The Island Explorer

The last time I was in Jakarta was in 2005. Most people told me that Jakarta was just like Manila. I don't know why they say that. Back then, Jakarta was yes not that nice, but was still better than Manila. The first thing that caught me were the trees. There were trees everywhere, even on their highways. I even went to warung areas (shanties) to interview some households, and was surprised that their squatter's areas were clean. Yes, there were houses made of plywood and patched up boards, but it was not as dirty as those we have in Manila. Two weeks ago, I went back to Jakarta and was able to see more of the city. I was surprised that Jakarta looked even better, more organized, more new buildings, more and more restaurants and even more trees. I was in awe in how much Jakarta has changed in just over 2 years. I went to most landmarks before, so I tried going at places I haven't been to. One was the Jakarta Cathedral which was in front of one of the largest mosques as well

Its logo looks like Starbucks and the look of the place is like Krispy Kreme in orange. I guess the owners of JCO really thought of merging coffee and donuts, which are of course, perfect for each other. I stumbled upon JCO when it opened in Jakarta 2 years ago. The lines were unbelievably long, and that reminded me of our Gonuts Donuts craze back then. After 2 years, JCO in Jakarta has established itself as a donut shop serving great coffee and blended drinks. They also serve ice cream (gelato). JCO is a franchise that began in Singapore, spread in Malaysia, and hit Indonesia. The donuts craze came about the same time across all countries in Asia. JCO for me is different. When I tasted it the first time, I just had the glazed donut served by my clients. MY initial reaction was, it tasted like Dunkin' Donuts. And that held my interest. While Go Nuts and Krispy Kreme tasted the same, Dunkin Donuts was still different. In the Philippines, Dunkin' is targets the mass market, makin

I don't write about places I don't like, but I just had to do this out of frustration and disappointment. I recently went to Lago De Oro in Calatagan in Batangas. I wanted to pursue my wakeboarding dreams and practice more to be able to stand up on a board. The last time I tried wakeboarding was in Cam Sur, and I lacked so much time in trying to stand up. So when JP and Liza invited me to go to Lago de Oro, I immediately said yes. Lago de Oro offered us a full board overnight package that included a whole day's use of wakeboarding facilities for P1900 per person for a minimum of 4 people. I thought it was expensive for an overnight stay. I checked their room rates, and the lowest rate was at P4,400. The accommodations in Lago de Oro are not five star as they claim. Though they were bigger, the cabanas and trailers of Cam Sur had more character and charm. The rooms of Lago de Oro looked like Matabungkay's - old and worn. The resort was old and not much renovation has bee

I love sandwiches. And it sucks that in a country where rice is a staple, there aren't much sandwich bars around. I get most of my sandwiches from cafes. I am a loyal fan of Grilled Chicken Foccacia at Figaro and the Roast Chicken Chipotle at Coffee Bean. I have these sandwiches twice every week for my lunch or a heavy snack. So when I stumbled upon a new juice bar in Podium called Jugo Juice, I was absolutely thrilled to see that they served sandwiches and wraps that looked like those that I consume abroad. Jugo Juice is a smoothie bar, much like Fuzion. I don't know if it's a franchise or not, but the place was well designed and neat. There were sticker labels for their cups on display above the shelf. I ordered the Jugo Classico (P135 for a small size). I forgot the contents of the drink but I remembered it had strawberries and peaches plus 3 more fruits I think. Angela got the Lemonade (P125). Angela and I decided to share so we got two sandwiches, the Tuscany Wrap and

I live near Pearl Drive so I passby Amethyst Road going home. I noticed there was a newly opened cafe at the ground floor of Linden Suites on the Amethyst side. It was interesting, since it was looked like those bars/cafes you go to cap a day of work with friends. The place was called Mozu. At first I really didn't know if it was a cafe or a bar or a Japanese resto. But the name had the cafe label, so I assumed it would be like a Japanese coffee bar. One night, Jason and I decided to hang out and have some coffee here. The place was charming to be honest. It did feel like those after office hours bars, nicely lit, cool and had a great ambience for casual conversations. Seeing their menu, I was surprised to see a varied selection of food. There were sandwiches, pastas, cakes and rice dishes. So it was your typical cafe and not a Japanese one. The menu was priced affordably so even though I already had dinner, I managed to order a plate of Beef Kebab and some Green Tea Shake (P120).