POST ROUNDUP - The Philippines Trip {Dec. 2013 - Jan. 2014}

Our holiday to the Philippines has been so much fun, and as you read this, I'm already at Stockholm in School. Here's a rather new segment of the blog, Post Roundup, which will recap the posts for you. Enjoy!

• Highly Recommended Posts To Read

Group Bonding at the Alabang Town Center  - It has been five, almost six, months since I've seen the people which I normally see every weekday, so it was awesome to spend a day with them at the mall and arcade we love!

EATS: Conti's Bakeshop & Restaurant (Greenbelt)  - After the scrumptious scrambled eggs served with my tapa and the clubhouse sandwich with French-bread, Conti's really proved to me that they serve the best cakes ever.

The University of the Philippines  - It's been four years since I've been here, and it's really great to see the Oblation and the Sunken Garden again.

EATS: Love Desserts -  A buffet of ice cream, pastries, chocolate mousse and peach cream in shot glasses and cakes all for PHP 199 (~ $ 4.50). Experienced with an awesome bunch of travellers too, this has been one of the most unforgettable experiences in the Philippines ever!

Conti's Bakeshop and Restaurant

The University of the Philippines' Oblation Statue

• More Awesome Philippines Posts

Jollibee  -  Probably one of the most iconic things in the Philippines. No trip to Manila is complete without experiencing Jollibee, a fast food chain that offers a range of hamburgers, fried chicken and even pasta, for a very affordable price.

The Filipino New Years   -   Experiencing the replacement of the old year to the next year is incomplete in the Philippines without knowledge on some of the superstitions we Filipinos follow, like jumping at the stroke of midnight and those 12 round fruits. 

Festival Supermall   -   One of the popular malls in our area is undergoing a "facelift like no other", where it will expand its area to accommodate much more shops and restaurants and attract loads more people. 

Greenbelt Mall  - Another Philippine mall that offers a wider range of boutiques, shops and clothing stores, all of which may be a pure Filipino brand, or one of the more internationally known brand. Greenbelt Mall also has a chapel, and features numerous food stalls and eateries. 

Street Food @ UP  -  Street food has been a part of Philippine neighbourhoods for as long as I can think of. It features a bicycle with an attached cart filled with cooking needs and even a stove!

EATS: Starbucks at the Greenbelt  -  It's Starbucks. Let it speak for itself.

EATS: Rodic's Diner at U.P - Rodic's is a diner in the University of the Philippines' Shopping Center which serves their all time best seller, tapa. This blog post is exclusive for Facebook Page Likers, but you can still click to read the post. 

Jollibee at Festival Supermall

Rodic's Diner @ U.P Diliman

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Eats: Chopsticks Restaurant and Asian Buffet (Stockholm)

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The Filipino New Years

Happy first day of 2014 people! How was your new years?

So to start the year off, I want to give y'all an insight (if you're not a Filipino) on what we Filipino people do on New Year's Eve. As always, these are superstitions that most of us follow.

Pancit. Photo from: vicenticos.com

• Eat Pancit. Pancit are just noodles. Filipinos call them differently, I think because of the type of pasta used and the meats and such served with the pasta. They believe that this represents having a longer life. 

• 12 Spherical Fruits. Watermelons, oranges, a cantaloupe, grapes, et patati et patata. I know that each fruit represents a month of the year, but I don't exactly know the significance of the "fruit" or the "round-shaped" element of it. 

• Polka-Dotty Attire. Some families have parties on the actual New Years' Eve (like our family always does) and count down for New Years Day. It's very, very common to see people wearing polka dots, signifying prosperity and wealth for the incoming year. The dots represents coins. 

• Aim High. Children commonly believe that you need to jump as high as you can in the exact minute of midnight, because they believe that it'll make them taller. 

• Get These Dang Spirits Away From Me. Again, at the stroke of midnight of the 31st, people normally roam their house screaming, and activating all sorts of noisemakers, blowing all kinds of whistles and so on... They believe that it drags all the negative spirits away from it's house.

• Boom. Finally, we Filipinos enjoy paputok (firecrackers). They should be activated either before, exactly or just after midnight and goes on until morning. Or if you're in a really festive neighbourhood, it might go on for the next week or two. No kidding. (They might also go off a week or even three weeks before!) 

Hope y'all have a prosperous and long life, so don't forget to eat your pancit and wear those polka dotted tee! :) 

PHILIPPINE'S BLOG POSTS WILL BEGIN TOMORROW! 

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