THROUGH THE TUNNEL TO APPLEBEE'S!

            Back in September, during our Oreo Trip to New York, Rina and I ventured across the river to New Jersey, all on our own during a free night, just to visit Rina's Aunt Eva and Uncle Tony. Tita Eva is like a second mother to Rina, so she was determined to meet up with her, no matter what. Of course that meant that my mission was to figure out how to get there via the subway. 

       Thankfully, it was actually quite easy, since all we had to do was get down on the very last stop (I forgot what train though hehe), where Tita Eva and Uncle Tony was waiting to take us shopping at the Jersey Gardens. 

       All that shopping caused me us to work up an appetite, so before we headed back to New York, Tita Eva asked us where we wanted to go for Dinner. She rattled off names of restaurants, and something I immediately recognized was "Applebees".

THE SHAKE SHACK SHAKEDOWN

            Something I knew I wanted to go for during our trip to New York, was some kick ass American burgers. Even when we were still in Manila, AmbassadOREO Jennifer and I were discussing the places we wanted to eat at. The first thing she yelled out was "Shake Shack!". 

        Knowing that Shake Shack is one of famous restauranteur Danny Meyer's restaurants, there was no way in hell I was going to say no to that. Admittedly, I was torn between Shack Shake or the popular "Five Guys" Burger.. But once again, the great Anthony Bourdain once again made his presence felt, and turned the tide towards Shake Shack. During our flight to New York, I watched the New York Episode of "Anthony Bourdain: The Layover", and Shake Shack was one of the burger places he visited. 

        That's all I needed to know.

THE AMBASSADOREOS TAKE MANHATTAN!

        For our first full day in New York, Oreo scheduled a City Tour for the Philippine AmbassadOREOS. We were treated to a driving tour around the Big Apple, passing by some of the city's most significant landmarks. 

       Honestly, this wasn't my first time in New York. I had been to there before, but only for the day. I have relatives in Delaware, and when we would visit them, my Uncle would drive us up there to check out the sights. He wasn't too sure what building was what, so we never really learned anything about the historical significance of the structures. Since we had a true blue native New Yorker by the name of Sylvia as our tour guide, this was a wonderful opportunity for us to learn more about one of the greatest cities on earth!

A BITE OF THE BIG APPLE DAY 1: HOP KEE

             During my first meeting with Jennifer and Jasmin, the Official Philippine AmbassadOREOS, we were talking about the the places I wanted to eat at New York. As you can imagine, a free trip to New York is every person's dream come true (unless of course, you live in New York), so imagine what it felt like to be a food blogger, planning a trip to one of the greatest food cities on the planet.  

    My goal when going to New York was making sure that I would try some of the delicious hot spots I had seen on some of some of my favorite food shows that I had watched in the past. During our conversation, the twins told me, "Oh, please reserve one dinner for us! Our parents are taking us to Hop Kee!".

     The name "Hop Kee" instantly rang a bell, but I couldn't place it. Hey, it was a free meal so I wasn't going to say no to that. It was only after we had eaten did I realize where I heard the name "Hop Kee" before..

     From a little show called "Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations".

THE GREAT OREO ADVENTURE: THE AMBASSADOREOS ARE OFF TO NEW YORK!

Imagine waking up from a deep in-flight slumber, 

looking out the window, and seeing this glorious sight. 

       If you visit my blog with any form of frequency, there's a chance that you might have stumbled unto a little tidbit of me winning the title of the Oreo's "Official Blogger AmbassadOREO".

     So what exactly did winning that title mean? 

     Well for starters, it gave me and my wife the opportunity to fly on an all expenses paid to New York (with pocket money) so we could attend the highly anticipated "100 Years of Oreo" event, where Oreo lovers from around the world gathered in a fun filled celebration of everyone's favorite cookie!

     So begins the travel log of what I consider, -next to my wedding and the birth of my daughter- The greatest experience of my life.. Our Great New York Adventure, courtesy of Oreo Philippines!