DAY 3
We decided to try breakfast at the
Acqua this morning to see how different it was as compared to Tides. The variety is definitely not as much as Tides but the view of the sea was lovely (and there were less people). It's a different experience but we much preferred Tides =)
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| Lovely breakfast with a view |
After breakfast, I finally had time to bring my girl to her favourite place in the resort:
Adventure Zone!
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| Adventure Zone |
It costs about S$7 per hour and approximately S$21 for unlimited play. I decided that 1 hour is more than enough because we had other activities to occupy us at the resort (that are free
hehe).
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| Wearing her socks |
Note that
socks, long sleeves and pants are required for play in Adventure Zone. This is because the slides are really high and there are a lot of ropes which may be abrasive to the child's dedicate skin.
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| The rules and regulation of the indoor playground |
This Adventure Zone is a lot smaller than
the one we had visited in Penang but my girl still had a lot of fun!
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Looking up at the play structures apprehensively
(check out the super high slides behind her!) |
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| Crawling and climbing up and down in the play structure |
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| She's finally old enough to handle this ropes bridge without any help |
Adults get to ride the slides with the kids so go ahead and join them for the fun! You know I did
*laughs*
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| Laying out her mat and getting ready to slide down |
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| Wheee!! |
I love the slides! Well, except for the super steep blue one on the right side. I don't think my heart can handle it!
*laughs*
When the hour was up, I had to drag my girl out of there to go back to our room. She really didn't want to go!
We rejoined my mum and sister and went for
Chocolate High Tea at the
Lobby Lounge. I was really excited because there is no food that I love more in this world than chocolate!
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| Enjoying a nice afternoon of chocolate high tea with an amazing view! |
It started with a demonstration of how the cocao is melted and stirred until it becomes rich chocolate that we can drink. The cocao used are all sourced locally and I am told that there are plans for Shangri-la Mactan to grow their own cocao trees! So cool right?
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| The Chocolate expert (can't remember her fancy title) showing us the traditional Filipino way of making hot chocolate |
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| You start by placing the cocao (as shown above) into the jug |
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Clockwise from left: Need I say all the health benefits of cocao? This is why I refuse to cut chocolate out of my life! *laughs*;
Moving the stick round and round to stir the cocao;
The end of the stick is a round head which is supposed to grind the cocao as you spin it. |
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| Me giving it a try! |
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It was quite fun but way too much work for a little bit of drink
(yes, we're too spoilt!) |
Once all the cocao have been melted, the hot chocolate is ready to be served!
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| Pouring pure hot chocolate into our cups for us to savour! |
The hot chocolate was really pure cocao, no sugar added; therefore if you're not used to it, it can taste very bitter! But I like it. Guilt-free, pure goodness =)
The hot chocolate was paired with the Filipino traditional sticky rice and mango (the same dish we ordered the day before). If it's just 2 of you, I'll say give this a miss. Because of the heaviness of the sticky rice, this dessert is best appreciated when shared among many people.
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| Our sumptuous meal paired sugar and coconut |
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| Enjoying our lovely meal |
Next, the staff brought us a box of chocolate treasures! There's a particular order of eating the desserts so that you can have the maximum enjoyment. I can't remember but no worries, the friendly staff will be able to help you with that.
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| Treasure box of chocolate goodies |
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| Chocolate high tea description |
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| Various tasty treats that were so delicious! |
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| Love this chocolate cake! So rich and tasty =) |
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| Another group photo for memory |
After an awesome afternoon of chocolate, we headed back to the pool for a swim.
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| Look at the awesome ocean view! |
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| Lovely weather for a dip in the pool |
We decided to splurge on
buffet dinner at the
Tides for our last dinner at Cebu.
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The dessert spread
(best part of every meal/ buffet in my opinion =D) |
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| Fresh tuna! |
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| Crabs and other seafood |
You know, I think we're all getting too old for buffet; we were all
sooo full! =S
It was probably not a good idea to sleep immediately after such a heavy dinner but well, we did. And had a great sleep! =)
DAY 4
The next morning, it was back to
Tides one last time for our breakfast where my girl got a balloon sculpture from one of the staff!
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| Super happy with her balloon! |
I can't believe 4 days went by just like that! It was time for us to check out and head back home.
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| Group photo while we waited for our airport transfer |
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| Sitting at the back of the car |
We reached the airport and had lunch at District Gourmet. The food is not bad actually, but make sure you've got time to wait because they may take a while.
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| District Gourmet |
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| Enjoying our mango juice, noodles and beef rice =) |
Thank God that the flight back to Singapore was direct and we arrived safely at 7pm. We're home! =)
My Reflections:
Penning my thoughts as usual on my first trip to Cebu, Philippines. Although we didn't get to visit the city or any of the tourist attractions, we had the best time at Shangri-La Mactan! The snorkeling, swimming pools and beach was amazing. Everyone was friendly and nice. We were so relaxed and charged up after the trip! =)
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| Goodbye Shangri-La Mactan! We will miss you! |
Thank you Shangri-La Mactan for the warm welcome and hospitality! Until we visit again, see you! =)
<< Back to Cebu Day 2: Swimming & Snorkeling at Shangri-La Marine Sanctuary
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as well as other travel itineraries!
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Disclosure: Complimentary accommodation, breakfast and chocolate high tea were received from Shangri-La Mactan Resort & Spa for the purposes of this review. No monetary compensation was received; all opinions are my own.
