This is the 20th birthday celebration of my daughter and the second time to celebrate under quarantine. On her past birthdays, we always do the celebration on an island, camping on the beach or an overnight stay somewhere away from home.
It seems we are all stuck at home and with no clear sight when things will be back to normal again.
I tried my best to make her happy on her special day.
To start things off, a little photo shoot for the birthday girl. We may not be on an island in the sun but I hope this brightened her day.
We ordered a custom-made cheesecake composed of blueberry, strawberry, lemon and oreo cheesecake. We used old candles and luckily there is a 2 and a 0.
Our Little Birthday Celebration
I kept asking her what she wanted to eat on her birthday. She wanted Chinese food and there is a popular Chinese restaurant near our area called "Ho Chai Lai". Her favorite from this restaurant is Lemon chicken.
Good thing the restaurant is open but they only accept take-out and delivery. I recall the last time that we dined at the restaurant. While waiting for your food, they serve free green tea and some crunch treats.
We ordered "Hakaw" which is shrimp dumplings. One order is only composed of three pieces and I think this is enough.
Next, there should always be noodles during celebrations. This noodle dish is called "Pancit Canton", it includes vegetables, pork, shrimp and liver. The best Pancit Canton for me should not be dry and always be drenched in sauce.
The sweet and sour pork, another favorite in Chinese restaurants. Includes onions, pineapples and bell pepper. If you haven't tried this yet it is something to look forward to.
The Nido Soup with quail eggs. The soup is a local version of the popular Bird's nest soup. El Nido is a place here in the Philippines where the nest used in the soup are found. The ingredients are actually dried saliva of birds that are left on the nest. This may be too exotic for some but here the soup is very popular.
Here in the Philippines we always have rice during meals. We ordered Crab Fried Rice and if you love crab you will surely love this dish.
As part of the main dish, we also have Calamares. Squid that is breaded and deep-fried, if it is overcooked the squid becomes too rubbery. This dish should be cooked just right and should have a good dipping sauce. They provided mayonnaise but the best dipping for me is vinegar and soy sauce added with some grated ginger.
You must forgive me as I missed taking a photo of the Lemon Chicken. We must have been all very ready hungry and forgot to take a photo. The Lemon Chicken from the restaurant is superb and my son even asked me we can we order again. I tried cooking Lemon Chicken before and the taste is close enough. Maybe I will try to share the recipe sometime.
As a surprise there was a delivery guy that dropped off a box of pizza. I didn't know who it was from. We were thinking that maybe it was a wrong delivery but a few minutes later my friend sent me a msg.
"Happy Birthday to your Daughter and enjoy the pizza"
My buddy from the office whom I have not seen in person for over a year now since the pandemic.
It pleases me to know that a lot of people still care and try to connect in their own way.
Like sending you a free pizza.
No birthday is complete without the Happy Birthday song, the blowing for the candles and the wish.
I asked her what her wish was and she said.
"I wish for Hive to go the moon!"
Now that is something we all wish for.
As we finished our birthday celebration meal. Her classmate dropped by and left her some presents.
Little things like stickers, hair clips and a cute wallet. This completely made her day.
I am glad I succeeded in making her smile on her special day even though we are locked up at home for her birthday.
She may no longer be in her teens but she will always my little girl.
All photos are original and taken with
Lumix GX85 and Olympus 45mm f1.8
Lumix GX85 and Olympus 45mm f1.8