cambodia adventure. If you missed the previous posts, check out Part 1 and Part 2 first.
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My ankle felt a little better when I woke up at half past four in the morning. The swelling has subsided although it was still a bit painful. The massage did help. Advil helped, too.

Another early day. Our first stop was Srah Srang, best viewed at sunrise, according to our guide book. We got to the viewing platform around 5am. It was pitch black. Several kids followed us offering coffee and breakfast. We promised one kid we will have coffee after taking photos of the sunrise. We took our post in what we thought would afford us the best view. Before long, other tourists arrived and it became a little bit crowded. We were still able to get a couple of sunrise shots.
It was a beautiful spot, perfect for a relaxing morning coffee.
Keeping our promise, we went to have coffee in the nearby stall. We also bought some bread sustain us through the morning's activities. The coffee was very good, with a dollop of condensed milk.

After Srah Srang, we headed to Banteay Srei - about 20 kms north of Angkor, and almost an hour in our trusty Tuktuk. It was a great idea to start early as this temple is a bit small and can easily get crowded. Anyway, when we got there, tourists were already pouring in. It was a beautiful temple, made of red sandstone. The warm glow of the morning sun highlights the intricate carvings that cover most of the temple's surfaces. It was the most beautiful temple we've seen in Siem Reap.

Most of the outer structures are already in ruins but the carvings on the remains are still very much visible.

The inner structures are still well-preserved and are roped off to keep tourists from touching the delicate wall carvings.

Like most temples in Angkor, Banteay Srei is surrounded by a moat.

Just outside the temple perimeter, colorful souvenir shops line the street leading into the temple grounds.

Our next stop was a respite from ll the temple hopping we've been doing in the past two days. We went to the controversial Landmine Museum. It was controversial because the local government didn't support it at first thinking that it will paint a scary picture of Cambodia, and will not help boost tourism. It actually became a populat tourist attraction and even generated awareness and support for demining efforts in Cambodia.

The museum boasts of hundreds of detonated bombs and landmines, mostly collected by the founder Aki Ra.

Ariel and Sophal goofing off

After the Landmine Museum, we drove to Banteay Samre, a less popular but nevertheless spectacular temple. It's a little bit out of the way which may be why some tourists opt to skip this one.

While the north entrance welcomed us from the main road, we circled around the perimeter and entered through the east entrance instead.

Inside, it looks like a miniature version of Angkor Wat. There were very few tourists that time so we were able to take lots of couple shots, courtesy of our tour guide.

Our last temple for the day is Bateay Kdei which is actually just across Srah Srang.

The temple was in a very ruined state and it was a bit scary to walk along the walls as it felt like they were going to topple over us.

We asked our Tuktuk driver Kun and guide Sophal to drop us off at the hotel as we had an afternoon appointment at Quad Adventure. We were supposed to be picked up at 12:30pm and it was already noon. We quickly unloaded our gear bringing only our camera and wallets and headed to Apsara Burger just a few meters from our hotel. We grabbed a quick bite of Cheeseburger, fries and soda (USD8), and got into the tuktuk sent by Quad Adventure.

We were met by Herve, the owner. After a quick orientation and a test drive, we were off to the countryside. We opted to get just one ATV with Ariel as the designated driver.
We took the Discovery Tour which allowed us to see the beautiful countryside. We took short pauses every now and then to take photos of traditional Khmer houses, creeks, ducks, and kids playing. I felt like a Miss World contestant as we drove along the dirtroad. They would wave at us so I would wave back and smile, despite the fact that dust was flying all around us.

Ariel had a blast driving the ATV at full speed. I was hanging on for dear life fearing for that one bump that will send me flying out of my seat, and constantly whispering to Ariel to slow down a bit. Men and speed. Sigh. He had a great time. I could tell.

Our last stop was at the Chres Village School and Orphanage where we were able to see kids learning English and other languages. I consider this the highlight of our ATV adventure. We met some of the teachers, most of them volunteers, and watched the classes. We interacted with the kids during recess and even shared some of their snacks.

Not all the kids in the classes are orphans. Some live in the area and they go to the orphanage to learn English.

We spent a bit of time at the orphanage as our guide's motorcycle had a flat tire. We waited for the replacement tire to be sent from the Quad Adventure station.

When we got back to the Quad Adventure home base, we were handed cold towels which we used to clean up our faces. Ewww!
We tool a long shower when we got back to the hotel. Every inch of exposed skin was covered in red dust. Our clothes were very filthy and I had to clean my camera bag, too.

We decided to walk to Pub Street to take some photos along the way. Armed with our heavy tripod, we were able to take photos of the well-lighted Siem Reap river.

There were many couples dating along the river. If we weren't very hungry, we would have lingered a while longer.

After a few minutes walk, we were back at Pub Street.
We decided to try the Khmer BBQ. We were given an iron grill with hot coals inside and some kind of a channel around it for soup. We grilled the meet on top and cooked veggies in the hot soup. Yummy!

Wonderful day!

To view all the photos for day 3, click HERE.