Reunions and Rustan's Retail Therapy

I recently had a couple of reunions with some ex-colleagues who are now based in the US. My dear friend Amy was in Manila for work, which was a bit surprising since her work didn't normally bring her to Manila and she would usually come here on personal trips to visit her family. Her schedule was packed but thankfully, we managed to find a common time. She was staying at Shangri-La The Fort so I suggested that we could head over to One Bonifacio which has many restaurants. We ended up having dinner at Ramen Nagi because Amy loves Japanese food and ramen seemed like a good idea. We didn't have a lot of time together that night because Amy had a work meeting later that evening but it was truly awesome being able to catch up with her after many years. It was also pretty cool to see the Christmas decorations at the lobby of Shangri-La The Fort where I had my photo taken hehe.

Christmas Tree at the lobby of Shangri-La The Fort

I also got to have dinner with two other ex-colleagues - Suzanne and Nenen. We had dinner with our other friends and ex-colleagues in L' Opera in BGC. It's been a few years since I last saw them both so there were many stories to share that evening. Nenen is celebrating a milestone birthday in a couple of years and she already invited us in advance haha. I think she might be celebrating in her hometown so that means all the attendees might travel there to celebrate with her. If so, that would be great since our group had been trying to plan an out-of-town trip for a while. In fact, we were all supposed to travel to Cebu in the summer of 2020 but those plans had to be abandoned because of the global pandemic. L'Opera has been around for a while - it was originally in Makati before moving to BGC - but I think this might have been the first time I dined here. We shared steak and pasta and capped off the evening with dessert. The restaurant is on the expensive side but the food is really good.

Steak at L'Opera in BGC

My recent visits to Rustan's seem to have triggered some kind of shopping bug as I made a few more purchases here recently. First, I bought a couple of shirts from National Geographic. I didn't even realize that National Geographic actually has clothes. This brand is quite expensive but when I was there, they had several shirts that were 50% off making them a lot more affordable. I decided I wanted to get one shirt for myself then I thought I'd get one more shirt that maybe I could give as a gift in Christmas. In the end, I decided to keep both shirts haha.  The cool thing about National Geographic is that, as the tag indicates, "every purchase helps support the global nonprofit National Geographic Society in its work to protect and illuminate our world through exploration, research, and education." I really love the shirts I got. They fit me well and the fabric is soft and comfortable but doesn't feel too fragile. They are a bit expensive - less so because of the 50% discount - but I'm really happy with this purchase.

I also bought a new pair of Sledgers shoes at Rustan's because my favorite pair of black leather shoes were already too worn and needed to be replaced.

My new Sledgers

As it turned out, when I bought these shoes, there was a promo that if you spend at least P1,000, you get a free butter beer gift. Cool!

Free butter beer!

They don't make them like they used to

Two of the most awesome things in my wardrobe are these two leather belts from Marithe Francois Girbaud. What's makes them so cool is that I've had them for more than two decades already. Wow!

My Marithe Francois Girbaud belts

I bought them a long time ago. I first bought the black one and realized I really liked it. So soon after that, I also bought the brown one. I tend to use a black belt more often so you can see a lot more wear and tear on it. I love the fact that these belts fit me even as my weight and waistline have gone up and down. It seems the length of these belts and the range of the belt holes have allowed me to wear them both at my thinnest and at my heaviest, at least in the last 20 years.

The other great thing about them is that despite me using both very regularly for more than two decades, they haven't broken, snapped, ripped, or have parts of them get detach. In fact, they have significantly outlasted a lot of other leather belts I bought over the years. So at least in this case, they really don't make them like they used to. I truly wasn't expecting them to last this long when I bought them so it's such a pleasant surprise that they have.

Sourdough Cafe in Proscenium

My ex-colleagues and I had a mini-reunion over dinner at Sourdough Cafe in Rockwell. When we were trying to figure out where to meet, I remembered a photo that a friend of mine posted. She was having lunch with her friends and the restaurant they were at looked really nice. I asked her where that was and she told me it was Sourdough in Rockwell. I suggested this place to my friends and we all agreed.

Sourdough Cafe in Proscenium, Rockwell

When I got there, I have to say, it does really look nice. It's also very photogenic.

Inside Sourdough Cafe

The food is pretty good too. I ordered the Prawn Risotto which was very flavorful.

Prawn Risotto

We also shared a tartine. (I can't recall which one it was though, it might have been the Beetroot Cured Salmon.)

Tartine

For dessert, I ordered the Apple Crumble Cheesecake. I selected this because it an interesting flavor and I'm glad I did because it was really good!

Apple Crumble Cheesecake

As I mentioned, Sourdough Cafe in Rockwell is really beautiful. It just looked very sleek, chic, and tastefully decorated.

Even the restroom is really interesting, with its really cute and quirky wallpaper.

I'm quite happy that my friends and I got to try this place. I definitely recommend it and I hope I get to enjoy a meal here again soon.

Sourdough Cafe Proscenium Rockwell
Located in: The Proscenium Retail Row at the Plaza
Address: 2nd floor, Proscenium Retail Row, Makati City, Metro Manila
Phone: 0917 158 9463

Dionne Warwick tops my 2025 Spotify Wrapped

Spotify Wrapped results have come out and the iconic Dionne Warwick was at the top of mine. The reason: Dionne's concert One Last Time in Manila last January. After that show, I build a playlist of her music that I listened to frequently. As a result, my top Spotify artist in 2025 is Dionne Warwick. I am in the top 0.04% of people who listened the most to her globally. Wow!

My top song: Alfie by Dionne Warwick. She also occupied the top 2 spots of my top 5 songs for 2025, with Promises, Promises being ranked #2.

My other top artists include - in order - Maki, Florence and the Machine, Chappell Roan, and Roland Dyens. This is the second year in a row that Maki makes my top 5. Florence and the Machine is the only artist who has consistently been in my top 5 since I started listening to music on Spotify. Roland Dyens is a French classical guitarist and composer and he rounded out my top 5 because I added his entire Suite Polymorphe (movements I through VIII) after my nephew performed some of these movements with his guitar group during the Kaliwa't Kanang Kalabitan: Guitar Ensemble Festival last August. I must have listened to Roland Dyens a whole lot in the last three months since he leapfrogged several other artists to make it to my top 5.

My top artists list shows that I am quite eclectic when it comes to music, listening to different genres from different generations. March 11 was apparently my most diverse day where I listened to 18 genres in 132 minutes. That's a little more than 7 minutes per genre. When you think that the average song runs for about 4 minutes, 7 minutes per genre would indicate that I listened to an average of a little less than two songs per genre that night. Wow!

Another interesting day was October 16. While I started listening to trance music, a genre I love to this day, I ended up listening to mostly classical music that day, which also turned out to be my biggest music day of the year. (I am a bit incensed that Spotify identified Moonlight Sonata as being Rousseau's when it is actually from Beethoven!)

Not surprisingly, my listening age is 77 hahaha. Spotify says that I was into music from the early 60s and that I'm an old soul.

Finally, and this is not a surprise, it seems I listen to music that gives me and other listeners good vibes.

I always look forward to my Spotify Wrapped. My results have varied from year to year but one thing has remained: the diversity of the music I listen to. It will be interesting to see if any of my top songs or artists in 2025 will make it to my top lists in 2026.

My comfort show isn't my comfort show anymore

9-1-1, a TV drama series about first responders and cops that used to be on Fox but is now on ABC, has been one of my favorite shows for a while now. I started watching it in its second season but I was able to watch Season 1 through reruns. Now, the show is on its 9th season. I love the characters and their family dynamic. Seeing them go through a lot of stuff individually and as a group has made me quite emotionally invested in them and in the show as a whole.

I've been following 9-1-1 quite religiously for years because it was my comfort show. By that, I mean that no matter what kind of deadly situation the lead characters had to face, they always came out of it alive. A bit worse for wear but still alive.

Which is why the death of Captain Bobby Nash, the head of Firehouse 118 and the father figure of everyone there, was a very bewildering and unpleasant twist that I felt kind of goes against what I believe is the grain of the show. While I can't speak for everyone, the appeal of 9-1-1 to me is that for the most part, it makes you feel good after watching it. You might go through an emotional roller coaster with high highs and low lows, and this can sometimes span multiple episodes, but after all of it, you see everyone triumph over adversity. Bobby's death does not feel like a triumph over adversity. Worse, the family dynamic of the firehouse has been permanently altered for the worse.

Bobby was actually killed off in the previous season (8) and the 9th season already premiered in October. When I learned on X (previously Twitter) that Bobby died, I actually didn't watch any of the remaining episodes that season. I only recently decided to start watching again because I realized I am still invested in the rest of the characters and I still want them all to have amazing and interesting arcs and (fictional) lives. It just sad that a very integral part of the 118 is no longer around.

Lusso

I had been looking for a really good restaurant for my birthday celebration with my family. Then recently, I saw a friend's post where she and her family had dinner at Lusso so I asked her about it. She said the absolutely loves the food here so that made my decision for me.

Lusso in Rockwell

Lusso has a few branches in Metro Manila and we decided to enjoy our meal at their Rockwell branch. It is located on the outside of Power Plant Mall. The Lusso here is a bit small, with a very elegant and luxurious interior and some al fresco seating.

Lusso has a very elegant interior

We ordered a few appetizers, including the Salmon Tartare with Spinach Gnocco...

Salmon Tartare with Spinach Gnocco

...and the Barquillos Cylinders with Chive Mousse Duetto (served with prosciutto crisps and salmon roe). This was such a hit, with its very delectable combination of savory and sweet, that we got another one.

Barquillos Cylinders with Chive Mousse Duetto

Their Fettuccine Al Tartufo had actual shaved black truffles.

Fettuccine Al Tartufo

My brother ordered the Vongole Espelette with Manila clams and cherry tomatoes.

Vongole Espelette

My mom got a Mediterranean Vegetable Sandwich because she said it's not very often you see a vegetable sandwich and she wanted to try something different and unique. She loved it!

Mediterranean Vegetable Sandwich

I also ordered several dishes for everyone to share. The River Prawns Thermidor looked really fancy!

River Prawns Thermidor

I also ordered the Pan-seared Salmon with orange salt, champagne cream, lumpfish caviar, and salmon roe.

Pan-seared Salmon

The Sauteed Straccetti di Manzo Beef strips with Arugula was really good and reminded me of a similar dish in Cibo, which makes sense because Lusso was founded and owned by Margaria Fores, who also established Cibo.

Straccetti di Manzo

The Lamb Shank Osso Bucco with saffron risotto was really good too.

Lamb Shank Osso Bucco

We ordered a lot more appetizers and main courses that I didn't share in this post so suffice it so say, we were all pretty stuffed by the end of our meal. That said, a couple of us still had a bit of room for dessert. We ordered the Vanilla Mille-Feuille Crepe Cake...

Vanilla Mille-Feuille Crepe Cake

...and the Pecorino Basque Cheesecake.

Pecorino Basque Cheesecake

I'm really happy that I finally got to try this restaurant with my family. It is pretty expensive but the food is great and the service is exceptional so I do believe it is a perfect venue if you want to celebrate or if you want to splurge.

Lusso
https://www.instagram.com/lusso.ph

Birthday Perks

For the first time in maybe a really long time, I actually got to use many birthday perks provided by my loyalty and rewards programs.

Dinner at East in Rustan's Makati

I got a few of them from my Rustan's FSP membership. I'm kinda glad I finally sorted out my FSP membership recently because I used to have a card and when they moved to an app, I couldn't sort it out. So one afternoon, when I was in Rustan's, I decided to head to customer service to get their help. Apparently, there was some mistake in my account which they addressed and finally, my account worked. Cool! And just in time too because I got quite a few perks from FSP. First, I got a free lave cake from East, the restaurant located on the 2nd floor of Rustan's Makati.

Free lava cake from East

I actually ended having dinner there before enjoying my free cake. I ordered pad thai (which I forgot to take a photo of) and the East Starter Platter. As its name suggests, East offers different Asian dishes on its menu, although I do think that chocolate lava cake isn't exactly Asian hehe.

East Starter Platter

My FSP membership also gave me 30% off on Banana Republic. Months ago, I saw this really nice burgundy or rust-colored Banana Republic shirt that I really liked but the last piece they had of that shirt was already being purchased. I was hoping they might have new stock of that shirt but they didn't. Ah too bad. I instead got a very pale lilac shirt since I don't have that color in my wardrobe.

My new lilac Banana Republic shirt

My last FSP birthday perk was that getting 10x points credit for my purchase of Samsonite luggage. I had been meaning to buy more luggage for a while now because in the last couple of years, I would always borrow luggage from my friends and in my trip to Kenya last year, one of the bags I borrowed was a bit damaged. I felt like I didn't want to borrow luggage anymore since I didn't want to ruin other people's bags. Anyway, I got a soft case Samsonite that I felt was quite affordable considering it was Samsonite and the FSP points I got from that purchase were multiplied by 10. Wow! Because of that, I now have a sizeable e-purse that I can use for a future purchase.

I bought the Samsonite bag on the left

I also had some perks from My SSI Life. I recently installed this app when I bought some shoes that I wanted from Kenneth Cole because I could get 30% off of my purchase as long as I had that app. That discount wasn't my birthday perk yet.

My new Kenneth Cole shoes at 30% off

The actual My SSI Life birthday perk was 30% off any regular priced item in Tommy Hilfiger. I visited the Tommy Hilfiger section of Rustan's to take a look at some shirts and I spotted this really nice red t-shirt which turned out to be on sale (so my discount wouldn't apply). I tried that shirt on and it fit quite well. I really like how it looked and its shade of red so I decided to get it haha.

Red Tommy Hilfiger t-shirt at 40% off

But that meant I still had my 30% birthday discount. I then spotted this sort of brown, sort of mustard colored polo shirt and I really liked its color. (Officially, its color is Country Brown.) I don't have any other shirt like it so I tried it on. It fit well and the fabric was really comfortable. So it's not surprising that I decided to get it haha. I now have two Tommy Hilfiger shirts!

Country brown Tommy Hilfiger shirt aat 30% off

I also got a free Waffle Pancake duo from Pancake House, courtesy of Globe One. I think this might be the first time I got to use a freebie from my Globe One app. I need to pay attention to it a bit more.

Waffle Pancake duo from Pancake House

Finally, my BFF membership also granted me a special birthday discount: a P1,000 voucher that I could use for a minimum spend of P2000. Wow! I decided to treat my friend Alma to dinner at Secret Recipe - she hadn't eaten there previously - and we ordered quite a few items, including dessert. (I still really do love the ice cream-shaped bowl that Secret Recipe uses for ice cream orders.) And yes, we exceeded P2,000 so I was able to use my voucher. Cool!

Our desserts from Secret Recipe

If I learned anything from this experience, it's that I need to pay attention to my rewards and loyalty programs just a bit more.