What an exhilarating day I had yesterday 😀 I went to Roxas Blvd– I was like a bird that flew out of the coop! I went past Aristocrat (where we will be having our dinner later) 
to go to Manila Diamond Hotel. I met up with the super fun folks 
(Karaaaa… I missed meeting you!!) at Transit (the peeps there probably think I’m crazy now hehe… well I am, so there :D)! Transit is a weekly newsmagazine
that features “News without Borders” (important issues around the globe), and also has sections on lifestyle and fashion (we likey likey). Best of all, Transit is free and available in many stands– universities, offices, cafes, gyms.. name it! If you are interested to push your company’s new product, you can advertise with Transit! Call their Ad Sales at 305-3062 or 305-3066.
Apres Transit, I passed through Rizal Park 
before heading toward the Walled City, where I went to pick up my dear friend CS. I love her place and the way it is set up. 
It’s so unlike other houses I’ve been to. It’s always been such a treat for me to go visit her and today was such a day. She was taking me “downtown” to a boutique that I’ve never been to 😀 (I loove these little city adventures!)
We passed through Del Pan (look at the beautiful skyline!),
then saw Fort Santiago 
in a distance (and also Manila Cathedral church). We finally got into Chinatown. Oooh Savory.
Do you still remember their yummy chicken? (Have you hags tried their chicken at all?) I feel sorta sorry for them, coz they never bothered to renovate their restaurant. But then again, everyone goes there to buy chicken for take out.
I saw San Lorenzo Ruiz church
in a distance.
Finally we arrived at Gift City. 
Oh my oh my, walking into that shop was like reliving my childhood. There were all these fun stuff from Sanrio *squeals*. Hello Kitty! My Melody! Little Twin Stars! (There ya go, I am revealing my age as I type this.. hehee yes, VINTAGE Sanrio). They also have custom-made Swarovski jewelry pieces
as well as all these “fortune and luck” paraphrenalia.
I am coming back here before Christmas to pick up gifts for my friends. Hehe we all need “luck” in life and business these days, don’t we? Thing is, you can’t really buy those thingies for yourself. You need to have someone buy it for you. So that pretty much prevented me from getting any for myself *muwahahaha otherwise I would’ve hoarded!!* I just ended up getting these little self-ink stamps for myself (for use with my kids :D). What is it with me and these cutesie stamps these days?! (I already have like 5 to date! And I actually hardly use them haha). By the way, Gift City is at 512 Quintin Paredes St. Binondo Manila, Tel. 241-1468.
We also went by Eng Bee Tin — 
woohoo the famous hopia factory 😀 I hardly ever go into this part of town anymore, but everytime I do, I wish I had more than 2 hours to spend, walking around the place. There are so much more places to see down that road. *Hello, JEWELRY!!*
CS and I bought some food at Eng Bee Tin— 
I got a lot of balls *muwahaha that doesn’t sound right*… Squidballs, beefballs, fish balls!!! Tsk, dirty minds 😀
It was time for us to leave Chinatown now– we had to meet KG at Aristocrat! 🙂
When we got there, KG had already pre-ordered for us. I miss having the famous Sotanghon soup (vermicelli with chicken soup). 
So I was really looking forward to gulping down the soup (literally). But I was disappointed because the soup was rather bland. CS said too, that Aristocrat’s quality had gone down. It was no longer that old Aristocrat that we once knew.
I also ordered Sago and Gulaman drink (tapioca pearl), 
which was not so bad.
Our main course was the boneless chicken barbeque with Java rice. 
Now this dish, is still quite good. I don’t recall the meat being this sweet, but no matter. It was good. Java rice seemed a little overcooked though, but with the barbeque sauce, it was alright.
It was a great dinner, not because of the food (I give it a 6.5 out of a 10- 10 being perfect), but it was great because of the company. I always have a great time with my kooky girlfriends 🙂
Took some shots of the scene outside the restaurant as well– Baywalk is so nice.
It has considerably changed a lot from a few years ago. Thanks to the Manila Mayor (Lito Atienza) for improving the place. There is even a nice park with a huge water fountain. The mayor really did well and my congratulations go out to him.
We all went home early (like by 8:30pm), and I decidedly had an early night (no blogging last night!). Hehe.. on the road to a healthier lifestyle? Not quite. Just last night 🙂
Have a good day hags!
xo
look at the size of the tapioca! yummy!
I miss the Diamond Hotel! I used to go to the 27th floor Le Bellevue. For me it’s the best french restaurant simply because of the view! The interior is superb! The private dining area’s view is breathtaking during lunch. It’s also the favorite place of Madame IRM. The Chef -stefan did a good job (in the 90’s)!
Heard it turned out to be a european resto and smaller cos they turned the space into a function room.
The Yurakuen at the ground floor is the best jap restaurant in the world for me back in then! The Gindara is so yummy!
mpr: oh yes, i remember le bellevue. their lobster was spectacular. ive been to yurakuen too but i find it more a nice place to take guests than for its food. Im better off at Tsumura 😀 *die hard Tsumura fan!!!*
paz: come to manila and we’ll binge haha
xo