ARISTOCRAT WITH THE FAMILY (2019)

My Lolo recently received an award for his efforts in pioneering/promoting our religion in the Cavite area and it's a good thing that my titas, Daddy's sisters, were here from the US to attend the event. They were actually in the Philippines to visit my Dad for all Soul's day so it was a delightful surprise that our Lolo, their Dad, will be given such recognition by our church the same time they're here.

Of course, my family will be more than happy to receive the award but knowing how proud my titas are of their tatay, I know that they wouldn't want to miss it for the world!

I wonder if my Dad had a "hand" in arranging this so that they could be here? He he he he he!

So for that night, my titas wished to eat/celebrate in their favorite ARISTOCRAT after the event. The ceremony will take place in one of the theatres in CCP and would probably finish by about 8pm. It was a by-invitation only (if we wanted to watch, we have to pay P1,000.00... ay!) that my Mom said they'll just be the ones to attend and we could just meet them at ARISTOCRAT for dinner.

Syempre, masunurin kaming mga bata. Ha ha ha ha ha!!!!!

Of course, we're more than happy to wait in ARISTOCRAT because we loved the food there.

I'm sure my Mom wouldn't mind if we start eating already though.

Tee to the Hee! 

ARISTOCRAT!!!!!

ARISTOCRAT AGAIN (2018)

We were having Andrei's 2018 birthday celebrations and one of his wishes was to go to Star City with his best guy pal, Paolo. We invited my BGP Mariane to join us and as expected, she agreed to come because she loved us (he he he he he).

As much as we loved the indoor setting of Star City, we wanted to be there super early because the crowds come in as the hours go by. So since the opening that day was at 2:00pm, we wanted to be right there as soon as they start letting ticket-holders in. With that, we decided that it's best to meet somewhere earlier and have lunch at the same time.

Now where to go???

There were A LOT of restaurants near Star City around the CCP Complex or along Roxas Boulevard that would be perfect for a birthday getogether. In fact, if we were feeling adventurous and extra celebratory, we would go somewhere that we haven't eaten before.

BUT, we were with our best friends. And I know that with them, we don't need to go anywhere flashy, expensive, or earth-shattering to have a great time. Truth be told, we could all just stay at home, order chicken, then chat away (with all our feet up) and still have an awesome day.

I guess, they were feeling the same because when I asked where we should go, BGP Mariane and Manong Fred suggested to have lunch in the restaurant that felt like home for them -- ARISTOCRAT. Don't get me wrong, these two could eat ANYWHERE that they wanted to, BUT like the people who could go everywhere, they chose their real favorites for special occasions.

And I super agree with them.

So ARISTOCRAT it is. And as expected, we had a super fun and delicious lunch to celebrate my bunsoys birthday.

Just the way we wanted.

:P 

ARISTOCRAT!!!!

ARISTOCRAT had the usual large crowd that day so it's a good thing that our group was able to get a table agad.

ARISTOCRAT AND SWAN LAKE

Sometime last year, we thought of watching SWAN LAKE because we remembered how much we loved it when we saw the show decades ago with my Dad at the CCP. The swan of the night then was prima ballerina Lisa Macuja and even now that I'm 32 (ahem) I would never forget the way her arms swayed smoothly like that of a swans. Ang ganda talaga!

For the SWAN LAKE we're going to watch in Aliw Theatre, Lisa Macuja was not going to play the prestigious Giselle role but she will be there as the Queen mother. At least she was still part of the ballet and I was curious how her protegee would handle it.

Of course, whenever we watch a show, we would always go for dinner afterwards no matter how late it was. Though I'm not too keen on afternoon shows, it at least insured that we would be having an earlier dinner. So hooray for that. I know it's medyo mababaw but I always get a bit excited whenever we have "theatrical night outs" where you have the complete "package" of a show and dinner. He he he he he he he!

Check out our fun SWAN LAKE show and ARISTOCRAT dinner. As I am writing this, I suddenly had the craving to watch another ballet show AND have dinner.

Yup! Let's not forget the latter. He he he he he he! 

Yohoo! We're going to watch SWAN LAKE!

ARISTOCRAT WITH THE BP GROUP

When my friends and I recently had a MANILA DAY with our families, we decided to go all the way and have Filipino food for lunch.

And that's how THE YAPPY BUNCH came again to ARISTOCRAT.

ARISTOCRAT RESTAURANT since 1936!!!

THE YAPPY BUNCH had our INDEPENDENCE DAY lunch in this ARISTOCRAT branch 2 years ago and it was great to be back with our friends in celebration of the holiday.

ARISTOCRAT in Malate was packed that day but it was a good thing that they opened their function rooms for us hungry customers!

OUR INDEPENDENCE DAY CELEBRATION FOR 2015

      

 

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY PHILIPPINES FROM ERICJAZ FOODIES AND THE LITTLE LORDS!

Every year THE YAPPY BUNCH goes out on a Manila day tour to celebrate the Philippine Independence Holiday. Although we usually schedule regular outings in the area to check out the museums or tourist spots, it's nice that we have a marked day every year to always do so, lest we forget. It's actually a pretty fun tradition and I hope that it's something my boys and I do till they have their own families.

Here we are last 2013... 

and last year in 2014...

This year, I invited my BP Group to join in on the fun and experience this nationalistic tradition that we have come to really enjoy and love. 

The result? 

CRAZY loads of fun with our Filipino history!!!! The Katipuneros of yesteryears would have been a bit proud. 

Read on and check out our annual ERICJAZ FOODIES INDEPENDENCE DAY celebration! 

ARISTOCRAT (AGAIN)

In the Saturdays that Andrei was having basketball clinic at the ungodly hour of 7:00am in the morning (yup, that's ungodly to me), my only motivation in tearing myself away from my comfy bed is the premise of having a delicious hot breakfast. 

Wait... Of course, ANOTHER reason is to watch Andrei play basketball. Yes that's it. Surely. Tee heee....

One morning, to the delight of everyone, my Mom and Tita Meldy agreed to join us and watch Andrei in training. This made my little "Michael Jordan" more excited because he has been asking for many days when his lola could go with us and today was finally the day. So you could say that it was enough reason to have a mini celebration when the 2 special ladies forgot about their usual brisk walking around Powerplant Mall to join us that Saturday. We were supposed to go to KANTO FREESTYLE BREAKFAST but as expected, it was jampacked with no seats available. My aunt then asked if we could go to ARISTOCRAT since she has been craving for it ever since she came home for the holidays from the US.  We all agreed since ARISTOCRAT never fails to satisfy is with their juicy barbecues and affordable meals.

Yep! And THAT is worth getting out of bed for me too!

Andrei's basketball clinic in school!!

Yub and I also took the opportunity to do some exercise while Andrei was playing. So yes you could say that those beads of sweat at my brow were real. He he he he!

Tita Meldy and Mom joined us and was able to watch Andrei do his thing.

After Andrei's grueling working (I also had a hard time sitting down), we then proceeded to ARISTOCRAT for breakfast.

ARISTOCRAT has been serving the Filipino diners since 1936 and for me it has become somewhat of an grub institution already for us.

ARISTOCRAT

I don't really know if you could call it epic parenting or passing on sappy but one thing is for sure, when there is a special occasion, we celebrate it the TEAM YAP way!

So for last June 12, 2013, wherein the country rejoiced for the Philippine's Indepence Day, EricJaz Foodies with the kids decided to have a Manila Day by touring some of our historic hot spots.

And yes, we added an extra notch in the fun level by wearing matching Philippines Shirts! HA!

Here's Team Yap doing our usual L-O-V-E stand by Philippine hero Lapu Lapu... He he he he!

Yes we always do that pose where ever we go.

Anyway, I might do a blog post on our Manila day soon but for now, let me tell you about our delicious Filipino meal at one of our all time favorites...

ARISTOCRAT!

And yes, ARISTOCRAT has been with us since 1936!