This Christmas season was a really stressful and hectic one - quite possibly the most it has ever been for me - but on a good note, I got to spend a lot of quality time with my family and friends.
For my family's Christmas day celebration, instead of getting a cake which I usually do, I got kouign amann from Brasserie CiÇou. I know my family enjoyed these desserts when we ate there a few months ago and when I learned that Brasserie CiÇou was closing on December 31 (such a shame that I was only able to dine at this restaurant once), it made perfect sense to bring home a couple of boxes.
I also got a half gallon tub of Baskin Robbins Baseball Nut ice cream (which I got at a big discount thanks to my Metrodeal voucher). My family really enjoyed this a lot too.
A couple of days later, I took my family to Megamall to have dinner at Din Tai Fung, the Michelin-star restaurant from Taiwan that opened in Manila last December 8. We got there around 5pm and we got seated in about 20 minutes (which is not really a long wait considering this is the hot, new restaurant in Manila). I looked up some of their most popular dishes to help me know what to order. These include the Pork Xiao Long Bao, Crab Roe and Pork Xiao Long Bao, Black Pepper Beef, and Salted Egg Yolk Prawns, among a whole lot of other dishes. Despite ordering a lot, we actually managed to eat everything! My family really love the food here. Special call-out to the Chocolate Xiao Long Bao, which is a dish that is featured only in Din Tai Fung Manila (it isn't offered in this restaurant in other countries). I will certainly be dining here again.
My high school friends and I also celebrated differently this year, with an out-of-town trip. We wanted some place not too far from Manila so we decided to visit Thunderbird Resort in Rizal.
Unfortunately, I couldn't stay overnight but I was able stay from check-in until very late night. The kids all went swimming but us adults just lounged by the pool most of the afternoon. We also took lots of pictures of the resort, the views, and each other. :) The cool thing about Thunderbird is that it faces the sunset, providing a lot of good photo opportunities.
After exchanging gifts, we played a few rounds of Splendor (Joyce bought this game recently) before having dinner at Olives (the only other dining option was the restaurant in the casino but kids aren't allowed there). There was time to play one more round of Splendor before I had to go home.
My #AchievementUnlocked moment: I don't have Waze or GPS so I had to keep looking at my map on the way to Thunderbird. Thankfully, I only got lost at one point, when I missed my final left turn that leads straight to the resort. However, on the way home, I actually managed to remember the directions and I found my way without once looking at my map or asking for help. Cool!
Speaking of high school, my friend Jeff was in Manila (he is now based in the US) so a few of us met up with him at Elias in Bonifacion High Street. It was good for me too because I got to hang out with a couple of my classmates who I don't often get to see. The intent was to get at least one person for every section that Jeffrey was in - my presence there of course made it a lot easier since Jeff and I were classmates for three years - so when Joyce arrived, all of Jeff's sections were represented.
My college friends and I also met in BGC, this time at the Burgos Circle area. We had dinner at Tipsy Pig before moving to Casa Italia for dessert. The reason we met up that night was because I wasn't available for our official get-together. Since I wanted to see at least some folks over the holidays, I requested for another one. (As it turns out, our reunion got rescheduled and I am not available to meet up, but hey, no harm in meeting up with good friends a couple of times instead of just once. :)) I also got to see our batchmate, Kristine, who I last saw a few years ago.
For my work friends, we did what we normally do, which is to meet at the house of my friends Joh and Raffa. The fact that there are lots of kids now makes it difficult for us to meet anywhere else. For the first time, we had lunch on a workday (most of us were already on holiday break). While a lot of other people were not in Manila and couldn't join us, we did get to talk to one of them - Me-Ann - via facetime.
I also did my first Maginhawa Food trip during the holidays with my travel buddies. We first met up at Theo's Baked + Brewed in the late afternoon for coffee and snacks. (I particularly enjoyed their Cookie Shot.) We then walked down the road to have dinner at Friuli Trattoria. The food here is just okay. The pizza is quite good (especially considering that it's cheap) but the pasta is hit or miss; the Capellini alla Putanesca was good but I would advise you to stay away from the spaghetti with bacon and eggs (we all found it pretty flavorless). After dinner, we had coffee and dessert at Magpie Cafe at StrEAT. This place serves really good bingsoo (which is like a Korean version of halo-halo). To end the evening, we went to Music 21 in Timog and sang our hearts out until the wee hours of the morning. Oh and one thing I learned from this karaoke night: I'll make a man out of you from Mulan is a cool song to sing. :)
For my family's Christmas day celebration, instead of getting a cake which I usually do, I got kouign amann from Brasserie CiÇou. I know my family enjoyed these desserts when we ate there a few months ago and when I learned that Brasserie CiÇou was closing on December 31 (such a shame that I was only able to dine at this restaurant once), it made perfect sense to bring home a couple of boxes.
kouign amann from Brasserie CiÇou
I also got a half gallon tub of Baskin Robbins Baseball Nut ice cream (which I got at a big discount thanks to my Metrodeal voucher). My family really enjoyed this a lot too.
A couple of days later, I took my family to Megamall to have dinner at Din Tai Fung, the Michelin-star restaurant from Taiwan that opened in Manila last December 8. We got there around 5pm and we got seated in about 20 minutes (which is not really a long wait considering this is the hot, new restaurant in Manila). I looked up some of their most popular dishes to help me know what to order. These include the Pork Xiao Long Bao, Crab Roe and Pork Xiao Long Bao, Black Pepper Beef, and Salted Egg Yolk Prawns, among a whole lot of other dishes. Despite ordering a lot, we actually managed to eat everything! My family really love the food here. Special call-out to the Chocolate Xiao Long Bao, which is a dish that is featured only in Din Tai Fung Manila (it isn't offered in this restaurant in other countries). I will certainly be dining here again.
My high school friends and I also celebrated differently this year, with an out-of-town trip. We wanted some place not too far from Manila so we decided to visit Thunderbird Resort in Rizal.
Thunderbird Resort in Rizal
Unfortunately, I couldn't stay overnight but I was able stay from check-in until very late night. The kids all went swimming but us adults just lounged by the pool most of the afternoon. We also took lots of pictures of the resort, the views, and each other. :) The cool thing about Thunderbird is that it faces the sunset, providing a lot of good photo opportunities.
pool at Thunderbird
After exchanging gifts, we played a few rounds of Splendor (Joyce bought this game recently) before having dinner at Olives (the only other dining option was the restaurant in the casino but kids aren't allowed there). There was time to play one more round of Splendor before I had to go home.
Beautiful Christmas display at the resort
My #AchievementUnlocked moment: I don't have Waze or GPS so I had to keep looking at my map on the way to Thunderbird. Thankfully, I only got lost at one point, when I missed my final left turn that leads straight to the resort. However, on the way home, I actually managed to remember the directions and I found my way without once looking at my map or asking for help. Cool!
Speaking of high school, my friend Jeff was in Manila (he is now based in the US) so a few of us met up with him at Elias in Bonifacion High Street. It was good for me too because I got to hang out with a couple of my classmates who I don't often get to see. The intent was to get at least one person for every section that Jeffrey was in - my presence there of course made it a lot easier since Jeff and I were classmates for three years - so when Joyce arrived, all of Jeff's sections were represented.
My college friends and I also met in BGC, this time at the Burgos Circle area. We had dinner at Tipsy Pig before moving to Casa Italia for dessert. The reason we met up that night was because I wasn't available for our official get-together. Since I wanted to see at least some folks over the holidays, I requested for another one. (As it turns out, our reunion got rescheduled and I am not available to meet up, but hey, no harm in meeting up with good friends a couple of times instead of just once. :)) I also got to see our batchmate, Kristine, who I last saw a few years ago.
For my work friends, we did what we normally do, which is to meet at the house of my friends Joh and Raffa. The fact that there are lots of kids now makes it difficult for us to meet anywhere else. For the first time, we had lunch on a workday (most of us were already on holiday break). While a lot of other people were not in Manila and couldn't join us, we did get to talk to one of them - Me-Ann - via facetime.
I also did my first Maginhawa Food trip during the holidays with my travel buddies. We first met up at Theo's Baked + Brewed in the late afternoon for coffee and snacks. (I particularly enjoyed their Cookie Shot.) We then walked down the road to have dinner at Friuli Trattoria. The food here is just okay. The pizza is quite good (especially considering that it's cheap) but the pasta is hit or miss; the Capellini alla Putanesca was good but I would advise you to stay away from the spaghetti with bacon and eggs (we all found it pretty flavorless). After dinner, we had coffee and dessert at Magpie Cafe at StrEAT. This place serves really good bingsoo (which is like a Korean version of halo-halo). To end the evening, we went to Music 21 in Timog and sang our hearts out until the wee hours of the morning. Oh and one thing I learned from this karaoke night: I'll make a man out of you from Mulan is a cool song to sing. :)
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