FoodMetroManila

FoodMetroManila went on a vacation! I have not had an actual vacation – the one where I escape the craziness of Metro Manila for a few days – in years! Years! For this one, Haziel and I went to the historic and beautiful Island of Corregidor which was just a little over an hour away from Manila

Booking this trip was very easy for me. It only involved sending an email to my dad and their company’s travel agency did everything for us. I just had to fork over the money and we had booked the day tour and overnight accommodation at the Corregidor Inn.

The tour follows a strict schedule. You have to be at the Esplanade Seaside Terminal before 7 am since the boarding is only until 7:30 am. They say they won’t let anyone board beyond that time and we didn’t want to take that chance. I am a night person and hate getting up early in the morning. My solution? I didn’t sleep. I just drank liters of coffee – black.

Since we were leaving on Friday, Haziel and I began travelling at 5am and got to the terminal at 6am. Believe me, if we had started 5:30 am from Marikina we would have gotten there at 8 am. I have suffered through Metro Manila traffic for years and know this by heart.

This was my third time to Corregidor and the first where I was a tourist and not a kid on an educational field trip. The place just has a certain charm to me and I can’t get enough of it. It’s the history and the beautiful surroundings man. It’s intoxicating.

I took a ton of pictures and I won’t be showing everything to you here (it is a Food Blog). My trusty iPhone didn’t die on me during the whole day tour and I’m super happy about that!

The tour took us through the following: The Old YMCA; Battery Way; Battery Hearn; Middleside Barracks; Topside Barracks or The Mile Long Barracks; Pacific War Memorial; Eternal Flame; Pacific War Museum; the ruins of Cine Corregidor and Officer Quarters; Battery Geary (or what’s left of it); Spanish Lighthouse; Japanese Garden of Peace; Philippine Heroes Memorial; Lorcha Dock; and of course the Lights and Sounds show at the Malinta Tunnel for an extra 100 Php each.

Our tour guide provided some colorful commentary for each site and always cracked a joke. I was just bummed she didn’t let us get off at the Mile Long Barracks so we can take snaps of the famous ruins.

It was almost 2 pm when our tour ended and we were taken to the La Playa Restaurant at the Corregidor Inn for our buffet lunch.

The Corregidor Inn is the only hotel on the Island though you can also stay at the Resort Houses by the beach. I’ve also read somewhere that there’s a hostel for backpackers. Dining in the Island is also monopolized by the La Playa Restaurant though there are a couple of canteens/cafe’s by the two docks. Haziel and I got booked at a room in the Corregidor Inn and part of our package was the buffet lunch and a plated breakfast for two.

I actually liked the design of the La Playa Restaurant. The main dining room looks classy with the dark wood accents and beautiful candle holders adorning the pillars. The wooden seats were also a nice touch though they didn’t feel solid and were a bit rickety. There’s also a balcony that affords alfresco dining with views of both the North and South shores.

Despite being quite famished after the long trip and tour, the taste of the food was underwhelming. They have to feed hundreds of people on the tour so I kind of understand. However, considering the price of the whole package you can’t help but be a bit disappointed.

They provide a little complimentary drink as you enter the restaurant for lunch. It’s refreshing and looks good but the glass is so small. The lunch itself consists of a cream of mushroom soup, a salad bar with a choice of thousand island and ranch dressing, white rice, mushroom spagehetti, chopsuey, roasted chicken with gravy, pork asado, fruit salad, and fresh watermelon slices.

The soup was watery and tasted like margarine as well as that undeniable taste of canned mushroom. I wish they added some fresh herbs like thyme, parsley, or even chives. The spaghetti was bland and the noodles were overdone. The asado had a wonderful sauce but the meat itself tasted of nothing. The only good parts of the entrees were the chicken and chopsuey. The chicken was juicy and the gravy was seasoned just right. The chopsuey was straightforward and seasoned perfectly.

Dessert consisted of fruit salad in cream and fresh watermelon. The fruit salad is made of canned fruit cocktail doused in cream. Nothing special. The watermelon was fresh and just ripe.

So that was the day tour and the free lunch. Although we didn’t enjoy the lunch that much we had a wonderful time during the day tour. Next up: Overnight Stay, Dinner, Breakfast, and the beautiful waters of the island. Stay tuned!

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