Unbelievable Meal Deals at HIGHGROUNDS Cafe Scout Rallos

Meat Platter with Different Sauces, more good deals at Highgrounds Cafe

I have been here quite a lot but have never seen them serve actual food aside from the pastries. Interestingly enough, it has always been difficult for people to have a decent coffee shop in the Tomas Morato area these days and I’ve never written about this place because I want it for myself - sometimes or often. People flock the Starbucks branches nearby but I’d rather go here (this HUGE one) or other small coffee shops because they have some special perks that your popular one doesn’t even come close with.

This place is primarily the BEST internet gaming hub in the country. Two floors are dedicated and house the latest Predator machines and gamers from across the world (oh yes they did), play here because it’s that good. Now it’s very important for them to have the accorded nutrition so they do have the right amount of eye hand coordination needed to beat other teams. They just introduced new group meals on the menu and I’m ecstatic for you to see how this makes this place even better.

The meat platter we ordered had all the steak lovers drooling. The lovely steak, the huge rib, the quarter chicken and tatsy Hungarian sausage. It was good and of course, it was gone in a few minutes.

Their other meal package had these pizzas on them. I figured we could go back there a few days ago and ordered it. You can choose two pizza flavors, this one had the crust made with squid ink hence the color. Included in it are 5 drinks (you can choose the iced tea flavor), the southern fried chicken (which I’ll show later), a full plate of pasta (I chose Pesto), the two stretched pizzas, plus 5 Korean Ice Cream varieties. Honestly it’s a steal if you can feed 5 people with it.

Fried Chicken, super crunchy!

I like my fried chicken like this, doused in flour, breaded nicely that’s why it comes out extremely crunchy. It’s also got chips on the side so you’ve got more things to talk about while having snacks. They have dirty rice so for people who believe RICE IS LIFE, then you may order that as well.

Salmon with Mushrooms in Ponzu Sauce

For something a little more fancy, they’ve got Salmon on top of mashed potatoes, mushroom pieces, lima beans, ponzu sauce and micro greens. It may look intimidating and a lot, but it’s worth it. Especially if you have female friends, this would be counted as their more healthy option. They prolly had this seared and oven baked before they put everything together. Quite good.

Crispy Pata

For those who crave it, yes they have Crispy Pata. Their dipping sauce is more on the sweet side but you may ask for condiments as you please. I asked for Tabasco and it was easy for them to whip it out because they’ve got good wings too.

For the piece de resistance, they’ve got the hits in their cafe for our dessert. The first of which is Red Velvet Crinkles (my personal favorite), then the cold Brazo De Mercedes, plus the Pistachio Sansrival. Game over. Now if you’re in the Tomas Morato area and looking for wifi connection, Highgrounds Cafe can accomodate you and lease 2 hours of ultra fast wifi connection for every 150 peso purchase. They can also have you use the wifi for a fee; very cheap actually if you’re uploading Youtube videos or downloading stuff, this would be the perfect place for you.

Highgrounds Cafe is located at 67 Scout Rallos Street in between Tomas Morato and Scout Torillo streets in Quezon City. They’ve got real good coffee too. Meal packages for 5 starts around Php 1999 and the other costs Php 2999, but trust me it's a FEAST, worth every penny.

KUMAGCOW

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James Reid and Nadine Lustre for Never Not Love You

Never Not Love You

This is not a review but more of an observation and what to expect in the new JaDine movie Never Not Love You.

Hearing the word #JaDine alone would prolly make you think that it’s going to be all about milennial love, or run of the mill tweetums love story, but no. They met by circumstances, Gio and Joanne eventually went into names, then courtship, you really would feel they really liked each other.

They were struggling, Joanne an 8-5 employee, the other an artist. They are trying to find their “thing”, telling a story about their dreams, Joanne wants a dream job (very specific), while Gio just wants to be happy. It felt like they were trying to work on their lives from different sides of the spectrum. They matured, so this wouldn’t be appropriate for teenagers from the conversation alone, plus there are lots of kissing scenes left and right. Their work made them go places, that’s where London comes in. The trials of the long distance relationship wasn’t gonna be easy, that’s where it probably started going downhill. Who’s happiness were they going to find? Who’s going to be a priority? How much are you going to sacrifice for the one you love? Do you stay miserable while the other one lives a good life? What lengths would you go to just so you could keep them happy? Then ask themselves later on if they still love each other, after time has changed them, will that still hold true?

If you would want to know how they answer these questions, then it’s time to watch Never Not Love You. It’s shows on theatres nationwide. This is one heck of a matured JaDine movie you wouldn’t expect from them, albeit experimental you’ll love how it was put on screen. Yes you’ll see good looking James and Nadine, but you’ll also see Gio and Joanne go through life’s struggles, and the beauty of adulting. Ask theatre owners to show it because it’s one JaDine project you shouldn’t pass. This is their transition, you’ll love how they’ll play husband and wife. 

It’s a promise to hold if it still applies, to Never Not Love You.

KUMAGCOW

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The Biggest Waterpark in Asia: Kamia Bay Resort Palawan

Nothing beats a watermark than a fat face that's already in a photo hahahaha!

A vacation in Palawan probably would mean El Nido, Coron, or that Underground River adventure that most tourists actually go to. A little known fact is, there are actually superb places you can go to just a little outside of Puerto Princesa City. A few only know about it but hopefully, that’s about to change. Really, there’s MORE things in Palawan that people should know about.

This is our second day here, woke up early to travel about 30-45 minutes away from Puerto Princesa City proper. The reason being, KAMIA Bay Resort in Palawan. It’s located at Baranagay Luzviminda along Binunsalian Bay. It’s a rarely new property being developed as an adventure sanctuary housing the BIGGEST Aquapark structure in Asia complete with a 30 and 40 foot slide in a stretch of 3,800 square meters of a floating island that sits a few kilometers away from Honda Bay.

One side of Kamia Bay Resort where the whole thing stretches.

Now imagine the possibilities, the various things you could do here with your friends and family. You could go on this vast course traversing through a multitude of floating islands, air filled trees, big and small tubes, jumping points, a trampoline, and slides like small mountains on sea. Tumble and leap off of platforms with ease and without worries as they’ve got expert lifeguards on stand by at every part of the floating ark.

Aside from the nice course, they’ve also got a moderately designed bike course which would take you in and around the property. They also have pavillions and small huts so whether you’re a company or just a small family, you can take refuge in it during lunch or dinner, or house your belongings during day trips in fact. They also have Eco tours which you can take for your land lovin friends if the floating island would be too much. But here's a glimpse on how fun this whole trip was courtesy of the Aloha Palawan Facebook page!

 

The thing is, it’s also quite affordable. You can do Aquaplay for Php 788 which includes an hour of the Aquapark, an Ecotour and buffet lunch or go for the Php 1,488 for Unlimited time in it. They also have options for roundtrip transfers if you want it to be more convenient. We highly suggest you do what we did and start the adventures very early. You will be briefed for your own safety and if you prefer a little grip, they have specialized water shoes for rent so it’ll be easier for you to run around in your bikinis.

Take a nice dip, or simply lounge at their lovely villa huts.

Heck I won’t be selfish to share with you how fun it was. I also got to taste the cuisine prepared for us by the Chef who manages all the food establishments in their other properties. Check out my adventures at Kamia Bay Resort!

It was pretty hard to leave that place after the fun I had with new friends. I got to know more of them and how a family built this resort. It looks promising that they can host guests during day time and perhaps soon, they’ll have some villas for people to stay in. They also currently have a haven for artists which they house in a secluded part of their resort which they deem would be a way to “pay back” the community and the country with “culture”.

For dinner, we freshened up at the hotel first then dressed up a bit. We went to Princesa Garden Resort and Spa which was near the Puerto Princesa International Airport. We walked a bit inside and off to the shore for their Asian themed restaurant called GOLDEN ELEPHANT which was on stilts. It was very romantic, I felt bad that I was single and had to see all the couples who were there. The food was also exquisite as you may have seen on the video, you just want to stay there the whole night. Albeit friendly to families, I would recommend this mostly for pairs who would want some quiet time. It felt right, I want to go back there and bring someone to propose haha!

Anyway, it was all part of a super happy day for me to just experience what Puerto Princesa City and it’s nearby towns had in store for travelers - and those who just want to have a nice relaxing vacation. I loved every bit of it.

If you want to go to Kamia Bay Resort, simply search for them at Facebook and message them. They can make arrangements for large groups and family. Same goes for Princesa Garden Resort and Spa which has rooms and spa services too. It’s easy because everything should be hassle free, make sure you make your own vacation stress free!

Exprience Aloha Palawan

I've been in the city too long and yes I couldn't have wished for better a trip... this was so timely. I was invited to an event called ALOHA PALAWAN. Yes, this was the island called "The Last Frontier" by travelers who have been there - and I can only agree why they call it as such. There are 7,147 islands in the Philippines and the ones on our itinerary are just the tip of the ice berg. Backpackers have known about the best island in the world for quite a while now but they'd rather keep it a secret. This is paradise we're talking about it and I am so happy Air Asia Philippines is taking us there!

Clark International Airport

This travel arrangement has been done by Amika Travel and Tours. Since they know this place like the back of their hands, it was easy getting from one place to another because of the van arrangements, it was a no brainer to have this as mode of transport because we were in a group. I strongly advise you to do the same rather than commuting as you would save a lot of time (and spend wisely on the beaches instead). We left Manila in the afternoon so we arrived around dinner. 

Before we did leave Clark in Pampanga (where the Clark International Airport is), we ate lunch at Matam ih Restaurant that served legit Kapampangan food, all pretty heavy because it's all good with RICE in the Philippines. I kinda stayed with the safe ones because I was on Keto, they had really good Kare Kare so if there's one to try, make that part of your meal. Aside from that, your guests would really love the in house entertainment provided for by really talented Aeta/Amerasian singers who perform there on a regular basis. They were so good that I saw one of them perform in Tawag ng Tanghalan a few days later (a famous singing competition on national TV) and she won that day.

Matam-ih Restaurant in Clark Airbase.

Murky corn soup or Suam was good even on a hot weather

When they say Kare Kare, you don’t say NO

Oh don’t even get me started, they have good Shrimp Fritters!

When in Pampanga, try the Sisig. Their is more on the livery side.

The oh so yummy Native Roasted Chicken

After all that authentic Filipino cuisine experience, we went to Clark International Airport and checked in. I love how that new airport is very clean and not overcrowded like the ones in Manila. When you're taking a trip you can ride a bus from TRINOMA (a well known mall north of Manila) and would only prolly cost you Php 350 or so, pretty cheap than catch yourself squirming in an airport in Manila.

AirAsia Philippines flies regularly from Clark International Airport to different parts of the country. They also have international flights that come from this airport, it's sometimes even cheaper to actually get flights from here. Now I don't know most of these guys I'm flying with but they're from different media entities, some bloggers, some Instagram celebrities and our friends from AirAsia. They count us regularly so we don't get lost haha! Oh and Clark also has strong wifi from Smart, if you fly this way you'll also get to finish some of your blogging backlogs, upload videos quite easy. Plus it's FREE!

When we arrived in Puerto Princesa, it was pretty laid back. I immediately saw the tricycles and how it was totally different than the ones in Manila. I kinda likened it to junior cars because they have that certain look on front that they do, so they can also stretch the back area of the tricycles for luggage as it is a touristy town. 

When we arrived at HUE Hotel and Resorts (our home in Puerto Princesa Palawan), we were welcomed with a huge production number courtesy of the hotel. They pretty much did a medley of Philippine dances (which I did when I was in Elementary btw LOL), so imagine our surprise. Then inside our room, it was perfect. They have a separate toilet and bath, two single beds, and you could ask for extra keys. They also gave us Palawan's best banana chips which we had to look for later on to take home because it was so good. Thank you to Hue Hotel, Laag PH for the complimentary shirts too.

MATIZ Restaurant and Tapaz Bar

Fun dining with the others :)

Minestrone Soup

Chef’s Salad, Romaine, shards of cheese, bacon, a little crouton and light balsamic dressing

Ropa Vieja and Gambas, staples in Tapaz bars

The Matiz Paella, a seafood and paella lover’s dream!

Tres Leches Flan, not too sweet, just right.

We'll be sleeping here first before doing some islands the next day. So we relaxed and had dinner at the hotel's own restaurant. It's called MATIZ Restaurant and Tapaz Bar (yes after the painter), which was a very relaxed tapas bar in this side of the world. We had wine, Ropa Vieja (which I love and YOU should order), Gambas, good Seafood Paella, Chicken Iberico with Mojo Sauce and Tres Leches Flan for dessert. Now if that doesn't convince you to stay in this hotel while you're in Puerto Princesa, take a breather because we're about to embark to Kamia tomorrow!

Stay tuned folks, we're publishing the Kamia Bay Resort article soon! If you would want to stay in Puerto Princesa City, Hue Hotel may be reached via https://www.facebook.com/huepuertoprincesa or their website thehuehotel.com.