Have some pie

The pie that made the small bakeshop Banapple famous, especially among Quezon City residents: Banoffee. Think banana cream pie but the cream which holds the fresh sliced bananas together is caramel coffee; the cream on top is not just light whipped cream but a thick pastry cream; the cookie crust tastes like it's made of the cookie part of chocolate chip cookies, crushed and mixed with pure butter; then everything generously topped off with shaved dark chocolate. Heavenly! Or devilishly sinful, depending on how you look at it.

Wishing you all a new year filled with love and sweetness.

Squiggly

Remember the rainbow triangles which I posted five months ago? The Hong Kong-based Filipino artist, Joel Ferraris, found my post about it and pointed me to his own blog, and it turns out that its title is "Prism 24." I finally managed to get a couple more photos of his fun sculptures at SM City North EDSA's Sky Garden and here is another, titled "Rainbow Waterfalls." There's no real water, but I think it's appropriate enough to register in Watery Wednesday, don't you think? :)

Natural or man-made, take a refreshing dip in Watery Wednesday.

Tiny Legoland

I saw this small Lego city in Trinoma mall the same day I saw the elegant Santa, but it probably has been there since way before Christmas. It's meant to get kids asking for Lego sets for Christmas, after all.

The dome

Finally, I managed a photo of the Araneta Coliseum which actually shows its dome. Previously, I've shown photos of one of its entrances and the curved footbridge which connects it to several malls in the area. Nicknamed "The Big Dome," this multipurpose stadium in Cubao, Quezon City is one of the biggest indoor stadiums in Metro Manila. Its biggest claim to fame is the 1975 Thrilla in Manila, the final boxing match between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier for the Heavyweight Boxing Championship of the World. The glass building on the left is the part of Gateway Mall which stretches across a public road.

Nothing extraordinary

The atrium of SM City Marikina looks great from the inside, but from the outside, it looks like any other SM mall.

---

Calling all City Daily Photo bloggers! In the past, the theme for the first day of the new year had traditionally been the best of the year past. But because of some slight confusion in a discussion a month ago, our theme for January 1 is now Changes. There are currently two polls in the forum too, and I would like to request all of you to please vote. One is asking when we would like to have the Best of 2009 theme, and the poll closes on Sunday, December 27, 11:46am (a U.S. time zone but I don't know which one), so it's kind of urgent. The other poll is for the February 1 theme, assuming that February 1 will not be our Best of 2009 day. Please vote and spread the word!

Santa's helper

Getting a photo with Santa Claus in his white kingdom at Trinoma mall. Santa's suit was more formal and elegant for his photo shoot—no red, just white and gold too (which makes him quite difficult to spot).

Starshine

And behold, the star that they had seen at its rising preceded them, until it came and stopped over the place where the child was.
Matthew 2:9b

May the light of the Star of Bethlehem shine in your homes and in your hearts today and always.

From our home to yours,
A blessed and joyful Christmas.

Exie & Hilda

The eve of Jesus' birth

Tonight, thousands of Filipinos will gather in churches for the Christmas Eve Mass, the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. When I was a child, I remember that it was truly a midnight Mass; nowadays, most churches celebrate it at 10:00pm. The cribs in nativity scenes in churches have remained empty throughout the Advent season, and it will be during tonight's Mass that the image of the baby Jesus will be installed. The custom used to be widespread in homes too, but no longer, as it means having to create a little ceremony for it. This almost life-size nativity scene, or part of it rather, is in Harbour Square beside Manila Bay.


In case we all get too busy tomorrow, I would like to greet you all now a blessed Christmas!

Red

I had to buy some things for the office yesterday and ended up in another SM mall, this time the one in Marikina City. SM is the largest chain of malls in the Philippines and it currently has eleven in Metro Manila alone, not counting its stand-alone hyper-supermarkets. The mall in Marikina is its newest and though it's the one closest to where I work, it was the first time I went there. Its main entrance leads to a three-story south-facing atrium which fills this part of the mall with bright natural light. Great space, and it looked even more impressive with the gigantic Christmas ornaments.

North

I did some last-minute shopping yesterday and saw this charming Christmas Village at The Block in SM City North EDSA. You wouldn't believe how long I had to stand with my camera at the ready to get photos of each without all the people posing in front of them.

Santa's Mail Station

Elf School

Winter Café

Nutcracker Inn

Frosty Shop

Cold and hot

Frozen cocktails, anyone? Rum and fruit juice or Kahlua? Holiday cheers to everyone! :)

Star of Bethlehem

The most popular Christmas decoration in the Philippines is the parol (from the Spanish farol which means "lantern"), the star-shaped lantern that represents the star of Bethlehem which led the three wise men to the stable where Jesus was born. The parol has actually become the iconic symbol of a Filipino Christmas. It can be as simple or as elaborate as one's budget will allow, from the traditional bamboo and tissue paper lanterns to the colorful and brightly-lit ones from the province of Pampanga. This one is somewhere in between. It is made of capiz shell (mother of pearl or nacre) but left in its natural, translucent color. The lights inside blink and rotate, however, and I failed to capture it in that second when all the segments are lit up.

Ramen

We've eaten at Rai Rai Ken Ramen House and Sushi Bar in Harbour Square so many times yet it was only during our last visit there that I noticed that their chairs are carved with their logo. Duh.

Last theme

We weren't able to go to the December 2 Marker Party at Sofitel Manila's 7Pecados by the Bay, but it turned out that it wasn't the last of the themed parties. There was another one on December 9, and its theme was "Glitter…



and Glow." They gave all the guests glow-in-the-dark bracelets. Hubby dear got a blue one and mine was orange.



There was a different band that night, Arpie and The Multivitamins. The guy in the hat (I think he's Arpie but I don't know for sure) seems to moonlight as a stand-up comedian too—he was really funny, but only when he was speaking in Tagalog. He kept teasing the female singer that she looked like a bangus (milkfish) in her sequined dress.