Mr. Owl update!

We thought Mr. Owl was gone forever but it turns out he just moved to the adjacent planter. And now Mr. Owl and Ms. Duck are together! :D

the making and unmaking of our Valentine's Day cake

Weekend before Valentine's, the husband comes home from the supermarket with these among the groceries.

chocolate-flavored cream - not exactly cake icing but it was fine

For our homemade (home-assembled?) Valentine's Day cake! We worked on it the next day, and the cake was ready in time for Valentine's Day Eve. :) It ended up fine, pero kulang sa tamis & chocolate taste. Finished devouring the cake in the next 2 days. :D

first layer

didn't have an electric mixer to whip so we just poured the chilled cream on the cake

our cake has a moat!

Kusina ni Sarah

For date night last Sunday, we had early tabehodai dinner at Kusina ni Sarah, the only Filipino restaurant in Atsugi. Mass had just finished a bit past 4:00 p.m. and after some chika-chika with friends, we went straight to the restaurant, which was just a few minutes' walk from the church.

Tabehodai is every 1st & 3rd Sunday of the month, and starts at 5:00 p.m.

We got there a bit early but were allowed inside already so we just spent the waiting time watching television (some Filipino telenovela was on TFC) and taking photos.

restaurant interiors

capiz lamp shade!
(Budoy yata yung palabas sa TV.)

The ¥1,500-for-90-minutes tabehodai (all-you-can-eat) set featured 5 ulam (viands), white rice, dessert, and 1 complimentary glass of any non-alcoholic drink. (I got orange juice; Ronjie had Coke.) That evening, they had bopis, chicken-pork adobo, chicken pochero, chopsuey, and pork sinigang.

my 1st plate: bopis, adobo, pochero 

chopsuey

pork sinigang

For dessert, we were served ginataang bilo-bilo. :)

Busog na naman! Filipino food is ♥. We'll be back for sure! (I wonder what they'll be serving next time.)

Kusina ni Sarah is not just a restaurant; it's also a sari-sari store. They sell all sorts of Filipino food items--condiments, junk food, bottled and canned stuff, frozen meat, fresh fruits, etc.--and non-food items (I saw rubbing alcohol and J&J baby oil, among others).

How Pinoy is this? Spot the Sto. Nino, Sacred Heart, Golden Buddha, and Lucky Cat! :D

shell ornament by the door

Paluto and orders for take-out are also accepted!

it's a few minutes away from the Hon-Atsugi station

McDonald's "Big America" Las Vegas burger

We had McDonald's again for lunch today. Luckily, the next Big America burger was out already!

lunch for two

it has a burger patty, sauteed beef & onions, cheese, lettuce, and a special sauce

for dessert, we shared a maple custard pie

other January food

New Year's Day late dinner at Nihonbashi Tei, Arnaiz Ave. (Pasay Road), Makati City

(double date with A&C after catching a Metro Manila Film Festival movie earlier that evening)

katsudon and miso soup 

cold tea in a San Miguel Beer mug :D

January 2 lunch

inihaw na liempo from the neighborhood Andok's

with salted eggs & tomatoes and leftover vegetables from our anniversary dinner 

snacking on shawarma and bibingka while catching the C.O.D. display in Greenhills

despedida dinner with SFC friends, at Kanin Club

clockwise from top-left: sinigang rice, crispy dinuguan, pinakbet, laing

got upgraded to business class for the Manila-Hong Kong leg of my flight to Japan

fresh seasonal fruit; pan-fried Mediterranean sea bass with tomato concasse, parsley mashed potatoes, asparagus, fennel, and pumpkin; and hazelnut and chocolate cake with raspberry compote

economy class meal for the Hong Kong-Haneda leg 

I enjoyed this meal more though :)

And when I got to Japan, I came home to this! Cooked by the man of the house! ♥

(Ronjie left for Japan a week before I did.)

prawn sinigang

chocolate snacks

green tea Meltykiss Fran 

Lotte Charlotte (dark chocolate)

chili-garlic chicken with blanched broccoli 

lettuce-tomato-Bacos-parmesan salad with deep-roasted sesame dressing

pork fried rice

kiwi

Sukiya lunch

gyuudon and miso soup set meal

Kuya G's birthday feast!

there was dinuguan, puto, spaghetti, roasted chicken, bibingka, and adobo

Happy Birthday, Kuya Gian!
(his Baskin-Robbins ice cream cake) 

Kuya G's yummy homemade leche flan (using his mom's secret recipe)

flattened octopus at Enoshima (during our Kamakura-Enoshima day trip)

chicken macaroni salad

kinulang ako sa mayonnaise :D

sausages and scrambled eggs with onions and tomatoes 

orange

the peel is still one piece!

supermarket-bought frozen siomai which we steamed at home

fruits!

the Philippine papaya was really sweet!

tortang talong in the house!

we fried them on our stovetop grill, hence the grill marks :D

mixed nuts (nuts are supposedly a good source of folic acid)

walnuts, cashew, almonds, and pistachios

tinolang manok with just pechay