A MOMster Life

Looking for ideas on what gift to give to a loved one?

Why not try giving them a comic version of themselves through caricatures! :D

Caricature is a picture or representation of a person or thing in which striking characteristics are exaggerated to give it a comic or grotesque effect.

It is artsy and gives off a personalized vibe. The whole picture is carefully made to match the person(s) it is depicting. It is fun and creative, too, in a sense that whatever concept you have in mind can be applied. Want to appear like a mermaid? No problem :D

Give Ranvic* Caricatures a chance to make your beloved extra special.

I just got ours - a picture of our little family going water rafting. Hahah! Maybe we'd actually do that soon. XD

You can contact them or see more of their works on Facebook .

The caricature already comes with a frame. :)

Price and Size: **

• Php350 - 8" x 11"
• Php800 - 12" x 16/19"

* Ranvic - combined name of Randolf and Marivic

** Prices and sizes are subject to change.

What can I say? Everything is literally yummy! The chef really did put love into their food. The place doesn't get too crowded and noisy and I really love it when I'm enjoying my food at peace. 

The foods are a bit pricey, but with all the love they put into their food and service, you'd definitely get your money's worth.

Here are some of the dishes I would recommend.

The aroma itself is very appetizing. Every beef chunk is so flavorful and tender. I really love the taste of garlic and butter in every bite. Just writing about this now makes me really hungry!

Serving is good for two(2) people. * Note: I am a more-rice-than-dish-person.

My daughter has come to that stage where she becomes choosy with food, so we had to somehow "beg" her to eat. But with The Big Burger Steak, she does the begging. That's just how delectable this dish is. From the succulent steak to the mushrooms up to the saporific sauce, everything is just yummy!

Serving is good for three (3) people.

This dish is served with pasta covered in mushroom cream sauce, topped with chorizo bits, and a slice of garlic bread. The pasta is cooked just enough to make it soft yet still firm when bitten. The flavor of the creamy mushroom sauce sticks on the pasta making it so tasteful.

Serving is good for one (1) to two (2) people.

In every occasion and in every restaurant, SO prefers to have Mango Float as dessert. Fortunately, they also have it on their menu. It may got its name because of the ample layers of mango in it. 

~ * ~

These are just some of the heavenly goodness the restaurant offers. They also offer salads, sandwiches and even breakfast meals.

I will be updating this post if I ever get to visit again. 

Or you could check more of their food from their menu here.

If you want to experience these scrumptious meals, try to visit one of their branches.

Everything Yummy is located at eBloc Tower 2, IT Park and Piazza Elesia, Talamban.

Yay or Nay? Definitely a YAY!

`Cause we are proud pinoys (and `cause we're really hungry), we tried this food stall named Filipino Favorites by foodito dine. They offer silogs - "si" for sinangag (fried rice); "log" for itlog (egg). a Filipino meal with fried rice and egg.

We ordered La Paz Batchoy.

Nothing extraordinary about the batchoy. The taste is a little bland. 

If not for some pepper and soy sauce, I'd give this a nay.

Well, it isn't exactly a nay, but it's not something I would be craving for, nor something I would look forward to eating again.

We ordered ngohiong as well.

Most of the times, I eat the food without the sauce first to check if the food itself is already palatable. This one is kind of a meh without the sauce.

Yay or Nay? Not a yay, but I won't say this is a nay. The taste of the food may not be something that we would be looking for the next time but it's not really that unpleasant. We might even go back to taste some of their silogs.

Filipino Favorites by foodito dine is located at second floor Talamban Times Square.

The pasta was nicely al dente covered with creamy delectable sauce. 

It's best if consumed hot.

SO may have noticed I really liked it. Being a true gent as he is, he gave me most of the share. So YAY!

While I was busy dipping my chips, SO placed the mac and cheese as toppings. Woooh! Clever.

Yay or Nay? YAY!

Extra Tip:
The cheese dip may not be enough since there are too many chips. Additional cheese is Php30 and beef is Php15 - a total of Php45! Why not buy macaroni and cheese for the same price (pork is Php5 less)? And you'd get much more, too. ;)

Snakyard is now located at Upper Ground Floor JCentre Mall beside Jollibee.

10 Dove Street Confectionery is now on its soft opening.

The only time I had cake and cookies from 10 Dove Street was during Valentines Day and on our daughter's first birthday.

I decided to drop by with a few friends to have a taste of what they could offer.

We ordered Banofee Pie and Oreo Trifle.

And as "Instagramous" as I am, I just can't resist taking pictures of whatever I could find there.

Get ready to be overloaded with these insta-sweetness.

Other than pastries, they also offer drinks such as teas and coffees. My friends commend that their coffee tastes great. I wasn't able to try their coffee, though, because I had to stay away from coffee for a while. *shaky hands*

Though some would say it's a bit pricey, I find it satisfying for the price I had to pay - not just for the cake but for the ambiance as well.

Being someone who loves sweets and just wants to chill at places that are not overly crowded, I just found another perfect hangout.

10 Dove Street Confectionery is located at Oakridge Business Park.

Group picture at Mangodlong Rock Resort

We got up early last May 23 to catch the first trip from Danao to Camotes. Unfortunately, due to some unfavorable (and I believe, ILLEGAL) acts of some people, we were not able to procure tickets for the first trip - even those people who were already there at 3AM!

Just a tip I want to share if you're planning to go to Camotes, you could actually get a round-trip ticket from North Bus Terminal. I've just learned this information when we already reached there.

It is a two-hour ferry ride from Danao to Camotes.
When we reached Consuelo port, the area is already crowded with a lot of service cabs and motorcycles. It seemed to me that the crowd tripled from the last time I was here - which was three (3) years ago.

There we saw our trusty tour guide who drove us to Masamayor's Beach House and Resort where we had our room reservations.

Masamayor's Beach House and Resort

We had our breakfast and got our lunch packed for our tour.

Our first stop was the Mangodlong Rock Resort.
One thing I really liked about this resort is I don't need to go very far in order to take a good swim even on low tides.


And I believe it was not just me who enjoyed the place. Everyone else happily plunged into the water. And if only there was nowhere else we'd go, I believe everyone would have chosen to stay a little bit longer.

The resort also offers some nice views for a perfect summer shot.

Heya, Sweet Potatoes! We've meet again xD #outofneverland #explorePH #travelPH #summer #Camotes #beach

A photo posted by J Cyrel | Aya Byuu (@ayisharu) on May 25, 2015 at 6:22am PDT

You may also avail of some of their activities such as jet skiing.

Second stop was at Paraiso Cave and Restaurant. This was not in our itinerary three years ago so this was also my first in the said place.

Among the caves I have visited in Camotes, I find this one the smallest. There aren't much to explore and the spring is only a few steps down from the entrance. The water was very cold and deep for someone who is only 4'11" in height.

Entrance of the cave

Inside of the cave

And although the water seemed crystal clear, I did not spend too much time in it in fear of getting muscle cramps; contrary to my daughter who seemed to be enjoying herself very much even if it was really cold.

Next on the list is the famous Lake Danao Park.

I could still remember the first time I was there, it was just the big lake, the floating cottage and the kayaks. There were no other guests than us.
On my second visit, they improved a bit and started building some tables and cottages.

Now on the third time, a lot has improved. And the population of the guests just went ten times more than the last time I could remember.

There were also more tables and cottages.
We decided to have our lunch there.

Having lunch at Lake Danao Park

There are a lot of activities you could do at Lake Danao Park such as boating, kayaking, horseback riding, etc.

After we had our lunch, our tour guide asked us if we would like to visit the Holy Crystal Cave wherein he mentioned it will be a really challenging one as we might do some crawling and bending over. It seems quite an adventure but since we have an infant with us, we had to skip this one.

And if you're a little curious as to what we've just missed, here's an informative review.

We proceeded to another cave, the Timubo Cave.

It is still the same cave as the last time I was there, but this time with so many people!
That's right, the place was heavily crowded that they're already setting a time limit of 30 minutes for every guest.

Timubo Cave

But the crowd did not stop us from enjoying the cave - especially my daughter who really loves splashing in the water.

We didn't stay too long and went on to our next stop - cliff-diving at Buho Rock Resort.

I was a bit excited because I know how much my SO loves to dive.
But when we reached the place, I couldn't hide my dismay.

The place in itself is still so beautiful and picture perfect.

It's just that I really don't like large crowds.
There were a lot of people standing by the cliff and it would be kind of hard to ask them to move down without us appearing rude and arrogant.

Cliff-diving. I really wanted to have my picture taken on THAT cliff. But seeing the crowd that time, it seems impossible. So here's a pic of two random girls instead :p #outofneverland #explorePH #exploreCebu #Camotes #travelPH #cliffdiving #summer2015 #summer

A photo posted by J Cyrel | Aya Byuu (@ayisharu) on May 29, 2015 at 7:06am PDT

Because it seemed impossible to do what we went there for, we just had to enjoy ourselves swimming on the foot of the cliff, instead... And maybe just take some pictures.

Buho Rock Resort

Foot of the cliff

It was already late in the afternoon when we decided to head back to Santiago where we continued splashing in the water.

Silhouette. #outofneverland #exploreCebu #explorePH #travelPH #silhouette #sunset #Camotes #summer #summer2015 #beach

A photo posted by J Cyrel | Aya Byuu (@ayisharu) on May 24, 2015 at 5:10pm PDT

After the sun had set, my SO and I headed to Pito's Sutokil to reserve a table for our dinner.

In my previous visits at Camotes, I have always stayed at Pito's Sutokil and I could vouch that their food tastes great and are very affordable.

We had a fulfilling dinner. My personal favorite that night was the beef steak.
We headed back to our rooms and I dozed off rather early while the rest of the guys had their inuman session.

Early the next day, we had a light breakfast and proceeded immediately to have an early swim... and of course, pictures!

Water baby :D

By 10AM, we got ready to leave so we could reach the port by 11AM as what was advised by our tour guide.

In the past few years, the tour guides were supposed to get the tickets beforehand so it would be convenient for their guests. However, because of some "illegal" acts (as what is also happening at Danao port) of some people, they stopped issuing tickets for the tour guides.

And even if we did got to the port early, the available trips left are the 4PM trip onwards. Fortunately, we brought with us some grub in case we go hungry.

If you aren't patient enough, here's a little tip. I could remember on my first time there, there was a wharf somewhere where there are a few boats from Leyte that would pass by and if they're not fully loaded, they'll dock and get some passengers from Camotes. Not sure if it's still in operation, though. You might want to clarify this one when you go visit. But prolly the best option is to really get a round-trip ticket. I highly recommend it.

We were also accompanied by dolphins on our way to Danao. Yay!
Hi, Finley! :D



So that was our mini summer escapade in Camotes. My conclusion?

Camotes is a really beautiful place. It offers much more than just its picturesque resorts.
There are also a lot of other activities you could do such as kayaking, boating and diving.

The con's of this whole trip would be the overly populated spots (because A LOT of people are also having their tours), and the hassle of getting tickets from Danao to Camotes and vice versa.

And if you're like me who hates a large crowd, there are still some secluded areas in the island such as the bakhaw beach which is not yet too commercialized.

Breakdown of Expenses (9 adult; 1 infant)

Tour		2500
Masamayor
	- Family Room (4 pax)	2800
	- Deluxe Room (2 pax)	1800
	- Additional	300/head
Danao to Camotes
	- Adult	180/head
	- Student (need ID)	150/head
Breakfast & Lunch		1500 *
Mangodlong Rock Resort		20/head
Paraiso Cave		25/head
Lake Danao Park		25/head
Table and Buko		300 *
Timubo Cave		20/head
Buho Rock Resort		25/head
Dinner		1500 *
Lunch		1000 *
Camotes to Danao
	- Adult	180/head
	- Student (need ID)	150/head

* estimates

Contact Numbers

Masamayor's Beach House and Resort
0917 631 8818

Mr. Apollo (Tour and Cab services)
0918 611 3728

Some spots that you may visit or include in your itinerary: