Celebrating #IceTurns36

I turned 36 last Saturday. Yup, I have no shame in admitting my true age. Why should I be shy about it? God has blessed me with another year and I’m grateful.

I initially wanted to go on a staycation to celebrate my birthday. However, I decided against it only a week before because I opted to spend my hard earned money to buy myself a gift instead. Haha! Our digicam is busted and I’ve been saving up for a nice new one.

I was planning on buying one already by Friday but lo and behold, I found out earlier today that I actually won one from the FoodPanda blog contest hosted by Mommy Bloggers Philippines. Woohoo! I feel so blessed. Thank you so much, by the way.

So, anyway, I opted to just eat out with my family to celebrate my birthday. But what happened actually was that the celebration started the night before when we had dinner at Shakey’s, after taking the kids to the doctor for a check up.

On the morning of my birthday, I was still contemplating if we should go out or not because Ziggy was still sick with cough and colds. We actually spent the whole afternoon sleeping, which turned out to be a good thing because it made Ziggy feel better. So then, we finally decided to head out to dinner at Watami in Glorietta.

Of course, since it was my birthday, I chose the cuisine and the restaurant. And my first choice will always be Japanese. We’ve never tried Watami before so I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to do so during my birthday.

We ordered California Maki, Spicy Salmon Tempura Rolls, Shrimp Tempura, Watami Salad, Assorted Skewers and Beef Sukiyaki.

Yes, for the first time, we didn’t order sashimi. But I figured we already ordered a lot and I really wanted to be more adventurous and try other meals. Thankfully, we weren’t disappointed.

The food tasted really good. I especially love the very tasty skewers. We ordered the assorted one so that we could try them all. My favorite was the Beef Spring Onion Roll Skewer. So yummy!

The California Maki and Shrimp Tempura were fresh and comparable to other Japanese restaurants. I loved the Watami Salad.  It had a mixture of fresh greens and tuna salad, which I love. Next time, we’ll order the full portion.

The Beef Sukiyaki was so-so though. It’s good for sharing so I was really surprised when it came in a medium-sized bowl only. If you order it for a group, it will definitely not be enough if  you don’t order anything else.

What I think is a real winner though is the Spicy Salmon Tempura Rolls. It just had enough spice to give it a kick plus the tempura surrounding the rolls gave it a very satisfying crunch. This is definitely a must-have.

It was overall a satisfying birthday dinner. The staff were very attentive and accommodating. Service was fast. I also loved the warm, modern feel of the place.

But of course, we had to have dessert. And since J.Co. was just a stone’s throw away, that’s where we ended up. We shared a box of these donut balls and had some frappuccinos.

It was almost 9 pm already when the hubby said he wanted to look for something at National Book Store. So, we went inside and he immediately asked me to help him look for a card case, saying that he needs to replace the one he has. Little did I know that while we were busy looking for one, he had already commissioned the girls to buy me a present and have it wrapped. Haha!

He’s really sweet, isn’t he? I think the girls did a great job picking the wrapper. It’s so pretty. I opened the package at home that night and found two Nicholas Sparks novels.

The hubby definitely knows that the way to my heart is through a new book. Haha!

Although the celebration wasn’t exactly how I initially envisioned it would be, I can honestly say that I’m glad it turned out the way that it did. It was a very chill day, exactly what I needed it to be. And I was in the company of those that matter most to me.

I have a brand new year to celebrate life with my family and friends. What more can I ask for?