Last weekend, we attended a birthday party for my friend's daughter. They've been in this new house in San Ysidro for a little over a year now. Their place is on a hill overlooking the 905. You can see Mexico (far left)...the Pacific Ocean (middle)...up to Point Loma (hidden in this shot). There's a glare here because his fence is clear acrylic.
So check this out...the cleared area below was a spot where Caltrans wanted to dump trash. The neighbors complained so that idea was abandoned. That would have been an awful view...to see a makeship dump as if folks in San Ysidro wouldn't mind. Anyways, this is the canyon where there was a small fire earlier this week. It was supposedly started by some kids - yeah, pyros...Luckily the fire was contained before it spread to any houses, including my friend's.
You can see the Otay Mountains in the distance. Keep going east on the 905 freeway and you'll hit San Ysidro High School, Brown Field, Sony, Donovan State Prison and eventually, the border checkpoint.
As with any Filipino birthday party, you know there's gotta be food. His wife is a good cook and she always kicks ass with her food spread. What I like about her style is that she doesn't always dotraditional Filipino foods or serve a lot of fried stuff (well, two items were). You can see asparagus, toasted baguette slices with dip, sliced fresh fruits, and marinated vegetables. Not stuff that your normal auntie puts out on the table.
Along with the fresh fruits, she had sliced veggies for toppings, mini shanghai lumpia with sweet and sour dip as well as rice. I liked her presentation of the rice. No giant Zoijirushi orchid patterned rice cooker here (although I like those and I want one!)!
She even had baked mini potatoes along with sliced honeybaked ham. Snacks not pictured were the boiled peanuts (yum!), assorted sliced cheeses and sausages plus chips and guacamole dip.
And yes...oh yes...the fried salt and pepper chicken wings! It ain't no partay unless you gots the wings! They also had sliced fruits for the chocolate fountain! For the younger kids they also had pizza but we made sure TC had a few bits of greenery! The only thing missing was
pancit which, although Chinese in origin, is traditional to serve at Filipino birthday parties because long noodles symbolize long life.
Okay, does Filipino style spaghetti count? I'm not a fan of "sweet" spaghetti but Bert tried this and said it was pretty good. No sliced hotdogs in there though.
This is what I really enjoyed! The roast beef! My friend's dad, a retired Navyman and cook, made this. The curvy covered dish had the kickass gravy with mushrooms. This was just like my dad's! Gotta hand it to the Navy cooks, they really know how to do it right.
Last year they had a
lechon, complete with decapitated head and apple in its mouth. This tasted just as good!
So check this out...the cleared area below was a spot where Caltrans wanted to dump trash. The neighbors complained so that idea was abandoned. That would have been an awful view...to see a makeship dump as if folks in San Ysidro wouldn't mind. Anyways, this is the canyon where there was a small fire earlier this week. It was supposedly started by some kids - yeah, pyros...Luckily the fire was contained before it spread to any houses, including my friend's.
You can see the Otay Mountains in the distance. Keep going east on the 905 freeway and you'll hit San Ysidro High School, Brown Field, Sony, Donovan State Prison and eventually, the border checkpoint.
As with any Filipino birthday party, you know there's gotta be food. His wife is a good cook and she always kicks ass with her food spread. What I like about her style is that she doesn't always dotraditional Filipino foods or serve a lot of fried stuff (well, two items were). You can see asparagus, toasted baguette slices with dip, sliced fresh fruits, and marinated vegetables. Not stuff that your normal auntie puts out on the table.
Along with the fresh fruits, she had sliced veggies for toppings, mini shanghai lumpia with sweet and sour dip as well as rice. I liked her presentation of the rice. No giant Zoijirushi orchid patterned rice cooker here (although I like those and I want one!)!
She even had baked mini potatoes along with sliced honeybaked ham. Snacks not pictured were the boiled peanuts (yum!), assorted sliced cheeses and sausages plus chips and guacamole dip.
And yes...oh yes...the fried salt and pepper chicken wings! It ain't no partay unless you gots the wings! They also had sliced fruits for the chocolate fountain! For the younger kids they also had pizza but we made sure TC had a few bits of greenery! The only thing missing was pancit which, although Chinese in origin, is traditional to serve at Filipino birthday parties because long noodles symbolize long life. 
Okay, does Filipino style spaghetti count? I'm not a fan of "sweet" spaghetti but Bert tried this and said it was pretty good. No sliced hotdogs in there though. 
This is what I really enjoyed! The roast beef! My friend's dad, a retired Navyman and cook, made this. The curvy covered dish had the kickass gravy with mushrooms. This was just like my dad's! Gotta hand it to the Navy cooks, they really know how to do it right.
Last year they had a lechon, complete with decapitated head and apple in its mouth. This tasted just as good!
3 comments:
Ohhhh...now this really makes me miss family get-togethers and filipino parties! I've actually met one other filipino on the island! LOL!
Hi Chrissy,
Wow, 2 Filipinos totalon the Island?
If we visit you in the Spring, that'll make 5! Is there still snow in March?
Haha! Yes, if you guys come, the Filipino population will jump! Ummmm...in March, the snow will probably be starting to melt. I know you guys have a crazy busy schedule, but the BEST months to come are July and August. It's hot, there are TONS of things to do and lots for TC to see.
Oh, I almost forgot. My mom lives around the corner from us, so the Filipino population will be 6 if you guys come! LOL!
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