Date Night: Yomenya Goemon, Greenbelt

Every night, Dens and i would try to spend as much time as we possibly can with the kids. We would watch movies with them, tell them Bible stories, or play whatever game they'd want to play. But come Friday, we would take time out from our busy parenting schedule and have our regular date night.  It hasn't been easy sustaining this sacred night since parenting guilt sometimes gets in the way.  We'd often end up bringing the kids along or watching a movie with them at home.

One Friday night in March, we found ourselves sans kids in Greenbelt 3. We wanted to try something new and saw this interesting Japanese Spaghetti House that replaced the old Big Buddha restaurant near the parking building.

The place looked really inviting. There were a lot of people already so getting a table was quite a challenge. The waiter asked if we were okay to sit by the bar and we thought 'sure, why not?' this is something we cannot do when the kids are around.  

I found out that the restaurant is a franchise from Shibuya in Japan. The first Yomenya Goemon opened in 1976 and has now become Japan's 2nd largest food and beverage player with as many as 2,500 branches in their homeland.

They claim to have reinvented the way we eat spaghetti. True to the Japanese cultrue, you have to eat your spaghetti using chopsticks! One thing that i found unique is that they put poached eggs on top of the pasta once served. Mixing it makes for a creamier texture to the sauce. And as with most authentic Japanese meals, they also serve miso soup prior to the main course.

The prices are quite reasonable ranging from P200+ and up. They also serve pizza and other interesting dish that are beyond ordinary. Just writing about them and looking at the pictures makes me want to go back for more!

Here's to more memorable date nights and great finds! What about you? What's your latest food find?



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Dawn's First Meal

It seems like yesterday when i blogged about Troy's first meal here.  Such a cliche but it must be said - HOW TIME FLIES! I can't believe it's been half a year and our little girl is already taking in solid food.  Dawn had her first taste last August 23, a day after she turned 6 months. She was very easy to feed and was excitedly waiting for the next spoonful. She was even trying to hold the spoon and feed herself when you're not fast enough. Check out 2nd picture above.

For those of you who know my kids, I'm sure you'd agree that Troy has a very healthy appetite. A lot of people have asked me what vitamins i give him or how we feed him to make him enjoy food so much. Truth is, there's really no formula.

We did not actually give Troy any vitamins until he was almost a year old. With Dawn, we just started vitamins this week since she's smaller in size than Troy was at her age.

For both our kids, we used Earth Best's Whole Grain Rice Cereal for their first meals. I like that it's organic and has no chemicals in it. It's available in all Healthy Options stores.

Dawn's first meal experience went pretty well. She was able to finish a tablespoon worth of cereal mixed with breast milk for her first feeding. She looked like she enjoyed eating as much as we enjoyed feeding her.

Meanwhile, look at the little surprise that popped out of the highchair's box!

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