Revenge partying for the New Year
New Year’s Eve has always been a holiday I look forward to. I normally ring in the new year by spending time with my family, and more often than not, out of town or even abroad. But since we were in Bangkok from Dec. 22 to 25, 2022, we opted for a simple celebration at my ex-husband’s house.
For the most part, it was an intimate and quiet get-together. We had a delicious dinner and saw Netflix’s new Matilda Musical (which I highly recommend) afterwards while waiting for midnight to strike. At around 11:30 p.m., the kids wanted to do something fun before the neighborhood became noisy at 12 midnight. And so, we all ended up playing the blindfolded “sandok” game, which was heaps of fun and a laugh riot for everyone. By this time, before we realized it, it was the new year! We watched the dazzling fireworks, greeted one another, and ate our media noche.
As much as I love welcoming the new year, I am no longer the type to go out and party until the sunrise. My daughter Gabbie, on the other hand, is the type! Like the typical 21-year-old that she is, Gabbie was very eager to do some “revenge partying” and celebrate with friends. A little before 1 a.m., she left with my stepson Migui (who is 24) to head towards BGC and party for the first few hours of 2023.
And so, the first order of business was to pick up Gabbie’s best friend, Sandy. They decided to go to Xylo at The Palace. According to Gabbie, the place was packed. There were so many groups of people that she was able to “reunite” with, lots of friends she hadn’t seen in years. Because there was a DJ by the dance floor, Gabbie and Sandy had lots of fun gyrating with their friends.
When it got a bit too tight and crowded for Gabbie, she decided to go to Revel, which is right next to Xylo at The Palace. Another group of her friends were at Revel, so they picked her and Sandy up at around 3 a.m. Gabbie mentioned that at one point, there was a sudden influx of people by the door of Revel, forcing security to close the doors! Good thing her friends were able to secure a table in advance. As was the case at Xylo, Gabbie bumped into many of her friends from high school and college at Revel.
There is no doubt that these New Year parties were special to Gabbie, and that she had a wonderful time. Luckily enough, this celebration did not coincide with a COVID surge like the one we experienced at the start of 2022. I guess it is because a lot of people have been vaccinated and have built their walls of immunity as well as the ease in restrictions, that led Gabbie to party until six in the morning!
While I was initially shocked at how late she came home, I was even more shocked when she told me that BGC charged 500 pesos for parking! The exorbitant parking fee aside, I was just happy to see that my daughter was once again actually enjoying a social life after more than two years of being cooped up at home because of the pandemic.
Meanwhile, there is a new Japanese restaurant that is within walking distance from my condo that I tried with a few dear friends on Jan. 2. It’s called Ginza and is located on the ground floor of Augustin 1 building along Ortigas Center’s Emerald Avenue. Their original branch is along Chino Roces Avenue in Makati, and friends were always telling me to try it. I never had the chance, though, since I am rarely in Makati. And so, I was eager to finally try it when they opened another branch in Pasig City. Thank goodness I had reserved a table because halfway through our meal, the place was already packed.
Upon entering Ginza, you quickly absorb the Japanese Zen vibe thanks to the clean, uncluttered lines and muted tones of its interior. As for the menu, my friends and I were so impressed with the wide range of choices that it was hard to make up our minds. We finally decided to begin with the hamachi sashimi, spicy salmon futomaki, tebasaki (a.k.a. salted chicken wings), and salmon aburi to go with our miso soup. These were just our starters, but we were almost full after a few bites!
When our main course arrived — shrimp tempura, cold soba, wakadori kuwayaki (or deep-fried chicken tossed in light soy garlic) and kamameshi fried rice — we hardly had any room left. But since everything was so “oishii” and “umai” (Japanese for delicious and tasty), we finished everything!
So went some of my New Year’s Eve and start-of-2023 celebrations. Whether your celebration was quiet like mine, noisy like my daughter’s, or somewhere in between, I hope you had a wonderful time ushering in 2023 with those nearest and dearest to you. May the rest of 2023 bring us even more reasons to smile and be merry!
- Latest
- Trending
