Andanita Escape

I have avidly scoured blogs for a cozy place to stay in Tagaytay. I have been gambling on blog reviews lately. Sometimes trying out blog-recommended places turn disappointing, but sometimes I strike the goldmine.

Several blogs point out to a small yet scenic place called Andanita Lakeview Hotel. It’s an Indian-Mediterranean “bed and breakfast” type with six themed rooms ranging from Spanish to Morrocan. The priciest room is the Maharashtra presidential suite at Php 10,000net, the most affordable is Glorious Athena at Php 3,630net. Room rates include massage for two (either foot or back) and breakfast. You need to add Php 500 to upgrade to a full body massage.

Room with Hieroglyphs

I chose a mid-range room called “Cairo’s Kingdom.” From the website photos I thought the walls painted with hieroglyphs and Egyptian characters looked cheesy and pretentious. But in reality, the wall was not so disturbing. The 22sqm room was small, with the queen-sized bed occupying most of the room. The mattress was feather soft and covered with a thick comforter. The small window offered us a view of sparse pine trees and drifting clouds – you’d have to pay an arm and a leg to get the Taal lake into your window, so being in a mid range room we get a mid range view. But if you want a spectacular view, better step out of the room and go to the restaurant or the viewing deck where you can stare at the taal lake horizon all you want.


Steaming from the Ears

The restaurant is above the rooms. Lots of stuffed and squat couches, circular sofas strewn with throw pillows, low wooden tables, fuchsia and orange linens hanging from ceiling to floor – the whole places tells you to sit and laze about. But the unobstructed view of the drifting clouds and the Taal horizon is what makes dining at Andanita a great experience.

My instant favorite is the Roti Channai.. a circular pita-like bread that is served freshly baked and wrapped in cloth. We chose a spicy curry dip that contrasted well with the subtly sweet roti.

The extra long grained rice is called Biryani and we paired it with Rogan Josh – lamb stewed in a creamy and spicy sauce. It was okay, not sublime as some reviews said, but it was definitely something new and minty spicy. The zing of the spice feels cooler on the tongue because it seems to come from small ground herbs mixed in the sauce of Rogan Josh.

The drinks we had: lemon grass and mango shake was too sweet for our taste.

Breakfast
I love the Indian Chai Tea.. I can see the sprinkles of cinnamon on top, but the mildly herbal and milky taste is what I love. The French toast was not my best order, but the Longanisa Meal was more satisfying.

Tiny Fingers

I upgraded our free back massage to a full body Pilipino Hilot, and I must say it was worth it. Their real specialty is the feet massage. I know fingers were used for kneading, but it felt as if tips of several chopsticks were pressing against the littlest muscles in the sides of my heel and the balls of my feet. It was amaaaaazing how the masseuse sought out my little sore muscles and hit them right on with firm pressure but quick strokes so as not to make me cry. They applied the same technique with the rest of my body. I was just taken aback to the detail and time they spent on the feet.

I got the information on their facilities and booking here.

Overexposure to Pure Awesomeness

Kung Fu Panda Movie Review


"He was so deadly that his enemies would go blind from overexposure to PURE AWESOMENESS.
There is no charge for awesomeness. Or attractiveness.
It mattered not how many foes he faced; they were no match for his bodacity."
From Kung Fu Panda



Only a few animated movies could make me watch twice. Kung Fu Panda gets in my list and shoves away Shrek.

Plus Points:

• Stunning background visuals that range from watercolor strokes to capture ancient china and crimson paint and wood with cut outs for the dream sequence.
• Zen realizations (what is the secret ingredient)
• Well delivered punch and lines
  

I was laughing so hard I felt tears in my eyes. It was also great that the movie crowd was laughing at the same time.. a good sign that my sense of humor isn't out of whack after all..

I will definitely buy a DVD of this. I am surprised that there are some unsatisfied reviews of the film. And unsurprisingly, a lot of very satisfied reviews as well .

David Cook Wins

Sometimes it is a choice between doing what you like, and doing what you think people will like.

I have never posted about American Idol in my whole bloggin history, cuz I didn't care much for it. But after watching filipina Ramiele Malubay getting in, i found my self watching almost the whole of season 7, right until it was a battle between David Archuleta and David Cook.

Archuleta is candy sweet and brimming with positive messages. His vocals are velvet. It also helped that he looked like someone Menudo would've recruited back then, side by side with Ricky Martin shaking their bon bons.

So, back to Cook. I am glad he won. He wasn't the obvious choice as painted by the judges during the showdown. Cook's voice was gruff deep and he had a penchant of doing obscure covers of mainstream songs. Which, I think, was a risk. Since almost always listeners are more critical if the cover version veered away too much from the original.

Cook became the exception, especially when he veered away from Mariah's style (thank God) when he did "Always be My Baby" and made it into mellow rock. It suited him just fine, cuz he's not Mariah. He's David Cook.

As I slide back into my corporate humdrum work mode, I am reminded again if I still have originality, and if it really matters to me now.

I'm sure when I get home, I'll be trying out the chords David Cook struck, and see what I can do with "Always be My Baby."


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