It's Gia's 25th birthday today. And since she's out to celebrate with her boyfriend, Jeff, we already had a pre-bithday celebration with the family yesterday.

*My digicam is with Mark, and so the following photos were taken using my camera phone. :)*

Jeff and the birthday girl :)

The family's all complete yesterday--daddy and Gia were on leave, Jaoey was sick and can't go to school, and I was on a work from home shift--so we decided to celebrate Gia's birthday. We had a simple celebration over lunch. Daddy cooked another set of sumptuous dishes which they, including Jeff, feasted on.
Daddy asked me what I wanted to have for lunch and I immediately answered Crispy Pata! I don't really crave for it, do I? Haha! Oh how I wish I could really eat these. :p

Crispy Pata

Daddy also cooked chopseuy which is always a perfect pair for fried dishes. Also good in balancing out the cholesterol from the crispy pata. :p

Chopseuy

We also had fried chicken and spaghetti, plus fruit salad for dessert.

Fried Chicken

Spaghetti

Fruit Salad

And of course, birthdays won't be complete without cakes! And so daddy bought a Double Dutch Cake from Goldilock's.

Goldilock's Double Dutch Cake

Part of my treatment for my PCOS requires me to eat only those that are in my meal plan, so while my family feasted over lunch, I was munching on these. :p

My lunch plate: beef, corn kernels, and lettuce :p

And again, we all had fun and enjoyed our lunch feast. Special thanks to my dad for all the delicious food! :D

Happy birthday Nurse Gia!!! :)

Mark celebrated his 27th birthday last February 7. Days before his special day, I was already thinking of places to go for his birthday celebration. He actually told me that he also wanted it to be some sort of an adventure just like what we had during my birthday. Since our schedules didn't permit an out of town trip, we had no choice but to settle for the places here in the Metro. Good thing I remembered Pan de Amerikana, the first and only chess-themed restaurant in the Philippines, which was once featured in a local magazine show.

I immediately thought that Mark would love to visit and dine in this restaurant because, as not everyone may know, aside from being into bodybuilding, Mark also is an expert in chess. :) He was a chess varsity player during his high school and college days and he also competed and won in the UAAP (University Athletic Association of the Philippines) chess competitions.

After a 20-minute cab ride from the Gateway Mall, we arrived at Pan de Amerikana in Marikina just in time for breakfast. Seeing photos of the restaurant already got me excited, more so when I saw the real thing! :D I was amazed with the life-sized Netherland windmill which was really moving! I wasn't able to take a photo of it though, so here's one that I got from the net. :)

Photo taken from crumb-trails.com

Mark and I posing at the bench near the entrance of Pan de Amerikana

Aside from the beautiful facade, Pan de Amerikana also takes pride of its garden-themed interior. This is what welcomed us as we entered. :)


The restaurant is a pay-as-you-order type. The photo below is their cashier and ordering area. Aside from their menu, our attention was also caught by the pictures on the bricks which showcase the celebrities, politicians, and big people who have already been to the restaurant.

Cashier and Ordering area

We placed our orders and then roamed around while waiting for our food. :)

This is where they do the grilling.

Dining Area

There is also a dining area with tables having built in tournament-size chess boards. Tournament-size chess pieces may be requested at the cashier area for free. :)

Dining Area/Chess Area

We chose a table near the giant chess board. The jumbo-sized plastic chess pieces were about 3 and a half feet high and were imported from New York City.


Mark and I played chess while waiting for our food. And being the chess expert that he is, after a few moves, he won the game through check mate! I played pretty well though because I was able to capture some of his chess pieces. :p

Check mate!

Our orders were served and so we went back to our table to eat. It was still early for lunch so we just ordered light food for breakfast. Mark must have eaten breakfast at home, so he just ordered a chicken sandwich. I was a little hungry so I got one tuna sandwich and arroz caldo with egg. :)

Their sandwiches come in what Pan de Amerikana is famous for--the 1950's pan de sal. There's no denying that the mega-sized wheat pan de sal was delectable. But Mark and I both agreed that their tuna and chicken fillings tasted like the instant spreads that can be bought in grocery stores.

Tuna Sandwich and Chicken Sandwich - Php 25.00 each

Their arroz caldo was okay but not something to crave for. I enjoyed it though, especially when I dip my pan de sal into the hot porridge (I'm kinda Barbaric sometimes, you know!) :p.

Arroz Caldo with Egg - Php 35.00

Melon Shake and Watermelon Shake - Php 30.00 each

Mark must have gotten hungry over our chess match haha! So he ordered baked macaroni after he finished his sandwich. I got to try a spoonful of it and didn't really like it. I love the generous amount of cheese though. :p

Baked Macaroni - Php 65.00

Mark and I both finished our dishes but didn't enjoy that much. Maybe we should try Pan de Amerikana's specialties next time. :)

After our breakfast, we continued to check the place out. Right next to our table was a glass cabinet with different chess pieces. What I liked the most was the Star Wars Chess set.

Star Wars Chess Set

Aside from the garden ambience, we also felt like we were inside a museum as we roamed around. A mixture of Filipino, European, and Italian cultures was very evident in the restaurant's interior. Everything is but a lovely work of art!


You can also see different paintings hanging all over the place, which reminded me of my very talented cousin. :)



Another attraction is the hammock and the tree house with hanging bridge.


Though we never really enjoyed the food, we really had fun seeing all the works of art. Thank God the birthday boy enjoyed our first time at Pan de Amerikana :) I also loved that the the staff was not restrictive when it comes to diners enjoying the facilities and roaming around the whole restaurant.

If you want to taste authentic 1950's pan de sal, dine in a garden setting, play chess for free, or see life-sized wind driven Netherland windmill...Pan de Amerikana is the place to be! We will definitely come back and try their specialties! :)

More photos HERE :)

PAN DE AMERIKANA, Marikina
92 Ordonez St., Marikina City
Metro Manila, Philippines
(+632) 475-2398, +63917-5308824
pandeamerikana.multiply.com

It has been 5 months since Mark came home from Qatar but he still didn't have the chance to be with his friends again, especially our college friends. So when Ian asked me out for some get together, I immediately relayed the invite to Mark. Everything was just planned in a rush and everyone already had their prior commitments, and so what transpired was just a dinner date of us three. :)

I fetched Mark after his shift and we headed straight to Eastwood to meet with Ian. We arrived around half past 10pm and started to rummage the place for somewhere to eat. There wasn't a lot of restaurant choices since it was already midnight good thing we spotted T.G.I. Friday's.

Mark was so hungry so we immediately placed our orders the moment we were seated. A few pictures while waiting for our orders... :)

Ian and I :)

Ian and Mark

Ian's order was served first. Ian was on a diet (or maybe a bit shy because it was also Mark's early birthday treat for us) and so he only got the Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad. It was just the usual Caesar Salad but what made it shine from the usual I think was the generous amount of slices of marinated char-grilled chicken breasts.

Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad - Php 375.00 (single), Php 505.00 (for sharing)

Mark's Jack Daniel's Salmon came in next. Another generous serving, the North Atlantic Salmon fillet was char-grilled and glazed with their special Jack Daniel's sauce. It was also served with buttered corn kernels and cheddar cheese mashed potato. Mark is still on a diet since he's prepping up for some competition and so he settled for fish.

Mark enjoyed his dish. He gave me a spoonful of the fish and I also loved it. The fish was seasoned well, it was not too salty and the Jack Daniel's glaze gave it a sweet and spicy kick.

Jack Daniel's Salmon - Php 795.00

I started drooling when my order was served. I immediately devoured the dish after I took a photo of it. The chicken and shrimp servings were also generous. The sautéed garlic-marinated chicken breast was very tender and juicy, it was not too salty and was a little spicy. The shrimps were equally delicious and was made more delectable with the Bruschetta marinara.

With onions and bell peppers plus marinara sauce on top of melted Mexican and American cheeses, it felt like I was eating a pizza with chicken and shrimp toppings minus the dough. :p It also comes with creamy mashed potato which balanced out all the spices. This dish is really a must-try!

Sizzling Chicken and Shrimp - Php 645.00

Most may find T.G.I. Friday's food a bit pricey, but I guess the price is just reasonable. Aside from the good food, T.G.I. Friday's service was also commendable. Our orders didn't take too long to be served and the waiting staff were very attentive to our requests. :)


We all enjoyed our dinner. Aside from the great food, we also had fun catching up and so we all agreed to make it a monthly routine. :) Looking forward to our next dinner date! :)

T.G.I. FRIDAY'S - Eastwood City Walk 1
Eastwood City Cyberpark, E. Rodriguez Jr. Ave, Libis
Quezon City, Metro Manila
Philippines
(0932) 895-7248