Wig's 19th

He's no 5th grader, Chetski. To my friends, my cousin Wig would always be this little kid drawing pictures of X-Men characters. Kaya nagugulantang sila when they see the tall and scrawny college man in person. And yes, Huangcholi, even if we all don't look it (ssshh! walang aangal!), if we all had babies in our teens, those kids would be around Wig's age. Imagine that!


Special request. Wig wanted to have dinuguan on his birthday, that's why his mom made enough for an entire barangay (don't base it on the picture though, hehehe.) Naturally, pag may "chocolate stew"....


... siyempre, may puto. In different colors and sizes pa! Yummy!


Sabi na nga ba eh. Pix would be present on Wig's birthday. Still, we were all surprised to actually see him come out of the pedicab, luggage and all. He came straight from the airport!


There's always time for mahjong. Kaya nag-volt-in ang regular classmates for a session. Hehehe.

11 to 11

On a dare, we decided to celebrate Valentine's Day by celebrating Chetski's birthday (Dec.26) and mine (Feb. 7). Chetski promptly picked us up at 11 am, before meeting Huangcholi in front of her condo in Ortigas.


Chetksi treated us to lunch at her newly-discovered favorite resto in San Juan -- Cookbook Kitchen. After a dizzying search for the place, we finally found the resto she's been raving about. Turns out ilang beses pala naming nadaanan yung streetcorner! Hehehe. Huangcholi and I had to take some Bonamine to calm our queasy stomach -- seriously!


Masarap nga ang pagkain dito. We got parmesan-crusted fish, adobo pasta, CBK chicken and honeymustard porksteak. Good luck nga lang sa paghahanap sa resto. Hehehe.


We rushed to Makati after lunch to catch the matinee of Rep's latest musical. Siyempre romantic comedy kasi Valentine eh. The production wasn't that good. Sayang. But the two female leads sang really well. And a couple of songs were quite catchy.


China red. Huangcholi bought this red number while Chetski got stuff too at really good prices. Sale pa kasi in most shops!


We had dinner at Cravings -- my treat naman. Nagpa-reserve muna kami ng table, fearing that the tables will all be filled with couples once we finish windowshopping. Ganun na nga ang nangyari.


Chetski was the only one who ordered a Valentine special na may kasamang dessert.


Sinubukan naming magkape sa Edsa Plaza but apparently, EVERYONE'S there. Too crowded. Not a place to park our butts and mock the lovebirds passing by. Hehehe. We ended up at Dome sa Shangrila.


Kahit medyo pagod na, nag-order pa rin kami ng baklava and flourless chocolate cake bago umuwi. There's always room for dessert. Hehehe.

We got home at exactly 11pm -- 12 hours pala kaming namasyal. How's that for a Valentine's Day?

x'mas / birthday / pre-V

Finally saw my MA classmates after 3 months. Kaya naging combination of x'mas / my birthday / pre-valentine celebration of sorts ang nangyari. This reunion has been postponed so many times kaya kahit na Friday the 13th, payday at Valentine weekend, we all braved the traffic and the crowded Glorietta mall para lang magkita-kita.



Egg dishes. The H&E branch in G-4 had a facelift. No more clouds, no more white swings, no more yellow anything. For some reason, it now looks like a real bar. The menu's still filled with egg though. Masarap pa rin ang food.


Had coffee at a Starbucks inside Rustan's so we can chat some more and ogle Cheeky Girl's ring.


A closer look at the engagement ring. Nice, noh? Really nice.

nasa cone?

First time ko bumili ng pizzang ganito. Masarap naman. I got different flavors para matikman lahat.

tour of Rizal

Yep, birthday ko today. Kaya instead of just having dinner somewhere, my family and I had an impromptu tour of a place that's practically our backyard ---- Rizal province.

1st Stop: Angono. It's been years since we last ate at Balaw-Balaw. Kaya I thought it would be fun to have lunch there today.

Very Filipino ang atmosphere. Very provincial pa. Nice. And nope, hindi kami sabay-sabay nagpunta sa CR kaya mag-isa lang nakaupo si Seoul Sister sa table. Hehehe.


While waiting for the food, the waiter suggested that we tour the gallery and museum muna. Buti na lang, matagal bago dumating yung food eh.


Ma-art. The original owner of the restaurant was a famous artist in Angono. Kaya ayun, more than half of the place is a gallery/museum of various kinds of art. Even the waiters are artists who have their original works displayed in the gallery.


More stuff upstairs. The waiter/guide told us to check out the exhibit of sculptures on the second floor. We all got dizzy taking the winding staircase. Tapos bawal pala kumuha ng pictures dun. Sayang, marami pa namang blog-worthy pieces dun!


Body Art? Aside from paintings and wooden sculptures, there are lots of "people" on exhibit. Look at these two in the small pocket garden.


Hagrid Head. The town of Angono is known for its Higantes Festival. The resto staff makes some of these higantes. Strangely enough, we can't find the body of this head.


Actually, we can't find the bodies. Puro ulo lang talaga. Look closely. Walang magkakamukha. Ang galing noh?


These masks are everywhere. If you look closely, each mask contains messages and autographs from celebrities who have been to the restaurant before.


My dad and someone's head. Me and little higantes (wait, that doesn't make sense).


Fear Factor. Even though merong soup no.5, palaka, crickets, worms, bayawak, bouganvilla, etc. sa menu, we decided to try the safer ones like (clockwise) Balaw-balaw, rose petal tempura, ginataang hipon and crispy kangkong.


One green thing. Yeah, I know it's orange. But the napkin holder is actually a recycled Coke bottle.


Party of 9. Hindi nasama si Jun the driver sa pics, kaya talagang 8 lang ang mabibilang niyo. Hehehe.


2nd stop: Binangonan. Instead of checking out the church, we decided to check out the Thunderbird Resort, which boasts of the Fiesta Pavilion casino and the Eastridge Golf Club.


Waiting area. We tried entering via the casino, kaso they wouldn't let my teenage cousin in. Kaya ito, hanap muna ng matatambayan. Obviously, sa reception area kami napunta. Hehehe.


Infinity pool. Ang sarap siguro maligo dito sa pool. The "infinity" edge actually has the best view of the mountain and the lake.


Coffeebreak. My dad tried to look for a coffeeshop inside the hotel, wala pala. Merong restaurant na puro buffet lang (we ate there years ago pa). Turns out, kahit coffee lang ang order mo, you have to pay the full buffet price. Good thing I asked the frontdesk. Meron naman palang coffeeshop dun sa may pool area.


Rock Radio. There was piped-in music all over the resort. My bro couldn't figure it out at first, until he went near one of these rocks. Hindi pala bato. Hehehe.


The view from the top. From the coffeeshop, yung golf course. Sa malayo, yung Laguna Lake na ang tanaw, complete with fishpens.


Luno Mystico. My brother in silhouette. Seoul Sister took this shot.


Last stop: Taytay. Promised myself na I won't go to the mall on my birthday. Pero nagpunta pa rin kami sa SM --- sa Taytay naman. Hehehe.