Oh yeah baby. here at last.
I got so excited I started taking photo of everything at the table! Here's 4 different types of pancake syrup available: old fashioned ( original I guess?), blueberry, peanut butter (??!!) and strawberry.
To me they all tasted the same haha
The menu! Contrary to what I previously believed, ihop is not ALL about pancakes ( unlike Strictly Pancakes in Singapore). They also serve other all-day meals such as pastas, omelettes and many more which I forgot- because I only had one thing on my mind and that was PANCAKEES!!<3
My brother ordered their signature New York Cheesecake Pancakes.
There were 4 stacked up pancakes in a plate and drizzled with generous amounts of raspberry sauce! We shared everything so I got a pancake. It was good. The pancake itself had little mashed up bits of cheesecake in it and it tasted like cheesecake albeit in a pancake form. I liked that it wasn't too sweet and tangy enough :)
My order- Harvest blueberry whole grain pancakes! ( yeah yeah healthy me) Came with a side of scrambled eggs. I liked the nuttiness of the wholewheat pancakes- this is definitely one for the health freaks.
And my dad ordered a Chicken with waffles to share! There were 4 waffle halves in a set, and 4 chicken tenders- just nice for the four of us! Served with whipped butter on top. It was quite a good combination! Just that the waffles were rather cold and too chewy for my liking.
Pancakes are really filling, and I felt really full and satisfied after my meal! Despite it being a chain store, ihop gave me a good impression :)
So why exactly did we have to pick that particular day to go back to Houston? Well it was the day of an NBA game between the Houston Rockets ( of which the only player I knew was Jeremy Lin) and the Philadelphia Sixers ( of which I didn't know anyone- and still don't), and the male half of my family are basketball fans, my aunt and uncle had previously booked tickets for all of us to watch an actual NBA game and fulfill some people's wishes ;) Before we went ( which was around dinner time) my aunt kept telling us that we were in for a 'surprise', and told us that we didn't need to bring any water or snacks. ( which was surprising already, as we usually lugged snacks wherever we went). In fact, my uncle and her told us that water was 'not allowed'! Bahahaaha ( On hindsight it was strange that we didn't figure out a thing.. how on earth can water NOT be allowed??)
Well we knew about the tickets..but what we DIDN'T know was that they had booked an entire SUITE for all of us!!! ( ok we had to share but it was mostly to ourselves) I didn't even know about the existence of suites at basketball games actually ( proves how little I know about them) but apparently only rich people actually book them usually! My dad was saying how he had always envied the lucky people up there in the suites when he watched basketball matches..well now he was livin' it.We were definitely VERY pleasantly surprised. ( 二姨，if you/your family are reading this thanks so much once again!!! <3 :D)
A buffet table always looks appealing no matter where one is.. especially if you haven't had dinner!
One big conical bucket of buttered popcorn! Perfect for watching a basketball match!
Sofa with some pictures of the Rockets above it..
A TV on top of the buffet table so that you won't miss the match while getting your food!
The actual stadium..Huge. Amazing views from where we were.
The whole room!
And at last..what's in those metal trays??
Chicken fajitas, with onions and red+green peppers!
Stacks of tortillas!
Roasted potatoes with chicken!
Mexican food is sooo good. I totally fell in love with tortillas <3
Pre-match singing of the national anthem!
Beside the buffet table.. A bucket of corn chips with various salsas :)
The match started promptly at 7pm and was exciting from the very start!! To be honest I wasn't looking forward to this basketball match since my impressions of the ones in Singapore weren't very good and I remember being bored out of my wits even before the match was halfway over. Well I should've known better, NBA and those little matches in Singapore are entire leagues/countries/worlds apart. I was entertained throughout the entire match and there was nary a dull moment as we watched the players perform dunks and passes that requires years and years of hardcore training to perfect. Even during the breaktimes, the Rocket's cutely annoying bear mascot strutted around blowing streamers of foul tooth-paste smelling stuff at the audience ( How do I know? He came directly above us and sprayed the stuff right at us!), flinged free T-shirts around using a huge catapult, and even acted as Santa Claus; giving presents to little kids. There were also games that involved the audience such as a hilarious couple build-a-burger game, and the flawless cheerleading. ( Some of those cheerleaders even came to our suite to take pictures with us!!)
Halfway through the game, a dessert cart came over and stopped outside our suite. It was crammed full of every type of dessert one could wish for and we could pick ANYTHING WE WANTED!! How I wish I got a photo ): At least I got a pic of my amazingly HUGE carrot cake on top!^ Which was probably a million calories but who cares when you're watching an NBA game??
My mom and brother got American Cheesecake and my dad got a chocolate cake ( I didn't take a pic)
The match ended without overtime, with the Houston Rockets easily winning the Philadelphia Sixers ( 125-101 i think). The time passed so quickly when I was watching the engaging match! And it was a night full of incredibly pleasant surprises, we couldn't stop gushing about it on the way back. Definitely one of the highlights of this trip, and that's why I thought it deserved a blog post all on its own ;)
No comments:
Post a Comment