Photojournal: Feeling the holiday season in a new found spot in the city

Before the pandemic hit, our usual activities on weekends are mostly going to a new restaurant and eating good food. We would spend the rest of the afternoon walking and drinking coffee until we call it a day. Social activities like that were brief during the weekend because the reality of living in the city makes time quite faster than the usual. Of course the way we would meet and spend time with friends and families changed in the last two years. Most often than not, we would just meet virtually through video calls. Thankfully, last weekend, we were able to do the usual going out and exploring something new, just life before.

I was supposed to meet my sister in the city where she currently works, during transit, I was able to stop by this book store when I changed trains. A funny thing, it's only last month when I started using public transportations that don't have proper ventilation. I would often ride a jeepney or tricycle since my workplace is just near where I live. It was such a joy to be surrounded with so many books again, the book store I went to is a popular one, because all they sell are secondhand books. I was able to buy new books that I'll read until the end of this year. I got the two books for a price of $6 only, I was so happy with my purchase.

Eating Japanese cuisine makes me so giddy, the dishes are really tasty and they look good too! The dining experience at Ooma was also a great experience, they have an interior made of wood and what seems like a rustic theme atmosphere. They have their counter setup as something like an authentic food place in Japan.

We ordered the usual maki, gyoza, and gyudon rice bowl (I thought I was that hungry!) Their food servings were also pretty generous. I would surely go back to Ooma and try out the other variant of maki, what we had was the Oyster Aburi Maki. Their dishes were very tasty too, somehow, my bland cooking even made the taste feel more salty than what I expected.

BGC or Bonifacio Global City is like a gem in the midst of a gray metro. Before, this place was quite exclusive since going to this place would require you to take private transportations. I'm glad that my commute only costs a dollar since I used the train and bus going here. What I love about BGC is they make going to the mall and eating in restaurants go along with walking along their streets and around the open spaces they cultivate. Since it's already the holiday season in the Philippines (it usually starts in September hahaha), the area is now decorated with Christmas ornaments.

We went around the area to look for a coffee shop and a good place where we could just sit. On our way to Starbucks (hahaha, our go-to coffee shop), we found another Christmas tree surrounded with bicycles. You can pedal one of the standing bicycles and generate power to light up the Christmas tree.

I was hesitant to try it out because it was still daylight and I don't think I would be able to pedal the amount of power needed. I did try it for fun and I confirmed my hesitancy when the tree didn't light up hahaha.

It was only in the recent years when I got to try puto bumbong. It's a purple rice cake steamed using bamboo tubes. Since then, during the holiday season, I would ask my momma if there are already food stalls in our hometown that sell this dish. I was so happy when I saw a food stall near the coffee shop where I bought my usual coffee drink — Iced caramel macchiato with added espresso shot!

The puto bumbong was a little bit pricey but I really really wanted to have a taste of it, this costs $3. When I told my momma about it, she said that the one in our hometown is sold only for less than a dollar haha. I'll probably eat portions of this goody snack when I go home. It was perfect paired with coffee. The sweetened milk and grated cheese toppings give a nice contrast with the bitter taste of the coffee.

It's so seldom to find a wonderful spot to enjoy reading a good book and a cup of coffee. Thankfully, I found this open space in the midst of towering buildings in the city. The space was decorated with different plants that offers a lush view of the surroundings.

For a few hours, I was able to enjoy reading this book I just bought that day while drinking my coffee. This was my usual rest days before the pandemic. I'm glad that I was able to do it again after two years of mostly staying at home and waiting the weekend pass. There's nothing really special with the things I did last weekend, no exciting itinerary to follow, it was just simple. But what I enjoyed the most was the feeling of being able to rekindle the things I loved to do before. Hope you enjoyed this photojournal of my happenings last weekend. :)