Day 2 in Da Nang Vietnam

This school year is about to end and it also means, vacation na naman and I am supposed to plan for our travel itinerary but here I am, tinatamad na naman mag-umpisa. Ang hilig ko lang magcram. Hehehe! Anyway, last month I finished making our Da Nang Vietnam Photobook so this reminded me that I haven’t finished my Da Nang blog posts so I am pressuring myself to finish this series na. 

Day 2 in Da Nang Vietnam

We just stayed in the hotel for our second day in Da Nang, ate, and rested. We decided not to join the Hue City Tour because we wanted to rest and recharge. This was the supposed itinerary for that day. It was a whole day itinerary and binabasa ko pa lang napagod na ko. #signsofaging. 

Hue City Tour - $69 per person  

Inclusion: tour guide, transportation, lunch, seafood dinner, entrance fee, and tips  

- Stop at Hai Van Pass, Lap An for photos 

- Visit Thien Mu Pagoda; the oldest pagoda in Hue 

- Visit the Imperial Citadel; one of Vietnam’s seven UNESCO World Heritage sites.  

- Visit Khai Dinh King’s Tomb; the tomb of the 12th king of the Nguyen Dynasty  

- Lunch and seafood dinner at a local restaurant  

Buffet Breakfast at Table 88 

Since we had no tour for that day, hindi kami nagmamadali na magbreakfast. In fact, late na rin kami nagpunta sa restaurant para brunch na rin. We took our time eating and we just enjoyed our food para busog kami hanggang lunch. Hehehe! Table 88 serves Banh Mi and Pho and you can enjoy this popular food every breakfast. 

Read: International Dinner Buffet at Table 88

After breakfast, we explored the Sheraton Grand Da Nang Resort & Convention Center. This resort has a 250m infinity pool and the longest pool in Da Nang. Unfortunately, because of the weather, we could not enjoy the pool. Feeling ko magkakasakit lang kami kapag nagswimming sa lamig so we just stayed in our room. 

My son was busy doing his school assignments and I spent my time crafting. Yes, I brought my craft projects on our Vietnam trip so just in case wala ako gawin, magcraft na lang ako. 

For dinner, my son and I decided to stay in the hotel and we just ordered food “room service” na lang. We ordered fries and pizza while my husband and his colleagues went to Hoi An again for dinner. 

Sheraton Grand Da Nang Resort offers a shuttle bus to Hoi An and vice versa but the schedules are limited so they travel via Grab. 

Hoi An - Da Nang Shuttle Bus 

VNV80,000 net per person 

Complimentary for children aged 12 or below 

The shuttle bus is good for 14 seats only so book in advance. 

Arrived 10 minutes before the departure time. 

Schedule 

10AM - Da Nang - Hoi An 

12NN - Hoi An - Da Nang 

14:00 - Da Nang - Hoi An 

16:00 - Hoi An - Da Nang 

Read: 5 Days in Da Nang Vietnam 

Wedding Anniversary at Samira by Chele Gonzalez

For the past three years, we had a staycation at Chateau Hestia, La Chevrerie Resort and Spa, and Nawa Wellness Resort for our wedding anniversary celebration. But this year, we don’t have the time and budget for a weekend getaway so we decided to do a food trip instead.

So last month, my husband and I searched for different restaurants that we wanted to try, some restaurants were fully booked, some restaurants naman na may promo, may days lang pwede maavail yung discounts, and some restaurants naman, namamahalan ako. Hehehe! 

I was torn between buffet lunch and course set menu; the buffet lunch is much cheaper because of the 50% credit card promo but in the end, I chose the course set menu. My husband was the one who suggested this restaurant kaso nga lang namamahalan ako but I changed my mind after reading good reviews. 

Also, my husband took a vacation leave for our wedding anniversary so sayang naman ang VL kung nasa bahay lang kami. So day before our wedding anniversary, I messaged my husband na magpareserve na sa Samira by Chele Gonzalez. 

Samira by Chele Gonzalez is Anya Resort's in-house restaurant located in Tagaytay City. It is considered a dining destination led by Gallery by Chele’s Spanish Chef Jose Luis Gonzalez. My husband already tried Gallery by Chele so I had high hopes that we would have a special meal to be remembered. 

Samira by Chele was launched in year 2022 with the goal of “We want our guests to have a journey, and experience colorful flavors inspired by many traditions around the world. Grill and fire in a modern contemporary dining experience.” 

Grill Experience at Samira by Chele Gonzalez 

On the day of our wedding anniversary, from our home, we traveled to the wellness sanctuary in less than an hour. We were the first diners but we chose the al fresco table para may view. 

Samira by Chele Gonzalez offers an a la carte menu, a Grill Experience Set Menu, and 6- Course Set Menu. We chose the Grill Experience Set Menu for PHP2,995+ per person. But we were informed that there were four viands that were not available, naubos daw kasi yung stock nila nung Valentine’s Day. Waah! Gusto ko pa naman itry yung Grilled Iberico Pork Satay Skewer. 

Anyway, this was our menu during our visit. They printed and changed the menu on our table. 

Bites 

Spanish Chorizo Takoyaki 

Chorizo Pintxos 

Bacalao Bunuelos 

Grilled Tiger Prawns 

Baked Brie with Pancetta Tesa 

Mains 

Pan Seared Citrus Salmon or Churrasco 

Grilled Chicken Paella Valenciana 

Dessert 

Cheese Ice Cream, Grilled Strawberries 

We stayed in the restaurant for about two hours and we enjoyed good food, experience and meaningful conversations. I don’t regret choosing Samira by Chele Gonzalez for our wedding celebration because it is worth the splurge, time, and drive. I appreciate the pleasure of slowly eating the food. And they also gave us a complimentary anniversary cake. 

I brought my own cake topper too. The font I used is Billion Dreams

Read: A Toast to Love at Tiger Leaf Asian Cuisine 

Nawa Wellness Resort Course Set Menu

 

Samira by Chele Gonzalez 

G/F Anya Resort, Buenavista Hills Road, 

Barangay Mag-Asawang Ilat, 

Tagaytay City, Cavite 

Contact: 0998-955-3630

Korean Food Reality Shows

I never been to South Korea pero feeling ko nakarating na rin ako sa dami na ng mga napanood ko na Korean drama, movie, travel reality shows and now I’m into food reality shows.

The first food reality show I watched was Youn’s Stay, and then last year I enjoyed watching Culinary Class Wars. Since then, I started exploring other Korean food reality shows. I just recently finished The Genius Paik and currently, I am watching three ongoing series on Netflix; Chef & My Fridge, The Blank Menu for You, and K-Foodie meets J-Foodie. 

1. Youn’s Stay - this was filmed in time of COVID-19 so instead of Youn’s Kitchen it became Youn’s Stay where they invited foreigners to stay in their Hanok Guesthouse in South Jeolla. 

2. Culinary Class Wars - this is a cooking competition where 100 elite chefs compete for a 300 million Korean Won prize. The chefs are divided into two classes, white spoons for veterans and black spoons for newcomers. The two judges were Paik Jong-Won and Anh Sung-Jae.

3. The Genius Paik - Paik Jong Won traveled to Morocco and Naples, Italy to run a restaurant for a few days and introduced Korean cuisine. 

Currently watching 

Chef & My Fridge 

The Blank Menu For You 

K-Foodie meets J-Foodie 

I enjoyed watching these shows even though I am not into Korean Food and Drink. Malay mo, bumalik yung love ko sa cooking and baking because nowadays, I consider cooking a chore so I just cook the same menu every month.