BIL's 40++th

Brother in Law J's birthday celebration came around 2 weeks late because he had a birthday concert on his birthday, and was busy the days after. BIL and my sister invited us to their cozy home for lunch. They prepared a delicious Greek-themed meal of Greek salad with Feta Cheese and BIL's version of Shepherds Pie and Grilled pork chops. Desserts were our birthday gifts. Pictures courtesy of my brother N and his new Lumix LX3 camera (Did I say the camera model right, Bro?)

BIL and sister T preparing the buffet table

Greek Salad

Remnants of the Shepherds Pie (buti umabot si brother, mauubos na!) Birthday Cake #1 Strawberry Cheesecake from Conti's

Birthday Cake #2 Chocolate Cake from Celine's and Baby S practicing blowing candles
Family Picture

La Nuovo Pasteleria - Part 2

You may have read of this restaurant here twice before, and we still can't get enough of La Nuovo Pasteleria (San Antonio Plaza, Forbes Park in front of Sanctuario de San Antonio Church, Tel No. +632-8178568), an Italian restaurant. We've gone there three weeks in a row, it's now become our favorite routine. Saturday afternoon mass at Sanctuario and early dinner at La Nuovo.

Our favorites are:

Prosciutto di Parma con Mango - slices of Parma ham with fresh mango (P370)
Spinacci Trifolate - sauteed spinach w/ truffle cream in porcini mushroom sauce (P358)
Vongole al Vino Blanco - spaghettini w/baby clams, olive oil and white wine sauce (431)
Agli Olio con Salsicce - capallini w/garlic, sundried tomato, Italian sausage, chilli flakes in olive oil (P419)
Agli Olio con Gamberi - capallini w/garlic, sundried tomato, shrimps, chilli flakes in olive oil (P459)

The pasta, though a bit pricey is for sharing by two people. We also noticed that a lot of people order the pizza, but we haven't tried it yet. We'd have to invite other people to dine with us for us to try it as the servings are generous. Pizzas are priced at P333-P444 depending on the toppings.

Birthdays at Spiral

To celebrate our niece TR's and nephew AR's birthdays, their parents, E's sister TR and husband MR invited us to dinner at Spiral at the Sofitel Philippine Plaza. Spiral is said to be the best buffet in Manila, and we really enjoyed the dinner, especially the smoked salmon, salmon sashimi, oysters (both fresh and baked) and lamb chops with mint jelly. A bit disappointed though that they didn't have uni sashimi and teppanyaki ice cream (which puts Seven Corners a bit higher in my list). Thanks TR and MR for inviting us, and Happy Birthday TR and AR, we pray for a wonderful year ahead of you!

Paalam, Tita Cory: One Week Later

E and I didn't get the chance to attend President Cory's funeral. On a visit to my Lolo and Lola in Manila Memorial, we decided to also visit Tita Cory and Tito Ninoy. Loved watching parents bring their children there to show how these two people shaped the country. Look at the kids in yellow having their picture taken behind me:

Italianni's Family Dinner

E's Dad treated the whole family to dinner at Italianni's Bonifacio High Street one Saturday evening. Thanks, Dad! We enjoyed endless servings of salad, pizza , pasta, chicken and porkchops.

Birthday and Despedida at Sugarhouse

RJW's and DL's Manila visit has come to an end and it is but fitting to give them a despedida. Sugarhouse was the place of choice, for comfort food and delicious desserts. We went to the Eastwood branch where there is a private function room. Just our luck that it was RR's birthday in two days and he surprised us by saying that it was going to be his birthday treat! Thanks so much RR, so glad you were able to join us.

Sugarhouse's beef salpicado is so good, especially with the garlic rice. And the sugar-free Marjolaine cake was the perfect dessert to finish off the meal.

Tagaytay Weekend with Dear Friends

In honor of our two dear friends DL (based in New York) and RW (based in Hong Kong) who were home, we planned a weekend in Tagaytay. We rented a private house which can accommodate all of us (almost 3o with our families) and we were fortunate that event planner JV found the perfect house with an amazing view of Taal Lake.

We started the weekend with dinner at Josephine's which was MTS' 29th birthday treat to us. Thanks MTS!

The weekend in the house was filled with so much fun, with the boys bonding over poker and wine, and the girls over junk food and chismis. Here are pictures of our glorious stay in the Tagaytay house:

We ended the weekend with lunch at Gerry's Grill courtesy of DL and RL. Thanks so much, guys! Now, why don't I have pictures of that lunch? Must borrow photos from DL and RL's album...

The Best Way to Remember Lolo

It has been six years since our grandfather physically left us, but in spirit, he has remained in our hearts and in our minds. As our tribute to him, we will be supporting law students who are in need of financial assistance at the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila.

Our grandfather self-supported his education up to law school and we are sure that he would have wanted to give the opportunity of law education to others as well. Our grandfather taught at the PLM Graduate School of Business.

Paalam, Tita Cory

My closest encounter with our beloved President was when she sat just a row away from E and I at Holy Mass. We were even seated right next to her security (Inspector Mamaril as we know now because of his tribute). We would often see her in Mass together with her children and grandchildren and we were touched by how her grandchildren took care of her always. The last few weeks that we saw her, she still had a ready smile to those who greeted her, eventhough we knew that she was very sick then.

President Cory Aquino was indeed a gift to the Filipino people, and because of her, I feel proud that I am a Filipino. I can't help but be a bit hopeful for our country. Hopeful that we will learn from lessons that she has imparted on us, that one can lead morally, humbly and selflessly.

May we be vigilant and ready to fight for what is right and best for our country. Tama Na, Sobra Na!