Friday Night Lights

Udang Goreng

my parents looking all happy and sweet

view of the mall from Penang Hill

Whole family's in Manila again and as usual, we chose to dine in Ortigas. My mom wanted to take us to Sumo Sam but the place was jampacked and we were too hungry to wait for a table to we went to Penang Hill. No regrets with that one. The food was awesome! I loved the Udang Goreng (Fried Prawns). Too bad I only managed to eat one piece. I did get most of the sauce. Yes, their sauces were awesome. Hooray for Asian cuisine!

We stopped for coffee at Starbucks (this is an SOP, actually). I chose to have a green tea latte while my sister, feeling toxic and all, decided to have a chamomile tea blend. Mommy got her usual machiatto and Daddy went for brewed coffee.

We all walked towards The Linden Suites and took a nightcap 'cause Daddy's flight was at 1:00pm the next day.

The whole time I was in Ortigas, my friends, namely  Emong, Aleks, Jazzie, Cessa, and Paolo, were at Spazzio. I was there the night before and I kinda wished I was with them because I suddenly missed them when they called me on the phone and I was in the taxi along San Miguel Avenue. I'll find time for them next week most definitely. I have a certain kind of attachment to certain people in Arki. Hahaha! What iz clingy.

I spent and ended my week pretty well. Let's see how the rest of the weeks before Christmas break go. :)

Pinku to Kani

This is a month-late! Gah. I never got to blog about my last Ortigas dinner date with my family. I'm practically in love with Ortigas, it being the place where my family and I lived in the summer of 2006. I've grown accustomed to the place and the lifestyle there. But, living in Katipunan has made my trips to Ortigas less frequent so I only go there when my dad's in Richmonde and we all decide to go out for dinner and coffee.

Bayo top, Diego denim shorts, thrifted accessories, thrifted loafers

I wanted to keep things simple, like I always do, thus, the outfit. It was cool enough for a long-sleeved top. Mind you, I am not a fan of pink or lace but these girly details got balanced out with the masculine structure of the top so I found it okay. I didn't want jeans to weigh me down on a lazy night with my family so I donned a pair of shorts instead.

We headed out for a Japanese dinner at Kimono Ken, Shangri-la Plaza Mall. I LOVE Japanese food! Itadakimasu!

My sister's a total Bon Chon addict. She told me, "Ate, I want a picture at Bon Chon!" Seriously?

It was the usual Starbucks-after-dinner trip for that night, but not at Pearl Drive anymore. We decided to go to the newly opened branch beside Richmonde.

Forgive my dad for his weirdness.

Yes, it's crude. We know.

Overall, it was a good family dinner. I had awesome Japanese cuisine in my belly, good coffee to satisfy my caffeine love, and a loving family for company.

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Chocolate and Peanuts

     I have been pretty busy lately with academic work that I have not had the time to blog. I spent my weekend working on my schematic site development plan for Design and studying for my third long exam in Math 53 which I took earlier today. I hope I pass that exam. Nothing eventful has happened so far. I have not been able to chill with my friends since last Thursday due to the pile of work we have been dealing with since we only have roughly a month left before the semester's over. The only highlight in the past few days was me being able to step into the Regic Center Building, that new building along Katipunan Avenue, last Sunday. That place has been crowded ever since it started operating. And how will it not be crowded? It houses Red Mango, Saint Alp's Teahouse, Bon Chon Chicken, and the Peanut Butter Company. People have been raving about Bon Chon Chicken and this is the main reason why the building is packed and why I don't visit the place. They say it's awesome chicken but I have yet to try it. Maybe, at the end of the month, when people will be frequenting the place less. It was still packed when I first visited the building so I decided to have lunch at Peanut Butter Company with my sister and mom after mass.

 Photo Credits: Trip Ko Lang

     I saw a huge photo of a burger with lots of peanut butter and I was thinking, they aren't serious about having everything with peanut butter, right? Wrong. My sister ordered barbecue buffalo wings and my mom ordered classic spaghetti and an oriental kani salad. All three orders had peanut butter. Even my Chili Fried Chicken Sandwich had peanut butter. Damn, they do love their peanut butter.

Photo Credits: Between Bites

Photo Credits: OpenRice 

Photo Credits: ClickTheCity

     I enjoyed my meal, to be honest, and I'm planning to go back to try their other stuff, especially that burger smothered in peanut butter. I'm quite adventurous when it comes to food so I wouldn't mind biting into something that has beef AND peanut butter. But, enough about PBCo. After lunch, we headed to Mom and Tina's Bakery Cafe to grab some sweets. My sister is a cupcake addict and also mentioned that they had the Beehive. For those who don't know, the Beehive is a chocolate cupcake with a towering icing swirl covered in chocolate on top. So, we decided to grab dessert to take home. Mom got Sugar-Free American Apple Pie for herself.

Photo Credits: Mom & Tina's Bakery Cafe

     Just look at that cute little bee! It looks like heaven, and it tastes like heaven. I'll definitely go back there for more. Regic Center Building, you are a blessing to Katipunan Avenue. I have to say this, I had a DQ Sandwich before eating my Beehive. Yes, there's Dairy Queen along Katipunan Avenue (finally!) and yes, I had an extreme calorie fest last Sunday because I felt like I deserved to treat myself after not going out and staying home insteaad to do my homework. I like treating myself with food. I get guilty after but when I can't shop, I go for awesome food. Everyone's allowed a cheat day, right? Let's just say I abuse my cheat days due to academic stress. I am trying to discipline myself, though. I definitely need help with that, especially if I want to look great by the semestral break. What's a girl to do when food = love but food = weight gain as well?

Photo Credits: The craving project

Four-Day Laze

     I never considered myself a homebody. I mean, I do enjoy staying at home but whenever I can, I always try to find time to head out with friends to catch up over coffee, good food, or a few drinks. It doesn't have to be very far, I just need to spend time with my friends because I don't like being alone. Lately, though, I've spent my weekends at home, vegging out. I'll marathon movies or a series, cook, or take out food from across the street, and just stare at my laptop screen till night comes. I think I'm starting to lead a pretty boring life. And do you know what weirds me out? I'm totally okay with it. I'm fine with staying in on weekends weekends when everyone else is out partying and getting wasted. I'm okay with watching downloaded movies in the comforts of my condo unit while everyone else are in theaters, watching blockbusters on the big screen.

     Thanks to the numerous holidays August has, we didn't have regular classes Friday through Monday. Well, I still had Arch170 on Saturday and CWTS on Monday but I had Friday off, plus afternoon classes on Thursday were cancelled thanks to ACLE. Talk about a bummeriffic weekend right?

     When I'm home, I get to experiment in the kitchen. I play around with whatever I can find in the kitchen.I experimented with tuna last Friday with the help of Kirby Salvador, a friend I met one night at Abreeza, Davao. He gave me specific instructions on how to make the tuna meal. It's funny how I had to consult him through text because I didn't know what to cook for lunch.

French toast, chicken sausages, and diced peaches

   My favorite thing to experiment with? French toast, since it's pretty easy to make. Actually, anything that has eggs as ingredients are easy, don't you think? :)

     I made my french toast with leftover raisin wheat bread since that's what mom left here in the condo and I'm not a fan of white loaf bread. Yes, that sounds pretentious but ever since mom started buying wheat bread, my taste buds have gotten used to the not-so-sweet loafs. I still eat white bread, though, don't get me wrong.

French toast out of raisin wheat bread

     During the whole long weekend, I only remember going out thrice. Twice was because I had classes and the other instance was because my sister and I had to attend mass. We usually attend mass in UP, but we decided to try attending mass at Our Lady of Pentecost since it's a lot nearer. It is a wiser choice since the church is just a short walk or tricycle ride away. And since it was a Sunday and I didn't go out all dressed up, I decided to dress up for church. Yes, rare girl moment!

Thrifted charm bracelet from Eastwood Weekend Bazaar

Hype this look on LOOKBOOK

     After the mass, my sister and I headed to Rustan's to buy some vegetables and other grocery items because I wanted to do another kitchen experimentation. I cooked up a carrot and broccoli stir-fry and it came out perfectly. I didn't take a photo of it, though since my sister and I went straight to eating after. Oh well, bummerific weekend. I'll write regarding the next long weekend, too and we'll see how that goes. :)

Baby No More

     As you all may know, I have a sister, Hannah. She's younger, taller, fairer, more fashionable, and finally legal sister. She wanted us to dress up for her simple dinner affair so she and mom went shopping for some dresses. She has pretty good taste so I have no qualms for whatever she decides to pick for me. I remember on the day she was out shopping, she would just randomly call or text me informing me of the items she picked out. How cute. She thinks of me when she goes shopping. 

     She decided that we'll have our dinner at Sentro, Serendra Piazza, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig. It's a simple restaurant that serves authentic Filipino cuisine. I swear, you will not go wrong with their food here. It's awesome! The people are nice, the service is good, and the food is fairly priced.

     We all had hearty dinners, chatted, and asked how Julius, our male cousin was doing because it was the first time that we hung out with him in Manila. He did pretty weird things on his first few weeks here and it amazed us how he managed being alone this whole time. He took a train, not the MRT/LRT, but an actual train to get to Taguig. Plus, he told us that when his phone got stolen from him, he chased the jeep and inspected the bags of every passenger in the vehicle. And that was at 9:00 in the evening in Manila City. We all thought he was crazy. My cousins, sister, uncle and I have been in Metro Manila for quite some time now and none of us would dare to do what he did.

My sister cannot get enough of Cupcakes by Sonja

Cakes to Go!

     My sister suggested before dinner that we hit a bar for a few drinks but then decided against it a few hours later. So, I had a mango daiquiri on my own while my dad and uncle downed a few Super Dry beers. All in all, it was a good night. It was fun reuniting with relatives in the middle of busy schedules and the distances between our residences. My sister and I live in Katipunan, my two female cousins, Chine and Lanie, live in Bangkal, Makati City. My uncle lives and works in Ortigas, and my male cousin, Julius, lives somewhere in Ermita.

Hype my look on Lookbook

So cheers to family and the awesome memories created with them!

XOXO, My We's Big 2-0

Mithilaya Reyes Miclat just turned twenty (twenteen if you wish). A beautiful girl that I've known for almost half of my life turned 20 yesterday. We celebrated her birthday last Thursday (since she already had other plans lined up for Friday). 

I dressed up girlier that usual that day, with no idea at all that we were going out for dinner. I just wanted to experiment with my thrifted find on a find Thursday. Mithi, Farrah, and I went to an ukay-ukay after coming back to Katipunan from Ongpin for a MAJOR Chinese food trip. Can you believe that my floral dress (it's actually a skirt) is just P50? Seriously, I'm not kidding. Even that shocked me.

We headed to Gino's, a quaint restaurant that serves oven-baked pizzas. We tried four different flavors. The Biance Verde was divine.

We headed to Xocolat after for dessert and extended bonding moments. 

For a bunch of people who have known each other for six to nine years, we've seen each other grow up. We may have grown older but we never grew tired of each other. 

To friendships that last eons and distances

To friendships that know no bounds

To friendships that exist just because

A toast to the years. 

I'm starting to sound cheesy here. Somebody stop me. :))

Happy 20th birthday to one of the nicest and most beautiful ladies I know. You'll grow up to be a great nutrinionist-slash-chef-slash-photographer-slash-doctor 'cause you're awesome like that. ILYSM, We! :)

Photographs courtesy of Mithi Miclat