OUTBACK STEAKHOUSE FOR CHINESE NEW YEAR

Chinese New Year is coming and never before in the history of my sweet little life have I seen many promotions left and right on how to properly celebrate this Asian tradition. I mean yes, I have been married to my Chinese Adonis for 10 years now (blech :P) but hearing different "musts" and "shoulds" to be assured of an abundant year ahead still gives me a bit of a surprise.

Well for one, I should fill my table with 12 round fruits so that we could also have 12 months of good fortune.

Another is that if we have Chinese New Year Cake (or "tikoy") our year will be filled with togetherness and unity since the round dessert is very sticky to the touch.

The latest one that I have heard of is that if I wear red underwear and a new pair of pajamas to bed, I will have a very "lucky" year.  Hmmmm... It may sound like something my sneaky (and naughty) husband might say but yes it's true. I googled it and erased all my suspicions on what my husband meant by "lucky".

Anywho, like I said, we all have our practices and beliefs but sometimes something non-traditional comes along that will just blow away our "routine" with its awesomeness.

I'm talking about OUTBACK steakhouse. And yes, your "friend" from down under will be celebrating the Year of the Horse with you with grilled meats, pasta, and a whole lot of delicious fortune for you to enjoy!

OUTBACK STEAKHOUSE!

KAIN TULOG GANG CHRISTMAS PARTY 2013

"It was the BEST of times, it was the WORST of times."

Well it was the holiday season and while we were attending Christmas parties left and right, there was really NOTHING like my foodie family KTG Christmas party. In the words of Holmes, "It's elementary really" because what do you expect from people who LIVE for food when they come together during the holidays?

One thing's for sure, we had tables of all the BEST delicious grub imaginable that will be the WORST nightmare for  my waistline, that's what!

And it may be too bold for me to say it but what the heck, I will state it out loud and proud (to the background music of Enya and with Jean Claude's accent)

"It was the most epic of Christmas Parties...."

Venue for our blogger Christmas party was at the ASTORIA PLAZA in Ortigas City.

When we got to ASTORIA PLAZA, everybody seems to be already there.

HUAT POT

I don't know if there is a weird weather phenomenon or everybody's wishes came true for Christmas but the Philippines has been extra nippy chilly these days. It became so cold that I HAD to wear a jacket almost everyday and there was even a morning where I turned off all the electric fans because I was already shivering up to my little wee toes!

Now when it is cold, what is the best thing to do besides, ahem, cuddling cuddling up with your equally cold significant other?

Well you could slurp some hot soup of course!

And there is a new SHABU SHABU restaurant to give you just THAT (plus a lot more) at the San Juan side of the metro.

HUAT POT restaurant!   

It gets even better -- HUAT POT restaurant is ALL you can eat!!

And for P688.00++ per person, believe me. IT'S WORTH IT.

Read on to find out why!

HUAT POT is all about space and passionate colors!

THE NUTCRACKER

Last Christmas, my sister read that it was going to be Ms. Lisa Macuja's last ballet performance in THE NUTCRACKER and thought it would be something that we should not miss. She told my Mom who agreed and called up her sisters to invite them to watch the show. When my sister told me of their plans I was really hesitant because lazy me thought that it was supposed to be my relaxing day Sunday. But then my sister pulled the usual blah blah of "When is this going to happen again... " speech that I joined their little "entourage" and dragged somebody with me.

No, not my husband. I love him and all but the ARTS is not in his "most favorite" list. Actually, you could use it to torture him or get valuable information. He he he he!

I meant my little Andrei! Initially I thought of having the 2 boys with me because I wanted to inject some culture in their veins. But like his Dad, Mati violently protested so I was left with a very willing Andrei whose sudden enthusiasm to watch it was so cute.

So it's now time for THE NUTCRACKER!

SOFITEL STAYCATION (PART TWO)

It's my little son's birthday weekend and TEAM YAP is celebrating via a staycation in SOFITEL. We already had a full day of swimming, Korean dining, SM MOA ferris wheeling, and LOTS of picture taking (see SOFITEL STAYCATION part ONE), but I assure you, the night was far from being DONE.

Sorry this blog is for General Patronage so there is no way that THAT was a naughty referral. It may be in our wishlist though... Tee hee... Kidding!

WARNING:Like the first part of this blog, there WILL be a lot of pictures here, so enter if you dare. At the same time, I apologize for it. I may be a frustrated actress since I auditioned for "Little Miss Philippines" and did not pass. What can I say?

After washing them up, we got ready to play our new (old) board game MAD!

This was my family's favorite board game when we were kids so it was something I really wanted to play with my TEAM YAP. It was so cool that my husband found one in good condition in EBay!

SOFITEL STAYCATION (PART ONE)

For my little lord's birthday weekend I treated TEAM YAP to an overnight stay at SOFITEL MANILA because I wanted the boys to swim in their famous pool till they get all happy and wrinkly. After a quick lunch at LAU CHAN, we finally drove to SOFITEL for family staycation and bonding that I hope they will never forget!

(Warning: Just in case you follow my blog (maybe by force?) and know how I tend to make long entries, this one has LOTS of pictures. Hence, THIS being the "part one". Sorry... tee hee!)

SOFITEL!

MAK CHANG

When we celebrated Andrei's birthday weekend at Sofitel and thinking of where to eat, I suggested MAK CHANG and hoped that my little family would agree to their "matriarch's" suggestion. Well actually they don't really have a choice but who wants to hear complaining and wailing while having dinner right?

And I was just referring to my husband there...

Ha ha ha ha ha!

Anyway, since I am so obsessed with blogger Jin Loves To Eat and religiously read her posts, I have been raring to try one of her favorite Korean restaurants namely MAK CHANG. So it's good that we were in Manila during Andrei's birthday weekend and better that they shared my enthusiasm in trying this restaurant.

Of course it's also "the best" because my husband paid for everything and did not make me shell out a cent which is the usual practice when I drag him along at my chosen restaurant.

See hubbies? It's all about COOPERATION. You guys should all COOPERATE with what the wife wants!

Har de har har!

MAK CHANG!!!

HOTEL HOPPING TO WELCOME 2014

When it was almost time to greet the New Year we looked forward to doing our usual tradition of (tan tan tanan!) HOTEL HOPPING! Except this TEAM YAP trip will not be on the actual eve of New Year's because we will be somewhere else during that night.

It was a welcome change because unlike before, we were not at the mercy of the maitre d' and wrestle with all the reservations for the New Year's eve hullabalooo. Everything was just easy breezy and it was like how we always had it. The only thing missing was the trumpets and noisemakers offered by Hotel restaurants. But never fear, the kids had so much fun and enjoyed running around that they were the ones who gave the Hotels a blast for that early New Year's celebration!

The streets of Makati were empty.... 

As we made way to our first stop.... 

NEW WORLD HOTEL!

BARBARA'S

When my Dad's sisters from Las Vegas visited us, my sister thought of treating them to somewhere for an experience that is different from what they are used to in Sin City. Uh... no... I'm not referring to the whole nine yards when it comes to "stripping" but more on a night they will appreciate that will not involve slot machines or anything with a pole.

So my sister thought of bringing them to BARBARA's in Intramuros because from what she heard, it was dinner with a Filipiniana kind of show. At first we were like, jeez, don't conclude that Seniors (oops sorry tee hee) would automatically love this thing. But in the end, we were all enjoying and savoring the wonderful night that the beauty of our old world served us.

If we stayed a second more we would have broken out into song ("Aaaawitan kitaaaaaa"). But that's another story. He he he he!

BARBARAS!

NOLITA

One fine Saturday, ERICJAZ FOODIES with our little lord Andrei in tow, met up with Kathi and Jericho of MUCKING AROUND MANILA because we've always wanted to try NOLITA in BGC Central. I for one have read about countless raves, and no rants, about the restaurant with that New York feel that I was excited for the lunch ahead. Besides the food, I was also looking forward for little Andrei to meet Kathi and Jericho's cutie pie doggies since he was such an animal lover.

Maybe that's why he is so close to his Daddy... Because he is THE BEAST...

While I am BEAUTY.

TEE to the HEE!

NOLITA!

WEE NAM KEE

Sometime last year (try to guess when based on the length of my broomstick hair) my 2 gorgeous friends met up with little ol' me for a night of gabbin' and grubbin. My kumareng Gail and I, both very "practical" (read: stingy/"kuripot") wanted to eat somewhere where the food was good but prices cheap.

So I suggested in my alluring bedroom voice "Why not WEE NAM KEE?"

She agreed wholeheartedly (not because of my "alluring bedroom voice" which actually sounded more like Minnie Mouse's squeak) but she has read and heard about the delicious legend of WEE NAM KEE and was raring to try it. So there we went on a beautiful Friday night and we're so happy to have an awesome time helping ourselves to scrumptious Singaporean food with non-stop laughter on the side.

DUH and it's not because of my voice!

WEE NAM KEE!

SLICE N' DICE (again)

My little family are huge fans of SLICE N' DICE that we used to eat there every single week (see HERE). There was even a time where we included it in our roster of restaurants for somebody's special 7 day birthday celebration -- YUP! That's how much we loved this cheap steak hub!

We were just heart broken when their several branches simultaneously closed down that we were left with nothing when we were in the mood for steaks at a cheap price. We tried THIS restaurant and THAT restaurant but nothing offered the comforting taste of sizzling Filipino beef with flavorful brown gravy that we fell in love with.

Until finally, DING DING DING (similar to the sound made by Hector Salamanca... google that... tee hee) SLICE N' DICE is BACK and in a venue so near to us! REJOICE! REJOICE! Such a happy day!

Tee hee! Sorry. Like I said before, food does that to me... ahem.. us! :)

SLICE N' DICE in Mandaluyong City!

It can't get any better than that! Tee hee!

PAN DE AMERIKANA

For the first time one family Sunday, my kids did not force their usual selves into having breakfast at Krispy Kreme but agreed to "wherever else we wanted to go". I don't know the real reason for the temporary "restraining" order on their favorite Sunday morning grub, but there was an opportunity, and I know the very place to take them to.

To another dimension!!!!!!!!!!!

(cue in inspirational music.... "Somewhere" )

A place where my husband is insanely romantic... A place where I could eat all the crab fat in butter all I want and not get a heart attack... A place where my little lords will demand for all the broccolli and bitter melon that they could get their hands on!

A place where EVERYTHING is upside down!!!

PAN DE AMERIKANA!!!

I was a bit disappointed though that none of my outrageous expectations mentioned above came true. Oh well... maybe in the next life time. Still, PAN DE AMERIKANA in Quezon City, is worth the trip for our fambam if only for that crazy upside down house up front!

ALBA

You may accuse me for being a bit biased but hey, EVERYONE who has met her would agree that my MOM is one of the most beautiful ladies there is -- inside and out. I always maintained that she is the perfect epitome of a loving Mother who prioritized her children (especially the angelic bunsoy) over her career in medicine (she's a doctor). You know the type who gets principal sponsor/godmother requests left and right? Yup that's her. And every time I talk to somebody who has met my Mom, they would always remark on her beauty, elegance, and kindness.

Yup that's her. My complete opposite. Ha ha ha ha ha!

Anyway, it was her birthday last October and the family had one of the celebrations with a Spanish Sunday lunch in ALBA'S.

ALBA!!

I was about to write that this Spanish restaurant has been here from goodness knows then and my question was instantly answered when I saw that it has been with us since 1952.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY MATI

It is finally 2014 and while many people are posting about their year's top 10 or making many countdowns, I felt that the best way to wrap up the year and greet the new one is to write about something very close to my heart instead. Come to think of it, this little lord was literally inches from my heart when he was still growing inside my big belly so saying that he made my year very special was an understatement.

You could says that I may have brought him into this world but this little man made me alive. And it is his birthday today!

My little guy MATI when he was about 2 years old. I think this was the last serious picture that I have of him since he is addicted to wacky poses.

So this may not have anything about food or my husband getting tormented by yours truly. This will be all about MATI and how his presence convinces us everyday that me and my husband must have done something good in our lives with his existence.

Uh... NOT in that perverted way but more in the lines of how Julie Andrews sang it in THE SOUND OF MUSIC.

Tee to the Hee. :P