OF JOHN WICK 3 AND UMA UMA RAMEN

It was a very busy Saturday for us but even though our schedule was jampacked, we still have the eye on the prize.

Yup! We have a date with JOHN WICK!!!!

We have been following the series of this loner ex-assassin ever since his Baddie Buddies came out (Robert Mccall "The Equalizer, Jack Reacher, Bryan Mills "Taken", Frank Castle "The Punisher", etc). Though I personally feel that the others could take him, I would still go for John Wick more because, well, I love Keanu Reeves!

I'm happy too that Master Mati is also obsessed with JOHN WICK because movie nights are more enjoyable with him.

So for that night, we turned down invites from friends, we three have a date with JOHN WICK!

And it's surely going to be a WOOOAHHH night!!!!

We'll be watching JOHN WICK later and it's just fitting that before that epic movie, we'll be attending Master Mati's KALI practice.

PARADISE DYNASTY WITH THE FAMILY (2019)

It's my parents 51st wedding anniversary and though my Daddyowzers is in heaven already (huhuhu...) I still feel that we should go out and celebrate it. Of course, my Mom said she's fine at home but since THE YAPPY BUNCH came from a staycation, we should at least go out and treat my Mom in honor of her Anniversary with my Daddy (RIP).

For tonight, our choice was in PARADISE DYNASTY. Because of course, special occasions like this call for "sureball" deeeeelicious dishes! 

PARADISE DYNASTY!!!!

On weekends, reservations are recommended in PARADISE DYNASTY.

JIN JOO KOREAN GRILL AGAIN (2019)

We were having my 44th... este... 34th birthday celebrations and my favorite foodie family of THE FOOD ALPHABET invited us to have a Korean lunch.

Me (with pa-pouty pouty effect): Wag na mare, nakakahiya!!!!!!

Mareng THE FOOD ALPHABET: No mare, birthday celebration namin ito for you.

Me: Mare are you sure???

Mareng THE FOOD ALPHABET: Oo naman. Tara na mare sa Saturday.

Me (kunwari  nagiisip pero decided na talaga): Hmmmm.... SIGE NA NGA!!!! Sure ka ha??? (Pahabol... he he he he)

Honestly though, as embarrassed as I was with THE FOOD ALPHABET family, I always have a great time with them that whenever there's an opportunity to meet up, we go. Great thing too that they invited us to go to JIN JOO KOREAN GRILL -- I had a delicious dinner there with my HS school friend before that it was indeed high time for a part two.

Tapos just in time for my 44th... este... 34th birthday celebrations pa!!!

BAWAL DIET. He he he he he!

JIN JOO KOREAN GRILL!!!!

JIN JOO KOREAN GRILL (PODIUM)

My friend from High School, Virginia, invited me and the Yub out for dinner one time and when the venue was discussed, there became the usual "tennis tournament" on where to go:

"You pick."
"No, you pick."
"Ikaw na."
"No, you na. Ikaw mag-treat e."
"Ano crave mo?"
"Wala pa naman. What about you?"
"Kahit ano fine with me."
"Me also. Whatever's fine."
"Pero ikaw na mag-pick."
"No, you pick."

And so on and so forth.

To put an end to it all, I asked Virginia what is her favorite restaurant in The Podium, she gave out two choices. I have already tried the first one, as for the second, hmmmm.... Interesting.

JIN JOO KOREAN GRILL!

I haven't eaten at JIN JOO and I saw that there were some pretty good reviews online. Secretly, I was really glad that she gave out this option because well, I could never have enough Korean grub, AND this is a restaurant in Podium that I've also been wanting to try.

JIN JOO LOVE!!!

Corny.

I bet you didn't get the reference from the ka-cornihan.

:P

(Actually, even I have forgotten what my joke was when I was writing this. Yes. Ganon sya ka-corny. -- Jaz) 

JIN JOO KOREAN GRILL!!!!

PARADISE DYNASTY AGAIN

THE YAPPY BUNCH are going to a beach getaway with some friends one weekend that we decided to give ourselves a little Despidida Party with our family.

ANG OA NO PADESPIDIDA-DESPEDIDA PA E OVERNIGHT LANG???

Ah eh.... So anyway we invited my family and our aunts and treated them to the restaurant where we recently had dinner and loved...

PARADISE DYNASTY!

As expected, PARADISE DYNASTY was full that Friday. Good thing we made reservations because we know how popular this restaurant is.

NIU BY VIKINGS (PODIUM)

It was a Friday and the Yub and I were particularly excited because not only was Monday a holiday ("Yipeee!!!") but we were also officially starting the long weekend with a date that we're both so looking forward to.....

We're going to have dinner at NIU!!!!!!

The fine dining buffet version of VIKINGS just opened their second branch in Ortigas Center.... The Podium!!!!!

PARADISE DYNASTY (PODIUM)

I have been hearing a lot of raves about this new restaurant in the Metro that I was overly curious to check it out. At first, I learned that their only branch was located at MOA ("Inangkupushness!! So far away from the mental institution where I lived), but still, for good food, I was willing to travel far and wide.

Good thing PARADISE DYNASTY opened a branch in Podium at Ortigas that it made my tummy do the Hallelujahs. This was so much nearer my homebase!!! Now I don't have to suffer from Manila traffic just to be able to taste their best sellers.

Great thing too that for the birthday of THE FOOD ALPHABET, our venue for the night was PARADISE DYNASTY. Aba... aba.... This was meant to be!! The food gods really want my appetite and their dishes to come together and get it on!!

Check out our dinner that's written in the stars (naks) in PARADISE DYNASTY. 

PARADISE DYNASTY with my foodie friends!

Woah.... This restaurant features the "Legend of Xiao Long Bao."

Now this made me uber curious of this Chinese specialty! Parang alamat ang dating e. He he he he he!

NEW BOMBAY WITH HIGH SCHOOL FRIENDS

Normally, the Yubhub is fine with everything when choosing restaurants for our date nights. He may be a picky eater, but he would still find something that he'd enjoy from the menu. Indian Food however, is where he draws the line. Of course, he'll tell me it's okay if we eat there but he'll just buy his food somewhere else. Even if he's fine with it, I know that I'm not that evil. Well, not yet. So I would just shove aside my cravings for another day.

Good thing that when some of my High School friends and I decided to meet up, they shared the same dietary cravings as I do and agreed to go to NEW BOMBAY!!!! Yeheeeeeey! FINALLY!!!! We've actually been planning this meet up for months and I'm excited that it's actually going to push through.

And in the restaurant that I've been wanting to go to, no less!!!!!

Check out my dinner date with my High School friends at the New Bombay -- the restaurant that my picky hubby wouldn't eat in. 

But that doesn't mean, he wouldn't take me there. He he he he he he!

Yep! I used to call him my Chinese stalker. He he he he he!

Yay! We're in NEW BOMBAY!

GINO'S BRICK OVEN PIZZA

Sometime last year, my favorite BP GROUP got together for a "family play date"!

Andrei was going to have  birthday party that month and since THE NAVARROS cannot make it due to a prior commitment, Mareng Gem made up for it with a KIDSVILLE treat for ALL of the kids!!!

Wow! Thanks dear Gem!

Of course, after an hour's worth of play for the kids (and chika for us in CINNABON), we were all hungry! We decided to try out the restaurant I see in a lot of blogger reviews.

SANTA CLAUS AND CINNABON

After another fun staycation at F1 HOTEL MANILA, we headed to Podium to meet with my gorgeous BP Group. You see, my little lord Andrei will soon be having a Mcdonald's birthday party and since Mareng Gem cannot make it as she had a wedding to attend to, she generously promised to treat all of the kiddies for a 1 hour playtime in Kidsville! Wopeee! Even if we're supposedly tired and there was school the next day, everyone in THE YAPPY BUNCH was looking forward to it! Well, Kidsville WAS actually the happiest place on earth (or Ortigas) at the moment for my kiddies and they were so excited to see their friends. So really, there was no discussion there to what would most most likely be, another crazy session.

So after depositing our tiny masters in Kidsville, what to do? We all wanted to just sit down over a cup of hot coffee and chat since it is what we are best at. But then, it seemed like Podium was asking for it by having a Christmas display at the mall events area. We went there and became our usual silly selves that gave our kids ample reason to be embarrassed.

Good thing they were not there! He he he he he he!

We saw Santa Claus sitting all by his lonesome at his red chair so we all went there to cheer him up a little. 

Yub and I had a picture with him first.

Of course, when it's ERICJAZ FOODIES, a wacky shot was ALWAYS in order.

Santa seem to be getting all festive up inside when 5 ladies flocked around him.

CAFE BRETON

Just in case you're wondering how ERICJAZ FOODIES manage our "imaginary" social life, would you believe we  have this "forever habit" that we are  following right now? I'm not sure if it is a good thing or a bad thing but I have these bits of OC tendencies that I have etched in stone. One of them is how I have made up this "social" schedule to keep in touch with everyone who is special in my life. Yup. I have a schedule. It may be weird but it does help me stick true to it.

Unless there is no special occasion (like birthdays, anniversaries, or BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH inviting me out for dinner), this is usually ERICJAZ FOODIES schedule:

1) Mondays to Thursdays -- we don't go out since we usually stay with the little lords when there's school the next day. Sometimes though we sneak in a blogger meet up but that's limited to just once or twice a month at the most.

2) Fridays - meet up with Couple Friends. Yup! We love meeting up with other "Teams" over dinner and sometimes we bring along the kiddies.

3) Saturday Night - ALWAYS date night with my Chinese Adonis. We agreed that we wouldn't meet up with other people  here because we want it to be just US. My husband is not my default date just because I don't have plans with friends. For many years now, we have made it sacred that every Saturday night is reserved just for each other!

4) Sunday Morning - Mass and breakfast with THE YAPPY BUNCH!

5) Sunday Lunch - Lunch with my family.

6) Sunday Night - Early dinner with either family or friends.

Weird? Well at least you'll be thankful you'll only get to see US just once a week. Ha ha ha ha!

Another OC tendency for me? I love meeting with couple friends now. I don't know. I'm not really one to make late night outs with just the girls. Though we do allow the other to go out and have fun with our other friends, we both choose to still go out together. Too much co-depency? Maybe! He's my driver sweet lover, while I'm the one who makes him laugh always. He he he he! Oh well!

So for Friday night, our schedule was to meet with couple friends, and that time it was the BP Group. I got out of the office late so I missed having dinner with them but at least, I was still able to catch up for chika AND dessert.

Venue that late night out was at CAFE BRETON, our usual hang out at Podium since it's near Ann's office. Yes. I may be bummed about missing dinner, but I was consoled with the fact that our "couple gossip" will be joined by coffee and crepes.

Yuuummmm! Nothing like delicious coffee and crepes to make my weird way of thinking go into a frenzy!

CAFE BRETON!

It was a good thing that CAFE BRETON closed at 12:00 midnight on weekends. We got to Podium around 10:00pm already due to the horrible Metro Manila traffic!

GLORIA MARIS DINNER

Do you want to know how pathetic I am?

These photos were actually taken last year during my aunts' visit from the US and I'm doing it just now. The reason I'm posting it today? Well for one, I wanted to take a break from all that "YAPPY BUNCH does the US" blog posts (I'm sure you are getting nauseous from all the pictures too, but don't worry, MORE will come :P). The other REAL reason is that I remembered it was my older sis who treated us in GLORIA MARIS and I think it's high time for her to treat us (aka me) again via this blog post.

Yes that's me. I could be subtle and straightforward at the same time!

Before you judge me, come on! This treat has been over a year already. AND, not counting MY birthday, HER birthday, gifts for the boys, movie dates with Mati, Mother's day gifts for me, Father's Day gifts for Eric, AND Starbucks treats when I demand for it, my sister hasn't treated us (aka me) to anything this year! What gives???

So again. This is me SUBTLY reminding my sister that we had so much fun with the family with her dinner treat last year in GLORIA MARIS. It wouldn't hurt to dig into her generous heart once more and treat the family (or just me) again.

Told you I was pathetic. He he he he!

GLORIA MARIS!

We had dinner at GLORIA MARIS Podium on a weekday so the place was not as crowded as I expected it to be. 

BANANA LEAF

BANANA LEAF CURRY has always been one of our usual choices when we want to indulge in delicious Asian food that is not heavy in our pockets. What was not to love about it? The servings were good for sharing while the food was cooked to suit our simple but ALWAYS hungry taste. So when we went out with friends to celebrate the Chinese Adonis' birthday for his usual week long celebration, it was no wonder that the leading contender  for our meet up was our "usual" BANANA LEAF CURRY!

And as USUAL, it was a night for us and our tummies to remember!

BANANA LEAF!

When I meet with my "Pretty Mommies" group, we always have it in PODIUM since it closes late (10:00pm) even during on weekdays. 

WILDFLOUR CAFE

It was a rainy Wednesday morning and we do not have work since it was a holiday. However, due to typhoon Maring, classes and some offices were suspended so it's not really a REAL holiday for us.

You know the feeling when you have no classes on a particular day and you wait for it all month long then when it finally comes you get fever that you won't really be going to classes if there was? Kind of makes you wish that you had fever at ANOTHER time. He he he!

Well that's what we sort of felt that day.  But of course there were more important/serious matters to think about on August 21, 2013 but this is just me and my useless musings. Ha ha ha ha!

Anyway, normally it would be bed weather for me and the Yubhub where we will be lazy up to 10:00am (kids? What kids???) but there was a premise of trying out a restaurant which has been the talk of the town for sometime now. WILDFLOUR CAFE! So most definitely we were up and ready to go to Podium for another fun meal with foodie friends!

Bath? What bath? 

Kidding! Ha ha ha!

Or am I?

WILDFLOUR CAFE!