27

Binondo

So, I heard about Binondo multiple times in my life and I get familiar with the name because of an old Teleserye, My Binondo Girl. 

A few weeks ago, my girlfriend asked me where should we celebrate this day of mine. I honestly don't know the answer to that question. So, I'm letting her decide. She told me that we should go to Binondo and Intramuros. I agreed, not knowing what's special about Binondo.

I'm not a Manila boy. 

I flipped my laptop open and started a quest on "What to do in Binondo", I started to notice 1 thing among those search results, Food walk! From google, I went to YouTube to confirm this discovery, because I believe with all of my heart that if there's food, there's a vlog. 

And my excitement bursts, to find out those dumplings, siopaos, and soups in an epic food walk that I've never done before.

So, we met at San Pedro at a certain time and went straight to Manila. We arrived at Binondo around 2pm, I guess? Upon arrival, we started to search for those recommended restaurants - it's a bit crowded, well, it's Manila, what do I expect? 

I opened a site which has food and restaurant recommendation: Binondo Food Crawl by outoftownblog.com and good thing that they included the exact address here.



Dong Bei Dumplings

I checked multiple blogs and Dong Bei Dumplings is always on the top of the list to visit. So, Jassiee and I google mapped the address and the first stop has been found. It's not a fancy restaurant with fancy food but the place looks like a normal house with a carinderia. 

We ordered these fresh Dumplings for Php 200 and it's wonderful in mouth. Why did I just learn about this stuff? 

Cafe Mezzanine

Our next stop is just a few steps away from Dong Bei Dumplings, Cafe Mezzanine. It has a bar and a youthful vibe. It seems like we're not in Binondo because of its style. 

What we came here for is, the Xiao Long Bao, because we really miss Taiwan. I miss that burst of soup after biting it. So, that's what we ordered for Php 180 and Kiampong Rice for Php 80 which we didn't really finish because of the fear of being full. 

Tea Brothers

After those 2 restaurants, we haven't had a drink, it's just water, of course, our day wouldn't be completed without a sip of Milktea from Tea Brothers, we happened to order some Egg Tarts as well. The egg tart is surprisingly good, while the milktea was extra sweet. 

After that, we roam around to find other stores and shops. It was an aimless approach, but by accident, we stumble upon:

We ordered 2 packs [4 Pieces per] worth Php 88 each and this Siopao is bad, when I say bad, I say super good. It's served hot and it's fluffy and full of meat inside. 


We went to another restaurant before our last stop, The Original Salido Restaurant, upon entering, I feel like I'm in a wrong neighborhood, there were old Chinese people and the only Pinoys that I saw were the crew. It's funny but those people were welcoming and wonderful. We didn't order any as we're aiming for the Pork Asado which was out of stock. 

So, we decided to end our Food walk at Wai Ying Fastfood and ordered Beef Noodles and Shark's Fin dumpling. Both were amazing but it's just sad that we didn't experience this fully as our stomach is already screaming at us to stop putting food in our mouths. 

After that, we're headed home and enjoyed the traffic with our talks and stories. It's indeed a wonderful and enjoyable day. 

Thank you, Jas for bringing me here. You da one and you da best! 

tomgu

sogbu

//27
//Binondo
//sebajisoka

26 and it's fading

A day before my birthday, I had a shift. So I spent my almost full day in the office. It's quite a normal day at work. The only thing that differs? I'm anticipating for my birthday. 

Basically, I welcomed my birthday at the bus stop, waiting to go home. I started getting messages, greeting me for my day and of course, Jassiee called at 12mn.

I don't really expect anything for my birthday and I think that when you're getting older, that's fine. As I said before, everyone has this "Special day" and it's not special anymore but hey, It's another day to celebrate and be thankful for this life that He gives and the life that He gave for me. 

26 and it's slowly fading but as our age may grow weaker and older, all hopes with a little prayer that our minds will be sharper and faith will be stronger. 

//26AndIt'sFading
//sebajisoka

I wish I became a Celtics fan earlier

I'm not sure if I shared the story of how I became a Celtics fan, I'm just going to throw it out there but I became a Celtics fan because of NBA live.

Way back in high school, I spend time playing games after class and many times I cut classes (Don't do this, kids. I'm only bragging about this because I'm a changed person). There was this one time that I'm so bored because I already played most of the games in the Internet Cafe.

Then a familiar face walked into the shop and asked me to play games with him. He suggested, NBA Live, I'm not sure what year it was but it should be around 2007 onwards. So, I agreed and we've played a game.

After a few minutes, I was mad at him for winning. I don't know any teams or players. I don't even remember that team that I chose, but I'm playing against the one who held the top spot for the 3-point career field goal as of today, Ray Allen of the Boston Celtics.

https://clutchpoints.com/celtics-news-ray-allen-believes-shot-join-hall-fame/

I was then, fell in love with the game. I started playing NBA live using the Celtics as my team and slowly but surely, got interested in Rondo, Pierce, and KG as well. 

I watched their games, highlights and learned about everything Celtics then I found out that I bleed green. I became a die-hard Celtics fan. 

But I wish I became a Celtics fan earlier, I became a fan while the Celtics in a Super Team [Had multiple Star players] and I never witnessed their recent Championship to date, the NBA Finals 2008. 

I witnessed their last NBA Finals trip and I was boasting and fighting against other fans, to the point that I created this fan art. 

The Celtics lost to the Lakers. It was a bad taste in Celtics fan's mouth as the Lakers is a rival but now with LeBron and Davis dominating the west, I'm so excited to see a championship run with the Celtics, while we're an underdog. 

I watched them start from the bottom with a fresh start from the Big Three Era. I wanted to experience that feeling of following their games day-by-day going through the years and eventually paid off. This will be a sweet victory! 

I may have not witnessed, in real-time, their 17 Championship, but I'll be there in the 18th banner.

//BleedGreen
//Celtics
//sebajisoka

A tiring day

I worked for a total of 7.5 hours a day for 5x a week and for the past few months, my rest day is every Sunday.

To be honest, I'm more tired on Sundays than any day of the week. You see, I end my shift 11:30pm and will arrive home around 1am the next day. I will eat and relax for a bit and will sleep around 3 or 4am, will wake up at 7:30am to prepare for Church and that's it.

It's a tiring Sunday every week and it's my favorite part of my week, why?

I listen to awesome preaching.
I go to church with my girl.
We eat together at lunch, sometimes, Milktea-ing. 
Meet with my fellow believers and at times with other friends.
Play games with my girl's cousin and meet her family.
Talk and bond with my own family.
Rest at home without the thought of going to the office the next day.

It may be a tiring day but It's the best day of my week.  

//TiringDay
//sebajisoka

Baduy!

I was talking to my teammates about a lot of topics about our life stories. One question is how many girlfriends I had before my current one, I stopped for a while to think and told them that she's the only one that I had. 

Then they asked about her's list of boyfriend, I stopped and told them "One". 

My teammate smiled and told me that it was "Baduy" and tried to convince everyone in the circle to agree. 

For her, It's baduy to have 1 girlfriend/boyfriend and please note that at this moment, my aim about this kind of relationship is settling. I was kind of offended and I don't know how to respond. 

I mean, I don't see the point of shaming my situation, because it's not a bad thing. I never had those really bad decisions in the past about relationships and I loved her and will always love Jassiee and to break up with her and find another woman is a disgrace and a curse. 

I'm glad to be called baduy if it means fewer heartbreaks. I have saved my heart from those heartbreaks that will affect my mind and well-being. Because I know myself and I love much. Moving on would be impossible for me.

I don't want to compare my life to anyone but there are people who had 5 exes and still single up to this point. There are also people who had 2 exes and still not sure if the one they're with right now is the one for them. There are also people who had 10 exes and now happy and was able to settle with their current one.

And I'm not saying to stay at your first, all I'm saying is that I was lucky enough to hit the jackpot in my first attempt. Also, with those books, preachings, and teachings that I've heard, molded me to make those relational decisions and I'm glad to where I am right now.

//Baduy
//sebajisoka

It was pretty special

I came from a local church with more or less, 300 attendees with 2 regular services at the time and it was a pretty special experience for me. Now that I'm looking back.

I attended every Sunday service and at times, we see each other on a weekend. So, it's safe to say that I grew up with them. We had tons of training for leadership, theology and some conversation that will enhance our Spiritual life. It was an empowering and amazing journey that I had.

To add to that, I was assigned to be a leader of the Church's local youth group and I attended different seminars and training in Manila. I exhorted in several prayer meetings, was asked to do special tasks for different events like outreaches, campaignings, Sunday schools, and evangelism. I was also asked to lead the youths in anniversaries and major events in the main church. 

It was a pretty special moment but my favorite among all of them is when I was trying to embrace preaching and sharing the Word of God. It was the time that I fell in love with theology and the truth about what the bible said. After several "Dawn Watch", which is an early morning prayer meeting and prayer meeting at night and those fun teachings with the youth, I was assigned to preach in a Sunday Service, as the main speaker, yes! I couldn't believe that either. I enjoyed every moment from it and as a matter of fact, I still remember the topic that I shared. 

But seasons come and go and things have changed, good thing that everything happens for a reason. There were rough moments but I'm forever grateful for JILCW. 

Well, they just celebrated its 41st anniversary and I'll be honest that I miss going to Rizal park and celebrate with my fellow KKBs and JIL people. 

Until next time. 

//PrettySpecial
//sebajisoka