Happy 12th Anniversary To Us!

Pasko Na Nga!

Starting yesterday, my days will be filled with Christmas parties and other social events. Yesterday, I had a Christmas lunch with DP, a good friend who is based in Hongkong and another friend GD, at Cafe Metro in Shangri-la Plaza and TWO Christmas parties in the evening. Today, the school had its party for the Faculty and Staff. Tomorrow is our department Christmas party. Saturday is the Christmas outreach of the company's senior executives and brunch after that , and a Christmas party hosted by E's friend BT in the afternoon. I'm hoping for an anniversary dinner with family, but we'll see how the schedule is like. On Sunday, Christmas lunch with my college barkada and Christmas dinner with E's barkada, both to be held in our home. On Monday is the Farewell party of our CFO of which I am the event coordinator. I still have so many things pending like songs to be used for the video presentation,songs to be sung by guest singers, the backdrop of the stage, finalizing the speakers, etc. The only thing I have done is the food arrangements. Tuesday is the Christmas party for senior executives, where I will be in the dance presentation. And lastly, on Wednesday, the 24th, the Christmas party in our office. Pasko na, and really, no time to shop. I can actually just give IOUs and say that their presents will be New Year presents from the US:)

Galileo Enoteca

Most of you know that E and I LOVE Galileo Enoteca. We decided to try the Pasong Tamo branch , and we had such a great time. We finished a bottle of white wine, 2 glasses each of red wine, a cheese and cold cuts platter, and another cheese platter.

When you feel like you need time alone with your partner, bring him/her to Galileo Pasong Tamo. It is such a romantic, quiet and cozy place.

A Birthday Party at Manila Oceanarium

The newest pamangkin of my college barkada, Stephen, celebrated his 2nd Birthday at the Manila Oceanarium. The proud parents JV and DV spared nothing to give him a memorable party. (Apologies for the blurred pictures, still figuring out how my Nokia E71 can take better pictures. I again, forgot my camera. Senior moments??)


Stephen with proud parents (sorry JV and DV, ang labo!)



At least Stephen's amazed face is captured in this photo, pero malabo pa rin!

Look at all the balloons! Wow!

The barkada except for JV, who was very busy...

Finally caught up with proud mom JV.

La Nuovo Pasteleria

Spinach and Mushroom Appetizer and Seafood Salad Seafood Pasta in Olive Oil and Garlic

La Nuovo's food never fails to impress us. We love the spinach and mushroom appetizer, although it may have been a bit sinful with that creamy truffle sauce. The seafood pasta was overflowing with prawns. Yummy! (Located in front of Sanctuario San Antonio, Forbes Park)

'Tis the Season...

I know that we are already in the middle of the Christmas season when my day started with a gift-giving activity for pre-schoolers at a Gawad Kalinga site in Trece Martires and ended with a classy party hosted by an international bank at the Manila Polo Club:) I'm really so fortunate to experience the best of both worlds.

15 Terms!... And Counting

Another school term has gone, my 15th! Let's see, that would be equivalent to 5 years of teaching. And yet, there's still so much to learn...

Classical Music at Ilustrado

Here's an idea for a unique evening. Cocktails with overflowing wine at Ilustrado's romantic courtyard (I still remember JV and DV's wedding reception held here more than 10 years ago) and then classical piano music by world-renowned pianist, my BIL Jovianney Emmanuel Cruz, at Ilustrado's chamber room. Jovianney introduced the mini-concert by saying that this was how it was done centuries ago, a group of people gather in homes to watch and listen to artists perform. There will be more evenings such as this, watch this space for further announcements.

Dinner with Office Friends at The Heat

The "Powerless" group went out for dinner at The Heat in Edsa Shangri-la Hotel. Sad to say, the Buffet was not as good as how we remember it, Seven Corners was definitely better. There were no oysters,smoked salmon and uni sashimi in the buffet that night. Good thing, the company was great, so we still had a super fun evening.

Dad's Treat at Fely J's

Some of the food we had: lamb kaldereta, paco salad and rice similar to arroz ala cubana ( i forgot what it's called)
My two-year old niece eating by herself. She's so independent!

Dad shared his blessings with us by treating us for lunch at Fely J's Kitchen in Greenbelt 5. We tried the exotic cricket appetizer, which was quite interesting. We also had sisig, crispy pata which was so good because it was cooked with garlic, lamb kaldereta, pork binangoongan, char kway teow and rice. My niece had the chocolate cake for dessert. Thanks Dad, for the wonderful meal. May you continue to receive countless blessings!

Happy Birthday, Dear Friends!

Our dear friends SC and LBF just had their "Big _0th Birthday" and we celebrated with a dinner at JV's condo. SC and LBF prepared a sumptuous buffet of smoked salmon salad, spaghetti carbonara, chicken pastel and salpicao from Conti's, home-made breaded fish and shrimp, and barbecue. MS brought the birthday cakes, blueberry cheesecake and chocolate cake, and other desserts such as pichi-pichi (with cheese, yum) and sapin-sapin. Our dear friend DL and husband RL, who are based in New York, joined us through Skype:)

Coming Soon

Due to problems with my Globe internet connection at home, I am unable to post pictures on Blogger. I have the following lined up:
1.Mini concert of my BIL in Ilustrado
2.Birthday celebration of two of my college barkada
3.Treat of my Dad at Fely J's in Greenbelt 5
4.Dinner with my office friends at The Heat, Edsa Shangri-la
So stay tuned for these entries!

It's Official: I Hate Globe!

Being a Globe subscriber is really a test of patience. I wish I can easily change service providers. Internet service has dropped a dozen times tonight, I can't even complete messages for my Facebook contacts and upload photos to Blogger. It's a good thing I'm not a student with a deadline tomorrow, or I would have really lost it!!!

Macau City Center

Although we stayed in Macau for 6 days, we only had a few hours to see the city center. We went to the Senado Square. We found it very quaint and pretty. We bought most of our "pasalubong" of Macau delicacies here. We also went around to look at the stores. Surrounding the area were several shops selling factory overruns of clothing. Also, most brands found in Hongkong were there, like Giordano and Bossini.

My Venetian (Macau) Holiday

Technically, I was in Macau for official business. But that didn't stop me from enjoying the city, and especially the Venetian. No doubt, it is Macau's greatest attraction. The Venetian was so grand, and so big, we got lost often on our first two days.

Cocktails by the Lagoon
The Food Court. Note the blue sky above, which is artificial.

Photos were not allowed in the casino itself, so we tried taking photos from the floor aboveThe Venetian Hotel Lobby

By the indoor canals where one can take a gondola ride. The gondolier in the background is a Filipina who had an astounding voice. If you watched Mel and Joey's feature on Macau, she was the lady gondolier interviewed by Joey. The Shopping Mall itself was so big, we didn't get the chance to visit all the stores.

We got to watch the spectacular Zaia of Cirque du Soleil

The Venetian Macau

I thought that our suite at the Venetian deserves an entry of its own. This was our home for one week and we absolutely loved it. Note the two queen-sized beds, plus a den with a sofa bed. This room could easily fit 6 people...

I "Heart" Hongkong

Hongkong is on top of my most loved places. Good friends to see, fabulous shopping and there's always something new to discover. On our way to Macau, my designated room mate and travel partner for this trip AF and I decided to make a quick stop-over in Hongkong.

We stayed with AF's good friend ES on Lantau Island. Her apartment had this fabulous view!


After a hearty buffet lunch at Citygate Novotel's coffee shop, which was ES's treat by the way (Thanks, ES!), we went straight to Festival Walk in Kowloon Tong specifically for H&M and Uniqlo. This is the first time I've seen these brands and I loved them.

Festival Walk

After Festival Walk, we went to Tsim Sha Tsui. AF and I, being both bag lovers, had a great time at LV, Gucci, Tod's and Burberry. I'm just amazed at the crowds in LV and Gucci, it was like a midnight sale in SM, I am not kidding. Nope, we didn't buy anything, but had such a great time looking!

We had dinner with good friend RW at OVOlogue (66 Johnston Road, Wanchai, Tel. No. +852-25276088). The place was amazingly beautiful. It was in a 120 year old building and also serves as an art gallery/design showroom. And we had good food as well. We had the dimsum platter, steamed garoupa, beef, fried chicken and steamed vegetables with garlic. Thanks for the delicious treat, RW! We had such a great time with you.

Good friend RW and travel partner AF at OVOlogue

Me and RW

On our last day, AF and I spent a few hours at Citygate Outlet Mall (located directly above Tung Chung station, an MTR ride away from Central), which was just adjacent to ES' apartment. All Hongkong shoppers should visit this place first before going to other Malls. It has the outlet shops of Polo Ralph Lauren, Kate Spade, Bally, Burberry, Giordano, Esprit, Nike, Adidas and a hundred more stores.

Citygate Outlet Mall

Before we knew it, it was time to go to the ferry terminal to catch our ferry to Macau:-(

19 lbs. and 4 inches

Yup, that's how much I lost so far. Today was the final weigh-in for the Biggest Loser Competition. I'm still 6 lbs. short of my personal goal, but I'm very very happy with what I've achieved so far. Considering 2 overseas trips in countries known for good food, this was indeed a true test of willpower. Thanks so much for all your support! By the way, sharing with you a picture taken by a colleague of mine during our Macau conference.

Halfway

I just gave the Midterm exams to my students today. That means we're halfway through the term. I can't wait to check the exams and see how my students performed. Of course how my students performed is also a reflection of how effective I was as a teacher. Hmmm, I hope I won't be disappointed...

Reconnecting

This week has been one of reconnecting:

1. Spent a good hour talking on the phone with good friend from MS Comp Fin,CG, who is based in New York. She works in Wall Street and is currently in the middle of all the action. It was nice to know that despite the uncertainties, she is having the grandest times. Am so happy for her.
2. I spent several days on instant messaging with another very good friend from MS Comp Fin, CC, who is now based in Hongkong. We exchanged notes on a lot of things. I miss my MSCF days. It was hard work, what with full-time work worsened by tough academics. I couldn't imagine how I survived that, but it was also filled with good memories because I gained a lot of good friends.
3. Spoke to good friend, former classmate from MBA/MS Comp Fin and former boss in Old College where I used to teach. We had a great time updating each other. Apparently, both of us have been expanding our horizons.

It was indeed a refreshing week, I should do this more often.

Healthy Restaurants

Found this article online: America's Healthiest Restaurants, and found it very interesting. I also thought it can come handy one day:-) Of the 10 Best Casual Dining Spots, I've gone to three: Uno Chicago Grill in San Diego and Romano's Macaroni Grill in New Jersey on our recent trip to the US, and Olive Garden in Pennsylvania on my 2006 US trip.

In Manila, we have had several discoveries for those who are trying to eat healthy:

1. Cyma. We love their Roka Salata. They also have a wide variety of grilled entrees.
2. Pho Hoa, a Vietnamese restaurant. My favorite is their Shrimp and Pomelo Salad.
3. Italianni's. I discovered two great salads: Seared Tuna and Grilled Chicken, both with vinaigrette dressings.
4. Pancake House. Their Fiesta Taco Salad is the best!
5. Most Japanese restaurants, for their sushi, sashimi, ramen and grilled entrees.
6. Most Filipino restaurants for their Sinigang na Bangus or Sinigang na Salmon.

Feel free to share your own discoveries!

Dining in Singapore

Singapore is definitely food heaven, and during our stay, we had some of the best that Singapore has to offer:

Jumbo Seafood (various locations, we went to the the Riverside branch, 30 Merchant Road #01-01/02 Riverside Point, +65-65323435)
A trip to Singapore wouldn't be complete without a visit to this fabulous restaurant. Its specialty is crab. We had the popular Singaporean chili crab and the Black pepper crab. We also had the delicious Prawns in cereal. I love this dish! We were pleasantly surprised when TS paid for the bill! Thanks, TS! It was a fantastic meal. The Riverside branch's location is perfect because it is in the Clarke Quay area, the heart of Singapore's nightlife.

On our third day in Singapore, E and I spent the day in Orchard Road. We had lunch at Pepper Lunch (Ngee Ann City) and had the Pepper steak (yup, I was a bad girl). The Pepper steak in the Singapore branches was cheaper by at least about P100+ than the Manila branch, I wonder why. And, while walking along Orchard, we couldn't resist the street food of Old Chang Kee.

We also had the chance to go to a hawker center when E's friend S brought us to the Bukit Merah town center where we had a couple of local favorites (sorry, don't know the names of the dishes, but I had vegetables and fish).