Travel Archives | Page 16 of 30

Manila Sunset

1 April 2011 Ibyang Sanchez 8 Comments Category: Charmed Life of a Mrs, Cherished Memories, Milestones, Travel

It’s good to be back on familiar grounds. It’s awesome to be welcomed by one of the best sunsets in the world–Manila sunset. It’s wonderful to be surrounded by family and friends whom we grew up with.

It’s great to be HOME again.

Arrived in Manila, 30 March 2011, 6:00pm

The Husband and I arrived in Manila two days ago and we are very, very, elated to be here. It’s been four long years since we’ve been here and we are discovering and exploring Manila like it’s the first time. So many things have changed here and we are embracing and cherishing every moment.

-o0o0o-

Just a few things:

My Blogmates: I will be keeping this blog as up-to-date as possible but I may not be able to reply to comments or visit you back. Thank you for always checking in and reading my stories. I will drop you a line in May.

Our Friends: We have your contact details and we will get in touch with you in the coming days for meetups. I’m still dazed and overwhelmed by just being here (at medyo nahihilo pa ako) so I’m taking it one day step at a time.

Everyone: I’m constantly updating my Twitter Page http://twitter.com/ibyang – this is where I relate my vaycay adventures and discoveries. This is where I also share photos from time to time. If you have a twitter account and would like to join me in my journey, please follow me. If you don’t have a twitter account, you can just bookmark my twitter page.

Happy 1st day of April! Sending you happy vibes today!

Cakes and Macarons from Adriano Zumbo

11 March 2011 Ibyang Sanchez 6 Comments Category: Aussie Life, Charmed Life of a Mrs, Food, Travel

Every year, every birthday, I somehow have a theme for my year. Thinking of how my 2011 will look like, it seems that this year is all about making dreams come true. Whether it be a big goal or a small endeavour, I’m hoping that this year will be about making some of my dreams come true.

For more than a year, I’ve been lusting over, Adriano Zumbo’s cakes and macarons. I’ve been planning and imagining how I’ll go to his cafe in Rozelle or his patisserie in Balmain, but my plans never materialized.

Adriano Zumbo is no ordinary patissier. His creations elicit admiration from critics and the public alike and for good reason; they’re unique in concept and execution – quite simply, you won’t find anything else quite like it in Australia.

Inspired by the world around him, his desserts tell a story or take on the personality of their namesakes. Whether it’s Lukas Rides the Tube or Escape From a Columbian Rainforest; Adriano’s fertile mind, exceptional skill and natural curiosity for unlikely ingredients are his biggest assets.{source}

On my birthday, a simple dream came true (that’s a good sign, don’t you think?). I wanted to spend my day in Manly Beach and it so happened that Adriano Zumbo opened a new patisserie branch there. Luck was on my side.

The patisserie is small and inconspicuous but even from afar, we already smelled the aroma of freshly-baked pastries. The Husband said, “We are definitely here.”

We bought two small cakes from Adriano Zumbo’s Summer Collection 2011, one for me and one for the Husband.

The cake I chose to be eaten on my birthday was called Gary’s Mangoes. I chose it because it’s a fruity cake and I love mangoes, very summer-y.

It is made of Macadamia flourless biscuit base, burnt vanilla Brulee, vanilla pepper meringue, macadamia cremeux, mango jelly and a mango mousse. Sounds yum and tasted very yum hehe.

The fusion of sweet and a bit of tangy, plus the real chunks of mangoes. It was deliciously creative. I loved it!

The Husband’s choice was of course, something chocolate-y. The cake he chose was Wheely Carry Me Mel.

An ensemble of Hazlenut dacquoise with caramel mascarpone mousse, caramel maison, salted chocolate plates and caramel cream. This cake is rounded off with dark chocolate and rolled in chewy caramel

It was supposed to look like this (photo below taken from Adriano Zumbo’s website) but since we took this cake home and it was a very hot day on my birthday, the insides melted and looked liked that (photo above).

But it still tasted great! The inside of the cake looked like this. Very rich but does not overwhelm. The best part for me was the chewy caramel because it wasn’t too sweet.

Macarons in different flavors:
Clockwise: Marshmallow (pink), Chocolate (brown), Apricot & Rosemary (green), Vanilla (beige), Bloody Mary (red).

The Chocolate and Vanilla flavours are a must whenever we buy macarons because it’s our favorites. The other three flavours we chose them because we wanted to try Adriano’s more “exotic” macarons. I loved the Marshmallow and Bloody Mary but the Apricot and Rosemary seemed too strong for me. They captured the two flavours well (Rosemary and Apricot) but I probably didn’t like the combination.

Adriano’s macarons are the best macarons I’ve ever tasted. It had the right crunch when you bite it but it’s soft and fluffy on the inside. The sensation of each macaron suddenly explodes inside your mouth. Such a lovely gastronomic experience.

Next time, we will buy more macarons and I will take better photos hehe!

If you are ever in Sydney and you want to indulge in the best pastries, I highly recommend you visit an Adriano Zumbo Patisserie.

Adriano Zumbo
Cafe:
114 Terry St, Rozelle, NSW 2039(map)
Monday to Friday 6:30am till 4:00pm
Saturday & Sunday 7:30am till 4:00pm

Balmain Pâtisserie:
296 Darling St, Balmain, NSW 2040(map)
(02) 9810 7318
Monday to Saturday 8:00am till 6:00pm
Sunday 8:00am till 4:00pm

Manly Pâtisserie:Shop 1a/40 The East Esplanade, Manly(map)
Monday to Friday 7:00am till 7:00pm
Saturday & Sunday 7:00am till 5:50pm

Why It’s Always a Pleasure To Visit Melbourne

21 February 2011 Ibyang Sanchez 4 Comments Category: Aussie Life, Charmed Life of a Mrs, Food, Travel

We were surprised to be given an opportunity to visit Melbourne twice last year. The first one was to celebrate the Husband’s birthday and the second was a mix of business and pleasure.

Here are some photos from our December trip which reminds us how much we love (and probably won’t get tired of) Melbourne.

This place is always camwhore-friendly. Whether in the streets, in an alley or in a restaurant, there’s always an attractive backdrop somewhere.

You’ll always discover a place to have brunch, whether in the city or in the suburbs. On our last trip, we spent more time in the suburbs than in the city. Loved this cafe called “liar liar” where we had Saturday brunch.

“liar liar” also served syphoned coffee which made me very happy.

Chocolate will always be part of the agenda. We love Koko Black so much, we just had to go back and have afternoon tea there.

It is also a place for discovering an old favourite. The biggest surprise we found in one of the suburbs we visited was “The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf”, one of my favourite cafes in the world.

Being reunited with my beloved Spanish Churros is another big treat. We had to stop over at Flinders Station on the way to the airport because I can’t leave Melbourne without having a bite.

And of course, being with our friends. Melbourne, we believe, is like a second home to us because we know that whenever we visit, we will always be in great, fun company.

Lastly, the trip was an opportunity to capture a special event in our friends’ lives.

I wonder when we’ll visit again.

Cafe: Beach and Bush Gallery Cafe (Kiama, NSW Australia)

18 January 2011 Ibyang Sanchez 2 Comments Category: Food, Photography, Travel

Part of our Grand Pacific Drive trip last year was a visit to Kiama, a place for water lovers as it offers surfing, diving, fishing, canoeing and windsurfing. Kiama is also known for the “Kiama Blowhole“, the town’s major tourist attraction. Under certain sea conditions, the blowhole can spray water up to 25 metres (82 ft) in the air, in quantities that thoroughly drench any bystanders.

We arrived an hour before lunch so we took lots of photos by the lighthouse.

And lots of photos of blue, blue seas!!!!

Lunch was at the Beach and Bush Gallery Cafe. This cafe is a feast to the senses as they serve good food and has photography gallery. The photographs were by internationally-known Australian fine image photographer, Gary Barnes. His work is amazing and breathtaking.

You can find his photographs posted all over the cafe.

I vaguely remember what we ate that day. We had a bowl of Caesar Salad and (based from the photo we took) Grilled Chicken (not sure!). The name of the dishes we ordered escapes me right now but I assure you that they served us a delicious meal.

I love this reminder they have by the counter. Not only do they guarantee that they will serve quality food but they also encourage everyone to appreciate the gallery and views of Kiama–it’s like encouraging us to live in the moment and enjoy being!

Some of Gary Barnes’ photographs are available in postcard format so I bought one as a souvenir. This was the photo I bought….

If ever you are in Kiama, visit the Beach and Bush Gallery.

“A Wife’s Charmed Life” visited Beach and Bush Gallery as an anonymous guest on 21 January 2010.

Beach and Bush Gallery

Blowhole Point Road
Kiama
New South Wales 2533

Ph: 02 4233 1734

Restaurant: Harbour Front Restaurant (Wollongong, NSW Australia)

17 January 2011 Ibyang Sanchez 1 Comments Category: Food, Photography, Travel

After our afternoon tea at lee and me, we went back to the hotel to rest a bit and freshen up. Still had no idea on where we will have dinner, we surfed online and found that there are a few good-looking restaurants near Flagstaff Hill.

We went out to dinner early so we can hang out by the beach and get ourselves a good table before dinner time.

It was nearly sunset when we arrived and this was the view that welcomed us…

Wollongong is known as the only place in the east coast that has two lighthouses. A small, old lighthouse is located at the end of the breakwater.

The big light house is located at Flagstaff Hill.

It was near the small lighthouse where we found a place to have dinner. Harbour Front Restaurant is a lovely and romantic place with a view of the harbour.

Since we were still full from what we had during afternoon tea, we just ordered two mains and shared both dishes with each other.

We had the Crispy Skin Snapper Fillet with white anchovy caper escabeche. It came with sauteed fennel red capsicum and zucchini. Light and flavourful. Perfect for the summer heat.

Dinner won’t be complete without some meat so we had their Prime Rib Eye Fillet Steak

with luscious mushroom sauce. One of the best steaks I’ve ever had. Tender and perfectly cooked.

We enjoyed the relaxed environment as we savoured the dishes we ordered. We hope to dine here again when we visit in the future.

After dinner, we hung out by the harbour and walked a bit, took photos. The photo below is one of the best photos we took on this trip and will always remind us of how beautiful Wollongong is.

Harbour Front Restaurant
2 Endeavour Drive
Wollongong Harbour
Ph 02 4227 2999

“A Wife’s Charmed Life” visited Harbour Front Restaurant as an anonymous guest on 20 January 2010.