A Short Get-away To The Island of Mactan
Sometimes, we need to get-away from our regular lives just so we can breathe and think clearly. I grabbed the opportunity of staying in Mactan at the late part of my day and spend time with a very good friend who always keeps me sane and grounded.
Meet one of My Loves, Aimer Jane Dy-Veloso.
She is a Cabin Crew at Cebu Pacific Air. Love their latest uniform that is modern chic in style, colors, and it comes with a denim skirt, too! How cool is that? But what I love the most is their leather handbag/backpack and their really gorgeous beach-like fedora! I so wanted to take it home with me! Haha!
We are both on a healthy diet because we still want to get slimmer than we are now. I am on a no-or-less-rice-on-the-weekdays diet while she is on an egg-and-apple-only diet. Wow! I can never do that. We do have days of exemption because it is never a good idea to deprive one’s self in experiencing variations of food choices.
Our common denominator?
No pork! I’ve been at it for almost a month now, and not even craving for it anymore. Crossing my fingers that I can do this all the way for the rest of my life. We ended up having an early dinner at Shakey’s because it is the only place where I can stay inside the Mactan-Cebu International Airport. Glad that they serve Americano coffee at only 100 pesos with 1 free refill. We wanted to try the black seafood pasta, but it was not available then. So sad. So, we ended up having the Scallops Pizza and of course Chicken with Mojos instead! Still yum!
Where did our diet and wanting-to-go-slimmer goals go? It’s still there, we just parked it for a while. After all, we don’t get to see each other very often. Almost only once in a month, because life’s just like that. But the best thing about us is that we do make time for each other. We kind of have a long-distance kind of friendship because Mactan is actually another island. Thanks to the 2 bridges that connect us to each other. Haha!
I am not a milk tea person, but this girl is.
And whenever we are together, Milk Tea is always part of the agenda. So, she brought me to the latest bubble tea shop in Mactan, Y.E.L.O. It’s a quaint little shop in Gaisano Mactan Island Mall. It has a very instagramable interior. The details of the shop are well-thought of. The color palette is very pleasing to the eyes.
My eyes enjoyed their rose-gold colored logo, scrabble-tile inspired price list, and their product-descriptive clipboards. I marveled at their design choices.
I’ve learned that the owners love California, USA.
You will see a photo of the products taken at the Golden Gate Bridge and they have a table topper that has California written on it. And their menu looks amazing! The place looks elegant and expensive but surprisingly very affordable. Refer back to my photo of the scrabble-tile inspired price list.
This cute shop has a lot to offer. But as a first-timer, I will always ask for the best-sellers and one of which is the Classic Milk Tea with Boba. Aimer went for the Classic Pu-erh Milk Tea with Boba. And below you will see that they are using Arla Milk for every cup.
This bubble tea shop in Mactan can take you to an international experience by bringing in imported ingredients so that their Milk Tea products can be as authentic as possible.
You would really take a photo of the drink before stirring it and drinking it up because it is so pretty! The best part is that they’d ask you if you’d rather go for plastic or paper straws. We immediately went for paper, after all, the cups and top cover are of plastic material. I am really doing my best to lessen the use and consumption of plastic but I’d be totally honest that it’s been a very challenging aspiration for me. I will still try, no matter how difficult it actually is. As a non-milk tea person, I can still say that their products had a well-balanced taste to it. I wanted to go for 0% sugar but opted for 25% instead since they warned me that I may not enjoy it as much without sugar.
The thing about me and Aimer is that we tend to forget about the time whenever we get our conversations going.
We are two very different individuals and our opinions are not always aligned, yet we never argue because we respect each other’s P-O-Vs. This is because we listen to each other, understand where the other is coming from, yet keep firm in our differing beliefs. We both know that we have very different experiences in life as well as circumstances, yet we have both accepted each other for who we really are. There is no need to be self-conscious and we don’t have to walk on egg shells when we’re together. We can both just let our hair down and allow each other to vent the negative energies that we have absorbed out of our systems. Sigh of relief! Just the get-away that I badly needed.
We ended up really late because we totally lost track of time. We may rarely see each other, but the value of our date nights have always been deep-rooted and sincere. You see, you keep discovering something new about your friend regardless of how many years you have known each other. You just have to really take interest in their history, present life, and their future plans. It is in listening and communication that you understand what your friend is all about. And you’d discover that there is more to love about them, too.
As I’ve listened to Aimer, I’ve learned about bite-sized self development in all forms.
She has taught me to at least allot 1 hour for each and every goal that I have towards personal development in a day. It’s her step-by-step version of becoming the best version of herself every single day. Making developing good habits and breaking bad habits simpler and doable.
How about you? When is your next get-away? Or do you need one at all?
Get away and escape the hustle and bustle of life. 😊
The food choices were great, delicious and pleasing to the eyes, they fed our bodies.
And the best part of eating together was spending precious time, enjoying each other’s company, a moment to be connected, it fed our souls.
Great article. I always look forward to your piece of writing! ❤️
Love spending time with you! Thanks for spending time in reading my feeds. 🖤
That looks like a great getaway from the hustle bustle.
Sounds like a great getaway to have. The food looks so good, would love to to go there some day!
This may be a “quick fix” before, but a short getaway seems to be so valuable and meaningful from today’s perspective. This pandemic really teaches us some of the life’s greatest lessons.
What a fun get-away and cute hat! Nice to always connect with friends for advice and perspective. However, your diets are quite strict. Apple and egg, I could never do that 🙂
That’s a cute hat! I’m not into milk tea, but definitely that cheesecake is something I would love to try 🙂
I looooooooooooooooove milk tea! I will have to visit this island. Where is it located?
This is in Mactan Island, part of Cebu, Philippines.
I would love to escape and visit this island. It seems like a wonderful Destiination.
How fun! I could use a getaway right about now. Cheesecake is an awesome choice!
Oh man this sounds amazing. I need a vacation in the WORST WAY right now. Thanks so much for sharing this with all of us!
I am also not a milktea-lover but trying out new things won’t hurt. Beside, these milkteas look delicious though especially when paired with cake. I heard also a few good reviews about this place!
seems to be very interesting….. Thanks for sharing it…..
I’d love to visit someday. That boba drink looks SO good!
This looks like the perfect getaway with a friend! It is fun to live vicariously through your experience since we cannot travel right now. Thanks for sharing!
Great article! I don’t think many of us have been to Mactan, or even know where it is. Loved learning about a bit of the food culture on the idland!
It’s in Cebu, Philippines. Where the beaches are at.
Can’t wait for the time when I can visit such places again! It seems you both had some fun and you had some yummy food, too! 🙂
This place has some amazing drinks. I love looking at the drink menu
How I wish I can escape to an island for a couple of weeks! Soon i hope, after all of this ends.
The tea shop looks really cool. I love bubble tea.
What a fun escape! I really like the milk teas, so this would be right up my alley. Great, now I’m thirsty.
I went to get coffee and milkshakes with a close friend last week. We couldn’t wait anymore. But we exercised social distancing and visited from a distance, lol. It was a wonderful time.
A drink with a friend will always be one of the best things in life.
Sounds like it was a lot of fun. I love little getaways. Can’t wait till the whole COVID situation passes so that we can start taking short trips again. So looking forward to it.
I love quick getaways with friends. Your photos and words make me wish I could go on one right now, haha guess I’ll just have to wait.
Ooh I want some bubble tea now! I can’t wait to be able to go on a vacation,, even mini getaways will do
I miss being able to go on small getaway really. It is so refreshing and so exciting! And I LOVE your hat! so very pretty!
That’s a nice getaway, especially when you spend it with your good friend. That bubble tea looks so good, I’d love to have a cup now.
After reading your post, I want to get away too! Maybe to Island of Mactan! I would love to have the tea but I need my sugar!
Yelo looks such a great spot! Love the attention to detail!
This looks like a great place to visit for a quick trip.
Oh this place looks so great. I would love to visit here after pandemic ends. I have been dying to get away very soon.