Pinoy Roadtrip

Manila International Airport Lounge: The Sky View Lounge at NAIA Terminal 3

September 28, 2015

Manila International Airport Lounge:

The Sky View Lounge

at NAIA Terminal 3

Updated February 2023: Skyview Lounge is now Marhaba Lounge.

Check out my new post here:Everything you need to know about Marhaba Lounge, NAIA 3

The new Skyview Lounge at NAIA Terminal 3 is a pay lounge, which means you can enter this lounge for a fee. However if you are a holder of certain credit cards (like the American Express Platinum Card, the Citibank Premier Miles/Platinum, Security Bank Platinum/World or Diners Club, BDO Diamond Rewards), the (AND 1 GUEST) are allowed to enter for FREE.

Fee for Entry (if you are not a holder of the cards mentioned above):

800 pesos: fee for adult and children 2 years old and above.

20% discount is applied to senior citizens.

Children below 2 years old are free.

Where it is located:

At the International Departure area.

NOTE: There is no access to this lounge if you are in the Domestic Departure area. So if you are departing from this airport on a domestic flight, you will not be able to use this lounge.

Departure area is at Level 3. Skyview Lounge is at Level 4, seen above.

This photo is taken immediately after passing the final security check after immigration.

Look above and you see the Sky View Lounge.

You will find the stairs or elevator that goes to Level 4 to your right. Look for the signs. There are plenty of signs to lead you to where the lounges are

Hours of Operation:

24 hours, 7 days a week

Procedure for Entry:

1. Present your qualified credit card and your boarding pass to the counter in front. Or pay the fee if you don't have a qualified credit card.

They get your boarding pass to get your flight information. Part of their service is to notify their guests if their plane is ready for boarding.

2. Sign the logbook.

3. You are given the WiFi password.

4. Then you are allowed to enter the lounge.

What You Will Find in the Lounge

FREE FOOD

Hot dishes area

Chicken congee,
with condiments such as:
onion leaves, fried garlic, calamansi, soy sauce

Vegetable Yakisoba

Sweet and sour steamed fish
Stir fry beef

Steamed rice

Assorted mini sandwiches:

Cheese pimiento sandwich
Beef pastrami pan de sal
Open faced pesto chicken
Tuna salad square
Grilled eggplant sandwich
Open faced tomato and sliced cheese

(I love their sandwiches!!!)

Cereal

Assorted plain bread
with jam, marmalade, butter and cheese

Assorted pastries

(These pastries are really good.)

FREE DRINKS

Espresso coffee
(Don't miss the coffee. The coffee is really good!!!)

Tea

Liquor and Wine

Softdrink, Beer, Juice

Hot and cold water

SPACIOUS LOUNGE

You can choose to sit on these chairs...

Or take the seat with the view of the runway.

FREE WIFI

WiFi speed at the lounge

FREE NEWSPAPERS AND MAGAZINES

MALE AND FEMALE RESTROOMS WITH SHOWER

PRAYER ROOM

The door to the prayer room is the one at the left

MY TIP:

Make sure to arrive at the airport AT LEAST THREE (3) hours before your flight to be able to use this lounge. One (1) hour is spent checking-in and going through immigration, an hour and a half (1 1/2) to eat at the lounge and the remaining 30 minutes is for boarding.

Comfort Food at the new House of Minis@ Liberty Center

August 20, 2015

Comfort Food at the new House of Minis
@ Liberty Center

My mom and dad often brought us to House of Minis when we were young. Our ritual would be to buy groceries at Unimart in Greenhills in the morning and then have lunch at House of Minis in Shoppesville.

My dad passed away in 1997. My mom continued going to House of Minis even after he passed away. She loved the food so much that she even brought my children to the restaurant to share her enjoyment of their food. My children now associate House of Minis with their memories of their Lola, and reminisce about what she usually ordered and how happy she was during those times.

My mom passed away last year. In honor of her memory, we decided to celebrate the passing of the year, by attending Mass, then dining at her favorite place and ordering her favorite food. We miss her so much. It was a bittersweet feeling. But somehow, tasting the same food that we enjoyed when we were young, while in the delightful company of our parents, comforted and warmed our hearts. It somehow filled the longing we have for the presence of our mom and dad. Now, we're creating new memories to share with our kids by dining at this place.

Mama would have loved this new branch of House of Minis. Why?

It's spacious and well lighted.

It serves the same food we enjoyed 40 years ago.

Our favorite, the Specialties of the House:
Complete meals with Soup of the Day, Dinner Rolls
and Coffee or Dessert (Ice Cream)

This soup did not disappoint.
It tastes the same as the ones we enjoyed when we were young.

It's the same simple lettuce salad with thousand island dressing.

My mom and I usually order the mini Porterhouse cooked medium well.
It's still tender and yummy!!!

Finally, the chocolate ice cream for dessert.

It has the same ambience.

We all smiled when we heard the organist play.
It's reminiscent of the House of Minis in Shoppesville.
There's always someone playing when we dined at their Shoppesville branch

It's the same linen and set-up we used to see,

There's plenty of parking space.

Location:

Contact Information
House of Minis
Liberty Center, Shaw Boulevard
Tel. No. 672 34 48
Operating Hours: 11:00 AM - 10:00 PM (All day dining)

HONG KONG: Food Tour on a Budget

August 16, 2015

HONG KONG: Food Tour on a Budget

If you're staying in the vicinity of The Langham Hotel or The Salisbury YMCA Hotel, you can incorporate this food tour in your sightseeing. These are my favorite food stops. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

DAY ONE

On Day One, you can have breakfast at Macau Restaurant, snacks at Sweet House Cha Cha, lunch at Ippudo Restaurant, and dinner at Cafe de Coral.

Cost for one person for this day: 173.80 HKD

THESE ARE MY SUGGESTED MEALS:

Macau Restaurant at Lock Road:

Morning Set: Macanese Crispy Buns with Pork Chop,

Scrambled egg with scallion and ham, coffee (36 HKD)

Note: Morning Set is served from 8:00 AM - 11:30 AM

Portuguese egg tart (9 HKD)

Sweets House Cha Cha at Harbour City

Cha Cha Custard Cream Puffs (18 HKD)

Ippudo Restaurant at Silvercord

Shiromaru Motoaji

(68 HKD +10% service charge: 74.80HKD)

"A timeless IPPUDO classic, Shiromaru Motoaji was the very first ramen served at IPPUDO.... The combination of Hakata-style ultra-thin noodles, topped with lean slices of pork, black fungus, soybean sprouts and scallions, produces subtle and gentle flavours." (from the menu)

Free appetizer

Cafe de Coral at Star House

BBQ Pork and Roast Duck with Rice (36 HKD)

Below is the map, so you can see how near they are to each other:

DAY TWO

On Day Two, you can have breakfast at Macau Restaurant, lunch at a Michelin-starred Restaurant either at Bo Innovation (3 Michelin Stars) or One Dimum Restaurant (1 Michelin Star), and dinner at Macau Restaurant.

Cost for one person for this day: 902 HKD or 146 HKD. See below...

THESE ARE MY SUGGESTED MEALS:

Macau Restaurant at Lock Road: