In your time . . .

 

It's been a long time since I had my last lunch at the French Baker.  We used to have our lunch in this  food chain after the Sunday worship in Las Pinas Church of Christ.  Since my daughter Rein left for London, I had never visited it again for years . . . not even for a snack.  Sorry to say but my husband is not a big fan of it ( actually he's not a big fan of French cuisine in general ) though he never complained when we used to eat there before . 

A few days ago  after my  appointment at SM Southmall, I decided to have a taste of French Baker once again.  It's now located near the National Book Store, Bon Chon and Chow King by  the  Door 2  of  SM Southmall.  It's newly renovated and as usual, it exudes a great, relaxing  ambiance.

 

 

 

It's near the Door 2 of SM Southmall alongside with

National Book Store

 

 

The 3D walls

 

I checked on their menu and ola... it's still the same with some few add-ons.  There's my favorite soup on a bread bowl and the chicken ala king with corn and carrot side dish.  I also longed for the mouth-watering green fetucinni carbonara with garlic toast on the sides  which is great with the four season drink.  If Rein is with me, she'll probably choose the Hamburger steak or the German Sausage with potato salad  or the Hickory Spareribs.

But it was only merienda time, so I opted to  have  one of their latest add-ons, a potato salad and my favorite soft roll cinnamon which they  served hot and was made a lot softer.  Hmmmm.... yummy!  The potato salad was chunky and made tastier with their very own salad dressing.  It became more attractive and delicious with some bacon bits on top.  It was an afternoon of something salty and something sweet and guess what - an afternoon also of daydreaming because their placemats feature some of the famous landmarks in France.  Their menu is French-inspired as well.

Soft roll cinnamon and chunky potato salad

 

Paris inspired placemat

 

The menu cover

 

While waiting for the sun to set ( coz the angry sun really makes me look more negra ) and enjoying the cool and relaxing ambiance at the French Baker, I drooled over my paper table napkins and this is what I came up with.

Sorry . . . I kept this in my wallet before I had it picture taken

Yes . . . I kept it in my wallet because they said that if you want something, keep it in your wallet so that you will always be reminded of it and eventually,  it will be yours or it will happen.

 

Lord, this is one of  my dreams and I do not know yet how I can make it happen.  But I know YOU CAN MAKE IT HAPPEN  , , , IN YOUR TIME!

 

Last Two Hours With Bro. Hoffman

I was still a child when I first saw him and I’ve known him more during my early teens. He was in his prime years – very good looking and vivacious, very amiable despite his masculinity, full of enthusiasm and enery. What made him even more unforgettable to me were his brief but concise Sunday church sermons which kept me alive and interested, unlike the others ( a few of them ) who made me feel a bit sleepy. His great attempts to speak the Filipino language even made him an effective speaker . . . adding a bit of humor to his serious church topics.

For a few years, I have lost track of him. I’ve heard some stories about him ( well, who has none? ) and missed him in our church special events which he usually attends. Fortunately, sometime in 2003 ( I hope my memory serves me right) I felt so blessed to have met him once again at the Las Pinas Church where he was invited as a guest speaker. After the worship service,I ran to him and we hugged each other tight. He said “I missed you. How’s the Lealtad Church?”

Yes . . . the Church of Christ at Lealtad. He said it was one of his babies. And we, at Lealtad, used to call him “ NINONG ” or the godfather. For so long, we’ve been raising church building funds – doing concerts and regularly singing Christmas carols to neighbourhood and churches until Bro. Hoffman pledged to support the church financially and a bigger church had been constructed. He was indeed used by God for HIS goodness and mercy for Lealtad Church. For what and where we are now, Bro. Hoffman was undoubtedly instrumental.

Last January, 2011, we were so proud and honoured to have him as our special guest speaker during the Church’s 50th founding anniversary. Bro. Hoffman drove all the way from Candon, Ilocos Sur to be with us on this very momentous occasion. He delivered his challenging message for the church in the morning and stayed until we finished our special anniversary program in the evening of that day. It was such an awesome day of celebration with him and once again, we heard Bro. Ronnie’s crispy laughter especially when he saw his pictures in the video clips during his younger days. 

Yesterday, a delegation from the Lealtad Church drove all the way from Manila to Candon Ilocos Sur and return ( more or less sixteen hours ) just to be with Bro. Ronnie for approximately two hours. While he peacefully sleeps in front of us, we joyfully tried to reminisce those happy moments with him. Ms. Banjie Hoffman proudly told us of his great plans and visions for the Church at Candon. Before he met that fatal accident, he was on his way to Manila from Baguio City to talk to a certain doctor for a possible mobile medical mission in Candon. At his age at 74, he truly worked hard to serve God and to serve people and he has found so much joy in it.

Tomorrow, June 16, 2013, as the world celebrates Father's Day, the remains of Bro. Ronnie will be finally laid to rest after the church Sunday’s worship service. He will be with his ever-loving Father. Truly, our last two hours with him had been very enriching. His life has given us so many realizations. The glory does not lie from what or where you have come from but to what you have developed into. What matters more is not what people will say about you but how you have lived your life in the eyes of God. There is so much joy in serving God and serving people.

‘Til we meet again, Bro. RONALD ALBERT HOFFMAN ! We may be grieving over your loss here on earth but we are sure that the angels in heaven are now rejoicing as they welcome you home to lean on God’s everlasting arms! (7 photos)

1Like ·  · Promote · Shar

One Sunday at the Hillsong Church London & Covent Garden

It is our first Sunday in London and just like here in the Philippines, it is a  Church Day.  All of us  dressed up and headed to Hillsong Church London , a Pentecostal church and, according to Wikipedia,  is the London congregation of Hillsong Church which also meets in Sydney, Paris, Kiev, Cape Town, Stockholm and New York City.   They're having their Sunday Services for four times at    the Dominion Theater along Tottenham Court Road in Central London.  By tube, the closest station is Tottenham Court road on the Central and Northern Lines.  Dominion Theater is only a short walk from Leicester Square ( Piccadilly and Northen lines ), Holborn ( Central and Piccadily Lines ) or Oxford Circus ( Central, Bakerloo and victoria Lines ).  It was a fantastic experience to gather in such a place for praise and worship with people from all over the world and be inspired by the great teaching about the Word of God. .  Unfortunately, we still had our jet lags during that time  so that we cannot control the dropping of our very sleepy eyes especially during the sermon.  Nevertheless, we really had a great time for the first time in Hillsong Church London and after the worship service, we smiled and shook hands  at our new acquaintances.  Before we left the place, we had our picture taking, of course. for posterity.  Enjoy and thank you for visiting my blog site.

                                       

From the church, we took a short walk around Covent Garden and tried to look for a restaurant  where we could take our lunch.

Covent Garden /ˈkɒvənt/ is a district in London on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St. Martin's Lane and Drury Lane.^[1] It is associated with the former fruit and vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist site, and the Royal Opera House, which is also known as "Covent Garden". The district is divided by the main thoroughfare of Long Acre, north of which is given over to independent shops centred on Neal's Yard and Seven Dials, while the south contains the central square with its street performers and most of the elegant buildings, theatres and entertainment facilities, including the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, and the London Transport Museum.  Below are some random pictures we have taken as we walk around the district with my daughter Rein and her high school friend, Mariel, and with my sister Bengga Arciaga.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

Finally, we ended up at Nando's for our first family lunch out.  What we had for lunch,  guess what ?

 

How to get to the Hillsong Church London at the Dominion theatre:

Dominion Theatre Address:

268-269 Tottenham Court Road, London, Greater London, W1T 7AQ

Map & Directions

To get to the church by Tube:

The closest station is Tottenham Court Road on the Central and Northern lines.
The Dominion Theatre is also only a short walk from Leicester Square (Piccadilly and Northern lines), Holborn (Central and Piccadilly lines) or Oxford Circus (Central, Bakerloo and Victoria lines).

To get to the church by Bus:

You can reach the Dominion Theatre from any of the following routes: 1, 7, 8, 10, 14, 24, 25, 29, 55, 73, 98, 134, 176, 242 and 390.he Dominion Theater along Tottenham Court Road in Central London.


Source: Wikipedia