Summer Lovin'

Temperatures in Metro Manila have been soaring these last several weeks, which is to be expected I guess given that it is the Philippine summer. I thought I should revisit one of my favorite places that I haven't been to since the pandemic - Hobing. After all, it was a perfect time for bingsu! The flavor I used to order all the time - the one that had red beans - was no longer on the menu. I can't recall what I ordered - I think it was injeolme - but there was an option to add red beans so I did. I really do love bingsu and this trip made me realize that I need to visit Hobing more often in the future.

Hobing bingsu

My good friend Mari who has been based abroad for the last several years came home this summer so that her son could celebrate his first birthday with her family.

Marcus' birthday celebration

It was Mari's family in Manila who organized the celebration and they decided to throw a party at Jollibee. I can't recall the last time I went to a Jollibee party so I had a lot of fun, even if I didn't participate in any of the games haha. More importantly, it was really wonderful catching up with Mari again after not seeing her in person for years and getting to see her son for the first time.

Jollibee party

That wasn't my only get-together this summer. I also met up with some ex-colleagues for a board game night. I had played Champions of Midgard with them before and they were quite familiar with it already so this time, I learned and taught them the Valhalla Expansion. I actually really love this expansion since it reduces the luck factor of die rolls. In fact, part of your strategy can be to have your warriors die in battle so that they go to Valhalla and gain more rewards (and points). I gotta say, Champions of Midgard is fast becoming one of my favorite board games.

Champions of Midgard Valhalla Expansion

I also met up wit my high school and college circle of friends. One of my friends suggested that we have dinner at The Patio in UP Diliman and it turned out to be the perfect place for us. Not only was it a bit nostalgic because we all graduated from UP but also because The Patio has a very chill and relaxed vibe and the food was pretty good. They serve Pinoy dishes and aside from the the many menu items we ordered, I also got a bowl of lomi for myself. Kinda doesn't make sense to have hot soup during summer but it wasn't that hot when we met up for dinner and I hadn't had lomi in ages.

Lomi from The Patio

Of course, no month would be complete without quality time with my family. For Mother's Day, I got my mom the Classy Blush Cake from Dylan Patisserie. It's a strawberry shortcake with a vanilla almond sponge base, vanilla whipped ganache, and strawberry compote. It was pretty good!

Classy Blush Cake from Dylan Patisserie for Mother's Day

Also, after we watched Miss Saigon, I took my family to Uptown Mall for dinner. My plan was to take them to the shared area of Watami and Texas Roadhouse at the top floor of Uptown Mall so people could choose to order from either restaurant but we all decided to just order food from Texas Roadhouse. I then suggested that we walk to Mitsukoshi Mall in BGC, which is only about a block away from Uptown Mall, for coffee and dessert. I bought some cream puffs from Beard Papa to take home and we ended up having coffee at Key Coffee.

Key Coffee at Mitsukoshi Mall BGC

Considering that we had just watched an amazing show that everyone enjoyed, getting to have good food and try new things and have my family visit new places was a really amazing way to end the day.