It was my first time try out anything from Icebergs and the experience certainly did not disappoint. Thanks to mama for bankrolling this eating sesh.

We shared this plate of Nachos. 

We also had a plate of Country Fries (Price: Php 148.00) but I wasn't able to take a photo of it because I was already too busy devouring with my Halo Halo. Moreover, if there's fries on the table, it's almost immediately gone. Anyway, the fries weren't like thin sliced McDo or Jollibee fries but more like potato wedges with some spices and a tasty mayo dip.

This Godzilla is a bit pricey at Php 418.00 but it's a huge serving which can be shared by three to 4 people so it's ideal for family or for barkadas. I mean, that's a lot of ice cream. 

Mama had this Caramel Flan and I was able to sample it too. I loved the mixture of fruits plus the caramel flan flavored ice cream. I particularly enjoyed those round, white stuff which is macapuno.

And here's my halo halo, the Halo Dozen, which I had a bit of a hard time trying to consume. Not because it wasn't good but because the serving was BIG! For Php 118.00 I think it's very sulit. Mama came to the rescue when I could no longer go on. That's what moms are for. :) 

I'll just end this by saying that this isn't the last time that I'll be seeing Icerbergs. :)

XOXO, 

Carissa

Icebergs is located at the 1L Robinsons Place Tacloban Extension

This is Dawg House's kiosk and you can probably deduce from the photos that the space is quiet tight. If all the seats would be taken it would be hard to move round but luckily we were the only patrons at that time so we managed to feel comfortable.

Here's a closer look at what they're serving. They're pretty affordable. Sorry if the prices are a bit blurred but they're mostly on two digits and some are on three digits so you probably get the idea.

And the infamous Monster Burger took center stage. It's as wide as a medium sized pizza! It's good for 3 to 4 moderate eaters. 

I could make use of a thicker patty but I'm cool with this one. Those fries were also on the layer, along with some cheese, tomatoes, onions and cabbage. I think the bun made such a huge difference. It's not just a regular generic bun; you can tell that it's been specially made. It's soft and flavorful and I would gladly eat just the bun if it came to that. It was a filling meal so we were really satisfied.

Dawg House says that it has "Mean Dawgs. Nice Buns". Well, I can attest to the niceness of the buns.

But who could forget? I still get chills when I think about November 8, 2013.

Four years after Yolanda and here I am, hundreds of miles away from where it happened. But somehow, memories of her still have a way of unnerving me.

If I were in Burauen right now, no doubt, my family and I would be reminiscing about so many memories, good and bad, from November 8, 2013.

We'll be talking about wondering why November 7, 2013 was declared as a non-working day, in preparation of Yolanda's arrival. Who prepares for a typhoon? Aren't we Warays kind of used to that stuff already? 

We'll talk about the fried chicken that we cooked on night of the 7th, in preparation for our breakfast the following day. We also had a loaf of bread ready. Surely those would be enough to get us through  the 8th. Surely we can easily buy food afterwards. We know the drill; we've encountered enough typhoons in the past. 

We'll talk about huddling in our parent's bedroom at 5 am of the 8th, knowing that Yolanda has arrived,  winds not too strong yet. To quote my youngest brother "Asya ini it super typhoon?", seemingly unimpressed that it's not as strong as he expected. My sister decided that she will sleep through it.

We'll talk about standing by the gate at 6 am, still enjoying the view of the dancing trees and the "freshness" of the wind. 

Until it stopped being enjoyable.

The huge branches of the two mango trees in  front of our house started to give way. Our roof took a hit. Something broke. Rain water was everywhere.

We all moved to the safest part of the house: the kitchen. My sister decided she that she won't sleep through Yolanda. My brothers held on to the kitchen door, it seemed that Yolanda wanted to open it too. In the intervals that our door cracked open, we got a glimpse of our main house getting brighter: we've lost half of our roofing.

Random things seemed to fly out of nowhere. Getting hit by a stone flying at 200 kms, no matter how small would have been fatal. Celestine might have been feeling the tension too. She just clung tightly too me, underneath those blankets.

We didn't count the hours. It seemed like it would never it. The walls and the ground trembled.

And then everything went still. No winds. No rain. The eye of the storm. I've always known from lessons in school that the eye of the storm is mighty calm. It is.

It gives you the chance to see the wreckage. It gives you the chance to hear your neighbor's screams and cries. It gives you the chance to see how the street and neighborhood that you've known all your life is unrecognizable at first glance.

For how long? Just a few minutes.

The booming wind could be heard coming back from the opposite direction. We didn't go back to the kitchen; we knew that this time it would be the least safe place in the house. We stayed at the front porch; we opened our gate to 30 or more people who couldn't move forward when the winds came back. Suddenly we didn't feel so alone. We waited for the storm to die down.

It was past noon when the skies cleared up. We forgot about the fried chicken that we cooked. We all had a distracted look on our face. Our adrenaline was still quiet high though. I have a good memory of seeing my sister lift a huge galvanized iron sheet that fell into our room. You wanted to do so many things and yet you didn't know where to begin.

And then you had to think about tonight and tomorrow. Because things didn't end when the storm died. There was a different situation at hand.

Oh, but here we are. Four years after we can look back on the lessons we learned.

By God's grace, we're still here.

CASTLE X PIRATE SHIP

Of course, this playhouse's main attraction, I must say, would be the huge (pirate) ship and the imposing castle. So my little girl, who sometimes says that she is a pirate, got to turn the "wheel" of the ship and say "Aye, aye Captain!". But I think she was overdressed for the pirate role, wearing that pink gown and hat. But anyway, what's better than a ship that sails on swim balls? 

OBSTACLES :)

Like I said, this play house is more suited for kids that are four to five above because they can explore the whole place on their own. And look at the photos; instead of the typical plastic slide we have here one made of rope. And Tin was climbing it, instead of sliding so I was wondering if it was really a slide. :)

CLASSIC FAVORITE

Tindahanay is a BIG highlight inside the play house because she loves playing the role of tindera. Well, I played the tindera far too many times when I was a kid so I can totes understand where she's coming from.

DRESS ME UP

She was inside Kevin's Toys and Library for only 30 minutes. The best thing about Celestine is that she hasn't changed: when you say 30 minutes is up she won't be doing any drama about extending the time. See, she's not a brat! :) Anyway, we paid Php 120.00 for 30 minutes; I paid an additional Php 20.00 for staying inside to take photos. And you know the drill about socks, so bring your own socks if you want to come in here, otherwise you'll have to purchase a pair too!

Kevin's Toys and Library is located at the 2nd Level, Robinsons Place Tacloban Extension, next to Toys R Us.

XO,

Mummy Cassie