Elements @ Four Seasons Hotel, Riyadh

I had a wonderful birthday dinner at Elements . This is one of the in-house restaurant of 

Four Seasons Hotel located in Al-Mamlakah Tower (Kingdom  Tower ~ the iconic landmark of Saudi Arabia)

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Beautiful Entrance

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Wednesday is Mid Eastern Night Buffet

Although other cuisines are available (International Buffet)  like Indian, Japanese and Chinese Cuisines

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We were seated somewhere over here 

The dessert station is my favorite (",)

I only got the chance to take photos of our plates because the resto was full packed when we arrived.

Nahiya ako mag picture hehehe

Price per head: SAR 225.00 ($60.00)

A can of softdrinks is SAR30.00 ($8.00)

1. Ice Cream Tepanyaki ~ Rocher Royale. This is one Delish Ice Cream! TDF! I ate 3 scoops
2. Assorted Dessert ~ Creme Brulee, Chocolate Mousse & Lemon Meringue 
3. Japanese  Cuisine ~ Maki's and Salmon Carpaccio
4. Peking Duck Wrap ~ Another Fave of Mine
5. Mid Eastern Cuisine ~ A Little Bit of Everything 
6. Indian Cuisine

V Day 2012

Some may find it corny or baduy to celebrate Valentines Day, but for me, I always look forward to Valentine's.

Last night, a supposed to be dinner for two (Me and hubby) ended up as a family dinner hehehe. We decided to bring our daughters with us. As always, it was difficult to dine with a 3 year old and a 10 month old, but nonetheless, it was a happy experience for us.
It was our first time to dine at Holiday Inn Izdihar, Riyadh. They have seafood buffet every Tuesday (West Wing) and International Buffet (East Wing). We had the International Buffet because hubby doesn't eat ANY kind of seafood's :-(

We were early, around 15 minuted before 7pm. They were still making last minute arrangements on the buffet tables. But when we  were asked to start, I was a little bit disappointed with the soup. Clear soup for a five star hotel? It was like broth with onion leeks???? WTH? and tomato soup...both are cold!
The main course were all ok as well as the desserts. They have the usual Hummus, Muttabal & Tabouleh
The interiors were so and so. It doesn't really look like a 5 star hotel in house restaurant. *sad*
So, here are some of the pix:

Dining Hall

 Dessert Station

Salad Station

 Main Course Station

My plate 

 Main Course

Dessert. It was all good!

Where to dinenext year? I think I would go back to Hotel Intercon. Their buffet is way better than here.

Dinner at Diamond Hotel

After our family/anniversary trip to Boracay, Hubby and I decided that we should spend time together (without the kiddos) and have a nice dinner. We picked  Diamond Hotel coz this is were we had our wedding reception and we thought it would be nice to visit the place again (senti reasons..hahaha)

My first stop..Check out the dessert 

My Plate

This is my favorite among all the foods that i tried. Steaming hot..delish!

Dessert

I really enjoyed the night.Thanks to hubby for this good dinner

Anniversary Trip to Boracay

Last October (2011) Hubby and I plus our 2 lovely daughters spent our 5th year Anniversary in Boracay. It's been 5 years since we last visited the island (it was our honeymoon) and so we decided to go back and spend our special day at Astoria Boracay.
Private transfers boat land and sea. Simple pleasures :-)

Room: Clean and beautifully design though not too big but good enough to occupy 2 adults and 2 children. We stayed in the room with pool access.
Food: Delicious buffet breakfast and dinner
Location: end of station 1 and just next to station 2

My Beautiful Family infront of Astoria

Sunset

Rania

Bonding time

 White Beach

 Clean and Beautiful

 Building her castle :-)

 D' Mall

Cafe Midas @ Midas Hotel

Buffet dinner and unlimited drinks at Cafe Midas (Midas Hotel) Regular price  Php1,900 ++  but i got it for Php899 through Metro Deal.

Cafe Midas

We were seated here

Rania had soup. I skipped this

Maki and Sushi are available

Main Course. Great food! Super tender and juicy beef. 

Chicken Satay without Satay Sauce :-( and Grilled Blue Marlin

From the Carving Station

Assorted Mini Cheesecake, Macaroons, Carrot Cake, Flan and Mango Crepe

 Abdul and Rania enjoyed the night

They also have salad station, assorted breads and Filipino dishes. 

The Vibrant City of Hongkong

Hongkong has been a quick out-of-the-country get away for most Filipinos. And because of low fares (even ZERO fare) popping out every now and then Hongkong became a Must See destination in Asia.
Plus, the opening of Hongkong Disneyland added flavour to it :-) Would you agree? hehehe.
After 3days in Disney,we spent 4 more days in Kowloon side (Hongkong). We stayed at Marco Polo Hotel.
The room is spacious though nothing really special aside from the fact it is adjacent to a mall plus its proximity to MTR and major attractions. Buffet Breakfast are almost the same everyday though I really like their noodles and dimsum.

View of the Hongkong Side during the Light Show

View of Hongkong and Kowloon Side from the PEAK

@ Marco Polo Hotel. My daughter seems to like the room :-)

View Along Canton Road. High End shops left and right

It is both our first time to stay at Marco Polo. We were not impressed! For the amount of money we paid per night it was not worth it. The check in counter staff seems to be unaware of our reservation through a website. She can't figure out that the whole amount has already been paid and she was charging us again and on a higher amount without the Internet fee. Anyway, we were able to fixed it afterwards but another mishap happened again. We checked in 2hrs early around 12noon and it was supposed to be at 2pm. The lady from the counter said that the room is not available yet but she will expedite the cleaning so we can have the room ASAP. Holding on to her words, we just roam around to kill the time (plus lots of sale at that time hahaha) instead of just sitting in the lobby. At exactly 3pm, we arrived the hotel again hoping that the room is available ...but you know what??? We were told that it's not yet ready though we even came 1hr later than the scheduled check in time. We were really pissed of about the incident and they never apologized. Anyway, we still insisted that we should get the next available room coz we cannot wait longer. Fortunately, they granted that! So, if you would ask me if I will stay there again?? the answer would be...I'll try their other Chains of Hotel  

Hongkong Disneyland Hotel

Hongkong Disneyland is situated in Lantau Island about an hour travel (by MTR) from the City Center. It boasts 2 equally beautiful hotel near the park ~ Disney's Hollywood Hotel and Hongkong Disneyland Hotel.
At the time when we were planning this trip we were actually torned which hotel to stay but hubby decided that we should stay at the Hongkong Disneyland Hotel. It's a bit more expensive than Hollywood Hotel but I think they have both good facilities.
The entire hotel is designed Victorian Style. It is lavish and elegant! High Ceiling, Gigantic Chandelier and beautiful facade. Delicious In-house restaurants, gift shops, activity areas for kids etc. We really had a great time staying here.

Victorian Inspired Room. Spacious

Elegant Bathroom

 Cute Toiletries

 Lovely Pool

 Mickey Maze

Bedtime Stories

Le Bua State Tower Part 2

As I write this blog I am already back in Manila. I still have lots of photos to upload and things to write here in my blog regarding our trip. One by one I will be able to accomplish it :-)

Anyway, here is another blog regarding our stay at Le Bua State Tower. I just want to give this hotel additional credit for their exceptional food and service.

Delish Buffet Breakfast @ Mozu. Mediterranean/Arabian Theme

                                     

Dimsum, Pastries, Bread etc...etc.. sarap!

 odor free hallway, well lighted and spacious

  Bangkok Skyline

View from our room

We really had a great stay @ Le Bua. The food and service are superb. I would recommend it to business travellers who opt to have a peaceful and relaxing stay in Bangkok. It is a bit off from the "live action"  like shopping, restaurants, bar, massage and spa. And considering the heavy traffic in Bangkok right now I would rather stay in Pratunam area wherein everything is just walking distance.