'Pinas Vacation Day 1 aka J's 27th

Two Fridays ago was the 27th birthday of my J and I most definitely wouldn't miss that for the world! I left SG at 2AM of July 27 and made it to PH 4 hours later.

My ticket to 3 days of bliss :-)

I so love coming home. It's a feeling like no other. Finally spending time with the people you love after 2 or 3 months of physical absence -- it's just priceless. I can still remember J's hello kiss that morning! And Haley's welcome embrace! Oh there really is no place like home :-)

I promised her I'd buy her an iPad if she takes home 30 3-stars from school in 30 days. She did it with flying colors! And can you see how happy she was when she got hold of it? It got me thinking she actually fetched the iPad from the airport and not me. Hahaha.

Apart from J and my family, it's Pinoy food that I miss most. The crispylicious goodness of Chickenjoy is something that I really look forward to so we waited no longer and grabbed a bucket for breakfast. Then we headed home to greet the rest of my relatives, distribute the pasalubongs and take a quick rest before we venture into my jampacked vacay Day 1.

 [L] Haley with her all her pasalubong.

[R] Candid shot of the two loves of my life. Looking at them like that warms my heart.

Because I've been missing a lot of our princess' nursery adventures, I made it a point to include bringing her to school in my itinerary.

She really is a big girl now! That's her in school with me and her teachers :-)

Then we went straight to J's Marikina home to deliver the LED TV that he bought here. If you're asking why I was the one who brought it to PH, it's because tourists are charged taxes and levies in Philippine Customs while OFWs (that's me! :P) are entitled to bring in one appliance of every kind provided that it's used. And yes, it's duty-free! How cool is that? ^^,

Happy that it worked despite the buzz that TVs bought outside the country might not be programmed for the TV system in the Philippines. Oh btw, please excuse their old TV rack. Haha! They got rid of that and mounted it on the wall instead ;-)

And finally... the most important part of the day -- Hon's Birthday Celebration! :D

I bought the shirt that he's wearing here a few hours before my flight. Considering that it's a rush purchase, I think I did a pretty good job! Perfect fit! :)

Pinoy food is just love.

The three dishes (excluding the pork barbeque) were his mom's cooking - my favorite being the one in the biggest frame. I don't know what it's called, but it's chicken with hotdog and liver spread and tomato sauce and pickles. Yummy!

We also dropped by Tita Meg's house to say hi and much to my delight, there's  more scrumptious food. And another cake for the birthday boy :-)

Oh Mango Bravo, I miss you already!

In the pursuit of making the most of my day 1, we also got ourselves a foot spa and pedicure because our feet have not been pampered for ages!

[upper left] I bought us a matching watch in Bugis Street -- Singapore's bargain shopping haven. Would you believe a piece only costs 10 SGD (330php)?

[upper right] Picture-picture while our feet are treated with TLC

[lower right] how I love that shade of blue!

[lower left] But I love this man more ♥

We were both tired as hell after all our activities so we capped the day off with a quiet just-the-two-of-us evening. We talked and cuddled and made up for all the lovin' that we missed and really, I wouldn't want to end his birthday any other way.

Team Lunch @ Conti's

It has been a tradition in Headstrong to dine out whenever a project is about to close so I and my PNC team had our lunch last Wednesday at Conti’s Pastry Shop and Restaurant in Greenbelt 2. We got there a little short of 12 noon and the restaurant is still not crowded we even had a chance to take a group picture by the reception area.

A shot that looks like it was taken for a soap opera print ad :P

(L-R) Project Manager Sir Martin, developers Emil, Kem and Jonathan,

QA Lead Ms. Ruth, fellow QAs Lucy and Sarah, Lead Dev Pauline,

Me and another QA Cormeg.Not in the picture is Jim,

who's also from the QA team, because he was the one behind the camera.

We were seated in around 5 minutes and then it was time to order. We took a peek at their online menu just so ordering would be a breeze once we’re there but the dishes in the picture are so mouth-watering that I still spent quite some time figuring out what I really really want. Here’s the winner:

I have high expectations on their entrees because I have tried their cakes and they are to die for. Good thing the Chicken ala Kiev did not disappoint! The chicken meat was so tender and the sauce so creamy and scrumptious I am salivating as I type! The garlic rice that comes with it, though, could do with a little less oil. But that didn't stop me from finishing my meal faster than the time it took to get to our table. Hahaha. I actually wanted to order another round of rice but decided against it because the rest of the team were okay with one. Thanks to the bottomless iced tea (which is also good, by the way) because I sipped away until the only room left in my tummy is that for the house specialty in the dessert department - Mango Bravo!

 
We got the regular-sized cake at 950 pesos and it's good for 12, perfect for a big group like us. They also have a mini version that makes 6 servings and at half the price or you may wanna get it at 120 per slice, if you're all by yourself :-) Pictured above is one serving and it's more than enough if you're not very much into desserts. Of course my saccharine-loving self didn't let any of it go to waste. My oh my, I can still remember how each layer is sinfully delicious and how the ripe mangoes remained so appealing despite all the sweetness going on. If you haven't tried Mango Bravo yet, you are missing half of your life. Nah, seriously, head on to the nearest Conti's and know that I mean it when I say it's a must-try.

 Me and my Mango Bravo before it became a memory. Hahaha.

Here's a closer look at the PNC team:

 

With my OT buddy, Lucy

 

 While waiting for our food. We look hungry already, no? :P

After a hearty lunch.

Girls vs boys - just before we went back to Export Bank Plaza.

Overall, I am giving Conti's 5 stars for the food, 4 stars for value for money and 3 stars for customer service. And yes, I am definitely going back ^_^