Last Saturday, hubby was scheduled for a pre-birthday shoot at Bonifacio High Street. So we thought of it as a perfect time to try out the new restaurant that is popular in the US, IHOP, which has opened its doors to Filipinos foodies two weeks ago.

I heard feedbacks from friends that we have to brace ourselves for the long queue but I thought they are just teasing us. I met up with my buddies from work at 8 AM and I thought that it will still be early and we did not expect any long line but I was wrong:

This is the queue at IHOP at 8 AM. The waiting time of 1-2 hours is really ridiculous. I hate lining up for food and I don’t think 2 hours wait time is not worth it just to eat American branded pancakes.

Oh well. I’m sure the hype will die down. Maybe we will try again after 3 months.

Since we go straight to Bela and Cobis swimming class after Cobi’s Gymboree class, we always dine out for lunch. So we get to try different restos and the latest one we tried was the new 9 Spoons Restaurant at Bay Leaf Hotel.

My cousin was the one who recommended this restaurant. It is at the Pent House of the hotel and it has a very nice view of the Intramuros Golf Course. Bela had fun enjoying the view while waiting for our food.

We ordered Chicken Bites for the kids, which they were able to finish, and Bibimbop for hubby and me. Their serving was big that we just shared the Bibimbop. But we were just a bit disappointed, as we still love the Bibimbop from our favorite Korean Restaurant better. For dessert we ordered Mango Banana-Q Crepe.

The food was just so-so. I am not sure if we just did not order the right food as I remember I read good reviews about this resto. But we might go back to try out some of their dishes in their menu.

Last Thursday was a holiday. We just stayed at home almost the entire day because I still have a lot of backlogs to finish. After lunch, my uncle invited us to visit her daughter at Mc Donalds Retiro since I enrolled her daughter their for the kiddie crew program. Her schedule is from 2:00 – 4:00 PM.

Unfortunately Bela was still sleeping so we have to wait for her to wake up before we can go to Mc Donalds. Good thing she woke up a little past 3:00 PM. When we arrived at Mc Donalds, they are already doing their art work. Bela immediately played with her Tita Aliah and my cousin was so proud that we visited her there.

It was already their fourth day for the program and my cousin said that she really enjoyed it. She learned to be confident in front of other people, she gained new friends, and she was able to do something memorable for summer. There was a kid around 3.5 years who is part of the program so I’m planning to let my daughter join the program next year with her Tita Aliah and Tito Jego.

Here are some pictures that Howell took when we’re there.

After Mc Donalds, we invited them for a merienda, at where else, Café Monaco. We are so totally addicted to this restaurant that every time we are in the Banawe area, we always have to have a quick bite there. We ordered Bibimbop, California Roll, Beef Ramen, Mango Crepe and mixed fruits crepe. And they really enjoyed the food.

Of course Howell was not able to take a picture of the food, but here are some shots that he took while we’re in the restaurant.