(I wrote this many months ago for my birthday, but I never got to post it. So even if its half a year late, I would post it anyway. After all, it’s about me turning 30.) 
I am the ARSENAL Party Planner, so when my birthday rolled in, I was thinking that maybe they’d surprise me or maybe they won’t. Or at most, there would be cake, because we always get cake. But they did surprise me and it was a lot of fun. And I did not expect such a unique presentation of cupcakes! How do I contextualize this? I play multi-player EDH (Elder Dragon Highlander) of Magic, the Gathering, a collectible card game. My commander is Bruna, Light of Alabaster, and basically, I have a hit list of all other commanders that I want to kill. That is basically my playing style. I don’t really intend to win, I just want to kill each of the commanders at least once, thus, the Bruna hit list. What my play group did was print out the basic commanders in the hit list and place it on coffee cupcakes. It was an incredible surprise that I did not expect. Also, they gave me candy roses, and those are really yummy as well. My ARSENAL twin, Aya, also celebrated his birthday with me. It was indeed a lot of fun. 
We had a typical dinner at the food court and I thought our night would end there until we started to look for a place to sit and talk after the mall closed. Thus we ended up in Magnolia Flavor House. They had a promo at the time, if we ordered a pizza and a pasta, we get free ice cream. So we got a couple of those and once the waiter realized that it was my birthday, he asked me to write my name on a piece of paper, and later on, they surprised me with a birthday song and a complementary ice cream. It was a lot of fun. Also, being in a Magnolia House feels so old school, our late-night meal felt so nostalgic. They were even playing 90s songs, songs I literally grew up with. We over-stayed a bit, because we didn’t exactly plan this, and we waited around until the clock struck 12–my official birthday. I guess the saying was right, the best things are unplanned things. (Looloo review here: https://looloo.com/r/3ql9) 
Of course, the pièce de résistance of all birthday celebrations–a lunch at Châmpetre. I’ve wanted to eat here for years–literally since I found out about it. But it’s so far and expensive, I never really had the chance to. So when my Mom and I were discussing things I want to do for my birthday–we decided on this one. She gave me a budget to work on, a generous one, and we were able to enjoy a meal at this lovely French provincial restaurant at the heart of Bonifacio Global City. I loved that the place do not have a hint of pretension about it, and the food was incredible! The staff was also helpful and accommodating. The entire experience brought me back to Europe, with Mom and Ian along for the ride. It was the best way to turn 30. 
We started with the cheese platter to share because I absolutely love cheese. So there. Loved the spread. Didn’t take notes on the names of the cheeses–but it is a nice platter with six cheese types. There’s brie (a personal favorite, soft with mild flavor), hard and sweet cheese (emmental, if I am not mistaken), two cheeses on the medium flavor and texture side, a type of goat cheese garnished with olive oil (soft, with strong flavor), and of course a type of blue cheese. The plate is garnished with walnuts, apple slices, grapes, and served with fresh bread. I’ve said I love cheese and I enjoyed this platter so much. Mom and Ian did too. A great way to start a meal. 
Too many good things on the menu. They had a lunch menu too, but no–we went for the mains. I had the grilled scallops with Lyonnaise sauce, Mom had the beef onglet steak, and Ian the lamb chops with Algerian-style couscous. Servings were very generous. Mom only finished half her steak so we had it bagged for later. She loved it though, and she even finished the side salad. It’s their best-seller, apparently. Ian’s lamb and couscous were very generous. Couscous was very fluffy, the lamb was cooked perfectly, and we didn’t expect the stew on the side. Very nice flavors. The dish also came with very peppery sausages. This dish was almost good enough for two! Ian can’t help but keep on eating. The grilled scallops was the best–great thing I chose it, at my Mom’s urging. The scallops were cooked perfectly! And the creamy, peppery Lyonnaise sauce was just heavenly. The sliced potatoes complemented the dish nicely. It looks small and light, but it was far from it. Good thing I ordered a glass of Chardonnay to go with this. Loved every bite of it. 
Because we were so full, Ian and I just shared the Grand Marnier with candied orange zest ice cream, and it was great! You taste the layers of orange flavor in there. Next is Champêtre’s birthday surprise–the dark chocolate mousse. Needless to say, it’s the best mousse I have ever tasted. Smooth, thick, pure dark chocolate goodness. Blended well with the ice cream order as well. I was so full yet I just can’t stop eating. Too bad my mom was simply too full to have dessert, she just took a bite to taste. Next time, we definitely need tummy space for their berry soufflé and end the meal with espresso. (Looloo reviews here: https://looloo.com/r/3qke, https://looloo.com/r/3qkk). 
Mom had to go home and Ian and I ended the day with a light dinner at one of our favorite places–Pi Breakfast and Pies. We had our old classic, the corn waffle with chicken skins, and we tried something new, the cherry pie. Suffice it to say that we always come home full and happy after a meal here. By now, the staff is familiar with us, because we either dine there or simply buy bread. Given that it’s a Monday, it was a quiet night, and a very beautiful ending to a 30th birthday celebration. 
Not that the birthday celebrations have ended. We said we would make the best out of this month, despite the busy schedule. And we are intent upon it. We just don’t know what the next celebrations would be. Anyway,we’re not even at the halfway mark yet. 
Tag: birthday
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Birthday Blog Part 3: Pièce de Résistance
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Birthday Post Part 1: Starting September
I’ve been trying to go back to blogging without much success.
I haven’t even published the first one that I wrote.(By the time I publish this piece, that piece would already be out! Am writing and scheduling posts, so I hope I get back on track!) But it doesn’t matter. I will continue to push, even one step at a time, until I fully get my grove back on. (Do people even use that phrase? Again, no matter.)It’s a rainy night and instead of checking papers, I decided to write my birthday blog. I decided to take my blog on another direction and not just focus on academic works. After all, that is what journals are for. It doesn’t mean that I would turn my blog into narcissistic rants. It simply means that I want to write about the different aspects of my life, so I am not stuck on posting ephemeral statuses on Facebook.
Birthday dreams and wishes. From http://instagram.com/p/sv1rSbFbIh/ So, my birthday. My partner and I initially planned a grand celebration, a birthday-around-the-world kind of celebration. No, we couldn’t afford to fly around the world, so we made a list of restaurants and food places that we would try for my birthday month. That was before we found out that we actually had a lot of commitments for this month. So the next best thing is to make the best out of the days that we have free.
Department of Art Studies Faculty, September 2014 (Photo originally grabbed from Nap Rivera’s Facebook Page.) My birthday month started with an exhausting General Education Workshop by the department. But the silver lining here is that I got to see my department work together, despite the debates, questions, and sometimes conflicting notions. Our department picture was actually very pretty, if I do say so myself. Young, energetic, and passionate.
“I did say I love keeping the tickets right? I also have endless programmes that I don’t have the heart to let go of. What I also loved about this concert is how they took the time to explain each piece to the audience. It was not just a beautiful experience, it was also an educational one. #concert #performance #dawani #chorale” http://instagram.com/p/soVyRyFbNf/ Our first activity for the month was watching the UP Dawani concert “Sa Dakong Sikatan”. UP Dawani is an all-female chorale of the UP College of Music. Krina Cayabyab, my co-teacher, invited me and Louise to attend, as she is performing with the group. It was an excellent performance. They performed pieces by South East Asian composers and all of it are very interesting. I particularly enjoyed “Bubuy Bulan” by Antonius Priyanto while “Sotto Voce” by Jonas Baes was quite challenging. Suffering in quite is something that resonates in me, though my experience is nowhere near the sufferings of the children of Cambodia. We also had the opportunity to experience “Veniet Dominus” by Ramon Santos, the newly awarded National Artist for Music. It was an amazing experience. It was our first time to enter the Church of the Risen Lord and it has some unique architectural elements. I remember how architecture in the 60s were inspired by space travel and CRL does reflect that. The conductor, Eudenice Palaruan, also took time to explain each piece that the chorale performed. As we are no music experts, such explanations are invaluable to the appreciation of the music and the over-all experience. The rain added a personal touch rather than hinder the character of the music we were listening to. Ian and I enjoyed the evening and spending it with good friends–Louise and Melo, was the icing on the cake.
We were feeling peckish last night, so we flew to Spain to celebrate my birthday. (I WISH!) Lol. Cold, rainy night after the concert, we ended up at Sancho’s Churreria for some comfort food. We can pretend we’re in Spain while enjoying Spanish/Spanish-inspired food. #aroundtheworldformybirthday #dinner #30 (at Sancho’s Churreria, Maginhawa Street) From http://instagram.com/p/shZJdUlbHY/ The concert wrapped up late evening and we decided to go to Spain. Just kidding. We just went to Sancho’s Churreria for late dinner. Come to think about it, at around 10 in the evening, we were right on time for dinner, had we been in Spain, particularly Madrid. Well, I can’t say that they serve authentic Spanish cuisine, but maybe inspired by it. My favorite there is the beef and mushroom pot pie. There’s just something so comforting about an oven-baked pot containing beef and mushroom, dripping with gravy, and topped with mashed potato. Ian had a seafood dish that is not quite memorable, but not terrible. It was just ok. We intended to end the meal with churros but decided on a lighter alternative dessert–the brazo de mercedes. It was ok, fluffy on the outside, the custard filling was creamy, and it was just at the right level of sweetness. Over-all, we had comfort food on a very rainy evening, before heading home.
Portia Placino 