Family time

I guess it's true what they say that life is a like a wheel; sometimes you're at the top and sometimes you're at the bottom. While I may posted a couple of terribly tragic family moments recently, there have been some bright rays of sunshine as well.

I got to see my cousin Fr. John when he was in Manila last month (before coming back home again for Doyle's interment). It was a last minute thing but somehow things fell into place, allowing us to meet up. When I realized that John was about to leave, I asked him if he still had free time. He said he could do lunch and thankfully he was doing some errands just 10 minutes from where I lived. To make things even better, my mom was also able to join us despite the very short notice.

Amidst the family sorrow, we still made time to celebrate the birthdays of my brother and my mom. My family had never been to UP Town Center so we decided to have dinner there for my brother's birthday. We initially planned to eat in Liberty New York Steak House but the only available seating was outside and it was a bit warm that evening. As such, we decided to have dinner in Marciano's. I've always liked Marciano's, although the menu in UP Town Center seems to be different from the one in Greenbelt 3. Either that, or it's changed since I ate there last. In any case, my family did enjoy our meal there. After dinner, we headed to Dulcelin where I got a full Mango Torte for my immediate family and a take-home slice for my grandmother. We also had some coffee and dessert there; we tried the Irish Cream Butter Cake and the Pecan Pie, both of which were very good.

My mom's birthday came in two parts. On Saturday night, we had dinner in Lola Cafe + Bar. I discovered this restaurant the night I stayed in Cocoon Boutique Hotel and decided to start wandering around the Tomas Morato area. As I walked through Scout Lozano, I saw this restaurant and thought that it might be a good place to try. Indeed it was. I will probably write a bit more comprehensively about this restaurant in a separate post some time soon.

The next day, I decided to take my family to Yabu in Glorietta 5. We got there a bit early and as such, we didn't have to wait for a table. It was a very enjoyable meal, made even moreso by the fact that the miso soup, cabbage, rice, and fruits were all refillable.

Last but not least, I also joined the surprise party birthday of my uncle (this time, from my mom's side of the family) earlier this week. My nephew's birthday is coming up as well so I have to start planning that too. I'm just thankful that my family has also had some good moments recently to balance things out.