For as long as I can remember, I have always been searching for “the one.” I guess I’m not the only one who take inspiration from romance novels, Disney fairy tales and Hollywood chick flicks, putting images of white knights in the head and prince charmings that do not realistically exist. Alas, the hopeless romantic that I am keep her eyes peeled in case one magically walked through a magic mirror into this world…

until I met this intimidating classroom seatmate six years ago. His name is Louie, my boyfriend for four years now.

We celebrated our fourth-year anniversary last May 1 (Labor Day) in Greenhills Shopping Center. He can never be without food to feed the “little dinosaurs and cobras” in his stomach, so our first stop had to be a restaurant. He had snacks at Mexicali and we went window-shopping while waiting for the movie to start later that evening.

Watched Trance (2013)

All of Greenhills Promenade cinemas were showing Iron Man 3, except for two others which opened for Identity Theft and Trance. Since there was not much of a choice, we watched Trance without even knowing what the plot was about. I just read some Facebook status messages of friends saying that it’s like Inception, a psychological thriller/action movie. Surprisingly, we both liked the story. 🙂

Dinner at Chili’s Greenhills Connecticut

There’s aplenty of sumptuous dishes offered at Chili’s, but they are mostly and largely for meat lovers. Where’s the beef? It’s rightfully here, baby — stark opposite of my preference.

On past occasions, I have tried their pasta and fish and chips. This time though I wanted to eat something quite out of the ordinary. Only one called my attention: Southwestern Eggrolls.

This crispy flour tortilla was filled with smoked chicken, black beans, corn, and Jalapeno Jack cheese. The dough was at the right texture, appropriately crunchy and chewy where it needed to be. There was also the flavorful avocado ranch dressing which proved to be the ideal complement for the heartier red peppers and spinach. These Southwestern eggrolls made me get reacquainted with my liking of breads, as the taste of the put-together dressing and ingredients was fulfilling as it was interesting.

I had about 3.5 pieces before my palates grew tired of it — and Louie had to take over with the rest. Nonetheless, it was a good choice for the night. 😀

Louie ordered a set of Chili’s Big Mouth burger and fries for himself. The burger was, at heart, a humble creation. I got a mouthful of his food and I can tell it was cooked fine. I cannot describe further, but I’m happy to report that nothing about it disappointed.

Gift Exchange

Before food was served at the table, we relished a moment of exchanging gifts. He gave me a golden box that contained a necklace with a pendant sparkling with gold and silver. Accompanying it was a short manuscript couched in a language that I could not comprehend as it wasn’t in English. It must have come from Spain. THANK YOU, Louielove. ♥

I, on the other hand, gave him a Polo Ralph Lauren leather belt that can be reversed to black and brown sides with a simple twist of the buckle. This present took me a long time to think about. Gifts for men are really the hardest to find. Forums and websites I’ve flipped over suggest the usual — trips and getaways, tickets to some concert or play, and other expensive stuff for an anniversary gift, but I still chose something for practical everyday wear.

The belt might be clichéd or boring, yet it represents togetherness and while worn, it would make him remember me at any time of the day! 8)

Wrap Up

And so we have reached another anniversary. Sometimes it feels like it’s only been a few days and sometimes it feels like it’s been a lifetime! It’s amazing how we’ve grown and changed in the last four years. I feel like I know him most, as he’s someone I can talk to, share things with, confide in without fear of ridicule or disinterest. He just might be the best partner for adventures that we’ve yet to uncover. 😉

Chinese New Year is held on different dates each year. This year of the Black Water Snake, it fell on a Sunday: February 10, 2013. Most families begin preparing a month or more in advance for celebrating Chinese New Year, but we bought food and prepared for the festivity only on the day before.

I was surprised that Ongpin Street in Chinatown, Binondo was way TOO CROWDED not only with Chinese people but also with Filipinos. (It took me almost an hour in the line to pay for the mushroom zongzi and peanut powder in Eng Bee Tin.) 😯

How We Celebrated CNY 2013 in the Philippines

Like other Chinese families, we stuffed our tables with seafood, fruits, glutinous rice, lumpia, noodles, etc. However, unlike most of them, we didn’t decorate our home with red ornaments and lucky charms, didn’t offer a sacrifice to the Kitchen God, didn’t play mahjong until the sun comes up the next morning, didn’t set off chaotic fireworks and firecrackers and didn’t even bother to watch them explode in the sky. 😛 In sheer contrast to these traditions, we only stayed at home and slept early on New Year’s Eve.

On the first day of the New Year itself, we had lunch in my paternal grandparents’ house and gave thanks to the lord through prayers for all the blessings we have received. Food brought by all of us (potluck):

Held on February 17, 2013, our second celebration still consisted of none else than enjoying festive food in Shangri-la Finest Chinese Cuisine, West Triangle, Quezon City. I didn’t manage to get pictures of the food though, because we were seated in a circular table with people we’re not familiar with. It was embarrassing for me to tell them I had to take a shot before they can get food to their plates. 🙁

There were games for both adults and children, and we had fun collecting prizes from random raffle draws. The program’s host made sure that each person didn’t go home without taking a prize and tikoy for every family. And as usual, single men and women took “lucky money” enclosed in red envelopes (红包 “hong bao”) given by the most senior female and male members of the association.

Our latest celebration was last March 3, 2013. With maternal relatives, we had some truly superlative 10-course Chinese lauriat food service, family-style entrees, for lunch in Mandarin Sky Seafood and Shabu-Shabu Restaurant (Banawe, Quezon City) and won monetary prizes from raffle draws sponsored by officers of 旅菲南海九江同郷会. Mandarin Sky is a good place to gather with friends and family over a satisfying meal before moving on (with a full stomach) to the rest of the day or evening.

Getting to a relationship is rather easy. The beginning part has all mushiness and excitements every single day. This is when you carry the thought that he or she is the one. But staying and keeping the relationship alive through the years is what’s complicated and challenging.

In a blink, you seem to know this person and consider him or her the other part of yourself, part of your world. In another blink, you’d share your gravest secrets and lean on to his or her shoulder a little more. A bit later, you’d be surer that this would be the person your future children would call “Mom” or “Dad.” But certainly, there will be a point when you’d experience fearing if the idea works out and fear more when it doesn’t. You just have to take the risk and see how the rest performs next.

Sticking to marriage for life is another feat that’s hard to keep up with. Many marriages now, like businesses, fail as early as its first three to five years. The risks each has to take and the reasons for failures vary per case and family but let’s not go to that. What I’m just trying to say is that really, being married isn’t easy. My parents are together for 25 years now and this definitely is a big milestone that well deserved an unforgettable celebration.

Let me share with you how we celebrated our parents’ silver wedding anniversary last Friday. 🙂

It all began when Mom and Dad went to Buffet 101 (Mall of Asia) with Auntie Chit and Uncle George for lunch. It was all their first time to this grand buffet restaurant. Of course, they were all in awe of the food, torn between trying something they have not tasted before and craving for the food that had them decide to go there in the first place.

Mom had a lot of Chinese dim sum, and she regretted it, not because they were not any good but because she was so full that she had not tried much of the flavorful and colorful food in the desserts section.

Dishes in Buffet 101 were completely transforming, and it’s not until you go through every section that you will discover what you were missing. They spent about two hours filling their stomachs with sumptuous indulgence.

Their next endeavor was window-shopping around SM Mall of Asia. Cheap thrill, I know, but if you’re one who has not been to this one of the biggest malls in the whole world for years (like Daddy), you would be just as ecstatic. Dad happily visited his favorite stores: Ace Hardware, SM Appliance Center and Astroplus.

There were staff who recognized him and asked where he had been in the past two years. By this, you would sense that he truly frequented these shops as staff do not usually know the faces of customers and remember them unless they’ve built some special impression on them. Dad went on with his story, while Mom dozed off in one of the massage chairs in the store for an hour.

At around 8PM, I met my sister in Tous Les Jours to buy a strawberry cake shaped like a heart for our parents. I saw posts about this Korean bakery online and was thrilled to learn that their cakes come in unique designs, far from the usual squares, rectangles and rounds offered in Red Ribbon and Goldilocks.

We chose the red big heart and asked the bakeshop staff to write on our message with the icing: “Happy 25th Wedding Anniversary, Mommy & Daddy!” Then off we headed to WATAMI Japanese Casual Restaurant where we planned to have dinner.

While walking to WATAMI, my sister saw Mom and Dad walking toward us and we immediately shifted our direction and changed our speed to second gear! We wanted to arrive at the restaurant earlier, as we had to surrender the cake first to have it stored in their refrigerator. We were successful in our plan and our innocent parents followed suit after five minutes. They alighted from SM’s car for senior citizens and the physically challenged, as if Cinderella and Prince Charming descended from the pumpkin carriage!

Watami is one of the many Japanese restaurants in SM Mall of Asia, a must visit stretch of pavement for any culinary globetrotter. Inside, the dining room was unassuming, agreeable and clean, with  comfortable seating for groups. The ambiance of the venue deserves to be awarded with five stars. As a critic, I can sing all good praises for this restaurant.

Watami’s salmon sashimi a la carte, beef and kimchee rice in stone pot, thin-crust pizza topped with teriyaki chicken, and deep fried tofu with tempura sauce in stone pot seduced our tasted buds the right way. Prices of meals were affordable. Members of the service team were super friendly and fast. The hospitality has been indeed genuine.  And what made our experience in WATAMI truly special was the unexpected…

When we were handed with the bill, we whispered and requested the cake to be taken out. I thought that they will return it as it was nicely fitted in the box and the surprise gift would be enough. Rather, the waiters and waitresses went an extra mile. They approached our table in cluster and serenaded us to the chorus of Barry Manilow’s “Can’t Smile Without You” and greeted our parents a happy wedding anniversary! We were all caught in surprise. 😛

The night ended with us four riding a cab home. Mom was elated to receive a dozen of red roses and she immediately arranged the flowers in our new glass vase.

I had terrible colds and flu last week and I didn’t get the time to shop for a gift for them. At the last minute, I gave them the time-tested formula to happiness: food and surprises.

Their 25th wedding anniversary celebration was not a giant party with all our relatives and friends. There was no renewal of vows in a church setting, with flowers and all artsy and cutesy decors. There was no second honeymoon or romantic trip. But everything went perfectly well that night. It had been pretty simple but the meaning and memories behind it, I hope, had been significant. Being together and staying in love is what really counts, anyway. ♥

 

When it comes to birthday parties, there are often just two types of get-together: the casual bash complete with an expansive guest list, and the intimate, elegant event with just one special person or perhaps a small group of friends and relatives.

My godmother celebrated her 50th birthday following the latter, today at The Legend Hong Kong Seafood Restaurant, located at Boom na Boom Compound, CCP Complex, Roxas Boulevard, Pasay, Philippines.

The event per se was not anything fancy, but the dining table was enchanted with delicious Chinese dishes that didn’t necessitate us to be rugged, handcuffed and dragged just to eat while sabotaging our diet. As it’s just the second week of the 2013, we can still blame our indulgence still on the holidays!

If you’re thinking of celebrating your birthday or spending another special occasion at The Legend, this writeup might be of help.

What we had: Assorted Appetizers, Birthday Noodles, Fish Lip Soup (that would taste better with a dash of black vinegar or “o tso” we call in Chinese), Roast Peking Duck 北京烤鸭 Skin in Wraps, Sua He (Steamed Live Shrimps), Minced Meat with Cabbage Wraps, Steamed Lapu-lapu, Tenderloin Beef Steak, Breaded Crabs, and the refreshing Mango-Almond with Frozen Watermelon smoothie.

Pictures:

    

The Chinese almost always offer lauriats to their guests. Whether it be a wedding, an engagement party, or a birthday feast, we tend to eat several dishes in small proportions. The idea is to get food about a mouthful equivalent to about three spoonfuls, and then spin the table gently onto the next diner until everyone at the table gets his/her own share. (FYI: Originating in China, lauriat is a type of food service which uses a Lazy Susan to move the food counter-clockwise or clockwise.)

Usually, there has to be eight to ten dishes served—from appetizers, the main course recipes and the desserts. Eight, when translated in Chinese (“Ba”–>”Fa” in Mandarin and “Faat” in Cantonese; written as 發), means “lucky.”

Do we become lucky after bolting into these variants? We just can’t tell. 😀 While that’s only a tradition powered by old superstitions, it’s still worthwhile to be able to gorge these food once in a blue moon. 😛

My sister and I took Santa very seriously as kids. It was only at the start of my secondary school year when I stopped writing him a letter—you know, to note the things I wanted to receive for Christmas, to check in and say hi. We used to even prepare snacks for him by the window and leave him a cup of orange juice.

Now we may be too old for Santa; it’s just hilarious to watch the children await for his gift every Christmas Eve. But we are never too old to make Christmas wishes.

While most teens and adults are fond of filling their Christmas wishlist with material things like the latest fashionable clothes and accessories straight from the runway, makeup that will make one look like a goddess and the coolest technical gadgets, I have always turned the other way. From the time we kissed the Santa Claus thing goodbye, I have only been wishing for this simple thing called happiness that’s best spent with my loved ones.

Here’s a recall of my top 5 events of happiness that turned up in the last holidays season:

1. Dinner at Seasons, Manila Pavilion Hotel

Date of Visit: December 25, 2012
Location: Lobby Level, Manila Pavilion Hotel, United Nations Avenue corner Ma. Orosa Street, Ermita, Manila

The traditional Christmas meal varies from family to family. Some gather around the table for variations of spaghetti, while others eat ham coupled with wine and some cheese. But for families like ours who wanted to stray away from the conventional meal, a great choice had to be one of those buffet restaurants where unapologetic food would be served to our utmost satisfaction.

So my family, boyfriend and I went to Seasons at Manila Pavilion Hotel to enjoy their bold food items.

I am not sure why many bloggers had rated this four-star hotel-restaurant negatively. Okay, it does not actually live up to its label “Manila’s finest hotel buffet,” but Seasons at Manila Pavilion Hotel was still a great special-occasion venue with an ambiance that made us feel like royalty. Its food variety required us to plan which to go on for a second to nth serving more, particularly in the desserts section. Check out the pictures in my Facebook album.

2. Tour at Zoobic Safari Park

Date of Visit: December 30, 2012
Location: Subic Bay Freeport Zone Group 1, Ilanin Forest, Subic Freeport Zone

After work last Saturday, Mom and I went aboard Victory Liner to meet with the Santos clan in Olongapo City. After four hours in transit, we finally were fetched by my uncle who drove us to the hotel. Our relatives who traveled earlier in the day greeted us, as they had patiently waited for our arrival. In the next morning, we visited my uncle’s house with newly designed interiors and we took off at around 3PM to Zoobic Safari Park where we roamed around exotic animals until dinnertime.

Zoobic Safari Park is a large amusement Park in Subic Bay, Zambales. Together with five families (paternal relatives), we observed a diverse array of animals from many regions of the world in a tropical jungle environment. The zoo was clean and staff were accommodating in assisting us to each stop.

This was the third zoo I have gone to in my entire life. Unlike my visitations in Manila Zoo (back in my kindergarten years) and Haicang Wildlife Zoo in Xiamen, Fujian Province, China (when I was 15), this was not an outbound educational trip with my classmates but one with my family — making the experience more special. 😛

We got a close-up view of many types of deer, ostriches, camels, albino caribou, boars and bears, monkeys, birds, snakes and serpents, miniature houses, ducks, bear cats, guinea pigs, ferrets, potbelly pigs, guinea fowls, crocodiles, dogs, lizards, iguanas, turtles, tiger, lion, rats, porcupines, chickens and much more. They were not only shown to the public far in cages but also appeared in the animal parade, where these trained animals participated in a show put on to engage us audiences.

Highlight of the tour was neither the zootrain escapade nor the walking adventure but the feeding of the tiger which happened when we were inside the safari vehicle (jeepney) with double-gate enclosures. After all, it is the tigers that Zoobic is best known for. When the tiger smelled the raw chicken fed by a pro, it ate the meat on its breath. And we saw just how wide it can open its mouth! Wow. 😯

Certificate of completion and the survivors:

3. Dinner at Meat Plus Café

Date of Visit: December 30, 2012
Location: 6 Sampson Rd., Subic Bay Freeport Zone, Olongapo City, Zambales

The next big thing after our exquisite family adventure in the zoo was a heavenly dinner at Meat Plus Café.

On its menu, it says, “CHOOSE YOUR OWN STEAK.” The idea is to choose from the raw meat in their fridge and have it cooked the way you want it.

Aside from that, it offers combo meals, sandwiches, desserts, salads, pasta, fish and cool beverages. Signature dishes are Barbecue Beef Short Ribs, Grilled Boneless Chicken, Hamburger Steak, New York Steak, Tenderloin Steak, and Topsirloin Steak. I had the seaburger (fish burger) meal that came with fries and coleslaw. Mom had the oven-roasted beef belly with rice and my sister had the burger steak meal.

Dad ate his vegetarian dinuguan made of black beans and gluten meat which Mom cooked from home and a plate of French fries with cheese and sour cream with garlic dips. Later, our aunt shared a plate of lasagna into our table plus banana fritters with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

4. Brunch at Xtremely Xpresso Café (Extremely Espresso)

Date of Visit: December 31, 2012
Location: Subic Bay Freeport Zone, 1 Dewey Avenue corner Sta. Rita Street, Subic, Zambales

Designed for sheer pleasure and sophistication, Xtremely Xpresso Café is a combination of a café, restaurant, bakery, deli, and wine cellar in one. It is home to American and Filipino favorites such as waffles and pancakes, pastries and cookies, pizzas, Italian soups and salads, pastas, sandwiches, char-broiled steaks and grilled meat dishes and unlimited coffee refills included in each meal.

Everything looked nice, but I grew tired of the waffle’s taste (with jam and butter) after finishing 1/4 of the whole. I gave the rest of the portions to my parents, and the other leftover piece was packed home. This concluded our last meal before leaving Subic.

5. Lunch at Little Asia (Lucky Chinatown Mall)

Date of Visit: January 1, 2013
Location: G/F Lucky Chinatown Mall, Reina Regente Street, corner De La Reina Street, Binondo, Manila

We spent the first day of 2013 with our maternal relatives dining at Little Asia, Lucky Chinatown Mall which I had reviewed in mid-November 2012 (read my former post here). For the second time, Little Asia charmed us with its food delights that were all conducive to sharing. I still give it 5/5 stars for food taste and presentation. (Eating cheaply here is a totally different prospect.)

Thanks to my uncle who treated us to this feast, we had: Korean Beef Stew (braised Australian short ribs simmered in their special Korean beef broth), Japanese Tofu Steak (pan-fried tofu with broccoli, mushrooms and kuchay), Salted Fish Fried Rice (salted fish, chicken, leeks, lettuce, carrots, green peas and eggs), Seafood Hot Pot (in clay pot), Fish Fillet Wrapped in Bacon (steamed fish fillets wrapped in bacon coated with teriyaki glaze), Salt and Pepper Fried Squid (fried squid tossed in their salt and pepper spice mix), Combination Chow Mein (stir-fried Lo mein with beef, pork, chicken, squid, shrimps and vegetables) and Little Asia’s Crispy Chicken (house special crispy chicken with their savory gravy).

For desserts, we had the Caramel Banana Tower made up with baked wontons, piled with caramelized bananas and vanilla ice cream on the side, Crepe Samurai (baked layers of mangoes, crepes and custard sauce), and a platter of chocolate-coated cereals shaped like flower petals.

   

All are a testament to the mad genius going on that kitchen. 😉

In advanced celebration of Christmas, the Network and Software Development and Implementation teams of our company had a casual dinner at the Korean Village in Nakpil Street, Malate, Manila.

Everyone had to contribute PHp 400 for the Christmas buffet. The dinner consisted of extensive Korean dishes.

Everything was good but nothing deserved special attention.

Christmas Party Program

I was originally asked to lead the prayer but was instructed later to host the program. I did not see it coming but without hesitation, I took on the role to get the actual party started.

We began drawing raffle numbers and giving away Starbucks PHp 100 woth of gift certificates to individual winners. Next, we asked two volunteers (in pair) from each team to play Pinoy Henyo. Words related to Christmas had to be guessed: Bethlehem, Christmas caroling and castañas (chestnuts).

The second game was what I call “Pass the Calamansi,” where four players in a team should hold a spoon containing a calamansi with their mouths. They had to walk around a chair before passing on the spoon to their teammate. When everyone in the team has finished their part, they must shout “Merry Christmas” at the same time.

The third game was one especially arranged for the boys who were up to the challenge of drinking a bottle of beer. Eight guys competed for the PHp 200 worth of Starbucks GCs. They had to gulp the beer as fast as they can.

Later, because of the crowd’s cheers, the drinking battle was upgraded to challenge the best of two, where two guys had to drink three bottles of beer consecutively. Cementing their ability to stir up a coveting crowd, the contenders sportingly continued to drink even if they were already tad tipsy. The winner got PHp 2000 as his cash prize, while the other won PHp 1000. Still, it wasn’t not bad!

After the major raffle prizes were given, the heads of the department concluded the last agenda of the program by sharing a few words of thanks and encouragement.

As a whole, the night was not very elaborately planned. Nonetheless, we finished off happily with great food, fun games, raffle draws, karaoke-singing and small chit-chats among guests.

This was my first Christmas party this year and was my first Christmas celebration with my SM workmates. I still have about five to attend to with colleagues, friends and family in the upcoming days ahead.

There are only 15 days to go before Christmas! Have you started your countdown yet? 🙂