Kiwa Korean Grill Dining

Last week, I had the privilege of being invited to try Kiwa Korean Grill Dining in Solaire.  Kiwa claims to be the only Korean fine dining barbecue restaurant in South East Asia so it's definitely worth visiting.

 

The word "Kiwa" refers to a roof tile that is used in traditional Korean homes.  The owners wanted the restaurant to be a place for shelter, comfort and relaxation. And I must say, the beautiful interiors will certainly give you that relaxing vibe.  Kiwa is owned by Dr. David Shim, CEO of Solaire Korea and his associates.

Entrance to Kiwa

These Korean bears are probably as big as Dawn. They welcome guests at the foyer.

The hallway leading to the main dining area. Behind these walls are private dining rooms.

Kiwa has 8 private dining rooms that can accommodate anywhere from 8 to 48 persons.

This photo taken from my iPhone surely does not justify the beauty of the place. I promise you, it's amazing!

Our table with the beautiful bay view

Kiwa promises fresh ingredients. They only use the best available grade A+ Wagyu beef from Japan and those that are USDA.  They follow strict 5-star hotel sanitation regulations which is a great comfort when you're eating in a restaurant that serves raw food. The quality of the meals and the top-notch service easily justify the average cost per person starting from P800 for rice sets, P1,500 for lunch sets and P3,000 for the full course menu. I must say though that the servings are quite generous. I was already pretty full with the appetizers alone.

 

So now, I present to you some photos of our fabulous meal.

Haemui Pajeon
Platter of scallop sashimi, steamed shrimp, salmon sashimi, steamed octopus and marinated tomato

Tomato-Yangsangchu Salad
Seasoned seafood in a whole tomato salad

My favorite appetizer! The Pumpkin Salad. Mashed pumpkin with assorted nuts. I will surely be back for this.

Baebaek Kimchi 

Rolled white kimchi inside a whole pear. The server cuts the pear up in front of you as soon as they serve it. How beautiful is that?

Haemui Pajeon
Pancake mixed with seafood, spring onion and assorted vegetable with spicy soy sauce and sesame oil on the side

Japchae

And now the main course! They serve the pork first followed by the beef. I am not a meat person so it's worth mentioning that I had double servings of the beef! It melts in your mouth and I love how they marinated it very well. Wrapping it in various vegetable leaves, true to Korean barbecue style, makes the dish quite healthy (or maybe I'm just trying to convince myself!)

Seasoned Pork Belly

Yang Neyom Gal BI
Grilled marinated beef with Kiwa's special sauce

 

Another thing that sets Kiwa apart from the many Korean barbecue places in Manila is that it's smoke-free! You read that right - smoke-free! The grillers practically inhale all the smoke so they do not stick to your clothes. You can head back to the office without smelling like your lunch.

Check out this video I took while we were grilling the beef. Notice the smoke is going to the sides and does not go up.

Finally, the dessert! If you like red beans, you will love this. It's like Halo Halo but mostly red beans. I love love love it!

Kiwa is having their grand opening on January 28 and will be serving more items on the menu and will be adding lunch sets in the P500 to P700 range. It's a great place for dates (go during sunset!), business meetings, and with the family. The kids will enjoy watching the meat get cooked in front of them.

Thank you, Mish, for inviting us. It was wonderful dining experience. I will be back very soon.

kaye, cai, Jackie, neva, tin, me, michelle

 

Read more...

Holy Week Water Interruption Schedule in Manila

Read more...

F1 Hotel, Manila Philippines

Over a week ago, one of our friends gave us a voucher to the F1 Hotel in BGC. I've been to the hotel a couple of times to attend business and social events but haven't really stayed there overnight.  One recent weekend, our family decided to have a little staycation at the hotel.

The voucher was for a City Suite.  The room is usually priced somewhere from P7,650 to P10,200 per night, depending on the season, but my friend got it through Deal Grocer for only P4,800 which was such a steal.  

The room has two double beds which, honestly, can comfortably accomodate four adults. Although they just allow 2 adults and 2 kids in the room. It has a spacious living area with a separate TV.  

 

Bathroom and the baby girl

The hotel has a small foyer at the back of the building (facing the parking lot) so guests are asked the check-in at the Premier Lounge on the 5th floor. 

Photo from F1's website

The hotel also has a beautiful pool area on the 3rd floor. There are two pools and a jacuzzi on deck.  All of them are near the restaurant-bar which gives a nice relaxing vibe to the place.

 



The restaurant at the 3rd floor boasts modern interiors.

Elevator area at the 3rd floor

The hotel also has a nice gym and spa which, unfortunately, we were not able to enjoy during our stay. Maybe next time :)

Photo from F1's website

Photo from F1's website

The hotel is conveniently located within walking distance from shops and restaurants within BGC.  We walked across the parking lot towards Bonficacio High Street to grab some lunch and headed to S&R just across the street for some grocery shopping and a pizza dinner. It truly felt like a vacation abroad. 

Our family had a wonderful weekend at F1 hotel. Thanks again, Han, for the treat. We will surely be back.

My best hotel souvenir. A note from Troy :)
ALOVU 2, Anak.



Read more...

Healthy Relationships

  
 

Coach Pia


 Do you have a healthy relationship with your spouse? We often freely answer 'yes' or 'no' depending on how frequent we fight or argue at the time the question was asked. But the fact is, our lack of argument does not automatically equate to a healthy relationship. Here are some questions that you need to answer before you confidently say you have a healthy relationship.

1. Can you be yourself while nurturing your spouse?
2. Can you trust him/her?

4. Do you feel respected? Do you respect him/her?

5. Do you feel undertsood?

Sometimes, couples can act civil towards each other but there is no empathy. That is not a healthy relationship.

Last month, the SoMoms had another life coaching session with Coach Pia.  She taught us three strategies that we can use to help build a healthier relationship with our husbands.

1.     Work on your willingness and ability to fix the following seven aspects of your relationship.

• Willingness and ability to maintain and develop trust in the relationship.  A lot of times we don't feel that there is a lack of trust so long there is no infidelity.  This is exactly how i felt until Coach Pia cited an example that hits a familiar cord. She said that wives often don't trust husbands enough to care for the kids the same way we do. I used to give 1,001 instructions to Dens whenever i will be leaving the kids with him. He would always respond sarcastically saying that i might be forgetting that he's the father and he loves the kids just as much.  Apparently, that is already an indication that there is a lack of trust.
• Willingness and ability to learn continously. 
• Willingness and ability to communicate openly.  This includes suspending judgement on the other person.
• Willingness and ability to cooperate and create a plan. There has to be a willingness to come together and define common values and principles. There is lack of cooperation in relationships where the one often jokes that 'sya naman lagi nasusunod eh'.
• Willingness and ability to adapt and be flexible.  Acknowledging that the two of you have
  different personalities and values is an essential first step to adapting and being flexible.

• Willingness and ability to let go and forgive. 
• Willingness and ability to sacrifice.

In all of the aspects above, there should be a willingness (your positive disposition) and ability (your skill) to deliberately choose to work on one aspect at a time.

2. Understand and transcend my personal ego.

The 'Ego' is our natural instinct to preserve ourselves.  We should not be bothered by what others think. At the end of the day, that's just our ego being bothered.

I want to also share some insights from my devotion the past weeks. I read last our integrity is measured not by what we/others say about ourselves but by what God says about us. Seeking God's approval should be our top priority. 

Psalm 86:11 says "Teach me your way, O Lord, that i will walk in Your truth; Give me an undivided heart, that i may fear your name"

3.  Fill the relationship with unconditional love and acceptance.

Be humble.  Be open to choose to nurture and help your partner to be the best that he can be. Love him beyond words.  

Beautiful reminders.  A lot of times we are so focused on the faults of our husbands or wives that we fail to see the things that we should also correct ourselves.  As Matthew 7:3 says "Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?

Thank you, Coach Pia.  Here's to another step towards a #BetterMe.

You can learn from Coach Pia too by signing up for One Core's seminars. Check out their faebook page here - click One Core

Our seminar was held in the new Sequoia Hotel in Quezon City. They have nice function rooms that are ideal for parties or seminars. The hotel restaurant, Ombu, caters all events. They serve great food at reasonable prices. Check out my review of the restaurant - click Ombu.

Finally, i'd like to also thank BPI (https://www.facebook.com/bpi) for sponsoring our event. Do you know that they are the first commercial bank in Asia and was the first institution to print Philippine Peso? Cool, right?

Read more...