I’m more of the trying out new experience over material gifts kind of girl so I make it a point every now and then to sort of plan activities para di naman kame magkasawaan sa pagmumuka at sa everyday routine of going to work, then home, then work again type of thing. Also when I say plan, it’s not the weeks or months before paandar. Lahat yan nangyayayri within days. Para medyo spontaneous parin. Except for activities na kelangan talaga i-book ahead.

So the weekend before Christmas, I was trying to come up with something to do. Since I still haven’t used my voucher sa Aqua Shard, I figured why not use it that time before it even expires next year. (P.S. Thanks to my generous friends dahil gift nila ito from my last birthday). So ayan na nga, nagbook na si ate niyo. The thing is, it’s December so expected ko na na most likely fully booked na sila. Tapos ang napili ko pa is December 23 na dinner edi ayun inexpect ko nang malabo ako makakuha ng table at ipinaubaya ko nalang ke batman. I left all my details anyway so the lady I spoke to said they’ll just ring me. Eh tumawag bigla. Tapos may available table for 2. And then they asked for my card details over the phone. Binigay ko naman. After the convo, narealise ko nalang na shet, baka di pala talaga taga Shard yung tumawag tapos todo bigay ako ng details ko. Feeling ko na-goyo ako dun. So after that call, mega bantay ako sa bank account, making sure na di fraud yung ganap. Teka wait nawala nako sa chika! Bottomline, legit yung nakausap ko and confirmed na yung reservation.

A day before the dinner, nagiisip ako ng mga pwede pang gawin para di naman sayang yung effort and pamasahe sa pagpunta ng Centrale. I ended up looking for west end tickets thru TodayTix and LastMinute (you can download the app mga beh). I wanted so bad to watch Hamilton which I know naman na wala dun, umasa lang ako. Next on my list were Les Mis, Phantom, Lion King or Wicked pero parang di siya pasok sa budget. So I tried to look within the price range of £20 hahahaha (andaming sinabing play bente lang pala ang budget) and luckily, I found something worth £18.50 – An American in Paris so avail agad agad! Chineck ko nalang yung reviews after and maganda naman siya, and the show’s already ending early next year so pasok na sa banga. My housemate Mike, also has his parents here for the holidays so niyaya ko narin since mura yung tickets and para ma-try din ng parentals.

I just realised halfway through na parang may movie version pala ito. Surprisingly din, I knew some of the songs which I hear oftent sa playlist ng mga kasama kong Tita sa work hahaha. It was a love story. Love triangle ang peg. There were a number of lines pero for the most part, they were dancing. I enjoyed naman but honestly there were those patay moments and I even took a power nap in between kasi sobrang haba ng ng dance numbers.

After the show, we went straight to The Shard. I have to admit I was a bit excited kasi I’m finally gonna go inside di ba. Dati pinagmamasdan ko lang how it looks so modern and majestic from afar. The security going inside was a bit strict, may pa bag scan paandar din sila which make sense naman kasi imaginin mo nalang dba kung may kaguluhan dba? Nasa 31st floor ka, paano na? Although same security check din naman when you go to the Walkie Talkie at Fenchurch St. We were greeted by this view after the x-ray bag scan.

They have a couple of restaurants in the building. The one we booked was Aqua Shard, which offers British cuisine- meaning walang pa-kanin si Mayor. hahahha. Magrereklamo pa ba ako eh pa-birthday ito sakin ng mga Tita. It is situated on th 31st floor so expected na that the view will be awesome.

I don’t know if it’s me or I just thought the lighting was a bit off, parang too dark for me. Cause when I went to the loo, parang naligaw ako beh. Maybe they’re aiming for a more romantic mood but I sensed disaster cause I’m too clumsy I might bump into anything that could easily break. I loved the ladie’s room though! Gusto ko ng pa-view. Yung maghuhugas ka ng kamay tapos mapapatingin ka sa view, tapos may mga alaala nalang na biglang magfflashback, tapos maiiyak ka nalang. Chaaaaarooot!

When it came to ordering, we didn’t bother getting any appetisers. Ang MAHAL! We went straight for the main meals (na mahal din). My EX, (nakalimutan ko nang i-bring up tuloy si EX, hahaha, my ex-jowa, now asawa) ordered stake and I got pork belly chuchu churnaloo. Take note, for those alone parang said na agad yung voucher ko. Basically, we agreed na mag tap water nalang kame para wala ng babayaran.

Eto yung picture habang umoorder. Ngiting ‘t*ngina ang mahal‘ tapos emote na ‘t*ngina alin dito yung pinakamura, yun ang oorderin ko

While waiting for our order, ayan antay antay muna. I realised later na if any of you reading this would be interested to splurge money and eat here, upon booking, specify na you want the window seat. Para mas avail ang view. 

They offered complimentary bread and butter while waiting for the order. In all fairness, nilantakan namin yun. Kaya nga hindi na nakapag picture eh. Ang sarap nung butter nila, sooo creamy. Yun narin yung naging pinaka appetiser namin.

After a few minutes, jaraaaaaaaan!

See ang dilim dba?

Let’s try another view. Ayaaan Mas maayos

I’m not a foodie pero I think for the price, I could get a better deal eating at Big Easy or small diners around London. Mas masarap pa magluto yung asawa ko. Di ako satisfied but, I’m glad we tried it. I know for sure na we won’t come back, unless may manlilibre samin. If you want sulit food, I would not recommend coming here. If you want great ambiance, fancy dinner date, sosyalan ng beri beri light at di naman masyadong lamon ang habol tapos madami ka naman kaperahan, go. Buhay nyo yan eh!

Why don’t we try the wine? (Looks at the menu) Wag na pala beh.

Okay. We did try some of their drinks na presyong ginto. Again, not worth it. Nagsisi ako.

We ended up eating again pag uwi sa balur. Adobo + rice is life parin. Iced coke is lifer. We ended up paying additional 40+ quid for the drinks and may pa service charge pa. Maygad I’m so shookt. char! Just imagine if we didn’t have a voucher. Over a hundred na!?!!! Pero overall, it was a good experience at least may naikwento nanaman ako dba? I’ll try to be more masipag next time mag chika. Andami kong mga charozcaldos na kakaiba. Abang abang lang mga pans. hahahaha. Taaaaa!