Aside from my high school circle, my grade school buddies are my one-call-away friends because we live in the same neighborhood.
We have this group chat where we just drop a name of a place and everyone will just reply whether they can make it or not. If one of us is not available, we will reschedule. It's an unwritten rule that we should always hang out together.
It was a random day when Cris asked and mentioned Pink's. Pink's is a hotdog joint from US with 2 branches here in the Philippines. One is in BGC and the other one is in Okada Manila.
We arrived at Pink's around 7 in the evening, thankfully it wasn't that crowded yet. The cool thing about Pink's is that you can dine in a speakeasy bar if you want a more intimate kind of bonding. It can also be used for private events. But we skipped the bar because Rose was expecting an important call, and let's be real, we wouldn't hear a thing in there 😅
When we hang out, our usual plan involves alcoholic beverages. We drink for fun, to celebrate, or to drown our sorrows when one of us is feeling down. This time, we just wanted to catch up and have a good time.
Rose already gave us a heads-up in our group chat that she wouldn't be drinking. She's the youngest in the group and she's always exempt from the booze. The last time we drink, she had soda instead of mule. We respect her choices. Aly also mentioned she wouldn't drink as well because of dysmenorrhea.
Since our usual bonding always involves alcoholic beverages, we decided to take it easy this time. We settled on having hotdogs and ice cream.
While we're browsing the menu and contemplating our order, I couldn't help but notice the tissue with a print on it in front of me. It was like the universe was whispering to us, "Hey, grab some beers!" Oh no. It's a test 😂 Calm down. Breathe in. Breathe out. 😂 At that point, we're still set on sticking to our plan. Just having hotdogs and ice cream.
Our initial order was, of course, the hotdogs. Rose ordered the Breakfast All Day Dog (bacon wrapped, crispy potatoes, fried egg, cheddar, hollandaise, ketchup) for 295 pesos or $5.26. Tina and Angel ordered the Hollywood Legend (Pink's Famous Chili, cheddar cheese, mustard, chopped onion) for 345 pesos or $6.15. Aly and I ordered the East L.A. Street Dog (Bacon Wrapped, Ketchup, Mustard, Mayo, Grilled Onions & Peppers, Pico De Gallo) for 295 pesos or $5.26.
When the hotdogs arrived, the server casually mentioned that it was Happy Hour, which meant if we ordered alcoholic drinks, we'd get 2 for the price of one.
We had sworn that night that we wouldn't be drinking, but boy, fate had other plans. How did we even manage to persuade Aly that beer works wonders for her dysmenorrhea? 😄 Rose is still an exemption.
We gave in to temptation and ordered large Stella Artois for 355 pesos or $6.33 per glass. We were hoping to get Hoegaarden Rose, but it was out of stock. Stella Artois it was and we took advantage of the Happy Hour. And since it was discounted, we ended up ordering four. I can't be bothered to calculate how much we saved that night. We don't have time for math 😅 but we know for sure we saved some cash... or not? Either way, cheers to that!
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Once we were done munching our hotdogs, we ordered Cheesy Fries for 330 pesos or $5.88 and Nachos for 395 pesos or $7.04.
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It was nice catching up with my friends, talking about everything and anything, mostly about our love lives and careers. We covered all the juicy details 😂
After we finished our beers and food, we capped off our bonding with the Farmacy's chocolate ice cream. Sadly, I was too caught up in the moment that I forgot to take a picture of it.
So, my takeaway from this whole experience, aside from the fact that I have amazing friends, is that sometimes life throws funny tests at you 😂 like tempting you with discounted beers when you're trying to take a break from alcohol 😅
But beyond that, this wonderful bonding with my friends made me realize the importance of spending time with those who know me inside out. Whether we're celebrating, crying, or simply catching up, having awesome friends is what makes life worthwhile.
Cheers to hotdogs and ice cream with a side of fries and nachos and the ability to resist alcohol temptations... in the future 😄🍻
This is #BeerSaturday week and I would like to invite 
📸 All images are mine unless otherwise stated.
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