After playing hard in the pool for a while, we came back to our beach chairs for a break. Since this was the resort’s poolside, we could order drinks and food right there from a beach bar called ALON.
Virgin Colada
It’s the alcohol-free version of a pina colada, and since it was still daytime I gave it a try. Being on the beach, the glass was plastic rather than real glass, which I suppose makes sense.
The Philippines is famous for its coconuts, and maybe that’s why it was so much smoother and tastier than I expected – it really surprised me. Drinking it on a tropical beach while gazing at an emerald sea may have added to the impression, too.
Mango Cocktail
I can’t quite remember the exact name, but it was a beautifully coloured cocktail mixing mango with several other fruits. You could taste the freshness of the tropical fruit in it too. Still, it fell just a little short of the Virgin Colada. Maybe because the mango we had that morning was so good.
Green Lawn and Palm Trees
This is the view behind the bar. On my way back from ordering lunch I noticed that even the area outside the pool was beautifully kept.
Clear Sky
The weather was so clear that it really felt like a holiday. The sun was fierce, though, and I got quite burnt that day.
In Front of the Restrooms
Luxurious, as you’d expect from a Shangri-La.
San Miguel and Pina Colada
After the drinks and a bit of a rest we went back to the pool, then came back and ordered lunch. The bar only makes drinks; the food is cooked at each of the resort’s restaurants and brought over, so you can order anything from sandwiches to proper Italian dishes or steak. Think of it as room service.
The drinks came first. The San Miguel was fine, but the pina colada I ordered after being so impressed by the Virgin Colada was even better – the alcohol cuts through the slightly heavy richness of the coconut milk. For a moment every pina colada I’d had back in Korea flashed through my mind and it genuinely hurt. So this is what a pina colada is actually supposed to taste like.
Hawaiian Pizza
We ordered a wood-fired pizza from Cielo, the proper Italian restaurant right next to the pool. It arrives piping hot, straight out of the oven. Wood-fired pizza places have been having a moment in Korea lately, but this was a level above most of them. The pineapple went surprisingly well with the cheese.
Everything we ordered inside the Shangri-La resort was of a high standard, which pushed our satisfaction with the trip even higher. The prices are expensive by local standards, but reasonable if you think in Korean terms. The one catch is that every dish comes in a generous portion, so one order split between two of us was enough for a full meal. For someone like me who wants to taste as many different dishes as possible while travelling, that was a bit of a shame.