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Instead of doing another Thursdate food crawl in the Maginhawa – Teachers Village area, Fil, my sister-in-law Katrina, and I went on a Friday night. The area was crawling with people! For us to actually consider eating in a restaurant, our main qualification was the availability of parking. Thankfully, we came across this tiny restaurant with […]
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One Monday evening after music rehearsal, we were driving around, scouting for a new place to try, and came to pass by this. What’s so international about burgers, one may ask. The place was clean and empty – it was a Monday late evening after all — so we decided to take a chance. With […]
This gallery contains 16 photos.
Our second food establishment to try in our food crawl was Catabolic Cafe. Located in the same area as Happy Tummy, this was actually our second option — the restaurant we really wanted to try was on the above floor, and the elevator was broken. Cozy, with a hint of personality, this seemed to be […]
Some of you know that Thursday night for Fil and me is considered our #Thursdate — we try to dress up a bit, go out and experience the joy of togetherness once more, as if we were still merely dating.
Last Thursday, Fil brought me to Maginhawa-Teacher’s village area. I was pleasantly surprised at the number of food establishments there — themed establishments, burger joints, coffee shops, casual carinderias, quirky places, etc.!
Parking was a problem, but nevertheless, Fil and I went around the food zone several times, to relentlessly check out the establishments on his short list (based on online research).
On a whim, we settled on Happy Thai.
Several reasons, for despite Fil’s research, something kept on pulling us to the place. It could be the lack of customers in the resto compared with the other establishments beside it. Or if could be the call of the bagoong rice. It was just a happy coincidence when we found out that Happy Thai is similar with Happy Tummy, a food establishment in Baguio that we have been wanting to try for quite some time.
The price — not bad. We ordered to our tummy’s content without second thought:
First, we ordered Fresh Spring Rolls and a pitcher of Tamarind Juice. Then we ordered the mains: Pad Thai, Bagoong Rice (carbs galore!), Beef Curry, and Chicken Pandan
The rice looks small in the picture, but we couldn’t finish it all. We brought half of it home. Other than that, the rest of the dishes we ordered were small in size. The beef curry had too many eggplant — something I do not eat, but something Fil enjoyed. The winners were the Pad Thai and the Chicken Pandan. The chicken tasted weird — in a good way! I guess my palette was just not used to eating Thai food.
Yes, we were so very full, but I still wanted to try their dessert. We ordered Ta Ko, a coconut based dessert.
Our meal was so quick as though we consumed everything in one big gulp. The food was good, and we were sort of rushing because for the first time, Skye didn’t interrupt our meal time. By the time we finished eating, at around 9:30pm, the place was filled with customers!
My handsome date 🙂
Total meal cost Php1,090 (roughly 20USD). I was so satisfied with our experience that I asked Fil if we can do a food crawl every Thursday, trying out all the restaurant in this area.
After our yummy dinner, we went to the University of the Philippines (UP) campus ground to walk a bit. Walking for more than one kilometer lessened the guilt of overeating 🙂
Trying to convince Skye to pick (and pass the entrance exam of) this university 🙂
Hopefully, we can go back to the area and discover other nice places to visit 🙂
Happy Tummy
22 Malingap St., Teacher’s Village, Quezon City
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I want Skye to grow up to be an avid reader, like me. So, as early as a few weeks old, I had been reading to her already. Now that she’s almost six months, she enjoys our reading time. Books can calm her down, or make her laugh. There are books that bore her and […]
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Unless ministry or occasional client meeting gets in the way, Fil and I strictly maintain the sanctity of our #Thursdate. We started this tradition just three years ago, when we realized that living with relatives and the extreme lack of privacy were ruining our romance. Last night, Fil decided to bring me to Canada. He […]
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Fil and I have been celebrating Skye’s monthsary with a cake, special sticker, and a portrait at a semi-permanent space. We plan to keep this up until she reaches one year old, then start doing it once a year. I think a lot of first time parents do the same thing. We usually buy store […]
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I have been quite busy attending to several things lately. My apologies for not making enough time to write. Fil and I were quite curious about the establishment The Dimsum Place for quite some time now. Since the government declared September 12 a holiday, we had the opportunity to try this place out. At first […]
“He’s not my type… I need someone stronger than me, someone who will lead me….” Is this a line you often hear or use when trying to consider a potential partner?
When I was single, I used to be pretty strong and independent. I went anywhere and everywhere by myself, commuting left and right. I would go to work in the morning, then take public transportation in the afternoon to Tondo (somewhat slum-like yet rich area) to disciple someone. Evening, I would take a jeep to Jubilee to attend bible study or rehearsal. Then I would hitch a ride with a friend who lives close to my area and get off to take the most convenient transportation home, be it bus, jeep, tricycle, or cab, depending on the time and my current budget. Oftentimes, well-meaning friends would be kind enough to bring me home.
With my personality, I found it hard to interact with people in a social level. I was usually work, work, work, aiming to be best in everything I do. I was very decisive and most of the time, I knew what I wanted and I never hesitated to express it. Small talk was a complete waste of time, in my opinion. It was so hard for me to “fit in” and make friends. Stuck up and aloof? That was me (twenty times more than today, haha).
I could even recall one incident when I stole another person’s thunder because I deemed his work to be subpar. This guy was teaching choreography for a song in his HOME CHURCH, where I was just a GUEST TEACHER for Daily Vacation Bible School. I found it ugly, and concluded that the choreography I knew (which was something I learned from my home church), was waaaay better. Guess what I did. I raised my hand in the middle of the teacher’s orientation, shared my opinion to everyone, proceeded to show my version of choreography, and forced everyone to learn mine instead! I cringe now, every time I remember that incident. And I’m sharing this cringe-worthy story with you as a way to publicly apologize to the people I offended that time.
Why am I talking about this? Well, like many single female friends I know, I also thought finding a man who is stronger than me would be hard, that it would be so easy to dominate any man I end up being with.
What makes a strong man strong?
Compare a talkative, opinionated man with a quiet listener. Outwardly, the man who is speaking up forcefully seemed to be showing a more leader-like quality, someone a girl would find easier to submit to. The quiet man would just listen and only speak out when it matters. The quiet man would even appear wimpy and could easily be overlooked, dismissed, and taken for granted.
I believe that character and conviction determines whether a person is strong or not. Take Fil for example. He is a very indulgent and accommodating person. He is kind and loving. He is friendly and entertaining. Usually, he gives in to my requests because he wants to make me happy. Does this make him weak?
Conviction is another thing. He is the type who is wise enough to only fight for things that matter. His faith and his sense of right and wrong are some of the things he stands up for. He is often indecisive about many things but never about these two.
Many people assumed that Fil was weaker than me. True, he is a bit disorganized, and a lot funny. You can always count on him to light up the room with his infectious laugh. A lot of people underestimate him because of this. People think that I boss him around, and that I tell him what to do all the time.
It may not show, but he is my boss at work. He singlehandedly manages the business, staff, and even runs all the errands. To top it off, he is active in various church ministries and is a very hands-on father to our only daughter.
With the grace of God, Fil continuously changes me. I am more social now than before, and I listen more. I now know that having a kind and gentle personality is not weaker than a loud and forceful voice. We have been together for almost nine years, and I am still very much in love with my strong man.
My unsolicited advice for all the single women out there: do not discount a man because he seems weaker than you. Rather, empower him and be an encourager. If your attitude was similar to mine, pray that God will change you too. Remember, it takes a noble woman to submit to a kind and unassuming man.
Suggested reading: Proverbs 31 “a wife of noble character”
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I am not a fan of pre-packed cheap instant noodles. However, necessity forces me to consume them: it is cheap, easy to prepare, and readily available. Fil and I usually have a stash in hand, ready to be consumed when post-midnight cravings and hunger pangs arise. My mother-in-law abhors instant noodles. Like any sane person, […]
