First Christmas

Our first Christmas together, Tapioca and I decided to spend it at Star City. I had a shift on a Christmas Eve and so we went to Star City past 10pm, just an hour before they closed (darn). We so wanted to try all their rides especially the roller coaster but we just got a few minutes left. We just decided to get tickets to Snow World and that's it.


By the way, cameras are not allowed inside Snow World. Even for a few minutes stay inside the Snow World we both still enjoyed it a lot especially the giant ice slides! Perhaps we can go back here next time and spend an entire day. Come with us?


We checked the roller coaster and the line was super long so we headed to the arcade sections where Tapioca tried to win me huge stuff toys.


In this photo, Tapioca's trying to catch those orange balls. Each ball has a corresponding points. The higher the points, the higher our chance of winning those big Winnie the Pooh stuff toys.


Lookey, lookey, his net was full of orange balls. Too bad the first five balls were the only ones counted :-(


We didn't get the Winnie the Pooh but he still got me this mini Santa, anyway :-)


He tried to win this time at the shooting game (where he's good at). He was so close to winning me the big Sylvester stuff toy. Nevertheless, he got me 3 mini toys in one night, not so bad.


On to dinner, we don't have any reservations. It was strange roaming around Manila on a Christmas Eve cos most of the establishments were closed. We went to Malate instead and still had difficulty finding a place to eat. When we reached the fabulous The Pan Pacific Hotel we spotted several Chinese and Korean restos opened 24 hours. It was hard to choose and we're not sure which serves if not the best at least better food. And we ended up here . .

Bug Kyoung Korean and Chinese Restaurant

. . . freebies

This is what I love when dining in Korean restaurants, free appetizers!!! And if you get bitin you can ask for another serving :-) We got served with 2 kinds of kimchi, sweet and spicy and crunchy anchovies, baby potatoes in sweet sauce and radish. The numbers of appetizers fall short compared to what we had before in Bi Won. Our table was overflowing with free appetizers then. But the prices of food in Bi Won were a bit steep so better enjoy all the free appetizers.


I had been to Korean restaurants before but when we checked Bug Kyoung's menu I was so clueless on what to order. We asked our friendly server that night for any recommendations and she suggested some spicy stew and pan fried meat with veggies, their best sellers. It was Tapioca's first time to try Korean food and one thing's for sure I wanted him to try my fave . . .

samgyeopsal . . .

. . . fresh lettuce for the samgyeopsal

Tapioca cooked the samgyeopsal over the grill. Once it's cooked we dipped it in sesame oil and salt mixture then wrapped it in lettuce with kimchi. Yum! Too bad Tapioca don't eat kimchi but he still enjoyed the samgyeopsal minus the kimchi.

pan fried meat and veggies . . .

I forgot the Korean name of this dish but I cannot forget how delish it was. There was a lot of meat and veggies but the angle of my pic showed more of veggies hehehe. It was spicy and very flavorful. I don't know but I think there's something special with Korean spices. Once you get a taste of it you'll know it's definitely Korean.

doenjang jjigae . . .

This is a winner. We both loved it. Tapioca ordered this dish because he loves tofu and me loves soup. This was super spicy but surprisingly, I can manage the heat. There was a lot of shellfish on it and we liked that it was served on a clay pot making the stew warm til our last spoonful. This stew is perfect for the cold weather of Christmas.

. . . soju

We paired our spicy meal with soju, a Korean alcoholic beverage. My first shot was very nasty. More nasty than a vodka but after a while, I kept on taking shots after shots. Now I understand why those Korean girls in telenovelas make faces when taking shots of soju but later on ended up drinking the whole bottle. It was no acting pala. It's the real deal LOL!


We had a wonderful dinner and we went home with big smile on our faces. Thanks to our server for the great suggestions on what to order. And the prices were reasonable. I would sure go back here for the doenjang jjigae, now my new fave.


And here's my souvenir for our first Christmas . . .