Last Thursday, being Dondi’s birthday, we had a good excuse to go on a gatronomic adventure.  And so, we drove off to Brazil, not the country, but the restaurant at the gorgeous The Piazza at Serendra in the heart of Global City (Fort Bonifacio) right next to Market! Market!.  You didn’t think we drove off to South America, did you? (Sorry Pinky!)

Upto the time we (my Mom, Abby and me) picked Dondi up from work (yup, he did go to work!), we still have not decided on a restaurant for Dondi’s birthday dinner.  All we know is that we’re going to Serendra and we’ll make a decision when we get there.  The Piazza, being new, had only about 10 restaurants/bars/coffeshops in operation.  Nevertheless, it wasn’t very easy to choose because all the restaurants looked like they have something interesting to offer.  We narrowed down our choices to 4: Polu Kai (Hawaiian), Tatami (Japanese), Gaudi (Spanish) and Brazil (Brazilian, obviously!).  Brazil became the top choice because the celebrant is such a carnivore…a vegetarian’s nemesis, really!

We’ve always been curious about Brazil, which has a brach called “Brazil! Brazil!” at the Powerplant Mall in Makati and at MetroWalk in Ortigas, but never gave it a try because we thought it was too expensive.  At least, we had a good excuse to splurge a little.  Brazil offers a buffet feast (no ala carte!) which includes all you can eat churrasco.  And since it just recently opened, the Serendra branch is offering 10% off the weekday/weeknight price of Php 495.++.  They charge a hundred pesos more on weekends but there are more choices.

At the circular buffet counter are 5 kinds of salads: fresh greens with 3 kinds of dressing, asparagus caesar, mango and corn, cucumber with olives and fruit salad (for dessert).  The hot items included penne pasta in garlic and olive oil, fish fillet, steamed vegetables, and rice.  Other than the fruit salad, there was vanilla cake for dessert (not much, if you ask me!).  Mushroom soup was served on the table.  The asparagus caesar salad turned out to be everyone’s favorite, followed by the mango and corn salad, which Abby loved.  Dondi and I had second servings of the pasta, which, in spite of its “bareness”, what with only olive oil and toasted garlic going for it, was just plain yummy.  The fish fillet in red sauce (sorry, forgot what it’s called!) was surprisingly good and tender.

The star of the buffet are the churrascos.  The variety of grilled meat included: beef loin, beef brisket, chicken thigh, pork belly, pork loin and sausages.  There were also grilled corn on the cob, bananas and pineapples.  A server brings the different varieties of churrasco one at a time, slices a piece ever so thinly (except for the chicken, which is served by piece and the sausages, which are sliced in big chunks), which the diner catches with a pair of thongs.  Everyone’s favorite was the beef brisket, grilled just right, a little on the rare side, but we were ok with that!  It was also a little fatty so we had to trim off the fat.  A close second was the beef loin.  I loved the chicken, which did not taste peppery at all, in spite of the presence of peppercorns all over it.  Dondi ignored all the non-meat churrascos.  Abby had a ball munching on her corn on the cob.  I tried the grilled pineapple.  Well, it was different. I’m not used to eating very warm pineapples.
On top of each table is a yoyo, which is green on one side and red on the other.  We were told that as long as the yoyo’s green side is up, the servers will not stop bringing churrascos to our table.  They’ll only stop when the red side is up.  And so, we pretty much left the green side up the entire evening, until Abby decided to play with the yoyo.  We ended up calling on the servers and simply requested for our favorites.

My Mom, who is one of the hardest people to feed, enjoyed the dinner.  It was a relief to see her plate so “clean”.  She said she wanted to eat some more but she was too full already…you know the saying, “the mind is willing, but the body is not”.

While singing the birthday song, the Brazil staff brought Dondi a chocolate cake with a lighted little blue candle, just when Dondi was chewing on a chunk of meat and while I was getting food from the buffet. :)  I had to rush to our table to take pics.  Anyway,  it was so sweet of them.  The cake, which was a cross between black forest and chocolate mousse was oh-so-yummy.

When we got out of the restaurant, we decided we should come back to The Piazza to try out the other restaurants (Mia, we’ll try Polu Kai next!).  Dinner turned out to be quite an experience and the birthday boy loved it.  :)  The Piazza is such a wonderful place with a calm about it that makes you just want to stay and sit on the benches a little longer.  I so look forward to our next visit!  Ole!

The fountain right in the middle of The Piazza.

Dondi and the Pork Belly.

My turn to be served pork belly.

Mr. and Little Miss Brazil

Name that meat (clockwise from 12 o’clock): pork belly, sausages, beef loin, beef brisket, pork loin and chicken thigh.

What’s a birthday wihtout a birthday cake?

The Birthday Family

Our Brazilian Buffet Team
Our adventure did not end here.  We went straight to Cupcakes by Sonja after coming out of Brazil. :)  You shall hear about that next.  For now, I gotta get some sleep.  Heehee.

Today, the 23rd of November, is my hubby’s birthday, which also happens to be Thanksgiving Day.  It is also our 13th anniversary as a couple. Well, well, well, I just got myself a topic for this post! Haha.  I’ve blogged away about Abby so many times and I think it’s about time I dedicate some blog space to my one and only first and last true love.  Naks!  Don’t worry, I’ll keep it as “un-mushy” as possible.

A few weeks ago, my Mom teased me that I married Dondi because he is “guwapo”.  I don’t exactly remember how it came about but I remember saying, “Tignan mo naman, ang ganda ng apo mo!” :)  For the record, I did not marry Dondi for his good looks.  Bonus na lang yun! Haha. 

My husband, if I may say so myself, is from a rare breed of men.  The likes of him are either taken or gay. ;)  (Ok, maybe there’s a few more left out there, lest I be accused of dashing the hopes for a happy ever after of still distressed damsels.)  Let me share 10 facts about Dondi:

1)  A devout Catholic -  He is God-fearing and very prayerful and he need not be reminded of his religious obligations.  And I believe it is from this very nature of his that his other virtues are hinged.  He is kind and generous.  You know the term “walang masamang tinapay“?  That fits him to a T.  He isn’t judgemental and almost always manages to see the good in other people. He is one of the most patient and calmest people I know.  It takes a lot to tick him off and it’s usually the “sunday drivers” who make his temperature rise.  Lately, it’s been Abby who’s been testing Don’s patience.  And in the classic game of “ang mapikon talo”, si Daddy ang laging talo.

2)  He is a self-made man.  -  Unlike me, who has been served practically everything on a silver platter, Don has to work his butt off to see to the fulfillment of the goals and dreams he has set for himself and our family, all on his own.  If I may quote a popular politician-actor, “Walang kama-kamaganak!  Walang kaibi-kaibigan!”  While he may have not yet reached the “tugatog ng tagumpay” careerwise, tagumpay as we know it, slowly but surely, he is starting to reap the fruits of his hard work and in no time, I know he will be there.  Aba, may pagka Romi Garduce yata ang asawa ko! 

3)  He is such a goofball! -  He is funny and possesses such quick wit. Sometimes, it can be difficult to have an all so serious conversation with Dondi.  But he knows when I mean business and he lets up. :)  I can’t imagine being with someone who takes life too seriously…like me.  Did I just say I can’t be with someone like me?  Whoops. Haha.  Dondi makes  me laugh when I need it most, and I love a good laugh! 

4)  He loves sports (although I don’t think sports loves him back). -  Be it baseball, basketball, American football, soccer, tennis, golf, whatever, he is bound to know a lot about it and the people involved in it.  Let’s put it this way, if Dondi were to play the jackpot round in Game Ka Na Ba and sports is the topic, man, he would easily win the million bucks!  No kidding!  It’s because of his love for sports that I am slowly learning the rules and mechanics of a lot of sports as well.  He rubbed off the World Cup fever on me and we both refused to leave Germany last February without our World Cup paraphernalia. 

5)  He is afraid of doesn’t like cockroaches. - You won’t believe how bad it is.  He wouldn’t go into a room if there’s a cockroach, especially if it’s flying!  Grabe talaga! If we’re together and he sees a cockroach, say at home, he’ll order me to grab the nearest “tsinelas”. 

6)  He is a Mama’s Boy (and I mean that in a good way!). - Early in our relationship and upto this day, I would tease Dondi once in a while for being a “Mama’s Boy”.  And almost always, he would return the compliment by calling me a “Mommy’s Girl”.  Well, we’re both right.  Hehe.  One thing Dondi and I share is a great love for our mothers.  A lot can be told about a person by the way he treats his or her mother.  Because ultimately, in the case of boys, that reveals how they will care for the “women” in their lives, and I am limitting the term “women” to wife, daughters, and sisters!

7)  He can “tolerate” tele/fantaseryes. -  Many will find this unbelievable, except maybe his officemates, who keep him updated on Antartica which I refuse to watch.  I’ve liberated myself from tele/fantaseryes after being hooked for quite a long time: Mulawin, Encantadia, Majica, even Jewel in the Palace!  I no longer want the pressure of having to get home in time to catch them on a daily basis. 

8)  He does not like vinegar, raisins and pork and beans. -  I can’t live without vinegar, which is my “sauce of choice” for a lot of grilled seafood.  Dondi, on the other hand, can’t tolerate even the slightest smell of the thing.  What I don’t understand is the exception he has given to the vinegar from Lapid’s Freshly Popped Chicharon.  He can eat raisins fresh out of the box but not the ones mixed in ulam.  Pork and beans, he said, he will only eat if there’s nothing else to eat. Oh well.  This number 8 could very well be “My husband is weird.”
9)  He is a doting Dad. -  Dondi took on the role of father head-on.  Giving birth through c-section rendered me a tad bit useless helpless for a time, save maybe for breastfeeding duties.  Don would cradle our little bundle of joy in his arms, put her to sleep, burp her and comfort her when she cried.  He had no qualms whatsoever about changing nappies, whatever was in it, be it pee or poop, he didn’t care!  One thing he wasn’t ever able to do is give Abby a bath.  He would assist but never has he done it by himself.  He thought Abby was too fragile when she was a baby and now that she’s a toddler, he thinks she’s too “malikot“.  When he comes home from work, Don makes sure to play with Abby and do the “weee”, which is lifting Abby in the air way above his head several times in a row while Abby repeatedly says “Weeee!”. 

10) He is a winner of a husband.  -  In our own little world, Dondi has always made me feel like a Queen, from our courtship days to this day.  He has proven time and again, that chivalry is not dead.  From the simplest gestures as staying on the danger side when walking and crossing the street to the nerve-racking such as staying with me through 10-hours of labor which ended up in c-section (during which he was still present!), panalo ang asawa ko.  He takes good care of me and Abby and we always have been his priority.

There are still a lot of facts about Dondi which I find endearing.  But I will limit it to 10 as I don’t want to make my husband more attractive to other girls than he already is.

And with that, I say “Happy Birthday, Munchkin!” :)  Abby and I love you so much!  Thank you for being the person that you are and for making us the “only 1s in you life”.  Mwah mwah mwah!   

Sunday, 12 November 2006, marked Abby’s first encounter with theater.  It was one of those spur of the moment change of plans.  The association of exporters where my Mom is president, HAPI (Home Accents Group of the Philippines, Inc.) was the sponsor of the matinee show of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “The Sound of Music” which is being presented by who else, but Repertory Philippines and the Manila Symphony Orchestra.  That meant my Mom had a couple of tickets which she has already paid for. 

At 2 years and 2months old (check out my ticker!), we know that Abby is too young for theater.  She didn’t quite like the movie theater, what more THE theater where the audience could be a little, well, less forgiving. :)  And so, we decided that only I will make use of one of my Mom’s free tickets while Dondi and Abby with Yaya Amor kill time at Glorietta.  When we got to the 2nd floor lobby of Greenbelt 1 where Onstage, the home of Repertory Philippines,  is located, we were surprised to see so many kids already in line with their parents/guardians waiting to get inside Onstage.  Some were even younger than Abby!  We thought then that maybe we oughtta give it a try.   

Just before 3:30 pm, when the musical was set to start, we were already on our dead-center 3rd row seats.  Dondi and I were drawing up a plan on how we could get up inconspicuously should Abby show the slightest hint of a tantrum.  And there’s just no way that we could do that!  Silently, I hoped and prayed that Abby would like what was about to unfold on stage before her toddler eyes.

As soon as the lights were dimmed, Abby sat still on my lap and directed her eyes toward the stage.  She watched and listened attentively through every dance, every song…everything!  Every once in a while, we would hear a cry or a yelp from a child somewhere in the back and I’d think to myself, “That’s not my kid!”  I was beaming silently from where I sat, proud that the little girl on my lap was so well-behaved…so “cultured”!  Haha!  When the first act ended, Abby turned to me, looking disappointed and said, “Nana (no more).”  I reassured her that the children (the Von Trapps!) will be coming back to do some more singing and dancing. 

Towards the end of the 15-minute intermission, Abby would squeeze water out of her bottle (by pinching the nipple) into the bottlecap, which she would drink afterterwards.  She continued to do this until the start of the 2nd act.  That’s when we had what one may call a “minor glitch”.  When we took Abby’s source of fun away from her, we didn’t realize she still had some water in her mouth, which she hasn’t swallowed it yet.  We only found out after the lady sitting in front of me stirred from her seat, wiped her shoulder and hair with her hand and turned her head to one side for a glimpse of who was behind her.  Ooops.  Minor shower lang naman yun, promise!  Abby just had to uhm, let out some of her youthful charm.  After that, she went back to paying full attention to the musical until it ended.

We walked out of the theater singing in whispers.  “How do you solve a problem like…” and Abby would fill in the blank by singing “Maria”.  She likes the song “A-deer, A-deer”, that’s “Do-Re-Mi” for you.  :)  Do I sense a future in theater for my little one?  Haha!  Let’s just say that when she’s old enough,the summers ahead of her will be spent with Trumpets.

Break a leg!

oOo

It has been a while since I myself have gone to the theater.  I forgot the title of the last production I saw but it starred Lea Salonga and a Singaporean actor, staged at the AFP Theater.  The popular song from that musical is “Fallen”. Well, whatever.  Suffice it to say that seeing The Sound of Music last Sunday felt like a first time visit.

We were lucky that in spite of the fact that we were seeing a matinee, all the actors for the day were first-stringers.  Menchu Lauchengco-Yulo played Maria and Audie Gemora was Capt. Von Trapp.  I know that Audie is a theater veteran but pathetic little me never once had the chance to see him in any production.  I see him every week in channel 5’s  “Shall We Dance”, the celebrity dance show hosted by Lucy Torres-Gomez and I didn’t realize that he is indeed a very good singer and actor! Pinky Marquez played the role of Mother Abbess and Cherrie Gil was Baroness Elsa Shraeder.  The director is Baby Barredo.

I highly recommend this musical. The Sound of Music, in my opinion, is one of the best vehicles to introduce kids to the theater.  Tickets are very affordable at P300, P500 and P700.  The production will run until 17 December.  Should you be unable to catch it, Repertory also has regular kiddie productions via its Children’s Theater.

When Dondi and I were newlyweds, I avoided the “are you pregnant yet” question like the plague.  It had a number of variations:  “Wala pa ba?”; “Meron na?”; and the very direct, “O ano, buntis ka na?”  These were questions which sometimes often made my temperature rise to fever levels.  I know, they were harmless questions from well-meaning people.  Nevertheless, I felt irritated whenever I was asked.

For one, Dondi and I decided even before we got married that we’ll wait two years before bringing a baby into the picture.  And it’s a decision we made known to most anyone who knew us, friends and relatives alike.  Second, what if we were really trying to conceive but weren’t yet successful?  Somehow, in my mind, the well-meaning question has just gotten a little too personal.  My heart went to the couples who were taking a long time to conceive.  I could just imagine the pressure they had to endure!  Buti na lang, that’s not our case. In fairness, my relatives didn’t bother me as much as, well, other people.
There were times when we would get unsolicited advice: “Have a baby first and then do the family planning.” (The reason being, we don’t even know yet if we have reproductive problems!); and worse, “Baka dapat na silang (meaning Dondi and me) magpatingin.”

I was just glad to have that phase over and done with.  I promised myself I’d spare newlyweds from the “are you pregnant?” question, which is in the same league as the greeting, “Tumaba ka!/Ang taba mo ngayon!”  Some people, like me, don’t take it very well.
Well, that phase is now over and done with, thank God.  However, Dondi and I have recently found ourselves in “the next phase”.  I’m a bit astonished at how, in the last two weeks alone, I’ve been asked this question a lot:  “Hindi pa ba susundan si Abby?”

Dondi and I have actually already amassed a number of replies to this seemingly innocent question, enough to give a different answer to everyone who dared ask.  Some of my usual retorts are: “Nyii!”; “Ok ka lang?”; “Hindi na yata kaya ng powers ko!”; “Mahirap mag-alaga.”; “Magastos.”; “Pag-aaralin mo?”; “Mahirap ang buhay.”; “Hindi pa namin napag-usapan.”; and “Ask me when Abby turns 3.”  Dondi has two favorite answers:  “May one child policy kami eh.” and the other one, as per the suggestion of a good friend: “Pumirma ka na ba sa petition? May signature campaign.”

Sometimes, we get a follow-up comment: “Mahirap ang only child.“; “Kawawa naman si Abby, walang kalaro.”; and my favorite, seriously, “Kung ganyan naman kaganda ang lahi (referring to Abby), dapat sundan (interchangeable with magparami).

Unlike the first phase, this next one doesn’t quite affect me.  I simply shrug off the question with a smile and with either one of my ready answers.

If only having babies were simple.  But that’s just it, it’s not.  It’s a big huge responsibility, which starts at the moment of conception.  There are so many things to consider: the present child/ren, finances, physical/emotional/psychologial readiness of the family - the mom especially, the state of the country…the state of the world and so on and so forth!

There’s this one fear I have though, that I will not be able to love my children equally or Abby will easily be my favorite because she and I have been together for some time already.  I know, it’s a silly thought but it’s valid, isn’t it?  I remember reading an interview with Daphne Osena-Paez (of the defunct tv show “F”) where she mentioned having the same fear I have.  A friend told her not to worry because when the next baby (2nd) comes, it’s gonna feel that she’s always had 2 children.  And that’s a very reassuring thought.
Right now, we’re happy and more than contented with our one beautiful, active and smart daughter.  And when we and all the other aspects of our lives are ready, God willing, we might just have another child.  The thought of pre-natal check-ups, internal examinations and weeks of sleepless nights doesn’t appeal to me just yet.  Maybe in time, I’ll have that so-called “baby-ache”.

I have Keith the Bloggin’ Daddy to thank for introducing me to Lilypie.

Wala lang.  Not that I need to be reminded how old Abby is.  I just think it’s cute.