Starting Our Christmas Season with Cubao Fiesta Park's Christmas on Display

"Ang Pasko ay para sa mga bata" - this is one popular saying here in the Philippines during the Christmas Season. In English it means "Christmas is for kids" and I believe it is true indeed because I felt Christmas was more magical when I was a kid than now when I was an adult.

I still remember that one night when our parents brought me and my brother to Cubao to watch the COD Christmas Display. I can still remember how we tried to squeeze through the crowd so that we could go to the front. I can vaguely remember the whole show but I remember the belen that shows Mary and Joseph with the newborn Jesus, the angel delivering the good news to the shepherds, and the three kings delivering their gifts to the Holy Child. There was even an exciting scene where a child climbs, and oftentimes slides down the stick, while doing the palo sebo.

Now that I am a parent, it is my turn to bring the kids to Cubao. We brought them to Araneta City's Fiesta Park, now known as Christmas Carnival.

Fiesta Carnival or Christmas Carnival is an open air mini-amusement park or peryahan located beside the Araneta Integrated Terminal. The place is actually a bit underwhelming because it only has a few rides. Despite this, our kids had fun riding the bumper boat and having their photos with the giant Christmas tree.

We were dismayed after losing at the "ring toss game" and "catch a duck", where we lost hundreds of pesos. I will definitely these money traps in the future.

The highlight of our night is the Christmas Display. Our kids enjoyed the retelling of the Christmas story using the animated dolls. They were truly amazed and Bunso's favorite is the angel moving up and down the clouds.

The Christmas Display at the Araneta Christmas Carnival is the latest revival of the COD Christmas Display, which was one of the highlights of Cubao during the holiday season.

The Christmas animated display was started in 1966 by the Manila COD, which was a shopping mall at the then Araneta Center. The show ran until the mall's closure in 2002.

The old COD Christmas Display brought great memories to me. I do hope that the revived Christmas Display at the Araneta City Fiesta Park will also brought great memories to our children.

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Reference:

Araneta City FB Page

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Pilipino Lunch along Maginhawa Street

Another meeting with a lawyer friend brought me and my brother to another restaurant located along Maginhawa Street in Diliman, Quezon City. Our last visit to this street brought us to Black Soup Cafe where I tasted the black pasta. This time, our group decided to have a Filipino style lunch at Pino Resto Bar.
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This post is long overdue because Pino Resto Bar already relocated from its old place along Maginhawa Street to Malingap Street.

Pino Resto Bar was aptly named because it offers FiliPINO foods that are common to the Flipino tongue but innovated to make them more delicious.  The resto bar is currently managed by Chef Bugia, Star Jose and PJ Lanot.

The distinctive feature that the old Pino Resto Bar along Maginhawa Street had is its doodle on the wall.
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I am not sure if the new Pino Resto Bar along Malingap Street has a new doodle on its walls.

We asked for Pino Resto Bar's specialty and the waiter told us to order the Kare-kareng Bagnet, which we did except for my brother.

I noticed that Pino Resto Bar is quite popular in the area because of the crowd. Our group luckily found a large table beside the doodled wall before other patrons could reach it. We waited for the main course while we nibbled little tacos filled with mangos, cheese and other veggies.
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The tacos are perfect distraction while we wait for our kare-kareng bagnet. Soon enough, our orders came to our table one by one. I was awed when I saw my kare-kareng bagnet. The pork meat is BIG.
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The size is awesome but the taste of the kare-kareng bagnet didn't fail. I understood; on my first bite, why Pino Resto Bar's kare-kareng bagnet is praised by many. The kare-kareng bagnet combined two Filipino dishes into one and the fusion is perfect. Kare-kare is a stew made of peanut sauce and various vegetables partnered with bagoong alamang. Bagnet, on the other hand, is deep fried pork meat.

Pino Resto Bar's kare-kareng bagnet is deep fried pork meat that still has the taste of peanut sauce of kare-kare, which is new but familiar to my tounge. My kare-kareng bagnet had three pieces of big pork meat, which I almost failed to finish.

My brother ordered Pino Chicken Inasal that has one piece of inasal meat and fried kangkong leaves.
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He said that the chicken inasal was fine but he didn't like the taste of fried kangkong leaves because it tasted like saliva.

We finished our lunch with desserts. I ordered the Mango Banana Peanut Butter Roll.
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The roll is not too sweet and peanut butter taste mixed well with the taste of banana and mango.

We enjoyed our lunch/meeting with Pino Resto Bar's delicious food and tasty kwento. We left the resto bar with big bellies because of the gigantic pork of kare-kareng bagnet.

I wonder what restaurant along Maginhawa Street we're going to drop by next meeting.

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Passing by UP Diliman Lagoon

Last month, my office me sent me to a short training in my alma mater UP Diliman or formally known as University of the Philippines – Diliman. In previous posts, I already talked about UP Diliman, which me and my beloved visited one time. I also talked about the time when my brother when to UP Diliman to take the UPCAT.

When I went to the Marine Science Institute, I passed through here:
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(Source: Phlog)

That is the famous UP Lagoon. Actually it is not a lagoon but just an area with a small lake that was connected to the small creek that pass through the middle of the Campus. During summer days when there is no rain, the "lagoon" is even missing because it is dried up  because of the heat.

UP Lagoon is close to me because I usually pass through this area during my college years. I always enter the campus through the Ylanan Street entrance and take a shortcut via UP Lagoon for my classes in Palma Hall, College of Arts and Letters, Physics Building and the Math Building. Aside from being my usual shortcut, UP Lagoon is close to my heart because of this:
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(Source: Digital Photographer Philippines)

Those are trees inside UP Lagoon where I usually eat my packed lunch. Since I am a loner back then, I prefer to eat alone either in CASAA (a canteen or eatery near Palma Hall) or beneath the shades of those trees when CASAA is jam packed with students. It is refreshing to eat beneath the shade of those trees and sometimes I miss those days.

Inside UP Lagoon is this statue:
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The Sewing of Philippine Flag, UP Diliman Lagoon

The statue depicts the Agoncillo sisters at the time when they are sewing the flag that was used during the declaration of Philippine Independence by Emilio Aguinaldo.

UP Lagoon is a good place to stay, especially for loners like me. Well, it is good to be back to see one of my old haunts during my college years. If I can only visit the UP Diliman Library, which is another of my favorite haunt, then my visit to UP Diliman would have been complete.

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UPCAT 2010 is Finally Over

Finally, the moment that my youngest brother prepared for is over. The UPCAT or the college entrance exam of the University of the Philippines was held last week and it seems like my brother found the exam difficult. He got out of the examination building scratching his head.

Well, I am not thinking that he might fail the exam because of that. I had a bad experience when I took the UPCAT years ago. When I got out of the examination building, my father noticed that I am exhausted and I am silent. I found the exam very difficult. Thank goodness that my power of guessing served me well that day so I passed the UPCAT.
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My youngest brother’s examination building.

My brother was scheduled to take the exam last Saturday. We went to UP Diliman quite early so we will not be late. Well, we came early so we got the time to walk to his examination building, which is the National Institute of Geological Sciences building.

I instantly noticed that the streets of the university are not heavy with traffic. I have also noticed that the front of examination buildings is not crowded with UPCAT takers and their parents. The increase of tuition fee in the university shunned the poor students from taking the UPCAT.

UPCAT 2010 is a far-cry from the year when I took the UPCAT. The university is crowded back then and there are many food booths around the university. UPCAT back then was like a fiesta. Well, tuition by that time is just a third of the current tuition fee.
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Not crowded. Parents waiting for their kids in front of Palma Hall.

I guess that the number of UPCAT takers will continue to dwindle. Too bad those poor but intelligent students opt to not enter the university because of the tuition fee.

Que sera sera. I just hope that my brother pass the UPCAT.
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Great Burgers are Wham! Burger

A friend of mine dragged me and my friends around SM North to a restaurant that she claims to have the most delicious burgers that she had ever tasted. These burgers are the Wham! Burgers. As a cheapskate, I am quite hesitant to spend my cash because Wham! Burgers are more expensive than the regular burgers that I buy from McDonalds and Burger King, but in the end my friend convinced me to taste her favorite burgers.

We ordered two Bronco Burgers, which cost 150 pesos apiece but not inclusive of the drinks.
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Wham! Burger.

My hesitation became nil the moment I tasted Wham! Burger. It is indeed the best burger that I ever tasted and I am not surprised why my friend made it as her favorite burger.

Wham! Burger is no ordinary burger. The beef patty is thicker than the burgers offered by Jollibee and McDonalds. I could also taste the spices and other ingredients in my burger that greatly add up to the nice flavor of the burger.

According to Wham! Burger Facebook fan page, they only put fresh 1/3 pound beef in every burger and each patty was not frozen so it is always juicy and fresh. This is the main reason why Wham! Burger is delicious.

Wham! Burger is great. I’ll visit them again because I know that what I pay for their burgers is worth it.

“The hell with Burger Yum, ang gusto ko ay Burger Wham!”

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Photo of Wham! Burger came from the Facebook fan page of Wham! Burger.
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