After our trip to the University to the Philippines, we went to Trinoma and to SM City North Edsa (I was going to blog about these two, but there was not enough content). We met with a ton of good friends of my auntie and uncle.
These good friends (I think) they met via WOWTrippers (Backpacking adventures to the Philippines!). It was the owner of WOWTrippers' birthday (Janine / J9!) and we met her at the TriNoma Foodcourt.
After a hell of a lot of browsing in at a store that sells backpacking and hiking gear (Good Lord, I hope my description of the store is correct), we went on a car journey to a place that has a buffet. But this is not an ordinary type of buffet, this was a dessert buffet (diabetes for everyone!)
NOTE: Once you see a word "shot" on this blog post, it was a non-alcoholic thing, and was purely cream, toppings and calories. I'm not that stupid to consume alcohol. It was just in a shot glass, that's all.
When we got there, we just sat down for a literal five seconds before everyone got up, got plates and browsed the selection of desserts.
There was an array of cakes and pastries, cookie jars were present, so was tarts. On the other side, the crew was making fresh crepes, make-your-own halo-halo (shaved ice with toppings! very Filipino), ice cream and toppings and three drinks, water, iced tea and boba (pearl milk tea / buble tea)
From Top Left, Clockwise: Smarties Cookie, Cookies & Cream Shot (non-alcoholic), Brownie and a Mini Tart. |
Off the bat, I didn't want to try any cakes, because they were heavy on the stomach. The cookie, brownie and the tart tasted the same, which was very surprising. The Cookies & Cream shot was awesome.
I also wanted a crepe. They had four crepe flavor options, and I took strawberry. Tita (auntie) Janine and Tita Joy opted for the blueberry crepe. Crepe tasted purely like jam.
The best part of this was the shots (Please read the note above if you haven't already) and the ice cream. The ice cream I had was vanilla and strawberry. They also offered three shots, Cookies & Creme, Peach and Chocolate Mousse. The Cookies & Cream one was to die for. I would have it every day if it wasn't for the weight I'd gain and the diabetes I'd get.
From Left - Cookies and Cream, Peach Shot, Chocolate Mousse |
The buffet of desserts was incredibly affordable, at PHP 199 (~ USD 4). I would say that I mostly enjoyed this EATS because of the company I had, which was friends with my uncle and auntie. I didn't enjoy the food that much, maybe because I sampled the same things all over again. Hope to change that.
***
Contis' has the best cakes I've ever tasted. Really.
Last September 2014, I availed of Wowtripper’s Mt. Kota Kinabalu Tour Package. I exchanged messages with Ms. Janine “J9” Manaig of Wowtrippers about the tour details, how much the tour package is, etc. She did not give me much information about the trip during our online conversation, and most of her replies were delayed. However, she was stern about the amount that has to be deposited for P14,000 (excluding the roundtrip flight ticket). So, I deposited half of the amount: P7,000. I received messages from her, assuring me that the trip will be awesome and that she was excited too. She also reminded me to deposit the remaining balance. After a while, I did.
ReplyDeleteBy the time the trip was getting nearer and nearer, I had an unsettling feeling in my gut. I was not receiving any messages from her about any additional information about the plan, the itinerary, or even the name of the contact person. She did not even tell me that my passport has to be valid 6 months before the expiry date… which, by the way, was information which I expected would come to her, as I assumed she knows what she was doing, and she was concerned for her clients! I mean, that the reason I was transacting with them to begin with: To make my traveling easier! But instead, things took a turn for the worst.
Any effort to contact her was met with no response. She would turn off her phone, not respond to text messages, and any invitation to meet with her was shrugged off. In other words she and Wowtrippers were completely RUDE, UNPROFESSIONAL, SCAMMING LIARS!
I still could not reach Ms. Janine “J9” Manaig. I did not know who is going to meet me at the airport, where I am going to stay, what the travel itinerary. I still don’t even know the contact details of the place I’m going to stay in, or the guide I am supposed to meet, and even the name of the guide! I have been constantly trying to text and call Ms. Janine “J9” Manaig. I even tried to set up a meeting with her before my flight to Kota Kinabalu, which she stood me up on! I filed for a leave in my job in Cebu took a flight going to Manila FOR NOTHING!!!
Since there was no assurance or proof that they did their job, I canceled the entire thing, and demanded that a full refund must be paid back! I gave them a breakdown of the total amount, and negotiated that they pay me. They still wouldn’t reply to me online, or on text/call. They only replied to rudely haggle with me. But still up until this day, they have not paid me. They promised to give me a promissory note, but nothing was given, no service was exchanged. In other words, I was SCAMMED by WOWTRIPPERS and MS. JANINE “J9” MANAIG.
SO, DO NOT EVER TRANSACT WITH WOWTRIPPERS! THEY ARE UNPROFESSIONAL, LIARS, AND SCAMMERS. They are disorganized, and THEY ARE ONLY AFTER YOUR MONEY. They will NOT RESPOND to your calls or texts, or messages, after receiving your money. When you’ll transact with them, they seem very uneducated, rude, brash, rowdy, and unrefined. When you try to set a meeting with them, they will not show up or text you that they can’t make it. They will just make you wait there, because they do not have respect of other people’s time. When you try to get a refund, THEY WILL NOT FUCKING PAY YOU!!! DO NOT EVER TAKE YOUR CHANCES TO TRANSACT WITH THESE UNPROFESSIONAL SCUMS!!! JUST PLAN YOUR ENTIRE TRIP BY YOURSELF!
Last September 2014, I availed of Wowtripper’s Mt. Kota Kinabalu Tour Package. I exchanged messages with Ms. Janine “J9” Manaig of Wowtrippers about the tour details, how much the tour package is, etc. She did not give me much information about the trip during our online conversation, and most of her replies were delayed. However, she was stern about the amount that has to be deposited for P14,000 (excluding the roundtrip flight ticket). So, I deposited half of the amount: P7,000. I received messages from her, assuring me that the trip will be awesome and that she was excited too. She also reminded me to deposit the remaining balance. After a while, I did.
ReplyDeleteBy the time the trip was getting nearer and nearer, I had an unsettling feeling in my gut. I was not receiving any messages from her about any additional information about the plan, the itinerary, or even the name of the contact person. She did not even tell me that my passport has to be valid 6 months before the expiry date… which, by the way, was information which I expected would come to her, as I assumed she knows what she was doing, and she was concerned for her clients! I mean, that the reason I was transacting with them to begin with: To make my traveling easier! But instead, things took a turn for the worst.
Any effort to contact her was met with no response. She would turn off her phone, not respond to text messages, and any invitation to meet with her was shrugged off. In other words she and Wowtrippers were completely RUDE, UNPROFESSIONAL, SCAMMING LIARS!
I still could not reach Ms. Janine “J9” Manaig. I did not know who is going to meet me at the airport, where I am going to stay, what the travel itinerary. I still don’t even know the contact details of the place I’m going to stay in, or the guide I am supposed to meet, and even the name of the guide! I have been constantly trying to text and call Ms. Janine “J9” Manaig. I even tried to set up a meeting with her before my flight to Kota Kinabalu, which she stood me up on! I filed for a leave in my job in Cebu took a flight going to Manila FOR NOTHING!!!
Since there was no assurance or proof that they did their job, I canceled the entire thing, and demanded that a full refund must be paid back! I gave them a breakdown of the total amount, and negotiated that they pay me. They still wouldn’t reply to me online, or on text/call. They only replied to rudely haggle with me. But still up until this day, they have not paid me. They promised to give me a promissory note, but nothing was given, no service was exchanged. In other words, I was SCAMMED by WOWTRIPPERS and MS. JANINE “J9” MANAIG.
SO, DO NOT EVER TRANSACT WITH WOWTRIPPERS! THEY ARE UNPROFESSIONAL, LIARS, AND SCAMMERS. They are disorganized, and THEY ARE ONLY AFTER YOUR MONEY. They will NOT RESPOND to your calls or texts, or messages, after receiving your money. When you’ll transact with them, they seem very uneducated, rude, brash, rowdy, and unrefined. When you try to set a meeting with them, they will not show up or text you that they can’t make it. They will just make you wait there, because they do not have respect of other people’s time. When you try to get a refund, THEY WILL NOT FUCKING PAY YOU!!! DO NOT EVER TAKE YOUR CHANCES TO TRANSACT WITH THESE UNPROFESSIONAL SCUMS!!! JUST PLAN YOUR ENTIRE TRIP BY YOURSELF!