Bali Bliss by C

 

Bali. The first thing that comes to mind is sand and sea. It is actually both of those and more. It is a place where one can be oneself without judgment and relax. After all, with the amount of tourists flocking into Bali, locals do not look at you as if you are some unidentifiable foreign object but as an equal.

          

                     

 

Bali thrives in its own pace - a pace where one can enjoy the view and where one can literally stop and smell the roses. It does not hurry you to finish your day but lulls you into night. Malls, restaurants, and resorts dot theshoreline, which encourage easy transition from created space to one of natural beauty.

 

                          

As the sun sets in the horizon, one can still feel the Bali vibe as if to say the day is just beginning. It resonates in the crowded streets, echoes along the darkened beaches, seen along bars, pubs, and restaurants teeming with patrons. Viewed through the eyes of a first time tourist, it is as if the allotted days spent here will never be enough to explore what the island has to offer.

As the sun rises to greet the moon, we are welcomed by rain. Rain did not hamper our explorations of coffee plantations, cool mountain views, sacred water holes,monkey sanctuary, and local cuisine.

       

     

Despite the steady pace of Bali, we had to return to reality and bid it farewell. As an oft saying goes…this is not goodbye but see you later. We shall definitely return for another Bali experience and hopefully a longer one at that.

This entry is written by a good friend, Catherine T. who is a graphic designer. She also shares the same passion for food, travels and photography. 

Pm the author for queries about this entry or the associate writer's work.

Thanks and cheers,

M.

 

Travel: Check the weather first.

In all of my trips -- near or far, I always check the weather forecast ahead of time. In most cases, it makes our Itinerary planning easier and our trip more worthwhile. To know when it is more conducive for beach-bumming, sight-seeing, museum-visiting or adventure-seeking factors out a huge percentage of not being able to do what we intend to.

So as asked many times, I'd like to share with you an easy to use application for smart phones (apple or android alike) and website if you're using the computer.

The application name is accuweather and the website is www.accuweather.com

                                 

The interface is simple. You search by area and you have the option to search by country, by province or by area. It can give you a general day and night or an hourly weather forecast. See sample for Hong Kong.

                       

Now this is the app: first, it gives you a 5-forecast from today. It includes Real feel, humidity, wind, and visibility details. Sunrise and sunset time up to minutes.

                       

it also gives you an hourly forecast which is easy to use. You just touch or click on the hour you want to check and instantly, it gives you the temperature, real feel, humidity and the weather condition ( rainy, sunny, windy or cloudy).

                        

Video reporting is also available in some territories and/or countries. As you see, the one above shows videos for for US.

                        

This one's pretty neat-- a satellite view of the whole world. You can zoom in to check a specific location.

                       

An additional feature which I really like is a table showing the activities you can do for the day. Like id it's a good day for running, beach going, kite flying, etc. It somehow gives you a grasp of what to expect for the day. This way, your itinerary can be more efficient and your time, better maximized.

So in your trip, before packing that floppy hat or that big coat, check the weather ahead. it pays to know. and of course, as Mom used to say," an ounce of prevention is better than a ton of cure."

Until then!

Cheers,

M.

Weather Update: Tropical Depression Emong

Be safe, you guys.

Cheers,

M.

Eats @ Saboten: Manila, Philippines

Saboten is originally from Japan. It opened its doors to tonkatsu lovers on year 1996. Since then, they have been serving from Japan, Taiwan, Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong, China and Singapore. Just recently, they opened one here in the Philippines. 

I know it's just a deep-fried porkchop labeled with a "signature" fancy name-- another Yabu. But then, I say it's worth a try. In passionate search for a tonkatsu closest to my Japanese experience within the Metro can be comforting too.

We went there at 5:45pm to check out the place and we were welcomed by groups of people lined up towards the entrance. The facade is wide and well-lit as outsiders can already see the dinners clearly. it was already packed at pre-dinner time. What a fad! So along with the waiting groups, I lined up for reservation. 

I like the fact that they offered to call us when our table is available. It gives us time to roam around or do something else. So after some time, I received a call at 7:00pm. Our table is ready, and I had to hurry back thinking that we might miss our chance.

At 7:15pm, we were seated and ready to order. Menu was of course in set meal format. They have unlimited cabbage salad, rice and miso soup.

We had cabbage with sesame dressing and/or citrus dressing for starters. 

It is simply shredded cabbage but the dressings made it special. We had to refill even before the main dish was served.

The side dishes came in next. We had pickles, raddish, raddish salad with plum dressing, and chicken salad with bang bang ji dressing.

It suits you if you have an acquired japanese tasteor if you're eating these with the tonkatsu. By itself, it can be a little too strong for your soy-based taste buds. But then, I liked them!

We paused to make the sauce for our tonkatsu. Here are the signature black and white sesame seeds. Crushed using the individualized mortar and pestle.

Then we added the sauce.

It's a thick pre-mixed sauce for the tonkatsu. Mix and dip.

Here's the star of the meal. A slab of deep-fried-breaded and tender golden brown tonkatsu. It was juicy and tender inside. Every bite is a morphic crunch. Although, one piece seemed to be too small for a too-big-of-a-foodie-apetite, the taste sufficed. In comparison, Yabu has a bigger serving.

I also liked the crispy rolled cutlets. Here are the asparagus and cheese. But you can also choose the plum variant.

This is a sample set for two (sharing). Cabbage, miso soup, 2 appetizers, rolled cutlets (asparagus, cheese or plum), tempura, and tonkatsu.

*Side dishes not included in this picture.

The meal will not be complete without desserts. Can you guess what they served?

Correct! No other than green tea ice cream. The consistency is nice when eated frozen. The taste is authentic. The texture is just somewhat "icy." Not bad for here. I've always liked my green tea strong and fragrant.

Overall, I liked the food and the dining experience. The zen feel + comfort food is a good combo. Also, the management made ways to make the dining experience comfortable amidst the long wait to be seated and the wait to be served. They called us when the table is available, offered tea and cabbage refills frequently. 

Financial Damage: P500+ per person.

Address: 

G/F Serendra, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City Philippines

(Right across Contis and beside Mamou)

For inquiries, call them at: +6326252000 

Store hours: 11:00am to 11:00pm daily 

*But we left at 11:30pm and they did not kick us out.

Note: The place was packed, I was not able to take decent pictures of the interior. Will do that next time.

Let me know your experience too. :)

Cheers!

M.

Welcome to SundateSs

Hello there Everyone,

You've arrived to this site of food, travels, experiences and learnings. Everything i know and love to do will be shared.  The goal is to make simple events memorable and to make each experience feel like it happened on a Sunday. I mean, come on, don't we just all love Sundays and SundateSS?!

 So let's start sharing memories and making our dreams come true.

Cheers!

M.