Dining with a Good View

Pancake House
Sunset Quay - Manila Ocean Park
Luneta Park (Behind Quirino Grandstand), Manila City
+63 (02)567-2649 / +63 (02)567-1292


It was about past 5PM when we finished checking out all there is to check at the Manila Ocean Park, it was time to go home. However, since it would take about two hours (possibly more) for us to travel home, sister suggested we eat early dinner so we won't have to worry about it anymore. There were a lot of food places in the park, and sister chose Pancake House because 1. it was located at the Sunset Quay and 2. we still haven't eaten there. Seeing most restaurants by the Sunset Quay packed with many people, we went for Pancake House.






The time we found a table, I was already amazed at the place. Well, it was a great idea of having rows of restaurants facing the harbor - not only did we (and the other guests) have a great place to dine - the view was spectacular, too.




We quickly placed our orders, and while we were waiting, we saw this view. Seeing there was a door, we went out to have a better shot of this magnificent cloud formation. I am a big fan of sunrays, and this was one of the best - it was like the heavens are about to open.

As for the foods, we had:


House Specials Set (p215). A mix of the house specialties - taco, spaghetti, and 1 piece pan chicken. This one's served with a glass of iced tea, so it was a really great food set for its price. I decided to go for this because of its name - it was my first time there, and I want to taste as much food as I can. They claim to have the best tacos in the town... that could be true (I still haven't tasted "authentic" Mexican tacos c/o the Mexican restaurants). The spaghetti was good, too, and the chicken is just awesome. The breading was fantastic, and the meat was tender and juicy. I was really glad I went for this.


Hamburger Steak Special Set (p215). Juicy hamburger steak with gravy, spaghetti with meat sauce, mixed vegetables, and iced tea. Mom loved the hamburger steak! After the first taste, she just exclaimed how great it was and she even asked us to taste it so we would know just how good it was. True, it was really delicious.


Roast Beef Special Set (p213). Brother's choice. It was a plate of roast beef with gravy, mixed veggies, Caesar salad and rice. Also served with iced tea, brother loved it because it was "real" roast beef, and not the store bought types. It was also tender and well seasoned, and a good pair for the salad.


Jumbo House Burger (p250). Sister's choice. When it was served, we really went, "Oh wow!" because of how big the patty was. The patty was the same patty as mom's meal, but what made this more delicious was that the burger also had button mushrooms, strips of bacon, tomatoes, lettuce, cucumber and onions. It was very rightly to be called jumbo, and my sister just devour on this.


Strawberry Milkshake. Since sister's food didn't have drinks included, she chose to go for strawberry milkshake as her drink. It was rich, we couldn't help but to take a sip every now and then as well.

The whole dining experience was so awesome. The staff were very polite to us, and they would share a giggle each time we throw some jokes whenever they serve foods (our orders came out one by one), and they even volunteered to take a picture of the whole family seeing that brother and I were taking pictures of foods as they were delivered.

Prior to this food trip, I always consider Pancake House to be an upscale food place. Foods were a bit on the expensive side - reason why we never really considered eating there even if there was a branch at a mall near our place. Now that we knew their foods were really delicious, we were very much interested in eating there again, should we get a chance.

*** Jenn ***

Second Visit to the Manila Ocean Park

Manila Ocean Park
Behind Quirino Grandstand
Luneta Park, Manila City
+63 (02)567-7777 / +63 (02)567-2309 {fax}
30 December 2009


It was in 2008 when I first set foot in Manila Ocean Park. Back then it was still a little bare, but the marine life was already enough to make people wow. Well, people were comparing it to the different marine parks in the world and gave it bad comparisons, which I think was a bit unfair. Well, this park was still new, it was but natural that it still didn't have much to offer. Comparing it to the big marine parks is like comparing a kindergarten to a college student.

My mom already visited the Underwater World in Singapore prior to this visit, and although she said it was more beautiful, the Manila Ocean Park was definitely much bigger, and had much more marine life on display. Personally, I loved this trip to the Manila Ocean Park regardless of what other people will say. I guess comparisons will never be avoided, and as a Filipino, nothing will be more beautiful than this one.


Fast forward to more than a year... my mom (all of a sudden) asked us to get fixed because we will go to the Manila Ocean Park. She kept on insisting that brother still hasn't seen it, but a much deeper reason was, "if not now, when?" True enough, one must travel, explore and discover while you still can... tomorrow might be too late.

Anyway, we got there around 10AM (we already had an early lunch). They had some ticket packages that time, and we chose Package B: Oceanarium, Zoocology, and Jellies.

First place we went to was the Oceanarium. Divided into different sections, each will certainly make you delighted. I took quite a lot of pictures, so I just chose four from each:





Agos (Flow). The journey to the Oceanarium starts here; different aquariums featuring different animals, and guests can also touch the starfishes with the aid of the park staff. Of course, for safety reasons, guests weren't allowed to dip hands in the water.



Bahura (Reef). This section features some of the most fascinating creatures in the Philippine coral reefs. Each marine animal had their own aquarium. Each aquarium had the names of the animals, too, for easy identification. The one on the lower left part is the Garden Eel, my mom's favorite in this section, and the one next to it is the Lipstick Tang, my favorite. I like it so much because it really looked as if it has lipstick. :)



Laot (Fishing Ground). Here is where guests can see marine creatures in the deeper part of the sea. The biggest star in this section was the giant grouper, which can weigh up to 660 lbs.!



Buhay na Karagatan (The Living Ocean). Here is where guests can experience what it's like being "underwater"; this section has a 25-meter tunnel that gives a great view of the marine life as if they were swimming in a real ocean. This is where most people are... well, I don't blame them, I, too, took my time just enjoying the view!

The whole trip in the Oceanarium will take up to two hours, depending on how fast or slow you walk. My tip? Just take your time. Watch how the animals interact with one another. I think the trip will be must enjoyable that way.

There were still two sections - Pagi (Sting Ray) and Pating (Sharks), but since we didn't take the tickets for the attractions on the second level, we didn't check it out anymore. Well, we did see some sting rays and sharks in the Laot and Buhay na Karagatan, so we already felt satisfied.


Zoocology. After the Ocenarium, we went to the next attraction - the Zoocology. Put up by the Yupangco Group, this section gives guests a much deeper knowledge of different wild animals. Here you can see skeletons, fur sample and taxidermy of different animals. Photography wasn't allowed inside, but they have in-house photographer who can take your pictures inside if you want to. You can collect your picture outside for a fee.





Jellies. The last section we visited, I was so amazed with this! Different aquariums for each kind of jellyfish, and they also had this big aquarium that looked like a wall and had lots of jellyfishes! They also had tubular kinds of aquariums, and it was such a joy watching the jellyfishes dance in the water! They also adapt to the change of lights, and it was so amazing seeing them turn from red to orange to blue to violet!

The Manila Ocean Park is dedicated and deeply committed to conserve the marine wild life and is in partner with the World Wide Fund (WWF) for Nature. It is open everyday of the year (holidays included), but schedules sometimes change depending on the season. To know more about the park, its schedule, and different attractions and ticket packages, you can check their website HERE.

*** Jenn ***

Rizal Day 2009

Rizal Park - Manila City
30 December 2009


The 30th of December is the day the National Hero, Jose Rizal was executed in Bagumbayan (now called Luneta or Rizal Park) with charges of rebellion. This day is a national holiday, so mom asked if we could go out and have some family bonding. At first we were hesitant because there might be some program and there might be a lot of people. Still, we pushed through.






We arrived around 9AM and there weren't much people in the park, except for the tourists. Our destination wasn't here really, but since we will walk along the park to where we were going, it was just right that we commemorate this day, too.

The ladies in white were part of the group Rizalistas, they offered flowers and said some prayers.

From what I know of, Rizal's body was buried in Paco Cemetery, but they later on transfered his bones under this monument. Two guards were always on duty to watch over the monument, and they don't really move for a certain number of minutes (or hours).

To know more about the Philippines' National Hero, please click HERE.

*** Jenn ***