Manila Guide Online

This year, Valentine’s day is going to be very busy. On top of it falling on a Sunday, it’s also going to be Chinese New Year. There are lots of festivities going on. It would be a Valentine’s Day that’s not just for lovers, but for the whole family. Here are some suggestions you can do to make this day extra special and memorable:

1. If you are planning on dining, you should have already made your reservations weeks in advance. All restaurants should be teeming with guests that Sunday. You cannot be just dropping by, expecting to be seated. Pick your restaurant now and call up. Don’t do it the last minute.

2. For the whole family to enjoy, you can check out these family activities that only take place once in a year:

• The Hot Air Balloon Festival in Pampanga, You can check out the website for the details.
• The World Pyro Olympics at the Mall of Asia. It is actually running for a whole month, commencing on February 14. You can check the website for details.
• The Big Binondo Food WOK happening in Chinatown on Chinese New Year should be something you can also look forward to with the whole family. You can check the website for details.

3. Lastly, Valentine’s Day is a time not only for dining, but also music. There are several Valentine concerts set. Check with the SM Ticketworld or Ticketnet for which stars are going to have Valentine’s shows and make your reservations already.

However you spend your day on February 14th, spend it with your loved-ones and have a great time!

It’s the latest food craze in Metro Manila. You see plenty of these yogurt stalls in the malls and you see the different food concoctions and combination for it. Called fro-yo by the hip and the cosmopolitan crowd, frozen yogurt is actually a food staple that became popular back in the 70’s. It’s like ice cream, but it comes with less fat….and because it’s made of yogurt, it has that sour and tangy after taste.

What’s the best fro-yo brand in the metro today? You can actually take your pick, because there are really many options.

Fro-yo addicts look to Pampanga for the best choice. The store is called Cold Spoon located at the Fil-Am Highway in Clarkfield. I have friends telling me it’s the best kept secret in Yogurt-land, and mostly because there is still no branch in Metro Manila (therefore, isn’t heavily commercialized). The store is owned by Koreans, I’m told, but it is managed by Filipino staff.

California Berry in Silver City Ortigas has quite a selection of yogurt toppings that I actually like it. They claim the products are all imported from the States. The serving is small but my tastebuds seem to prefer their yogurt better than most.

I’ve recently discovered White Hat in the Marikina area, specifically SM Marikina. The yogurt apparently comes from Italy, so that it tastes a bit different from the ones I’ve tried (Korean and USA). They have some unique combinations and I have yet to try most of it. But I like the fact that they have huge servings.

Yogurbud is actually one of the first ones to set the trend and I think I’ve only tried this twice. I find their yogurt really, really sour and mix it with frozen fruit, which ruins the consistency.

Major parts of the Philippines went under water today as tropical storm “Ondoy” unleashed its wrath, leaving thousands stranded and residents climbing to their rooftops for drier ground.

While the provincial regions like Pampanga are known to suffer these flash floods every time there is a storm, Metro Manila was totally unsuspecting of the floods that hit major parts of the country. Hard hit countries included Marikina, Quezon City, San Juan and Paranaque which are still seeking help from rescue teams. The power for these affected parts of the metropolis was also cut by MERALCO to avoid further casualties from execution.

Here are some video footages taken by local residents tied up with the destruction that Typhoon “Ondoy” caused.