14 September 2010

For mom's 61st birthday, I decided for the family to use the Mr. Jones gift certificate I won from the first Yummy Magazine blog contest. It has been in my possession since June, and because I want to share my blessings with my family, I waited for the right time to use it. Mom's birthday fell on a Monday, but since sister's day off at work was on a Tuesday, mom just switched her birthday holiday so the whole family could eat out.

The night before, I already called in the diner to reserve a table, because it might be a full house come lunch time. Since it's been ages since I last explored Makati City, locating the diner made us walk for about 30 minutes by the time we got off the Ayala MRT Station. Still, the diner kept our reservation, and after catching our breath and thinking what to eat, we gave them the order.


We had: Fish and Chips, Melted "Old Bay" Crab and Dory Thermidor, Wicked Truffled Mac and Cheese, and Char-Grilled "Greek Style" Norwegian Salmon Steak. For drinks, we shared in the Banana Cream Pie milkshake and Blueberry Granola Yogurt "Slim Shake." I guess we were a little overwhelmed with the fancy names in the menu that we weren't able to think carefully what to order. The foods were all great, but as soon as the dishes were delivered we realized we order a whole lot of fish! It would be a bit better if we have tried the meat dishes, too.

The servings were big, and all of us enjoyed the meal. My favorite would be the Mac and Cheese... it was totally wicked! So delicious. I also liked the fish and chips, but unlike sis who enjoyed it with the tartar sauce, I enjoyed it with the vinegar. Best thing about dining here? Hearing some good old music, and Elvis was playing the whole time we were there. It felt as if we were eating at the diners we could only see on films.


I loved the way staff catered to their customers. They were very attentive, very quick to offer help, and they were very friendly. The way they treated us erased the annoyance I had from them the night before, when I called to reserve a table and the person on the other end of the line dropped the call after I have my whole long sentence about reserving a seat. All's well, I didn't hold any grudges. :)


After eating, we walked to the Greenbelt Chapel to say prayers. Now that sister is already working and is coming home just to sleep, it became rare for the whole family to be complete. Today, we didn't just celebrate mom's birthday, we also celebrated a time being together.

The mass will be held late in the afternoon, and since it was only 1PM, we decided to carry on with the day. We went to Landmark to shop, and sister and I bought footwear - I bought a pair of rubber shoes and she bought a pair of wedge shoes. We also went to the kitchenware section, where we bought a much needed replacement to our ladles. It was fun shopping at the Landmark, not only were the prices low, they were also having their anniversary sale. We were able to buy a lot and paying a little over a thousand for all the kitchenware. Sweet!


Traveling back home from Makati City would take us two to three hours (depending on traffic), so we decided to grab some snacks before going home. We just ate at Jollibee in Glorietta - sister had the Champ (in picture), mom and I had the Spaghetti / Regular Yum meal, and brother had the Hotdog meal. It was a good choice, for we didn't eat dinner anymore when we got home.

I am always happy whenever I am with my family. I love sharing a meal with them because not only do I get to share foods with them, I could also share good chats, hearty laughs...as if we were friends gathering. I don't know when the whole family could eat out again, so I really savored this moment.

Happy birthday, Momskie!

*** Jenn ***