R&R at Balay Indang

On every special occasion, we try to go somewhere new as a family - be it a new resort, new show or just a new restaurant. So to celebrate Ate's birthday, we started looking for a resort away from the city. As a law student, she's been spending most of her time cooped up in her room studying so a getaway would be the perfect gift on her birthday. Luckily, Balay Indang responded to our inquiry pretty quick even on a short notice. We have no idea what to expect aside from the fact that we're paying Php 2,500 per head for an overnight stay which includes 5 meals (lunch, afternoon snack, dinner, breakfast and morning snack). Not bad!

So on November 2, we woke up at 4 AM and left for Balay Indang around 5:30 AM. Driving through the streets of Manila is a breeze during this time of the year since almost everyone's away in the provinces to visit the graves of their departed loved ones. Well, except us. Before we know it, we were already near Tagaytay at only 6:30 AM!

Big breakfast at Bag of Beans

We decided to stop by Bag of Beans for a hearty breakfast. The entire place is filled with the wonderful smell of freshly baked bread. Sure, it's enticing to look at the variety of breads displayed on the counters but we're all suckers for a great view so we headed straight to the patio where we can marvel at Taal Volcano's beauty all we want. Definitely worth waking up early to.

Ariel's 26th at Nomnomnom: Happy Food

My cousin Ariel has a weird way of scheduling trips from Palawan to Manila. He flies all the way to Manila to get haircuts, buy his favorite scent, eat some Krispy Kreme, or get on another plane bound for Coron because it's "cheaper." I don't mind though because he never fails to buy us baked goodies from Baker's Hill every time he comes to visit. But this time, it's different. He came to celebrate his 26th birthday with us!

The birthday boy at Nomnomnom: Happy Food

Aaaand that leaves me in charge of finding the perfect restaurant. Again. As a foodie, I usually don't mind. But this was quite a challenge. You see, Ariel's a vegetarian and obviously, there aren't a lot of vegetarian-friendly restaurants in the QC area. There's Pino/Pipino which we love but we wanted to try something new. Thanks to the internet, I found an interesting restaurant which serves vegan/vegetarian-friendly dishes - Nomnomnom: Happy Food. The SC girls and I have been wanting to try this restaurant out too so I recommended it to the fam and as usual, they just agreed.

The birthday boy and his guests

We arrived around 8PM so there were only 2 tables occupied aside from ours and it looked like they were almost finished with their meals so it felt like we booked the entire place. Pretty cool. The restaurant has a homey/canteen vibe to it. Not bad. I especially love their rainbow wall that says "Something good always happens."

Something good always happens.

See, what did I tell ya? Hihi

For starters, we ordered their Fried Ravioli (stuffed with cheesy Kangkong and mushroom). It didn't taste like Kangkong at all which is good news for us non-vegetarians. The dip complemented the crispness and cheesiness of the dish. We also ordered Nachos just in case but it turns out, we didn't need a fallback after all. For drinks, we ordered pitchers of Dalandan Juice and Strawberry Iced Tea which didn't taste like powder so it's good. For the main dishes, we ordered Nuggets Mo? (veggie nuggets with chili sauce), Crispy Tofu Skin (crispy tofu with shiitake mushroom sauce and nori rice), The Good Sisig (crispy fried tofu with green chili and onions), Lime Chicken with Alfredo Sauce (chicken breast marinated in lime and Rosemary drizzled with Alfredo sauce served with spring onion rice), Chicken Pops Rice Craters (chicken lollipops with pizza sauce served over buttered rice), Enchilada (filled with Kangkong, cream and cheese), and Pizza Margherita.

Clockwise: Fried Ravioli, Nuggets Mo?, Crispy Tofu Skin, Enchilada, The Good Sisig, Lime and Chicken Alfredo

L-R: Strawberry Iced Tea, Chicken Pops Rice Crater, Pizza Margherita

Over all, the food was tasty even though they were tagged as healthy. I was looking forward to dessert though but they didn't have any that night. Boooo~! :( So naturally, we just took pictures of the place instead before heading off to search for a dessert place.

Cousins and sibs ♥

Mirror, mirror on the wall...

Oopsie. Sorry Jots, I had to crop your hair off simply because you're too tall. :p

After our mini photo op, we were all ready to go. As in we had our bags in hand when I felt something was not right. Yep, we haven't paid for dinner yet! We forgot to bill out just because we skipped dessert. Oopsie. Muntik na!

With the official photographer this time.

Oh and we asked one of the servers if their "happy food" is similar to Cambodia's happy pizza*. He said they used to serve "happy food" but they no longer have a supplier so they had no choice but to take it off the menu. Aww sayang? Haha

Last hurrah!

A birthday dinner wouldn't be complete without a sweet ending so we headed to Afters Espresso & Desserts for cakes and gelatos. Funny how this lady was all smiles upon seeing us. I thought she was just extra friendly and accommodating. It turns out, she and mom know each other from Tai Chi class. Surprise surprise! She owns the place and she was gracious enough to let us try a couple of their gelatos. We ordered   7 cups of gelato and a slice of Reese's cheesecake. Perfect ending to cap off our Sunday night!

Gelato flavors: Cotton candy, Salted caramel, Cookies 'n cream, Mint chocolate chip, Stracciatella, and plain old Chocolate

Oh and thanks to Ariel, I got patron and lowerbox invites to see Lee Min Ho in November! Weeee~♥

*Happy pizza is just like a regular pizza but has a thin layer of weed sprinkled beneath layers of mozzarella cheese. You can even choose your preferred level of "happy-ness" from mildly happy to extremely happy.

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Nomnomnom Happy FoodTomas MoratoG/F GYY Bldg, 1 Tomas Morato AveKristong Hari, Quezon City(02) 502-2919
Afters Espresso & DessertsQuezon CityLansbergh Place, 20 Tomas Morato Ave cor Scout Castor StSouth Triangle, Quezon City(02) 791-8789

My uncle, the fortune teller

Photo credit: Wikipedia

Have you ever had your future told? I was never interested in fortune-telling because I believe in focusing on the present and living life one day at a time. But last night, I had my future told. By my own uncle!

It happened as we were chit-chatting after dinner. They reminisced about how fast time flies, how we were once kids and now we're all grown up. They asked how old I am now and inquired about my love life, of course. Relatives seem to be always curious about your love life don't they? Upon hearing that I don't have a boyfriend, my uncle started giving me tips in dating - how I should open up and show everyone what a beautiful flower I am. Awkwarddd. But I laughed it off. He told me that Geminis tend to keep things to themselves. They know a lot but won't show it. Also, they're very giving that people tend to take advantage of them. Then he gave me a lecture on how to discern true friends among the many friends I have. You see, my uncle just never runs out of stories and knowledge to share.

He even offered to tell my fortune for fun and asked to look at my hands. I was hesitant because he just ate hundreds of shellfish for dinner! Haha Noticing my hesitation, he washed his hands clean before looking at mine. While he was away, I quickly asked my auntie how legit my uncle's fortune-telling is. Turns out, it's in their blood. His mother used to be the most famous fortune teller in Badio, Aklan. I'm still skeptical but I gave it a go.

After looking at my hands for a while, here are some of the things he told me:

#1 Financial freedom. As I grow up, I won't rely on my parents' inheritance but instead, work hard to earn my own money.

#2 Love life. There is a 99% chance of me marrying someone not from the Philippines. He may be of a different race or half Filipino or a Filipino born abroad. And we'll meet overseas. By chance. No wonder I travel a lot! Haha But somehow, I've had this feeling for a long time that I won't meet my one true love in this country. I'm just surprised my uncle knew about it! Also, he mentioned that this person won't be someone I've met in the past but someone I have yet to meet. Sounds pretty exciting, eh?

#3 Money management. One look at my right hand and my uncle knew how much of a gastador I am to which mom and dad quickly agreed. He says it's easy for me to spend or give money away because I'm a giver, not a receiver. If you think about it, I do love spending money on myself as much as I love spending on other people. On the flip side, the more I give, the more God will shower me with blessings as I help other people.* And to my defense, my spending is always reasonable. My uncle's words, not mine! :)) A look at my left hand and he told me that my future husband will be a gastador as well. Patay tayo dyan! Nevertheless, we'll manage to save up. He even advised me to let my fingernails grow (if I could) until my pinky reaches the line on my ring finger so as to lessen my spending.

#4 Health. I will live a pretty healthy life but he advised me to take special care of my stomach or abdomen. Ow. How did he know about my abdominal pains thanks to dysmenorrhea?? According to him, Geminis tend to have difficulty in giving birth so he advised me to do squats to strengthen my pelvic bone. He also advised me to eat on time and avoid skipping meals. And that I should lessen my consumption of sweets and watch what I eat because I will tend to eat and eat once I give birth. Ayayay!

#5 Compatibility. There are two kinds of Pisces - one that goes with the flow and one that goes against it. I should steer away from Pisces that tend to go with the flow because he's sure to be under-the-saya if I did end up with one and I wouldn't want that. Sagittarius are great companions for Geminis because they are jolly people but they hate restrictions. They won't like it if you ask them where they've been or why they came home late. They're just in it for the fun times. Now, those born in April are natural breadwinners. They'll do everything for you - be it housework or earning for the family. They'd love you unconditionally and will take really good care of you. The downside? They tend to get really jealous and would want you only for themselves. Not really good for a Gemini who doesn't want to be tied down.

#6 Marriage. I will have one and only one marriage. I won't get divorced or be widowed early. Glad to know my future hubby and I will grow old together. On top of that, I'll get married around the age of 30 or 31. Good enough for me.

#7 Children. I'll have two. Well, I want three but having more than two will be difficult for me. My husband may want more but two will be ideal. And these children will be from my bloodline, not my husband's. My uncle liked that since that means my future kids will be intellectuals. Haha

He then proceeded to lecture me to look for someone who will love my parents as much as I love them and for me to love my future in-laws. If they don't like me at first, I should do everything to get closer to them. Also, this guy I'm going to end up with will try to get in bed with me before marriage. Nakakaloka! He reminded me to always follow my head over my heart and I should save it after marriage. My auntie teased him about how old-fashioned he was. Haha That talk should be awkward but it wasn't. I just laughed it off. Again. He says he can tell me more but he'll leave the rest to me but he kept on going and asked to look at my right foot. According to him, the house or building I'll purchase, which will be my future family's home, will be overseas as well. Pang-Ms. International pala ang peg ko! But he added that wherever it will be will be both my husband and I's choice.

Sure, I don't believe in fortune-telling but it was fun. All the things he mentioned are likely to happen anyway. My auntie reminded me that I shouldn't let my uncle's predictions lead my life though. I should still be open to meeting guys even if they're pure-bred Filipinos or born in the Philippines. Haha

All this talk about the future definitely made my night. No wonder, I still haven't met Mr. Right. I guess I have yet to visit his hometown, eh? :))

With that, let me leave you with one of my favorite verses from the Bible:

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." (Jeremiah 29:11, NIV)

See, no need to worry about the future. My God has it all figured out for me. He's got my back. Always.

*Mom and dad raised us on this principle that we may always be grateful to God and helpful to those in need.

Father's Day at Crisostomo

For Father's Day, we decided to have lunch at Resorts World Manila since Karly will be coming from the airport.  Daddy is not a fan of international cuisine so we looked for a Filipino restaurant to celebrate his special day.  Crisostomo seemed like the best choice since it specializes in modern Filipino cuisine - perfect for mom and dad who love Filipino food and for us kids who are adventurous eaters.

Blue Team vs Red Team

After being seated, we were handed out MENUS.  Yes, that should be in caps because their menus are massive!  At first glance, these could pass for family photo albums!

25th at Club Balai Isabel

Growing up, I've always celebrated my birthday with my family.  Since it always falls on a holiday, we make it a point to go on out-of-town trips during my special day or the weekend closest to it - kind of like a last hurrah before school work starts.

Welcome to Club Balai Isabel!

This year, we decided to celebrate my birthday at Club Balai Isabel in Talisay, Batangas.  It's one of those beautiful resorts (and popular wedding destinations) strategically located around the Taal Lake.  This means you get a breathtaking view of the Taal Volcano for free during your entire stay.  It's a perfect weekend getaway for those who just want to relax and feel closer to nature.  The ambiance is so relaxing, it's tempting to sleep in all day or better yet, cool off in one of their three swimming pools.