Archive for 'Dining and Travel' Category

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Free food from mister donut

     It was a normal bird chirping morning as I went to buy some food for the family at Mister Donut.  After ordering and paying for my take out, I noticed a sign beside the cash register which read, "If we don't issue a receipt, your meal is on us".

     I never liked this ubiquitous notice because establishments with signs like that were obviously trying to convey the message of compliance to the BIR (Bureau of Internal Revenue) but never really explain the exact details as to  how a customer is considered to be "unissued a receipt".  Do we wait 5 minutes upon consummation of the deal? Do we wait for the customer to walk out the door? Or must the customer reach home first to be considered "unissued a receipt"?

Cebu Pacific Air: All-in Domestic Ticket Sale & P888++ International Ticket Sale

Cebu Pacific marks NAIA-3 transfer with system-wide seat sale

Cebu Pacific (CEB), the country’s largest domestic carrier, will mark the August 1 transfer of its entire operations to NAIA-3 with a system-wide seat sale starting on July 30 to August 5, 2008 or until allocated seats are sold out.

CEB offers as low as P888 one-way fares for its international routes, exclusive of government taxes and surcharges.

Fares for domestic routes on the other hand, are all-inclusive, starting at P699 for routes from Manila to Luzon, P999 for routes from Manila to the Visayas and P1,499 for routes from Manila to Mindanao.  Intra-Visayas and Mindanao routes start at an all-in fare of P699 one-way.

Philippine Airlines: Great Value Flights Promo

GREAT VALUE FLIGHTS PROMOTIONAL FARES

Get great value from our Austral-Asian special fares promo to selected Asian Destinations.  Enjoy the amenities of our world class terminal.  Relax in our spacious seats.  And experience our renowned in-flight service and on-board entertainment.
 
Below are the applicable routes:
 
For as low as USD 88 (WEESALE) Manila to Macau to Manila

For as low as USD 118 (UEESALE)
Manila to Bangkok to Manila
Manila to Guam to Manila
Manila to Hong Kong to Manila
Manila to Jakarta to Manila
Manila to Saigon to Manila
Manila to Singapore to Manila
Manila to Taipei to Manila
Manila to Xiamen to Manila
 
For as low as USD 168 (UEESALE) Manila to Shanghai to Manila
 
For as low as USD 268 (KEESALE) Manila to Beijing to Manila

Wasting food for quality control at a time of crisis

A couple of decades ago, I went with my mom to a Mc Donald's field trip and saw how the food was made.  They were still using and peeling real potatoes back then.  It was revealed proudly that food not sold in x minutes were removed from the selling area and thrown away for quality control.  They were not even given to the poor or the workers for the reason that they did not want to serve anything below quality. I don't know if that is still their policy today.

However, at a certain Bread Talk store, I've learned that they were also doing the same thing: throwing away baked pastry or bread that did not pass other quality standards such as visual appearance. Case in point, this batch of croissant was thrown away because the bun seemed pale, according to the inspector.

Where’s my Mrs. Fields Chewy Fudge cookie?

One of my most fave chocolate dessert is Mrs. Fields Chewy Fudge cookies.  I love its gooey inside and the extremely chocolatey taste.  (its the dark brown one in the photo)  However, I was quite disappointed last Sunday when I learned that it had been phased-out.  I am not sure if its true but that was what the "telebabad" girl at the Trinoma branch told me.  I went to the branches at Podium and The Block some days earlier and the girls at the counter just told me "Wala na."  I just assumed they meant they ran out of stock since it was already closing time when I went. 

Resto Review: La Maison in Trinoma

Had the chance to eat at La Maison in Trinoma with some friends last Saturday.  Since there were ten of us in the group, I called ahead to make a reservation.  The girl who answered the phone, Mariel, was very accommodating and really took her time to listen to my requests.  And  when we got there, our table was set in a more secluded part of the resto.  We also added one more table and they did so without  any complaint. 

Cebu Pacific Air Zero-Peso Promo!!!

Cebu Pacific Air is offering zero fares for their domestic and international seats.  The seat sale will run from May 15 to May 18, 2008 or until allocated seats are sold out.  Travel period is from June 9 to December 31,2008.  Book through their website www.cebupacificair.com.

I've booked for cebu flights yesterday but was not able to get the zero fare promo.  I also experienced getting my credit card declined on my third booking (I was booking for my relatives and I divided the booking into three batches).  I tried using a different credit card but was declined as well.  So I just closed the page (under Mozilla)and opened another using Internet Explorer and was finally able to book the third batch using the same card.  My cousin also experienced the same thing.  Weird huh? 

Redeem your Asiamiles for stays at Sofitel Philippine Plaza, Edsa Shangri-la, Makati Shangri-la, Shangri-la Mactan, etc.

Here's some good news for Philippine residents who are members of Asiamiles.  We can now use our miles to redeem stays at hotels like Sofitel, Edsa Shangri-la, Shangri-la Mactan, Makati Shangri-la and Traders Hotel.  

I had some miles expiring last January so I used it to redeem an overnight stay at Sofitel.  It took 13,000 miles only.  For Shangri-la hotels, the miles required ranges from 25,000 to 40,000 (for overnight with spa packages).  And its quite easy to redeem.  Just call or email the hotel to check the availability of the preferred nights.  Once your booking is confirmed, just email Asiamiles to redeem the miles.  Asiamiles will now send a redemption letter to you.  But remember to allot 2 to 4 weeks for delivery of the letter.  My redemption letter took more than six weeks.  I had to email them again to send one ASAP since my booking date was approaching.  They had one sent via express mail(free of charge).  

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