Tim Ho Wan [添好運] - Now in Manila, Philippines!

After a long wait, Tim Ho Wan is finally open in Manila! Tim Ho Wan is known for being the cheapest Michelin Star restaurant in the whole world and the first Michelin Star restaurant in the Philippines.  To give you a bit of an info, the Michelin Guide is a reference published by Michelin, a French Company, to guide people on the best hotels and restaurants around the globe. The screening process is so strict that it only awards the 'Michelin Stars' to a few select establishments. According to research, the addition and the loss of a 'star' has a huge effect on the success of the restaurant.

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Bunwin Boutique Hotel in Cambodia

Some first impressions last and some don't. With this hotel, I'm glad it didn't. From the airport, we were picked up by our hotel service. The problem is not the service of the driver. Upon reaching the corner of our hotel because which wasn't along the main road (highway 6), we entered this dark bumpy alley and traveled around 500 meters until we reached the hotel. We were already thinking how the hell we would go out of the hotel when it is that dark and quite a walk from the main road. The good news is, the bad first impression was just up to that point.

All the semi-negative initial impression was removed as we entered the hotel lobby. Even though we arrived around 10pm, we were still warmly welcomed. Cold towel and a refreshing lemongrass juice was served perfect for the warm weather.

(Photo of the pool above taken the next day. Beside that lounge chair is a short skimpy path leading to our room)

Check-in was fast. Just present your passport and fill up a quick form. It was again quite dark on the way to the room but it was okay because the moon was bright that night. I recommend that you bring a flashlight if you have eyesight problems just to be sure. 

The room was impressively huge. There's are chairs and a table behind the bed, a queen bed in the middle of the room, a bath tub inside the room decorated with floating flowers, a sink area which is also inside the room. Inside the bathroom, there's the usual loo and a rain shower with pebbled stones by the gutter. Very zen like design. 

(Bath tub inside the room)

Below are some images of our room cropped put from a panorama:

The good service doesn't end there. Even though it's already late, we wanted to grab a quick bite before going to sleep. We went to the famous tourist-y  pub street but how sis we manage to walk out of the hotel? Well, transportation services are also included via their own tuktuks! Their service is only up to 11pm though so we had to take out own tuktuk back to the hotel for a bargainable fee of $2.50 which started at $4 I think.

Breakfast was also i cludes in the rate it was you choice or continental, american or asian breakfast. I ordered the American breakfast (poached egg, ham, sausage and bacon). They also provide bread and juice with coffee or tea.

To continue on with Bunwin hotel's tuktuk service, on the second day, we had a dinner reservation at the Touich Restaurant. It was atound an 8-10 minute ride I think. Their tuktuk dropped as there and we called the hotel to pick us ul and brought us to the night market. After night market, we called them again to fetch us. This is really service deluxe in my opinion.

Another great service was the mobile phone. Why? They lent a phone to use to use if we were to call the hotel! This is the first time I've experienced this kind of service. 

These are just some of the obvious why I will highly recommend Bunwin hotel when you're visiting Siem Reap, Cambodia.

Here are some photos of the place:

Bunwin Boutique Hotel

National Road #06, Samaki Market Zone

Phum Banteay Chas, Siem Reap, Cambodia

Tel: 855-63 969 158

Fax: 855-63 969 159

E-mail: reservation@bunwinboutique.com

Website: www.bunwinboutique.com

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Highly Recommended External Battery Pack: Tested!

Around three years ago before Mili came to the Philippines, I've been scouting for that reliable and useful external battery pack for my iPhone 3g. I've bought 3-4 different kinds of battery packs but none lasted. Some lasted for weeks and some a few months.

It's very hard to review battery packs. Unlike mobile phones where it has features like wifi, LTE connectivity or AMOLED display, battery packs just does one thing -- to transfer the power to the gadget of your choice. Battery packs differ in capacity, output power and charging adapters.

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Top 12 must have iPad business apps (Part 2)

This is a continuation of my must-have business applications for iPad series. To view the first set of recommended business apps, please go to: Top 12 must have iPad business apps (Part 1)

 iPhone 3g fitted with an Otterbox Defender

Here are 6 more must-have iPad business applications:

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Spirals at Sofitel - 300 dishes in a meal and counting!

For the past few weeks, I was constantly craving for an all-you-can-eat buffet here in the metro. although it was just a few weeks before my last eat-out-spree, this time, i was craving for something different.

buffet dining has evolved from just a simple eat-eat-eat buffet to something more innovative. Several innovations include smokeless-grill buffet, shabu-shabu buffet, teppanyaki type buffet and more.

My type of "different" this time isn't only about innovative eating. It's more of the number of dishes a restaurant can provide. This is where Spiral's is well-known for. Innovation + Variety!

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