Ever since The Mind Museum opened in Taguig a few years ago, we have always wanted to explore the place but just couldn't set a date for it. Even if I got hold of discounted All Day Passes last year, we were still unable to use it at that time. Procrastination, our worst enemy. Good thing my All Day Passes were about to expire (haha!), so we had no choice but to block off one whole Sunday last January for that long-awaited trip to the Mind Museum.

Living in Makati for a few years now, we had to build a roster of go-to places whenever we can’t decide where to eat (which is almost every time. hehe). Living independently, we seldom cook because it’s too much effort (aside from the fact that the only cooking I know is frying stuff. lol). So for dinner or during weekends, we eat out more often than not.
Here are the top 5 food stops we frequently visit for that comfort food fix:

XO Kitchen
Jupiter St., Bel-Air, Makati City



As of July 1, 2014, XO Kitchen closed down (to our dismay). We are still including this in our list as it deserves one last mention before we can let go. We are very much hoping they open up another branch somewhere so we can try their food again in the future.

XO Kitchen served Chinese dishes as rice meals (with iced tea or lemonade) for less than P150 or short orders (for sharing) for less than P250. They offered dimsum dishes as well if you fancy those at around P100. Our go-to dishes included Fish with Corn Sauce, Sweet and Sour Pork, Hakaw. I think we ate here too often that kuya server already memorized our usual orders.

They were also famous for their special buchi which they offered with a variety of fillings such as Ferrero, White Toblerone, Kitkat, Reeses, Andes Mint and so much more at P95 for 3 pieces.

We have been living in Manila for almost 10 years now. Ten long years. But not once have we tried one of the basic things to do in Manila, a food trip around THE Manila Chinatown. Well, it’s about time we end the long drought at 10.

Every Holy Week, it has been an ongoing tradition of the Filipino Catholic faithfuls to do the visita iglesia, Spanish for church visits. This practice, most probably introduced by the Spanish colonizers, goes way back to the time of the early church where pilgrims visit the seven great basilicas in Rome for the adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and for penance as well. In the Philippines, we have extended this practice to also contemplate on the  fourteen stations of the cross, or what we call the Way of the Cross, either by visiting seven churches (patterned after the origin of the visita iglesia) with two stations per visit or with more time and effort, visiting fourteen churches with a station per visit.