Milk Tea, Milk Tea: Review of Milk Tea Brands in the Metro

I was never a fan of tea or milk.  It was only recently when the postings on my facebook persuaded me to try one of the food, or rather drink, craze right now- milk tea! To catch up with all the milk teas I missed ever since its conception, I went the rounds to trying all the milk tea stands and stalls in a mall near my house.

So let me share with you my own take on the milk teas I have tasted so far: 

1. Bubbatealicious

photo credit:  http://ph.openrice.com/manila/restaurant/commentdetail.htm?commentid=18436

This brand of milk tea is my favorite. Their milk teas are sweeter compared to other brands. And cheaper too! I've tried all their milk tea flavors and the best for me is the Caramel Milk Tea. 

Just an advice, their blueberry and strawberry milk teas don't taste that good. They resemble the taste of medicines- kinda sour and artificial. They also don't have the infamous wintermelon milk tea yet. 

Location: SM Fairview, 2F Annex Bldg. 

2. Tearrific

photo credit: http://jillianisyourfriend.wordpress.com/2012/02/09/check-it-tea-riffic/

I've tasted Tearrific's wintermelon milk tea. The taste is smooth with enough pearls. A regular-sized tea is about P55. Nothing really unique to set it apart from other brands. Just be careful when holding it since the container seems more "crushable" than other brand. 

Location: SM Faiview, 2F Main Building near Max's Restaurant

3. Happy Lemon

photo credit: http://www.ourawesomeplanet.com/awesome/2010/12/happy-lemon-manila.html

Sorry for those who adore Happy Lemon, I think their milk teas taste a bit bland. The pearls are also bland and small compared to other brands. It's like there's more water and it's not that thick. But for some reason, there's always a long queue in their stall in Trinoma. (It must be me who's having a problem with taste buds!). Also, their milk teas are more expensive than other brands. I think the cheapest you can buy is about P85- the milk tea with black pearls. 

Just an advice, brace yourself for waiting esp. on weekends. 

Location: Trinoma Mall, 3F near the Cinema

4. Tea Tattle 

photo credit: http://jennyandjessie.blogspot.com/2012/03/tea-tattle-sm-fairview.html

This brand is also one of my favorites. (I think my second in the list. hehehe!) I only tasted their creme teas. My favorite is the Tattler's Choice Milk Tea. The milk is creamier and the taste of tea blends smoothly with the taste of milk. There's also plenty of pearls- no need for additional ones. It's also relatively cheaper than other brands. Cheapest is P60 for 12 ounces. 

Location: SM Fairview, UG across Goldilocks

5. Cha Dao Tea Place

photo credit: http://taraletseat.blogspot.com/2012/02/cha-dao-tea-place-sm-fairview.html

I simply don't like the taste of their tea esp. if it's mixed with egg white. For me, their milk teas taste like medicines- tolerable to some extent but not something you'd choose to taste. I actually did not finish my milk 

Location: SM Fairview, LG Annex Bldg. 

So there's my initial list of milk tea brands. I'll have another round of tasting other milk tea brands! 

Hotel in Quezon City: Maya Residence Inn

Maya Residence Inn is a newly-built hotel around Teacher’s Village in Quezon City. It mainly caters to those who have some personal business to attend to around the area.  Located at Matino St., just a few steps away from Kalayaan Avenue, Maya Residence Inn is an accessible yet quiet place to stay.

Matino St., Kalayaan Avenue, Quezon City

Courtesy of a close friend, I was able to stay at Maya Residence Inn in one of their standard rooms. It costs about P1800 plus a food voucher worth P200 per night. Since it’s a new place, the room smells and looks new too! The room is designed in brown muted tones with an air of simple elegance. It actually feels like a real bedroom in the house- cozy and clean. Space is just enough to move around- not spacious but not cramped either.

Maya Residence Inn's Standard Room

comfy bed with an abstract painting headboard

The standard room has a double bed with a firm mattress. A medium-sized closet with a few hangers is also available at the room. There are two high-backed chairs with a low table. A 24-inch LCD TV is also hanging on the wall across the bed.

sitting place :)

spacious bathroom

The washroom is quite big than the usual. It has hot and cold water and has free toiletries and towels.

Food is available on the ground floor. Maya Residence Inn has an in-house café and a restaurant- M restaurant. Food is of average price and taste.

Service is great and prompt. The reservations agent replies within 24 hours through email.

Maya Residence Inn is near from Trinoma Mall and SM North. It’s also near UP, Katipunan, East Avenue, QC Circle and the Timog Strip. So if planning for a trip around QC area, give Maya Residence Inn a try for an affordable yet restful stay.

Dusit Thani Hotel, Makati: Terribly Luxurious

Location: Dusit Thani Makati is along EDSA just beside SM Makati and near Ayala MRT. It's beside malls and just in the center of about everything. 

Dusit at night
Photo Credit: localyte.com

Thanks to my sister who works at Dusit Thani Hotel Makati, I was able to spend my birthday in their Grand Room. Modesty aside, it is the hotel's third most expensive and expansive room. It is worth a whooping P22,000 a night good for 2 people!

my generous sister posing at Dusit's receiving area

The bathroom that we had was bigger than this but i wasn't  able to take a picture but this is somewhat similar.
Photo Credit: tripadvisor.com.my

The room is about 60 square meters- larger than most studio type condo units. The washroom alone can contain a small kitchen and dining area. It has a tub, a shower area, and  a lengthy wash area. Across the washroom is another washroom minus the tub and bath area. (which I really didn't understand why there's two wash rooms for a room that's good for two). Expectedly, toiletries are available for free including soft fulffy white towels! The only thing missing is a bidet. For some reason, Dusit does not have bidets while hotels with lesser stars have them.

my sisters on the couch at the receiving area

There's also a receiving area with a comfortable couch and a view of the city. During the night, there were 4 people who slept on the carpeted four without being cramped. Added to this, the couch was able to contain 2 people during the night with still some space left. I hope you can imagine how spacious the place is.

my brother and his girlfriend pretending to pose for a stolen shot

The most comfortable part is, of course, the sleeping area. The grand room has two single beds although they also offer a grand room with a queen-sized bed. Actually, even the beds are called single, they're double in size. The sleeping area is more spacious than the receiving area. You can actually dance on the space fronting the bed. Even though it's fronting EDSA and near the MRT, the rooms are sound-proofed with double glass windows.

Other amenities of the room would be the mini bar with goods five times of their prices! There's a mini ref and a water heater. By the way, the only free item in their bar are the coffee, sugar and creamer which really tastes good.

pool area

The hotel has a restaurant offering buffet food. Dinner is offered for about P2000 while breakfast is about P1000. They have a pool which only allows 2 guests per room so we didn't try it anymore. They have valet and shuttle services too.

So I guess, if you;'re really that rich and can spare some cash, it would be nice to spend a night or two in this hotel. As for me, a middle-class worker, I'm just lucky to have a sister connected to the hotel but otherwise, I wouldn't spend my hard-earned money on this hotel. I mean, seriously, there are other hotels which are less pricey with the same luxury. In fairness to Dusit, they really pride themselves of being a luxury hotel that caters mostly to businessmen. 

Dinner Cruise along Manila Bay

For my 26th birthday, my boyfriend treated me to a dinner cruise along Manila Bay. We availed the package offered by Sun Cruises. There's another company offering the same package- Prestige Cruises.

The yachts for the dinner cruise are docked behind the Cultural Center of the Philippines. The easiest way to get there is if you have your own ride. For our part, we hired a cab from SM Manila to CCP Complex. With light traffic, the ride cost P90.00. There are also some jeepneys from Taft that pass through CCP Complex.

docked ship for dinner cruise

Sun Cruises prefer prior reservations but they also welcome walk-ins as long as there are available spaces. It's a good thing that it was a Thursday when we had the cruise. There were less people and we're all in the upper deck. For peak seasons, try to arrive early so you can choose your place. The cost of the cruise is P550 per pax.

The best things about the cruise are the view and the experience itself. For more than an hour, you get a good glimpse of the Manila Bay shores- the buildings, the ships and the sunset. The trip starts from CCP to SM Mall of Asia. 

before the dinner

staring at the sunset

They have daily trips from 4:30 to 10:00 pm. They have three trips. If you're sailing to see the sunset, board the 4:30 trip. But I think the best time to sail is their second trip, 6:30 pm because it's just right for dinner with the darkness and light playing hide and seek. The third one is rather late but best for a romantic ambiance scheduled at 8:30 pm to 10:00 pm.

view from the deck

sunset view from the deck

There's also live entertainment.

As for the food, it's a big disappointment. We were served with a salty watery bowl of soup, a plate with a cold cup of rice and two dishes. There was also a small serving of gulaman dessert. The worst thing is, drinks are not included. WTH! When is a dinner served without drinks?

The seamen aboard the cruise were friendly and helpful. Ironically, the waiters were not so friendly. They did not offer a welcoming smile. While eating, we also heard them talking about the guests aboard the ship. Tsk, tsk bad manners!

So in conclusion, it was a good experience for a first-timer with a few downsides that did not necessarily spoil the fun!

taking a shot on the open deck

 

Manila Ocean Park: A Destination for Kids

For the past 3 times I've been to Manila Ocean Park, it was always because of a field trip for my students. Hence, it was such a relief to visit the place this December as a mere visitor- without the numerous kids I have to take care of.

My family and I availed the Holiday Delights promo of Manila Ocean Park. For P600, we can take a glimpse of the various fishes at the Oceanarium and take the Trails to Antarctica. Personally, I had enough of the Oceanarium but since we have a baby with us, it seemed like a good idea to have her see the colorful fishes.

the gang visiting the Oceanarium

 The Ocenarium starts with fresh water fishes including an unmoving crocodile. 

motionless croc

Moving on are salt-water fishes enclosed in different aquariums. For first timers, it would be a surprise to see unimaginable fishes like the rock-like stone fish, the grandiose lion fish among others.

my sister posing with unknown fishes

the lionfish!

The highlight of the Oceanarium is the section named "Sa Ilalim ng Karagatan," wherein an aquarium surrounds the place- left, right and overhead.

 a friend "underwater"

The last section contains the big fishes underwater. There's a tank with sharks where visitors can swim with them for a fee. (Honestly, it's not worth it. The swimmers will just be dropped in the tank caged. It's not really swimming but a close encounter.)

What I was excited about was the Trails to Antarctica which is a new attraction that just opened this year. It has three parts- the Slide O'Fun, Penguin Exhibit and Snow Village.

my mom and niece posing against a snow-covered backdrop

Upon entering, the Humboldt Penguins can be seen already. This is the Penguin Exhibit. According to the Manila Ocean Park's website, Humboldt Penguins can thrive in warmer climates. The exhibit is a glass encased corner. There are several small penguins with large statues of big penguins.

the Penguins!

 Across the Penguin Exhibit is the Slide O' Fun is similar to sledding. The good thing about it is it's a new thing in Manila Ocean Park. And the rest is that it's not worth mentioning. For first timers, just try it to get your money's worth.

after sliding...at the end of the slide

Last stop is the Snow Village. This is similar to Star City's Snow World but it's smaller yet colder. According to the staff, the temperature is about 15 degrees Centigrade. The best thing to do here is take pictures! Just a friendly reminder, wear closed shoes and pants if you're planning to go to the Snow Village. It's really cold so after a while, your hands and other exposed skin will get numb. Free jackets are offered but beware that a lot of guests have already used them.

my mom and niece chillin' at Snow Village

trying to be serious amidst the cold

"choking" Santa at Snow Village

It took us three hours to go through the Oceanarium and the Trails to Antarctica. Manila Ocean Park offers other attractions such as the Sea Lion Show, the Musical Fountain Show, Birdshow and Jellies. They also have a swimming area. So I think, an entire day is needed if you're planning to experience them all.

The best way to experience the place is when you have kids with you. They haven't loss their sense of wonder yet and everything may seem new to them. And unless the park offers a new set of attractions, a visit to this place once or twice is something to look forward to. 

After visiting Manila Ocean Park, you can go for a historic walk at Rizal Park which is just across the park. You can also dine and shop at SM Mall of Asia, a few minutes away from Manila Ocean Park.