Mother's Day Lunch

Yesterday was a great day!  I woke up to the wonderful smell of pancakes, which the hubby prepared.  Richard whips up some wicked pancakes, I tell ya!  My pancakes look and taste blah next to his.  Then, we went to church and had lunch at the Garage Burger and Grill at All Season's Place.

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They had a sports bar-ish theme going on.

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The knick knacks and decor kinda reminded me of TGIFridays.

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Car seats.

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"WARNING: The consumption of alcohol may leave you wondering what happened to you bra and panties."

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Starter platter

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Aly's cheeseburger

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Richard and I shared the Juicy Lucy, a burger patty with a cheese filling.  It was a bit undercooked.  Tsk..tsk..

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Thank you, Richard and Aly for the wonderful lunch!

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My next post will be about my Mother's Day loot.  Yipee!  Stay tuned :)

La Monita

According to CNNGo, La Monita has the best burrito in Bangkok.  I had a craving for Mexican food that has yet to be satisfied so I met my friend Jennet here for our regular weekday lunch. The food was really, really good!  The best Mexican I've had in Bangkok!  Jennet and I loved the food so much that we couldn't wait to bring our hubbies because we knew that they would love it here too.  Unfortunately, they are not open on Sundays so your best shot for a family lunch/dinner would have to be on a Saturday.  I brought Aly and Richard as soon as I could.

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We had nachos with salsa for appetizer.

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I remember telling Richard, "nachos pa lang, panalo na!"  Because they use real corn chips.  The other Mexican place that we used to go to doesn't use corn chips.

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At first I wasn't sure if he will like the food as much as I do, but he loved it!  He doesn't want to go back to our old Mexican place anymore.  For him, it's La Monita or nothing when it comes to Mexican food.

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She loved the nachos too!

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We were the first customers that time (Saturday lunch), but the place was packed by 12:30.  Richard was impressed!

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Richard loved these: three kinds of chili sauce.

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Aly loved her cheese quesadilla.  We haven't finished our food yet and she was already asking me when we can go back there to eat.  Haha!

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Richard and I shared the pork carnitas tacos.  Super good!

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We also shared the beef steak burrito.  The best! 

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We left the place happy and completely satisfied.  We were on a Mexican high!  I'm glad that my recommendation was a success.  Uh oh, I'm thinking about those burritos now.  Looks like this Saturday is going to be another Mexican lunch day :) 

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La Monita is at Mahatun Plaza, BTS Ploenchit station.  

Our 3rd Wedding Anniversary

On our first wedding anniversary, we went to Chiang Mai and we gave each other his and hers Technomarine watches.  Our 2nd anniversary was in Hua Hin.  For our 3rd wedding anniversary, our plan was to have no plan at all.  No trips, no hotels, no dinner plans whatsoever.  We did make an attempt to look for anniversary gifts, but it became so frustrating in the end (for me at least), that we decided to postpone it.  I didn't want to buy something just for the sake of buying something and end up regretting it in the end.  So I decided to wait because I'm sure something better will come.

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Turns out, it was a good idea not to make any plans because Richard had a very important meeting on our anniversary.  I have to admit, it was a bit of a letdown for me, but that's life!  Surely there will be more of this (i.e important meetings that coincide with equally important occasions in our life) in the years to come and the sooner I learn how to deal with it, the better.  Welcome to the REAL married life, Kris...

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Anyhoo,  the hubby more than made up for it when he came home earlier than usual with this:

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Flowers, a card and Royce Nama Chocolates.  I'm a sucker for all three :)

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Richard also took us out for dinner, but plans to try out the place that was recommended by my Thai friend were foiled due to the sudden downpour.  You know how it is here in Bangkok, the slightest drizzle can bring out the worst in traffic so we decided to just eat at the nearest restaurant.

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We landed at Anna and Charlie's Cafe.  It was the nearest restaurant that we could find but not the fastest to go to.  It took us 30-45 minutes to get there because traffic was really bad!  Though we always pass this place on our way home, we've never tried it until now.  We had high expectations, of course, but with everything else that happened on our anniversary, things did not always go according to our no-plan plan. 

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First off, the place looked so much better from the outside.

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But what the hey, we're all dressed up and ready for a great time together.

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Looks like my princess is ready to wear mommy's accessories.

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My favorite shot :)

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3 years and counting!

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We had overpriced steak.  Chokchai steak is way better than this at half the price!

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For dessert, I chose caramel oreo cake, simply because I was curious about the  caramel and oreo combination.  It as forgettable.

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But even with the bad food and disappointing ambiance, we still had a great time.  We were, after all, celebrating our wedding anniversary.  This place will still be a part of the Valdez family dining adventures, except that we will put it under the "never again" category.  Heehee!

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Aly and I wore similar outfits that night.  She loved the idea.

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Gigil!

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Thanks for dinner, sweetie!  Happy anniversary :)  Aly took this photo by, the way. 

Soi Polo Fried Chicken

After running a couple of errands with the hubby last week, we had lunch at Soi Polo, which is said to have the best fried chicken in Bangkok.  So popular, that it even made it to the New York Times!  The place has zero ambiance, but the food is great and super cheap.  For lunch, we had:

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THE Soi Polo Fried Chicken.  Juicy, meaty chicken with a crispy skin topped with lots of fried local garlic.

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Thais don't eat their chicken with ketchup.  They use sweet chili sauce instead.  Soi Polo also has a spicy tamarind sauce, but I prefer this.

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Sticky rice.  Winner combo with the fried chicken!

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Som Tum Poo Maa -- spicy papaya salad with crab.

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Grilled pork liver salad.  Richard likes liver.  I don't :)

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This plate of fresh veggies is apparently a standard in most Thai eateries.  The locals eat them raw.  We didn't touch this, though.

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Happy camper.

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Majinet Jackson dito kaya pawis na ang beauty ko.  Heehee!

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Our bill: Thb 220 (Php 316) only!  May leftovers pa!

Kulitan During Lunch at Seasons

One fine Sunday, we had lunch at this small restaurant right across the church. I first heard about Seasons through my friend Jenn. She said the food was good and the prices are reasonable. Let's go!
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We were all in the mood for picture taking. Good thing I brought our Sony Camera. Note to self: always keep a small camera in bag in case of emergency!
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aI like the sunny country style decor. It made us feel like we were having lunch at a friend's house.
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The following kulitan photos were directed by Alyannah.
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Mommy and Aly chatting.
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aSi mommy pinapagalitan si Aly. Mommy sucks at acting. Pareho lang yung pose ko sa chatting and pinapagalitan pic. Heehee!
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aAly pinapagalitan si mommy.
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aMommy and daddy sweet talking. Yihee!
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aDaddy and Aly pretending to look at the drinks menu.
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The chow.
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Aly's super tall strawberry and banana shake.
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aFried chicken drumsticks with plum sauce.
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aTom Yum Kung.
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aKhao Phad Kung.
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The food was ok. The Tom Yum was just right -- not too spicy, not too salty. I was just a bit disappointed with the fried rice. It could have been better.
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Let me end this post with one last kulit picture...
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aRichard inside a phone booth. Bihira lang makakita ng ganyan. Hehe!