The Island Explorer

The last time I went to Camayan Cove was probably 3 years ago. So, I was pleasantly shocked when I saw a new Camayan Cove Resort beside Ocean Adventure in Subic Bay. What used to be dilapidated cottages are now rooms located in 2 new resort wings. The rooms are bigger and more modern. The Sunset Wing have more luxurious rooms, with private verandas and balconies. The price is a bit expensive though. A standard room can go as high as P4,500 during peak seasons. We stayed in the "other wing", which is made of two new resort buildings. These rooms all face the beach, though the foliage block the view of the sea. The restaurant is also bigger. Now called Reef, the dining area can seat up to 200 people. There is also a bar beside it. The food is not impressive though, except for the Grilled Prawns, which at P240 was a bargain. Camayan Beach may be the busiest beach in the Subic area, so don't expect paradise. Lots of people go here on day trips, so you will be sharing the beac

This is a late post, since I put up Anawangin early on. Pundakit in the town of San Antonio , Zambales is the jump off point for Anawangin Cove. However, from its wide grey sand shores, you could see three islands from a distance. They are the Cameras and Capones Islands. Going back, getting to Pundakit is easy as I have mentioned in my Anawangin post. San Antonio is just after Subic Town and San Marcelino in Zambales which is like 40 minutes to an hour drive from SBMA. In Pundakit, we stayed at the Canoe Beach Resort, that was fully booked during our stay because of the long weekend. Good thing we made reservations. The rooms were small and shabby, but alright for just P1,500 a night. We arrived in the afternoon and decided to head straight to Capones Island which is just 15 minutes away from Pundakit Beach. The waters were rough so it took us more than 20 mins or so to get there. The island hopping experience made me feel I was in the Visayas or Mindanao, so doing it in Zambales is a

Whenever I am in Subic, I make it a point to hang out at Xtremely Xpresso Cafe in Subic. It is situated on a corner at the back of the Legenda Hotel, parallel to the boardwalk. I wasn't able to take pictures of what we ordered that afternoon, but it was just cake and coffee. On the other times I have visited the place, I have ordered their huge 22 inch pizza, the Big Ben that included all their toppings. The pizza is so big, that two slices and you're done. It's the perfect meal for sharing, pambarkada. For the pasta, I have tasted their Blackened Chicken Alfredo, the Aglio Olio, and their Parmigiana. For entrees, I recommend their Cordon Bleu and the Chicken Cacciatore. Also try their Grilled Fish in Mango Salsa if you want to have some seafood. The Bacon Cheeseburger is also an excellent choice. The cheese just oozes out of the bun. I also like their Baby Back Ribs, but the taste is inconsistent. I have ordered their ribs 4 times already, and at one time, it tasted excell

I am a fan of Subic. It's my new Tagaytay. And since the SLEX is under construction, it is now the time to head North. Subic is not really a foodie's destination, but there's one restaurant that has probably been there ever since it was an American base. Of course, now it is an institution, and whenever you go to Subic, you must eat here. I'm talking about Meat Plus. Meat Plus is actually owned by the family of a fried of mine. Meat Plus, as the name implies, serves a lot of meat, and is known for their steak. You have roast beef, ribs, burgers and steaks that come with a lot of choices of sides. My friends ordered the Tenderloin ((P225 I think), the Roast Beef and a New York Cut from the menu. Since I was in a Baby Back Ribs stage, I ordered their ribs. The Tenderloin was a good choice. The meat was cooked medium rare correctly and the meat was tender. The meat was flavorful too. The same went for the New York Cut. Though the New York Steak was a bit tougher and the g

I've been trying to find one of the best beach retreats just 3 hours or less (200 KM roughly) away from Manila, and so far, I've selected White Cove (now Canyon Cove) in Nasugbu in Batangas and Laiya in San Juan also in Batangas. Now, I think I have found the best beach retreat that is 3 hours away from home, Anawangin. I thought the road to Anawangin was longer, so I was surprised to find out that it was less than an hour away from Subic. Well, to go to Anawangin, one can opt to stay in Pundakit, a barrio in San Antonio in mainland Zambales. Adventurers choose to trek for 4 hours to the place. Since we were a very big group, and some weren't into trekking or camping, we took the former option and stayed in Canoe Beach Resort. (More on the resort and Capones Island as well in another post) From there, we took a 20 minute scenic boat ride to amazing Anawangin Cove. The beach was wide with the bald yet mystical Zambales mountains painting the background. The sand wasn't a