On the first anniversary of our restaurant Wooden Spoon, my business partner and I wanted to give back to our employees by treating them to a beach outing.
Our destination of choice was Morong, Bataan. I had never been to this place, but my badminton friends have raved about their fun experience here.
It was a pleasant drive passing through the towns of Pampanga. It is a must for me to pass by Nepo Mart and pick up some tocino and longaniza from Minings at the Magnolia lane of Nepo. I have been coming here for decades, since the Tayags introduced me to this supplier (0999-4493001).
From there, we drove to Subic where we stopped at the Duty-Free Shop. What a surprise; there was so much to shop for. There were clothes, shoes, a lot of candies, chips, foodstuff and many things only found abroad.
We ate in a Japanese restaurant that was supposed to be the best of Subic. It was good, but I’ve tried better.
From Subic, we took a 30-minute drive to Morong, Bataan, where we booked ourselves at Coralview Beach Resort. The resort has complete amenities for games and is the ideal venue for any company outing.
The entire staff went swimming. The beach was no Boracay, but it was nice enough for running around and relaxing by the waters. There were plastic rafts one could rent to go paddling around.
Joyous day
We played games the whole day. We separated the staff into two groups and had them competing in games like volleyball, obstacle course, swimming relay, tug-of-war and basketball, all spiced with lots of teasing around. This was a simple fun day with people you relied and depended on, a joyous day of bonding and laughter.
The resort has at least two swimming pools, a billiard hall, food, bar, air-conditioned rooms with HDTV and cable, and the place has not stopped expanding. I guess business has been good. I saw pictures of the property when it was still raw land, and it’s amazing to see how it has blossomed into one of the better resorts in Morong.
On our lunch menu were good old Pinoy adobo, fresh lumpiang ubod, sibuyas and kamatis, manggang hilaw and bagoong and lots of rice, plus ice-cold beer. This is a trip I will remember for a long time.
Every event with our staff has become memorable. Last Christmas, we took them to the all-you-can-eat buffet at Vikings in SM Marikina, and we were talking about it for days. This is the definition of happiness for me.
HAPPY EATING!
Coralview Resort is at Morong, Bataan; tel. (02) 7822882-83, 0912-8234779.
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