
a typical pinoy fave snack: fries, squid balls a sweet and sour dipping sauce. the donut looking one is made by my sister not sure if that is a hash brown or something
Hello, hello everyone Oh my heart is just so full today looking at these photos that I took for our small family gathering one afternoon.
You know, since our dear parents passed away, the ancestral house has felt a little too quiet nowadays that deafening silence no one wants to talk about. I really miss that wonderful, messy raucous that only kids can bring and so, a few days ago, we decided to break that silence. We gathered nine of our nephews and nieces for a big afternoon snack and some much needed bonding time. It was so lovely to hear them laughing and playing games on their phones again it really gave the old house so much life and fun and so much noise.
Since I'm always the "Clan's Cook," I wanted to make sure they had all their favorites. Nothing beats the classic Pinoy street food when you want to make kids happy I prepped these cute individual snack plates with fries, fish balls, and even some squid balls complete with the perfect sweet and spicy dipping sauce, of course I even made sure each one had a little bottle of Yakult because you're never too old for that, right?

I also cooked lumpiang shanghai, fried lumpiang togue and a shrimp dish with veggies
While the kids were busy snacking, I was already busy in the kitchen preparing for later dinner. I managed to cook three different dishes for our dinner so no one would go home hungry It’s a lot of work, and my kitchen area was definitely a bit of a mess with all the pots and serving trays, but I don't mind the menial tasks of chopping and cleaning when it's for family and somehow through the years I had learned how to be more efficient and fast in the kitchen.

The house is actually still semi-decorated from the holidays. If you look closely, you can see some of our stars and branch decorations still up, but it’s not too obvious it just adds a bit of that lingering festive warmth That's me in the first photo wearing my favorite blue dress checking to make sure everyone had enough sauce for their fries
It was such a noisy, wonderful, and chaotic afternoon, and I wouldn't have it any other way. Family really is the heart of this home.
Are you the type who keeps the Christmas decors up way past January too? I’d love to know I’m not the only one
lovelotz
Ally



