AWEFULL

When you’re famished and you’re in a big mall with lots of restaurants to choose from, you’d get overwhelmed that will only make things worse for you. It would be confusing on where to eat, plus most of them are either fastfood chains or jampacked.

That’s what happened to me yesterday after a day of shopping with my “sister-out-law” so I suggested that we try the “unusual”. Those restaurants that both of us aren’t fond of dining at (and those with less customers)

I saw Kaya (Korean Restaurant) so we just decided to eat there.

I don’t eat kimchi. I eat Korean BBQ. I eat Bibimbap. But there’s this one meal that caught my attention.

Talangkanin (Aligue Bibimbap)

If you’re familiar with “Only You” on ABS-CBN starring Angel Locsin and Sam Milby (that Pinoy version of a Korean series of the same title) this meal was “invented” there. It’s like the usual Bibimbap with a twist coz they put shrimps, squid and some other seafood that I didn’t bother to check. The rice is mixed with aligue (taba ng talangka).

I enjoyed this coz I love seafood (though I’m allergic to it), it’s tasty and not that spicy (coz I’m allergic as well to spicy food). If you want to spice up your bibimbap, try putting condiment.

Just a warning though, they served it so hot that I was already starving to death before I was able to eat it. 30 minutes and the food was still hot. My tongue almost gave up. Hahaha!

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Kaya Korean Restaurant
GF Megamall Bldg A
Ortigas Center, Mandaluyong City

After our zipline adventure, we headed off to Metrowalk to have dinner and some booze at Elbow Room.

pantawid gutom

It was just a simple night out yet meaningful coz I was with my supahfriends.

Jimmy, AJ, Noelle, AC, Lei, Mae, Wal

Che, AC, Lei, Amae, Mae, Wal

What I love about this night is that we were not supposed to go out anymore coz we already did the zipline and some of them were already with me the night before so I thought they were already tired to go out.

Che and Amae just came back from their respective provinces as well. But they didn’t forget to drop by Starbucks and bought me a cutie cake. Hahah!

I feel so blessed to have a lot of wonderful friends like them (at the same time I feel sad for my wallet/bank account coz I had to celebrate not just once, but several times.. haha! )

Nevertheless, it was a happy birthday for me!

For my birthday this year, I wanted a different kind of celebration. I was supposed to celebrate it with the less fortunate kids in an orphanage or something like what I did last year, a Jollibee birthday party with the kids of Gawad Kalinga. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to arrange the party coz of some personal issues that I had to deal with (if you know what I mean).

So to stick with my plan to celebrate in a different way, I decided to try this new zipline in Quezon City. I asked my friends if they can join me and good thing, they also wanted to try this except for Amae who’s not ecstatic at the thought of adrenaline rush and the likes.. (she’s just so into glam.. see, we’re so different from each other).

On my birthday (August 1), we went to Zoom Treetop Adventure in Circulo Verde in Quezon City (near Eastwood). If you’re familiar with the Treetop Adventure in Subic, they’re of the same company.

Since I already tried doing the usual (like Superman or flying flat on your stomach) style in Tagaytay and in Ecopark, I tried the Silver Surfer.

We decided to have it done at night coz I wanted to see the city lights from up in the air.

First, they put on the harness and other safety gears. They were very meticulous in putting them on, ensuring safety of their customers.

Then the helmet. Then they’d ask you to stand on that iron thing below (I don’t know how to call those grills.. haha!)

\

Time to let go!!!

Amae volunteered to be our photographer at the other end. Below are my pictures taken by her.

I didn’t care about how long I was hanging or how many times I went back and forth screaming. All I know is that it was exhilarating and fun… and “bitin”.

I want more. Perhaps, next time I’d go bungee jumping…. and skydiving? Hahaha!

A cool way to celebrate my birthday, isn’t it?

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Zoom Treetop Adventure is located at Circulo Verde, Quezon City (open from 2PM to 10PM everyday)
Superman costs PHP400 per trip while the Silver Surfer costs PHP300.

Last week, I celebrated my 26th birthday. Like some of you know, I used to celebrate special occasions with my friends coz my family is not here with me. My parents are based abroad and my 2 siblings already have their own lives (my sister had just given birth while my brother’s preggy girlfriend is nearing her due so I wasn’t expecting that they’d come over and celebrate with me)

So how did my birthday go about?

Last Saturday, July 31, I went out with a friend supposedly to watch his friend’s gig at Moomba along Mother Ignacia (I didn’t bother to invite my other friends coz we went out the night before). Unfortunately, there was a private function at Moomba that we had to wait for a couple of hours before we can come in and watch his friends perform. So we transferred to Panggo’s (Morato) to watch a gig (his friend’s again). I am so not used to being with a guy anymore and we already ran out of things to talk about so I asked GB and our barkada if they can come over to join us. Good thing, they have already recharged and was ready to hang out again. And so they came.

It became some sort of “salubong” for my birthday and I was happy coz they sang a birthday song for me, even greeting me on stage.

Caca, JC, Kyle, Kuya Glenn, Jimmy, AC, Lei

GB, Caca, JC, Kyle, Kuya Glenn, AC, Lei

that's GB singing "Englishman in New York"

Yeah, it was a salubong coz…

After getting intoxicated by alcohol, we decided to have “pares” at Bestfriends along Aurora in QC.

Two things that made me smile on our way to the parking lot: (1) there was a car drifting along Morato (My friend was able to take video of it, too bad I didn’t get a copy from her); (2) After almost a decade I received white roses (there was a flower vendor at the street, I didn’t realize that my boys bought some until they gave the flowers to me)

We called it a night after having “midnight” snack at Bestfriends while laughing to JC’s silly questions on why a certain meal costs 61 pesos.

He was bugging a waiter while saying this..

“Eh baket ba kase 61pesos pa? Para saan yung piso? Pwede namang 65 diba? O Kaya 60? Baket 61 pa?”

He was asking that over and over (he’s makulet when he’s drunk) while leaving us puzzled.. onga noh, baket 61 pesos pa? Hahahaha!

PS: GB gave me this gift with a heartwarming note. I love it coz he’s not used to giving material things but he had something special for me.

Isn’t he the sweetest friend?

You already know her, right? She’s one of the constant contents of this blog — Amae. She just celebrated her 27th birthday last Wednesday, 28th of July.

It’s been tiring coz parties and celebrations are endless these days (Noelle’s and my birthday, too). I miss sleeping. Hahaha!

Oh well, let me just give you an overview of how we celebrated Amae’s birthday. Actually, we let her choose the place. Being the glam loving and posh that she is, she opted to dine out with us in the newly opened (and renovated) Chateau 1771 in Ortigas, particularly at Cafe 1771’s Winebar located at the old spot of Sidebar.

Okay, I think it’s a bit confusing so let me explain it to you.. Chateau 177 Group of Companies is composed of: Cafe 1771, which has the coffee shop at the first floor and the Winebar upstairs (that’s where we had dinner); Sidebar; and 1771 Sentro.

I came first to the restaurant coz she attended the mass first before coming to our dinner. When I came in, I was amazed coz I can no longer remember how it looked like when it was just Sidebar. The decors and furniture were truly fantastic.

Then Noelle & the birthday girl came next..

And the rest of Gogolosh (minus Nheng, Sugar & Dane)

As for the food, we got..

Salbacho Pizza

The Real Thing (seriously, it's called that way.. but its Alfredo)

Salmon Lasagna

Lemon Chicken

Sandwich na ubos na

I highly recommend the Salmon Lasagna. It was really good. You won’t even realize that it’s fish pasta coz it doesn’t have “malansa” (foul smell) aroma. The Real Thing is also good, I guess you can never go wrong with “the real thing” hahaha! I didn’t get to taste the sandwich while the Lemon Chicken is too sweet for my taste buds. As for the pizza, if you’re familiar with Sidebar’s Salbacho Pizza, that’s it.

After eating, instead of the usual beer or cocktails (and since it’s a Winebar), we opted to drink wine. A sparkling bottle of white wine.

Though the place may look sosyal and all, it’s not really that pricey compared with other restaurants of the same atmosphere. I didn’t get to see the price per item but we paid for like almost PHP3,000 including that bottle of wine. Not bad, isn’t it?

Happy birthday, Amae! Cheers!

After pigging out at Oakwood and visiting Gabee for the first time, we tried something new again — Lasertag. We played at Lazermaxx in Greenhills. This is located at the roofdeck of Greenhills Shopping Center, along with Greenhills Badminton Center. A game (15minutes) costs PHP190 per head.

Lasertag is like a war game, some kind of paintball or airsoft minus the “violence”. It is more technologically advanced, though, as it involves the use of a hand-held infrared-emitting targetting device (gun). It can be done individually or as a team. We were 19 players, split into two teams.

RHASTA - Jejemon na Rasta

Before the start of the game, we watched a video on how to play as well as the Do’s and Dont’s. After briefing, we went straight to an area to choose our gears. When I chose my gun, my friends and I laughed coz the name that I got was Rhasta, coincidental (okay, okay.. inside joke.. sorry )..

Aside from the “gun”, we also wore something like a vest. Those vests are infrared-sensitive.

Si Rubi nag-Lasertag (2nd from right)

Although I watched the video, I still didn’t get the rules on how to play it. I just did what I felt like doing. Shoot. Hide. Run. Shoot. Run. Hide. Something like that.

I initially thought 15minutes isn’t enough for this game. But man, I wanted to quit at the middle of the game coz I was dead tired. I was sweating like hell and my legs were already in pain. Signs of aging. Tsktsk.

But I think it’s a good and quick exercise coz in 15minutes you will sweat a lot (coz of the venue as well — dark and a bit hot in there)

nag-SAUNA

After the game, we viewed our scores and we were given our scorecards.

See, I’m such a loser when it comes to this kind of game (probably coz we didn’t know the term “strategy”). Out of 19 players, I was the 16th. I got a very low score. But I was still happy coz Amae was the 18th. Bwahahha!

It was really tiring (but so much fun) that we ended up pigging out again at Savory.

After our Oakwood breakfast, we headed off to the hospital to visit my newest nephew, Gabriel Archangel Mangilin Lazaro (Gabee). My sister gave birth to him on July 23 before the clock hit midnight.

Gabee

Gabee

My supahfwends accompanied me coz they also wanted to see Gabee and his Kuya Mikee (Michael Archangel, now 2)

Kuya Mikee & Gabee

Mikee & Tita Che

Mikee & Tita Amae (his crush)

Prior to visiting Gabee at the nursery, we had a little playtime with Mikee in his Mom’s room. I just noticed that Mikee became more papansin than before. I guess kids also have instincts; probably he was thinking that he is no longer the baby in the family so he had to double his effort to get everybody’s attention.

See, maglalayas na yata sya..

But you know, he need not do that (making papansin).. coz he will always be our baby. I will forever adore him, the same way as I adore Gabee and Chelsea.. and also the soon to be born Marcailah (my brother’s daughter)

Sweet Love

My nephews/nieces are my happy pills. They wipe away all the irritation I feel toward my siblings (yes, I always get mad at them for some personal reasons)

I also want to have my own kids someday. When the right time (and man) comes… But for now, I’ll just settle with my nephews/nieces. After all, practice makes perfect (I’ll be a good mom someday, promise)