Downtown 1956 Cafe by Bale Dutung: Definitely A Great Choice to Visit When in Pampanga

Wazzup Pilipinas!

It was not my first time in Pampanga as I was there for so many times already. One of the most memorable is my visit to Porac where we went to a resort called Poracay, one of the most popular weekend destination in Central Luzon. You get there by first passing through seemingly dangerous terrains made out of ashfall - what once destroyed Pampanga after the volcanic eruption has become part of the tourist attraction. Poracay was composed of several swimming pools, a man-made lake where you can go kayaking and a zipline that will take you from one side of the lake to the next.

The next memorable was the culinary tour in Pampanga which Museo Angeles sponsored. Our tour was not limited to Angeles as we also went to nearby parts of Pampanga aside form the talks held at the museum. One of the speakers was celebrity Chef Claude Tayag, known worldwide as one of the Philippines celebrated chef for he rose into fame when he was one of the personalities interviewed by Anthony Bourdain, world-renowned chef, bestselling author and multiple Emmy-winning television personality.

Chef Claude Tayag was interviewed by Anthony Bourdain at his Bale Dutung restaurant which is sort of a high-end restaurant in Pampanga serving innovative Pampango cuisine with that special and unique touches of chef Claude Tayag. Bale Dutung means House of Wood, and is the home of Chef Claude Tayag and his wife Maryann. the house turned restaurant is inside Villa Gloria Subdivision of Angeles.

This is our visit to another restaurant venture of Chef Claude Tayag called Downtown 1956 Cafe by Bale Dutung. They got so many offers to bring his brand in Manila but the chef has his reasons why he remains at his hometown.

Microsoft Lumia 950XL: Favorite for Convenient Mobile Photo and Video Coverage

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Here are three experimental short movies I did using the slow motion video capturing feature of the Microsoft Lumia 950XL. It's becoming my real favorite in taking photos and videos during coverage of events as it is more convenient and lighter than my Sony mirrorless camera.

I am actually considering making it as my primary camera for my blog post rather than my original camera. The only thing I am disappointed with about the Microsoft Lumia 950 XL is on taking videos using the front camera. The audio recording is too weak and you couldn't hear me do a video selfie. There's no problem using the rear camera for taking videos as the audio can be clearly captured.

Another shortcoming of the Microsoft Lumia 950XL is that it heats up when you leave it on, or when the last use was of the camera. Even if you put the screen off, I think the internal processing within the Windows phone is till running thus heating up when left unused for a long time.

Just like a desktop computer, there are also occurrences of hangs every now and then, and also slowdowns when viewing the grid view of all my photos.

However, as mentioned earlier, it works well when taking photos and videos at all kinds of events, as long as you use the rear camera, and it fits fine on my selfie stick or monopod despite being of a bigger size.

Solstice Bistro and Boulangerie: Rockwell's Newest Must-Experience Restaurant

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Your Pambansang Blogger ng Pilipinas was among the very few select bloggers who got an invite to taste the dishes being served at one of the newly opened restaurants located in Rockwell, Makati city. The restaurant is fairly new and opened just around the last quarter of last year (2015), and being just a few months old, they are still at a stage where they are experimenting on their food offerings including serving sizes and presentations.

When a good friend scheduled me to visit after a scheduled affair attending the opening day of the four-day Philippine International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta, I immediately Googled for Solstice Bistro and Boulangerie, the name of the restaurant, so I can get a peak of what they are all about. It is a modern European restaurant concept that is now making a noise as one of the must experienced restaurant in Rockwell.

Solstice is actually all about the astrological transitions that happen in June (summer solstice - the longest day of the year) and December (winter solstice - the shortest day of the year). This is what inspired the Solstice Bistro and Boulangerie to be all about transitions.

Surprisingly, only one blog about the restaurant existed, and so it was an honor to be among the second group to dine at this particularly considered high-end establishment. This is where I've learned that it was newly opened and owned by two prominent restaurateurs namely Joseph Assad of One Way Restaurant, and Jack Rodriguez, the innovator behind the Bistro Group (TGI Fridays, Italiannis) and Global Restaurant Concepts (CPK, IHOP), and a third partner from the Antonino family.