Beijing Picture Video

We took lots of pictures during our Beijing trip, here are a few that I wasn't able to include in my previous blog entries, some unflattering, some funny but they sure captured the moment. 

Sentosa

My team leader, Rene, who is based in Irving visited Singapore for a week and a half earlier this month. We were thinking of a fun thing to do as a team and we decided to try the Mega Zip over at Sentosa. Neelam saw a fun package for 46+ which allows you to choose three thrilling attractions. We chose the Luge with Sky Ride, the Mega Jump and the Mega Zip.







We first had lunch at The Archery which was near the Merlion, I think it's one of the first restaurants in the island. The food took quite some time to be prepared so we had a late start.







After lunch, we tried the Luge and the Sky Ride. The luge now has two trails so it's best to purchase a two-time pass so you can try both trails. The luge was very fun and it got us all energized.









We then looked for lockers to drop off our things, too bad the Imbiah Point where the Luge and the Zip are doesn't have lockers. We had to take the Sentosa bus to Beach station to leave our things.

Back at the Imbiah station, we then went to where the Mega Zip is. After a bit of a trek, we finally found the place.







We then had to climb the Zip tower before doing the Jump. The jump was fun but a bit scary at first.







After the jump, we climbed back up to take the Mega Zip. This ride is what we all enjoyed the most.

After all that activity, we realized that it was already time to go. It was an afternoon well spent.



plus, I turned my camera on during the Mega Zip.

Gerry's Grill Singapore

Photo shows an artist's perspective of the Gerry's Grill branch at the Marina Bay Sands Hotel food court.

Filipino chain Gerry’s Grill is set to open a branch in Singapore, its third branch overseas, at the Marina Bay Sands Hotel on December 1.

“We are most happy to announce that a ‘Pinoy Original’ is going to be part of one of Asia’s most spectacular business, leisure and entertainment destinations,” said entrepreneur Gerry Apolinario, the man behind Gerry’s Grill.

The Singapore branch will be located at the food court of Marina Bay Sands Hotel along with an estimate 26 food chains from around the globe. It is the only Filipino restaurant that will operate at the swanky hotel/resort.

“Being the sole Filipino chain there will make Gerry’s Grill an ‘ambassador’ of Pinoy culinary genius,” Apolinario added.

Marina Bay Sands sits at the height of opulence with over 2,500 rooms and suites, state-of-the-art convention and exhibition facilities, theaters, casino and entertainment. It also boasts of the best shopping and dining in the Asian region.

The opening of Gerry’s Grill hopes to captivate not only OFWs who crave for Pinoy classics such as Sisig and Crispy Pata but also international guests.

“Our two branches in the US are not only favorite dine-in destinations of Fil-Ams but foreign guests who enjoy Gerry’s menu; along with a hefty serving of Pinoy hospitality which is unique. We hope to duplicate the same success in Singapore,” Apolinario said. [Find out if it's time to expand your business here]

The food court at the Marina Bay Sands Hotel is estimated to accommodate as many as 700 diners at one time.

To ensure that Gerry’s Grill in Singapore will serve the same quality that they serve here in the Philippines, the casual dining restaurant will have two Filipino personnel – the branch manager and head cook who will be serving guests with Gerry’s bestsellers such as Crispy Pata and Sisig.

“Although our menu is limited given the space, we will offer Gerry’s Grill favorites with the same quality that has made our restaurant a cult favorite along with a host of a la carte menu items,” Apolinario said.

Gerry’s Grill currently has 42 branches nationwide with the 43rd branch opening at Station 1 Mitos Place (near Astoria) in Boracay

source

MeatWorks

*photos taken by Em-J's 9700

I was craving for some steak last Friday and as I was going around ION, I saw the "Brontosaurus"poster of MeatWorks which kind of sold it for me. (It's supposed to be a monster of a steak meant for sharing.) I called Em-J and since he was near the area and he hasn't had dinner yet, we agreed to meet up.

The wait staff who welcomed us, made recommendations and took our orders was friendly and professional. Em-J was not really much of a steak eater so he decided on the salmon. I wanted the Brontosaurus but it says on the menu that it takes an hour to prepare, also, since Em-J didn't want red meat, I figured it would go to waste cause there is no way that I can finish the entire thing. I settled for the Striploin.

Em-J then talked about how hungry he was, I talked about how I'm excited to finally have steak. We talked about watching the Rocky Horror show. We talked about Lion King. We talked about Manila. We talked about a lot of things but our order never came. 

I followed up twice. We couldn't believe how it can be taking this long since the restaurant was not even half full. 

The constant dinging of the nearby Chinese restaurant's queue machine (or whatever it's called) was starting to get to me. It kept ringing calling the waiting patrons inside but still no food came. Worse, no one even took just a minute to inform us as to why our orders are taking so long or even offer peanuts for us to munch on.

Finally, after 40 minutes, Em-J's salmon arrived. 

Picture above was untouched and I couldn't help but feel disappointed. The plate looked sloppy and the fries were overcooked and old. If it takes them that long to prepare the dish, I would at least expect the fries to be decent. To their credit, the salmon was delicious. 

My steak was served shortly. 

Again, to their credit, the steak was not dry and cooked just the way I like it. I couldn't care much for the fries and the stir-fried bell peppers. The sauce which the wait staff glowingly recommended was blah. It was just melted butter with some herbs on top. The butter was not even that rich. Give me an A1 sauce anytime. 

Had I known that it would take almost the same time to prepare our orders and prepare the Brontosaurus, I would have settled for the latter. At least our expectations would have been set and we wouldn't have been so pissed. As such, I don't think I'm coming back if I'm paying. 

Happy Valley

*Image heavy post

Since most of us are fans of theme parks, we squeezed in Happy Valley in our itinerary. From what I've read, there are three theme parks in Beijing but Happy Valley is supposed to be the most exciting. It's also near our hotel, a few MRT stations and a bus ride away.

We got there at around 11am since we had a late start. There were no queues at the ticket counter and it didn't really look like much from outside. Entrance is 160 RMB (1050 PHP).

This is what immediately greeted us and got us all excited. There were several rides that won't be operational until 2pm and we thought this roller coaster is one of them, unfortunately, this ride remained closed the entire day. 

The park is really huge. We stayed there until 4pm and we were only able to cover half of the park and this is after the fact that we didn't even have to queue for the rides since there were not a lot of visitors.

Most of the rides are extreme which I really really like. 

Our favorites would have to be the one below which we nicknamed Superman because of your position during the ride. It looks scary but it's not, it's exciting and fun. 

Another one of our favorite is another scary looking roller coaster ride.

We also saw the drop which they were mocking because it wasn't as high as the one in Genting. 

Little did we know that right around the corner is the drop's other siblings. Taller and looking all smug. 

There's also the 4D ride which I recommend you skip if you're going there. It's got to be the most boring 4D movie ever, I dozed off a few minutes after it started, no kidding. 

The last attraction we tried before leaving is the ghost house. It was one of the biggest ghost house I've even been to but it's not as scary as the ones in Manila. Still, Abby and Haydz who fell flat on their faces when they got pushed would sure remember this the most. 

We sure had fun! Too bad we really couldn't squeeze all the rides in one day.











Here's Eli and Noel looking all excited!

After Happy Valley, we headed to the railway station, Eli suggested we go to nearby Tianjin so we can experience the bullet train. One way ride is about 40 RMB (260 PHP). We loved the trains, it was very spacious and clean. It has more leg room compared to a normal airbus. 

We actually didn't get to see how fast we were going because it was already dark outside. Most of us took this train ride to rest, we were all fast asleep during the two-way ride. 

Tianjin is pretty and bright but we really didn't get to explore the city since we had to catch the train ride back. 

We then headed to Xidan to have a really late dinner since it's also a pretty popular shopping place but when we got there, we really didn't have any choice as to where to eat at since only Pizza Hut is open. I have to say though that service is top notch! We were all very pleased with the wait staff who attended to us. Lastly, the food is also good and their chocolate cake is one of the best I've ever had. Yum!