We finally made it to the Philippines on May 2. (which is May 1 in the U.S.)
The time difference is 13 hours from central standard time. So if it's 6 p.m. here in the Philippines, then it's 5 a.m. in Houston.
We were super excited to be back in Manila! Eyen's childhood friend, Joe, picked us up from the airport. Of course the first thing on the agenda was FOOD!
Our first stop was Shakey's pizza.
Bff's reunited!
They were really happy to see each other. :)
One of the things I missed the most about the Philippines... BOTTOMLESS ICED TEA! Omg. Heaven! This is not "southern" ice tea, which I dislike.. This is like a fruit drink tea! And it's amazing!
Mojo Jojos! Just potatoes with dipping sauce!
We're excited, can't you tell?!
After we ate, Joe took us to Bulacan to suprise Lola Yna! Bulacan is about an hour or so from Manila.
Here is the video of us surprising her. Hopefully it uploads correctly.
These are some of the kids in Bulacan. They get really excited for visitors especially the ones who bring "pasalubong" (gifts). Of course we spoiled them with candy!
After we picked up Lola, we headed back to Manila to have dinner.
Since we were staying near SM North, we decided to eat at Tim Ho Wan. If you were following my blog two years ago, we actually ate at this place in Hong Kong. They added one in Manila in those 2 years we were gone!
The group. <3
Lola Yna! She was wearing my transformers jacket since she was cold. hehe
These are the BBQ Pork Buns. They are SO GOOD! This is what they are known for.
Healthy greens for the Lola.
Steamed spinach dumpling and steamed shrimp ball. YUMMY!
As I said earlier, we were staying near SM North Edsa. It was a condominium called "SM Grass". It was really nice because it's walking distance from the mall.
This is the view right from our door! We were staying on the 35th floor, so we had a really good view of the city!
Our kitchen. It's small, but we don't need much. Lola Yna with her special snacks. :)
We packed light... HAHA
The next day we went to watch Manny Pacquiao fight Floyd Mayweather. We all know the outcome (disappointing), but we couldn't miss it! Of course, we had to eat while watching! I had Chicken Ala King from French Baker!
Eyen had fish balls and pizza sticks!
After the fight, we decided to walk around the mall. You already know what that means... MORE FOOD!
Another thing we really missed... KING CORN!
We found this little place in the mall where local people were selling their local goods. Eyen decided to try Ube flavored Taho! Ube is a purple potato and Taho is a soybean delicacy.
I tried a Chocolate Hazelnut ice cream bar!
Later that night, we were invited to Tito Peter and Tita Nida's house! Tito and Tita are the parent of Ate Nicole. Ate Nicole is Kuya Dylan's (eyen's oldest brother) girlfriend. 2 years ago I mentioned that the terms "Tito and Tita" are used for "Uncle and Aunt". Ate (ah-tay) is used for older sister and Kuya (coo-yah) is used for older brother.
Tita Nida made Pancit Malabon. (pan-seat mal-a-bone). Pancit is a Filipino favorite. There are all different kinds: Pancit Malabon, Pancit Canton, Pancit Bihon, etc. There are A LOT! Pancit means "noodles". There are different noodles and different ways of preparing them.
Smiles. :D
This is green mango with binagoongan. (bin-a-go-o-nyan) nga in Tagalog is really hard for me to pronounce therefore it's hard for me to try to tell you how to say it. :(
Family photo! Tito Peter, Lola Yna, Tita Nida, Joe, myself holding my bff Niko, Ate Peach (Ate Nicole's older sister), and Eyen!
We had a lot of fun being in Manila again. We were able to enjoy some of the things we missed while being in the states.
My next post will be about Tagaytay and Lake Taal! This is an active volcano in the Philippines. :)
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