Christmas Party with a Purpose

I am quite the lazy blogger (ahem), but special events I try to attend, like this one - the (now) yearly Bloggers Christmas Party at Max's Restaurant. I really asked for a different work shift for this day, because I consider this event as a family reunion that I don't want to miss.

As soon as the place filled up, the party started with a gift exchange. This was such a unique activity, because instead of bringing our own gifts, Max's Corner Bakery provided the gifts - a box filled with assorted pastries. Now, they could just give it to us - as part of their gift, but because not all of us know each other, this activity allowed us to get to know a little of our fellow bloggers, and aside from exchanging the pastry box, we also exchanged our hopes and wishes to the person whose name was written on the box. Marjorie (of Living Marjorney) - a second degree cousin - picked me and I got to pick Janese (of Lakwatsera Mom).


A party is never complete without food, and for this event, we got to share the Max's Holiday Pack (good for 10-12 persons), which comprises of:


Max's Fried Chicken


Lumpiang Shanghai (with sweet and sour sauce)


and Pancit Canton.

Max's Holiday Party Package is just perfect for big groups. For only 2,199 pesos, 10 to 12 people can get to share and enjoy - 2 whole servings of Fried Chicken, Lumpiang Shanghai Cater Tray, a choice between Pancit Luglug or Pancit Canton Cater Tray, and 12 pieces of Max's Corner Bakery Ensaimada. This party package is now available for take out or delivery at any Max's Restaurant branch (also available for orders made online) until the 5th of January 2014.


Our table was served the Pancit Canton, and the table next to us was served this - the Pancit Luglug. Because each cater tray had a lot of food, both tables shared and ended up enjoying the best of both noodle worlds. :)


The Max's Holiday Party Package included Ensaimada as the "dessert," but for this event, we were served the Max's Corner Bakery Holiday Chocolate Cakes - Toffee Torte,  Choco Merengue Delight, Triple Treat, Salted Caramel Tableya, and Choco Moist. A taste of each cake was enough to satisfy a hearty meal, and among the five cakes, I loved the Salted Caramel Tableya the most. These cakes are also now available at any Max's Corner Bakery.


For small groups or small family (like ours), the Max's Holiday Meal is a very good option. Instead of spending a lot of time in the kitchen, it is quite practical to just buy (something we were thinking of doing) cooked, delicious food. For the Christmas season, the 4-Sharing Holiday Meal features one Crispy Pata paired with either Chopseuy or Sizzling Tofu as well as Rice and any Pepsi product. The 4 Sharing meal costs 799 pesos, but should you want to just go for the Crispy Pata, Max's Restaurant is offering this for only 399 pesos.


The very first image of this post is of me wearing a HOPE T-Shirt. That was the official shirt released by the Max's Group of Companies here in the Philippines (Max's Restaurant, Jamba Juice, and Krispy Kreme) in relation to the recent devastation brought by Typhoon Haiyan (or Typhoon Yolanda). These shirts aren't for sale - this was Max's Restaurant's gift to us this Christmas, a symbol of hope, as well as an encouragement for people to donate through the Philippine Red Cross (as they have the capacity to collect and distribute). Actually, Max's Restaurant isn't collecting any donations and they also didn't release a special food item where a portion of the sale would be given as donation for the survivors of the typhoon. Max's Restaurant donated through their own efforts, and the highlight of this party was donating an amount to the Philippine Red Cross in behalf of the bloggers.

You see, for the past two Christmas seasons, Max's Restaurant would host a dinner and a karaoke party, as well as giving cash and raffle prizes (last year I got to win a GC for a facial while my siblings both won a DVD Player and my sister won 3rd place in their karaoke contest). This year, instead of going for this tradition, Max's Restaurant decided to use the amount intended for the prizes as donation to help rebuild the lives of the people affected by the typhoon. It wasn't an "oh em gee" big of a prize, but there really is no small or big amount if you want to help. Each peso, each drop of sweat, each minute given is something very important and appreciated.

It was a very memorable event. We got to share time with our friends, we got to help, and we got to take home gifts, too. Well, aside from the pastry box and the shirt, we were also given a 2014 calendar (with discount coupons redeemable monthly) and a GC for one whole fried chicken, which we will claim on Christmas Day.

* Jesz *

A Hectic Weekend With Mom and Sis

When my mom filed for retirement, one of the biggest concerns she had was her social life. Seeing how my late father struggled with adjusting to life at home, my mom first thought that as soon as she stopped working, her social life will also stop. Well, for the first few months was quiet - she would just stay inside her room and watch TV, but for the past two months, things had been going better for her. She would spend early mornings with some neighbors walking around the plaza, or she would attend several meetings and events.


Our weekend started last Friday. Mom received a message from the bank about her newly opened account (where her monthly pension would be deposited). It made her a little worried, so she asked me to come with her. The bank was full house when we got there and even if she was the fifth person on line for the customer service, the line just wasn't moving! It was way past lunch time when we finished with the inquiries, so for lunch mom decided to treat me to some good lunch, and instead of eating at a fast food, we went to eat at Shakey's, her choice of restaurant. It was my first time to eat their Hero Sandwich and even if it was packed with cold cuts, it was very delicious!


Saturday was a food day for us - I experimented with another cupcake recipe, then after attending some festivities, mom came home with a Bibingka for us to share, and for dinner sister and I had something exotic for dinner - barbecued chicken intestines. Dipped in spicy vinegar, it was awesome!


Sunday was a long day for mom and I, we started it with an event for a Christmas Party organized by Jollibee, where we shared a hearty meal with other bloggers and their families.


As soon as the event ended, we quickly hailed a taxi going to a food tasting event. My mom's friend is opening a restaurant and they are in the process of gathering information about their dishes, and because mom's friend knows I am a food blogger, they want to know my thoughts about the foods they plan to serve once the restaurant opens.

Of course, I didn't photograph any of the dishes as it was confidential, but based on what I tasted, I think their dishes would do good.



We then met up with sister after her work and we walked to the mall to check some stuff then walked to Ayala Triangle to see the dancing Christmas lights. It was a long walk from the mall, but totally worth it. After eating dinner, we decided it was time to go home, and although it took us more than hour to wait for the bus to arrive, it had been a smooth ride 'til we got home.

My mom's schedule is filled for this week. Last Monday, she went to the Baranggay Hall to process some documents, then today she attended a friend's birthday. Tomorrow, she and I are going to watch the Barbie Musical (thanks to a blogger friend who gave us tickets for the show), and we still plan to go to Aunt Mary's house so I could return the books I borrowed and take home new books. December is certainly a busy month for everybody, but I am just so happy that my mom's social life is slowly getting better and better.

* Jenn *

Recapping a Very Busy Week

The last week of October was so busy, I only had little time to do some things, but I am grateful for it more than anything. This is going to be a lengthy post, so let the recapping begin:



Saturday
26 October 2013

Us three girls traveled to Makati City early morning today - mom and I attended the "Breaking Bread with Our Heroes" cooking demo / class at The Maya Kitchen, while sister went on her way at the Salcedo Weekend Market and Ayala Triangles to walk and jog around. I always receive an invitation for the monthly featured class at The Maya Kitchen, and when I introduced my mom to the person who always invite me, she told mom she has to come with me every month. Mom liked the idea and I think she will be my constant classmate every month.

Sister met us after the class and we went to SM Mall of Asia to purchase our airline tickets. There was a big difference with the price we saw online and the price the airline staff told us, so we didn't buy it. Instead, we just roamed around the mall - had snacks at J.Co Donuts and Coffee, and rode the MOA Eye. At J.Co Donuts, I chose to eat their newest flavor - the Cheese Cakelicious, mom went for Avocado DiCaprio (we always order this whenever we eat there), and sister chose the Tiramisu when her favorite wasn't available yet. When the drinks we ordered were served (sister went for the Matcha, mom and I shared the JCoccino), sister saw her favorite donut (Green Tease) was already available and ordered one as well.

Roaming the grounds of the mall, we saw this big McDonald's Happy Meal Box, with sides like a blank canvass for people to paint whatever they want to. Mom and I took turns, and I heard someone shouted my name. To my surprise, it was my online friend - the Panda Bear. He and I have been online friends for years now, even if it was seldom for us to exchange text messages. There were a few instances that we wanted to meet for some snacks (and I hoped to visit their place during the fiesta), but nothing pushed through. It's good to finally see an online friend in person.


Sunday
27 October 2013

As brother's wedding day comes closer and closer... the more we are stressed about the airline tickets. We all know that an airline fare gets more and more expensive as the date of the flight comes near, so we truly had to purchase our tickets now. Yesterday, we were at the Air Asia Zest office, because they had the cheapest fare going to Cagayan de Oro, the staff told us that the fare was at 2,800 pesos each way and that was the promo fare, check-in luggage not included. It surprised us because a few days ago, the amount was only about 1,700 pesos each way (that was the reason why we didn't buy tickets at the office).

I messaged my brother and we thought of booking the flight at Cebu Pacific, but even if their base fare was cheaper, the total amount was still more expensive. Turns out, the 2,800 pesos projected on the Air Asia Zest website was all-in, with included 20 kilograms check-in luggage. In the end, we chose to book at Air Asia Zest, and the fare was lowered because we didn't opt for the travel insurance and we downgraded the luggage allowance at 15 kilograms per passenger.

One thing to be grateful for - our next door neighbor allowing us to use her credit card to purchase the tickets, so we didn't have to scramble to the nearest LBC office to pay for it.


Monday 
28 October 2013

Mom and I went out to walk and jog. My mom is 64 years old, but she's kind of a showoff that she didn't want to stop to take a breather after jogging around the plaza and hopping on the stairs. I told her to rest once in a while, but she wanted to show the people around that she can still do things at her age. Oh well...

After an hour, we went home, ate breakfast and went to the polling precinct to cast our votes for the Barangay Elections. Her being a Senior Citizen, she can immediately proceed to the polling place bypassing all the people lining up, and of course I went with her, because last May during the National Elections, some senior citizens and people with disabilities were allowed to let their companion vote with them. When we got there, the watcher asked me to line along with the rest because the line we first went to was strictly for senior citizens and persons with disabilities, and I could only watch my mom from afar. I told him, what happens after she vote - let her walk home alone, or let her wait for me until I finish casting my vote? Good thing, another watcher heard us and told the man that it was written that SCs and PWDs are allowed to have one companion. Anyway, we were done in under 30 minutes, and we treated ourselves for a good 20 minutes walk back home.


Tuesday
29 October 2013

I went to SM Mall of Asia for a food tasting activity at Fish & Co., featuring their new dishes. So many dishes tried, but each plate of food were shared by four people, so it was just fine. After, I went to meet with my sister and we had an early dinner at Figaro (my treat).

When we got home, there was a package waiting for me, which contains the books I ordered from another Instagram seller. Buying the "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" completes my Harry Potter UK version collection. Yihee!!!


Wednesday
30 October 2013

Quite a laid back day for us, but of course, mom and I went on another morning walk and jog.



Thursday
31 October 2013

Sister's duty at work was until later at night, so today, us three girls went to Novaliches to find a dress mom will wear for brother's wedding. It is true that Baclaran and Divisoria are two places where one can buy cheap items, but a few years ago, my mom got to buy a formal outfit for another wedding at Novaliches for a very reasonable price. Baclaran and Divisoria are way too far from our place - stressful to go there as well - so we checked back at Novaliches, and she was able to find a dress for a great amount. We were also lucky to see a Merced Bakeshop branch where we bought our favorite Pineapple Pie and a few baked goodies.

Lunch, we ate at Jollibee where the girls tried their newest offering - the Thor Burger, which is actually the champ size of the Cheesy Bacon Mushroom burger. I had my usual choice (Chickejoy + Spaghetti), but I did try another new from Jollibee - the Kisses Mix-In sundae.

It was still early, so we went to SM Fairview to pay our bills and we bought mom a new stove because our current stove is on its verge of retirement.  One regret I had today was buying nail polishes... because I didn't know I had the chance to check Booksale, and I got to see awesome titles, but couldn't buy it anymore because the money I brought wasn't enough already. I just hope the books would still be there when I go back.

Anyway, as soon as we got home, I cooked our dinner and painted my nails. I sported the blood splattered nail art for this Halloween and I love it!

Biggest crappie this week was not traveling to La Union to light on dad's grave this Undas (All Saints / All Souls Day). With my sister's shift at work, and the news going around about houses being robbed because most are away visiting their dead loved ones), I just couldn't risk letting mom home alone during the night. We did message Aunt Julie to tell we won't be there, and she understood our situation. We will just travel there next year.

I am starting to feel better now - less dizziness and no more headaches, but I still am not eating pork.

* Jenn *