Buffalo’s Wings N Things

I always see Buffalo’s Wings N Things restaurant in Nuvali but I haven’t tried it yet. I received a text last July 25 that Munchpunch team sent me a eGift Card for Buffalo’s Wings N Things. I was glad because I know I have reason to go to Nuvali again. 

We went to fish feeding area first because it is my son’s favorite activity in Nuvali, bought chocolate cake in Contis and went straight to Buffalo’s Wings N Things restaurant. I showed the text to the staff and she has no idea about it so she went to her supervisor to show the text, She came back informing me that they do not accept eGift card because franchise lang daw yung restaurant. Waah! 

We did not leave the restaurant anymore so we ordered Garlic Parmesan + Fries P149 + 29 and Grilled BBQ Chops P249. Every table you can see pack of tissue paper because you can enjoy eating the chicken without the utensils but don’t worry, they have spoon, fork and knife. 

1 pound for 149 (promo that day)

Choice of rice or mashed potato

We all enjoyed our order, you can really taste the garlic and parmesan in the chicken and the BBQ chops is so tender and flavorful. I could say that the price is not expensive. There are more flavors of the chicken from mild to spicy and we ordered the mildest which is Garlic Parmesan.

DIY Nutrition Month Headdress

Every day my usual routine is to check my son’s assignment notebook once he gets home. Then last Wednesday I saw the reminder that he needs to bring a headdress made of real fruits and vegetables on Friday. Waah! I only have two days to make a headdress. 

If you’ve been a regular reader of this blog, you know for sure that I’m not fond of vegetables so obviously we don’t have a stock of leafy veggies in our fridge. I do eat vegetables but not really my favorite. Since I have no idea how to make headdresses, I checked Google but unfortunately, I only saw three pictures of headdresses made of real vegetables.

I’ve been talking to my friend and she suggested monggo, fortunately, we have monggo in our house. And because I’m too lazy to go out of the house just to buy a native hat, I used cardboard instead. Cardboard from bedsheet packaging. hehehe!

I started putting monggo on the cardboard part by part. The process looks so easy but you need patience on this project. I need to make sure that the glue and monggo will stay in their place and I have to wait for the glue to dry so it took me two days to do this. 

I planned to put malunggay leaves pero mukha na siya lanta how much more sa Friday so we painted the remaining space, printed fruit and veggies, and paste it on the middle. 

My son was happy with his headdress and honestly siya lang ang nakita ko na monggo sa school. Hehehe! Most of the students in preschool used sitaw, malunggay, calamansi, cabbage, banana, bell pepper, carrots, and eggplant. 

Recipe with Mozarella Cheese

One of my favorite cheese is Mozzarella cheese and now I’m sharing to you some food recipes that I’ve made using this cheese. 

Bacon Cheese Bread 

Place the cooked bacon on top of the bread, add mozzarella cheese then bake it in the oven or oven toaster until cheese melt. 

Shrimp Wrapped in Bacon 

I posted this recipe before, check it here. But last week I used mozzarella cheese instead of cheddar cheese, I put the cheese on top of the shrimp. This was our lunch and dinner before Typhoon Glenda hit Cavite.  

Homemade Pizza 

For merienda, homemade pizza is an easy dish. Since I can’t make my own pizza dough, I always buy dough or I used slice of bread or pandesal. 

Baked Macaroni

If I have a lot of mozzarella, I used this in my Baked Macaroni instead of quickmelt cheese. 

Cheesy Garlic Bread

I used United Village Breadhouse Garlic Bread + Mozzarella Cheese then toast it in the oven toaster. Yummy!

Oven Baked Salmon  

Sometimes I also put cheese on my Oven Baked Salmon, salmon is one of my favorite fish. 

Baked Eggs

Inspired by Before Ever After book, this is a perfect meal for breakfast. 

Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Tomato Mozzarella Toast 

I also tried making Baked Mozzarella Sticks but it wasn’t successful maybe my breading is not thick enough.

Our Typhoon Glenda Experience

I’ve been checking the weather forecast since Sunday because of the impending typhoon Glenda. I’ve been hearing stories na parang Yolanda or Milenyo daw sa lakas so I was checking for the typhoon signal. I felt that I was prepared for the typhoon because we’re done with our groceries last Saturday, bought our weekly menu in the wet market last Sunday, and still went to the grocery last Monday sa mga kulang pa. While waiting for the class suspension announcement, I was also preparing for my son’s assignment like 1x1 picture and smart casual attire for his graduation portrait. 

No classes last Tuesday because Laguna was under Signal 1. The weather was still fine though there were occasional rain showers. During our dinner, my husband said, nakakatakot sa labas sobrang tahimik. Which is true, wala hangin and wala malakas na ulan. I checked for class suspensions again, no classes again because we’re under Signal 2. 

After dinner, we do our usual routine without knowing that after a few hours, typhoon Glenda will strongly hit CALABARZON. At 1AM , I was awakened by the howling wind outside and I was so scared that I couldn’t sleep anymore. No more electricity around 2AM. I filled our water buckets with water para may ipon kami kahit konti. It’s been a long time since I’ve experienced this kind of wind so I was thinking na hindi ito Signal 2. 

Before 6AM, I decided to prepare for our breakfast and no more water supply. We only have 3 buckets of water plus 3 bottles (5 gallons) of mineral water to survive. No telephone lines and internet and our phone wasn’t fully charged except for the iPad (prepared ang anak ko at nagcharged). We used one cellphone of my husband to check for news on FM radio. Thank God for the pocket wifi so we could check the news online. We found out na Signal 3 na nga kami and the eye of the storm was in Cavite. 

I was praying hard for God’s protection and I was glad when the wind calmed around 10AM. I was thankful that our house was fine, and our tree and plants were ok, though halos maubos na ang dahon. Some of our neighbors were affected, natanggalan ng bubong, nasira gate and naputol puno. At 4PM we decided to go out. We went to the gas station para magpagas and bought some snacks at McDonalds.

Seeing the aftermath, I remembered my experienced last July 2011 "Typhoon Juaning", no electricity, water and internet and my husband was in Shanghai so ang hirap. I was thankful na kasama ko siya ngayon. I felt na matataglan pa ang black out sa dami ng natumba na puno so I cooked everything inside our freezer, drank the opened fresh milk, ate the yogurt etc. And that time parang nagsisisi ako na naggrocery ako, imagine I need to cook 1kl of hotdog, 1kl of chicken, 1/2 kl of tapa, 1/2 porkchop, 1/2 liempo, pack of bacon and sausage. I just cooked chicken adobo and fried everything. #buffetbreakfast.

Anyway, I was glad that after 44 hours we now have electricity, water, phone lines, and the internet. Life is back to normal now. I just realized that no matter how I plan or prepare, I’m still not in control. Now I’m planning to buy a water drum for future use, more batteries for the flashlight, rechargeable radio/light, powerbank, and more candles. I will stock more paper plates and disposable spoon, fork, and cups. Yan ginamit namin para wala hugasin. Ito na lang natira sa candles namin buti na lang nagkakuryente na. 

Just to make me feel good, iniisip ko na lang na wala ito sa mga Yolanda survivors. At least kahit walang electricity, water, landline and internet we’re staying in our house. How about you?

Health Benefits of Cranberry Juice

It is not a secret here anymore that I always experienced Urinary Tract Infection or UTI. In a span of 7 years, last April is the 4th time that I’ve experienced it. I don’t like it because the severe abdominal pain is no joke. That’s always the sign that I have UTI so I always request urinalysis before going to my OB-Gyne. 

Treating my UTI is not easy maybe because of the Methotrexate that I’m taking for my psoriasis, it is also the reason why I always have UTI because it weakens my immune system. It took me six weeks to cure the UTI and I was really tired going to the doctor and undergoing lab tests every week such as urinalysis, urine culture, and KUB ultrasound. Last year I even had a transvaginal ultrasound to check if I have lumps.

My doctor always advised me to drink cranberry juice but I didn’t follow, lagi ko sinasabi na pwede ba coconut juice na lang because I don’t like the taste of cranberry juice. But I realized if I wanted to prevent UTI I should try drinking cranberry juice. I searched the effects of cranberry juice and now I understand why my doctor advised me to drink it. According to organifacts.net, the health benefits of cranberry juice are...

1. Anti-aging benefits
2. Prevents Lung Inflammation
3. Prevents Scurvy
4. Prevents Peptic Ulcers
5. Prevents Kidney Stones
6. Good for Obesity
7. Cures Cold
8. Strengthens bones and teeth
9. Prevents Cancer
10. Avoid Respiratory Infections
11. Prevents tooth decay
12. Sustain Cardiovascular Health
13. Antitumor effects
14. Prevents Urinary Tract Infection

Healthy Balance Cranberry Juice (less than PHP200)
Fontana Cranberry Juice PHP82

Florida's Natural Grower's Pride Cranberry
Tipco Mixed Fruit Juice & Cranberry PHP105

As I mentioned, I don’t like the taste of cranberry juice so I tried different brands so I can choose. So far, I tried Healthy Balance, Florida’s Natural, Fontana, and Tipco. The winner is Tipco, I like the taste. 

Yakult Light

Yakult is part of my childhood days, I always buy Yakult in our suki lady who pushes Yakult cart every morning when I still live in Manila. At that time Yakult is only P2. Hehehe! I was lucky that I was able to visit their factory in Laguna when I was in grade 5 because it is part of our field trip.

Until now Yakult is part of our life, it is always included in my grocery list because we love it. In fact, it is my son’s every day baon in school, Yakult + Water for his drinks. Two weeks ago I saw Yakult light in the grocery so I tried it. 

Hubby: Bakit Yakult Light? 
Me: Para less calories. 
Hubby: Di naman need ni Ethan ng less calories. 
Me: Bakit si Ethan lang ba umiinom ng Yakult sa bahay? 
Silence. 

Honestly, the difference is very unnoticeable from the original Yakult. The taste is still the same, just a little bit less sweet. Actually, my husband said, “pareho lang ng lasa”. hehehe! From now on, I will buy Yakult light because it is less calories and zero fat. Yakult Light is P50 for 5 bottles.

Transformers Age of Extinction and More

Honestly, I’m not really a fan of Transformers because I prefer romantic-comedy, drama, or real-life story movies. I was able to watch Transformers 1, 2, 3 on TV, and my son liked it. That’s why he enjoyed the Transformers The Ride in Universal Studio Singapore.  

My husband’s office has Movie Block Screening so we took advantage of the free movie yesterday at SM Aura. The movie will start at 7PM so we still have time to eat.

It was my first time in SM Aura so I don’t know where to eat. I saw Bono Artisanal Gelato so finally, I tried it. I bought 1 scoop of Malted Cookie Dough P130 because my companions were not interested. It is quite expensive but when you taste the gelato, you will understand why. Every bite is rich in flavor, the texture is so smooth, and plus factor yung hindi tinipid ang ingredients. 

Then we had dinner in Food on Four, my husband wanted pizza so he just ordered at Sbarro but I wanted to try something new so my husband ordered 1 Beef Set P190 in Teppanyaki Brothers, the set includes rice, miso soup, veggies and the beef. The interesting part is you can see how they cook your order. Well, the taste is just ok, pwede na. I shared my food with my son who is not in the mood to eat.

Back to the topic, I’ve heard and read not-so-good reviews about Transformers 4 but I liked this movie compared to the 3 movies. The only thing that I don’t like is that it is too long. It is an almost three-hour movie and I feel that they can remove unnecessary scenes.

My Son’s First Dental Check-up

I’m fully aware that it is recommended to visit the dentist by the age of 1 yr old or as soon as the first tooth of your child comes out but it didn’t happen to my son. We have a dental card that we can use but every time that we will schedule an appointment they always decline my son because they don’t have Pediatric Dentist. We’ve been to different clinics but still, the answer is the same or “pwede ma’m kung makikipagcooperate”. How can you expect my son to cooperate agad di ba. 

When my son was three years old, naku mas mahirap na because he is already aware and he doesn’t want to visit the dentist, only mommy, and daddy lang daw. I don’t want to force him at baka magwala lang sa loob ng clinic at may masira pa. So every six months na pacleaning namin ni hubby, I try to persuade him and finally yesterday he experienced his first dental check-up. After 5 years nagamit din ang dental card. 

He is pointing to the "Brush" thing. Brush lang daw teeth niya. 

This is not the first time that my son will be checked by a dentist because for the last two years they have an annual dental check-up in school. It is just a simple check-up where the dentist will write her observations if cleaning or filling is needed. But this was the first time that he will sit in a dental chair and I felt that he was really nervous. It took us time to convince him to lie down and open his mouth.

The dentist checked if there was a cavity or tooth decay, fortunately, no cavity and tooth decay so she just cleaned my son’s teeth. We will be back in six months. I was happy that my son conquered his fear. I believe that every person deserves a great looking and healthy smile. Click here!

Day Trip in Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar

Update: June 2023 

After almost a decade, we went back to Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar but this time, we had an overnight stay. You can check the links below for my updated review and rates. 

Read: Birthday Staycation at Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar 

Food Trip at Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar 

Watch the video

Heritage Day Tour Rate 

PHP2,500 (Monday to Friday) 

PHP2,900 (Weekends, Holidays and Peak Dates) 

Inclusions: 

Entrance Fee and Use of Beach Area 

30 mins to 1 Hour Walking Guided Tour; Kalesa Ride 

Hotel de Oriente Viewing, Balsa River Cruise 

Set lunch at HDO Binondo Hall, all taxes and fees 

Walking Heritage Tour Schedule: 8:30AM, 10:30AM, 2:30PM and 4:30PM 

*Allowed time to stay inside the resort is from 8AM to 6PM only

***

Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar is in my bucket list but because I live in South Luzon, it is not on my priority list. My friend invited us to attend his son’s 7th Birthday in Bataan since it is too far from Cavite, I suggested to my husband that we stay in Las Casas para di pagod. 

I emailed Las Casas but they replied, “please call to reserve” so my husband called, and unfortunately, no more Studio De Luxe rooms are available. We don’t want to book other rooms because PHP4,050 room rate is already steep for us and the next lowest available room is P5,850. 

We decided to have a day trip instead, we left Cavite around 4AM so we still have enough time na mamasyal before attending the birthday party at 3PM. I posted here our sidetrip “Bataan Road Trip” before going to Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar Resort. 

Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar is a heritage park or heritage resort in Bagac, Bataan. It is owned by Jose Rizalino “Jerry” Acuzar who is an art collector and architect. Jerry aimed to showcase cultural heritage through the restoration of the houses.

At the gate, the guard gave us an entry pass to be given in the reception area. I was thankful that my son is still free.

Day Trip Entrance Fee of Las Casa Filipinas de Acuzar

Day Trip Rate

Package 1 (set meal) P1,200 nett per person
Package 2 (buffet meal) P1,500 nett per person
A guaranteed minimum of 30 persons is required to avail of the buffet arrangement.

Inclusions:

Welcome Drinks
30-minute to 1-hour Guided Tour of Heritage Houses
Entrance Fee and Use of Beach Area
1 Lunch, Afternoon Snack, 2 Tetra Pack Juices, 2 Bottles of Mineral Water
Vicinity Map
All Taxes and Service Charge

Other Options:

Option 1: Entrance Fee with Snacks

P850 - adult
P425 - kids

Option 2: Entrance Fee Only

P685 - adult and 5 years old and above
FREE - toddlers

Upon entering the Heritage Park, you will feel that you’ve been transported in the past. It is really nice to see how big and beautiful the old houses compared to the trend now. 

We were a few minutes late for the Heritage Tour but we don’t want to waste our time waiting for the next schedule so we asked them if pwede pa humabol and they gladly assisted us to locate the tour guide. 

Schedule of Heritage Tour 

8:30 AM
9:30 AM
10:30 AM
11:30AM

1:30 PM
2:30 PM
3:30 PM
4:30 PM

The Heritage Tour is a guided walking tour around the Heritage Park showcasing the cultural and historical background of every single heritage house. After seeing the before and after photos, I was really amazed at how they were able to restore the houses. Check the photos.

After the tour, we ate our lunch at “Casa Unisan” and ordered the set meal at PHP432. It includes soup, a main course, dessert, and drinks. The taste is good.  

Like 

1. I like the idea of a Heritage Tour because you will learn a lot. There are more information that you will know that is not written in History school books. 

2. I’ve been to Calle Crisologo in Vigan but I think this is much better because you can visit more heritage houses. It is like a one-stop shop that showcases different houses around the Philippines. 

3. Service is good.

Dislike 

1. I emailed them to reserve a room but they replied “Please call to reserve”. What is the use of this email reserve@lascasasfilipinas.com if you can’t reserve via email? 

2. I paid PHP685 for the tour, welcome drinks, and beach use only. There is a swimming pool but only check-in guests can use it. If you want to ride a calesa or golf cart there’s a fee for that.

3. My son is free of charge so no welcome drinks also but in Villa Escudero even if the guest is FOC, he/she has a welcome drink and buffet lunch.  

4. We wanted to take a bath before attending the birthday party but after seeing the bathroom, wag na lang. I'm not picky but the bathroom has no lock (broken) so how can I take a bath with an open door and I don’t know where to put my bag. I hope they will have a decent bathroom for day-trip guests.

Bathroom

Note: We went there in April 2014 so it was really hot. There’s not enough shade so it is better to bring an umbrella, cap, drinks and extra clothes. 

Every time you enter a heritage house, you have to remove your slippers or shoes so better wear footwear na madali alisin at isuot.  

Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar 
Bo. Pagasa, Bagac, Bataan
+63 2 332 5338 +63 2 332 5286 
E-mail: reserve@lascasasfilipinas.com 
http://lascasasfilipinas.com Klook.com