SYD IN MANILA ROUND TWO - CHRISTMAS EVE, PART ONE

I've been making it a habit to deconstruct these posts in two segments. I figured, if I kept all these pictures in one blog post it would be such a drag to read! I'm nearing the end of my Manila vacation posts, right after however, I've got a ton of my Japan trip coming up. I do hope you all don't mind reading about stuff I don't normally blog about, heh. I made myself a promise, that this coming 2015, I won't just blog about my travels and the food I eat, I'll blog more about my style, art, and whatnot. Look out for it! 

To me, whenever I think of Christmas as a whole, I think of the Philippines. This is coming from an extremely biased point of view so don't take my word for it. Spending Christmas in the US is fun and all, but it's pretty lonesome. I don't feel the Christmas spirit there as much as I do whenever I'm back in the motherland. As much as I'd like to spend Christmas in the US, I'd rather be back in Manila. 

One thing I always remember growing up is that as soon as September hits, all news stations in the Philippines have a countdown for Christmas, you can really feel the spirit of the season when you go out in public. 

We headed out to Rockwell in Makati which essentially, is the business district. I love being in this particular area because of the bustling city life and the gigantic sky scrapers. As a kid I had always loved tall buildings. A few posts back I talked about the extremely unpredictable weather in Manila, today was one of those days. It was raining a bunch when we drove to Makati, but as soon as we got there it stopped, then started again, lol. Lunch was the first thing on the agenda, my aunts took us to Mamou. 

It was my first time eating at Mamou, quite interesting seeing the fusion dishes on the menu. I wish I could've tried the Kurubota Sinigang though. I think for the weather, that dish would have been perfect. 

There's something about placemats with writing that I really do like. Both aesthetic wise and functionality wise. I remember always getting bored waiting for my food, so it was nice to sit down and read some stuff. I sound so boring, reading menus to pass time, ha. 

We sat outside. Normally, sitting outside is a no-no for me because of the heat and all the pollution, but the cool weather the Philippines had been experiencing then, coupled with the rain made it a lot more bearable. 

Tita, Ninang, Mom, and my Sister. 

One thing I took a mental note on was that the city of Makati is home to a whole ton of expats. I think that's why I like the city so much, there are so many westerners that I feel as if I'm back in the US. 

Rare photo of AeroDynamo, LOL. I wouldn't be surprised if my readers forget what I look like sometimes. 

To start things off, we ordered I think a Dalandan shake? I don't know what the English name of the Dalandan fruit is, but it's got green skin with an orangey-yellow pulp inside. Super refreshing!

 Afterwards our main courses came. First was this amazing Truffle Cream Pasta that I still dream about to this day. I know my sister can easily make it at home *hint, if you're reading, make me some.*

I think a person's diet should always include a dash of truffle. Truffle makes the world go round. 

Cooked to perfection. Vegetarians/Vegans, I'm sorry. (no i'm not). 

If there's one thing that bothers me when people eat their steak it is when they slather an unnecessary amount of steak sauce on it? I think it attributes to the fact that I'm not a fan of steak sauce myself and even if I do decide to use some, I only ever do use a little, and on the side. Don't let a perfectly good steak be ruined by sauce!

They also served us mashed potatoes and creamed corn on the side, but it wasn't at all spectacular so they didn't deserve to be photographed. 

After lunch we went inside the mall to do some shopping. I blogged about Rockwell before on my initial Syd in Manila posts from last year. Upon entering, I was greeted again by the same old kitschy Christmas decor I love. The animatronic polar bears that I wanted to take home were right up front. 

I actually like how the decorations strayed from the traditional white/red/green lights. Orange gives off the warm colour, but at the same time I feel like if it's abused it can come off as Halloween decorations. Rockwell did it right though. 

 I saw the little fruit market again! You all know that I upgraded to a Canon 6D so it was nice to zoom all the way from the upper floor and get a detail shot of the fruits. 

So my aunt and I separated from the rest of the group because we had to do some last minute shopping. We went to Toys R Us to get a few toys, I only snagged this photo. I thought of Nikki and Mac, who love One Piece. 

I love how at Toys R Us they have a bunch of Anime figurines. Is it only in Asian branches of Toys R Us that they have this, or have I not been to a toy store in so long? lol. 

After getting the gifts we went inside my favorite store, and it's the nth time I'm blogging about it so do forgive. Muji will always be my favorite store because of many many reasons, that of which is too staggering to write and blog about. 

I promised myself that when I do get a flat/apartment of my own most if not all my furnishings would come from Muji. Also Muji Coffee? Really good. I just wish they sold it on their website. 

There's just something so visually appealing about Muji's simplicity that I fawn over. If I could, which I probably would, I'd go ahead and just stare at the contents of the store and pretend to be furnishing my own place, lol. 

I can see my friends Keita, Sabrina, and Nikki rocking all these outfits. 

I was just bummed that after searching for the elusive Muji brush pen, they didn't have it. 

And of course, a little something for myself. 

After Muji we went to  Marks & Spencer. The English department store is strict with photos, so I only took an ootd before scurrying away. 

Top from Urban Outfitters, shoes from Converse, pants from who knows where. lol 

See this is why I need to do more ootd posts/lookbooks. I need to learn how to go and write about clothes!

After our escapade to Rockwell we drove down to Greenbelt to have a quick look-see. 

I thought the giant pinecones were a great type of Christmas decor. 

The only reason we went down to Greenbelt was to check out this store called Typo. They recently opened, or so I've heard. 

In a nutshell, Typo is a store with various do dads to fill up your home. Think of it as if all of the apartment decorations and books from Urban Outfitters were put in one store. I was a big fan of the ceramic sculptures. 

I wanted to buy the ram skull(?) on the left and the skull on the right. Kinda regret not buying it, what stopped me was that it could've shattered in my luggage on the trip going back home. 

Some diy stuff. 

The store itself was very cramped, so as they shopped I stood outside and waited. I took that amount of time to go to Bleach, another favorite store of mine and do some browsing. 

Scratch that, if I were to furnish my home it would be 75% Muji, 25% Bleach. 

Thank you for reading this edition of Syd in Manila! Stay tuned for Christmas Eve Part 2, and the Japan posts. 

.x

SYD IN MANILA ROUND 2 - DAY TWO, PART ONE.

Technically, this is Day Three. Day Two was spent with family mostly, I didn't take much pictures that day. You get the picture. This day in particular was spent non stop eating mostly. When I was editing the pictures a while ago my stomach kept grumbling! Pair that with jet lag and you get the most disgusting feelings of hunger and grogginess. I wish I had a reset button on my back or something that would fix my circadian rhythm. Ah, I'm just glad school for me doesn't start for another two weeks, so I've got time to fix my sleeping schedule. I digress, onto the main point! 

Weather in Manila in December is not at all cold. Being a tropical country, you can expect overcast days coupled with the stickiest of all humidity, heavy rain for five minutes, then super hot humidity later. Who am I kidding, that's Manila weather year round. lol 

This day like I said was spent mostly eating and shopping. I think the one thing I'll never ever get used to is the overwhelming traffic this country has. Yet even with such traffic jams and tiny roads, accidents are not that common! One thing that will always scare me though is the fact that no car likes to stay in their own path and everyone kind of goes at it when it comes to overtaking lanes and whatnot. I'm already an anxious driver as is, expect me to drive in the Philippines and I'd have a heart attack. 

The plan for the day was to head towards SM Mega Mall's new fashion hall and try out Tim Ho Wan. Tim Ho Wan is Hong Kong's famed Michelin Starred Dim Sum Restaurant, and it recently opened in the Philippines. I've heard such rave reviews about this place and about their "Baked Siopaos", I knew I had to try. 

The little one fell asleep on the ride. We dropped him off at his friend's house so that they could play X-Box. 

Before heading out, we went to a nearby Starbucks to wait for my mom. She had another hair appointment. The place we were in was known to have a very heavy Korean population. Pretty cool seeing Korean signage amongst Tagalog, and Korean translations underneath English warnings. 

 

After waiting for a bit we went on over to Tim Ho Wan. Seeing the shops in that area kind of made me feel like I was back in the US. Recently, H&M opened in the Philippines which is a good thing for those with a taste for fast affordable fashion. 

The Philippines is slowly starting to become a lot more mainstream when it comes to retail shops. When I walked around the mall Tim Ho Wan was in, it was a bit surprising seeing shops so local to the US such as Aeropostale, American Eagle, and Old Navy around. Still, there are shops around that I've recently heard of such as Bershka (discovered it last year) and Pull & Bear. 

While we queued, I took to people watching. I think the one big thing that separates Filipino teenagers to Filipino-American teenagers is the fashion. The boys in the Philippines for example, dress more age appropriate and a lot more simple in comparison to the ones I've seen in the US. A lot of the guys wear simple tshirts along with shorts and a pair of sneakers as opposed to the millions of snapbacks, Air Jordans, or whatever that I see that Filipino-American boys covet.

 As for the girls, fashion is still very much the same, albeit a little more conservative. The one factor that sets them apart though is that they don't wear very much makeup. I asked my cousin Cassie why and she answered that since the dress code for school limits makeup, girls are so used to just not wearing it at all. 

And that was your people watching segment, brought to you by AeroDynamo. lol 

The one thing I find cool about Tim Ho Wan is that you simply cannot order a cup of plain rice. Dim Sum in it's entirety is supposed to be enjoyed with tea or by itself, as my Chinese grandfather put it. 

HUNGRYYYYYY. 

Loved how the light fixtures were the bamboo baskets Dim Sum is steamed in. 

My mom and her older sister, my ninang.*

And now, for the food. 

Baked Siopao/Bao. Super freaking good! Essentially, this is your regular bao, but with an outer layer the same as those you would find in Pineapple Bun/Melonpan. It's a bit sweet but the savory char siu inside balances it out. 

The regulars: Har Gao and Radish Cake. 

 

In all my years of eating Dim Sum I have no idea what this is called, but I really like it lol. 

The menu said this was Wasabi Salad Prawn Dumpling. It was absolutely delicious! I just love how it's referred to as a salad, yet the only green thing about this is the spicy Wasabi dressing. 

So after eating, we went ahead and did a bit of shopping. We stopped at Bershka and I picked up a nice knitted pullover. 

Pull & Bear is probably one of my new favorite stores. A Spanish clothing and retailer brand that was founded in 1986, Pull & Bear specializes in casual, laid back clothing targeted at a young and urban demographic. I think one of the things that drew me to the store was the heavy focus on graphic elements and typography on the clothes. 

Just a bit bummed out though, there are no Pull & Bear stores in the US and the online stores don't deliver here. Ah well, I can always go back! 

Afterwards, we visited NÃO do Brasil. My Uncle Mark and Uncle Trevor actually brought this brand into the Philippines from Brazil. You'll be seeing them in the blogpost after this! It was really cool how earlier in the year they had a fashion show for their grand opening. The footwear line specializes in very comfortable, light, and colorful shoes. 

The various color combinations made it so fun to browse! My sister got a gray and red pair. 

The polka dotted one was what I really wanted but unfortunately, they didn't carry my size. From what my sister tells me, the shoes are super light and comfortable to walk in, so if you do ever find yourself in Manila, do visit NÃO do Brasil and snag yourself a pair. They are located at SM Mega Mall, Fashion D Atrium.

This concludes today's blogpost about my trip, keep an eye out for the next one. Thanks for reading!

.x