BREAKFAST AT CHRISTINA'S.. BY THE BEACH With Transitions® Signature™ Adaptive Lenses!

        This year, our family got the chance to travel again to Boracay! I know a lot of people may feel that Boracay is already too commercialized. Which may be true, but they still have the best white, powdery sand I’ve ever felt and seen. And it’s because of this that we still enjoy going back.

        This summer, we stayed in the beautiful Henann Lagoon  And it is during this time that we realized how large the Boracay Regency properties are in Boracay. Large and beautiful! This includes Henann Lagoon, Henann Gardens, Boracay Regency, Sea Breeze Cafe, and this small little but lovely restaurant where we had a delicious breakfast... Christina’s.

THE ALL NEW SEA BREEZE CAFE AT BORACAY (AND A STOPOVER AT WAVE)

During my first trip to Boracay nearly five years ago, our very first stop was at Sea Breeze Cafe at Boracay Regency Hotel, where I discovered the altar of bacon. Rina and I ate so much that we blame that breakfast for wasting our first day in the beautiful island, because we were so stuffed, as soon as we got to the room (At 10 am.. we were allowed an early check in), we ended up oversleeping, only to wake up by 2pm!  

        During our most recent return to Boracay where we stayed at Henann Lagoon resort, one of the highlights of the itinerary was our meals at the newly renovated Sea Breeze Cafe! 

THE BEAUTY OF BORACAY CAPTURED IN HENANN LAGOON RESORT

"Pa-humble effect"

         I have to admit, I got into the Boracay game really late. It wasn't until late 2010 that I made my first trip to the Philippines popular party island. It was more than a year since our second trip to Boracay, but our first with Rain, and we were looking forward to making plans for the summer. 

    Thankfully, the plans were made for us, when Henann Lagoon Resort graciously invited us to visit their stunning home in Boracay! 

    Ain't nobody gonna say no to that!   

BREAKFAST IN BORACAY: THE STAR LOUNGE AT THE DISTRICT

           Whether its a cure to your hangover, or the fuel you need for a day out at the beach, Breakfast in Boracay is definitely something that should be an integral part of your stay in the beautiful island paradise.

      During our short stay at The District Boracay, we were treated to a delightful early morning meal at the hotel's Vigan Grill.. Which is now also known as the Star Lounge!

DINNER AT THE DISTRICT BORACAY'S STAR LOUNGE

            I've said it time and time again.. I am a notorious introvert. The only way you could get me out in the evenings if there was a promise of a great food or an epic movie. Other than that, by 10pm I'm in bed, watching a series and/or blogging. So what does The Pickiest Eater, a self confessed, "Notorious Introvert" do when he finds himself out at night in the party capital of the Philippines? 

        Look for great food of course! Thankfully, when I was staying at The District Boracay, I didn't have to go very far.. Because at the roof deck of the hotel, lies one of the hippest hotspots in all of the island.. and their food is spectacular. 

        The Star Lounge is definitely the place to be in Boracay!

CARUSO RISTORANTE ITALIANO: AUTHENTIC ITALIAN DINING IN BORACAY!

        We arrived at the The District at a little past 12:30pm, much earlier than what we had expected. Nevertheless, as you can imagine, after our land, sea and air trip, we were absolutely famished. We were extremely disappointed because Air Asia's in-flight meals weren't applicable to the Kalibo flight, because it was just around an hour. Rina and I deliberately didn't eat breakfast in anticipation for our meal in the sky, and instead we ended up with a small bag of peanuts. 

              When we arrived, Naomi of The District Boracay informed us that we had a meal waiting for us at Carsuso Ristorante Italiano as soon as we settled in our room. 

            Just what I was looking for.. An authentic Italian meal to fill up my empty stomach!!

PARADISE FOUND: THE DISTRICT BORACAY

        One of Rina's favorite stories to tell, is how I would tell her just before our trip to the Party Island of the Philippines, "I lived in Cebu, so I doubt I would be impressed by Boracay". In my defense, we would go to the beach every weekend, so the sea and sand was really nothing new to me. 

      But even I was left in awe at the spellbinding beauty of the island know as Boracay. The last time we went there, was in 2010.. In the hopes of conceiving our very first child. Though we were not successful in that trip, my boys proved they could swim a few months later, and as you all know, we were blessed with a beautiful daughter, Baby Rain. 

     In late 2013, Rina won two round trip Domestic Flight tickets from Air Asia during one of their events, so we decided to put it to good use. Even at a young age, Baby Rain has been showing signs of being a Beach Baby, so the clear choice was Boracay (She has been to Cebu twice already).

     But the next question was.. where do we stay?

     A friend of mine (whom I call "Reyna ng mga hotel") managed to hook me up for an overnight stay in a hotel that I had been dreaming of staying at for quite some time.. 

    The District Boracay.

THE BORACAY CHRONICLES: THE LAST NIGHT AT STEAKHOUSE BORACAY

I'm dead sexy

   
       For our last night in Boracay, I wanted to take Rina to a romantic candle light dinner.. preferably a quiet place where we could enjoy each other's company during our final hours at the beautiful island. Apparently when you're in Boracay, the ultimate party hot spot in the country, finding a "quiet place" isn't exactly the easiest thing to do. Fortunately, during our walks around Station 2, (when we weren't getting besieged by offers to go Parasailing, Jet-skiing or Reef Walking), we passed by Steakhouse Boracay quite a few times and took it into serious consideration. The last night when we were looking for a quiet place to go to, Steakhouse Boracay proved to be the closest to what we were looking for. (Not counting the guy down at the beach who rocked the Magic Sing about how he never knew it would go so far, when she left him on that boulevard, the ambiance was perfect for the romantic dinner I was hoping for.)

THE BORACAY CHRONICLES: PANIC AT LEMON I CAFE

           After our Zorb Experience, Rina and I needed to grab a bite to eat for brunch. We passed by Lemon I Cafe quite a few times the day before and we noticed it was always packed, so it intrigued me. I had read about it before during my research, but I couldn't recall what was the "must try" of the house. Before we went in, we took a glance at the menu, and I was a little bit surprised by with the prices, which I found to be a bit high - and not just for a cafe in Boracay.

              The desserts in the display looked good and the items on the menu were very interesting, so it was a no-brainer that we would be going there. My only problem though, was I couldn't remember what the review I read said to try. 

THE BORACAY CHRONICLES: HOT STUFF AT JONAHS SHAKES

It was full to the brim when she started taking the picture

             My giant buddy Joel went to Boracay at the beginning of September, so he was able to scope out some places for me to try. One of the places he mentioned to me was Jonah's Fruit Shakes. Naturally I told him that i'm not really into fruit shakes, but he said not to worry because there are other things on the menu as well that would probably interest me. In fact, on his part, he didn't order a fruit shake. He ordered a chocolate peanut butter one. Sounded good to me, so I marked it down on my list of places to try during our Boracay trip.  

           The problem was, I thought I heard him say it was at D' Mall, which it isn't. So after a few minutes of walking around D' Mall looking for it, I gave up my search.

       

           After breakfast and a brisk walk around D' Mall, Rina and I decided we wanted to walk the length of the beach, all the way back to our hotel in Station I. It's actually quite a long walk, but when you're on the beach and you can see a landmark from far away, and when you're holding hands with the one you love.. *cheeziness alert* suddenly it doesn't seem to matter what time you get to your destination. (Pogi points for the missus hehe)

           Rina stopped to talk some pictures, and she was surprised to see I had turned the corner and was about to enter a tiny alleyway.

Its a sign!

         She was just about to ask where i was going when she looked up and saw the sign and understood completely. I had finally found the ever elusive path that would lead me to Jonah's. 

THE BORACAY CHRONICLES: THE HALLOWED HALLS OF BISTRO VALHALLA BORACAY

                  When I was researching places to eat for my trip to Boracay, the name "Valhalla" caught my attention quite a few times. It came across to me as a Carnivore's heaven, with a wide selection of steaks, ribs and other assortments of savory meat dishes to choose from. After a huge breakfast at the Sea Breeze Cafe, Rina and I headed back to our hotel room to get some rest. I got around three hours of sleep the night before, and Rina got none at all, so I felt it would be best to take a short nap before heading off to explore the island. We got back to our room around 9am, with the intention of waking up at 11am to take a walk down the beach. For some reason, we woke up at 2pm hehe. (I blame the buffet)

THE BORACAY CHRONICLES: RAIDERS OF THE SEA BREEZE CAFE

 

I swore that before the our Boracay trip ended, someone's gonna get pregnant.
This wasn't what I meant

  I've said it before, and I'll say it again. I'm a sucker for breakfast food. I'm easy to please, what can I say? Since we were going to be arriving Boracay early in the morning, I knew that the trip wouldn't get off to a good start if I didn't immediately get some food into Rina's tummy (She one of those people who gets really grumpy when she's hungry hehe). Good thing my friend Rain (and fellow breakfast food junkie), gave me the heads up on the breakfast buffet of the Sea Breeze cafe at the Boracay Regency.

        After arriving at the sunny shores of Boracay, at around 6:30 am, and we were famished. Rina had worked till 2am, meaning she didn't get any sleep anymore, except perhaps a little bit on the plane. I knew that if we took a nap, we wouldn't wake up anymore, so from our hotel, Residencia Boracay, we put settled in our stuff, and grabbed a tricycle to the Regency. 

       The Boracay Regency is one of the more upscale hotels in the island, so you can imagine how shocked I was to have what Rain told me confirmed by the hostess upon greeting us.. Breakfast Buffet was only P400 bucks!

THE BORACAY CHRONICLES: RIDE THE HYDRO ZORB!

My first video post!

Ironically, it's not about food. 

I'm still trying to see if I'll be incorporate more videos to my blog, but at the moment, I've got three more lined up after this, (but one isn't food related). 

I took a crash course on Windows Live Movie Maker, and I might need to install Adobe Premiere and take a crash course in that too.. hehe.. 

Anyways, Enjoy!

          Disclaimer: The Pickiest Eater In The World is shirtless in this video. Don't say you weren't warned.  

       Rina and I just got back from Boracay, and I was totally amazed. Anything I may have said about not being interested in going there because "I don't like the beach", I had to swallow, because I would go back there in an instant, given the opportunity. We did quite a few things while we were there, (especially eat) but I was so excited to show everyone the video of us riding the Hydro Zorb! The Zorb is basically a big giant ball that you hop into, and then you are rolled down a hill. You can imagine how awesome that would be! There are two types, one with a harness, and one with water. The one with a harness sounds like a vomit factory, so I stuck to the "Hydro" one. I was also pleasantly surprised that Rina was willing to ride it as well!