breakfast date

We may not exactly be morning persons, but D and I love a good breakfast buffet :) Took advantage of the non-working holiday to have a hearty breakfast at HEAT. Highlights included the native chocolate with marshmallows, the yummy strawberry and peaches drink, and of course, the company ;) I kind of love watching how people take their breakfast. The business suit people are done in one round, quick bites of this and that, a gulp of coffee and they're off. Some pile their plates with fruits. Others just eat muesli, cereal, and yogurt. Just fun mindless observations :)

achiote and chef's table

My weekend was full of food. Yikes.

On Saturday, had dinner with the family and extended family at Casa Filipino in QC. Lines were long but ironically, the food was just so-so. I liked the pan de sal and spicy sardines and halo halo served in shot glasses. Aside from that, the food was quite unmemorable. I heard the squid was good though.

On Sunday, D and I trekked to Rockwell where we had lunch at Achiote, the new Mexican restaurant. I liked their guacamole dip - the taste of avocados smooth with a hint of tart citrus flavor. The mushroom quesadillas paired quite nicely with the simple green salad tossed in vinaigrette - the tart vinaigrette blending quite nicely with the rich cheesy goodness of the quesadilla and grilled mushrooms. We also ordered a vegetarian burrito, which didn't quite meet my expectations. The rice was a bit bland and the flavors didn't really infuse. I've had a better burrito at B&T - rich in ingredients and with flavorful rice.

For dinner, we headed off to Chef's Table to use our Deal Grocer coupons. Dinner consisted of Tomato Halaan Soup (served hot, this was soothing and yummy), a salad (nothing special), Calamansi Tuyo Spaghetti (this was an interesting take on spaghetti, with the calamansi flavors combining with the salty tuyo and cheese. Worth trying but I don't think I'd order it again. Not a big fan of tuyo), Chill-a-Fino (this was awesome. Lapu lapu fillet served on a bed of mashed ube. Interesting combination but it worked well. I'd order this again. Light and filling at the same time), and Buko Pie Martini for dessert (This was yummmmy! Each bite is filled with liquid coconut goodness. It's just the right amount of sweet and it's served warm, which brings about thoughts of good ol' comfort food.).

Over all, we enjoyed our dinner at Chef's Table. The interiors are nicely done and the service is attentive but unobstrusive.

D introduced a new Android game to me - Bag It. Quite addicting :)

Mr. Imperfect

This article had me nodding along as I read it :)
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One day I hope to meet an imperfect man who will seem perfect to me from time to time.

He will not be the best I have ever met, but he will be great when I need him to be. He will hold my hand when we cross the street and make sure I stay on the safe side of the road. He will kiss me goodnight before I go to sleep, and he will kiss me torridly when I don’t want to sleep. He will wake me up with a pat on my leg and once in a while surprise me with breakfast in bed. He will argue with me, taunt me, frustrate me, but he will also let me win without having to tell me.

He will cradle me when I need to be babied, respect me when I need to feel big, and scold me when I make a big mistake. He will sing to me when quiet makes me lonely, and remain quiet when noise makes me mad. He will not always read me correctly, but he will always make his best guess. His timing will often be off when calculating my moods, but when he does find that perfect moment, he will make it one that I will never forget.

He will touch me when my heart is cold and cool me down when my head is hot. He will see through my Tupperware expressions and detect my tears before they fall. He will understand many things I am saying with my eyes, but sometimes he will pretend he doesn’t see them at all. He will hurt me time and again, but he will ask to be forgiven just as often. He will lose his temper because he is human, but he will always strive to become a better man.

He will falter and fall and make mistakes, but he will also rise above himself. He will hold open a door for me, although sometimes he will forget. He will order me around, but will bow when I resist. He will take me to a bar, dance with me, go wild with me, but he will also escort me to the theater to watch a play he never really wanted to see.

He will go shopping with me, but he will roll his eyes only when I am inside the fitting room, not when I can see him. He will stand by me at the cosmetics corner, and pretend he’s not bothered by the shade of purple I am trying on. He will laugh at me, not just with me, to remind me not to take myself too seriously.

He will tell me the whole truth when I am ready for it, but he will be ready with his half-truths when that’s what I should hear. He will make me realize that I need him, but only up to half as much as he needs me. He will make me admit that I want him, but only after he professes how he feels about me. He will bring out the best and the worst in me, but he will stick with me always.

One day I will meet an imperfect man. He will love me, and I will love him wholeheartedly.

Source: http://opinion.inquirer.net/17713/mr-imperfect

lovely

My cousin got married today. It was a beautiful event. The flower bouquets and arrangements were especially beautiful. Onsite photo avp was done by Red Fox photography. Pretty unique takes on photos. This is the song they used in the avp. It's such a peaceful and meaningful song :)

Little Mermaid

Today was one of my more laidback Saturdays.
Watched Little Mermaid with D and Zel. I loved the set and the costumes. They were so colorful, and the glow-in-the-dark effect accentuated the scenes perfectly. It was nice hearing the old Little Mermaid songs sung on the stage. Rachelle Ann Go has an amazing voice. She turned in a pretty good performance as Ariel. My next favorite characters are Ursula and her evil serpeants (these two had two of the best costumes). The costumes reminded me a bit of Lion King, with the animal headpieces and vibrant colors.

Had a late dinner at Borough afterwards. We tried the milk and cookies. The milk was sweet and refreshing and was served in a milk bottle and shot glasses. The cookies were served warm so it felt quite homey. I loved the ginger cookies the best compared to the chocolate chip and oatmeal and cranberry variants.

It was a good night despite the awful traffic. It took us two hours travel time from Malabon to Ortigas.

do it with love

Source: etsy

little white lies

D and I met up with King, RJ, and some of the section B boys last Saturday for dinner and lazertag. It was nice to see our high school batchmates, some I haven't seen since high school graduation. Fun night :)

Had lunch with D's family today. The red bean ice cream tasted quite yummy today at Inagiku, and I'm not really a fan of red bean ice cream. Good food interspersed with interesting conversation makes for a successful lunch.

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Reality is as much subjective as it is objective. Our ideas and beliefs influence and distort our perceptions of reality. Is truth but an interpretation of how people perceive things to be real?

It's both disconcerting and amazing how people can bend the truth to fit their desires and agendas. It takes a certain degree of courage and strength of mind to be able to rise above perceptions and distortions and to see what is actually real.

I know of people who bend events and truths according to their whim and objectives, and they have been so successful that people do not pause to question the authenticity of this "truth" and accept this "truth" wholeheartedly. Most of the time, we do not rally against these distortions so that things do not blow up unproportionately. Yet in the process, we forfeit our right to defend ourselves and to share truth as it really is.

I've been thinking of how subjective truth is. There are  two sides to a coin. Truth should be seen using the mind, for I've personally seen how clouded it can get when the heart gets involved. I find that it is my responsibility as a thinking human being to fight for my truth, to stand by it in the face of so many perceptions and distortions, the voice of objective truth must not be lost. In face of so much opposition and twisted perceptions, the mind may waver about the authenticity of the truth it knows, yet it must rally against these doubts for it is in the right.

Sometimes authentic truth finds a losing battle against all the distortions of its truth. Only time can unravel its many layers and lies.

hello november!

This will be a mishmash of  a post.
Just jotting down what happened the past few weeks:
- Birthday dinner with friends at Nomama on the 22nd. The ramen was so-so; the laksa-inspired noodles packed more oomph. The prawn salad was yummy though (They ran out of soft shell crabs). The kitkat bar was heavenly - crunchy and chocolatey!
- Baked a root beer bundt cake with D on Sunday, while catching snippets of My Amnesia Girl. The root beer bundt cake was quite chocolate-y. I didn't quite catch the root beer undertones :( The day ended with a  stunning and lovely surprise :D
- Ace Water Spa with D. It was my first time to the place. Quite enjoyed the heated baths. Reminded me of Sally's Spa.
- Spent the last Oct weekend in Batangas. The ride there took about three hours or so. Had a fun weekend of food, badminton, bowling, and monopoly card games. Dinner at the Makati Shang Lounge, accompanied by music performances. Got to hear a jazz-y rendition of Rolling in the Deep.
- Nov 1 was a quiet event. Played monopoly cards and bridge, and bonded with my nephews and nieces. Had dinner at MC Kavino along Jupiter Ave. Interesting array of Chinese dishes. Soft shell crab and pumpkin soup was yummy. They also serve a nice okonomiyaki.
- This weekend, had a quiet dinner with D at CPK where we got a free vanilla sundae :) Spent Sunday idly, chatting with D's mom over cups of macademia flavored coffee. Watched Puss in Boots, which was just okay. Looking forward to Hugo.
- Lunch at Summer Palace. Interesting story about tiramisu cake and birthdays.
- Got to try Red Velvet Hot Cocoa from Coffee Bean. Really tastes like its namesake cake!
- Found the Zara blazer I was eyeing months ago in my size! :)

Jotting everything down makes me feel as if I've been busy a lot. It also makes me realize how much I've eaten. Oh dear.

I've started watching J-dramas again for listening practice's sake.