Staycation at B Hotel Alabang and Bellevue Manila [Day Two]

Our second day of hotel staycation at B Hotel in Alabang started with a breakfast buffet spread completely devoid of bacon.

My cousin Euge was already giving me an evil stare while contemplating on literally dragging me to the nearest establishment that could give him his daily bacon fix.

I feared for my life at some point. Those stares were gut wrenching, I tell you.

Good thing though that despite the bacon’s illuminating absence on the buffet spread of B Hotel’s Prime Café, it can be had.

All you need to do is ask.

While I was being glared at with an evil stare, I was already fumbling through my phone in an attempt to contact my ever reliable friend, The Pickiest Eater, the bacon aficionado himself to save us from an impending doom of bacon-less world when another good friend Abet of The Food Alphabet came in to the rescue.

Staycation at B Hotel Alabang and Bellevue Manila [Day One]

The news about a weekend hotel staycation at B Hotel and Bellevue Hotel Manila both located in Alabang, Muntinlupa came in a form of an enthusiastic email from one of my blogger friends Jane of Sugar and Spice blog. I just came from a week of meatless diet and I was dead set on slowly introducing my system to meat again. Slowly was the operative word. But then the Universe had another plan.

Jane’s email held a promise of fun and food-filled weekend with some of Manila Food Bloggers I consider my friends. While the entire itinerary presented to us was downright enticing, I was on a fence. Mainly because I feared that three days of non-stop eating would screw up my system big time after having had the meatless diet the previous week. Good thing though that my good friend Pickiest Eater’s unwavering enthusiasm was and is always contagious. Also, Jane’s undeniably entertaining email of an invite was too charming to reciprocate with regrets. Hence, I fired an en email to Jane with a big yes. Best decision, I must say.

We are a group of more than 10 bloggers. Due to the season when hotels are mostly booked for the upcoming holidays, half of our group was assigned to stay at Bellevue Manila while the other half was assigned to B Hotel, the Bellevue Manila’s sister hotel. I was part of the group who was assigned to B Hotel and while I have not yet experienced a staycation in a “business hotel” (save for one overnight stay at some 3-star hotel wherein I was assigned to write a feature about their renovation) and was a bit apprehensive about it, I was confident that given the company I will be joining, not to mention the exciting itinerary, I knew that it will be an epic weekend staycation. And it was.

Kettle Restaurant at Shangri-La Mall East Wing

I have heard a lot of good things about Kettle Restaurant at Shangri-La East Wing prior to my visit. Most of the food bloggers in Manila which blogs I constantly read echoes the same sentiment that Kettle is indeed one the best restaurants in Manila we have these days. While I trust the judgement of these food enthusiasts, I know for a fact that I must pay a visit. 

Despite the impossibly erratic schedule I been dealing with for the past couple of months, I took some time out to join some friends to check out Kettle Restaurant. There are things worth moving mountains for, and during that time I can sense that Kettle is one of them.

My friend Richard of Tales From The Tummy whose palate I trust was the one who arranged the luncheon at Kettle. He was also the one whose definitive description about the food that Kettle dishes out almost drove me to my wits end. And you know the thing about people you trust? They are most of the time right. 

Tablea Cheesecake of Indulgence by Irene

I saw it coming. Playing the oldest albeit tried and tested trick on the book, chocolate cheesecake is after all a classic. But Indulgence by Irene knows better than to settle for the usual. Hence, Tsokolate Tablea Cheesecake was born and taken under her arsenal of well-loved line of cheesecakes. Opting for the local chocolate variant instead of hyped imported ones, Irene’s penchant for combining ingredients close to the hearts of many Filipino to her cheesecake made her products speak not only of talent but of passion and love.

Indulgence by Irene’s famous Queso de Bola Cheesecake that can rock anyone’s world, the Choc-Nut Cheesecake that tickles the kid in all of us, and the Ube Cheesecake that features a bond between two talented home bakers are all well worth celebrating for. Equally impressive is the Tablea Cheesecake, home baker Irene’s interpretation of the richest thing that resulted from marrying her preferred brand of cream cheese and the traditional Filipino cocoa.

In hindsight backed up with shameless honesty, excitement did not rear its head upon learning of this new variant. Jaded by encounters with various grades of mediocre tablea cheesecakes in the past, I knew I have had enough. So when I was handed this Tablea Cheesecake of Indulgence by Irene, it was a shame to admit that I was struggling to fend off the usual impulse to turn away from it. 

WeChat and Lazada Philippines Partnership: More Discounted Gadgets and Best-Selling Items Up For Grabs!

It was only recently when we learned about the partnership of WeChat, the leading social mobile app to an online shopping mall, Lazada Philippines. The 2nd Year Anniversary Sale of Lazada wherein they surprised WeChat users with the Php 999 priced 7" Android Tablet was a success. Hundreds of specially marked down tablets were sold within hours.

This proves that the partnership between WeChat and Lazada Philippines is definitely noteworthy. Now in the event that you missed the previous promo, worry not because WeChat and Lazada Philippines is still on a roll in providing best deals we all should not miss.

Currently, there are a lot of discounted items at Lazada Philippines that anyone can purchase through WeChat. Big discounts on your favorite gadgets and other items are currently up for grabs so better hurry.