Cres Snack Inn: Legazpi, Albay's Budget Friendly Food Haven:

Located along Rizal Avenue, Cres Snack Inn is probably one of the underrated restaurants in Legazpi Albay, probably because it did not appear in my searches when I googled best places to eat in the province. It may look like an ordinary Carinderia or "turo-turo" but they serve one of the best Bicolano dishes I've ever tasted. 

Cres Snack Inn along Rizal Avenue, Legazpi City, Albay, Bicol

Here, you can order food by half, so you can try two or more of their dishes. I personally tried their Bicol Express (of course!) and Laing. Both were tolerably spicy and really delicious.

Price ranges from 50 to 100 plus pesos per order. We were seven that time, each of us ordered  two plates of food in half serving with one rice and our bill was only 665 pesos. That's less than 100 pesos per person.

Different dishes to choose from, Bicolano food etcetera

Laing of course!

 Special thanks to our Bicolano friends for recommending Cres Snack Inn!

Christmas Decor Shopping in Paskuhan Farmers Cubao

Last week, I finally got the time to shop for a lantern and some Christmas lights for this Christmas season.
I am always looking for the cheapest tiangge possible where I can buy affordable but quality Christmas decors or decorations or ornaments or whatever you call them.
For years now, when it came to Christmas decors, the PASKUHAN TIANGGE in Farmers Cubao have been my haven. This Tiangge for Christmas ornaments opens every night only during the Christmas season. I have been to Divisoria a couple of times this season and the price there was relatively higher compared to Paskuhan Tiangge.

Paskuhan Tiangge in Farmers, Cubao, Quezon City

 The place is located just beside Farmers Market and accessible through EDSA. Finding the tiangge is very easy because the area is very bright because of the various Chrismtas lights being sold. The luminous place will surely grab your attention.

I was able to buy two sets of LED drop lights or rain lights for 350 pesos each. Drop lights are very much in as a Christmas decor this season. The price of this set (8 pieces of stick per set) in Divisoria ranges from 500 - 650 pesos. But here in Paskuhan Tiangge in Farmers, the price for this same set ranges from 350 - 450 only! I was able to haggle the price to 350 pesos.

Drop lights/Rain lights 350 pesos per set (8 pieces per set)

I also bought a big lantern made of capiz and light bulbs about 2 - 3 feet in diameter. The original price was 1,800 pesos but I was able to get it for 1,650 considering I also bought the drop lights on the same store. They also accept lantern repair so I would not have to worry reusing the lantern I bought for the next Christmas season.

Huge Lantern for 1,650 pesos

On the Spot outing: Cheap Hot Spring Resort in Pansol, Laguna (Bonsai Resort)

Last weekend, my boyfriend’s relatives from Cabanatuan visited us in Cavite for a semi family reunion, because his Tita came home from Japan. We decided to have an on the spot outing that day and the nearest and most ideal place to go to was Laguna.

I initially looked for a nice but affordable private hot spring resort in Pansol, Laguna online but since our outing was on that same day, I had difficulty looking for an available resort. There were some I have found to be available but the rates were a bit higher than our budget.

We realized it was pointless to look online because of the time constraint and decided to drive to Pansol and just look for a nice resort on the spot.

Luckily, when we got to the main highway of Pansol, there were already guys with placards with “Resort for Rent” or “Private Pool for Rent”. We talked to the first guy who approached our car and quickly made the deal. It was 7pm already.

He escorted us to the resort that met our qualifications (he was on a motorcycle), just less than 5-minute drive from the highway. Bonsai Resort was a compound type of resort divided into three pool sections. We had bonsai 2 which was in the middle. We rented the place for P4000 pesos overnight, for a group of 15 persons.

It had the following amenities:

• 1 adult pool (3ft-5ft) warm water
• 1 kiddie pool (which is more like a Jacuzzi for me 
• 2 rooms with 4 double decks per room, air-conditioned 
• 3 bathroom 
• 2 sinks for cooking with stove   a refrigerator with 1 pack of tube ice
• Tables and chairs
• unlimited videoke
• wide area parking

BONSAI 2

 

kitchen

2 bathrooms inside

4 double decks per room, air conditioned

The water in the pool was clean and warm. At first I couldn’t bear the temperature of the water in the kiddie/Jacuzzi pool but it felt better after a few moments.

 The only thing I did not like about the place was that blankets were not provided. I had difficulty sleeping because I was so cold and I could not turn off the air-con because some of us were okay with the air-con turned on.

BONSAI 3, a bit more pricy than bonsai 2

This was the sign at the corner of the street going to Bonsai Compound

Of course, our trip to Laguna wouldn't be complete without stopping by to Colette's, famous for it's bukopie. :)

Colette's

You might also want to check out our trip to 88 Hotspring Resort also in Pansol, Laguna.

On the Spot outing in Pansol, Laguna (Bonsai Resort)

Last weekend was a blast for me. Finally, I have met my boyfriend's relatives, (on his mother's side). They visited us from Cabanatuan with his Tita who came from Japan. We decided to spend our time together by having an "on the spot outing." We were already in San Pablo, Laguna at that time, so the nearest and most appealing place to go to was Pansol, Laguna.

We tried to look for a private hot spring resort in Pansol online at first but decided that it would not be practical. Aside from the resort that we found were a bit higher than our budget, we were not sure if these were still available because we would rent the resort on that same day. So we decided to go to Pansol and look for a resort ourselves which was actually not hard! The moment we reached the main highway of Pansol, guys with placards that said "Private Resort for Rent" approached us. After 5 minutes, we arrived at Bonsai Resort. It's a compound type of resort which we rented for P4000 from 7 PM to 9 AM. After seeing the place, I realized that I have seen the resort online when we were still looking for a nice resort that day. As I remembered, the price was a bit higher than P4000, it was P6000 in sulit.com if I was not mistaken.

Bottom line is if you are going on an on the spot outing in Pansol, Laguna, it will be more practical to go there and look for a resort personally than look online. There are many guys along the highway of Pansol who would be happy to assist (because they have commission, hehe), and recommend an affordable and ideal resort for the guests.

Bonsai Resort, more pictues at viacommute.blogspot.com

You can also read my other blog here for more details about bonsai resort. :)