Bravo to our OFW's

I see this as a tribute to our OFW's who never fail to exert all their best so to serve their foreign employers as perfectly as possible in exchange of an income that our own land cannot provide them neither in equal nor greater value. I salute all OFW's who sacrifice thier own family so they can provide for them.  This article from the Arab newspaper must really be for them and their families.

Bench on Mars

Bench on Mars.  Who does not get the drift?  It's definitely a give away, that this Fil-Puerto Rican named Peter Gene Hernandez is the newest endorser of the biggest local retail of RTW (and more) in the Philippines.  Bench has been making a wise and lucrative move in carefully selecting their endorsers.  Their latest bold move is to get Bruno Mars, who is not just popular in the music scene today, he is also a Filipino!  Billboards in the metro do not show entirely of who the endorser is, but using common sense and some hints (hat, piano, sunglasses), one cannot fail to see that this is Bruno Mars!

Recognition Day (hardwork paid-off!)

  Congratulations to me

 

Today, we had our Manager's meeting and I did not know that it would be a recognition day also. Wow!! I received two Certificates of Recognition for being Top 1 in Group Sales for the month of June, and for being Top 1 in recruitment also for that month. I also received a special token along with the certificates. Thank you dear God, all hardwork paid-off! I hope next month will be just like this.

Gabby's 7th Birthday Bash

As I write this, everybody is still outside partying. It's Gabby's 7th birthday party, thus it's a children's party, but look what time it is! It is already 12:10 in the morning and the sounds, the lights, the drinks and the pulutans are still very much alive. And so are the manginginoms. This is what I like about being Pinoy--extended parties!! Just like now, it's a children's party in the afternoon and drinking session for the adults at night. We Filipinos are always like that.



Anyways, as a gift to the lovable and adorable Gabby, I made a special audio-visual presentation. I love compiling pictures in the form of a video and I make videos often, so processing Gabby's AVP was a piece of cake for me.

This video was presented during the party and I hope that everyone enjoyed viewing it.  And oh, if any of you wants something like this for your event (birththday, anniversary, corporate and business presentation), I can be of service to you.  I charge fair enough (trust me, you will be surprised with my rate).  Just get in touch with me. 

Max's Chicken-All-You-Can

Last year when it was launched, I had the misfortune of missing Max's chicken-all-you-can promo.  That's why when my BIL kuya Edwin announced that the family will be going to Max's to have our share of sarap-to-the-bones promo, I did not resist.  I reserve Sundays for catching up on pages left in my book so going out is often a no-no, but it's Max's chicken-all-you-can we are talking here, baby! And I am not allowing myself to miss this promo again!

We arrived there a bit late for the 6:00 "call time" so the scenario of long queue and us landing the 9th spot on the waiting list did not surprise us at all.  I was impressed though that they really started on time, for one of the ways you can tell that the chicken feast is on would be the Max's dancing crew.  I do not know what the dancing is for.  If it was for entertainment, then they should rather slash it off the promo for people with complaining tummies won't be entertained with any form of dancing, I should say. I must commend how they call out names from the waiting list.  Once, twice, thrice and no one claiming the slot, you are out of the game.  So you rather be there waiting even if you so desire to go out to get some fresh air, or regret on the last minute.  For even though you were listed, if you were not there when your name was called, you will be down to the last spot again. Tsk tsk tsk.

After just a short twenty minutes of waiting since they had the dance number, we were called.  We were assisted to our long table.  A couple of minutes more,  first batch of the famous home-cooked chicken started arriving.  And the second serving, and the third, and the fourth, and to some, their fifth.  For a price of 199 pesos, and with a Pepsi drink or an iced tea to go with it, what more can you ask for?  That is why to date, Max's holds the record of "the biggest eat-all-you-can promotion ever launched by a single fast-casual dining restaurant in the Philippines".  How cool is that? And here comes another treat:  they also give 20 peso money coupon for every 200 peso spent during the promo (which can be used starting July 11).  It's like binusog ka na, sinuklian ka pa...so saan ka pa?




We first took pictures while waiting for the first serving of the famous Max's fried chicken.


  

My very first piece of Max's chicken-all-you-can!!

Max's home-cooked style  fried chicken will never ever be complete without this.

The caramel bar served as our dessert, or in other words, tanggal umay.  After which, we were back to the chicken fight, err, chicken feast again.

Sarap to the bones indeed!



Obviously, all of us were satisfied with Max's fried chicken... and the doggies back home will be having their own version of Max's promo, too!





Father's day the simple way

June 19, 2011 - Father's day.  I woke up with the fear of having another Ondoy.  Talk about being paranoid of the heavy rains since that traumatic episode in Philippine history, I could not help but wonder where the heavy rain that woke me up in the early morning would lead us.  Aside from birthdays and anniversaries, this was supposedly one of the most awaited days of the men of our lives and I was afraid the angry skies will ruin it all.  With its solid raindrops with equally heavy wind, I was ready to announce the bad news to my hubby.  That despite his special day, we might settle and stay at home.


Holiday naman, you considering going out tomorrow instead? I asked him.  He just gave me a disagreeing look.  Okay, I got the answer loud and clear even literally he did not even move his lips.  So the three of us got dressed, with umbrellas and jackets as weapons, and off we go.

We were a bit hungry already when we arrived at the mall.  Worse, parking was full for obvious reasons.  So imagine how starving we were when we stepped inside the restaurant we picked.  Burgoo had a great buy- one-take-one-for-free offer so we grabbed that.  Burgoo's palatable dishes were  to die for, so the promo was definitely a steal.  Plus, almost every table took advantage of the offer.  Who would not?  The entree with the higher price will be billed, and the lower one was the free item. That offer was really cool!  While waiting for our orders to arrive, my little man enjoyed the "write-write" moments.  He was quite amazed of how his scribbles looked like.

His hands were full!! He simply just won't share his crayon, that's why.

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We got their grilled pork chop ( I dunno why hubby has an addiction for pork chops? ) and their shrimp and ribs platter.  One entree was good for sharing already so we are talking of like good-for-four-heads meal here.  And to pay for just one, that was such a great offer!! Both entree were perfectly done, kuddos to Burgoo.   Honey and little man loved everything!










The father and his mini-me!




We finished the day with a couple of photo opps.  The little man knew where to pose!  He is a fan of Cars and Kung Fu Panda!





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2011 Summer Escapade (and a video that shows the fun!)

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It all started last summer of 2010.  The whole Bonifacio family went on an overnight get together and that was quite a success.  I must remind you that the Bonifacio brothers, five of them, each owns a business that they cannot simply leave behind even for a day.  Sun up until sun down, they are committed to their bread and butter.  So it was really a shock for some of us that the summer outing last year was a success.  Almost everybody was there!  That was really fun.

And so because we craved for it so much, the Bonifacios, courtesy of the younger gen, planned another escapade.  Last year was in Antipolo, this year it was in Laguna.  The place: Villa Bellagio.  We rented the whole place for 25,000 and I must say that it was all worth the pay given the fact that all of us enjoyed the stay (not necessarilly because of  the place, I must stress that out).

There were five airconditioned rooms (2 large rooms and 3 just-enough-size rooms) each having its own bathroom that functioned just as right(that was a plus point).  The rooms had enough space for additonal mattress if needed (another plus point for we really needed tons of it). The bed and beddings were decent and clean.  Despite the appearances of some uninvited crawling creatures which I was able to get rid off in a flash with screams here and there, I was able to sleep well and tight. 

It has two swimming pools that catered kiddos and adults.  I must say that one nice thing about the set-up was the net that served as a "ceiling" that covered almost the entire pool. Thanks to that net, we did not mind the supposedly scorching heat of the tanghaling tapat sun.  The net provided the shade that we needed!  So that made the dip sulit na sulit because nobody wanted to get off the pool even if we were reminded constantly of our check-out time.

Aside from the pool, the place also has a billiard hall and the staple of all households--videoke machine.  The younger ones had a wonderful time playing the billiards while the oldies took turns in damaging the microphone :)

Since it was an out of town gathering composed of five big families, food was assigned to each to save a bit on the budget.  Every family brought their share, and since we were really that big, simot na simot ang pagkain.  We even had to rush to the market to buy a new batch to be cooked the next day--from breakfast to dinner.  The place has a small kitchen anyways, so cooking was never a problem.

The parking lot was a challenge though.  Since, as what I have mentioned, our family was really big, we had no choice but to bring nine cars.  Make that nine SUVs.  Haha!!  Even the owner of the place did not expect that scenario given the fact that his parking lot is quite big already to begin with. 

Overall, our stay at Villa Bellagio was a pleasant one.  But I must say that family gathered together as one, enjoying each other's stories and sentiments, with food and drinks (toxicating or otherwise) on the side, made this escapade a blast.

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And so, I am back.

Hello, remember me?
I know, I know...
It's been a while, right?
When was my last post again?
February!!
Gosh.
And it's like, what month are we in now?
Nearing June, right? Right.

Before the flower month ends,
I will be alive again.
Promise. 
Let's make a pinky promise.
Because you know what?
Despite the lack of sleep due to our new "baby",
blogging keeps on haunting me.
And so, I gave in.

And so I am back.

And so let's begin.

MTV Cribs: Manny Pacquiao

LA house of Manny Pacquiao was featured on MTV Crib.  It was a jaw-dropping, uniquely-styled, sophistication overload kind of a house.  And a fireplace on the swimming pool area?  Amazing idea!!

My Birthday - Good food. Good times. Good fun.

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January 23, 2011 -- Happy birthday to me!!  Yesterday, I celebrated the anniversary of my 25th birthday.  Of course I am not giving away my age, for they say that  most of the time, I do not look like it.  Thanks to my own Belo and Calayan in the form of positive attitude, happy disposition in life, love of comedy film, and music.  And the biggest factor of all--my big man and my little man, who when I watch play and make a fool of themselves together, give me that instant face lift.   These are the reasons, I suppose, that make me not look my age most of the time.  That's most of the time, I am stressing that out, for there are times I look older than my real age.  I am thinking the culprit would be sleepless nights due to deadlines,or due to paperworks brought home, or due to my little man's unpredictable sleeping behavior, or due to dvd marathon.  Lack of sleep that brought stress, that brought sagging of the face, wrinkles, fine lines and out-of-this-world tantrums.  Sleepless nights can really bring out the monster in me, physically and attitude-wise.  Other than that, not patting myself on the back, a lot really say I do not look like my age.  I really hope so.

Prior my natal day, my cousins planned of a dinner date for all of us.  We went to Yakimix in Tomas Morato.  Original plan was in Trinoma branch but due to the long queue, majority decided to shift to Morato.  Elmer and I were the first ones to arrive, and by then we found out that we did not have a reservation!  Yakimix, now gaining a large population of followers, is full especially on weekends.  Reservation is a must, really.  We were like 18 hungry ones, so we had a hard time arranging ourselves in one table.  After a long 1 hour of waiting, we finally had a taste of their all-you-can-eat dishes.  Japanese food reign on the buffet, yet there were some Filipino food (I saw a crispy pata) and surprisingly, Italian (there was a pizza there, I swear!)  Sushi person that I am, my tummy feasted with different kinds of sushi they have there.  I enjoyed their salmon and tuna sashimi so much.  Valued at more or less 650.00 per head (depends on your add-ons), with a lot of food on the buffet, this rate is not bad at all.  Later that night, we transfered to Starbucks and there we welcomed my birthday.  I felt so old, who wouldn't?  I am the eldest of all the cousins, and there they were with me.  But I also feel so young, for despite the age differences, we still have times like this bonding with each other over some plateful of yummy dishes.

Yakimix in Tomas Morato

I enjoyed a lot of sushi in different colors and shapes (and calories!)

They also have a shabu-shabu

A gathering that will soon be on a regular basis (crossing fingers!)

I usually celebrate my birthday in two days. The birthday itself, the 23rd, with my Rockville/Bonifacio family, and the day after with my Fairview/Kimpo family.  My Rockville treat would always be at home.  My dad dreads going out for whatever reason so you will find me dialing numbers of food delivery service so I can still treat my family in the comforts of our home.  Not losing hope each year, I still announced my plan of treating them out on my birthday.  I expected my dad's usual contra-reaction.  Surprisingly, dad just kept mum about it and everybody was kinda surprised of this big leap (big leap na talaga 'to!).  So on my birthday, I treated them for lunch at Romulo Cafe.

I am not at all new to Romulo's and in fact I also blogged my first Romulo experience here.  We ordered the bestsellers:  kare kare and flying tilapia.  This time, we added another best seller on our table--the pancit puti. Everybody raved about the food we had at Romulo Cafe.

I do not know why despite my knowledge of Romulo Cafe's
swirls of black and white interior, I still wore this blouse.  I only noticed
 it when my sis pointed it out.  What a booboo!

Later around 6;20pm, we went to the restaurant where I put my reservation for dinner with my Fairview family.  Yes, this time, I celebrated it with them on the day of my birthday itself.  The restaurant, whenever I pass there, stirred my curiosity for aside from the great interiors that can be viewed from outside, the place is always full not to mention the peeps lined up outside patiently waiting for their names to be called.  So because the place really looked interesting, I decided to bring my Fairview fam there.  The restaurant's name is Lugang Cafe.  Quite an odd name for a restaurant, I thought.  Later I found out that this restaurant is the famous Bellagio in Shanghai that is known for their delicious Taiwanese dishes.  Now in Manila, they changed Bellagio into Lugang, one of Taiwan's best places.

Lugang Cafe's interior is awesome!  The walls are of different designs.  Our side of the wall have bricks with mirror-like posts in front that when viewed from several meters away looked like a weaving pattern.  The wall in front of (but a bit far from)  us have a different pattern  in which I cannot describe blow by blow for I had no chance to scrutinize but it looked like a weaved pattern of some solid material in immaculate white.  Our couch has black and white swirls  that goes very well with the wall behind it, while some couches in the middle are made of cream leather material.  For some reason, the chairs remind me of Gucci and Chanel patterns.  Lugang Cafe's door is a massive one and is really beautiful, that kuya Edmund, the one that has an eye for what's pretty when it comes to furniture and interior, noticed it at once.

Elmer, my big man, enjoyed the couch of black and white swirls that goes
very well with the weave-like wall behind it.

We ordered  Lugang bestsellers:  3 cup chicken, beef with crullers,  spicy dory (fish), and golden rice.

Spicy Dory is a personal fave.  The dory fish is so tender, and the spicy-ness
is a bit powerful yet not that kind that will make you quit munching anytime.
In fact, I had this without rice, so to appreciate the taste more.  I love it!

No meal is complete without the rice. 

Small chicken parts cooked in 1 cup sesame oil, 1 cup rice wine, and 1 cup
soy sauce, hence the name:  3 Cup Chicken.  I love how the marinade of three
different sauces blend well together coming up with a yummy dish.
p290 good for three.

Beef with chinese crullers is my personal favorite. It has thinly sliced beef,
that was so tender with crunchy bicho bicho, all embraced by the tasty
sauce.  This one is a steal for P280.00 good for three.

My lovely SIL's gave me cakes from Conti's.  I was really craving for a Mango Bravo and they turned into mind readers that day for they gave me just what I craved for.  We finished Mango Bravo so fast!  My little man loved it too!!

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Yakimix -  2nd floor, Forum Building, 270 Tomas Morato, Quezon City.

Reservation is a must - (02)3857500

Romulo Cafe - 32 Scout Tuazon corner Dr. Lazcano, Tomas Morato, Quezon City

Though they allow walk-in's, it is still wise to reserve- (02)3327275

Lugang Cafe - 115 Connecticut St., North Greenhills, San Juan

Reservation up to 6:30 only and they allow 15mins allowance.  

7:00 pm onwards are for walkin's - (02)7757599

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Precious Moments Haven

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Having a collection, I guess, is part of growing up.  When I was in grade school, I would collect Sanrio items, Hello Kitty being the queen of them all.  In high school and some years in college, my collection of Sanrio stuff dwindled and my attention went to these dolls that are so adorable because of their teardrop-shaped eyes.  These dolls, famous around the world as Precious Moments, are the creations of Samuel Butcher.  He gave Precious Moments sketches as gifts to friends and relatives, until 1970 when he and a friend formally started a business out of it.  They sold greeting cards and posters of Precious Moments and the response in the market was overwhelming.  Not long enough, Enesco, a global leader in giftware, garden, home and decor industries, approached Samuel and requested to make a three-dimensional figurine of Precious Moments.  When he saw the first sample of the porcelain figurine, he knew right then that it was Precious Moment's time to shine.  And it's been shining so brightly up to this day.

                                          *This video shows how Precious Moments are made*



The success of his creation did not satisfy Sam.  Since he is a man of faith and devotion, he showed his honor to the Lord by building a chapel inspired by Precious Moments.  It was opened in 1989 and millions of visitors came to share the faith and admire his works. The chapel, located at Carthage, Missouri  is a sight to behold with angels, stained glass, and different art works from Sam.  In almost every corner, there reflected Sam's faith and devotion to the Lord--angels everywhere, framed prayers, and other stuff that shows his belief to his creator.  The grounds where the chapel was built is called Precious Moments Park.

Here in the Philippines, there is also a Precious Moments resort found in Kalibo, Aklan.  Owner of this resort is none other than Samuel Butcher himself.  Sampaguita Gardens, as it is called, is a vast land that is popular to tourists landing in Kalibo.  Being a Precious Moments fanatic, it was quite an experience for me when we stayed there.  There were couple of Precious Moments life size figurines, and a lot more in their showroom.  Tons of Precious Moments in different sizes, themes, colors, and figures made my eyes twinkle in delight.  The stuffed dolls were placed loosely everywhere, but the porcelain ones were secured in the cabinets.  Despite my buffet breakfast disappointment (I am a sucker of breakfast buffets but theirs was a turn-off), I still look forward to finding myself inside the Sampaguita Garden grounds.

Now, there's a thought that's been bothering me since that Sampaguita Garden Resort experience... shall I revive my Precious Moments collection or not?  Hmmmm....


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