Arrowland by Gandiva

Hello and Happy New Year to everyone! This activity was done before December 2016 ended but I will just be blogging and blabbering about it right now. So, before we embarked on a family vacay to Aurora, my brother, boyfriend and I went to an archery range opened just November of 2016 at SM Megamall. My boyfriend who is a big fan of Legolas just as I am found out about this and told me to invite my brother and his gf for a double date. However, his gf wasn’t able to come so he went third wheeling with us. Haha.

Before I start sharing of my first archery experience, let me give you a background of Arrowland and the company who started it. Gandiva is one of the pioneer archery brands in the Philippines. They started in the year 2007 with the goal of promoting archery as a sport. Their mission is let every Filipino have the first-hand experience of archery and to make it accessible to the masses. They started their first branch at the SM Mall of Asia in the year 2009, and now they opened Arrowland to even make archery something fun and enjoyable to the family as they provide the bows to use, which makes it truly accessible. The company’s name derives from the magical bow of a prince named Arjuna from the stories in Mahabharata.  (Source: Gandiva.com.ph)

So here begins my first archery adventure…

Quite a crowd!

We took the 75 package for three persons.

We picked the Original target.

It was jam-packed and they weren’t accepting any at first for the first three hours as there was a long line of waiting archers like me. Haha. But, we really wanted to try so we roamed around first and had lunch then headed back to book and wait again. Good thing, they asked for our number and will text us once we are up next. We also filled up an indemnity form, which is a promise to pay for the cost of possible injury, because bow and arrows could be deadly.

Be sure to keep your receipt as you will need to present it.

My parents came over and we walked again waiting for the text and it was good timing as we were done with whatever we needed to buy, when we learned that we were up next.

This is it!

Armband to protect your arm, of course! Haha

Prior to entering they would put armbands on us and would ask if what your dominant hand is.

That’s quite heavy.

75 ÷ 3 = 25. First round was 15 arrows, the second set was 10, the kind lady gave us extra two arrows each for our last round.

Of course, a picture before the fiasco.

They also provide basic instruction on how to mount your arrow on the bow, your stance, when to release. Fret not, as they will be with you all throughout your session.

Yup, here I go.

The High Elves of Lothlorien or Hunger Games?? Chos!

THE RESULTS:

HAHA! I CAN SEE YOU BEYOND THIS SCREEN JUDGING ME!

Yep, we weren’t Legolas or Katniss-worthy but it was a good start. Haha. Excuses! But we really had fun and I would like to try again. Perhaps, if we availed the 300 arrows, by the 299th I’d be able to hit the target while the walls of Arrowland is filled with my other arrows. Hehe. The boys were quite kind to say if the target were a real person, they wouldn’t be able to walk. Aww, sweet boys! >_< I highly suggest and recommend that you try Arrowland with your family of teens or barkada, to experience one of the classic sports called archery.

For more details here are their contact numbers:

Gandiva Ortigas: (02) 638 8771
Arrowland Megamall: ‎(02) 577 0956 | 0917 8772425
Gandiva Davao: (082) 296 7011

Merci beaucoup et á bientôt!

Bánh Mì Kitchen

Ola! Salut! Hello! August is coming to an end and I finally faced my blog to write a new post. This has been probably the busiest, most stressful and rockiest month to date. @_@ But thank God for His sustaining grace and even if there are a few more days left in August, I do believe I can survive this. ^_^ Now, as the title goes this post is about our first try on Banh Mi Kitchen.

Bánh Mì is a Vietnamese style sandwich. Basically it is a Vietnamese term for bread.  “Bánh” stands for bread and “mì”  for wheat. The bread is almost similar to a French baguette’s texture. (Source: Wikipedia) I first had a taste of bánh mì, when we went to Vietnam and I loved it. I called it, rather most people would call it the Vietnamese Subway. So when I saw a food stall called Bánh Mì Kitchen in Megamall, my eyes lit up! But it took awhile before I tried.

Just last Saturday, my best friend, Chen of chenesteves.wordpress.com along with her boyfriend, Lorenz met up with me and Sunny (my boyfriend) for quick catch-up/double date. We decided to try out Bánh Mì Kitchen, since I kept raving about Vietnamese coffee and they offer one too. Here is what the food stall looked like and the complete menu of what they offer:

Lorenz and Sunny both had Beef Rendang. I had Wagyu Beef and Chen had Kani Bonito. I wasn’t able to take photos of Chen’s Kani, but I’ll be able to post their comments and ratings regarding their first try as well.

Let’s start with rating the Bánh Mì , with the 1 to 5 rating, 1 being the lowest score and 5 the highest.

Chen: 5 for the Kani. The taste of cilantro is dominant and it reminds me of Pho.

Lorenz: 5 for the sake of trying. 😛

Me: 4 for the Wagyu. Wished I had the Rendang instead because that is a 5 especially with Sriracha on it.

Sunny: 4 for the Beef Rendang. It was minty, but delicious, crunchy and very tasty. It was also huge!

Overall: 4.5 out of 5

We also got to try Vietnamese coffee, which I am most particularly excited about. Vietnamese coffee has a very strong taste and is sweetened by condensed milk. They usually have it iced, though Bánh Mì Kitchen also offered a Vietnamese iced tea. Here are our ratings:

Chen: 3 for the tummy aches it caused and it didn’t make me sleep. I love coffee but my taste is more on the Western side. I was really expecting to taste the condensed milk but nah.

Lorenz: 3 for the tummy aches as well. It was strong.

Me: 5, but it was strong, though I still love it. Not the same as the ones I had in Vietnam though. But it was good, or that’s because I just love coffee. It did gave me some bit of palpitations that night. I think I would still love to try their Vietnamese iced tea.

Sunny: 5, the coffee had a very strong effect, but it tasted so good.

Overall: 4 out of 5

I wasn’t able to finish my sandwich and had Sunny ate the quarter left. Hehe #relationshipgoals. But our meal was filled with chattering and laughter. After all, a meal is always good when you are with the people you love. ^_^ Ain’t that cheesy?? So in case you stop by Megamall, give Bánh Mì Kitchen a try!

Facebook Page: Bánh Mì Kitchen

Located at: 4th floor Building A of SM Megamall, Ortigas or at Bonifacio Stopover, BGC 9am – 10 pm Daily and at POP by Retail Lab, Power Plant Mall

Merci beaucoup et á bientôt!

 

The Halal Guys PH

If I would list down my top three favorite cuisines, it would be Filipino, Mexican and Middle Eastern. Usually our family’s go-to resto/fast food after a long walk/shopping at the mall would be Mexicali. Sadly, it was still under renovation. Thankfully, another food chain opened in the 5th floor of SM Megamall Fashion Food Hall. A world-famous gyro and falafel selling store. 😛 THE HALAL GUYS.

The first time it opened, the line was up to the escalator. So, I told myself to wait for a few weeks more till the crowd subsides. After 3 or 4 weeks, (I guess) my family and I decided to give it a try. Well guess what, the line was still long but at least it was only up to area of the Food Hall.

The long line.

It was hard to look for a table. Mum and I had to split ways, more of like “divide and conquer” strategy. After the table searching, it was a great idea by the staff of Halal Guys to get their client’s order while on line. So you only have to submit your order and they can work on it = less time on the counter.

Nom nom!

Falafel over rice in New York Size

The menu has four options: Gyro, Chicken, Falafel and Combo. Gyro is beef, Falafel is vegetables and Combo is a combination of two meats of your choice. All four could be served with rice or wrapped in a pita. I chose the Falafel, as I wanted to try what it tastes like. Let’s start with the pita. I liked the pita, not too stiff and soft just the right texture. I love it dipped in the sauce. It was the first thing I finished off in my platter. Next the veggies, they were fresh and are a perfect combo for the rice. Helps tame down any “umay” taste. For the rice, it was good, but I wouldn’t rave about it. It was a bit oily and I wasn’t able to finish it. The sauce was okay too, it fit well for the Falafel. Though, I thought that it might have a bit of a “garlicky” taste (which I liked), hehe, turns out to be a bit sweet. For the Falafel, it was hard in texture, the taste was alright but it goes better if dipped in the white sauce. In case you want it spicy, just ask for the red sauce, it is REALLY SPICY!

The Falafel over rice meal costs 329php with drinks. The Combo of Chicken and Gyro (my brother’s choice) costs 499php with drinks. I honestly was not able to finish my meal. 😦 The New York Size was huge and jam-packed, my tummy was filled. I got overexcited for a meal. Lesson learned: Don’t get what you can’t finish. Heehee. #bummer

Overall, the meal was filling and probably next time, I’ll have the smaller size and Chicken wrapped in Pita instead. In case you come across the Food Hall, try to give yourself a taste of Middle Eastern meal 😉

The Halal Guys
5L Mega Food Hall, SM Mega Fashion Hall, SM Megamall

Merci beaucoup et á bientôt!