End Credits

Thank you sooo much for visiting dropsofjune.blogspot.com.
We're now officially brewing at www.brewingsessions.com.

Warming Up

We've been grinding a batch of roasted beans for more than four weeks now. And we're going to brew it this month. Hotnessss. ;-)

Super thanks to Nats and broe for the kickoff tips!

Floaters

We gave Gabi three choices for her 3rd birthday celebration: Jollibee, Bahay, or Pool. She would repeat those options with her three fingers up in the air, imitating how her tito enumerated them. And she would end up with "Pool!".

Our initial plan was a resort with pool in Puerto Galera. But due to the rescheduling of my company's major product release and the bad weather in the past week, we let go of our first choice, and started looking for a place closer to Manila. We came up with a short list covering Tagaytay, Batangas, and Rizal. After several inquiries and my backing up, I convinced him to convince Nay to try Club Manila East. I was positive that Gabi, Nay, and Giselle would enjoy because I had seen the place during my Trend Micro years.

So it was a CME trip for Gabi's birthday last June 10.

Travel Mug:

From Robinsons Galleria, we rode a GLiner Bus going to Taytay, Rizal. After an hour, the driver dropped us at the main gate of Club Manila East. Since the resort strictly prohibits bringing of food inside, we decided to eat lunch first before going in. After a swift Chowking meal, we headed to the jeepney mini-terminal at the gate, and made a short ride to the main resort.

Our transporation allowance (one-way): P120 taxi going to Rob, P26 (per person) bus going to Taytay, P7 (per person) jeep going to the resort.

What's Hot?

The place is definitely huge. It is designed to cater corporate events, family affairs, and other group activities. Aside from pools, CME has function rooms for conferences, conventions, parties, and other occasions. It also provides a 2-hour basic surfing lesson for P1,500 inclusive of the surfboard, instructor, and pool entrance.

For daytime stay, guests can choose from any of the following accommodation:

• Cabanas - P2,500
• Huts - P2,000
• Beach View Cabin - P2,200
• Picnic Area or tents - P310

Each package includes an accommodation for up to five persons, and use of all pools and kayaks. An extra person only costs P260.

For overnight stay, guests can stay at one of the following villas:

• Doña Luz Villa - P3,300 (up to five persons)
• Don Renato Villa - P3,050 (two persons only)

Each package includes an accommodation for two persons, breakfast for two, use of all pools and kayaks. An extra person only costs P700, which also gives him/her the mentioned perks. We stayed at Room 506 of Doña Luz, and Gabi still passed the height limit of 3ft for free entrance. Woohoo!

CME also boasts the following oversized water facilities:

• Beach Waves
• Ocean Waves
• Easy River
• Lap Pool (for swimming lessons and training)
• Kiddie Pool with waterfalls and fountains (part of Fun Lagoon)
• Adult Pool with a giant 3-looped slide (part of Fun Lagoon)
• Boating area for kayaking (part of Fun Lagoon)
• Sun-screened Pool (part of Fun Lagoon)
• Bean-shaped pool

We weren't able to try the Lap Pool, Easy River and Ocean Waves, which only opens during weekends and holidays. Oh, guests are required to wear proper swimming attire. When we were there, those guests wearing something made of cotton, like shirts and shorts, had been requested by the lifeguards to leave the pool. That was a downer.

In the evening, we held an exclusive small bash for Gab, hehe. She loved blowing her candles over and over again, and all of us fell for the cake. :)

What needs warming up?

The resort has only one in-house restaurant that operates from 6AM until 9PM. But there are other available booths, like Jollibee, Chowking, Shakeys and Itallianni's. These booths, however, close at 6PM. As expected, the price of most items skyrockets by more than 100% inside the resort. Even the cake has a corkage fee of P50 for small and P100 for big.

Our food allowance per person: P100 (per snack, twice), P130 (per dinner, once), free breakfast!

Another not so-hot thing about the place is the customer service. I think they need more improvement in that department. The staff were not so snappy. We needed to ask (or wonder) first for some basic things, like someone who would usher us to our villa or a printout of their restaurant's menu for room delivery. I think, it would help if they could provide some sort of "freshmen kit", which contains a visual map of the whole resort, the opening and closing schedules of some pools, booths and the resto, and some suggested activities, to every registered guest (or in every room).

How many bean stamps?
8 out of 10.

Our kiddo was so enthusiastic the whole time. Nay and Giselle liked the place, especially our room. My buddy had several "great hug" moments with Gabi. I was trigger-happy on the first day, and enjoyed the beach waves on the second day. And I didn't notice that I would be taking a very, very long weekend. :D

*****
Happy birthday, Gabi! Love every bouncy bit of you.

And thanks for my neat SuperProxy tee, buddy ko. :-)

Squeezed In

It was another "sandwiched" occasion for us— it's when our day of the month (or any special day) slots in another family event. We had Nay's birthday last Valentine's day, Mother's day last month, and Gabi's birthday this June. What we usually do is either mark the day with a cheap to run date, or celebrate two affairs in one activity.

For this month, we tried the Commons located along Valero Street, fronting my office building the Citibank Tower in Makati.

What's hot about this resto is the ambience. My buddy said that it's a cafeteria, sports bar, fine dining place all rolled into one. The first floor is a blend of a canteen and a bar feel, and the second floor looks like an intimate area for dating couples as a well as a good spot for sports enthusiasts (because of the giant screen showing a sports event projected on the opposite wall). The place is relatively small but its high ceiling and the tall mirror mounted on the wall of the stairs make it appear spacious.

Another good thing about this place is its menu— a fusion of Filipino, Italian, Japanese, and Spanish cuisines. You can bring a date or an expat without worrying about your order because you have lots of choices here.

What’s so hot about this resto is the customer service. We have tried other restaurants that also have polite and attentive staff. But in this particular eating place, almost every attendant near you would take his/her time to stop at your table, and check out if you still need anything without being pushy. They wouldn't wait until you empty or even half your bottomless beverage before they give you a refill. They would top up your soup bowl just on time.

What needs warming up about this place is the price relative to the serving size and taste of the food. I mean, the food that we ordered were not bad. But they were just OK. [This is my second visit, and on my first visit, I had the same assessment of the taste. I just didn't pay much attention to the receipt because it was my boss' treat, hehe.] A cup of plain rice costs around P60 (or P65?). We sampled the Crispy Chicken with Garlic Sauce, Sinigang na Tadyang ng Baka, plus two cups of plain rice, and a bottomless iced tea, and we paid around P1,000 (including service charge and VAT). Our bill was almost similar to that of our Agave's visit, but our experience with the latter was way fulfilling and didn't hurt our pocket.

How many bean stamps?

6 out of 10.

I would still recommend this place if you have a date or a foreign visitor, and you prefer an unruffled atmosphere during peak hours (and, of course, when you're already in Makati area). But for a normal lunch break or if you're on a budget, try to stroll along Valero Street for more options (or just go to Greenbelt or Glorietta instead). :)

*****

Happy 46th, buddy ko. *kugos*