Happy Birthday, Marianne!

The first time I met Marianne was when we were in the 6th grade.  We became much closer in the 7th grade because we were seatmates and we both belonged to the Top 10 students of our class every quarter.  Hehehe  ... Yes!  I have some brains, you know!!!!  I am just too lazy to use it  these days.

She celebrated her birthday last August 7, a few friends of mine gave her a small surprise dinner party at Chef's Galley in Q.C., owned by Chef Rainbow, another grade school classmate.



The place is so cozy, we had it all to ourselves... so you can imagine how much fun we had.



We ordered our favorites....

Eggplant Parmigiana



Truffle Penne Pasta



Pizza with Anchovies



Rainbow's Salad with Mango Dressing ... super yum dressing!!!!



It was almost exactly like the Bohol Bee Farm Honey Mango dressing .... it was creamy and sweet but not too cloying....  nor annoying! Hahahaha! Hey, that was a beautiful rhyme.

We also ordered several Fried Kesong Puti... we dipped the homemade bread in the oil.


 

The special for the day was the Paella ala Catalana.



I loved it!  The rice was so flavorful.  It is so different from my paella but I liked it just the same.  Hahahaha I could have finished one serving.  Maybe next time I will come back and will not share with the others!

Rainbow's gift to Marianne was a whole Coffee Ganache Cake!



  Hehehe Marianne let us have a few slices.



It is her favorite.  It was not so sweet and the texture of the ganache was velvety.  MMMMMmmmm    Hahaha  That was what could be heard after I had a forkful of the cake.

I am very happy that I got in touch again with my friend. We had lost contact for years but even though we have not spoken to each other in two decades it was as though we were just in grade school last week.

I wish you all the best and happiness!  Happy Birthday, Marianne!!!!