The Double Mid-Autumn Surprise: Ramada Ongpin's Buffet

- September 9, 2014, Tuesday.

- My friend Margarette texted me excitedly right after I finished doing some editing for my thesis proposal. She asked if I was free, and if I was, she wanted me to hurry up to Binondo's Ramada Hotel. I knew something big was up, because I detected a really different speech pattern through her texts. Trusting her with my life, I dressed up quickly and dashed off to Ramada.

- After arriving at the second floor of the hostel, where the humble buffet was located, I saw Margerette, Melissa, and two other friends I did not expect to see. I gasped; I was so shocked that I was not able to make a sound, and I covered my mouth with both hands to make sure I won't scream and make the hotel explode. I saw the Oi twins, Oi Hing and Oi Kwan, and apparently it was their last day in the country from their short mid-autumn-long-weekend vacation. They have been based in Hong Kong for some time now, and I was fortunately able to meet them last March when I visited Hong Kong for the 9th Asian Studies Conference organized by the Asian Studies Association of Hong Kong and a short vacation afterwards (see part 1, part 2, and part 3.) Margarette and Melissa knew about the twins' coming after both of them met the twins in Hong Kong just before my trip to Korea a few weeks ago for the 25th International Youth Forum (see part 1, part 2, part 3, and part 4.,) but all four of them apparently kept the secret from me just so they could make me do a priceless surprised face that was not caught on cam. (Thanks, guys.)

Twins!! :D:D:D:D

- I settled down after I was told about everything, and I got myself ready for the buffet. Ramada's buffet is not too big, but I fancied the food options available. The buffet both served non-Chinese/international (ex. broccoli and cheese, paella,) and a limited choice of dimsum. It had a pasta and fresh lumpia (fresh spring roll) station as well. The dessert station served a few cakes, three kinds of ice cream, and some fresh fruits. Apart from these, I also had my eye on their fluffy ensaymada that I paired up with their diabetically-sweet chocolate ice cream (since there was no hot chocolate around.)

Pardon my hunger.

My ensaymada with chocolate ice cream.

- We finally had to leave when the twins had to meet their family and rush off to the airport to catch their late afternoon flight back to Hong Kong. Marga had to leave too to fix some stuff back home, while Melissa and I went to Lucky Chinatown to catch a movie to give our tummies some time to digest our nice heavy lunch.

The Grand "Cosplay" On Chinese New Year: Gilbert's First "Cosplay" Experience

- January 31, 2013, Friday, Chinese New Year.

- People who are acquainted with me would know that I simply adore wearing cultural or culturally-inspired attires on a regular basis. I might wear something a bit fancy during formal occasions, and wear my theatrical costumes during special-but-not-formal occasions. Today, I decided to do something a bit different, and walk around Chinatown with my grand Qing-Dynasty costume to fully embody the Chinese-New-Year vibe. I wanted to cosplay as "the fat boy on the angpao." Some angpaos or new year banners/posters feature a chubby boy and a chubby girl holding symbols of well wishes or sometimes, even little angpaos of their own.

- I met up with my college friend Rap and strolled along Chinatown to take photographs of the merrymaking - apparently, I soon became a part of the merrymaking, with people taking photographs with me and my garb. We later decided to have lunch, although finding a place was extremely difficult, since it was lunch time. We had no choice but to go to Lucky Chinatown's food court for a quick lunch.

Holding a dragon.

First few people who came up to me for photos.

- We went back to Ongpin where many people one again took photos of me and my costume. I really felt guilty that Rap would usually stand at the side while he waited for me to finish my almost non-stop photo-op. I was beginning to feel weary too, although sharply refusing to take photographs with people might make the people think that I was a snobbish hypocrite (that is, having a nice costume but not wanting to be photographed.) Haha. Worse, Rap would sometimes be the photographer for the people. I'm glad Rap was a good sport (not to mention he was a good photographer too.)

Another dragon.

Can't get enough of lions.

And can't get enough of holding lions.

The epitome of celebrating Chinese New Year in Binondo Chinatown.

Preparing for my moment.

My full costume and looks of curiosity from everyone.

Of course I knew they wanted to have a photo with me. LOL. 

- We went to Golden Fortune to have dimsum. For the first time, dimsum afternoon was a semi-disaster afternoon, because the kitchen had to constantly work double-time to fill all the orders, and so not all dimsum items were available, unless we were willing to wait an eternity for our order to be prepared. We just had some dimsum items that were readily available. They were yummy, still.

Hello Rapppp. Finally we can have Chinese food. :D:D:D:D

Some lions and a dragon went inside Golden Fortune.

Dropped by Shirby's store after Rap left.

Cute kiddo!! :D:D:D:D

Jose Mari Chan.

Buddha statue at the Lucky Chinatown alley.

- Rap had to go afterwards, and I had to go back to Chinatown and Lucky Chinatown. As expected more people came to me and asked to have some photographs with me. When I reached Lucky Chinatown, I was fortunate to have had a glimpse of Jose Mari Chan performing before having a small conversation with a friend. Even until I was about to ride a trike home, more people came to be for photos. Now, I am really really tired from all the people and the crowd itself, but I am very happy that I was able to do something bold for the new year, and it was a nice experience sharing my culture in this manner with mostly non-Chinese people. (And at least I was able to wear my red Qing-Dynasty changzhuang on the streets; I've only worn it to a photoshoot at home, and for a report on China in school.)

Before The Horse Gallops In: Day Before Chinese New Year in Chinatown

- Janaury 30, 2014, Thursday.

- This afternoon, I wanted to see how Manila's Chinatown was preparing itself for the Chinese New Year tomorrow. I asked my friend Crizeel to accompany me, since I knew she was fond of taking photos of celebrations like these.

- We first went to Cafe Mezzanine to have an afternoon meal, before setting out on the streets. We saw news anchor Korina Sanchez and her ABS-CBN crew braving the crowd, and interviewing people. Some other television networks were also there to cover the event, but Crizeel and I just went our own way to see more of Chinatown's merrymaking.

So much fooood.

Korina's in Chinatown again.

"Selfie" with Korina.

- Along the way, I had photos with several Chinese lions used for Chinese lion dances. The most interesting encounter was with a boy named Sancho (I think,) who was happily walking the streets of Ongpin with his mom. Sancho was carrying a green lion costume; I later found out that his dad had it made for him. I asked permission from the mom if I could borrow the lion for a photo op, but the difficult part was when I had to beg the kid - puppy-dog eyes, pouty lips, and all that- to let me borrow it. He didn't want to at first, but he later agreed, and since he was a very good kid, I had a photo taken with him. He wanted to be the lion's butt, so he crawled behind me when we were about to take a photo together.

The green lion I had to beg for.

With Sancho. Heehee.

Saw them in front of Shoppers' Mart. I, apparently, fit in.

We look like a family.

Another lion I borrowed.

Roarrr~~

- Later that afternoon, Crizeel and I went to Lucky Chinatown to see if there were some cultural activities. There were none so far, apart from the performances, so we just took some photos with the gong and the "lucky golden tree" to end the afternoon.

Saw this peculiar group in the mall. Haha.

Of course I gave them a tip. Haha.

Hello Sharm!!

Lanturnnssss.

My job at the palace as the royal alarm clock.

Golden tree.

Had a photo with a girl wearing a Chinese attire.

Selfie with the treeee~~~~

- Though many people were in Chinatown today, I felt that the new-year vibe was lacking this year. Perhaps I should wait until tomorrow to see if this year's new year trumps last year's!!