Vista Cinemas Naga; The First Luxury Cinema in Bicol

Vista Cinemas Naga
The First Luxury Cinema in Bicol 

When Vista Cinemas opened at VistaMall Naga
Naguenos have never seen anything like it in Bicol.

 

The theater followed the a Georgian style that
included elements of classicism of massive wood,

 

…and dark leather wall panels,

 

The beautiful Baroque dark wood symmetry of the theater
ceilings is interspersed with naked Marquee light bulbs.

 

The theater’s Marquee signage appeared to have   
been inspired by the iconic Chicago Theater,

 

…as it had a similar brightly lit Marquee signage
found in the ticket booth and at the snack bar.

 

 

The theater designer left no space without decoration,

 

…there are awesome brick arts,

 

 

…and quotable quotes on the theater walls,

 

 

…and lots of lounge chairs where theater goers can relax
or even have coffee while waiting for the show time.

 

 

The VIP Theater was designed to take your movie
experience to the highest level of comfort as it offers
massive Lazy Boy seats with automatic recliners.

Succeeding photos of VIP Cinema courtesy of  Naga City Deckvvv 
^^^Naga City Deck

 
^^^Naga City Deck

…with  USB charging ports,

  
^^^Naga City Deck

… and even fresh blankets for utmost homey comfort,

 
^^^Naga City Deck

...that comes with free popcorn, drinks 

  

 

....and awesome selection of  snacks.

  

 

Watching movies has become a sophisticated experience in
Naga City as the four luxury theaters are equipped with the latest
Laser projection system and Atmos Surround Sound Technology.

 

Vista Cinemas Naga is probably one of the 
most beautiful movie houses in the Philippines,



… definitely the most photogenic

 

…and most instagrammable theater in the Bicol Region.

Pho Bac: Authentic Vietnamese Dishes

Pho Bac 
Authentic Vietnamese Dishes 

It was love at first bite for Vietnamese cuisine when

my family visited Ho Chi Minh City few years ago.

How could you not love Vietnamese food?

It is hale and hearty, herb infused, not greasy,

not salty and yet one of the most delicious

and most popular dishes in global culinaria.



Fortunately Pho Bac was located right  at  the
 threshold of  the hotel's Robinsons' Mall  access 
when we checked  in at the  Holiday Inn Galerria,

 

...so we were able to feast on our much 
missed Vietnamese food once more. 

 

We ordered Goi Cuon as appetizer and these fresh spring rolls

lived up to it’s name.It was a refreshing appetizer made up of

everything fresh. Crunchy assortment of vegetables, vermicelli,

and sweetish plump shrimps rolled in translucent rice paper.

 

It was served with a peanut sauce but one would not really need it to

savor the fresh ingredients otherwise masked by the flavorful sauce.

 

The Vegetarian Soup was a perfect starter. The broth had
a  sweetish taste of seafood and the assorted vegtables
were fresh and not overcooked. It was very delicious.


 

 Banh Xeo is a popular street snack in Vietnam and also

known as or Vietnamese Crepe. The name refers to the

sound the crepe batter makes when it hits the hot skillet.

 

The delicious crepe was studded with shrimps and tender pork nuggets

in a bed of fresh bean sprouts and served with assorted vegetables

rolled up in lettuce leaves with nuoc cham dipping sauce on the side.

 

The Pho Hai San or the Mixed Seafood Noodle was divinely delicious.

It had a naturally sweet tasting broth and with a fragrant- minty aroma.

With shrimp, clams and squid along with assorted fresh veggies and

the traditional Pho, this dish alone make dining in Pho Bac worthwhile.

 

My young son who’s appetite depends on fish (and cookies)

as his main forms of sustenance and he tremendously enjoyed

the Ca Phile Chein. A pan fried fish fillet, it was infused with

aromatic herbs and spices making the otherwise bland huge

slab of Dory very delicious that made little Tim crave for more.

 

We also enjoyed  the Bun Xao or the Imperial Noodles

which was similar to “Pinoy Bihon” but devoid of the

briny soy sauce and topped with fresh veggies and prawns.

 

We also ordered Grilled Spareribs to balance

our all veggies and seafood dishes but were just

too full, so we decided to take it to our hotel room

but totally forgotten to eat it until we checked out.

Pho Bac is the place to go for someone

craving for authentic Vietnamese dishes.

CDO Chinese Ham: A New Year Staple

CDO Chinese Ham 
A New Year Staple 

While the whole world is partying to meet the New Year,

 

...for the past twenty years, my family started a quiet way
of spending the year end sleeping in heavenly peace-

 

…and celebrating the first day of the year with
a breakfast of pre cooked CDO Chinese Ham.



We used to feast on the iconic Excelente Ham as it is the traditional
holiday ham among Filipinos, but hordes of people lining up in their
store Quiapo  could be discouraging and its unavailability in Naga City
made us shift to a less popular CDO Chinese Ham for the past few years.



CDO Chinese Ham is more on the briny- savory over sweet side,


  
…with just a very thin layer of fat,



…yet the ham’s lean meat is tender and very succulent.

 

Each slice holds that rich salty and smoky flavor,
and is the kind of ham you’ll eat on its own   
or sandwiched between whole wheat bread.

 

But since it is best for breakfast, Pinoys may ask:   
“Where’s the garlic rice?” That’s perfectly okay 
CDO Chinese Ham also goes well with rice.

Read the links below for related posts:

 Instant Christmas Feast: Kids Easy Christmas Cooking 2014 (Christmas 2014 Series 6)     

Home Christmas Feast, Christmas Recipe Sharing: Naga City Christmas 2013 Series 6

Honey Glazed Ham for Christmas

Lean and Juicy Burger and Vegetable Salad for New Year

Bratanella’s Creamy Custard Cupcake

Bratanella’s Creamy Custard Cupcake 

 I received varied cakes and pastries as gifts this Christmas,

and the one that really caught my attention and my taste buds

was a box with a half a dozen of custard topped cup cakes.  

 

It was made by Bratanella Patisserie.

The cupcake looked really good
and so soft and fragile to touch.

 

It had a sinfully delicious melt in the mouth buttery taste

delightfully intermingling with the sweet, creamy custard

which I initially thought was just a topping on the icing,

 

…but to my surprise, it went all the way down inside the cake

making a delicious and gloriously addicting saccharine filling.

This yummy Creamy Custard Cupcake

by Bratanella is a dessert to die for.

As an Endocrinologist, this is a nightmare for my sugar deprived 
diabetic patients but this Bratanella Creamy Custard Cupcake 
 is worth breaking the doctor's order (at least) once in a while