NYE

My family has been very blessed in 2011 and what better way to kick off the new year than..

GOOD FOOD...

paella stuffed chicken and crema de fruta

maki platter

yummy cake :)

ham

GOOD COMPANY...

AND SOME FIREWORKS!

HAPPY NEW YEAR! :)

Mountain View

I still could not imagine how the 6 of us fit inside a Honda Jazz. Haha! :)

The crew traveled from Laoag an hour and a half just to have a good lunch by the mountainside in Pagudpud. From Laoag 'til our destination, i had to whisper every single word i had to say as i was suffering from laryngitis. As per doc's advice, i need to be voiceless for at least 3 days. My friends thought it would have been a rowdy trip with my 1 million words per minute; i am just not sure if it was a disappointment or a relief that i was awfully quiet.

Bergblick Tortilla

Fresh Fish Platter

Bergblick Pan

We had lunch at Bergblick (literal translation of "mountain view" in German) where Chef Detlev and wife Tess welcomed us and served us German food. We tried their samplers and dessert, and enjoyed a bottle of red wine.

On our way home we stopped by Bangui view deck for a good view of the windmills, and Burgos Lighthouse. It was a very windy day! Afterwards we made tambay in Laoag for some coffee and siopao.

Bangui Windmills behind us

eating mangga with alamang by the lighthouse

How i have missed getaways with friends! Random road trips are the best! :)

Christmas in Black and White

My best friends in high school and myself organized a simple dinner get-together.  The theme was simple - come in black and white, bring a gift worth Php200, and bring your boyfriend.  Haha! :)  

we missed Lyndy and Don :(

pictorial outside Saramsam where the lighting was good ;)

Korean-ish pose ;)

the boys

the girls

Christmas would not be complete without a meet-up with good friends.  I thank them for being a part of my life in 2011, and i look forward to more good times for this coming year. :)

Oaqui Turns 6

It's an Angry Birds Theme Party for my little brother who's turned 6 today.  The boyfie and i bought this chocolate cake for him and i thought he loved it until he said, "Trish, you forgot the green bird." :/

2-layer chocolate cake

Oaqs and Nikki

Arnel loving the youghurt candy sticks

Oaqs and his friends

as i take a photo of him blowing his candle

Oaqui is 6 and i can't believe how fast he's growing.  He now wants to have his own Facebook account.  :( Sooner or later he's gonna go out on dates. *faint*

There were balloons, loot bags, good food and Angry birds everywhere!  It was fun watching the kids get crazy over the prizes and parlor games.  Oaqs was going around the party with his camera and took pictures of his guests.  I never get tired of children's parties. :)

Johnny Moon Cafe

Hmmm.. bagnet on a sandwich?

Sounds interesting! 

We just had to try the food at the newest hangout at La Tabacalera Lifestyle Center called Johnny Moon Cafe.

Why Johnny Moon? Remember that event when i posted this blog about Looking for Johnny Moon?  Well, like that event, this Ilocano Diner was built in honor of an Ilocano hero, Juan Luna.  You see, Johnny is English for Juan; and Moon for Luna. :)

goofing around with the Juan Luna hats on display

took a photo of Arnel by the mural

I got these words from their Facebook Account:

 At Johnny Moon Cafe, Ilocano flavor meets western style!

its theme: old-new/Europe-Asia/Paris-Ilocandia

Juan Luna is the first manifestation of the Filipino to the world. Long before Manny Pacquiao, Luna was embraced by all of Europe, in his time the center of world power, because of his sheer brilliance and distinctive style of painting. Preceding Jose Rizal and other more famous heroes, the Ilocano Luna captured the imagination of the European aristocracy.

our bagnet sandwich courtesy of Roma the cook

 discover a concoction of local and world flavors inspired by the life and work of the 

greatest Filipino painter Juan Luna 

I also had a taste of their sweet potato and taro chips with malunggay mayo dip.  As i am not a fan of sweets, i just ate the taro chips.

malunggay mayo dip

Johnny Moon is where you can actually taste ART.

I invited my brother and Allen to join our table.  They had Bugnay Tea while i tried the Paz tea.  My brother loved the Bagnet Sandwich.

my Paz tea

I loved their unique menu!  On my next visit i'm gonna try their breakfast dishes, steaks and unique empanadas and desserts. :)

tupig con chocolate

steaks! :)

Joy to the World

I woke up on Christmas day wanting one, and only one, thing -- Chickenjoy.  I was not longing for more gifts to unwrap... i just wanted to dig into that crunchy, yummylicious and juicylicious chicken.

So the obliged boyfie took me to the mall where 3/4 of Ilocos Norte's population was at.  We were so fortunate to have got ourselves a table at Jollibee.  I enjoyed my 2-piece Chickenjoy (one original and another spicy) with loads of gravy.

Mint Chocolate Muffin

reviewing the mechanics for the photo contest at TriBeca

We  both had to go to work in the afternoon but we still made time for a cup of cappuccino (Php75) and a Mint Chocolate Muffin (Php85) at TriBeca.  I officially have a Happy Christmas! :)