For several years now, I’ve been posting this cover photo during Valentine season on my Facebook account as my way of reminding people that Valentine’s is not just for lovers, that there’s room to celebrate love in every form.

And celebrate we did. My BFF Patintera and I went on a single ladies date on Valentine’s day. We treated ourselves to a girls’ day out with only one goal in mind: to relax.

We both have hectic schedules so a day to ourselves with no deadlines, no issues to resolve, nor chores to finish, was a day full of love, Valentine’s or not.

I booked us a 3 PM appointment at Shine Spa and Salon in Makati. We planned on having lunch at Salcedo Market before getting our hair did…but we woke up late. When we got to the place at past 11 and finding a table meant waiting through lunch.

So, we decided to grab a couple of bite-size Japanese pancakes and headed straight to the salon.

Shine is on H.V. Dela Costa St. but we didn’t find it right away because the sign was hidden from street view. We walked in to check if they could accommodate us two hours earlier than our appointment. It turned out to be no big deal. Shine staff were super nice and got started on our hair immediately.

The salon was a bit of a surprise for me. It’s the first one I’ve ever been to that was actually quiet as a spa. Other spa and salon places have separate and distinct ambiances. At Shine, they managed to keep the spa vibe across the two areas, not to mention the heavenly scent. The whole place was so relaxing I dozed off while waiting for my hairwash.

After the salon, we headed for Greenbelt but midway, the driver dropped all passengers at Ayala Triangle. Since we were there anyway, we decided to scout the area for some good food.

Our impromptu trip to Ayala Triangle was lovelier than we expected on such a day. It was near empty when we got there. I guess lovers were either out of town or decided to stay in (aherm).

Ayala Triangle boasts of several restaurants that offer different cuisines. We walked around a bit, debating whether to go with our usual haunts or explore something new. Explore we did.

Stepping into Poco Deli, though, I was unsure I would enjoy the place. I was not thrilled about the wooden benches, me with my bad back, but it turned out to be more comfortable than it looked.

By the time we got there we were famished but since we were unfamiliar with Poco Deli’s serving size we decided to start with a plate of Chili Seafood Pasta and their German Sausage and Cheese Platter, which we washed down with a pitcher of Citrus Delight. Yum!

After our satisfying meal, we finally regained our wits, enough to admire the decor. The walls were lined with wines from around the globe—and they have quite a massive collection.

By the way, Poco Deli hosts wine tasting events monthly where their in-house sommelier does the happy job of orienting participants on different kinds of wine and the food they best go with. Serious job envy. lol

On the counter is a delicious display of cakes. We were glad we left room for dessert.

The Blackout Chocolate Cake was yumazing! The chocolate gets richer as you slice deeper into it. Mmmmyeah…

They even had artisanal ice cream. Joy!

The salted caramel ice cream was a delight.

We loved everything! The food was perfect. The drinks were perfect. The dessert was heaven.

Can’t wait to go back for the wine tasting. Tee hee