How We Spent 01-01-15

Hi everyone! How did you celebrate the New Year? Like we always do every night of the 31st of December, my family and I stayed at home. It would have been fun to watch the fireworks at Burj Al Arab or Burj Khalifa up close, but with 2 small girls to think of, we chose the hassle-free, traffic-free and most convenient option instead.

Hubby was our chef that night. Up until the day before, we still hadn’t thought of what we would be having for our media noche, so he just checked the internet for options, printed the recipes that caught his interest, and we went to the neighbourhood supermarket for the ingredients he needed.

It was his first time to cook baked salmon and crispy lechon belly so he followed Panlasang Pinoy’s steps to the T. He was really busy that whole night in the kitchen.

Before 12 o'clock, we sat down for our midnight meal while enjoying the best view of the Burj Khalifa fireworks.  If you haven’t seen what made it earn the Guiness World Record title for “World’s Largest LED-Illuminated Façade,” here it is:

Pretty cool, huh?! I've watched that clip over and over and I can't help but be amazed every time.

As for our food, the salmon was ok, but our favourite was the bellychon. The skin was sooo crispy and crunchy! It tasted just like the traditional lechon in the Philippines that’s roasted over fire…minus the charcoal taste (even though there were some  burnt edges). Absolutely delicious!

Dessert was simple: a selection of 13 round fruits (as per the Filipino tradition for luck),

and homemade chocolate chip cookies and ube crinkles I had made the night before. Still delicious, though.

On the first morning of 2015, we went to St. Mary’s Church to give thanks for the year that had passed, and to ask guidance and more blessings for the new year ahead. And then after that, we headed straight home to change into more comfortable clothes, pack some things, and headed to the nearby park where Mama, Ate Ning and Gabe were waiting for us for our family picnic.

There we spent lunch and an afternoon of more yummy food and just having a good time. While the kids ran around and had fun, we adults enjoyed a hilarious game of Party Flippo’ which is an app inspired by the popular Pinoy Henyo.

We were laughing so hard at the responses and guesses, our cheeks were so sore by the time we finished. Come to think of it, we were probably the only ones in the park who made so much noise that day, you’d think there were so many of us in our group.

When we were too tired from laughing, I tested the camera (yup, the one I won from McDonald's) and just clicked away.

What do you think? Do I have the beginnings of a photographer? Hehehe.

Anyway, it was such a great way to spend the first day of the year, and I’m so glad I enjoyed it with the people I love most.