Dad's 39th Birthday Dinner @ Kyo (Vancouver)

September 6, 2017. Dad's birthday this year fell on a Wednesday so there's nothing else to do but eat dinner out after his work. Nagkataon pa na ang dami niyang load so past 6pm na siya nakauwi. Buti na lang it's still summer kaya maliwanag pa.

Oops by the way, he was given a cake daw in the office and his officemates sang for him. Ayos, at least may cake na siya kasi hindi na ako bumili (#hellodiabetes). I asked him to take a picture of his cake pero ayaw, nakakahiya raw haha.

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We drove to Granville Street in Vancouver because I found a restaurant that serves my husband's favorites -- sushi and korean BBQ. Maganda ang review sa Yelp so I suggested it to Ford. Game siya, lalo na at buffet. #cheatdayagain!

Buffet dinner is $30.95 + drinks + 5% tax + tip. Mas mura pa rin kesa kakain kami sa Tony Roma's or Old Spaghetti Factory. And no, we are not fond of fine dining. Kahit dati pa lang, hindi na (mga simpleng tao lang kami lol). Lalo na ngayon na may anak na kaming bitbit.

There's a similar buffet restaurant Il Uk Jo in Surrey (near our place) that we frequently go to if  we want to pig out pero mas sossy dito syempre kasi mas mahal at mas maraming food options.

 The ambience of the was was nice and cozy. Medyo madilim nga lang kaya pangit ang pictures.

Unlike in traditional buffets na nakalatag na ang food, usually ang korean BBQ dito ay per order. You will be given a paper where you can check what you want (and put the quantity too). Maximum of 1.5 hours lang daw ang eating pero hindi naman siguro nila inoorasan haha.

I don't eat sushi (or anything raw) but I love BBQ and tempura and teriyaki and tonkatsu.

Here's some of what we ate:

We asked for 10 pieces of mussels pero 6 lang ang sinerve. Ginto kasi ang tahong dito.

All protein, I know. Meat lovers kami talaga. No salad, no kimchi, no soup, no noodles. We just asked for plain steamed rice. Thankfully, hindi tumaas ang sugar ko after kasi nga low carbs. Kaso patay naman sa liver kalurkey!

 My very picky eater son (mana sa amin kanino pa ba?) only had rice and chicken wings.

Keri lang naman ang service. I was expecting more from the food though, pero parang mas ok pa ang sa Il Uk Jo.

We asked one server to take our family picture, parang hesitant siya. Hindi ba talaga uso ang makipicture dito? I didn't like the said picture kaya di ko na ipopost. Itong groufie ko na lang. Again, pangit ang lighting eh.

Ford had a small strawberry pudding for dessert and then we asked for the bill. He paid $75.73 all in all.

We had nowhere else to go after that. It was past 9pm, wala ng mapuntahan. Di na rin pwedeng mag-frappucino sa Starbucks.

Bigla tuloy namin namiss ang Manila! Yung area kasi ng Kyo ay parang street sa Manila, busier-looking lang sa Manila syempre. Saka marami pang bukas na establishments kahit alas onse na ng gabi.

Kyo has an underground parking nga pala na ayos sa reviews sa Yelp ay very steep kaya ayaw kong magpark dun. But we were left with no choice kasi wala na talagang available na street parking kahit nakailang ikot na kami.

My hubby laughed at me nang makita ang sinasabing "steep." Maluwag naman pala, sa standards nating Pinoy ha. Kahit ako hindi mahihirapang mag-park doon noh. Isa yan sa advantage nating Pinoy drivers eh, sanay sa masisikip. Masyadong spoiled ang mga taga-first world lol.

Ay nga pala, when we were in the car na, we saw the server who hesitated to take our picture. He went to his car to get something eh. Nagkatinginan kami ni Coblancs, brand new BMW ang kotse nya ha! Naloka talaga kami.

CES -- Baka naman sila ang may-ari ng restaurant? Tapos gusto lang siyang i-train ng tatay nya.
FORD -- Ano yun, koreanovela?
CES -- Haha, asar talo ka lang kasi yung nag-serve sayo eh naka-BMW!

Oh well, common naman dito talaga na naka-magarang sasakyan ang blue collar worker. I know pa nga one person na sa McDonald's nagwowork pero naka-Mercedez Benz. Ay correction, isa ang McDonald's sa mga work kasi triple job nga pala siya. Kanya-kanyang trip talaga yan. Kapag mahilig ka sa kotse, you will do everything para mabayaran ang montly or bi-weekly amortization.

I remember just a few weeks ago, I asked my husband if he's not envious of those with 'magarang' kotse. He simply answered: "Mi, kung gusto ko ng mamahaling sasakyan, sana bumili na ako noong binata pa ako noh." 

Oo nga naman. Modesty aside, he could afford a really flashy car naman (lalo na noong hindi pa niya ako asawa at binubuhay haha) pero hindi niya talaga trip. Kaya ngayon we're happy na with our  reliable Subaru. Hindi ko rin naman din kasi type ang mahal na sasakyan.

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We just went home after dinner. Pagod na rin kasi si Dad and he still has work the following day. Corny nga eh. Di bale, next year when he turns 40, I'll make sure to prepare something special na talaga.

I was sad nga kasi we had no gift for him except for this card (na pinasulatan ko rin kay TanTan ang loob). Eh kasi wala naman akong makitang magugustuhan niya. I am telling you, Ford is the simplest guy you'll ever meet. Walang mga kiyeme sa katawan. Binilhan ko na nga lang ng card sa Dollarama (no cute happy-birthday-daddy card kaya itong pang-hubby na lang) para may maiabot sa kanya si Nathan. I want our son to grow up kasi nang nagbibigay, nang thoughtful at caring at generous.

Happy 39th birthday, Daddy! Everyday we thank the heavens for giving you to us. We love you very much!

This song is for you!