Today, January 31, is my birthday, but because Justin’s lolo and lola (my parents) were with us yesterday when we went to church, hubby and I decided we’d have an advance birthday celebration yesterday, January 30, at Mr. Choi Kitchen at Robinsons Galleria. My younger sister and my eldest niece were also there to celebrate with us.


The birthday girl in red!


Me, my son and hubby!


My niece Tin-Tin and Justin’s lola and lolo

All of us!


My sister Meann finishing the big bowl of birthday noodle
Hubby ordered everything because he and his officemates have eaten there more than once already, and they all agreed this Chinese restaurant serves delicious but affordable food. Below is a rundown of what we had for lunch yesterday.


Hot Prawn Salad, Php330.00


Steamed Fish Fillet with Garlic, Php265.00


Braised Patatim, Php260.00


Fried Chicken in a Basket, Php250.00


Beef with Broccoli, Php250.00


Birthday Noodle, Php200.00


Yang Chow Fried Rice, Php185.00
My niece Tin-Tin bought me a White Forest Cake from Red Ribbon. She even made me blow out the candle on my birthday cake.


My birthday cake: White Forest Cake from Red Ribbon


That’s my son singing “Happy Birthday, Mommy”!
We paid less than Php2,000.00 for everything. My parents were given senior citizen discounts, too. Their neat and accurate receipts made me wonder what document management software they’re using. Anyway, we went home too full and satisfied.

So, that’s Part 1 of my birthday celebration for this year. Watch out for Part 2.

We were at Shangri-La Mall two Satudays ago for our dental prophylaxis, and before going home, we tried one of the new restaurants there: the Sing Hainanese Chicken House.



We ordered the following: Roast Chicken Rice, Chicken Mamee, Vegetable Oyster Sauce and Chicken Liver.


Roast Chicken Rice consisting of Half Roast Chicken and Hainanese Rice, Php480.00
Our son loved the Hainanese rice! He almost finished the entire cup. Hainanese rice went well with Roast Chicken. In our excitement to try their house specialties, we forgot to ask the restaurant staff for chilli, soy sauce and ginger paste to add flavor to our Roast Chicken. But shouldn’t those come automatically with our orders?


Chicken Mamee, Php180.00
This is actually good for sharing. This is noodles with sautéed garlic, spring onions, sliced hard-boiled eggs and plenty of chicken strips. While it’s loaded with chicken meat, we found this too bland for our tastes.


Vegetable Oyster Sauce, Php150.00
This is Chinese broccoli stir-fried in oyster sauce with a sprinkling of shrimp paste. This is okay; just make sure to evenly spread out the shrimp paste so it doesn’t get too salty.


Chicken Liver, Php60.00
We liked this the least because, as my husband said, he could taste the bitterness of the chicken liver.

We might try the Hainanese Chicken Rice next time.

It’s very seldom for us to have a complete family photo because usually, my husband and I take turns capturing precious moments of us with our son or just taking solo pictures of our son. My husband is the family’s appointed photographer, so me and my son have more pictures together.

We were in Shangri-La Mall last Saturday for our dental appointments, and we tried one of the new restaurants there, too: the Sing Hainanese Chicken House. Nope, the place doesn't have mini chandeliers that might have caught our little boy's fancy; we simply wanted to try their house specialties. I’ll write a separate post on that soon. Our family picture below was taken by Justin's yaya while we're waiting for our orders.


Have you had your family picture taken lately?

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Because I’ll be celebrating my birthday in a few days and because I promised to pamper myself more this year as part of my 2011 resolutions, I went to Forever Flawless at Robinsons Galleria last Sunday, January 23, to have an age-defying facial. This type of facial treatment restores elasticity, boosts the skin’s natural ability to stimulate collagen and visibly diminishes wrinkles and fine lines.

While I waited for a beauty specialist to attend to me, I had a chat with the people at the reception area. They’re very friendly, by the way! One of them happened to be the store supervisor, but I didn’t catch her name. I even asked her if it’s alright to have my picture taken while undergoing a procedure inside their clinic, but she said she still has to ask permission from the higher-ups, so I did not insist anymore.

Melody, or Mhel for short, was the beauty consultant/specialist assigned to me, and she nicely ran me through the steps of the age-defying facial. For all of those who haven’t experienced this facial treatment before, here’s what you can expect during the procedure, as I remember them.

Step 1: Essential oil to relax
Step 2: Foaming
Step 3: Facial massage
Step 4: Facial scrub
Step 5: Steaming
Step 6: Eye de-stressing and placing of eye patch
Step 7: Placing of hot moist pack on my hands
Step 8: Vacuuming of face
Step 9: Pricking
Step 10: Application of witch hazel toner on face
Step 11: Laser
Step 12: Application of age-defying mask
Step 13: Application of hot towel on the face
Step 14: Application of cold towel on the face
Step 15: Application of skin disinfectant on the face
Step 16: Application of Vitamin E and water-based moisturizer on the face

Regarding Step No. 7, I was surprised when Mhel placed hot moist pack on my hands and said that it’s to relieve stress and back pain. This, she said, is an added service to their clients. I liked this very much! Mhel even massaged my back while waiting for the appointed time to remove my age-defying mask. I loved that, too! The age-defying facial cost Php490.00 and lasted for an hour.

Next time, I’ll have my facial warts removed and I will try their Power Peel.

I was one of the lucky mommy bloggers who were invited to the exlusive food tasting at Lola Maria Restaurant at The Legend Villas last Friday, January 21, 2011. Because I had a wonderful experience at The Legend Villas during the Mommy Bloggers’ Christmas party last December 11, 2010, I didn’t think twice about going, although I had work that day.


The Legend Villas’ bountiful feast

The mommy bloggers in our table with The Legend Villas Chef Michael Martinez
We were warmly welcomed by Ms. Ginger Villavicencio, the Chief Operating Officer of The Legend Villas and Ms. Jingjing Romero, the PR Consultant of STRATOS, Inc.


Ms. Ginger King-Villavicencio, Chief Operating Officer of The Legend Villas


Ms. Jingjing Villanueva-Romero, PR Consultant, STRATOS, Inc., with yours truly
First, we were made to choose our drinks to get a strong consensus on what could be The Legend Villas’ signature drink. I chose Dalandan Slush with Mint because I find it cool, clean and refreshing.


From top to bottom: Pandan Iced Tea, Dalandan Slush with Mint and Pomelo/Pineapple
Then, food tasting officially began. According to Ms. Villavicencio, the eight new dishes were shared by celebrity friends, which make them truly special. To make it more exciting, each dish was given that distinct Lola Maria Restaurant twist.


Vegetable Quiche by fashion designer Randy Ortiz (Php155.00, 5 pcs.)
Vegetable Quiche is baked tender pasty crust with fresh vegetables, topped with a dollop of sour cream.


Prawn Cakes by show car maker Atoy Llave (Php225.00, 6 pcs.)
Prawn Cakes are oriental style minced shrimps coated with bread crumbs, served with hoisin sauce


Fish Pinipig by actress/host/endorser Iza Calzado (Php210.00, 6pcs.)
Fish Pinipig is cream dory fillet covered with crispy pinipig flakes, dipped in tartare sauce


Cocido, a favorite of food blogger Anton Diaz (Php360.00, single serving)
Cocido are beef ribs stewed in rich tomato sauce with chorizo and fresh vegetables.


Rosemary and Garlic Rib-eye by actress Ara Mina (Php650.00, single serving)
Rosemary and Garlic Rib-eye is best cut of beef seared and marinated with fresh garlic and rosemary.

Ube and Langka Panna Cotta by actress Sherilyn Reyes-Tan (Php120.00, single serving)
Ube and Langka Panna Cotta is a light Italian dessert of fresh cream, flavored with vanilla.


Ensaymada Pudding by Ford supermodel grand winner Danica Magpantay (Php80.00, single serving)
Ensaymada Pudding is day-old ensaymada with custard, baked and topped with queso de bola.


Fried Suman at Tsokolate by actress/host/model Wilma Doesn’t (Php155.00, 6 pcs.)
Fried Suman at Tsokolate is fried suman sa ibos dipped in creamy chocolate.

I liked everything they served! Because I love vegetables and seafood, the Vegetable Quiche, Prawn Cakes and Fish Pinipig are a hit with me. The two beef dishes agreed with my palate, too, but I particularly love Cocido with its super tender beef ribs and creamy tomato sauce! My favorite dessert is Fried Suman at Tsokolate, although when I brought home a box of Ensaymada Pudding, everyone in the house said it was delicious!


The mommy boggers with Ms. Ginger Villavicencio and Ms. Jingjing Romero


The mommy bloggers beside The Legend Villas swimming pool


Jen, Tetcha and Joy
Lola Maria Restaurant is the main dining outlet of The Legend Villas. It offers delectable home-style meals, mostly Filipino specialties, like kare-kare, lechon kawali, beef steak and chicken gallantina. They’re also regularly introducing international dishes to add variety to their menu. Some of their tasty international offerings include baked fish with garlic mayo, beef lasagna and salmon with pesto.

The Legend Villas is 100% Filipino-owned. It’s an elegant hotel in the heart of Mandaluyong that offers comforting amenities and friendly service that make guests feel at home. Aside from family rooms, they also have function rooms that are ideal for holding meetings and seminars or banquet socials. They have swimming pool, outdoor jacuzzi, business center and fitness gym. Guests can also enjoy the high-speed Wi-Fi Internet connection in the hotel, which can be accessed for FREE in the room and public areas.

Lola Maria Restaurant
Telephone: (632) 702-2793

The Legend Villas
60 Pioneer corner Madison Streets, Mandaluyong City 1550, Philippines
Telephone: (632) 633-1501 to 10
Facsimile: (632) 632-0845
Website: www.legendvillas.com.ph

Last week, Justin was given his piece for their reading recital which will happen in February. The parents are supposed to train their children to read at home until they can master their piece. Justin’s reading piece is a nursery rhyme entitled “If All the Seas Were One Sea.”


If all the Seas Were One Sea

If all the seas were one sea,
What a great sea that would be!
If all the trees were one tree,
What a great tree that would be!

If all the axes were one axe,
What a great axe that would be!
If all the men were one man,
What a great man he would be!

And if the great man took the great axe,
And cut down the great tree,
And let it fall into the great sea,
What a great splash-splash that would be!
Justin read his first book last September 2010, and it comes as no surprise to us that he can read his assigned material after several practices. He has actually memorized his reading piece already. One of his teachers even told me last week when I dropped him off at his classroom that Justin reads well. Now, that made me a proud momma!

Justin has also been practicing writing the big and small letters of the alphabet and his full name at home. These are his finished products that he showed me the other day.


Justin is 4 1/2 years old and is a pre-kindergartner.

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Last Saturday, January 15, our son, hubby, and I went to Makati Medical Center not for acne scar treatment but for our doctors’ appointments. Justin had his pneumococcal booster shot (Needle 1), I had my second shot of Cervarix, an anti-cervical cancer vaccine (Needle 2) and hubby underwent routine blood test (Needle 3) and had a follow-up check-up with his gastroenterologist. That’s the first part of this story.

Now, on to the next part. We accomplished everything by 1pm, but our stomachs were grumbling by this time, so we decided to have lunch at Pizza Hut inside Makati Medical Center.


Pizza Hut's Family Feast was perfect for 3 adults (me, hubby and yaya) and 1 kid (Justin). Pizza Hut’s Family Feast costs Php699.00, and it consists of Caesar Salad, Roma Viva Italian Pizza, Fettucine a la King, Spaghetti Bolognese with Meatballs and four glasses of Pepsi, which we had changed to lemonade instead.


Caesar Salad
There’s nothing special about their Caesar Salad, and the serving size is too small for sharing, so yes, hubby and I finished it in a jiffy.


Medium 10” Roma Viva Italian Pizza
We liked the pizza, but it would have been better if it was served hot and fresh from the oven.


Fettucine a la King
I like this the most! The fettucine was cooked just right, and the sauce is creamy and tasty.


Spaghetti Bolognese with Meatballs
This one’s too sweet for our little boy’s taste. He barely touched it. The meatballs are a bit salty, too.

We felt full but not satisfied with our orders. So there goes our story of needles and pizza.