Sleep deprived.

Saturday with the family. My sisters have been urging the parents to go to this Ozine Fest. It's a festival for all anime and cosplay lovers around the metro. This year it was held in SM Megamall at the Megatrade Hall.

My sisters entered the individual drawing competition. Unfortunately since my sisters are aged 14 and 10, they had to compete in the same age category. I got an entrance pass too, but I wasn't really what you call an "otaku" so I only just went sight-seeing at the bizarre yet very creative costumes that cosplayers wore. The entrance fee per day is ₱100.

We were having trouble deciding where to eat (Megamall is HUGE!) and we kept on walking until our feet led us to Holy Cow Steakhouse at the Atrium.

This Tabasco sauce wanted to take a picture with me.

How can I not smile at this? Wild, Wild West wall mementos and look at that fine cascading wooden boards!

I was also amazed at this wall painting. It's so beautiful. And the wooden rafters above it is a nice feat too!

The moment we stepped in I was taken aback by the nice ambience it has, and also I have to give props to the waiter's costumes! Yep, they're in cowboy jeans, leather boots and hats! I was totally amused at the horseshoe decor on the wall & the carriage wheel-inspired light fixture. It's not something you see everyday. Themed food establishments in Philippines are hard to come by.

We ordered BBQ Calamari for starters. They're huge calamari slices and the lemony tartar dip was a perfect complement to it. My 14-year-old sister Ia Mae had chicken fillet, Java rice and steamed veggies. Irylle (the youngest, aged 10) had the typical fried chicken with rice while I sampled the Juicy Melty Burger with their large-cut fries and spicy honey mustard dip.

This Juicy Melty Burger has a lot to offer. First off, the fries on the side are well-seasoned. It's not overpowering but not too bland. The spicy honey mustard dip completes the feat. I don't know about you but I always eat my burgers and fries together, not one first over the other. The cheese melts as you take a bite, and you can actually taste when it blends with the sumptuous juice of the burger patty fresh from the grill. The lettuce is fresh and crunchy, the buns hot and steamy but well-toasted on top along with the sesame seeds. I'm glad I picked this over rice. Therefore, I can truly say this one's for the books.

For dessert we had a choco oatmeal cookie with vanilla ice cream drizzled in rich chocolate syrup. The cookie seemed to be 3 pieces baked together as a one whole unit, it kinda looked like clover-shaped, but only with 3 sections. It was a good way to end the meal. The only the thing we were having difficulty with was cutting the cookie. It was hard! But I found a trick to it: use the dining knife and stab it (I'm serious!) and gently wedge it back and forth until the cookie divides.

My review for this restaurant: 

A+ food, decent music (they played John Mayer's In Repair which is a smart choice) and lovely atmosphere. The only downfall is that they have quite a slow service. The parents did not eat together with us because they were meeting some old acquaintances, so when that meet-up got cancelled they had to order lunch when we finished eating. Papa asked for the menu and the waitress took more than 5 minutes. She didn't even get back to us. We had to ask another waiter for it (his name was Lito and this waiter talking to customers with a lot of PR skills is kinda amusing, he was trying to know the customers through small talks). 

When we asked for the bill I volunteered to pay for the lunch to treat my sisters. But it was such a big disappointment that they didn't accept nor even try my UnionBank EON Visa debit card. It's weird because they said only Mastercard & Visa credit cards are acknowledged. Oh well. Maybe I have to go run to the ATM next time.

If you'd still ask me if I'd eat at Holy Cow I'd still say yes. 

This is my sister Irylle's entry to the drawing contest. Isn't she amazing?

Ia Mae left early to meet her friends at the venue so it was only Papa, Mama, Irylle and I waiting at our booth. And then I suddenly had the funny realization: I told Irylle we resembled the How I Met Your Mother gang and that Holy Cow was our MacLaren's! We had our own booth; Mama and Papa were Lily and Marshall because Ma's into shopping and Pa's into supernatural stuff. I was Ted the overthinker and the OC-guy, Ia Mae was Robin because she's boyish and a tsundere as she says, Irylle was Barney because she keeps on obsessing over his Legendary-ness. "And how bout Ian (our brother) who's back home because he was suffering from body ache?" I asked. Irylle replies, "Well he can be Kevin or Ranjit. But Papa can also be Ranjit cause he drives."

It's so great to have good conversations over good food. We waited until 6pm at Holy Cow before submitting Irylle's drawing upstairs. 

View from the 5th floor.

My new kicks. Navy blue pumps it is.

We had to stay at SM Megamall until 9 or 10pm for the awarding of winners. I'm not good at waiting but seeing Irylle win the contest for the individual drawing category of 14 below was worth it! She's the sole winner among all the kids who have joined in the Ozine Fest. She even beat Ia Mae! :P

 I'm a proud ate :)

Did you attend the Ozine Fest this year? If so, how was your experience?

x Iris

It's a tradition in my country to observe what we call "The Holy Week". It's a week of reflection for Roman Catholics with respect to Jesus Christ's suffering before he was crucified onto the cross. For us Filipinos, we are not allowed to eat meat for one whole week until Easter Sunday has come.

In our local community, my mother was tasked to make the float for the early morning parade. She thought it was going to be Mama Mary's so she made her pretty plastic flowers to a very beautiful illuminated rosary that embraces the carriage. Little did she know that it was for Jesus Christ's statue. She was very ecstatic about it that she asked us all to come and get up early to witness it for the so-called "salubong" (in Tagalog language, it means in verb form "to welcome" or "the welcome" in noun form). I've seen the float the night before even though it wasn't illuminated and it was pretty just by itself. Too bad I didn't get to take pictures but I think Mama has them in her digicam. The salubong starts at around 3 or 4am and the parade follows the carriage on its way to church. Little children can become participants too and they are dressesd as angels.

We got to the church really early. Surprisingly this is quite near to our village. It's at the back end after turning left to Salitran Road. When Mama came to see us we sat down at the pew and listened to the mass. Honestly, I haven't been to church for like 6 months or so! Shame of me, I know. One hour is just a little sacrifice for the whole week of good time I have in my life. But I think if I'd ever get to church I'd go really early so I wouldn't feel so sleepy compared to the afternoon attendance we usually get to go to.

After the mass, we were on the road to have our second breakfast in McDonald's. Second because we already ate at 7-Eleven before we got to church, it was when we couldn't get to the parade so we waited for Mama instead. And while on the road as I was saying... look what my awesome find is:

Man in motorcycle with his cool Reese's bag

So yeah my siblings and I were like, "oooooh look at that cool guy and his Reese's bag!" I scrambled to get the camera and take the precious shot. It was so funny we couldn't get over it. It would also be mindblowing if he had loaded real Reese's peanut butter bars in there! And where could I get a Reese's backpack too? Oh the things you find when traveling...

We had a really good family time today. Moments like this are one of the things I treasure the most. When everything is fine and we're all complete. Sundays like this are the best.

My sister and I just being kawaii (lol not really)

Before heading to McDonald's. It's freaking hot in where I am!

How about you? How do you like your Sundays?

x Iris