Ochi In The City

Eastern Visayas Encounters

Aside from Central Visayas (meaning Cebu, Dumaguete and Siquijor lol), I feel that I haven't really explored this part of the country as much. During my last trip to Cebu, we took a bus from Cebu City to Badian then a ferry to Dumaguete then another Ferry to Siquijor. That's about all I have with my bout with Central Visayas; but having seen the wonderful falls and sceneries the place had to offer, I knew I wanted to see more. I don't know why plane tickets are more expensive when travelling to a local destination when you're here in the Philippines but I've seen cheaper tickets bound for Taipei when I was looking to come back to Visayas.

As luck would have it, a bunch of my co-workers were waiting on Cebu Pacific's sale and chanced on a couple of sale tickets to Samar. We didn't know what we wanted to do there but we knew it would be wonderful. We booked the tickets and found ourselves creating an itinerary for Eastern Visayas, and that's how our story starts.

SAMAR

Our adventure starts in Samar. The boss's wife hails from Samar and her family apparently owns an entire island in Catbalogan. We were thrilled with the idea of staying in our own private island discounting the fact that of course an island wouldn't have the usual necessities we're used to having just like electricity and ample amount of water to go around. I was unbothered because I was too busy devouring the fresh seafood that was prepared for us. How fresh you might ask? As fresh as they were just taken out of the water, cooked right in front of us then served for everyone to devour.

There wasn't a lot of things to don on the island but prance around, swim, eat, sleep a little then drink. You can repeat that process and no one would care. Living in the island for a day despite the humongous mosquitoes was quite pleasant. It was amazing having to reconnect with myself since electricity was scarce so I didn't use my phone for the most part. I was just swimming, taking photos and videos around the island and enjoying every bit of the moment. We ended the day drinking and eating fresh seafood with a serene view of the sunset in front of us.

LEYTE

The next Day we woke up early to pack up. But not before having a sumptuous breakfast. At around we went back to the pier over at Catbalogan to finally jumpstart our journey to Leyte. On the way to Leyte of course we passed by the monumental San Juanico Bridge. It took us over 4hours from Catbalogan to Leyte. I was just asleep pretty much the entire ride but I woke up when we were about to arrive and can I just say the mountainous road en route to Leyte was amazing. I wanted to take a photo of the sunset but the van was too fast, meh.

We didn't do much when we arrived in Leyte because we were too tired from all the land travel we had to do. Woke up early in the morning so we can make our 530AM boat ride but we ended up going at 630AM because, well, Filipino time lol. We were advised that taking the boat early to Kalanggaman would give us more chances of seeing dolphins along the way. We did see a couple of dolphins but they were quite far from our boat. We stayed in Kalanggaman Island for about 3hrs. It is also recommended that you bring your own food and drinks. Although there's food and drinks available in the island, it's can be a little on the pricey side. Goggles and other swim gear are also available at the island.

TACLOBAN

After Kalanggaman we immediately packed our things so we can get back to Tacloban and explore some more. We stayed at the lovely Ambassador Hotel, price-wise it is mid-range but the service is top tier. We also went around Tacloban city at night and chimed in on the town's festivities. I was told Tacloban is know for it's seafood so we tried some of the famous restaurants but that will be reserved for another post since we tried quite a lot and I want to be able to discuss the food in depth.

I'm super excited to also share the sequel to this article since I'll mostly be dabbling on our food adventures in Tacloban. If you're a seafood lover, you'll definitely want to get in on the next post but anyway, that's all for today. Also sharing the itinerary that we followed. Let me know if I can help you with anything. Happy exploring!

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, by Ochi Bernadas

face masks

Affordable Masks for Acne & Oily-prone Skin

Ever since I started taking care of my skin, masking has been one of those tedious steps I thoroughly enjoyed adding to my already cramped routine. I know it can get messy, I know it can get tiring but really, it's one of the easiest ways to always make sure your skin is hydrated, moisturized and detoxified with some effects being visible right after! And while I have used a ton of masks for my face, I do have a set that I consider the cream of the crop.

On today's post we're going to be talking about the masks that have worked on my oily and sensitive skin. I'm also extremely acne-prone and I swear by the masks I'll be mentioning on this post. Let's begin!

1. Althea Milk Peel Cream Mask

I got this product from a PR package sent by Althea Korea when they launched their own skin care line. I was a bit skeptical at first because its claims of micro peeling didn't really appeal to me but after using it several times, I saw how the micro peeling was so effective in rejuvenating my damaged skin. It took care of my rough patches and discoloration and the peeling wasn't even obvious!

2. Mizon Goodnight White Sleeping Mask

Ahh the power of Twitter. I discovered this mask from a twitter thread of a guy detailing his glow up story from having acne-ridden face to his now glass skin. He mentioned this product helped clear his acne marks but it didn't quite have the same effect on me. My marks get really dark and they last forever so I use vit c for that buuuut, this mask helped me achieve that endorphin glow without having to break a sweat so yep, keeping this in my arsenal.

3. In Her Element Petal Rose Clay Mask

I was also sent this product as a part of the PR package and I just ended up loving it. In the beginning I was scared of it because there's a short stinging sensation upon application but the brand told me it's because of the glycolic acid present in it. Don't be bothered by the stinging sensation because the results are so worth it. The texture of my skin has improved vastly!

4. Soak Opera Evergreen Face Mask

This has got to be the worst smelling mask in this array but only because it's made of natural and all organic ingredients. I don't think I've ever put something so pure on my face but it works so well too! Just make sure you don't leave it on for a long time because it leaves a green-ish tint on your face that makes you look sick lol. So time that mask up!

5. BeautyTrends Peel-off Mask

One of my ultimate fave from this set! I've tried a ton of peel off masks in the past and they don't all work the same. I think I've tried about 10 brands but this is the most effective. You can actually see white heads and blackheads being driven out of your face it's amazing and so soothing lol! Check out the video for some live action whitehead clearing lol.

6. Hello Gorgeous! Rose Facial Mask

I recently discovered this mask line from Hello Gorgous and I'm impressed. I initially got the detox mask and it worked well in clearing my face after trying out a product that my skin doesn't approve of. The next one that I also loved was this Rose mask which makes my skin feel supple!

7. Skin Food Black Honey Wash-off Mask

Most masks are drying after being used for a while, but this one is my secret to keeping my face still moisturized. I wasn't a huge believer of wash-off masks in the past not until trying this product from Skin Food. All you need to do is keep it on for about 15minutes and your face will feel so smooth and moisturized not to mention smelling good! I mean it doesn't just smell good, it smells yummy! It also provides a little bit of gentle exfoliation due to the sugar bits.

8. Nature Republic Aloe Vera

Another one of my moisturizing masks, this one just helps with everything! From soothing my face after sunburn, to moisturizing dry and rough patches and just overall calming my skin down whenever it lashes out. I also use it on parts of my body and I can't stress enough how good this product is for the price and the size!

And there you have it. I go in depth about each mask on the video if you felt that my descriptions were a bit short, make sure to watch as I babble on and on about these products. If you'r unsure what kind of mask would help your skin problem, let me know in the comments section and maybe I can help you out! Happy masking!

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, by Ochi Bernadas

korean barbeque

Food Diary : Samgyupsalamat

Hi, friends! I'm back again with another feature on my search for the best Samgyeupsal! If you've noticed, the ones I featured first aren't as popular as the ones I'm featuring now. I started with Seoulgyupsal, Gyeonbae and the like because I;m not a fan of looooong queues. I'd rather discover smaller, lesser known korean grills and surprise myself rather than wait in line that long just to have korean barbeque. Buuuut, since I also get requests to try a few of the household names in the KBBQ arena, I do try and spread my patience as thin as I can so I can also share my thoughts on said restaurants.

So for today's feature, we'll be talking about one of the most famous K-BBQ grills around the metro-Samgyupsalamat. They have over 100 branches all over the Philippines. Just like all the other big unlimited kbbq restauranys, the queue can also be a bitch. But before I proceed any further, let's talk about my detailed experience.

PLACE

If you want to try it yourselves, it's not impossible that you already have a Samgyupsalamat branch near you due to their wide array of branches. The waiting time is terrible though; we had to wait for over 2hrs just so we can dine at their Robinsons Galleria branch. The place is neat and the staff are very attentive once you get seated so that kind of made up for it, but still, that's 2hrs of wasted time. They don't take reservations so I highly recommend to come in early if you want to visit.

FOOD

They have a wide variety of meats available. The side dishes are limited but I like everything so it's all good. They also have this really good pickled onion as a side dish which I haven't seen in other kbbq grills. This keeps me coming back despite the wait time because it's the only place that offers it. I also love their pickled radish! My top 3 favorite meats would be : Beef Samgyeopsal, Yangnyum Beef and Daepae Samgyopsal. I also love that they don't use fake cheese or cheese sauce, they have legit cheese. The only downside I saw after dining for a couple of times is that their lettuce is really wet?? I don't know why but I end up using too much tissue just to dry them up. I've listed the of available meats below including the price depending on the time and day of the week.

PORK OPTIONS

Daepae samgyeopsal (sliced fresh pork belly)
Buljib samgyeopsal (herbed pork belly)
Yangnyum daepae samgyeopsal (sliced pork belly with seasoning sauce)
Gochujang samgyeopsal (sliced pork belly with sweet & spicy sauce)
Yangnyum moksal (pork neck bone steak with sweet seasoning sauce)

BEEF OPTIONS

Beef samgyeopsal (sliced beef short plate)
Yangnyum beef samgyeopsal (sliced beef short plate with seasoning sauce)
Beef bulgogi (Korean BBQ beef in sweet soy sauce)
Gochujang beef samgyeopsal (sliced beef short plate with sweet & spicy sauce)
Sarsa beef (beef with sweet-style Filipino sauce)

Would I go back? Definitely but only if there's no queue. On our second visit, we made sure we were early if not first on the line. We'd rather be TOO early rather than spend over 2hrs waiting for our turn. The Galleria branch opens at 10AM and we were there right when the mall was just opening. We were the 2nd customer to be seated, hehe. Our second experience was waaaay better and now that we know the ropes, I'm pretty sure I'll be a regular. Let me know if you've tried Samgyupsalamat too. I want to hear about your experience!

SAMGYUPSALAMAT

Budget : P1000 for 2 people

Open daily : 10AM - 11PM

Upper Veranda, Level 3, Robinsons Galleria, Ortigas

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, by Ochi Bernadas

beauty

Best BB Cream for Acne and Oily Prone Skin

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, by Ochi Bernadas

easy recipe

Easy Vietnamese Spring Rolls

On today's video I'll be sharing a super simple recipe I've been doing ever since I had my first taste of Vietnamese food at Pho Hoa. I had my first bout with Vietnamese Spring Rolls a few years ago when I bought my first ever GoPro in Greenhills. At that time, I've been wanting to try Pho but was scared with all the aromatic leaves it is usually served with. I also ordered a side of fresh Vietnamese spring rolls just to chase the taste should it be something that I cannot tolerate.

So, on to the recipe. These are my choice of ingredients only because they were the ones available in my fridge but don't be mistaken, you can use any vegetable of your choice! That's the fun thing about this recipe, you can be as creative as you want. It's also pretty simple. The only challenge I find in this is that rice paper is so hard to come by in my local grocery store. I have to go to the bigger grocery stores and stock up. The usual recipe also calls for vermicelli noodles but since I usually create this when I'm eating healthy, I skip the noodles. But anyway, let's proceed to the recipe.

INGREDIENTS

Rice Paper

Crab Sticks

Lettuce

Carrots

Cucumber

Cilantro

SAUCE

Hoisin Sauce

Garlic

Peanut Butter

PROCEDURE

1. Fill a large bowl with warm water. Dip one wrapper into the hot water for 1 second to soften.

2. In a row across the center, place one crab stick, a handful of lettuce, carrots, cucumber and cilantro, leaving about 2 inches uncovered on each side.

3. Fold uncovered sides inward, then tightly roll the wrapper, beginning at the end with the lettuce. Repeat with remaining ingredients.

4. For the sauce, mix the hoisin sauce, peanut butter and garlic. Adjust the taste according to your liking.

And that's it! If the instructions seems are unclear, please watch the video for a step by step guide! In the past I've also tried adding ming and basil and the taste was amazing. I just didn't have them on hand when I was making this video but please do add it to your recipe for optimum taste. Let me know if you're planning to make this! I'd love to see the photos!