reviews – Page 11

Experiencing TOSH

I never had the chance to dine at The Old Spaghetti House or more popularly called as TOSH before. When my teammates went there almost 3 years ago, I was in my maternity leave. There were times when I wanted to eat there but for some reasons, we always end up with something else.

Not until last August 19, 2009, yep, that was our anniversary. Hubby and I had the whole by ourselves. It was declared a special holiday due to Quezon City Day. Since Ayex is conditioned that we go to work on weekdays, we were able to spend the whole together and away from home.

So off we went to Galleria because we wanted to check out their month-long sale. When I got hungry, I texted my officemates what food place they can suggest within the area. A friend suggested Burger King (BK) but I really wanted to try something new, I place I’ve never been to. The I remember TOSH at the upper level.

Hubby agreed that we’ll eat at TOSH but he really wanted to eat Mongolian so we bought Mongolian first then headed to TOSH. I must say that their service is fast and their food are soooo delicious and tasty! Until now, I can still remember the pasta that I ate! And the drinks we ordered, they were really refreshing! Oh, they have courteous people too who always smile!

Pepper-Crusted Fish with Spaghetti in Sun-dried Tomato Pesto

I super loved my pasta! Now it makes me want to eat at TOSH now! Want to check them out, visit their web site. WARNING: What you see will definitely make you hungry.

Review: Pedala Bike Messenger Service

Many many many thanks to Ma’m Candy and to Glenn of Pedala Bike Messenger Service because I’m now stress-free! Hoooooray! Five stars for Pedala Bike Messenger Service!

My cousin, Kevin, asked my mom who asked me to order these Philippine All Star shirts online. It was not part of my priorities since I know I still have time. Well, not until Tito Manny (Kevin’s dad) announced that somebody just flew in last Saturday from Guam and will be here for just a week. Suddenly, they need the shirts ASAP so these can be brought to Guam already. It would be costly if we ship it there directly.

So I checked the allstars2005 multiply site last Monday. The reply was a simple “please wait for confirmation if all orders are available”. So ok, again I need to have the shirts at least before Friday. Tuesday, I got the no confirmation despite of the several follow up text messages I sent. Wednesday, I received a text that all orders are available. I asked if they can ship through Air21 because I really had a bad experience with LBC plus their rates are waayyyyyyyyyy cheaper. I received the reply to this question 2am of Thursday. I’m in a rush. My mom, Tito Manny and Tito Louie (youngest tito) kept asking me when will I get the shirts. It’s like I don’t have other things to think of!

So it was Thursday. I haven’t received how much is my total bill, where should I send the payment etc etc. I don’t have time anymore. People taking care of allstars2005’s business are quite difficult to deal with. The transaction is realllllly slooooooooow. Then I remembered Pedala Bike Messenger Service. At around 10:30am, I called Pedala’s “hotline” and asked if I can schedule for a round trip service. Ms. Candy was very courteous as she asks me questions regarding the service I want to avail. Then finally she said ok and asked me to just text her where the pick up will be and where the biker should go. After that, I texted the person from allstarts2005 that I’ll just have the items picked up at Brewing Point Tandang Sora. At past 11am she informed me through text message that the biker will be in Eastwood after lunch. I’m a happy person. In just a few hours, I will no longer have to think of these shirts!

By 2pm, I was informed that the biker is already at our lobby waiting for me. Glenn, Pedala’s biker, sports a yellow biking shirt with Pedala’s logo and name. I handed him the payment for the shirts and gave him the a print-out of the map where he will get the shirts. He then gave me a sort of waybill. He told me that he’ll just pick up something from Lafayette then he’ll go to Brewing Point. I was ok with that, besides I’m not their only customer. He’s easy to deal with and very professional looking. He joked that we’ll be textmates later then he left.

By 3pm, I got a call from Glenn telling me that the shirts are not yet there! Panic mode again! I need the shirts already! My fault. I forgot to inform the person from allstars2005 that the person who will pick up the items is already on his way. I called her but her phone died! I tried texting other numbers, even allstars2005 landline number but no one’s answering! F***! Nahihiya ako kay Glenn kahit pa paid service yun kasi may iba pa siyang pupuntahan! Finally, after some 20 or so minutes, I have reached allstars2005’s globe number again! She said she’ll be at Brewing Point in 15minutes. Again, meganakakahiya na talaga!. I told Glenn about this and he said he’ll just wait. Thanks for being really patient! By 4pm, Glenn told me that he got the shirts already. I told him that I’m ok even if he proceeds with other clients first before going back to Eastwood since my shift ends at 7pm. I got the shirts from Glenn by 7:15pm.

The whole transaction with Pedala only costs PhP100 but I gave extra since I caused a lot of hassle, not to mention Glenn has to pay for parking! Buti na lang hindi nadala si Glenn! When opportunity rises, I will surely use Pedala’s service again. Same day delivery, cheaper costs, friendlier people, better for the environment. After telling my mom about this, she said she’ll also promote Pedala’s service in their office!

Thanks Pedala! Till next time!

The Club Manila East Eexperience

It’s been a while since I last posted a blog. Hay, reports, reports, and more reports!

Anyway, we just came back from our mini teambuilding held at Club Manila East, Taytay Rizal and I will share with you our experience.

Accommodations
It was a an out-of-office activity for our team but since I don’t want to leave Ayex and Mon alone for 24 hours, I decided to tag them along. We didn’t book a room in advance since they (CME) told me over the phone that they have enough villas to accommodate us on the actual day.

Mon told me to get the cheapest room since it’s just an overnight stay and we won’t be staying at the room that much. This is exactly what I planned, get the Don Renato villa. Its price is PhP3050 inclusive of complimentary breakfast, room for 2 with bathroom, cable TV, telephone line, and toiletries, use of the swimming pools including floaters for the beach waves pool and kayak. As I told the receptionist (they don’t really have a reception area by the way) our room of choice, she told me that their Don Renato Villas are still available but they have some technical problems – these villas don’t have cable TV and telephone lines. Of course we were disappointed and settled with Doña Luz Villa, priced at PhP3300, same inclusions as Don Renato. What’s their difference? Just the room size I suppose.

The bigger disappointment struck us when we saw our room. It was big, yes but it had 2 twin beds! Haller, we’re a family! Mon called the front desk because the TV remote doesn’t have batteries. When the replacement was brought to us, I inquired if all their Doña Luz villas only have such setup and the lady said yes. Kaloka talaga! They have toiletries which include a bottle of lotion, a bottle of shampoo, one roll of tissue paper and two pieces of soap. I was disappointed again because I was expecting there would also be toothbrushes and toothpaste. But there’s none. There’s only one trashcan – the one inside the bathroom. They don’t have doorbells. The air-conditioning unit takes about 15 minutes before it becomes cold.
Pools and Other Amenities
Hmmmm, I can’t remember what other amenities they have aside from the pools. Okei, the pools first.

They have quite a number of swimming pools: kiddie pool, adult pool, covered pool (adult), pool for kayaking, lap pool, beach waves pool and another that can be probably rented as private pool. Dami noh? The sad part is that all their pools are sort of de oras! Pools are not open until you like to swim. Some pools don’t even function as expected during a specified hour or hours. The best example was the beach waves pool. Good for us we we’re able to try it for 15 minutes, then it was turned off. Saya diba? The lap pool was closed according to Therese and Janelle. The pool that we enjoyed most was the kiddie pool. Yeah, you guess it right. We were with Ayex.

Now I remember that we used this sort of function room and we rented a videoke machine – that falls on the other amenities. Ah, they also provide service to and from your villa.
Food
To be fair with CME, for me they have better food choices than Island Cove (that’s in another post). The taste is just right, except for that salty calamari. The serving is also satisfactory and the price, unbelievably cheaper than other resorts we’ve been to that doesn’t allow their guests to bring food inside.

Over-all, I would probably rate our stay with 2 out of 5 stars. Wait, since Ayex really enjoyed, let me make that 2.5 stars out of 5.