XO46 Bistro Filipino, Manila…I’ll be back!

I had a truly great, satisfying, and well-prepared meal. I have to give them a perfect score for everything, even the warm, friendly and accommodating service. I love the feel of this place…earth tones give the place an inviting, charming, warm and homey feel – perfect for a relaxed meal.

The extensive menu offers you the best of traditional Filipino dishes. Since this is a Filipino restaurant ,  chef did well in serving puto instead of bread.  Puto – for those who don’t know – is one of the Philippines’ many varieties of Rice Bread.

Bangus Salpicao (fish) was not bad.  Sugpo sa aligue was fabulously savoury – baked prawns in a special sauce with crab fat that melts in your mouth.  Kare kareng crispy tadyang was served with the sauce separate from the meat which is crispy beef belly laid out in slices on a platter. salabat sa tanglad (ginger drink) really hit the spot: it was refreshing and a real treat, especially for a ginger lover like me! What a great way to cool down.

To borrow from Arnie…I’ll be back! This is the true truth as I say it as it is…

Kedai Kopi Genting Cafe, Penang…this “chee cheong fun” is a hooker

Chee Cheong Fun is a Cantonese slang for hand cut steamed flat rice noodle rolls . In this hawker stall in Island Glades, Penang, they have a special version of Chee Cheong Fun which is wonderfully different from anywhere else in Malaysia, Hong Kong and Singapore. The POD (point of difference) lies in the accompanying sauce…it is thicker; in fact, it’s a mix of 3 types of sauces – being sweet sauce, dark prawn paste (haeko) and chili sauces. The thick, gooey, creamy dark prawn paste (haeko) blended with peanut butter is tantalizingly fabulous! The silky rice rolls, slathered with the delicious sweet sauce and spicy chilli sauce, makes a helluva ADDICTIVE dish!

The chee cheong fun here is a hooker, for sure. I tasted it once, and now I am hooked. This is the true truth as I say it as it is…

Jersey Boys, Palazzo, Las Vegas…not the music I grew up with, yet I enjoyed the show immensely

The Palazzo Resort has its own special theater (it was a nice small theater with good seats) for this great show which traces the history of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons from their simple beginnings in New Jersey, to becoming one of the top pop groups of the 1960’s, to their inclusion in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

The show starts out VERY slow but gets better over time. The time-tested music and songs are infectious. The outstanding lead singer gave 100% and sounded exactly like Frankie Valli. Even if you’re not the biggest fan of the Four Seasons or that musical era they represent, you’ll still enjoy the show’s rags to riches storyline which has a fair share of drama, and enough humour and uplift to satisfy both the theater veteran and the vacationing family (with a mild warning for some salty, Jersey-esque language)

This isn’t really music that I grew up with, but yet the fact that I enjoyed the show immensely says a lot. This is the true truth as I say it as it is…

Las Vegas Premium Outlet – North…shopping nirvana

This factory outlet, which is a short drive from the Strip offers more than 150 outlet stores with savings of 25%-65%. It might not be the biggest outlet I have been to but the stores lineup is excellent. Some of the stores include Coach, Polo Ralph Lauren, Samsonite, Calvin Klein, Adidas, Levi’s and Guess by Marciano.

Best of all, in addition of the savings, there are some pretty good deals. Outlet prices are already pretty reasonable, but extra discounts are always welcome in my book.

The only thing that keeps this place from reaching true retail heaven status is the fact that someone forgot to put a roof on the place. This is an outdoor mall, so pay attention to the weather forecast. The 4 degrees Celsius/39 degrees Fahrenheit December wind can be a bit bitter.

The outlets here will keep your spending spree soul nourished and your credit card balances high but perhaps not as high as if you were paying full price. This is the true truth as I say it as it is…

Universal Studios Hollywood, Los Angeles…King Kong 360 3D: a whole new way to experience the movies

While Disney is still king of little kiddie amusements, I really loved Universal Studios!

The main draw is the famous Studio Tour, the tram ride through Universal’s back lot that remains the heart of the park. At 45 minutes, the Studio Tour lasts far longer than your typical theme park ride. The star experience of the tour is King Kong 3D, a rockin’, rollin’ face-to-face encounter with the big ape. We were transported into Skull Island’s jungle and they made that tram do things I never thought it could. I’ll tell y’all right now that I screamed like a little girl in pigtails. So much stuff happens, though I don’t want to spoil it by giving it away except that the images completely surround the tram and there is stuff going on no matter where you look. King King 360 3D ROCKS! BIG TIME!!! This tram ride is most definitely the best place to start.

ACE and I checked out Revenge Of The Mummy – The Ride. Wow! This bone-rattling coaster left us breathless as unexpected turns and twists came at us right after one another! We liked it so much we went on it three times! Yah… it’s definitely two thumbs up! (And oh yes, it’s a major difference from the one in singapore)

Jurassic park ride (also a few notches above the singapore version) was cool but it’s a pity that the sound system of the T-Rex was not functioning well. Hence instead of a R-O-A-R, we get a muted roar from the right hand side.

We were there over a Wednesday and Thursday so it wasn’t too packed and it was easy to get on the rides.  Aside from the park, CityWalk is a separate venue, with shops, restaurants, nightclubs, and movie theaters. This is the true truth as i say it as it is…