Category: Blog

The Boac Hotel: I Found It Homey

After checking out of Bellaroca, we took a tricycle and a jeepney going to Boac. we had reservations here at The Boac Hotel which is think is the most decent hotel in town. It was a Sunday, almost all establishments are closed except for the church, the gift shop and the hippest restaurant at the plaza.

Upon arrival, we were given a glass of iced tea as a welcome drink and each of us gets a fan {I chose the green one}.

The history, rich culture and the traditions of this small town are the first thing you will notice upon entrance in the lobby as well as in the interior design of the hotel, giving it the ambience of a cozy old home. If you’re on the coward side, it might give you a little bit of a “bahay-ni-lola” feel or haunted hotel feel. Nevertheless, I found it homey.

I love this chandelier! It reminds me of the scene in Coraline where in she had dinner in the “other mother’s” house and the other mother was trying to lure her with a lavish spread. Different flavors of smoothies were served in a “chandelier-like” container like this. It automatically went down so Coraline can get a glass of smoothie.

We got this Family Deluxe room for P2,000. It has two double beds, an a/c, a bathroom, towels, soap and shampoo. The bathroom was really small but there was a water heater. What you can see for yourself is what you get. It is a really small room!

I chose the bed farthest from the door because it’s near the a/c.

This is what you will see when you walk outside of the room. There’s a lounging are and on the right side was the stairs. Yup, our room was on the second floor.

The hotel’s restaurant is called Cafe Ma’Mita. That’s where we had lunch upon arrival and breakfast the next day. There’s also a small store there that sells souvenirs and native products such as the popular and delicious Arrowroot cookies. They also sell key chains, shirts and bowls made from coconut shells. Read and view more pictures at Mommypeach.com

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The Boac Hotel: Relaxing Comfort Like Home

If you have watched the March 22 episode of “Biyahe Ni Drew” (a GMA News TV travel show hosted by Drew Arellano), you might have been delighted with the things and places they have featured about Marinduque.

Drew explored various destinations in the province including Tres Reyes Islands, Poctoy Beach, Isla del Carmen ecopark, Ka-Amon Cave, and Kusina sa Plaza. The show also highlighted the Moriones Festival, the event that puts Marinduque on the annual Philippine festivals calendar.

The good thing about “Biyahe ni Drew” is it’s goal of letting travel enthusiasts around the country (and even those outside) of the most affordable travel deals in each destination they feature. From accommodations to dining to activities to transportation fares, this show informs their viewers that traveling on a budget is F-U-N!

And in their Marinduque special, Drew and the staff stayed at The Boac Hotel. It’s the green establishment across the Boac Cathedral. The hotel interior gives a homey ambiance with a thing or two to fascinate you.

The family room costs P2,000 per night; room for two costs P1,000; room for one costs P500. Not bad for a comfortable accommodation, right? Wowmarinduque.com

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Rejano Bakery: Where Cookies Are Transformed By Technology

Arrowroot flour is the main ingredient of cookies. What will one do when there is an insufficient supply of this in the cookie business?

This was the problem of the Rejano Bakery, an arrowroot cookie business in Marinduque that started in 1949.

Carmelita Rejano-Reyes, owner and manager of the bakery, asked helped from the Department of Science and Technology Region IV-B for the solution of this problem.

The department then gave her a grant enabling her to acquire a processing equipment that process arrowroot flour easier.

In 2006, Reyes asked help from the department again through the Small Enterprise Technology Upgrading Program (SETUP).

“SETUP is DOST’s strategy to encourage and assist SMEs to adopt technological innovations to improve their operations and thus boost their productivity and competitiveness,” said the department in a statement on Monday.

The department said that the bakery went through the “Good Manufacturing Practice Training and Audit”.

After that the bakery adopted cleaner production technologies that resulted to reducing LPG consumption by 20 percent, improving their flour production by 200 percent at the least.

“In 2009, the business received another assistance from SETUP to improve packaging and extend product shelf life which increased the product’s marketability,” the department said.

“The improved packaging enabled Rejano’s arrowroot cookies to penetrate the Metro Manila market and boost its sales by 15 percent,” it added.

Rejano’s Bakery won the 2013 Best Technoprereneur of DOST held last August 27, 2013 at Traders Hotel.

“The award was conferred in recognition of technopreneurs who, through science and technology, improved their business productivity, profitability, employment and over all contribution to the regional economy,” the department stressed. Paula Marie D. Navarra, Philippine News Agency

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Rejano’s Marinduque Delicacies – Arrowroot Cookies

The Rejano’s Bakery has been making bread, cookies, pastries and sweets for over 60 years now. The tradition began in 1946 when Timoteo Castillo opened the Castillo Bakery in Sta. Cruz, Marinduque. The bakery was inherited by Crisistomo Rejano, Castillo’s adopted son. Later, Crisostomo’s wife, Belen cooked up a very good arrowroot (uraro) cookie that served as treats for friends and relatives during birthdays and weddings. Little did she know that her arrowroot cookies would become so popular even outside the boarders of Marinduque. Balikbayans and local tourists would always buy Rejano’s arrowroot cookies as pasalubongs to their loved ones in Manila and abroad. Carmelita, the daughter of Crisostomo and Belen continued the tradition. She succeeded not only in bringing the Rejano’s arrowroot cookies to arrowroot lovers in Manila, but also in sustaining the livelihood of farmers in her province.

The Rejano’s Bakery is situated in Brgy. Banahaw , Sta Cruz , Marinduque. It is very easy for you to locate the store because it is located walking distance beside the church of the town. Moreover, the bakery is famous – any locals are aware if you ask where it is.

They are proud of their unique product. “We have Gluten Free, Low Sugar and highly digestible foods here” the sales lady said.

Meanwhile, arrowroot is a starch obtained from the rhizomes (rootstock) of several tropical plants, traditionally Maranta arundinacea and the Province of Marinduque is abundant of that plant – they called it “Uraro” . Arrowroot tubers contain about 23% starch. “Madaming ganyan sa mga gubat, kinkuha lang namin yan, pero ngayon may taniman na. (In the forest area, arrowroot is wild and plenty plant and we just harvest it but there are now some plantations exist” a local said. The starch has t been quite extensively adulterated with potato starch and other similar substances in creating cookies.d being choked. Read more on I Love Tansyong TV

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