Monday, April 29, 2013

Pancake House & Sbarro Centrio Fused Cuisine

Pancake House & Sbarro Centrio
Fused Cuisine 
(CDO and Bukidnon Series 8)


On our last day in the city, we dropped by
the Centrio to take a quick lunch before
flying back home to Naga City.


We contemplated on dining on
one of our two favorite restaurants.
Sbarro’s and Pancake House.




Aside from me, everyone voted for Pancake House
But I was craving for a good Italian Classic Cheese Pizza.



So off I went to Sbarro’s ordered my food to go…




…while the rest of my family settled
and ordered their food at Pancake House.




As usual, most of their favorite bestsellers
did not disappoint- from  Bonoan Fish Steak,


…to the Oatmeal Crusted Fish Fillet,


…and our favorite Salmon Fillet  
making up  for the smelly version
that was served to us in their branch in Nuvali.


While I feasted on Classic Cheese Pizza,



…and tasty garlic bread 
from the nearby Sbarro’s.


Indeed- this is a  delectable fusion
(or was it a case of fused?) cuisine.




Just for their wonderful restaurants alone-
which are usually found in Metro Manila
and happened to be our favorite places to dine-
I could live forever in Cagayan de Oro.




Watch out for my Blogs on
Cagayan de Oro and Bukidnon Series


(CDO and Bukidnon Series 1)

(CDO and Bukidnon Series 2)

(CDO and Bukidnon Series 3)

(CDO and Bukidnon Series 4)

(CDO and Bukidnon Series 5)

(CDO and Bukidnon Series 6)

(CDO and Bukidnon Series 7)

(CDO and Bukidnon Series 8)

(CDO and Dahilayan Bukidnon
(CDO and Bukidnon Series 9)







Saturday, April 27, 2013

N Hotel Buffet: Sumptuous Spread of Goodness

N Hotel Buffet
Cagayan de Oro City
Sumptuous Spread of Goodness
(Cagayan de Oro and Bukidnon Series 7)


We originally booked at N Hotel
but later cancelled it in favor
of the newer Ayala owned Seda Hotel
when it opened early this year.


Starving and exhausted of our rafting adventure,
we asked the Bugsay jeepney  driver to drop us off
at N Hotel for their famous weekend buffet.


The hotel  is also new and had nice
first class amenities.



Most of the rooms had balconies
facing the beautiful swimming pool.


Their buffet table had a smorgasbord
of delectable  and sumptuous dishes 

.


Included in the main course are
the following: A Yummy Salad Starter,


Peking Noodles 
with Assorted Meat,


Stir Fried
 Mixed Vegetable,


Shrimp 
Cantonese Style,


Steamed Fish Fillet 
in Olives and Garlic,


...and Sweet and Sour Pork


Everything in the buffet tasted so good
that it would entice you to come back
and eat everything you can.


The  NHotel buffet is the tastiest
and one of the best culinary
experiences we had in the city.



The spread of good food was satisfying and it is 
one of the the best tasting buffets we ever had-
 and maybe the best in Cagayan de Oro.

I would definitely recommend this
to anyone visiting this wonderful city.




Watch out for my Blogs on
Cagayan de Oro and Bukidnon Series


(CDO and Bukidnon Series 1)

(CDO and Bukidnon Series 2)

(CDO and Bukidnon Series 3)

(CDO and Bukidnon Series 4)

(CDO and Bukidnon Series 5)

(CDO and Bukidnon Series 6)

(CDO and Bukidnon Series 7)

(CDO and Bukidnon Series 8)


(CDO and Bukidnon Series 9)




Thursday, April 25, 2013

White Water Rafting in CDO Extreme Adventure of a Lifetime

White Water Rafting in CDO
Extreme Adventure  of a Lifetime 
(CDO and Bukidnon Series 6)

‘This is what we came for to CDO.’
I told my fifteen year old daughter
as  I booked for a white water at the hotel
immediately after arriving in the city.


We were given a choice if we wanted the
The 3 hour shorter  beginner’s  rafting adventure
or  the longer advanced rafting adventure.

.
We chose the one for beginners  as we had
 no previous experience In white water rafting
except of course  for the more benign
 theme park  rides like Seaworld’s
Shipwreck Island in San Diego.


…the Grizzly River Run  at Disney’s
California Adventure Park in Anaheim,



…and locally, Enchanted Kingdom’s
Rio Grande Rapids in Sta. Rosa.


source: http://www.enchantedkingdom.ph/RnA/riogrande.html

I booked on the Wednesday night,
our first day in the city, for a Saturday
morning rafting as we would be staying
overnight in Dahilayan the next day.


Saturday  came, my daughter and
I woke up very early for the rafting.
My wife and young son were still asleep.


We had a heavy breakfast at the Misto,



…and a jeepney picked us up at the hotel
 by three guys from  Bugsay,
the rafting operator contracted by Seda Hotel.


We were taken aback for a while
when we saw the jeepney,

 

… it has been more than  two decades
since I have taken my last jeepney ride.


I also have no knowledge if my daughter
had ever taken a jeepney in her lifetime.
She said ‘yes, in school’ when I asked her.



It turned out as a pleasant surprise that the rough
jeepney ride was an adventure on its own.




Does this car have any suspension at all?
I jokingly asked the driver as it felt like riding
a roller coaster despite the very smooth city roads.


We picked up a Singaporean family of four
from another hotel who would be joining
us on the rafting expedition.


 They need at least four to six persons per boat
so that makes us six in our group -
together with the two guides
makes us eight. A  very ideal number
and according one of the guides- lucky.




We dropped by their office near Divisoria
to pay our dues and sign consent….




…and off we went uphill and upstream where
 our white water rafting adventure will begin.







We had a pre- rafting orientation by the riverside
and this was the time we knew that Bugsay
is a Visayan word  for paddle.





We would be apparently passing fourteen
major rapids and the first one was just few
meters away from the starting point.




The official photographer and videographer
that Bugsay commissioned for the trip was also ready..



I looked scary at first- but after the
thrilling rough rolling and tumbling-
we were ready to rock-





Our first rapid got us all excited and
had all our adrenalins rushing to the max-



and when it  was over-
…and we were asking for more rapids- 







…and more.





....and much much more.









Later, we gained so much confidence that we  were 
brave enough  to face the next rapid standing up.







In between the rocking and the rolling,
we were treated to some 
of the most beautiful sights in our lives.



It was nature at its best…







We paddled under waterfalls,






…inside bat caves,





…amidst virgin rain forests,
and rustic countryside.


The guides also allowed us to swim on
the safe parts of the river…








…and even allowed the kids to ride
the smaller canoe.



After our fourteenth and final rapid…








...it left us craving for more
and we didn’t want to stop anymore.



Our White Water rafting experience
was an  extreme adventure of our lifetime-



...that made our trip to Cagayan de Oro
worthwhile and worth coming back again.



We’ll have enough time to prepare
For more advanced rafting adventure
on our return to Cagayan de Oro.



When we returned to Seda Hotel and realized
that we would be returning home to Naga City
 the next day- we started missing CDO already
and we have not even left yet.



Watch out for my Blogs on
Cagayan de Oro and Bukidnon Series

Seda Hotel Centrio 
Cagayan de Oro 
(CDO and Bukidnon Series 1)

CDO to Dahilayan Bukidnon.
(CDO and Bukidnon Series 2)

(CDO and Bukidnon Series 3)

Baguio in Memoriam
(CDO and Bukidnon Series 4)

(CDO and Bukidnon Series 5)

Extreme Adventure  of a Lifetime
(CDO and Bukidnon Series 6)

(CDO and Bukidnon Series 7)

(CDO and Bukidnon Series 8)


(CDO and Bukidnon Series 9)