The saying goes that one should strike while the iron is hot – which is why I’m trying to squeeze in as many blog posts on my recent travels as I can, before life inevitably leads me down the soul-sucking blackhole that is procrastination. But I digress.

N and I flew back to the Philippines recently, to celebrate Christmas and New Year’s with my in-laws. It has been two years since N went back, and five years for me, so we were both quite excited at the thought of gorging ourselves on food seeing family again after such a long time.

If I could replan the trip, though, I definitely would not opt for an evening flight. We landed past midnight on Christmas morning and baggage took forever to arrive, so we only got to his house past 2am.

Felt guilty that the MIL had to wake up and make food for us, but also loved. The caldereta and fried chicken were leftovers from Christmas eve, but she fried the lumpia fresh so it was crispy and hot when served. There was also a whole fiesta ham at N’s behest, as it’s difficult to find in Malaysia.

And just like the wonders of salami, which I was not aware of until he introduced me to them, fiesta ham is now officially my new favourite festive treat. I think over the course of our stay I finished half of it by myself lol. Unlike the cold cut hams we get in Malaysia, which tend to be mild and dry, this was juicy and moist, drenched in a savoury sweet glaze, with the perfect ratio of lean to fat.

Ending the meal with a puto pao snack. It reminded me of Chinese fatt gou, but plump and denser, with a slight sweetness and saltiness courtesy of the salted egg.

It was 3am by the time we finished, so we crashed and slept straight through morning.

This adorable guy barked like crazy when we arrived lol but we eventually became friends.

It was off to SM Mall of Asia later that morning, as my in laws had tickets to watch Disney on Ice at the Arena. But first, lunch at Mary Grace, or as N puts it, the “favourite of every tita (auntie) out there.” It’s a very popular chain of restaurants with outlets in almost every mall, serving classic Filipino dishes and cakes in an elegant but homely setting. We actually ate here twice during our visit, so I’ll be detailing the experience in another post.

The Archdiocesan Shrine of Jesus the Way, the Truth, and the Life, which is just next to SM Mall of Asia and IKEA Philippines.

I know public holidays tend to get crowded, but I was not prepared for the sheer number of humans there were at the mall lol. Even in the open areas, it was difficult to move without bumping into or brushing up against someone. At times I felt like I was being buffeted along a sea of people, and of course, there was the whole sensory overload of people talking, yelling, shouting, kids screaming, laughing, etc. I mean, contrast the above with my visit in early December 2017 (below).

We thought we’d find some respite inside the mall but nope lol. I initially wanted to snack at Frankie’s, which is one of my favourite places for buffalo wings, but the food hall was so crowded we abandoned ship.

I then had this idea to go to the SM by the Bay Amusement Park outside the mall, which is a theme park/carnival-esque attraction that faces the sea. Weathering a throng of slowly shuffling people past a packed, covered bridge, we made our way down the escalator and out into the open, only to find the square completely filled with… you guessed it. People! Apparently there was going to be a fireworks show that evening and there was just a massive crowd sat on the ground complete with picnic mats, even though it was barely 4pm.

Sleep deprived and exhausted, we hauled our old bodies over to Conrad Manila, where THANKFULLY there was no crowd. Since I couldn’t get Frankie’s, the next best option was Buffalo Wild Wings, which I’ve had before in 2017.

Even though prices here can be steep, the bright and cheerful sports bar was a welcome respite from the sweaty crowds. We gulped down ice-cold glasses of coke and felt a little better. Introverts like me need ample space and a quiet atmosphere to recharge, and Manila on Christmas was proving to be one of my worst nightmares lol.

The last time I was at BWW, I tried the buffalo dry spice rub and Asian zing. This time, I opted for a sweet and savoury honey bbq sauce, as well as the classic Buffalo sauce. The chicken was good and flavourful, albeit a little small. The price is also on the higher end (this was something like RM60-70 – somehow I feel like prices have increased drastically since the pandemic), but I felt like I was also paying for some peace and quiet lol.

Unfortunately we couldn’t gnaw on chicken bones forever, so after finishing our meal we hopped back over to the pier. There was still a huge crowd, with the concrete blocks lining the ocean front completely filled with people, and long queues snaking down the road as people waited to go on some of the amusement park rides. We strolled further down to a quieter spot and was able to watch the sunset, which I think is one of Manila Bay’s biggest charms.

Perfect timing! After a bit of photo taking, my in laws called to say they were done, and we were finally able to hop back onto the car with blessed air-conditioning and cushy seats and no screaming toddlers.

Coming from Malaysia where our sun sets around 7.30pm, it always gives me an odd feeling whenever I see the sun setting at 6PM in Manila.

Visiting public places such as malls in Manila on Christmas Day was definitely an eye opening experience. Aside from being an introvert, I dislike being touched by people I’m not familiar with (sometimes even people I’m familiar with lol), so having to bump shoulders and rub kneecaps with random strangers is not on my list of things to do for fun. That being said, it was interesting to observe the overall festive atmosphere, and the electric charge of excitement in the air.

So there you have it! While it was all very interesting, if I’m coming back to Manila again on Christmas next year, I swear I’m just going to stay indoors and sleep.