I started this blog as an alternative to talking to my mom who died so suddenly. It has evolved since then as an online journal for my family's adventures and misadventures - our travels, our dining out, our entertainment and so much more! Feel free to leave your reactions :)
Some of you may know that Pope Francis is due to visit the Philippines from January 15-19. As part of his itinerary, he will be visiting the University of Santo Tomas. The reason why I'm mentioning it is because I learned today that we had to move Stanley, who is currently parked on the sidewalk because we have a test unit parked in the garage, to a different parking area for security reasons. The Pope and his entourage will be passing by the street in front of our house and no car should be on the sidewalk when they pass on their way to UST. So, we had to find Stanley a new parking slot for the duration of the holiday.
We then ended up bringing Stanley to Stevie's house in Marikina so he can be safely parked in their garage and we didn't have to pay for parking fees. I think overnight parking fees near our area cost P300 for overnight parking. Anyway, that's why Patrick and I ended up visiting Tamagoya once again. We first visited Tamagoya last year. We liked the food so much that, because now we were in the vicinity again, we couldn't pass up the chance. This time, I was able to take pictures too hahaha
I ordered the Miso Ramen and Patrick ordered the Tamagoya ramen. My miso ramen came with togue (monggo sprouts), a bit of nori, a slice of pork, an egg and corn kernels. It was a good combination of salty (miso) and sweet (corn). It was delish! :) Patrick's Tamagoya ramen included bamboo shoots, pork and nori. We shared an order of pan-fried gyoza too.
Miso Ramen = P158
Tamagoya Ramen - P198
Pan-Fried Gyoza = P98
The last time we ate at Tamagoya, we were offered Choux Creme for dessert. It was what we know as Creme Puff, a light crusty pastry with a creme filling. I'm a sucker for creme puffs and that time we ordered the regular one and one with a strawberry filling. This time, Patrick and I ordered the regular Choux Creme each. It's the perfect way to clear your taste buds of the oil of the ramen :) It was really good and there was a lot of filling! Sometimes, creme puffs can be disappointing because it's more bread than filling. Glad it wasn't the case here :D
Choux Creme (Creme Puff) = P48
Choux Creme (inside)
Before leaving, naturally, I had to visit the restroom and I took a photo of it too hahaha It's quite small but clean. This was the downstairs bathroom. There's also another one on the 2nd floor. There was good running water, tissue, soap and a trash can.
Female Bathroom (downstairs)
So, here's our receipt.
Our Receipt
If you want to visit Tamagoya Noodle House, they are open Tuesdays - Sundays (Monday-Closed) 11AM - 2PM and 5PM - 9PM only. They are often full so expect a bit of waiting time. Here is their address: 2 VV Soliven Avenue, Barangay Mayamot, Antipolo City. Phone 861-86-31.
What's interesting about Tamagoya is that they also don't accept tips because as they say, "It is their pleasure serving you".
Now, we've come to the last part in Dylan's Field Trip. We've saved the best for last because our last destination was the Casa Santa in Jardin de Miramar in San Isidro, Antipolo City. It was funny because going there our buses could hardly fit on the road and they had a hard time making it through the curves. It's the right time to visit Casa Santa seeing as it's now the start of the "BER" months and Christmas is just around the corner. When we arrived, we spent our time eating our lunch at the great garden while waiting for the puppet show to be set up.
I just had a beef to settle with some of the parents during the trip. We were expressly told to bring packed lunches and I even woke up pretty early to manage that. Well, what do you know? Along the way, we had to wait for these parents to BUY their lunches from the Jollibee store we passed and it took a while so those of us who actually followed the rules had little time to eat!! grr! I could understand that the administration of the school wanted to please everyone but really, you have to stick to the rules because it's unfair to those of us who followed them.. okay so back to your regular programming...
The puppet show was a hit with the kids who had been recharged since everyone has just had their lunch. Their excitement was contagious and their happiness was boundless. Picture taking after the puppet show had to be contained because everyone wanted to be the first. Fortunately, Dylan was among the first.
After the puppet show, we had some time to burn because another tour group which was ahead of us are still in the Casa Santa so we were told we can explore the whole place until it was time for us to go in. So, Dylan and I just took our time walking around the vast garden. Honestly, it was such a restful place because of all the greenery. We were content to remain outside :)
Check out the pictures we took in this slideshow:
Now, if you viewed the slideshow, you may have seen excerpts of Santa's house. Casa Santa really is a small house full of Santa and Christmas-related artifacts. It's like being transported to the North Pole and you kinda expect elves to come out and show you around. The house itself is pretty small so if your tour group is a bit large, you may have difficulty going around all at the same time, which is why they segregate the groups to accommodate just the right amount of people inside. Dylan particularly liked the Star Wars Christmas toys they had on display. :)
We took our time going around since we were the last tour group for the day. There was so much to see although you have to be careful of the little items on display and some are really fragile. That was a problem with some of the kids whose "energy" couldn't be contained and they had to be escorted out hehehe
From here, we visited the Antipolo Church on the way home and we took time to buy "pasalubong" like cashew nuts and suman.
That was such a fitting end to a really tiring but fun day. This is one reason why I love going on educational field trips with my kids. I, too, learn so much from it and it's a great bonding moment for all of us because we all take away precious memories from them.
Some of you may know that Pope Francis is due to visit the Philippines from January 15-19. As part of his itinerary, he will be visiting the University of Santo Tomas. The reason why I'm mentioning it is because I learned today that we had to move Stanley, who is currently parked on the sidewalk because we have a test unit parked in the garage, to a different parking area for security reasons. The Pope and his entourage will be passing by the street in front of our house and no car should be on the sidewalk when they pass on their way to UST. So, we had to find Stanley a new parking slot for the duration of the holiday.
