Christmas with the Apat na Sikat

It was a pleasant surprise when we got a message from Vanj saying she'll be in town for the holidays. This is one of those rare occasions when the four of us see one another and catch up with each other's lives. No matter how crazy the schedules are, we're able to squeeze in an impromptu gathering. We all met up at Ivy's place. She whipped up a simple meal and I brought a cake. It's like celebrating my birthday all over again!

 

They were requesting for Banapple's cheesecake, however the store was closed. This was the next best thing.

Tapioca once bought this cake for my nephew's birthday (yeah, a pink cake for a guy). The cake was yummy. It was not overly sweet and the sponge cake was not dry. No umay factor, too.

I love that Goldilocks is improving it's cake lineup unlike Red Ribbon. I recently discovered that Red Ribbon has taken out the blueberry cheesecake from the menu. Sigh. First, it was the New York cheesecake. Now the blueberry. What's next Red Ribbon?!?!

. . . Ivy's special carbonara

 buttered toast . . .

Simple yet delish meal prepared by Ivy.

the apat na sikat with Rhian . . .

We got bitin with all the chikahan so after 3 days, we continued the session at home. Unfortunately, Anjee couldn't make it as she had to leave for Ilocos. This time we had an inuman session.

. . . with tanduay ice

Tapioca prepared the pulutan :-)

  chicken with leeks . . .

 pan-seared pork chop with dry rub . . .

 . . . baked potatoes with butter and herbs

 

buttered mushroom . . .

Vanjee commented that the dishes reminded her of China. She said it was exactly the same way Chinese made their dishes. Well, what can I say? Tapioca's cooking is mostly influenced by Chinese.

We drank merrily while eating and watching No Other Woman. The three of us haven't watched it yet.  So glad I got to see it with my girlfriends. I rarely (make that never ever!) watch Pinoy movies especially with Tapioca. He abhors Pinoy films. But with my girlfriends around, he's left with no choice but to make nasty comments about Anne Curtis hahaha!

We really missed each other so much we continued the bonding session the following day. We went to Eastwood and attended the Sunday mass. For lunch, we headed to Food Junction. Vanjee missed Filipino food and I missed my favorite bulalo. Sorry but no more food photos. We were hungry and busy with the kwentuhan and finding out the latest chismax. We did get a souvenir photo at the Eastwood CityWalk with these fake Christmas trees and snow.

. . . vanj and yours truly

Ivy the photographer not included. The girls and I spent lots of time together but I think it still wasn't enough. I was kinda sad when we bid each other farewell. I know they're just an email/sms away but it's never the same when you're with each other's company. 

I can't wait till we see each other again. I miss you already! 

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Kuya Onad and Ehmie's Wedding

The uncle of my long lost bff tied the knot yesterday with his partner Ehmie. Tapioca and I were honored to be part of it. The ceremony was held at the Pasig Church but we didn't make it so we made our way to the reception at Richmonde Hotel in Eastwood City.

. . . jellybean and ron-ron

I was able to see old friends, neighbors and relatives I haven't seen in a while. I was really glad we made it to the wedding kahit reception na lang.

cocktail area . . .

. . . table setup

table #14 . . .

. . . seats for the entourage

for the newly weds . . .

. . . the cake

There was an audio/video presentation.

the samson/peralta family . . .

. . . ariane and michelle

 

Gosh, these two were all grown-up and looking very pretty. 

The spread:

 

 bread & butter . . .

. . . young corn with red &  green pimiento

 chicken salad with fusilli pasta . . .

 . . . beef yakitori

 mixed veggies . . .

 . . . fried wonton

 fish fillet in white wine sauce . . .

. . . roasted chicken

pork teriyaki . . .

 . . . beef wellington sliced

beef wellington whole . . .

the dessert spread . . .

These were gone in a flash. The guests loved the desserts.

In fairness, everything tasted pretty good. Tapioca and I were all curious about what beef wellington tasted like since we always see it being served at Gordon Ramsey's Hells Kitchen. I've been checking out places where they offer this kind of steak and we're glad to find it here at Richmonde. Though the pastry was a little soggy, the meat was cooked and seasoned perfectly. Perhaps we should check out their lunch or dinner buffet one of these days. I hope they offer the beef wellington, too!

After the food and program, more more picture taking.

. . . wedding favors

The wedding is supposed to be about the groom and the bride however since both of them were in demand on that day, we weren't able to take photos with them using my camera so let me just share the video made by Ariel Javelosa. Please click here.

Age is nothing but numbers. It's never too late to find the person who you will spend the rest of your life. If you click on the link and watch the video, then you'll know what I mean *wink*wink*.
 
This wedding also paved the way for a reunion with my childhood friends. It marks our 20++ years of friendship. All of us are now happily married. My bff Shenna, was the first one to get married and now has a little boy named Carlson. It's funny because we seem to have the same taste for guys. We loved them big-boned!

shenna, jellybean, ron-ron & xandra (not in the photo) - we are the chubby chasers! LOL!

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