So we haven’t seen our cousins from my mother’s side in a really long time. Since we’re all now basically in Manila and we can go to the mall again (long story, just that we were told by the mom’s side of the family to not go to the mall for a while) we decided to meet and eat and catch up.

Where did we go? Robinson’s Place Ermita of course. Why of course? Well, it’s where we’ve always gone when we do see each other here in Manila. Even if it is a hecka long way from home, it’s a food haven that hasn’t changed since my mom worked in Pagcor when I was a kid. And for food, I’ll always travel.

First stop: Bon Vivant. It’s a rice in a box stall that’s been there for as long as i can remember. They have the most unique and just comforting flavors (Like my favorite: Ooh La La, a shrimp pesto, bacon mix) that have made people come back for years. And since it’s the only branch (believe me, people have tried to ask the Chinese owner for franchise rights, they’ve all been denied) it’s an inexpensive treat that I always make sure I get when I go to Ermita.

Then off to Wham. Don’t tell Ate Kaye (she doesn’t know we already ate, since she was late [hey that rhymes!]) but we ate fries, chicken littles (their chicken nuggets that are oh so good) and onion rings with our rice. Photo-opped, laughed at absurd rumors (that we found out later in the day was true) and ate our way through our first sit down meal.

Ajisen was third on our list. After walking in circles for 15 minutes and not knowing what to make Ate Kaye eat, we sat down at Ajisen, this Japanese place at the corner of the 3rd(?) floor at Midtown. Ordered sushi (to be fair we already ate) and ice cream. Gulped down the food then looked for more dessert.

And dessert we did find. Art’s cream gallery at the ground floor of Midtown was a place I’ve already read about online. Fiorgelato providing it’s ice cream (ok, gelato) we had the One for All which consisted of 12 scoops of ice cream in a single huge martini glass. The flavors all melted together, which was sometimes fun(mint and chocolate chip), sometimes strange (lychee and hazelnut). It was gone in 10 minutes.

Don’t think the day’s over. After Tita Tess picked us up, we went to S&R for apparently a sale and saw the longest line ever. We were tired so we just decided to eat dinner there. For people who have been eating every hour and a half, we managed to eat half a dozen burgers, a pizza, more cups of clam chowder than i could count, a salad (with bacon and cheese, i suspect it’s not as healthy as it’s parading to be), churros, and those chicken bread things that were so good.

It’s a wonder our clothes still fit.

Next time we’re going North! 🙂