Cafe Coeli (Timog Ave.) v.s. Brewing Point (Tierra Pura), both in Quezon City

We tried this new start-up place, Cafe Coeli, and well, here's the good and the bad.

1. I like that it's a startup.
2. I like that there's free WiFi.
3. The food they have tastes good but is not great. This maybe a sign of things to come for their franchise. However, as Mara said, people don't come there to eat. But I thought, the food occupies 1/2 of their menu! We didn't yet try their shakes, or coffees, etc. Who seems to be the owner-manager of the place did ask us to taste-test their new concoction, iced coffee jelly. See #6.
4. There is something wrong about the interiors. I noticed that there it uses one color too many. Blue and yellow - sure, that's their color. Black and all other neutrals are fine. But pink? How did that get in there?
5. Related to #4, although they have couches, their chairs, made of steel aren't comfortable to sit in through a meal and dessert. (Maybe that was intentional so that people do not stay in there for so long?) The steel chairs and tables sort of blend with the overall theme of the place though. There is something wrong about the interiors.
6. The iced coffee jelly was a little too sweet, but I think the ice just melted. I guess that's just right for iced coffee. It was just a small serving; the owner-manager said they'll even serve it with whip cream and cherry. We ordered I think tiramisu for dessert. It was nice. But again, it wasn't great.

I find that Brewing Point is a better place in most aspects; it's just more out of the way for most people. (In certain situations, that might be more advantageous.) Nonetheless, we'll come back to taste their shakes at Cafe Coeli. Hopefully those shakes will change my impression of this place. I still like that they have free Wifi!  Brewing Point also has Free Wifi.

Hotels in India

I have stayed so far in five hotels in India, three of which are what I would call "Indian-style" hotels - the interiors are Indian. The rest are what I would call "Western-style" hotel. All five have complimentary breakfast.

The first three hotels I stayed in are Indian-style hotels and have rates of $40, $70, and $100 per night. A $100 per night hotel, to me and to all Filipinos here in the Philippines, would be a four-star hotel already. In India, that $100 hotel is (by my Westernized standards) just a 2-star hotel.

I stayed in what I think is a 3-star Western-style hotel in an industrial town some 200 kilometers away from Delhi. The rate is also $100 per night. Quite expensive but it was within budget. It is a relief for westernized me because it feels comfortable to me. I would think there is nothing wrong with the first three hotels I stayed in except that I think it just doesn't suit my personal taste.

The second hotel is actually a business hotel in Delhi, and if you like a little taste of India in terms of accomodations and so on, try that hotel. I forgot the name. I got it at ~$70 per night, and it is to me a 2-star hotel. They only gave you Sunsilk sachets for your shampoo though. I guess you should just be thankful you get free shampoo. I don't think they gave you toothbrush and toothpaste; I don't recall exactly. I think it's quite expensive.

The last hotel I stayed in, this time in Mumbai, was quite new and it felt to me like a 4-star hotel from the inside, but from the outside, it is really a 3-star hotel. It's ~$160 per night. Very expensive for a 3-star hotel! There's this other hotel which I would think is a 4-star hotel, and it's ~$300 per night. Five star hotels in Mumbai could be as much as $500 to $700 per night!

So there's my major complaint of these hotels in India:
1. They're expensive. In general, I think anything which tourists/foreigners would use or visit are expensive. I guess it's something you have to be prepared for when visiting India. A bottle of water is just Rs.10 in the streets, but it's at least Rs.80 in the hotels, and as much as Rs.100.

2. Let's say they give you toothbrush and toothpaste for your first night, they won't give you new ones for your second night's stay, and maybe for the rest of your stay. They would give you two complimentary packets each of coffee, tea, sugar, and creamer on your first day, but they might just give you one each on the next day, and so on. They would give you two bars of soap on your first night, but not on your second night, and so on. You would have one towel the first night, but not on the second night. So eco-awareness aside, if you want a complete set of those "freebies" - soap, coffee, tea, sugar, creamer, toothbrush, toothpaste, shaving kit, shampoo, lotion, etc. - on your 2nd, 3rd, or 4th night at these hotels, check out then check back in at a different room. For the first night, you'll get everything but not if you stay one night longer (though the rate is the same). But who would do that? Who would check out every morning and just check in again in the evening? Then what they are doing, to me is taking advantage of people, and poor service. And that happened to me at these 3-star hotels. That doesn't happen to me in the Philippines (for 3-star hotels). Maybe it won't happen to me when I check in at a 4-star or better hotel - but check out my comment number 1 above.

Three of the hotels I was talking about are: The Airport Hotel, Delhi; Peninsula Grand, Mumbai; and Mountview Hotel, Chandigarh.

Kenny Roger's Roasted: The Sequel

I can't believe I just ate at Kenny Roger's again. I never learned. But I had no choice really. I wanted a place where they have healthy vegetables and/or fruits (Jollibee, McDo, and Shakey's, etc. around Katipunan don't usually have such - their salads are not salads in my vocabulary). It was past 8pm already and I was so hungry na. I went there because parking was a problem at other places where they might have vegetables. I got a Super Solo chicken meal which had 1/4 chicken, a "cup" of rice, one side dish (I got fresh fruit salad),

Anyhow, here are three "complaints" which I would not expect at an American establishment:
1. My brother ordered soup, but the cashier did not punch it in and did not give us any until after we asked them why they didn't give us what we supposedly ordered for. (They didn't serve our meal right away, so we expected it will arrive. Was it our fault we didn't check the receipt?)

2. The chicken was burnt! And it was probably just microwaved. The chicken meat was... Well, just imagine that: burnt outside (skin), and microwaved an X number of times. Can you imagine how "makunat" the meat was? Thank God for my young teeth, I was still able to chew them.

3. The fruit salad turned out to be a pineapple salad, with one small peach cube. Fruit salad? Just because there are two fruits in there - 6 small slices of pineapple and 1 small peach cube - you call that a fruit salad already? So it's 8pm. Maybe the pineapples and oranges and cherries have run out. Who cares? Then don't tell me you have fruit salad! Then I shouldn't have gotten fruit salad! This doesn't happen in other countries.

Alas, demand (for fast food) is higher than the supply. Kenny Roger's gets away with all these things. Just as Jollibee gets away (most of the time) with bland Coke and just one small piece of very thin paper napkin (tissue). Are paper napkins so expensive you have to deny us how many we really need? These are the leaders (in the food industry) here in the Philippines, and the other smaller players, I can only see them following in their footsteps. But then, it's the consumer's fault also. We accept and tolerate these practices. We continue to patronize these places. So they continue to do these things.

Ah, this is one of those things that you just let be or else, you'd be like punishing yourself if you just keep on thinking about it. Well, Kenny Roger, unfortunately this type of quality is being associated with your name. I hope you (or your kin) do something about it.

People's Palace, Greenbelt, Makati, Philippines

When I first heard the name, the first thing that came to mind was “Chinese Food!”

But it’s not Chinese food. It’s Thai food actually, but like most West-Southeast Asian food (i.e. Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam), there are some Indian, Malay, and Chinese influences in there.

And it’s great food. And shakes. I did not pay though when I went here, so I don’t know if it’s good value for money. From what I recall though, it’s not bad, if you can afford it.

So, looking for some place new? Go try this place.

But have you been a gastro-bug like myself? I have been around and have tried many different places; while this is good food, and perhaps it’s a cut above the rest, it’s not that exceptionally great. Not that the rest is bad. It’s just that the taste isn’t all so new to me. Catfish salad. Chicken pandan. Different Curry dishes. Green mango salad.

But what I liked here was their shakes. Did I already mention they have shakes? I mean, you might think it’s just a matter of mixing some fruits and stuff, and voila, you have a shake concoction. But that was the highlight of the night for me.

Oh, and I liked the dessert I got too. Mango with ice cream or something. But, that’s something you can have at home. Maybe I liked it because I got it (and the whole meal) for free.

So, yup, nothing’s changed. Food, better but not great. Shakes, they get a “wow! I haven’t tried that but I’m glad I did” rating. Dessert – well it might have been great because it was a good choice to match the main course I ate.

[RAW] IKEA in the Philippines!

IKEA is not here yet but some enterprising entrepreneurs are selling IKEA products here.

One has a shop somewhere in Kamuning, Quezon City. Visit http://ikeaph.multiply.com/

A second one has shops in New Manila and in Makati near Bautista St. Visit http://rooms101.multiply.com/, and http://newmanila23.multiply.com/

Very limited selection though. I noticed that the prices though are as much as 50% to 100% more expensive than IKEA Singapore prices. Oh well. Beats going to Singapore, I guess.

Kenny Rogers' Roasted

Hmmm, I am here to say "I never learned" again. The last three times I ate at Kenny Rogers 'here in the Philippines, I saw some disappointing things.

The first time, I ate at the Kenny Rogers' at the Duty Free Fiesta Mall in Paranaque near the Ninoy Aquino International Airport. That branch seems to not have that much customers, and because maybe of their poor sales, comes the poor quality of food. I mean, I don't think that's where they can find their target market. I wonder then, how cheap maybe their rent is there. I ordered one of their "latest" products, what they call "gourmet" sandwiches. I think it was a chicken sandwich. For ~P80, it was nothing that I couldn't prepare myself at home for P20 or less. It wasn't worth it. Nothing fantastic. I would pay P20 for it somewhere else. P80 was too much. This was in early 2007.

Second time, I ate at the Kenny Rogers' at the SM Mall of Asia, just last month (January 2008). I was trying to save on money, so I got the
What has happened to you, Kenny Rogers?

And I noticed this just at that Kenny Rogers' at the SM-MOA, but they have abandoned the one-line fall-in-line-in-front-of-the-food procedure and have used instead a multiple line (one per cash register) format. It takes up a lot of space! And what happens, as the case for such formats in other restaurants, is that those people coming in late sometimes get ahead of those people who have already been in line for minutes! What the hell???

And, yep, I never learned. I ate again at another Kenny Rogers in January 2008, this time at Glorietta in Makati. I made that choice, partly because well I like the ORIGINAL Kenny Rogers roasted chicken and the ORIGINAL Kenny Rogers format - you know, you pick your side dishes with the "Solo A" meal that comes with 1/4 Chicken and a muffin. Plus I ate there because I had SodexHo Gift Certificates that Kenny Rogers' accepts. Our total meal was P280, so with my P200 GC, I practically paid only P80. For what happened at that store, I thought it P80 wasn't bad. IT WAS JUST RIGHT. Now hear this.

First, it's that "new" Kenny Rogers' meal ordering format again. I think at least one person who came in after us got ahead of us. Oh well. Then there are these on-line order takers. You know, you really order at the cashier but because of the long lines (emphasis on LONG lineS), somebody takes your order even before you reach the cashier and then gives you a piece of paper which contains your paper. Fault Number One: the order taker didn't properly get what we ordered. So the cashier had to redo his thing, probably to the chagrin of his manager. Fault Number Two: the cashier didn't take our order properly after the first fault was addressed. When our ordered arrived, my friend got the "new" "Fiesta" type of chicken, which we didn't go to Kenny Rogers' for. Fault Three: The cashier didn't give us the right change! Fortunately, they still gave us the change, except that the cashier himself just delivered it to our table. It was a frustrating evening. And then my order was gone in a flash. That was something I accepted, because I eat like an American, and well, I typically order two times the regular quantity of food orders here in the Philippines.

What's going on Kenny Rogers?

I told my friend, you see as a sign of desperation when a restaurant starts serving stuff they are not known for. Kenny Rogers with SAUSAGES? And BURGER STEAK? Come on!!! I go to Kenny Rogers for the wonderful roasted chicken and the side dishes! I go to Jollibee for Chickenjoy, what Kenny Rogers calls their "Fiesta" chicken. I go to McDonald's and/or Jollibee also for their "burger steaks." Why is Kenny Rogers offering such things?

They're losing. They haven't lost yet, but it's coming to that. And while it is generally a good business decision to "diversify," to give the customers what they want, great companies focus on their core businesses. For Kenny Rogers, I don't see SAUSAGES and BURGER STEAKS and "GOURMET" SANDWICHES which are nothing but STUFFED PANDESAL as part of their core business. And while it is obviously a good business strategy to grow, I think their supply (of outlets/branches) has far outgrown the demand. That is what I think is going wrong.

What's going on with Kenny Rogers?

I want the old Kenny Rogers back!!!

Stars Travel - still charging a 5% credit card surcharge

I will still use their service in the future, but I'm just stating here a fact. Last November, I booked a trip to Shanghai with them, and because it is a "free" trip that I need to pay first in advance and reimburse after a month's time, I used my credit card again (this is my second time to do so with them). That is November 2007. Just a few months before, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) I think has already (re-)issued a circular/law disallowing any surcharges on credit card transactions. And here they are still, a-charging. I personally really didn't mind, because again, I was going to reimburse whatever they're charging to this foreign group with lots of dough. So anyway, I'm just here stating a fact. And again, I will still use their services in the future for trips around Asia, and most especially for trips to/from Japan.