Sizzling Garden, Bonsai Haus

I mixed up the title intentionally just as how the owner of this new establishment mixed a Bonsai garden and a sizzling house. It started out as a garden selling Bonsai plants then evolved into an al fresco restaurant within a Bonsai garden.

You can dine in small bamboo tables surrounding the bar or in one of the bamboo huts.

They still sell Bonsai plants so you can walk around while you wait for your food to be served.

Tuna belly, sinigang sa miso

Sizzling sisig

Their Lechon Kawali is a must try. The meat is crunchy ouside and tender inside. The skin is incredibly thin and crunchy in a way where you won't have to worry that your teeth would crack sometime soon. Sinfully yummy.

Sac-i Sizzling Haus in Bonsai Garden is located along Governor's Drive just before you drive uphill the zigzag road to GMA, Cavite. You can take SLEX Carmona Exit then turn right heading to Cavite and you'll see it on the right side of the road a minute after you pass Walter Mart, Carmona. You can also take SLEX Southwoods Exit and see it immediately on the left side after the turn left upon reaching Governor's Drive.

Wooden Furnitures in Tagaytay

Somewhere along Aguinaldo Highway between SM Dasmarinas and Taal Volcano you will find Recuerdo's where you will find lots of furnitures.

If you're looking for furnitures near Tagaytay, pass by their compound and explore the stuffs they offer. The furnitures are grouped together and housed in bungalows giving you an impression of being in a small village where you can hop from house to house to look for something to buy. You'll even find large wooden doors with intricate carvings for mansions or chapels.

A Transformers inspired table/trolley.

Native stuffs sold in one of the bungalows.

You can also dine in Tita Boots Chicken Inasal which is located inside the compound.

You will dine inside a hut with screens on all sides so you enjoy the fresh air while keeping insects out.

Paa, sisig, batchoy and buko pandan. I love their buko pandan.

Say Cheese!

On the wedding of my officemate, Hannah had the best seat in the house. Even the official wedding photographers were all behind her.

Practicing her photography skills as she framed and took picture after picture of everybody around her.

Sitting side by side with official photographers who are carrying DVD video cameras and high end Canon digital SLR cameras with various lenses for dramatic depth of field. Meanwhile, my little girl carries a point and shoot 7 megapixel Canon digital camera.

Waiting for the right moment to take that one of a kind shot.

She can't go wrong with her posture for taking perfect shots.

A future photoblogger growing up.
That's my girl !!!

Tlaquepaque, Mexico

Tlaquepaque is a highly fashionable suburb less than 10 kilometers from Mexico's second largest city, Guadalajara, with a hip, up market colonial center with a character and style of its own. A must on any Pinoy tourist agenda. The street of the main shopping area is closed to traffic so that people can stroll and shop at a leisurely pace. The colonial-style streets that remind me of the streets of Intramuros are lined with shops and restaurants.

Shops specialize in arts and crafts from all over Mexico with particular emphasis on up-market ceramics, bronze sculpture, blown glass and embroidered cloth. You'll find skillful painters that use spatula who sells their work of art in the streets.

Beads and bags sold by natives.

The art gallery of Sergio Bustamante offers excellent pieces there are finely crafted and out of this world.

The paint jobs on his work is stunning. The transition between colors is very smooth even up close and you'll not see abrupt changes in color where there shouldn't be.

I love this big mermaid sculpture. Notice the intricate tail made of small finely detailed fishes. Bravo!

Cafes and restaurants have tables on the sidewalks where you can watch busy shoppers pass by. Casa Fuerte is one of them.

The floor of the entrance is covered with pine leaves to remove dirt from shoes. This also releases the fragrance from the leaves that spreads to the restaurant.

There's an indoor and outdoor dining area. The outdoor dining area is airy, colorful and relaxing.

Special melted cheese Mxn 75 (Mexican Peso). A Generous chunk of Oaxaca cheese, breaded and melted in a molcajete (stone mortar) which contains simmering green ranchero sauce.

The big chunk of Oaxaca cheese is sliced into cubes after dumping it in the stone mortar. The cheese melts and blends with the green ranchero sauce which you then place in soft taco. This is yummy.

Tamarindo shrimp Mxn 180. Delicious pacific blue shrimp saute with the exotic tamarind sauce and chile chipotle sauce, served with rice and vegetables.

Garlic shrimp Mxn 170. Tender shrimp delicately seasoned with garlic and mild chile guajillo.

Sole filet with mussels and fennel sauce Mxn 149. Fresh grilled fish fillet, bathed in a fine fennel sauce. Garnished with mussels in their shell and appetizing rice.

Heart of fillet "El Dorado" Mxn 138. The house specialty. Golden crust outside and very tender inside, exquisitely cooked in garlic butter, garnished with vegetables in zucchini blossoms sauce.