Old Friends

I love getting together with old friends. You just pick up from where you left off and it's like those months of not seeing each other didn't really happen.

I met up with Em, Mika, and Stephie over the weekend to eat unhealthy food (sorry, Em!) and catch up. Would you believe me if I told you I met all of them on the Internet? Because I kind of did. (:

If you read my sidebar, you'll know that I've had a site since 1997 and I've been blogging (manually before Blogger, haha!) since then, too. My friends didn't understand why I had a site or why I had all these friends online. "What do you talk about? Isn't it weird?" were some of their questions. I don't remember what I told them. To be honest, I think these people I would talk with everyday, these people who read my thoughts through LiveJournal, knew more about me than my friends who I'd see once a week. It doesn't seem strange at all now that we've crossed the line from talking to each other through screens to actually talking to each other face-to-face.

Which is not to say I don't love my friends—the ones I've known even before I owned a computer much less knew anything about the Net. I do! But all I'm saying is I don't have offline and online friends. They're all... well, friends.

Anyway, the point is—if I ever had a point—it was great getting together with them, laughing about the same things, talking about what's been going on, updating each other about any progress in anyone's life, and then making plans to do it again. I super enjoyed and can't wait 'til the next time!

Soupy Dumplings

I don't like soupy dumplings. Or at least that's what I remember. I just tried it when my friend Mimi brought some as her baon. I think I may have confused it with the sauce, which had a very strong ginger taste. Maybe that's why I always thought I didn't like it.

So last week, I went to this new place that supposedly has good soupy dumplings. I wasn't looking forward to it, but I was looking forward to yummy Chinese food. I was with Mimi and Stephie who both had eaten in the resto, here and abroad. I've never been, period. We got there a little past 11am and we already had to take a number. But the wait wasn't that long and we were in our booth seats in maybe 15 minutes.

They did the ordering save for the Chicken with Cashew Nuts in Spicy Sauce because I like anything with cashews and I was curious. We got the Crispy Eel (sweetand crunchy!), this noodle soup with a peanut-y broth (I removed the spring onions and wansoy that came with the spoon. Ick.), and of course, Xiao Long Bao.

The tray of soupy dumplings arrived steaming hot! But I didn't bite into it until in the middle of the meal so some of the soup might have either evaporated or got absorbed into the meat. I decided to skip the sauce and the verdict is: I like soupy dumplings just not with that ginger sauce. I had two despite my already hard tummy (note to self: stop eating when your stomach is as hard as your forehead, hehehe). And I wouldn't mind having just that. And maybe the chicken because I liked it a lot even if it was a bit spicy.

I was stuffed and didn't even get to finish the noodle soup. We split the bill among the 3 of us and it came out around P350 for each of us. I say not bad! I didn't even have dinner that night anymore because I was too full. That, and well, I had a large cup of Hokkaido. Heh.

Crystal Jade La Mian Xiao Long Bao
V-Mall Greenhills Shopping Center
Greenhills, San Juan
570-6910, 570-6912
Operating Hours: 11 a.m.-10 p.m.

Thanks, Mikkomix!

My friend Mikko from Alaska has always been an enabler. She gave me a domain on my birthday and paintedcloud.com was born. When that expired, she hosted me under her domain that changed names over time. Whenever I'd want to order something online, she'd offer to get it for me and then I'd pay her when she'd come home to visit. We'd fuel each others' dreams of building a bake shop (mine) and a bookstore (hers) and promise that we'd build it someday.

When she told me that she and Tita Tocy (her mom who showers me with such generous baking presents) were putting together a small package for me, I got excited for cupcake liners. That's it. When her cousin told me that the package was ready to be picked up from their house, I asked the driver to drop by for it after he brought my brothers to work.

He arrived with a larger than normal shoebox plus a plastic bag of cupcake liners (so pretty!). I was wondering, what else could be inside the box? I had to go to work but I couldn't resist not peeking. I pulled out a dress, 2 skirts, plus a bunch of Ziploc-ed accessories. I was nowhere near unpacking even half of it. My dad was laughing at me because I couldn't contain my excitement. I put everything back and said, "I'm going to do this tonight so I can savor it!" Hahaha.

So I went to work, had yummy Chinese food, got a pretty surprise from my friend at the shoot, had my favorite milk tea from Serenitea, and COULD. NOT. WAIT. TO. GO. HOME.


I carefully unpacked each item and took a pic (haha). I wasn't going to post the pics but I had a hard time finding the stuff online, hehe. Can't wait to wear everything (I'd wear them all together if I could!). This should curb my shopping urges for a while, right? I should keep reminding myself. d:


Got some cute new spatulas plus pretty cupcakes liners, too! My dad had my oven checked out and sadly we have to wait for the service center to check if they've still got parts for it. Apparently, it's an old model that's already been phased out. Please cross your fingers, toes, and eyes that it can still be fixed. I want to bake again!

Anyway, you guys have an awesome weekend. (:

Two Movies in a Row

I used to be The Girl Who Watches Movies on TV. I'd literally wait for movies to be shown on HBO rather than watch them in the cinema. It's not really by choice. Most of the time, I don't have anyone to watch them with. Besides, watching a movie while you're on your bed without anyone else in the room is not so bad. You won't have to sit through two hours of someone who keeps kicking your seat from the back (haaate when that happens!).

Anyway, I got to see two movies this week: Due Date and You Again. So I am now The Girl Who Catches Movies in Cinemas Once in a While. (:

photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

Due Date was hilaaarious. Even from the trailer, I was already laughing. Zach Galifianakis is so funny! I haven't seen The Hangover (still waiting for it to be shown on TV—I'm kidding!) but my friends told me I should go watch it. If only to see him and laugh out loud again, I probably will.

photo courtesy of Touchstone Pictures

My friend Kaich told me that two of my favorite Kristin/Kristens (Chenoweth and Bell, respectively) were in a movie together. I had already read about it by way of Twitter (like all news spread these days) and I couldn't wait to watch it! I think I'd watch anything with some sort of high school theme to it (Easy A, you're next!) so it's no surprise I liked this movie, too. The end was a treat, too, since I was hooked on The Bird and the Bee's tribute album to Hall & Oates a while back. (:

Anyway, it's time to catch with my TV series now. Still behind on Dexter, Chuck, and Glee! What have you been watching?

Songs I Like: Mandy Moore and Zachary Levi "I See the Light"

I'm a big fan of Disney and their movies' OSTs. I used to have Aladdin's OST memorized from Side A to Side B (Come closer, closer... Not that close!), which I think is the best Disney sound track ever. I remember playing the tapes on my Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, and Aladdin sound tracks thin.

My brother told me about a song from Disney's Tangled sung by Rapunzel (Mandy Moore) and Flynn (Zachary Levi). I immediately Googled it to hear the song.

It's no surprise that I love it because the man who's behind the song is the exact same guy who did the scores for Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, and The Little Mermaid—Alan Menken! And it doesn't hurt that Zachary Levi's voice sounds like a true Prince Charming's. ♥