Tama Yaki: Oishi Takoyaki!

Another place in my to-try list is Tama Yaki, located at SM North Edsa near the cinemas beside Cold Stone. They specialize in takoyaki and milk tea. They have some bentos too.

The place is really kawaii. It's a nice spot to hangout and chit chat with friends while eating deliscious takoyaki and sipping tea.

The Menu

We were quite hungry and were looking forward to their rice meals as well but it wasn't available anymore. Most of the teas weren't available too like they don't have riceballs and mochis so that was quite a let down.

But moving on, we ordered 3 takoyaki flavors. 2 seasoned octopus, 1 mussels and cheese and 1 smoked Mackerel.

Out of the 3, I liked mussels and cheese the most and then seasoned octopus but all of them were yummy that I'm craving for it right now. ^_^ I ate 3 takoyaki balls and was already full probably because of the milk tea.

For the milk tea, I tried the macha milk tea with cocoa. I liked it, but if you want a safer choice go for Tama Yaki milk tea with pearl.

It was a fun friday night well spent with friends. I'll certainly go back to try other flavors as well. :)

Ramen Nagi

Ramen Nagi has recently opened its new branch at G/F SM North Edsa and being the ramen lover that I am, I tried it out with my friends.

The ambiance was nice and simple with that japanese feel. This place gets crowded most of the time so we decided to come in early to avoid waiting.

You can see your meal being prepared in their kitchen and they serve it pretty fast too.

They have very attentive staff which will make you feel welcome once you step inside the restaurant.

The Menu

There are 4 main dishes/ramen to choose from. Original, Red, Black and Green King/Butao. 

The Original of course is the best seller and the safest choice if it's your first time to try ramen.

Try the Red King if you're in for a spicy treat. Chef's recommended spiciness level is 1 but for Red King it's automatic 5 so... yeah it's that spicy.

I tried the Black King since it's different and I'm in my adventurous mood when I ordered and I wasn't dissapointed at all. It was really good.

Then there's the Green King. I'm not a fan of green leafy vegetables and healthy stuff so ordering it was out of the question for me.

They will give you a piece of paper where you'll choose your order and how you want your ramen done.

This is what I ordered. I chose normal for most of it. If you're not sure and want to be enligthened, you can ask their friendly staff and they'll explain the choices.

As I've mentioned, this was really good that the Original will pale in comparison as the flavors are richer and more intense.

Tamago! Ordered separately.

My friend enjoying the ramen.

Original King, their best seller. Forgot to take the picture earlier so the presentation was already messed up haha.

Condiments.

The servings were generous enough that most of us didn't get to finish everything. Too bad they don't allow take outs for left overs. 

We forgot to order gyoza and we were so full after eating ramen that we didn't order anymore.

Needless to say, I fell in love with the place. The ambiance, the service, the staff, the food and all were perfect so two thumbs up for Ramen Nagi! ^_^

Fun Activities during Rainy Days

Why let the rainy days stop you from having fun? When there are activities you can still enjoy indoors. Here are some suggestions for group activities you can try:

1. Music Lounge/ Videoke - Filipinos love to sing and eat and have a few drinks with friends and loved ones so this is definitely on top of my list of to dos. Nowadays there are a lot of decent music lounges which offer cheap group packages. Some of them are center stage, music21plaza, red box and a lot more. Just type a quick search in google and you'll surely find one near you. You might want to check on sites which offer vouchers for these places for a good deal.

Beats KTV at Burgos Circle

2. Bar Hopping - If you're not into singing, then maybe you just want to chill out at one of the bars in manila, there are a lot I tell you. My friends and I usually go to Elbow Room at Ortigas or in Nations Grill at Scout Boromeo. Both places are not too crowded, with live bands playing and a reasonably priced menu. Again, google can help you find one that's near you and suits your taste.

Nations Bar and Grill at Scout Boromeo

3. Bowling - The picture below shows the first time I tried bowling. It's fun but expect some sore muscles the next day. There are also vouchers offered for this activity. You can find bowling alleys at SM North, Fairview and Mall of Asia as well as in Eastwood Libis.

 Bowling Alley at SM Mall of Asia

4. Mystery Manila - If you're in for a little adventure you can try and solve mysteries at Mystery Manila. You can read more about this in my blog: http://lakwatserangbulakenya.blogspot.com/2014/07/mystery-manila.html

Mystery Manila at Eastwood Libis

5. Laser Tag - If you want to get worked out a bit, then you should try Laser Tag with a bunch of friends. Just don't wear anything white or with light color if you don't want to get tagged pretty quickly.

 Lazer Maxx at Eton Centris

6. Ice Skating - You should definitely try this at least once in your life. It's really intimidating how the kids can glide around effortlessly while you seem to get attached to the wall. But its a fun activity nonetheless.

Ice Skating Rink at SM Mall of Asia

7. Archery - I haven't got the chance to try this yet but I'd love to try it real soon with my friends. There's one in Mandaluyong and one in Ortigas. It's pretty pricey but I guess you can charge it to experience :)

If none of the activities mentioned above suits you, well just give in and play in the rain. When was the last time you played in the rain? Me? I think last year, I played tag with my sisters. even my grandmother joined us for a while (^_^)V

Korean Visa Application

A few of my friends have already been to Korea and told me not fuss to much about visa application but can you blame me from being all paranoid and nervous? We already bought the tickets. We already have a place to stay and our itenerary has already been planned out from day 1. So all that's really left is applying for a visa.

So what are the requirements?

I got this leaflet from the embassy. Note that these are requirements for employees.

1. Application Form - you can get one from the embassy or you can download it from their site (click here). Use black ink and capital letters and avoid erasures. Follow the instructions on how to fill it up.

2. 1 pc. Passport size colored picture - use white back ground, no accesorries, don't smile, show your ears. You can tell the photographer its for a visa and they should know what to do. The photographer told me visa pictures are passport sized as well but the face has a different size ratio than the usual passport size picture. Paste this picture in the application form.

3. Original Passport (6mo. valid) - if you have an old passport staple it with the new one. I personally used paper clips instead of staples since I'm afraid to damage the chip in the electronic passport wherever it is located.

4. Copy of passport first page - this would be the data page of the passport, the one with your picture.

5. Original Employee Certificate - it should indicate the length of stay in the company, the compensation you receive, and the number of your hr so they can verify it.

6. Original Personal Bank Certificate - request the bank to put the date the account was opened. It should indicate the balance in your account.  I think 30-50k is a safe number. In some banks requesting to put the date it was opened will also show your average daily balance. Account should be open at least 3 months.

7. ITR or BIR Form 2316 - we submitted form 2316 for the previous year provided by our company.

Arrange the documents in the order listed above.

Where to apply? 

The Korean Embassy is located at McKinley Hill Taguig. You can take a taxi from Ayala Ave straight to the embassy for about PHP100. Or you can take the MRT to Magallanes station and board a citylink bus/fx/van to McKinley Hill near San Lorenzo Place and SM Savemore. From McKinley, you can take a free internal shuttle with the C5 route and go down at C5 and walk to the embassy. Visa Application is from 9-11 AM but gates open at 8AM. I arrived just before 9AM and they were already accepting visa applications. I hope our government agencies can learn how to do this.

When to apply?

We applied a month and a half before our expected date of departure. This is so we can prepare other documents if ever they ask for additional requirements because they sometimes do. Call me paranoid but it's better to be safe than sorry.

What to expect when applying?

Basically you just have to submit the requirements and get the claim stub. You have to log in and leave an id in the guard station. When you go inside, you have to sign up again and get a number. Wait for your number to be called. Pass the requirements in the window and get your claim stub and that's it. The claim stub indicates when you can get your passport back.

What to expect when claiming?

This is usually 5 working days after your application date. There are 3 scenarios I'm aware of.
1. You get your passport with the visa stamped on it. Of course this is what everyone prefers.
2. You get your passport with a piece of paper saying you visa application was denied.
3. You're asked for additional requirements and wait for another 5 workings days for the result.

Visa claiming is from 2-4PM but my friend arrived at 1:30PM and she was already entertained.

So after 5 days of worrying.. drum roll please.. tada! Our visas were approved!

What a relief that was. You can check the embassy's site for more details.
http://embassy_philippines.mofa.go.kr/english/as/embassy_philippines/visa/requirement/

Buffet 101 : Eastwood

The first time I tried Buffet 101 was at SM Mall of Asia for our team lunch out. Now they already have a branch in Eastwood, Libis just behind Eastwood Mall.

The ambiance is just the same for both branches though I think the one in MOA is bigger.

I don't know why, but I think the food choices are quite limited? And most of them are already finished off.

My favorite section: Japanese

I think this is the only section I really paid attention to other than desserts XD

Other sections

 

 

My first plate

 

second plate

third plate

see? I didn't eat much (except for the sashimi plates I failed to post here XD)

Dinner is from 5:30 PM to 6:00 PM for PHP899 (Monday-Friday) but since they have a back to school promo going on, we just paid PHP699. No service fee and tax inclusive.
Other prices:
Monday - Saturday: Lunch from 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM for PHP699
Saturday, Sunday and Holidays: Lunch and Dinner PHP899