Our fifth wedding anniversary

Hubby celebrated our fifth wedding anniversary yesterday. After a long vacation, I wasn't in the mood to cook for our anniversary dinner.

Hubby and I decided we'll dine at a Greek restaurant at Shangri-la Plaza Mall in Ortigas for a change of scenery.

Five minutes into the high way, we changed our minds and proceeded to Serendra instead. I had read about one particular restaurant there called Guava. It's a restaurant that offers a modern take to Filipino food. The specializes in guava based dishes. The place is cozy and welcoming and it only seats 32 people. Come early if you want to get good seats.

I particularly don't like the taste of guava so I veered off from their specialty dishes. Hubby ordered guava juice made from real guavas. It was good but a bit sweet for my taste. I prefer to get my sugar quota somewhere else.

For starters, we ordered the Pritson (P195 per order). It's fried lechon (doubly sinful) garnished with chives, leeks, cucumber, onions and cilantro wrapped in soft tortilla. It is served with a variety of sauces chili garlic, sour cream with chives, sour cream and garlic, peanut sauce and lastly, a black bean sauce. Upon the recommendation of our waiter, we combined the chili garlic sauce and sour cream with chives . The lechon was crispy and succulent and the mixture of the herbs provide the perfect balance. It was heavenly sinful! It was so damn good, hubby and I ordered another one.

As main courses, I ordered the Fettuccine Pasta in Bihod (P200). Bihod is lapu-lapu caviar. It was an unusual entry in the menu and my curiosity got the better of me. It came in multi-colored strands of al dente fettuccine with the prized bihod mixed in with the olive oil based sauce.Huge chunks of fried bihod lay atop the heap of fettuccine. It was also very very good. It's not oily at all and there is no fishy after taste.

Hubby ordered the crispy tadyang (crispy beef ribs-P295). The ribs are served with three different dipping sauces, vinegar with garlic, eggplant garlic and soy sauce with onions. The ribs are delicious. I can taste a bit of calamansi (native lemon) and soy sauce on the ribs. Perhaps it was marinated prior to frying. The ribs are so tender and falling off the bone. This dish is huge, meant to be shared. VAT and service charge are not included in the menu. Be prepared to fork out extra for these.

Hubby can only say, "The food is freaking good!" Our compliments to Chef Bernard Dee.

For dessert, I wanted to try Cupcakes by Sonja. I've heard such positive reviews about it and I wanted to taste for myself if the cupcakes are really that good. Upon entering the bakeshop, we were assailed by the wonderful smells of baked cupcakes, whipped cream and the sweet smell of sugar. I was in sugar heaven! The shop itself is very pretty, dainty, bright and inviting. The walls are covered in striped and floral wall paper with country accessories in pastel colors. It was so girly girly, I love it.

The cupcakes looked so pretty and delicious. I wanted to buy every single one. I settled on buying just 6 cupcakes. I ordered peppermint patty (P68), mint condition (P68), strawberries & cream (P75), chunky monkey banana (P85), grandma's pecan pie (P98) and the red velvet vixen (P65). I got a free cupcake (strawberries & cream) because I used my HSBC card. Sweet. Hubby and I settled in their dainty tables and chairs with cupcake seat covers (so cute) and ate our cupcakes. Hubby had the peppermint, I had the strawberries and cream. The cupcakes are really good, not too sweet but quite heavy. Hubby and I can only finish one each. We would probably eating cupcakes for the next few days. I bought too much! Their cupcakes are a bit pricey, but well worth the price.

With our stomachs full and our wallets empty *laughter*, we make our way home. Hubby promised me a massage. A perfect ending for a wonderful night.