Gifts to My Sister’s 21st Birthday – Dinner at Silk Road Thai Bistro and Shoes!

Last two weekends ago, I took my family to SM Aura. After window-shopping, we headed out to Silk Road Thai Bistro (Bonifacio Global City) for dinner in advanced celebration of my sister’s 21st birthday.

At her age and with her limited interests, I wasn’t sure what to give as a gift. The safest present must be FOOD and bonding time, so I treated them to dinner in a place I consider one of the best now in the metro. For the material thing that shouldn’t be missed, I got her a pair of shoes and you’ll know more about the story below. 😉

Treat to My Sister’s 21st Birthday – Dinner at Silk Road Thai Bistro

Gosh, I didn’t want to turn this post into another food review, but the thought of sharing my descriptions of the taste and presentation of the food just can’t stop the food blogger in me. So this is to share how we found Silk Road’s offering for the night, briefly:

I didn’t make any reservation but we were lucky to find free seats at once. The restaurant staff still recognized me as one of the bloggers who dined in there last time. The manager was extra helpful still in giving us recommendations of food from the menu. We occupied a smaller table and later transferred to a more spacious set as the previous customers left.

While waiting for our orders, we watched the crowd ebb and flow in the room and took pictures with the enchanting backdrop. I’m glad my family liked the place as much as I do. Silk Road Thai Bistro is where beautiful people spend money to nibble and drink. 😛

We started with Tom Khai Gai (PHp 300) which consisted of chicken, coco milk and galangal soup. The taste was something that resembled laksa—sour, a little spicy but really good. As an appetizer, it deserved a gold star.

The next dish—Black Pepper Soft Shell Crab (PHp 395)—was something I wanted to try for the longest time. The caramelized soft shelled crabs were cooked with tomatoes, onions and spring onions. Every part of the crab was edible so you don’t have to worry about chewing and swallowing everything into your mouth. Layer upon layer of delicate seafood it’s a winner, even though a teeny tiny bit of extra chili in the mixture might have made it even better. Maybe a sip of wine will make all ails go away—and have you coming back for more! 😀

To complement the strong taste of the crabs, the Silk Road Signature Rice (PHp 330) made with mixed vegetables, lemongrass, egg, pork crispies and Thai chorizo came fittingly through the table. The ingredients did not stand out though, so it was like eating plain white rice. Anyway, the rice was fragrant and I have no other complains.

For Daddy, we skimmed through the Vegetarian section of the menu tons of times until the restaurant manager told us those viands still contained a bit of meat and eggs. He suggested the Tofu Wrap Vegetarian (PHp 320) which originally was “Siam Chicken Wrap” on the menu. The kitchen staff amended the star of the recipe from “chicken” to “tofu.” And the result? A reasonably tasty, reasonably healthy, and reasonably priced alternative.

Lastly, we had the Chiang Mai Khao Soi (PHp 305), a pride of North Thailand. We didn’t realize that it was another soup. Although made with different ingredients (chicken curry with two types of egg noodles) as compared with the Tom Kha Gai above, we thought they were very much alike so we should not have ordered it. Oh well, at least now we know.

It can be overwhelming walking into Silk Road Thai Bistro again, staring at the bevy of yummy options on a spread of their menu, and finally ordering. Any self-contained dish seemed palatable and okay in my book. 😛 Everything was well worth the money for the effort of this restaurant and it’s virtually impossible not to leave full and happy.

Other Gift: Celine Shoes

When we were back at home, my sister opened her presents—shoes (from me), shoes (from my mom) and shoes (from my dad)! And they’re all of the same brand: CLN. 😀 (The shoes are meant to be shared as my mom, sister and me happen to have the same size.)

A Sole-ful Birthday: Why Shoes for Someone Who Turned 21?

Obviously I’m not following our Cantonese feng shui when I bought the shoes from Celine. FYI, shoes in Cantonese is “hai” which sounds like a sigh. Some people depict giving of shoes for a birthday as giving sorrow in life and expecting the recipient to have a great deal of bad luck or “sha chi.” In other Chinese belief, giving shoes means breaking up or ending friendship. 😯 Aiyoo, I don’t care about these and I had to stop thinking about the meanings because my intention was way different.

Since she’ll be working as a corporate trainee next term (hopefully after passing her thesis at the end of December 2013), I figured one of the best things is to introduce items from the corporate wardrobe. We got her platform heeled shoes to make her feel comfortable; the colors (black and brown) are versatile enough to be paired with any clothing.

The good thing about these shoes is that they’re not classified as “designer shoes” that probably won’t last longer than a season. At the same time, they’re not made from cheap materials that could leave our feet blistery and sweaty. CLN shoes are the perfect compromise.

Best of all, the price is just right. At PHp 800-1500 per pair, we know we got solid, well-made kicks that will last well for the next two to three years or until we get tired of wearing the same design. Our shoes at home do not have a “shelf life,” but if we do decide to ditch them, we won’t feel like wasting a fortune.

Wrap Up

For most people, turning 21 is an ultimate birthday, a commitment that is taken seriously. Why? It’s a coming-of-age milestone that marks that a person is now “all grown up.” But no, it’s not going to be the best and biggest birthday of one’s life—because every birthday could be celebrated in whatever grand way you choose.

We celebrated my sister’s birthday with a rather simple but happy family dinner and loaded her with shoes that fit appropriately to the career life that optimistically would be meaningful and productive. 🙂