KENNY ROGERS ROASTERS (MY BIRTHDAY 2016)

Usually when it's my birthday, I would bask in the love of family and friends who would treat me out for a rockin' good time. But since I just turned 31 (tee hee!!!!) I decided that I would share my blessings to the people who really matter to me and THE YAPPY BUNCH. And with that, it was no question that I would celebrate my beloved birthday with my BB (Best Bud) Anne Virrey who I was friends with since our tusok tusok the fishballs days!

One time I chatted with her pogi husband Jonahs and told him that I'll be treating them one weekend. I asked if they would like to have a couple's date in TGIFRIDAYS (our favorite when we were still in college) OR a meet-up with the kiddies at our other go-to place, KENNY ROGERS.

As expected, the Virreys chose to have a meet-up with the kiddies since the boys were all raring to play with each other. So yey! I love how even our kiddies are turning our to be BBs as well!!!

Another reason why I'm so thankful to be friends with the Virreys after all these crazy years. Looking forward to a million more years to come!

Woohooo!!!!

KENNY ROGERS ROASTERS!!!

DIAMOND HOTEL BIRTHDAY STAYCATION (PART TWO)

THE YAPPY BUNCH are in DIAMOND HOTEL for the first time for ERICJAZ FOODIES' birthday weekend staycation and as expected, we are having a blast!

We crashed the DIAMOND HOTEL pool for many hours!

CAFE ADRIATICO

I remember when I was still single (with no one to mingle) my family would have occasional lunches at CAFE ADRIATICO in its Greenhills branch. I always have fond memories of our meals there because the place had that classical old Manila ambience while the food was indeed something to go back to for.

Fast forward to decades later (ugh it's true) when I'm already married, with two kids, and having birthday staycations to appease the fact that I'm getting older. During our birthday weekend in DIAMOND HOTEL, the Chinese Dimpol and I were deciding where to have our Saturday dinner that we could dress up for. Of course, we're still on a budget so SPIRAL is out of the question, and we want someplace more special than our usual LAU CHAN when we're in the Manila area.

It was then that I suggested to go to CAFE ADRIATICO since I remembered my family's wonderful meals there. The Chinese Dimpol strongly agreed and stuck to my recommendation even if we saw other possible restaurants for us to try. Naks! I guess he trusted my family's good times!

And what a great dinner we had! We may have had other options to eat in Manila but we were all so happy for a chance to go down memory lane with the delicious food at CAFE ADRIATICO. I'm glad that my Yap guys were able to get a taste of why this cafe is so memorable to me. What makes it more special is that we were all treated to the Filipino/Spansh goodness that CAFE ADRIATICO is famous for during our birthday celebrations!

So Yipeeekeeyey! There is really nothing like food because not only does it make you reminisce about GOOD times, but it also taste so damn GOOD as well!

CAFE ADRIATICO in Malate Manila!

When I called to make reservations, the lady said I didn't really need to since they don't usually have a lot of diners.

When we got there, the place was packed that even their second floor area was full. See? Like I always say, better be safe than sorry!

DIAMOND HOTEL BIRTHDAY STAYCATION (PART ONE)

Last Christmas, the Chinese Dimpol and I received a GC from my sister for DIAMOND HOTEL. When we opened the envelope, both of us were like "Ding! Ding! Ding!" and got very excited to have another staycation with THE YAPPY BUNCH.

We decided to use the GC to celebrate our upcoming birthdays since we were only about 2 weeks apart. However on our intended date, the De Luxe Suite specified on our ancient GC was fully booked. Good thing that the DIAMOND HOTEL had new and renovated rooms available that we only needed to pay a minimum fee for the upgrade.

I'm glad that everything worked out in the end and THE YAPPY BUNCH will have another weekend of fun, food, and family, this time at THE DIAMOND HOTEL!

Happy Birthday to us!

DIAMOND HOTEL!

Their lobby!

It was actually our first time to check-in here so we were all pretty excited.

Even Manong guard was so happy and played peekaboo!

Kidding!

KIMPURA GREENBELT

I know that I have already made a GAZILLION entries about KIMPURA and how I loved celebrating my birthdays there. But I cannot help it. HERE IS ANOTHER ONE. And this time, for the first time, ERICJAZ FOODIES are in KIMPURA GREENBELT to celebrate ANOTHER birthday to treat my BGP (Best Gal Pal) to some of our favorite dishes there.

And how was it dining at KIMPURA at the other side of the Metro?

TOTAL BLISS. It still had the same delicious and unforgettable food that I have come to obsess with for many, many years!

KIMPURA GREENBELT!!

KIMPURA is located in the 4th floor of GREENBELT 5 right besides PEKING GARDEN.

OOMA JAPANESE RICE BAR

One of the unforgettable BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS that I had for 2016 was when Mareng Gail treated ERICJAZ FOODIES for dinner at my restaurant of choice. She asked me where I wanted to go and at first, I was thinking of my "usuals". In the end, I wanted to try something new so that I could also feature it in my ERICJAZ FOODIES blog.

Wow! Isn't my blog awesome? It really encouraged me to veer away from my usual water and vegetable diet.

Yeah. Water and vegetable diet... NOT.  Tee hee!

So I decided to go for OOMA since I remember an old couple coming up to me and the Chinese Adonis at a restaurant once and recommended it to us. Besides that, mareng Gail truly raved about it and declared that I would love OOMA because the food was absolutely delicious!

I'm happy that too that the Santillana's were able to join us since I remember how much they enjoyed the food at OOMA before. Plus, it's always fun whenever the PC (Pogi CEO) Albert and his CW (Charming Wife) Suet are around!

So wohoo! It's another HAPPY BIRTHDAY night for me at OOMA with my super cool foodie couple friends!!! I'm sure that it'll be another night of chattin, grubbin, "kodakin", plus much more!

And you know what? I was all soooo right!!!!!

OOMA JAPANESE RICE BAR!!!

Like what mareng Gail said, OOMA was packed that night! Good thing they were able to get a table immediately because usually there would a long wait.

MY ITALIANNI'S BIRTHDAY!

It's MY BOITHDAY week and my BGP (Best Gal Pal) Marian and Manong Fred invited ERICJAZ FOODIES out for dinner the night before I turn 31!!!

Okay! Fine! 41!!!! But some people say I don't look like a day over 30.

By SOME people, I haven't really found them yet. But I'm sure they're out there. Somewhere.

Anyway, it's great that I was able to get out of work early because we'll be meeting my favorite duo all to Greenbelt.

AND my restaurant of choice that night?

ITALIANNI'S RESTAURANT!!!!

MY LES MISERABLES DATE WITH MOMMY!

For many years now I have this tradition with my Mom that if there's a popular Broadway musical that will be shown in the Philippines, we will DEFINITELY watch it!

We have seen "Mamma Mia", "Wicked", "Rock of Ages", "Saturday Night Live", and "Phantom of the Opera" among others. And we still want MORE.

So you could just imagine MY eagerness when I got word that LES MISERABLES will be showing in Solaire!

Inangkupu!

To say that I love LES MISERABLES is an understatement. I am actually VERY OBSESSED with it! At work, I would listen to the 10th Anniversary concert (with Colm Wilkinson) while typing reports and I would sometimes choke up and cry at the touching lyrics. YES! IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DAY!!!! AT WORK!

I told my Mom that I will be treating her for LES MISERABLES and bought tickets (with the help of my friend Albert using his Visa card) as early as last year. I really rushed to get ahead and buy at the first week of ticket selling because I wanted to get the best possible seats for the section that is financially manageable for me (he he he he he).

And we were successful!  Wohoo!

I loved EVERY MINUTE of LES MISERABLES! Even if some of the songs were not done as the original, I was still floored by the whole show. It was indeed worth every peso and I would watch it again if given the chance.

Of course, the best part of watching LES MISERABLES is having my Mommy as my date. I really cherish the times when we have one-on-one night-outs but since there is a lot going on in our lives right now, we cannot do so as much as we wanted to. In fact, our LES MISERABLES date was in danger of being cancelled because my Mom is not used to be apart from my Dad's side! Good thing I pulled the "Nobody wants to buy your ticket!" spiel to my Mom so she had no choice but to go. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!

Oh well!

Bottom line is, we all had a great night and we had a much needed "Mommy-bunsoy" alone time.

And there is no other person I'd go "On My Own" with.

So. There.

Solaire Hotel!

We were early to watch LES MISERABLES!!!!!

MY 41ST BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS

I often see many quotes in Facebook how "Growing up sucks" or that "Becoming an adult is the worst mistake anyone could make". I mean yes, I do miss the fast metabolism, the energy, and the total lack of responsibility in the world, but really, GROWING UP IS FUN!

Yep! And if you FEEL old, then it's your fault!

I know I often make jokes about how I'm a decade younger. But the REAL reason I do that is because I love making people laugh and it's just hysterical seeing the expressions of those in the receiving end of the joke.  If you get to know the Jazzle Dazzle (aka ME), you'll discover how much I love hearing the guffaws of happy people (even at my expense).

SO! The truth of the matter is, I EMBRACE being 41! I have accepted that becoming older is part of the deal of my existence. I may give in to an occasional rant or two when the hormones of the month kick in, but I have accepted the mortality of my royal cuteness. I have just turned 41 this 2016 and I am proud of it!

But do I FEEL 41?? HELL NO.

I don't really know if it's a good thing or a bad thing but I don't feel like I'm ever growing up. Up to now I'm still crazy and I never stop making jokes. I thought when I was little, by the time I reach 41, I would become this lady-like Mommy who would speak softly and bake pies everyday. Instead, I'm this weird Mommy (boys said so) who would make voices and I do prank calls! The only thing true is that yes, I do bake pies. But not everyday.

The great thing about being 41 is, NOW I have my own money to spend, NOW I'm in my dream job, NOW I get to chat with my favorites Tito, Vic, and Joey, NOW I know how to put on make-up, NOW I still have my family (and some of the bossy ones have moved out of our house... tee hee), NOW I only surround myself with great friends, NOW I'm not afraid of boys, NOW I don't care about what people think, NOW I'm not a Star Wars geek (for some reason it's fashionable now compared to when I was ogling over Luke when I was in grade school), NOW I don't have to attend school and study for exams, NOW I don't have a curfew, NOW I don't care about what people think of me, NOW I could make all the weird, green, corny jokes that I want, NOW I could tell if a person is lying or not, NOW I have bigger boobs (from fat),

AND the "bestest" of them all...

NOW I have my little lords, AND NOW, I have a boyfriend / husband / driver (sweet lover) / bodyguard for life!

See? Isn't being 41 grand???  And honestly, if you ask me, I don't think I have fully grown up yet. Although, one of my wishes when I was a kid was that when I grow up, I want to be very happy.

And, even with all the imperfections that life could sometimes give, I could say that I am still happy.

So with that, what else do I want when I grow up?

I'll just think about it when I'm near it.

:)

Oh! Oh! It would never hurt to have bigger boobs and a smaller forehead though.

Tee heee!!!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!!!

My 2016 BIRTHDAY kicked off with BGP Marian and Manong Fred! They treated us to ITALIANNIS (my choice of restaurant) for my "birthday salubong".

We always love going out with our best friends because we ALWAYS have the best of times!

MARIANNE AND RAM'S WEDDING - TAGAYTAY HIGHLANDS

We were in TAGAYTAY HIGHLANDS to attend the wedding of Ram to Marianne, the daughter of my officemate/friend, Tita Florie! We were really going to travel to Tagaytay that Sunday to attend the blessed celebration but, my dear friend amped up her generous level once more and treated us to a whole weekend staycation as her birthday gift to me.

YOWZAAA!!!!!!

So after an AWESOME overnight stay at TAGAYTAY HIGHLANDS, we scrubbed ourselves and dressed up to attend the wedding of 2 people who are so in love with each other that they literally traveled thousands and thousands of miles to share that to mankind. And of course, I was also very happy for my friend Tita Flory for being blessed with a daughter who will be having her own "happily ever after." Aba! That's a big deal for a parent right??? To know that your daughter is extremely happy and will be taken cared for, for the rest of her life is DEFINITELY every Mom's joy!!

Now let's bask in a night filled with happiness, love, joy, laughs, and of course, DELICIOUS FOOD, in this TAGAYTAY HIGHLANDS WEDDING!!!!

Congratulations Ram and Marianne!!!!!!

THE YAPPY BUNCH are all suited up for this TAGAYTAY HIGHLANDS WEDDING!

When we arrived in the venue for the wedding ceremony, I immediately fell in love with the lovely set up of silver chairs, elegant flowers, and soft colors around. This is like something we see in an American movie!

Of course, it helps that you got this picturesque view of some volcano as backdrop!

GRINGO (CHICKEN / RIBS / FRIENDS)

The Chinese Dimpol and I just had a date where we had a very heavy dinner.  But when we got home, THIS greeted us!

GRINGO!!!!!!!!!

Wait a minute. I see air holes. I hope it's not a cat or doggie named GRINGO. 

Tee hee!

Whew! Now that's a sigh of relief!

Believe me when I say that...

THIS IS EXCITING!!!

Yes! Other people may be giddy with shopping or subscription deliveries. As for me, I always get so hyped up when there's an "unannounced" food waiting for me at the table.

WOHOO!

MCDONALD'S KIDDIE CREW

Let me start this post with my favorite quote by Bugs Bunny that I always cry out at the end of every school year...

"No more classes! No more books! No more teacher's dirty looks!"

Yes! It's here! The season that children and parents wait for all year....

SUMMER VACATION!!!!

Of course it's understandable that for the kids, the end of school means the start of all things fun. My master Mati would go as far as to shout "FREEDOM! FREEDOM!" with so much damning emotion.

As for me and the Yubhub, we are ALWAYS looking forward to summer vacation because it would also mean that we don't have to wake up at the ungodly hour of 5:30am to get the little lords ready for school. Also, we don't have to rush home to help them with their studies. So yes, no school means we could stay up late (watching dibidis or going out on date nights), AND THE YAPPY BUNCH could now make plans on a weekday.

Oh Yipeeee skip!

Of course, as much as we all are planning to have awesome fun this summer, the Chinese Adonis and I want the little lords to learn something as well. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for kids being kids during their vacation and I'm not going to lock them up in summer schools just so that they could be "out of the way". But they should also have to do something worthwhile even if it's just for half of the summer. The Chinese Adonis and I were looking for certain activities that would not only get them learning on that thing they call "life" but we also want them to have crazy fun. The little lords would regularly do basketball and football camp, they have already tried musical theatre in Trumpets, PLUS, they would always help out in the family business for a salary. But there is also this one summer thing that they have been doing for 5 years that has given them a lot of fun, food, cool stuff, and discipline ---  the MCDONALD'S KIDDIE CREW.

From a parent's point of view, if there's one word I could describe the MCDONALD'S KIDDIE CREW, it is SULIT. Why? Because for the 5 day activity you only have to pay P650.00 to get the MCDONALD'S t-shirt, bag, apron, chef's hat, crew cap, plus snacks! Not only that, your kiddie will get to experience how it is to have a "job" at a fast food chain.

Now believe me, for your little ones who are raring to grow up, this will be something VERY unforgettable for them!

The age range to be part of the crew is from 6 to 12 years old. There are some chains though that allow younger participants provided that they have somebody look after them during sessions. It's just too bad that Mati is already too tall for the MCDONALD'S KIDDIE CREW and we cannot have Andrei do it alone since we always want them to do summer activities together. So I guess 2015 was their last year doing the crew but it was definitely a great experience for all of us.

Check out the fun that the little lords had being part of the MCDONALD'S KIDDIE CREW and why they did it for 5 years!!! 

MCDONALD'S KIDDIE CREW 2015!!!!!

OUR HOLY WEEK IN CAVITE 2016 (PART TWO)

THE YAPPY BUNCH was in Maragondon, Cavite for Holy Week. And, like how my family has been doing for the past 36 years, we were fulfilling our religious tradition of setting up our "Santos" for the procession for two nights. 

THE YAPPY BUNCH!

It's Friday and my family our "karo" was already finished and participated in the procession the night before. It will be rolled out again tonight along with the other "Santos" from other families.

THE YAPPY BUNCH started the morning with going to different churches, visiting a hanging bridge, then playing basketball at an empty court. It was a VERY hot day so it's only elementary that we'll be going home SO thirsty and hungry.

CALDERON AND GUEVARRA (GOURMET CARINDERIA)

If it is not obvious enough, you could tell how the Chinese Dimpol and I are trying to be VERY "practical" in our date nights. Sure there will be occasional splurges here and there but most of the time, we are saving so that we could have staycations and trippings with the little lords.

That's why when we are faced with a restaurant that would give us bang for our buck, we would sometimes go on our knees and scream "Hallelujah" with so much passion and fury.

Okay fine. We won't really do THAT but we will DEFINITELY be thinking and feeling it.

HOWEVER, after our first bite of the dishes from CALDERON AND GUEVARRA (GOURMET CARINDERIA), we experienced a sort of epiphany: the restaurant may be in a very simple but busy area in Pasig that did not  have air conditioning, but the food was just GLORIOUS. We couldn't fathom how THIS was possible!!!

I was really stopping myself from shrieking, "YES!" like Meg Ryan did in "When Harry Met Sally". But really, you could actually get scrumptious food here that may rival the pricier and more popular establishments here in the Metro.

"WALANG HIMALA!!!!"

CALDERON AND GUEVARRA (GOURMET CARINDERIA) will DEFINITELY give you A WHOLE LOTTA BANG for your peso!!!!!

"HALLELUJAH!!!!!!!!"

Sorry. Food ALWAYS do that to me.

CALDERON AND GUEVARRA GOURMET KARINDERIA!

CALDERON AND GUEVARRA is located within the small streets of  Bagong Ilog at Pasig City. You might even wonder how a restaurant could survive in the area. But when you see the facade of the restaurant, you would suddenly feel that you got transported to someplace very familiar, AND homey!

 Please don't confuse it with CALDERON in Barrio Kapitolyo! They totally serve different types of cuisines!

OUR HOLY WEEK IN CAVITE 2016 (PART ONE)

For the past 36 years, my Gatdula family has been spending Holy Week in my Dad's hometown in Maragondon, Cavite. It has already been a tradition for us that we cannot EVER be absent even if we are busy saving the world or something. The main reason we go there is because we fix up our statues of Jesus and Simon for the holy procession. I've been doing so with my family since I was 5 years old and it has already been our religious vow to do so every year.
And SOON, we're going to pass the tradition to the little lords.

For now though, it will be another family bonding for THE YAPPY BUNCH.

Yohooo! 

We're going to Cavite!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We were supposed to drive to Cavite on Wednesday night. But I got home late from work so it was Thursday morning travel for us. 

SPANISH INVASION AT THE DIAMOND HOTEL!

In celebration of their MADRID FUSION MANILA 2016, THE CORNICHE at the DIAMOND HOTEL will be serving up "Fiesta de Sabores Espanoles" cooked up by their guest chef Edgard Sanuy Barahona. This mouth-watering festival of hot and colorful Spanish food will only run from April 4 to 10, 2016, and as luck would have it, ERICJAZ FOODIES was invited to bask in its sumptuous glory!

Photo from DIAMOND HOTEL PHILIPPINES Facebook page.

There will DEFINITELY be a festival in my tummy tonight!

Here we are entering the brightly colored archways of THE CORNICHE and anticipating the gastronomic night ahead.

The Chinese Dimpol and I were actually a bit full from munching junk food the whole day but we were raring to dig in to these hot platters of Spanish goodies!

THE HIGHLANDER STEAKHOUSE (TAGAYTAY HIGHLANDS)

THE YAPPY BUNCH were having the most "awesomest", "bestest", "funnest", and..... GREATEST (oops now that's a real word.. he he he he!) time at my birthday staycation treat in TAGAYTAY HIGHLANDS!

Yes! We had so much fun that redundancy and word invention was in order (well except for "greatest").

So we had an awesome Saturday and we were having uber fun on Sunday. But then we got this GREAT offer by Tita Flory (my officemate who generously gifted us with this birthday staycation) to have lunch in HIGHLANDER STEAKHOUSE, her treat!!!!!

At first I was hesitant because she had given so much already to my family. But she insisted saying how her family had such a delicious dinner the night before. With that we gratefully agreed and happily trooped over to THE HIGHLANDER STEAKHOUSE.

Oh wow! Steak is just "perfectest" every time!!!!!!!

Tee hee!  

THE HIGHLANDER STEAKHOUSE!!!!

Even if we had been going around TAGAYTAY HIGHLANDS the whole morning, we were still pretty full from the buffet breakfast at THE GOLFER'S LOUNGE. Still, we were so curious as to how the much raved about steakhouse in Tagaytay fared that we'll try just a wee bit of its dishes!