Mau in Manila

Mau, one of my close friends from ICA, who now lives in KL with her family, was here for business for a few days, so we were able to meet up for dinner.

It's always fun catching up with High School friends.

The last time I saw Mau, I was in KL for work in Feb 2011, so there was really a lot to catch up on. During that time, her little girl was still a baby (now she's mini-Mau) and they now have a baby boy who's a few months old.

Kuala Lumpur, Feb 2011 

We met at Arya, so we could chat and be noisy without disturbing the other guests (as it doesn't normally get busy there). It was a small gathering because it wasn't really planned so only some of us just got together at short notice. It seems like so much is still the same, from the time that we were studying, yet somehow things have changed as well.  

This was our picture circa early 2000.
I honestly think I look the same. Hahaha.

One big change is most of us have kids now, so our dinner topics range from comparing kids stories, to managing household help. One of our friends even shared that she has been doing her own laundry recently because they had no helper, and I put her on the spot by asking what Laundry detergent she's using and threatening her (if looks could kill) if she didn't answer the right brand. Hahahaha. So, readers, when I see you... and we happen to talk about Laundry, the correct answer is to tell me you use SURF!!! In fairness to my friend, she was using the best Laundry brand in the market. Hahaha. (shamless plug)

Another change is we're more weight health conscious now. One of my friends writes down everything she eats in an app, while another one is thinking of going Vegetarian. Only one of us ordered rice, but she does yoga almost everyday. 

We ordered the Arya dip platter which includes Hummus (mine is better!),
Motabal (the eggpplant one), Tzit ziki (the yogurt one), and
Mirza Ghasemi (which by process of elimination, is the tomato eggplant one).

We ordered the Arya salad, and it's nothing great.
The dressing reminds me of bottled thousand island dressing.

My usual order is the Koobideh Platter.
It's group Lamb, Chicken and Beef served with pita bread.

It's really good when eaten together with the roasted Tomatoes,
mixed with the garlic sauce.
The server will mix it for you.

As a certified carnivore, we ordered the Kofta with Eggplant in tomato
sauce. This was also very good, it's even better with hot sauce.

We thought we were starving, but 4 of us sharing weren't even able to finish everything we ordered for sharing. Too much kwento makes the stomach full. The food was priced reasonably because we only paid Php400 (SG$12) per person. 

It was nice that two of our friends were able to come before we had to go home.

We should do this more often!

On our way home, I had to pass Krispee Kreme because Sofia who has home with a bad cough asked me to bring home some. Mau was closer to the drive-thru window so I just asked her to order a box of 6 "AMAZING GLAZE donuts" and the guy who was talking to us couldn't understand what we wanted because Mau ordered a box of 6 "AMAZING GRACE" and both of us just kept on laughing. It was only when we checked the menu that we realized that I mean to order the ORIGINAL Glaze. The guy got a good laugh from us because he gave us 2 extra donuts for free even though the "HOT" light wasn't on.

As soon as I got home, Sofia gobbled up 2 donuts,
while sitting of Auntie Chacha's gift.

Thanks for the donuts Auntie Mau! Sofia ate 2 on the first night, 2 the next day, another one before sleeping, and the 6th one on the third day. She ate all 6 without sharing! Thanks also for the Hello Kitty Chair Auntie Cha! It was great seeing everyone. Now I understand why the best time to meet is at lunch on a weekend. It's because the time we have when we meet for dinner is never enough for us to catch up on all the kwentos. just saying.

ARYA Greenhills

Unit L-9 GH Promenade Mall, Ortigas Ave

Greenhills, San Juan

(02) 584-6266