Philippine Pyromusical Competition; a Fascinating Family Night Out

Feb 17, 20183 min read

#9thPhilippineInternationalPyromusicalCompetition - means, I've missed 8 amazing shows in my life.

Well the dreadful traffic, thick crowd in MOA, and parking dilemma, never appealed to me despite the fact I've adored fireworks display and has always dreamed of spending NYE watching the spectacular lit-up sky in Sydney Australia.

But there's always a first time as they say.

Given this event is expected to blow up the crowd in MOA complex, we knew we have to find a perfect spot where the crowd is not too big, with spacious ground and panoramic view of the coast, serving good food (with toddler friendly meals), and most importantly, a relaxed environment. Well you can call that control-freak if keeping a tasmanian #toddler under control isn't stressful enough.

What did we find?

C LOUNGE in Conrad Hotel.

photo: ctto

Originally we planned to go for Rossini Ristorante Italiano in S'Maison, but Jayson is not all too crazy about Italian. So even if the the food and view were exceptional, we considered other dining options. There, add cuisine to the criteria of judging. Daming keme, I know!!

There are quite a handful of choices but because we are so H&M (high maintenance), most did not satisfy the requirements we set for our date. Well how are we going to find the best if we keep on settling with pwede na, right? That's when we landed at Conrad and narrowed our choices down to C Lounge and Brasserie on 3. Both perfect, except the latter is better for a different occasion. C Lounge it is!

I called a week early to book a table. but to my surprise, they don't honor reservations on weekends. So we went ahead of time to make sure we have a table, and my oh my, we were greeted by cozy couches, charming chandelier in a beautifully lit room flooded by warm natural light coming through the floor-to-ceiling windows.

You know something is spectacular when I start being poetic. But literally though, the place was amazing! Not to mention we were assisted by a friendly receptionist to complete the package.

We were only 2 hours away from the event - but to a restless toddler that equates to forever, so tatay decided to head on to the MOA eye first, a few short walks away from the hotel.

From the top, we saw almost all restaurants at SM by the Bay and SM Bay area have a set-up for the event. I recalled ate telling me they watched it with Nika few years ago from ABE. Too loud though according to her. Same story with Mama Rosie. That only means, I should pat my back and let out a sigh of relief for finding a gem in the (moa) backyard - especially on a special event such this.

The ferris wheel trip was quick and so we still have time left to entertain the then tired toddler. Mind you, he's only had 11 hours sleep, including the 2-hr nap.

A-ha. A little sugar will do the energy trick. TSUJIRI/ S'Maison

We claimed our table on time, but we're in the Philippines so you know what that means. Good thing the food was divine. Sulit ang P1000/head consumable.

To add to that, the fireworks display not only lit up the dimly lit night sky, it made Atlas’ eyes shine even brighter than all the stars. It was such a priceless #momentinparenthood for Jayson and I.

We love that Atlas was well-behaved the entire time except when we're about to leave and he insisted for dede without the cover. hala, #breastfeedingproblems

Yes, sorry, I gave in. That's how cozy the place was. There was this quiet corner where we did our thing, plus we were able to clean Atlas quickly without leaving our seats.

Hassle-free and mess-free, cleaning anytime anywhere, thank you Diaper Spray! Not clutter-free though, sorry C Lounge.

We were nearing Solaire when he started drifting off, but tatay talked him out of it and he quietly obliged, like he wanted to contest but he’s too tired and fulfilled to do it. lol.

Once we settled in our suite, he slept right a way.