General Info

[Mr Hawaii]

To Ikksman.

I will never eat Jollibee in Hong Kong so many good restaurant I only eat Jollibee in Manila because is fast and the girl like it, The Phillippine have the worst food in Asia.

Fast eddie 48.

It was only a matter of time. Both Max's Chicken and Jollibee have come to Hawaii, where about 14% of the population is Filipino.

[Econo Tech]

kl hk osaka singapore etc all have great airports and manila doesn't.fact! and its not going to change anytime soon.

but for the natives the fact that the president apologized and blamed the previous govt means, all is well.

btw, with the oligarchy running power generation and distribution, i was amused to see on anc news yesterday the doe requesting consumers to be considerate and reduce energy consumption in view of the rolling brown outs. rather than admit the fact that the power suppliers are holding the consumer by the balls.

only in the philippines such comedy is appreciated.

p.s. since i almost exclusively fly philippine airlines just to avoid t1, another miracle of asia..

for all international flights out of t2, there are a dozen pasalubong shops, but, one male toilet and all but one urinal broken, and for the first time in my life i queued to [CodeWord134] in an international airport. the queue was spilling all the way out, but the toilet attendant had no qualms asking for a tip. oh, tip i did, 2 peso in 5 centavos.

[FreebieFan]

I remember back in about 2007 when all the toilets were clogged and overflowing (even in the Qantas Club Lounge; not that one can call it a lounge). The excuse was that they were not going to replace the old plumbing because they were all shifting to Terminal 3 in a few months!

Cheers.

The original movei and date was actually much earlier than that. The plan was for the terminal that's now predominated by Cebu Pacific was actually completed sometime in about 2002/2003. I recall being given a VIP tour.

The problems then started as International airlines refused to move as the terminal came with internet that didn't work, some of the jetways were neither operational and the terminal didn't have licenced jetway operators, there was no space planned for VIP lounges and a whole host of other incomplete, misplanned things.

And here we are in 2014 , and not much has actually changed.

KL HK Osaka Singapore etc all have great airports and Manila doesn't.Fact! And its not going to change anytime soon.

[Soapy Smith]

Couldn't figure out any other thread for this. Apologies if it's off topic. Anybody have experience with reliable transcription services in the Phils? Couple years ago somebody suggested one to me, but I went a different route and no longer have the contact information. Please pm me with whatever information you can provide--your actual experience with the provider, costs, contact information, whatever else seems relevant. Thanks.

[Red Kilt]

Greenwich pizza is not bad, from the Jollibee conglomerate.

I must remember never to eat with you then X LOL.
I did notice that you used the term "not bad" which I take is not exactly a ringing endorsement.

For me, Greenwich is poorly cooked (usually semi-raw) and designed for Filipino taste.

The ONLY fast food that I will touch is the Chowking halo halo.

It is a classic halo halo and a great refreshing summer treat. The downside is that you usually need to wait a while because it is so popular and there is always a line of people ahead of you.

[Fast Eddie 48]

Nothing like some Filipino food to get our sweet young and hungry Filipina in the mood for fun and games.

Inevitably, when a poster mentions a fast food place, They mention Jollibee. There is even a Jollibee in Hong Kong in the lane behind World Wide House for homesick DH's.

I would rather eat balut, than eat Jollibee or Chowking (and don't even talk about Kenny Rodgers).

But I have had half decent tucker at other fast food chains like Congo Grill (good grilled pusit or sisig sometimes), or Max's for chicken. But I have yet to find a decent kare-kare (oxtail AND tripe) or dinuguan anywhere.

And some of the cakes from Red Ribbon or Goldilocks are edible too.

Any other half decent fast food chains?

To Ikksman.

I will never eat Jollibee in Hong Kong so many good restaurant I only eat Jollibee in Manila because is fast and the girl like it, The Phillippine have the worst food in Asia.

Fast eddie 48.

[X Man]

Greenwich pizza is not bad, from the Jollibee conglomerate.

Nothing like some Filipino food to get our sweet young and hungry Filipina in the mood for fun and games.

Inevitably, when a poster mentions a fast food place, They mention Jollibee. There is even a Jollibee in Hong Kong in the lane behind World Wide House for homesick DH's.

I would rather eat balut, than eat Jollibee or Chowking (and don't even talk about Kenny Rodgers).

But I have had half decent tucker at other fast food chains like Congo Grill (good grilled pusit or sisig sometimes), or Max's for chicken. But I have yet to find a decent kare-kare (oxtail AND tripe) or dinuguan anywhere.

And some of the cakes from Red Ribbon or Goldilocks are edible too.

Any other half decent fast food chains?

[Ikksman]

{S N I P} So to get pinays into the mood all it takes is some chocolate, {S N I P}

Yea! Chocolate! It doesn't matter if it has melted multiple times; it is still chocolate! They love it!

I recall some fun times with a SYT and a bar of semi-melted chocolate.

(Dinuguan = chocolate meat? Haha!)

[Member #4387]

Nothing like some Filipino food to get our sweet young and hungry Filipina in the mood for fun and games.

First of all I consider myself friendly and nice as a human beeing but hell no if I let a pinay choose where to eat anymore. They want me to be in charge anyway so I without exceptions chooses some western food places. It is fun watching them sit leaving their steak almost untouched while they have a go at the ricebowl (more meat for me, I am meatlover in so many ways). I find philippino food to be amongst the crappiest in the world anyway so I don't feel I miss out on anything.

Once upon a time I let a pinay decide where to eat and first of all she could not make up her mind as there were 5/6 different eataries (no Jolli I might add, I bet she was looking though) so I ended up making the choice anyway as I was hungry. Secondly it was the worst meal ever. I let her choose her favorite dish and I was suppose to dig in. It tasted somewhere between soap and paint so I wonder how it is possible to destroy a plain chicken this much.

Yes I am picky and strange when it comes to food and feast only western food. Even the much beloved thaifood I don't like so much. As long as it is salmon and some real meat as in a some medium done cow and potatoes I am happy.

So to get pinays into the mood all it takes is some chocolate, maby a couple of Tanduay Ice (girly crap ciderbeer) or some chocodrinks maby some cartoons while I have a dump. This goes for the younger pinaycrowd I am bedding.

The more educated and international pinay crowd I am seeing have to be treated differently. Hell I almost shit my panties when my favorite pinay choosed a Rioja redwine called Marques de Caseres reservas (or sth) without me insisting not long time ago.

[Ikksman]

Nothing like some Filipino food to get our sweet young and hungry Filipina in the mood for fun and games.

Inevitably, when a poster mentions a fast food place, They mention Jollibee. There is even a Jollibee in Hong Kong in the lane behind World Wide House for homesick DH's.

I would rather eat balut, than eat Jollibee or Chowking (and don't even talk about Kenny Rodgers).

But I have had half decent tucker at other fast food chains like Congo Grill (good grilled pusit or sisig sometimes), or Max's for chicken. But I have yet to find a decent kare-kare (oxtail AND tripe) or dinuguan anywhere.

And some of the cakes from Red Ribbon or Goldilocks are edible too.

Any other half decent fast food chains?

[GoodEnough]

About a month ago, the car service known as Uber was introduced in Manila. I just found out about it this week, and began to use it immediately. I think that during the week I just spent there, I used it eight times since I found it generally excellent, efficient and cost effective. The cars that I used were invariably several stages more luxurious than the standard jalopies that pass as taxis, the drivers were courteous and the cost was only about 10-15% more than a taxi. The service is easily accessible on line through a smart phone, and receipts--generated in the Netherlands--arrive within 10 of 15 minutes after the completion of the trip. All charges are billed to a registered credit card, so aside from a tip to the driver, which is not compulsory, no money changes hands. Using the service will not help anyone escape the frustrating turbulence of Manila traffic; however it will make the trips more tolerable.

GE.

[Ikksman]

Continued from Chat Rooms Sub-forum

Why are there so few reports on this forum relating to Casas in the Philippines? They are easy to find! You just ask a taxi driver to take you to a Casa (they get commissions).

Spidy recently posted about a Manila visit (great post BTW). And I remember Sammon and Fast Eddie writing making multiple posts about Casas a few years ago.

Mr Enternational has suggested that guys in Manila like to have a drink (and chat?) first, and maybe it is also more expensive (I know they don't give local price to foreigners)? But some guys just like to grab a girl and head back to their hotel. Maybe I am wrong?

And what about spas? Do they provide full service or take out? I don't remember reading any reports about spas, but they do exist in reasonable numbers in Manila.

Maybe I will have to Polish up my Tagalog, and take a quick trip across the pond from Shenzhen to investigate myself!

Cheers.

[Ikksman]

Lots has been mentioned on the main terminal recently from the poor planning regarding the ACs (air cons) and how bad the airport is given it has been voted the world's worst airport again and again. {S N I P} September someone said the new ACs will arrive (and the media also) which has caused many to comment how good the planning was for this 'upgrade'.
I was there early morning and the passport control area was humming (literally LOL) so be warned that you could end up sweating for 30-40 minutes.

I remember back in about 2007 when all the toilets were clogged and overflowing (even in the Qantas Club Lounge; not that one can call it a lounge). The excuse was that they were not going to replace the old plumbing because they were all shifting to Terminal 3 in a few months!

Cheers.

[Wicked Roger]

Lots has been mentioned on the main terminal recently from the poor planning regarding the ACs (air cons) and how bad the airport is given it has been voted the world's worst airport again and again.

Just for those travelling out of the airport as I did recently maybe investing in a portable fan would be a good idea especially if there is a huge queue.

The temporary ACs are water evaporative so they don't work well in humidity which is what the passport control at terminal 1 seems to be good producing especially when the area is crowded with hundreds of very sweaty passengers. The better fans were with the passport control officers who had a fan in each booth. Mere passengers who pay the terminal fee just sweated, and boy did some sweat LOL.

Was a pleasure to get another third world country airport that had AC and was lovely.

September someone said the new ACs will arrive (and the media also) which has caused many to comment how good the planning was for this 'upgrade'.

I was there early morning and the passport control area was humming (literally LOL) so be warned that you could end up sweating for 30-40 minutes.

[Tjanos]

Something else to consider. Most places will only give you a temporary cap after you get a root canal. If you want a permanent porcelain crown on the same day, then make sure you check with the clinic you decide to use. Most dentists / dental clinics don't have an in house dental lab and have to send their impressions / molds out for the crown to be made.

Perhaps if you do go, then you may also have the chance to hook up with one of the cute assistants who invariably work at the clinics and root her canal, LOL. Let us know how you make out.

Thanks for this great information and yes the crown timing is an issue. I am going to look up the providers you listed and randomly found these guys on the web.

Green Apple Dental http://greenappledentalph.com/?page_id=76 I sent them an email via their website but have not heard back. Depending on a my schedule I may be able to hit Manila on the way to Korea and top back on the way home. Great minds think alike on the cute assistant thing.