My Top 3 posts for 2013: Whitemoon Bar, Aling Banang's, Amber

This is my first post for 2014 so however late, let me greet you a Happy New Year. I wish you blessed days and months ahead, with your needs and heart's desires granted by our awesome God. Well, my 2013 was a good one, especially when it comes to this foodie diary. After a year and a half since its inception, The Awesome Grind had over 20,000 visitors at the year's end. I know it was no big feat but it made me very happy, to think that I almost gave up blogging at the start, sad that nobody seemed to read my posts apart from my husband. So to everyone who visits my blog, thank you so much! Mwaah! Truth to tell, I really don't consider myself a true-blue blogger. To me, I'm just a hobbyist. Though I'm a writer and editor by profession, I'm a mere amateur when it comes to photography. Also, I'm no geek and so I've no idea how to "beautify" this blog. Given these reasons, I know I can't be lined up among the "legal" bloggers, and I certainly am just happy there are people like you who read my posts in this blog of sort. Hey, before I move you to tears, let me share with you the Top 3 posts in The Awesome Grind last year, based on the number of hits or visits. 
Here they are:

3. Amber on a Black Saturday  (March 31, 2013)

I had two posts about Amber last year and the first one made it to No. 3. My first visit to Amber was on Good Friday. Lucky for me (and family), their Tomas Morato branch was open. Since then, I'd visited Amber two more times till the year's end, both occasions at their T.M. Kalaw branch. My family loves Amber because of the superb Pinoy food that they serve, at pocket-friendly prices to boot. No wonder this resto is a popular Google search, and the reason it's one of my most-visited posts. Amber is famous for its delicious Pancit Malabon and Pichi-Pichi plus a lot more of our favorite Filipino dishes.

2. Aling Banang's: Over eight decades of glorious carinderia food (July 3, 2013)

Aling Banang's is a carinderia that started inside the San Juan Public Market in the 1930s. After some 80 years, it now has some 14 branches around Metro Manila, though their FB page says only 11 are authentic. It was my husband, who grew up in san Juan, who first brought me to Aling Banang's, boasting about how good their ice cream halo-halo was. You see, this refreshing and sweet dessert at Aling Banang's is unique because it has no ice - only homemade ice cream. Well, they also serve regular halo-halo with ice but it was the ice cream halo-halo that made Aling Banang's famous. Last year, one branch of this carinderia opened just a stone's throw away from our office in Quezon City. Needless to say, I'm always there. Haha! Their pancit bihon is too die for, with the crunchy-skinned lechon kawali on top. For just P45 per serving (which is huge, I never finish it in one sitting), it is such a joy! There was a period before the year ended that I ate pancit bihon at Aling Banang's everyday. Haha! But before I discovered their pancit, I ate lechon kawali with fried rice at every visit. Check out Aling Banang's for some down-to-earth yumminess.

1. Whitemoon Bar: Where sunset tops the menu (February 12, 2013)

We (my two daughters and the eldest's beau) were at Whitemoon Bar February last year. What a bliss to be at this place at the Manila Ocean Park in time for sunset. For lovers of the sea and dusk like me, this bar is pure bliss! You get to eat, drink and just chillax while enjoying nature. No better way to unwind and shake off all the stress at work. We enjoyed their baked mussels, nachos, tacos and carbonara. The spaghetti with meatballs was not so good, though. Prices are steep but the cool ambiance makes up for it.
This 2014, I look forward to more foodie discoveries to share with you, guys. Hope you visit my blog in the weeks ahead. Together, let's enjoy good food and just have a good time. 
God bless!