Michi Photostory

February 16, 2023

International Dinner Buffet at Table 88 - Sheraton Da Nang

We seldom eat buffet meals whenever we travel abroad because it is costly but sometimes it is okay to splurge for the experience. Our Da Nang, Vietnam trip is one for the books because we experienced eating buffet breakfast, lunch, and dinner so it is a struggle to lose weight after our experience.

Read: 5 Days in Da Nang Vietnam

Sheraton Grand Da Nang has six restaurants and bars so there is no reason to go hungry or thirsty. They have La Plage, Table 88, Poolside Bar, Tea Lounge, Mix Bar, and The Grill. And during our stay, we tried La Plage and Table 88.

Our room package includes a buffet breakfast at Table 88 and I am always satisfied with the buffet breakfast so I was really looking forward to our International Buffet Dinner at Table 88. So after our Ba Nang Hills Tour, we did not waste our time and we immediately prepare for buffet dinner. The dinner starts at 6PM and we were there at 6:30PM, one of the early birds.

Since we were early, we were able to choose our table and I was able to take pictures of the buffet spread. When we arrived at the table, we noticed the small bowl and the staff immediately told us “it is not for drinking, it is for washing hands”. Most of the food is seafood so this is very useful.

So far, among the dinner buffet that I’ve tried this is my favorite because aside from the buffet spread, we have free-flowing soda, wine, and even alcoholic drinks, and one serving of lobster, you can choose grill or steam. I thought it is only one serving per table but the staff said, one serving per guest so even though my son doesn’t eat lobster, I ordered one for him.

Sharing with you the buffet spread. This is not complete because I was not able to take photos of the food with a stainless cover. :) My favorites are grilled clams, shrimp, squid, and fish (no pictures, only video).

Watch the video here

Table 88

Sheraton Grand Danang Resort

35 Truong Sa Street, Hoa Hai Ward,

Ngu Hanh Son District,

Da Nang, 55000, Vietnam

February 15, 2023

Wedding Anniversary at Chateau Hestia

Valentine’s Day is already over but in our house, love is still in the air because February is our anniversary month so we have so many events to celebrate such as couple anniversaries and wedding anniversaries. And this reminded me that I haven’t posted our anniversary celebration last year so let’s do a throwback post.

This is indeed a memory to remember because when I checked Chateau Hestia's Facebook Page, I was shocked that they are already closed. “Dear valued Chateau Hestia clients, We are sad to announce our official closure this October 24, 2022. We are thankful to have been able to form friendships and unforgettable memories with you. We are grateful to have been of service to you.”

It is sad to know that they are closed because we enjoyed our food trip here, in fact, my husband and in-laws went back here for Mother’s Day celebration. Chateau Hestia opened its door way back 2007 so buti na lang bago nagsara, nakabisita pa kami.

Anyway, a year ago, after our Acuaverde Beach Getaway, my husband wanted to spend our 16th wedding anniversary at the beach, unfortunately, it is hard to book a resort so I suggested a food trip at Chateau Hestia but the same fate again, fully booked na rin but we still pursued our trip kahit delayed celebration na lang.

Chateau Hestia was a garden restaurant, bed and breakfast and events place too. They offer different accommodations and my husband chose Capiz Casita. In order to confirm the reservation, we need to deposit PHP1500 via Gcash. My husband booked the place without knowing na hindi pala siya aircon, ako pa nag-inform sa kanya. I told him na kaya mura kasi wala aircon.

On the day of our trip, we arrived before 2PM and the staff gave us a Client Information Sheet to fill out. We waited more or less 30 minutes before someone assisted us to our room. Yung staff sa restaurant kasi, yun din pala ang maghahatid sa amin sa room.

Capiz Casita

This is our accommodation, it looks like a bahay kubo with bed, day bed, and bathroom. No TV and no wifi. It looks old but it looks clean naman. What I don’t like is the bathroom, there was no curtain so open talaga, may door pero glass naman ang kalahati. I don’t know kung trend na ba ito because that was also my problem when we stayed at Narra Villa of The Farm and San Benito.

Capiz Casita PHP4758

Extra Person PHP1495

Dinner at Chateau Hestia

We had an early dinner and we ordered Hestia Salad PHP440, Hestia Burger PHP660, Osso Bucco & Rissotto PHP825, Kummelbraten PHP750 and Coke PHP90 + Service Charge. The price is expensive and they only accept cash or Gcash payment. Buti na lang may cash kami na dala. Hehehe!

While waiting they served complimentary bread. When the salad was served, we were shocked ang dami pala nung regular size, si hubby lang naman kumakain ng salad.

The food serving is big for us so we had a hard time finishing our meal but we need to, sayang ang bayad. Good thing that we did not order dessert.

Breakfast at Chateau Hestia

We woke up early because we wanted to eat outside the restaurant, so kahit closed pa yung restaurant, umupo na kami dito para reserved na yung spot. :)

Our room package includes complimentary breakfast, I forgot the choices but we ordered sausage with rice, sausage with bread, and American Breakfast. This includes coffee but they gave juice to my son.

We took our time in eating our breakfast because we know that we had nothing to do. We enjoyed our breakfast here and nasa isip namin, sana dito na lang kami nagbreakfast dati kaysa sa Napa at Crosswinds. Mas mura pa.

We also ordered dessert which A Love Triangle PHP540, a plate of blueberry cheesecake, mango napoleon, and panna cotta.

After breakfast, we just packed our stuff and checked out. It was a short stay but we were already happy kasi nakalabas ulit kami ng bahay ng hindi na kelangan ng Antigen Test.

Watch the video here

Chateau Hestia

J.Hernandez St., Purok 5,

Bgy. Bukal, Silang, Cavite,

Philippines 4118

February 13, 2023

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February 09, 2023

Inspiring Quotes from Rudy Movie

"Rudy" is considered one of the best sports movies and one of the most inspiring films of all time. It is a true-to-life story of Daniel “Rudy” Ruettiger who never gives up on chasing his dreams despite doubts and obstacles. He has dyslexia and he has no money, so getting into Notre Dame is not an easy journey. But because of his heart, determination, and commitment, he was able to achieve his dream.

The film is already 3 decades old but it is worth watching, I’m sharing my favorite lines from the movie, this might help us in case we are about to lose hope or give up our dreams.

“When people say dreams don’t come true, tell them about Rudy”

“My whole life, people have been telling me what I could do and couldn’t do. I’ve always listened to them, and believed in what they said. I don’t wanna do that anymore.” – Rudy Ruettiger

“Well, you know what my dad always said, ‘Having dreams is what makes life tolerable.” – Pete

“Sometimes, a winner is a dreamer who just won’t quit.” - Rudy Ruettiger

“In this lifetime, you don’t have to prove nothing to nobody except yourself.” – Fortune

“Praying is something we do in our time. The answers come in God’s time.” – Father Cavanaugh

February 06, 2023

Pasalubong from Singapore

A few years ago, whenever my husband goes to Singapore, I always asked him to go to IKEA Alexandra but now that we have IKEA Philippines, it is no longer part of his itinerary. Hehehe! When we say Singapore, the most popular pasalubong are Kaya Spread and Irvin’s Salted Egg Chips but our country has its own version of coconut jam, and Irvin’s products are also available here. In addition, I don’t crave these foods so my husband no longer buys these for pasalubong.

It was year 2020, when I discovered Prima Taste Meal Sauce Kits and New Moon Bak Kut Teh. It just so happened that my husband won a voucher from their Chinese New Year event so he bought pasalubong. Unfortunately, konti lang binili niya kasi hindi daw kakasya sa luggage niya. If he only knew that COVID19 will pause our life, sana ginastos na niya lahat ng voucher niya and bumili ng shopping bag. Naexpired lang kasi yung voucher and hindi na siya nakabalik ng Singapore because of the global pandemic.

Anyway, he recently came back from Singapore so I told him to buy the meal sauce and soup kits. Some of the meal sauce kits are available in the Philippines pero baka mas mura kasi sa Singapore. Pinabaunan ko na rin siya ng extra bag so he has no reason na hindi kasya sa luggage. Hehehe!

Read: New Moon Bak Kut Teh

Prima Taste Black Pepper Sauce

Prima Taste Hainanese Chicken Rice

Prima Taste Singaporean Chili Sauce

During his trip, my husband started sending me photos of the meal sauce kit and I was shocked because ang mahal na ng Prima Taste Products, hindi nalalayo ang price sa Philippines. I don’t know kung mahal lang talaga sa pinagbilhan niya. We both agreed, to try new brands na lang so he bought the following meal sauce and soup kits at IMM Outlet Mall.

HAI’s Brand Singapore Chicken Rice SGD6.15

New Moon Bak Kut Teh Spices SGD3.50

New Moon Hainanese Chicken Rice Paste

Singlong Soto Ayam SGD1.60

Singlong Black Pepper Sauce SGD1.95

Singlong Chili Crab Sauce SG1.80

Update: February 2024

My husband went to Batam Indonesia last December so as usual, nagpabili ulit ako ng pasalubong. He has no time to go to the supermarket but fortunately, there is FairPrice Finest at Changi Airport. It is a supermarket and convenience store located in Terminal 3, open from 7AM to 10PM.

He sent me photos so I could choose, we tried different brands before but now I prefer the Prima Taste brand. Their price is a little bit expensive but when you check the inclusion naman, mas marami, especially sa Hainanese Sauce Kit.

Cravins Black Pepper Sauce SGD2.25

New Moon Bak Kut Teh SGD3.43

Prima Taste Hainanese Chicken Rice SGD8.02

Prima Taste Singapore Chili Crab SGD8.02

Prima Taste Meat Bone Soup SGD8.02

Care to share your must-buy items in Singapore?

February 02, 2023

Korean Soy Garlic Fried Chicken

As of this writing, I already watched 174 Korean dramas and one thing I noticed is, Koreans love to eat fried chicken and they usually pair it with beer. I’ve learned that fried chicken became popular because, during the financial crisis, many people lost their jobs so they started to open fried chicken restaurants in order to provide for their families.

There are thousands of chicken restaurants in Korea and some of these restaurants expanded to Southeast Asia, China, Canada and the USA. I’ve never been to South Korea and the only Korean fried chicken that I’ve tasted is from Bonchon.

But I rarely eat chicken at Bonchon because if I’m craving chicken, I usually buy from Jollibee or Yellow Cab. #loveyourown Our family’s favorite is the soy garlic chicken of Yellow Cab, ang sarap nitong papakin.

Last year, I saw the Korean Soy Garlic Batter Mix in the grocery and I immediately bought it so I can try. My son loves fried chicken so I am trying different recipes or food products na pang fried chicken.

Read: Homemade Fried Chicken and Mojos

Chicken Karaage

The pack includes the batter mix, sauce, and instructions on how to use it.

1. Open pack 1. Dilute batter mix in 1/4 cup (60ml) water.

2. Coat 1/2 kg of chicken and deep fry.

3. Place newly fried chicken in a container. Open pack 2. Pour sauce directly.

4. Seal the lid and shake.

All you need to do is add water, coat the chicken, fry, and pour the sauce. But I did not pour over the sauce, I just put it in a separate bowl. If you just eat the chicken without the sauce, parang bland yung lasa niya so yung sauce ang importante talaga. I still buy this mix from time to time while I am still searching for yummy soy garlic sauce.

January 30, 2023

Books I’ve Read in Year 2022

My goal of reading 12 books in a year was a failure because I was busy traveling, crafting, and watching Korean series. Although I still read books but I was not able to finish those books. I don’t know why, but I feel that I am having a hard time reading small letters, parang effort sa pagbabasa. Kapapalit ko pa lang naman ng eyeglasses ng last quarter of 2021 so hindi ko talaga maintindihan.

Just this month, I went back to my eye doctor and now I know why, I need reading eyeglasses na pala. Waah! This is really a sign of aging, now I need to use two eyeglasses or progressive eyeglasses. I chose the progressive eyeglasses and hopefully, it would resolve my reading concerns. I’m still waiting for my new eyeglasses.

If I finished 16 books in year 2021, I only finished three books for the year 2022. It was funny because I finished these books when I was in Norway for three months. I still read books pero hindi ko natatapos but I’m pushing myself to go back to reading, sayang kasi yung books na mga binili ko. Hehehe!

1. Simple Living for Busy People “God’s Guide to Enjoying What Matters Most” by CLC

2. Simple Living for You “God’s Guide to Enjoying What Matters Most” by CLC

3. Jesus Calling for Moms by Sarah Young

My son finished two books, he read these books when we were in Norway too.

1. God Has Big Plans for Me by Rick Warren

2. How Great is Our God by Louie Giglio

“Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body” - Joseph Addison

January 28, 2023

How to Teach Math to Kids

Math is not an easy subject for me so I won’t consider myself as an expert. I also have a love-and-hate relationship with math but I can definitely say that math is not my weakness. So when my son was still a kid, I did not enroll him in a professional tutor or math class because I know I can teach my son the basics and I want to save money. If there are trial classes, I will take advantage of them.

Just like other kids, math is a challenging subject for my son but I always tell him that math is very important because we use it every day. We use it in school, work, at home, and even when we play so he should learn to love math.

My son is now a teenager and fortunately, he can study on his own so I no longer need to print practice worksheets and make mock tests or reviewers. I am also thankful that math is one of the highest grades in his school card. So I am sharing the different strategies that I applied when I was still teaching math.

1. Use pictures or visuals

The majority of the kids are visual learners so if you want to teach math, use pictures and images. I purchased picture books and flashcards when my son was still in his toddler years.

2. Make math a daily activity

As I mentioned before, we use math every day so we can teach math to our kids while cooking, baking, shopping, playing, and many more.

3. Play Games

Kids love to play games and playing games enhance their analytical thinking and curiosity. We used to play puzzles, tangrams, monopoly, and others.

4. Answer worksheets

I bought a printer and I searched for free math worksheets online. This makes my life easier because I don’t need to make a lot of exercises because there are free printables online. I just print the worksheets so my son can practice his math skills.

Whenever the school year ends, I instructed my son to answer the exercises in his math book. It is one of his activities every summer. He will answer a few pages so he has something to do every summer. Practice makes perfect.

5. Online games

We can’t deny that we live in a digital age so nowadays, kids love playing online games. My son used to play educational games too when he was young. I just can’t remember the names of the games because it’s been a decade already and he no longer uses his old iPad.

But I recently discovered that there are free online games that will help you in teaching math. I tried some online games and here are the 3 games that I like, these games involve addition and subtraction.

1. Cashback - the goal is to calculate how much change you should give back to the customer before the time is up.

2. Grocery Cashier - it is a game where you can practice addition and subtraction along with monetary familiarity. What I like in this game, there is a virtual cash register so you can feel that you are really a grocery cashier.

3. Supermarket Numbers - this is an arithmetic practice game.

Care to share your strategies?

January 26, 2023

5 Days Trip in Da Nang Vietnam

Vietnam was not on our travel bucket list but after my husband’s visit to Hanoi, Vietnam way back in 2019, we added this to our list. A few years later, my husband told me that he would attend an event in Da Nang, Vietnam and we could join his trip.

Honestly, I never heard of Da Nang because whenever I hear Vietnam, I always think about Ho Chi Minh City or Hanoi, nevertheless, I was still excited because I could finally cross out Vietnam on our travel bucket list. My husband purchased our plane tickets, even though we don’t know our son’s schedule in school yet.

Knowing my son, he doesn’t like to be absent. Fortunately, my son is still on blended learning but unfortunately, natapat yung flight namin sa face-to-face class niya. So when his classmates asked him why he was absent, he simply said “forced vacation”. Nakakaloka, nag-enjoy naman siya sa forced vacation na ito.

5 Days in Da Nang Vietnam

A month before our trip, the event that my husband was supposed to attend in Da Nang was canceled so we had the option to go or not. Of course, we wanted to pursue the trip because even though we have travel insurance, the reason is not valid for a refund. Also, we are looking forward to this trip.

Then a week before our trip, I checked the weather and I was a little bit disappointed because all I could see was rain showers. Why oh why? This is a 5 days trip and wala talagang araw? Well, no matter how we plan our trip, we have no control over the weather. As Sir Ranulph Fiennes said, “There’s no such thing as bad weather, only inappropriate clothing.” so I packed clothes for rainy weather.

Day 1 Manila to Da Nang + Hoi An Tour

At the time of our trip, there was no direct flight yet from Manila to Da Nang so even though Vietnam is a few hours away from Manila, we traveled for more than 14 hours.

Manila to Ho Chi Minh City via Philippine Airlines - 2hrs and 45mins

Layover 5hrs and 25mins

Ho Chi Minh City to Da Nang via Vietnam Airlines - 1hr and 20mins

We had an arranged transport service from the airport to the hotel and vice versa so our travel was very convenient. There is no traffic but it took us more than 30 minutes to reach the hotel.

Sheraton Grand Da Nang is really a grand hotel, even though I’ve seen photos of the hotel, napa-wow pa rin ako nung nakita ko. This deserves a separate post.

Hoi An Tour

Prior to our trip, I was checking different tours on Klook website but my husband informed me na may nag-aarranged na ng tour so it is up to us if we will join or not. When I saw the rate and inclusions, okay naman. All we need to do is prepare USD for payment.

Hoi An Tour for $35 per person

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

- Hoi An Ancient Town

- Guang Dong Assembly Hall

- Japanese Bridge

- Night Market

- Lantern Festival

- Dinner at a local restaurant

The hotel pick-up time for this trip is 3PM but because of our late arrival, we could not make it. But we wanted to join this tour so kahit namiss na namin yung ibang tourist spots, okay lang. The tour guide fetched us at 6PM and we traveled to Hoi An. Our tour lasted until 9:30PM so it was really a long day for us.

Read: Day 1 in Da Nang: Hoi An Tour

Day 2 Sheraton Grand Da Nang

We did not join the Hue City Tour because we wanted to recharge and rest. #signsofaging hehehe! But I will share the itinerary, just in case you are planning a trip.

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

For our second day, we just explored the hotel, ate, and rested.

Read: Day 2 in Da Nang Vietnam

Day 3 Ba Na Hills Tour

From what I’ve read, your Da Nang trip is incomplete if you did not visit Ba Na Hills so we made sure that we joined this tour. When I saw the pictures online, I was so excited about this trip but unfortunately, we were not able to appreciate the beauty of this place because of the fog and rain. But of course, we won’t allow the bad weather to ruin our trip so we still try to enjoy our vacation despite the gloomy weather.

Ba Na Hills - $70 per person

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

- Golden Bridge

- Linh Ung Pagoda

- Flower Garden

- Fantasy Park

- French Village

- Wine Cellar

- International buffet lunch

Read: Day 3 in Da Nang Vietnam: Sun World Ba Na Hills Tour

After our tour, we had no time to rest because we needed to prepare for our International Buffet Dinner at Table 88. Overflowing of food and drinks. #foodcoma #hangover

Day 4 Sheraton Grand Da Nang

We did not schedule a tour on this day because we wanted to savor our remaining days in the hotel. Like our tour guide said, we need to enjoy our hotel because it is one of the most beautiful hotels in Da Nang.

Finally, we saw Mr. Sunshine and we had a good time with the famous infinity pool, pwede nga magkayak sa sobrang laki.

After lunch, we were supposed to go out and buy pasalubong at Lotte Mart but it started to rain again so tinamad na kami lumabas. I packed our stuff while my husband registered us to e-travel. It is one of the requirements if you are flying back to the Philippines.

Day 5 Da Nang to Manila

On our last day in Vietnam, we checked out as early as 5AM so sayang ang buffet breakfast. We requested packed meals na lang so we had something to eat and drink while waiting at the airport.

Da Nang to Ho Chi Minh City via Vietnam Airlines - 1hr and 20mins

Layover 4hrs and 10mins

Ho Chi Minh City via Philippine Airlines - 3hrs

It was a long trip, imagine umalis kami ng madaling araw sa Vietnam and dumating na kami ng gabi sa Manila. It was long and tiring but we were happy, Da Nang was not on our bucket list but this place surprised us and we were happy for the opportunity to visit this place.

Read: Pasalubong from Vietnam