Sto. Niño Exhibit and Procession

As the only catholic nation in Asia, great reverence and importance is given to the image of the young Christ here in the Philippines. The Sto. Niño as we call it has different versions. This deep love of the Filipinos to the image of the young Christ is not only rooted in our culture, for some it is also a way of life.

Aside from the Sinulog in Cebu, the fiesta in Tondo, and the Ati-Atihan in Aklan, one of the festivities showing this great love of the Filipinos to the Sto. Niño is the Annual Sto. Niño Exhibit and Procession in Manila that is held every last week of January. The exhibit is usually a three day event and culminates with the much anticipated procession.

This procession starts from Pasay City and ends at the Quirino Grandstand in Manila. Along the way, there are thousands of devotees who bring their own images of the Sto. Niño, participate in the street dancing and even have their picnic along Roxas Boulevard, a section of which is closed to traffic just to accommodate the special event. This deep love to the Sto. Niño is indeed a distinct trait of us Filipinos. Nonetheless, foreign tourists also take their time to watch the procession and mingle with the crowd.

As a devotee of the Sto. Niño, Kuya Richard, my brother-in-law always participates in this annual festival. For this year, he invited us to join the procession but since we came from the province at that time, we only managed to watch the procession. Images of the young Jesus Christ include the classical ones such as that of the Sto. Niño de Cebu, the Sto. Niño de Palaboy, another dressed as a fisherman, and also as a Ship Captain.

Hunnys

Hunny, Shella, Ryan and Zyrene

Devotees dedicate great effort and time in the preparation and in decorating the respective carriages of their Sto. Niños. You can only but admire the artistry and skill of the participants. Children also enjoy the candies that the devotees give them, trick or treat Filipino style.

Truly, the Sto. Niño has a special place in our hearts. We love the Sto. Niño, Viva Sto. Niño!

"Kuya Richard, Lola, Marianne, Volta...atbp."

"Moriones"

Chic-Boy

This past Christmas Season, we decided to eat at this new place along West Ave. called Chic-Boy (Chicken at Baboy). As the name implies, they mainly serve chicken and pork.

While you may order a la carte, Chic-Boy also has their budget meals to offer. Since it was our first time to eat there, actually it was the first day of their soft opening at that time, we settled for the try our favorites, Cebu Lechon Manok for me and Cebu Lechon Liempo for Hunny.

Yes you got that right, they are serving Lechon Cebu here in Quezon City. I just don’t know how authentic is their Cebu Lechon when compared with the popular Lechon establishments in Cebu such as CnT. All I can say is that, the food is really great and their Sinamak is just so right. Not too sour, a little bit sweet, and not irritating to the taste buds.

Lechon Liempo

Lechon Manok

Another great thing is that for every P99.00 Chibog-Busog Meal, rice is unlimited. Yes you got that right, rice to sawa. And for an additional P25.00, you can have iced tea all you can. Isn’t that great or really great? The Ensaladang Mangga is also a must try for only P40.00. Vegetarians shall also find their Nilagang Kangkong and Gising Gising appealing.

Ensaladang Mangga

Aside from these, you may also want to try their Sisig, Sinigang, Barbeque, Batchoy, Lumpiang Sariwa, Turones con Leche and Halo Halo.


At their branch along Timog Ave., they have these two LCD TVs at their airconditioned area and a very huge screen outside. So you can have movies or TV programs to enjoy while you eat. More importantly, the crew were just oh so friendly and accommodating. They have limited parking space at the Timog Branch so you might be forced to park along the road during peak hours.

With all these, coupled by the fact that these two branches are like our neighbors in distance, we will definitely eat at Chic-Boy again.


*Chic-Boy West Ave. Branch may be found at the old site where Goodah is located (West Ave. cor. Cavite St., just across Bioessence)
*Chic-Boy Timog Ave. Branch is located just after the Shell Gas Station at the corner of Judge Jimenez St. and Timog Ave. before reaching EDSA and GMA 7.