Michi Photostory

Long weekend is over pero feeling ko nagdaan lang ang araw and hindi ko naramdaman ang bakasyon. I have a long list of things to do for the Holy Week break but I couldn't do anything because suddenly my husband decided to go to the province. Despite the long list of things to do, I decided to squeeze in some time so I could blog. 

Last week, my husband went home with a box of Gino’s Brick Oven Pizza and I said “Wow, Gino’s!”. He was so surprised that I knew Gino’s pizza. Well, sino ba naman ang hindi makakaalam ng Gino’s Brick Oven Pizza? In 2019, this is one of “The 50 Best Pizzas in the World”, this local pizza landed 34th place in the world and 2nd place in Asia. The best pizza in the entire world is of course located in Naples Italy which is L’Antica Pizzeria da Michele and the best pizza in Asia can be found in Singapore which is Pizza Fabbrica. You can read the full list on the Big 7 Travel website. 

Food is life so even when we are traveling, it is very important that we have something to eat especially if we are going to a new place. Batanes is a province of the Philippines but information are limited so I was a little bit worried when it comes to food.

I searched for the Best or Top Restaurant in Batanes, I watched videos, read some blog reviews, forums and among the choices, I added Cafe Du Tukon and Casa Napoli in my “Must-Try Restaurant in Batanes”. That is also the reason why we stayed at Bernardo’s Hotel because it is the home of Casa Napoli. I wish we have the budget for Fundacion Pacita so we can eat at Cafe Du Tukon too.

Anyway, to make our life easier, my husband and I decided to avail the Batanes Tour Package at Bernardo’s Hotel. We are going on a holiday so I’m not sure kung open ba mga restaurant, we experienced that during our Sagada trip, lunch pa lang nagsasara na yung mga restaurant.

The package already includes tours, round trip service, lunch and dinner. But since I have no idea about the restaurant and food, I brought some canned goods, yung ready to eat na so just in case hindi namin type yung food, hindi kami magugutom. But you know what, we enjoyed the food in Batanes so inuwi ko din baon namin na canned goods.

Sharing with you our food trip in Batanes.

Day 1 

Bernardo’s Hotel Breakfast 



We stayed at Bernardo’s Hotel for 4 days and 3 nights so the room includes a complimentary breakfast for three. It is not a buffet breakfast but we have choices. But for the first day, we did not choose our meal, they served canned meatloaf, scrambled egg, rice, and lychee jelly.

Read: Bernardo’s Hotel Review 

Breakfast Choices: One Day Old Fish, Local Longganisa, Chicken Longganisa, Local Tocino, Corned Beef, Beef Tapa, Egg (Sunny-side-up/scrambled), and Bread/Rice



Pension Ivatan Hometel Restaurant

Our tour guide and driver fetched us at 12NN, the tour guide informed us that we will have lunch first and the van stopped at Pension Ivatan Hometel Restaurant. There was already a reserved table for us and we just waited for our food. They served the food one at a time so every time na nagseserved sila, nasusurprise kami. We are expecting that we will just have rice and one viand pero it was a complete meal pala.


We have soup, a platter of grilled beef, chicken, pork, kilawin and veggies, okoy and leche flan for dessert. For a family of three, ang dami nito so take-out na lang yung okoy. We have the energy now for our North Batan Tour.

Casa Napoli 

It was December 31 so the tour guide was not sure kung open din ang mga restaurants sa bayan so he asked us kung san namin gusto magdinner. I thought, nakaset na yung restaurant for dinner namin, may choice pala kami for dinner. After few minutes of contemplating, we said Casa Napoli. Well, that is one of the reasons why I stayed in Bernardo’s Hotel, I want to try the best pizza in Basco, Batanes.

Since it is located at Bernardo’s Hotel, hindi na nila kami need sunduin pa. The tour guide informed us that we have PHP900 budget for our dinner, we can order what we want and we just need to pay for the excess. We ordered in advance because they will be closed as early as 7PM so they can prepare for New Year’s Eve too.

Casa Napoli offers pizza, pasta, chicken, dessert and drinks. We ordered Pepperoni Pizza P350, Bucket Chicken P695 and Iced Tea P50. We ordered cheesecake but it was not available. Pepperoni pizza is my son’s favorite kasi so most of the time yan ang pizza namin but they have 11 pizza flavors such as Italiana, Supreme, Con Carne, Mattaw, Primavera, Magherita, Hawaiian, Pepperoni, Ham and Cheese, Garlic and Cheese and Mexicana.



We love the pizza and there is no doubt that they consider it na best pizza in Basco kasi masarap naman talaga. Mas masarap pa nga siya kaysa sa ibnag pizza dito sa Manila. The chicken and mojos are good too, hindi rin namin naubos sa dami. At least we have food before New Year’s Eve. If we stayed for one week in Batanes, for sure we will eat at Casa Napoli again. But because of limited time, we want to try other restaurants too.

Day 2 

Bernardo’s Hotel Breakfast

As early as 5:40AM we were eating our breakfast, we ordered longganisa and one-day-old fish. One day old fish kasi one day nila pinaarawan. So yes, it is a dried fish and we like this. After our breakfast, off we went to Ivana Port for our Sabtang Tour.



Pananayan Canteen & Catering Services

For our lunch, we ate at Pananayan Canteen & Catering Services. It is located at Morong Beach and Mayahaw Natural Arc, so after taking pictures we just went there for our lunch. They served a complete meal too, we have chicken tinola, vegetables, fried pork, fish fillet, rice and bukayo for dessert. We have two kinds of rice, turmeric rice, and white rice. I tried the turmeric rice pero hindi overpowering yung turmeric so my son ate this rice. The food presentation is simple but we’re satisfied naman, basta may fried pork, okay na kami ng anak ko.


Amboy Hometel 

The day before our Sabtang Tour, I suggested to my husband that we will eat merienda at Cafe Du Tukon. Maaga kasi matatapos yung tour namin so we have time before dinner time. But after what happened on our way back to Basco, we decided to rest na lang sa hotel, I will share that next time.


Most of the restaurants are closed on January 1, even Casa Napoli is closed so we are thankful that Amboy Hometel accommodated us. Before going back to Bernardo’s Hotel, our tour guide dropped us here to reserve table and order food. I did not go down anymore, my husband ordered Sinigang na Hipon, Grilled Liempo and Rice. I forgot the exact price pero alam ko may sukli pa sa P900 budget for dinner.



Amboy Hometel is just a few minutes walk from Bernardo’s Hotel so hindi na kami sinundo ng driver at tour guide namin. Amboy Hometel is a popular accommodation in Batanes too, if you watched Biyahe ni Drew show, dito sila nagstay. Our reservation is 5:30PM and on-time sila ha, hindi kami naghitay ng matagal. They already served our food.



The food is good for three persons and sobrang nabusog na kami. We are satisfied with our food, bet ko grilled liempo because it is tender, juicy and flavorful. Service is good too and they always refill our drinks.

Day 3

Bernardo’s Hotel Breakfast

Our South Batan Tour is 8:30AM so we ate our breakfast around 7:30AM. We ordered tocino, longanisa and one-day-old fish. They served sliced apples for dessert, I was expecting for lychee jelly pa naman kasi naging favorite ko na siya. Hehehe!


Nanay Ching Restaurant 

Our lunch is always a surprise because we don’t choose the restaurant and food. It is a different feeling when we are looking forward to our meals. Every lunch time, mapaptanong ako "Ano naman kaya ang kakainin namin?"




As usual, we have a feast again at Nanay Ching Restaurant. It is an alfresco restaurant and they served nilagang pork, chicken afritada, pork adobo, chopsuey, rice and camote salad for dessert. The serving was really huge, pangmalakasan lang. So we took our time eating our meal kasi sayang kung din naman maubos, except for the rice. Hindi talaga namin kayang ubusin. Food is good too.

Hudzan’s Cafe & Catering 

Our driver and tour guide fetched us and we had dinner at Hudzan’s Cafe & Catering. Ang dami food choices but unfortunately, not all are available. Because of the holiday season, hindi pa daw nadedeliver yung supply nila. So we ordered Buttered Garlic Shrimp P350, Burger Steak P150, Crispy Beef Ribs P200, Rice P100 and Softdrinks in Can P40.




The presentation of the food is simple but it is good. We liked the crispy beef ribs and their version of buttered garlic shrimp. Akala ko nga matigas yung beef pero hindi, it was tender and juicy. Service is good too, lagi nakasmile yung staff nila when taking and serving our order. My son left his jacket at the restaurant and buti na lang hindi pa nakakalayo yung van namin. Naihabol nung staff, that is the only time that we realized na hindi nakajacket anak ko. Buti na lang honest ang mga tao sa Batanes.

Day 4 

Bernardo’s Hotel Breakfast

Fourth day in Batanes and our last day too. For our last breakfast in Bernardo’s Hotel, we ordered tocino, one-day-old fish and longganisa. My son likes their longganisa so I bought one pack of it, buti na lang nagbebenta sila. I want to buy the one-day old fish but it is not for sale.


It was funny because I was worried that I will get hungry in Batanes but I ended up gaining a lot of pounds. And writing this post is torture because I really miss our food trip. Oh how I wish, plane ticket is cheap so it is easy to go back to Batanes. Hindi pa ko nakakain sa Cafe Du Tukon.

I had my lab test and a doctor’s appointment last week. After check-up, instead of going home, I told my husband to go straight to Alabang Town Center so I can look for Christmas Gifts. We had lunch first at Amici. It’s been years since the last time we ate here, sa dami ba naman kasi na restaurant sa Alabang Town Center ang dami ko gusto kainan. Most of the time, we will just buy gelato here.


I remembered our first dining experience in Amici Don Bosco Branch, 7 six years ago self-service pa siya but now, you don’t need to go to the cashier to order and pay your bill. Our old favorites here are Tutta Carne Pizza, Spaghetti alla Carbonara, Pollo Arrostito, Sansrival, and Gelato.

Amici serves pasta, pizza, and gelato. While browsing their menu, I noticed na ang dami na nila food choices, may option sa pasta if you want regular or grande size and may rice meals na rin. My husband and I ordered Spaghetti ai Tesori del Mare P420 (Regular), Margherita Pizza P345 and Oreo & Blueberry Cheesecake Madness P210.

The staff offered Gusto Privelege Card where you can get a discount for every visit but we declined since we seldom visit ATC or dine at Amici. While waiting, they served complimentary hot bread and it is good. Sana pwede refill, hehehe!


After finishing our bread, they served our pasta, ang bilis ng service nila. Spaghetti ai Tesori del Mare is a mildly spicy feast of spaghetti, tomatoes, scallops, clams and chili oil. I’m not fond of spicy food but I liked this pasta because the spiciness is really mild.


I ordered Margherita pizza and while eating, my husband said bakit wala ko malasahan na toppings. I just laughed and I told him, Margherita lang order ko so cheese and basil lang yun. Hehehe! Nasanay siya na Tutta Carne order ko.


For dessert, I initially ordered Ferrero-Chocolate Overload but it is not available so I ordered Oreo & Blueberry Cheesecake Madness. Combination of an oreo cookie and blueberry cheesecake gelato topped with caramel syrup, brownie chunks, whipped cream, and cherry. We liked this gelato and it is good for sharing.


We are satisfied with our order and also the service is really good. We already have a bottled of water on our table but the staff kept on refilling our glass. Bawal ba ang half-filled glass? So never kami naglagay ng water sa glass namin. Lol

December 20, 2018

We fetched our son in school and off we went to Alabang Town Center to buy his gift, we were so busy with so many things and we forgot to buy stuff for ourselves. We just ate at Amici last week but we decided to eat here again, this time with my son. We ordered the same pasta which is Spaghetti ai Tesori del Mare P420 (Regular) because we liked it. My son ordered Ham and Two Cheese Pizza P368.


While waiting, they gave us complimentary bread, one stick of bread per person. The staff gave a Kiddie Sheet and crayons to my son. My son read the note “Present this completed Kiddie Sheet to your server and get a Free Junior Scoop of Gelato” so he immediately colored and answered the page.




My son likes pepperoni pizza but it is not available so he chose Ham and Two Cheese Pizza, it has ham, mozzarella, and cheddar cheese. Mukhang corn or pineapple yung cheddar cheese.


We only ordered pasta and pizza but still, we did not finish our food. May take-out pa rin kami na pizza to think na tatlo na kami kumain. But of course, we won’t leave without eating gelato. We showed the Kiddie Sheet and asked the staff kung totoo ba na may free gelato yung anak ko and she said yes. So my husband and I ordered Junior Gelato Cup too P60 each.

The staff informed us na maliit lang yung cup but we still ordered the junior size because the last time that we ordered Oreo & Blueberry Cheesecake Madness gelato, nahirapan kami ubusin yung order namin. My son chose Ferrero, my husband chose Pistachio and I ordered Blueberry Cheesecake again.


While waiting for our gelato, the staff served a slice of cake on our table. Sasabihin ko na sana na hindi kami nag-order ng cake but the staff already said na FREE daw yun. Wow, may free gelato and free cake kami that day. The Midnight Dream Cake is layered decadent chocolate chiffon with caramelized cashews, chocolate, and cream.


When they served the gelato, ang liit ang talaga but it is enough to satisfy our gelato cravings. Again, we were satisfied with the food and service. Mukhang mapapadalas na kami sa Amici at may mga freebies. hehehe!

Amici - Alabang Town Center 
Alabang Town Center, Commerce Avenue,
Ayala Alabang, Muntinlupa
Mon to Thurs 11AM to 9PM
Fri to Sunday 10Am to 9PM

Our family loves to travel but whenever we visit other countries, one of my dilemmas is food. I’m not really adventurous when it comes to food and I’m loyal to Filipino cuisine. Whenever my husband visits a new country, there are times that he will say to me “Di ka pwede dito Hon, magugutom ka”. Hehehe! So whenever we travel, most of the time, we will eat at the fastfood to keep me alive.

My husband has been to Bangkok several times already so he suggested some restaurants that we can try. My son and I love pizza so he recommended one pizza restaurant after Terminal 21. Funny thing, he can’t remember the exact location of the restaurant, he just told me after Terminal 21. My son and I almost give up because we can’t find it.

On our way back to the hotel, we finally saw Pala Pizza Romana and Bistrot. The restaurant was just simple and small. It is hard to notice the name. So if you are going to visit, take note that it is near the escalator leading to the MRT. The owner is from Italy so you are guaranteed that you will eat authentic Roman and Italian meals.


It was already late lunch but the place was still full. Diners are mixed of locals and tourists, it seems that this restaurant is really popular. Good thing, we got a table. Upon seated, the staff gave us the menu. They offer soup, starters, salad, pasta, risotti, pizza, main courses, and dessert.



For pizza, you can order by slice, 1/2 meter or 1 meter. My son ordered Margherita THB75+ and I ordered Boscaiola THB120+. Margherita has only 2 ingredients which are tomato sauce and mozzarella but my son loves it. My Boscaiola has 4 ingredients, tomato sauce, mozzarella, pork sausag, and mushroom. One slice can be divided into two or four slices and it makes you full already.


After taking a bite, I must agree with my husband. Their pizza is really good, the crust is thick, soft and fluffy, dough pa lang masarap na. And because we love their pizza, I wanted to go back for dinner but we need to go to IKEA Bangna. Asid frome the cooked meals, they also havea deli counter where you can buy cold cuts, cheeses, canned goods, bread, cakes, chocolates and other sweets. Now, I’m craving for their pizza so if you are going to Bangkok, include this in your must-try food. The food is reasonably price and service is fast.

Read: Where to Stay in Bangkok Thailand
6 Days in Bangkok with Kids 

Pala Pizza Romana and Bistrot 
MRT Sukhumvit Platform at interlink BTS-Asok,
Asok Rd, Klongtoey-nua Wattana Bangkok 10110
Opening Hours: 10AM to 11:30PM

I always make homemade pizza at home because it is so easy to make, I only need a slice of bread or store brought pizza dough + my choice of toppings. I know I can make my own pizza dough but I’m so scared when I see the yeast in the list of ingredients because I tried making bread before and it was not successful.

Read: Homemade Pizza



But few months ago, I attended a Bread Making Class so it gives me the confidence to try baking with yeast. Last month, I tried making pizza dough from scratch, I just look for recipes on the internet. It was my first time so the shape of the dough is not round and I put so much cheese so it overflows. My husband likes the dough because it is so soft even it is no longer warm.



Read: The Day I Learned How to Make my Own Bread



Last weekend, I made a homemade pizza again but this time, I tried a new recipe and I was happy because I was able to make a round dough. Hehehe! I did not put a lot of cheese to avoid overflowing. Ending, kulang sa cheese ang result. Hehehe! The dough is on the chewy side so my husband prefers the first pizza dough but my son liked this pizza compared to the first one. 



Update October 2019

Our family loves pizza and it is one of our comfort foods. I’m glad that I can make my own pizza dough from scratch. I’m using the recipe of Sallys Baking Addiction “Homemade Pizza Crust Recipe”, the recipe only needs 6 six ingredients so if you have warm water, yeast, sugar, olive oil, salt, and all-purpose flour, you can definitely make your homemade dough. The steps are easy to follow too and you can make two pizzas in one recipe. If you only need one pizza, you can store the dough in your freezer which I did.



What I like about homemade pizza is you can use whatever toppings that you like, whatever is available in your pantry or fridge. Since my son likes Pepperoni Pizza, I bought a pack at Landers and nakadalawang pizza na nga ko, hindi pa rin ubos so I have reasons to make pizza again. I like the taste of my pizza dough but I need to improve its shape and thickness.Since the pandemic, I’ve been watching Chef RV’s video and over a month ago I tried his pizza dough recipe. What I like about his recipe, you just need to mix everything and put them in the fridge overnight. So the following day, you can already make your own pizza. This is now my new favorite pizza dough recipe. My only mistake was, I did not put a lot of cheese but my two boys love it.