CONNECT LOUNGE - MARCO POLO ORTIGAS

THE YAPPY BUNCH were having a staycation at Forbe's Travel Guide's 5-star awardee MARCO POLO HOTEL, and having a 5-star time!!!!

For that afternoon after checking in, we thought of just lounging around being lazy but we wanted to have some munchies. With that, I remembered how much fun my bunsoy Andrei and I had when we had a mini-date at CONNECT LOUNGE with their scrumptious Afternoon Tea!!!!

CONNECT LOUNGE!

CONNECT LOUNGE is on the 24th floor of MARCO POLO HOTEL near the lobby.  The place gives a breath-taking view of the Metro while you have your drinks and enjoy their fast (and free) wifi service!

LA TIENDA

My eldest brother invited us out for lunch one Sunday to celebrate Father's Day last June!

And the choice for that special lunch was LA TIENDA!!!

The family has eaten in LA TIENDA many times before but THE YAPPY BUNCH was not able to join because we would always be in Quezon Province with Yub's family.

ABA! Sinasadya na ata! He he he he he he! Kidding!

Seriously though, it was just painful coincidence. He he he he he! Good thing that for this Sunday, we were finally at home so that we could taste their specialty that my Kuya Jay just loved...

Refer to picture above.

He he he he he he!

TAKASHI JAPANESE CUISINE

One night, the Chinese Dimpol and I were craving for some piping hot bowls of Ramen. But instead of going for our usual Ramen Nagi, Ippudo, or Ukkokei Ramen, we decided to try something new. We then remembered a ramen house in Pioneer Center, Mandaluyong City, that was strongly recommended by a friend so we decided to check it out.

And so we did. With feelings.

:P 

TAKASHI JAPANESE CUISINE.

OUR FAMILY DINNER AT LUNG HIN - MARCO POLO ORTIGAS

Chinese cuisine is one of THE YAPPY BUNCH's favorites. And whenever a strong craving arises, we have our usual places to go to that serve the greasy and saucy dishes we are very familiar with and love.

Sometimes though, it is just fitting that you go somewhere special. And for our 5-Star staycation in MARCO POLO HOTEL, we didn't need to go far to get that extra-ordinary serving of award-winning delicious Chinese food -- we just have to go up to the 44th floor and indulge in the wonders of LUNG HIN RESTAURANT!

Welcome!

When you enter LUNG HIN, you'll be immediately greeted by their awards and recognitions. Hmmm... This just made me more curious of the meal ahead. (Mas awarded pa LUNG HIN sa akin e! Ha ha ha ha ha!)

OUR 5-STAR MARCO POLO STAYCATION (DAY 2)

THE YAPPY BUNCH were having a glorious time in MARCO POLO HOTEL and experiencing why it was awarded recently by Forbes Travel Magazine with a whopping 5-stars.

Now why is that 5-stars a big deal from Forbes Travel Magazine a big deal?

If you've seen star ratings from hotel establishments, it was Forbes Travel Magazine who started it way back in 1958. For many years they have institutionalized the standards of hotels with their exclusive ratings system done meticulously by their quality inspectors.  It is only in 2017 that the Philippines was given recognition, and one of the two hotels was MARCO POLO ORTIGAS.

So yeah. We would CERTAINLY love to get a piece of the hotel that was named "One of the Finest Five-Star properties in the World for 2017".  We would be so crazy not to!

Now even if it was already our second time here, we were still enjoying every minute of our staycation and discovering a new level of fun with the family. I guess THAT is indeed the 5-star way!

Now I know I should've just shortened this post into one blog but I can't -- there are just too many great times that I never ever want to forget. And you know me, I always post everything in detail especially if it produced maximum enjoyment for my family. He he he he!

Check out day 2 of our awesome 5-star staycation in MARCO POLO HOTEL and I hope it will give you an idea of how your stay will be like.

OH.

YEAAAH.

It's day 2 of our MARCO POLO STAYCATION!!!!!!!!!

OUR 5-STAR MARCO POLO STAYCATION (DAY 1)

The YAPPY BUNCH already had a staycation in MARCO POLO ORTIGAS MANILA early this year when the Chinese Dimpol booked the family for Master Mati's birthday. I remember how much fun we had because even if we got the De Luxe room, we were treated like VIPs who were staying in their penthouse.

Imagine our surprise and excitement when MARCO POLO ORTIGAS invited  the family for a Halloween staycation to fully experience why they were recently awarded by Forbes Travel Guide with 5- Stars!

Oh wowness!!!!!!! To think that we already felt pampered and taken cared for the last time!!!!

We accepted the invitation fast, and REALLY blocked it off our schedule. There may be other invites for that day but so sorry -- we are going to have a staycation, "5-star style"!

And that we did! MARCO POLO ORTIGAS surely knows how to give their guests the exquisite 5-star experience. We enjoyed every minute of our over-the-top staycation that we were already planning (and saving up) for our next one. It was surely 2 days well-spent with the family. The only problem for us was....

How are we going to go back to ordinary life now???

Kidding! He he he he!

:P

MARCO POLO 5-star staycation baby!!!!!!!!!!

We arrived at MARCO POLO HOTEL after Sunday lunch. Whopeee!!!!

Why were we so excited to experience a recent 5-star awardee of Forbes Travel Guide you might ask?

Well for one, if you see star ratings in hotels, that was started by the Forbes Travel Guide. They made this rating system back in 1958 in order to give guests a grand picture of the kind of accommodations the hotel offered. The institution had a vast team of quality inspectors who anonymously check such establishments around the world. And guess what? It is ONLY this year that the Philippines was given this recognition and one of the 5-star awardees for 2017 was MARCO POLO HOTEL.

So you may have had other staycations in the country, but FORBES TRAVEL GUIDE assures you that NOTHING will be like what they'll give you with MARCO POLO HOTEL!!!!!!!!

OUR LAST DINNER IN KIMPURA GREENHILLS

If you have been following my silly little foodie blog (oh poor you), you would know how much my family and I are SO obsessed with KIMPURA in Greenhills! Yep! It has already been an institution for us, almost like a separate room of our house where we celebrate birthdays, special occasions, or just when we're in the mood for delicious Japanese food. They had another branch in Greenbelt but it wasn't just the same for us -- KIMPURA Greenhills had all our wonderful family memories that we would never ever think of going to somewhere else. 

I forgot the first time we ate in KIMPURA in Greenhills but I'm sure it's close to when it opened its doors 29 years ago (Grabe! 3 years old lang ako nun! :P ).  Since then, we have been regular customers and became friends with the servers and resident managers.  When birthdays are to be celebrated, we don't need to ask where, it's automatically going to be in KIMPURA at the Teppanyaki Table!

So imagine our despair when we learned (during my birthday lunch pa ah) that KIMPURA will be closing their doors sometime in the summer.

HUWATDAEYF?????  

"HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO US???!!!! WHY ARE YOU SO SELFISH????"

Seriously though, we really got sad with the news. If I may borrow how they used the line in FRIENDS, "It is an end of an era." The manager told us that their space was bought by a very popular land corporation and they'll convert the whole area into a modern commercial center. They may be planning on moving to another spot near Missouri St., but it's not the same -- our old KIMPURA was going to "leave" us. Where will we go now?

Sorry but sometimes, development REALLY sucks!

We still went on with our usual lives but when we finally learned of the last few days of KIMPURA Greenhills, THE YAPPY BUNCH just had to pay homage to our "faux" ancestral home.

As usual, we had a delicious and wonderful dinner. But the night was bittersweet -- it was the last time we will be eating at the Japanese place that has been welcoming us for 29 years.

Good bye KIMPURA GREENHILLS!!! Thanks for always being there for us and serving fried dilis and pickled veggies.
  

KIMPURA GREENHILLS!!!!!

TRICK OR TREATIN AT 2017

Since 2010, THE YAPPY BUNCH have been spending our Trick or Treatin at the invitation of my mareng Heids in Valle Verde. I know that there are many more flashy activities that celebrate this Halloween tradition in malls and kiddie venues, but we want to do it the classical way -- walking around the neighborhood and knocking on houses for the treats! There's something about going for the traditional route than attending the commercialized gimmicks they have in establishments. For us, it's more fun!!! And believe me, we don't need to go to several Halloween parties. Just to have this wonderful trick or treating day with the kiddies is already more than enough for us!  

The YAPPY BUNCH are going TRICK OR TREATIN!

The little lords always dressed up as their favorite characters every Halloween. Nothing against those who have a "theme" for their group but it's just that not only do we want them to have their OWN kind of fun this Halloween but also because with the long walk, they won't complain about their costumes because it's what they chose! He he he he he he!

Could you guess who we are???