So, Saturday was the day we hang-out (without the babies), just like we used to back in college! It was a college mini-reunion, from dinner to karaoke/drinks, to coffee after.

Ramen at Ikkousha

But first, I went out with my sister and Joyce for lunch. They told me they wanted to try Cebu’s best ramen, and I can only recommend Ikkousha Hakata Ramen, in JY Square!

I broke my Keto diet for this. I thought I deserved this though – the last ramen I had was around 3 months ago, and I always said I’d only cheat on my diet if I were in Japan. Well, this ramen really takes me back to Japan, brings back memories of Fukuoka and all its ramen stalls! I did feel a little guilty after eating, but I thought this would last me until November (when I do get to visit Japan again). So yes, no regrets!

Waiting at Starbucks

After this, I stayed at Starbucks in Ayala until it was time to meet my college friends for dinner. We were to eat at House of Lechon and someone had to be there early to make sure our reservation is not cancelled. I literally stayed here for almost three hours, but my coffee lasted because of this wonderful thermal mug that I bought on sale at True Value! This is not sponsored, BTW.

Lechon-all-you-can

Finally, it was dinner time! We had a hearty meal of lechon (3 kilos spicy, 2 kilos regular), together with other Filipino classics for our NZ visitors. We got to finish everything, except for the lechon – because seriously, we ordered too many!

Karaoke party!

For the after-dinner party, we headed to Songhits in BTC for karaoke! Back in college, we did a lot of karaoke – usually in the arcade in SM when we were broke, and in proper karaoke booths when there’s a celebration. It was nostalgic hanging out with everyone again! Unfortunately, people are no longer as alcoholic as they were before! Haha. Chow prefers the San Miguel Apple Beer over Red Horse, and nobody wanted to finish the tequila I ordered! I ended up drinking most of it! On my normal days, I would be able to finish a bottle, but since I had an encounter with Jack the night before, my body couldn’t take any more alcohol. Sorry Jose, we’ll face each other next time!

Early morning coffee

After 3 hours of karaoke, we weren’t done with catching up yet – so we headed to our third stop – Tom N Tom’s Coffee in The Greenery. This is a 24-hour coffee shop (from Korea) that’s filled with students studying or doing group projects. We stayed outside because there was no more space inside – but that’s OK because we got to talk better without the noise of all of these kids. Haha.

It was bitter-sweet to end the night because it means having to wait years again for this to happen! It’s crazy how we used to always see each other everyday, several years ago – and now, we just have to settle for rare nights like these. Still, I’m grateful for the opportunity of meeting everyone again. For a night, we went back to being the crazy college students that we were, although a bit more mature, more experienced in life, but still – feeling young at heart!

今日の言葉

友達 is pronounced as to-mo-da-chi and means “friends”.