Persia Grill

Thanks to Ponstan, I was able to enjoy our lunchout last Sunday. We were walking around, trying to find the place with least people on it and we chanced upon Persia Grill which I believe is owned by an ex-PBB housemate, but don't ask me who, I can't remember lol!

We both are into kebabs and Persian goodies and I can say it's one of the best kebabs we ate, the beef was juicy and flavorful. My Boyito also ordered grilled lamb and it was surprisingly tender and was grilled to perfection. I could not believe that we only paid less that Php600 pesos for everything we ate. I also have to commend their Bismati rice, it was cooked just the way we ricelovers like it. The presentation of our meal was also very pleasant.

On the downside, I think the waiters/waitresses were not aptly dressed. The place has a 'sosyal' vibe going on with the lightings, the chairs the table and even the light music but the people greeting you and serving you pulls it down to a canteen vibe.

Anyhoo, a place with good food and clean restrooms is a place to go back to, in my book :)  

JUST IN: I googled and the place is owned by Kian Kazemi and there are several other branches open in the metro.

Persia Grill

Sky Garden, SM City North EDSA, North Avenue cor EDSA

My Epiphany

After our meet-up with Val and Jorell, the boyf and I went to the mall with high hopes that a tooth expert could and would relieve me of the pain caused by my wisdom tooth(which is a another story), but we ended up catching a movie, eating out and impulse buying :)

We went to Bench for his muscle shirt fix and my lace fix and was approached by a smiling saleslady - I was my usual ms. congeniality self when I noticed she wasn't reacting much and was just smiling. I then realized that she has a special ID that says she is deaf -- That made an impact to me, she is a pretty girl but she is physically impaired yet she was working her ass off and trying to make her life as normal as possible. She is inspiring.

I know a lot of people including myself, who rants and cusses life for all the heartbreaking things that come their way, for all the hardship and pain that comes with living, we don't really realize how lucky we are because we are given a fair chance to fight the never ending battle of life. I was feeling down recently, people are calling me fat and it's kinda getting to my nerves. I just don't see why there should be a stereotype, I am made like this and I believe that people should never ever change their wiring to please other people. I have been trying to diet and now I know why I am not succeeding, because I am doing it to adhere to a standard, I am doing it not for myself but for other people. 

Seeing that saleslady made me realize how lucky I am that I can hear, see and enjoy life to the fullest! She is an inspiration and I admire the BENCH managemaent for letting handicapped people join their company and give them a chance to make a difference in their lives and to inspire others. Kudos to BENCH! 

Daddy

It's been a rough month, daddy has been in and out of the hospital. I thank God for small blessings - I thank Him for making daddy's wound heal even if its really slow, for giving daddy the energy to join us for noche buena, for all the people helping us financially, and for friends and family who pray for dad's continuous recovery.

When I look at daddy, I remember how he took care of us, how he provided for a large family and though life wasn't perfect for us, he and mommy made our life seem perfect. I notice now how he seemed to shrink and he looks far older than his age. A far cry from the daddy that I remember. 

At night, when he sleeps I can hear him cry from pain, every movement is an effort for him and it pains me to see my daddy that way. It's hard for mommy for my brothers and sisters.. for our entire family to see daddy in pain and we can't do anything to make him comfortable.

For Christmas, I wish that Papa Jesus can make my daddy stay longer with us. I want daddy to be in Andi and Gio's graduation, our weddings, I want him to grow to old with mommy and be able to play with their grandchildren. We need prayers, I believe that prayers do wonders.. 

Wedding fever

Oh hell, I am a girl and that gives me the right to plan and imagine what my wedding will look like hehe

I want to have my wedding ceremonies at:

http://stalphonsusrebuilds.blogspot.com/

Awesome place, and the door is the 'right' door. hehe I am very particular with the door that opens up for the bride :) awww..

Speaking of weddings, I'll be attending quite a few starting December to June next year, so I am planning to lose weight. Emphasis on the work 'planning' hehehe So hopefully nobody tempts me to eat much. I won't even show up on dinner get togethers haha tipid na, makakapayat pa. Wish me luck :)

Reserved

Everybody is getting married na. And they are using all the good motif kasi nakareserve na  daw sa knila yun hahaha Jaja and Goeff used the green and bronze motif - so I had to scratch it off my list, Val and Jorell are using a similar color scheme and Sharl and Oli will be using green as well.

I'll be using (drumroll please!) - peacock colors as my wedding theme. Reserved for me. Check the timestamp of this blog pa. LOL

I'll be using indigo, teal, fuschia, aqua, olive, gold, copper, and bronze. Colorful wedding :)

I want tropical flowers, purple orchids and blue flowers.. ooohhh

Bridesmaids would have peacock feathers as headdress. And the flower girls would have cute little wings on their backs..

O nauna nako sa theme na 'to. hehe Reserved!

My Purpose

Sometimes I get so tired of the way my life goes - I get tired of the supporting my brothers and sisters, I get tired cooking, cleaning the house, thinking of next sem, thinking of how daddy's therapy is going, how mom's blood sugar is doing, planning the next year for our family - lahat! yeah, I get tired of my resposibilities! Sue me for being human.

But after every outburst, I realize how much I love my family and how much they love me back then I go back to being the ate and the daughter that they need.

It's not easy being the ate of six kids (yeah I still call them kids! haha) and the daughter of a half-paralyzed dad and a diabetic mom. It was never my parents' intention to pass their obligations to me, they did not want to get sick, they did not foresee that they would not be working at such a young age of 50 and 46. I love them for trying to help me even in their condition, I love the fact that mommy always prays for me before she goes to sleep and I love the way that daddy still calls me his "son na babae" and that way he makes me, mommy and my brothers and sisters laugh with his antics.

I am lucky to have brothers and sisters who appreciates all the hard work that I do and makes adjustments when I'm financially broke. I have Denise, who is a CPA right now, Dane who just started working last week and graduated as cum laude from UST last March. Enzo, who despite being the lokoloko strives  every semester to bring home passing grades. Gio who I look up to for pursuing his dreams and gets consistent A++++ grades in his PT subjects. Then there is Andi, my beautiful sister who makes me smile each time she asks for something for school - sbrang nahihihya! She belongs in the top 10 of her highschool class. Of course there's Gino who is an achiever in his own way - we are just a  year apart and I did not get a chance to help him out pero I admire him for supporting himself and not being a financaial burden to my parents.

I was crying yesterday because this green little monster in me came out - envy. I started thinking why I do not have a big savings account just like people my age, why can't I buy the things I need without planning waaaaaaaaaay ahead before spending. Then I realized that my biggest investment is my family, and I get the fruits of my labor through each smile and each hug and kiss I get from my family. I am rich because I have 3 wonderful sisters, 3 equally wonderful brothers and 1 and 1/2 parents (si daddy kasi half nlng gumagana hehe) that other people can only wish for.

Now I know my purpose - Papa Jesus sent me here to be a blessing to my family. 

Recipe: Ampalaya con carne

Ingredients:

2 pcs medium size Ampalaya

1/4 kilo beef giniling

1 onion finely chopped

5pcs garlic crushed

oyster sauce

patis

ground pepper

salt

1. Chop ampalay into small sizes and wash in salt for 3 times. Set aside.

2. Saute garlic and onion in olive oil until onion is slightly transparent.

3. Add the grinded beef until it changes color and let it simmer in its own oil.

4. Add a bit of fish sauce(patis) and pepper for flavor. Let it simmer.

5. Add the ampalaya then add a little water. When the ampalaya is already cooked add oyster sauce, add patis and pepper if necessary to suit your taste. 

**Chicco does not normally eat ampalaya, but he liked the recipe above. When washed with salt, the bitterness of the Ampalaya is lessened. I added oyster sauce in this recipe to overcome the remaining bitter taste the amapalaya has.

Fortunately, my brothers and sister also liked the recipe! woohoo! This is a nice way to cheat them into eating veggies. hehehe

Blast from the past

I always open my facebook account, its one of the sites that I go to whenever I go online. I never knew that one of my biggest surprises of 2010 would be from a facebook message.

It is nice to be part of new beginnings, and I am honored to be invited to Val and Jorell's wedding. I have known them since college and I remember Val's debut like it was just yesterday, Jorell's two-toned top and the joy of spending a night out with friends. I remember that during that time their relationship was kept a secret and when it Jorell's turn to say a message to Val, the room suddenly became quiet. haha

Their relationship did not survive college, they broke up. But, it was no surprise that they got back together after a while, they are perfect for each other and their relationsship is a living proof that true love exists. They are couple to look up to and it makes me super happy that they would be Mr. and Mrs. Tan next year and I would be there to witness the moment when they become one.

Of course, an added bonus would be that Kat and I would be joining the ceremony as bridesmaids! Kath would be flying back to Manila for the wedding and it would be a reunion for us B11 girls :)

I am soooo looking forward to May 1, 2011! woohoo!

Suelas

Everybody knows I'm a sucker for shoes, especially for flats! Months ago I heard good reviews about SUELAS, but I never got around to buying a pair - that is until 2 weeks ago and now I am addicted! I have two pairs now and I ordered two more, its super comfy and they have a variety of styles and colors to fit everybody's taste. OMG this becoming an addiction! To shoelovers like me, this is definitely worth the money :)

Recipe: Chicken Pesto in creamy white sauce

Everybody knows I'm a sucker for pesto so for Chicco's birthday aside from the Tuna Spaghetti, I made Pesto Pasta in Creamy white sauce. Here's the recipe, maybe you can try it out, its very easy to make since we can already buy proceesed pesto in supermarkets.

Ingredients:

3pcs chicken thigh

Processed Pesto in a bottle

fresh milk

Nestle cream

pepper

salt

Magnolia Gold Butter

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

250g of bow tie pasta

Boil the chicken in water and salt mixture. Once done, separate the chicken from the broth. Set aside broth to cool, and make chicken strips from the meat.

Heat 2 tbsp of Extra Virgin Olive oil in a pan, add a significant amount of butter, just enough to give the buttery yummy taste :) Add milk then 250ml of Nestle cream, whisk mixture until it boils. Add chicken strips and a cup of the chicken broth then boil in low fire. Add 2 tbsps of the pesto mixture and whisk again, after it boils add another 250ml of the Nestle cream. Add another 2 tbsps of pesto a dash of salt and pepper to taste. Boil in low fire until mixture thickens.

Cook pasta as per package instructions. I used bow tie pasta for presentation purposes. They are sooo cute :)