My Singapore Food Street at SM Megamall

 “Laksa”. Every Singaporean restaurant has its own version and level of hotness, but the one that is being served here at My Singapore Food Street taste just right. 

I had my first taste of Singaporean food when my wife and I spent a dinner date at Singapore Republic in BGC last year. It made a mark to me because the food is quite different and unique. But the resto offers other Asian dishes which I also tried, so the chance of getting some of the authentic Singaporean food was not fully satisfied. 

My Singaporean Food Street in SM Megamall serves the very food culture of Singapore, so everything they serve are authentic, including most of the ingredients which the management import it from Singapore, like the coffee beans, chili pepper and some other stuff you can only find in Singapore. 

Just over a week ago, I had the rare chance to experience My Singapore Food Street for the very first time. Luckily, I came in a bit early, actually I was the first one to arrive and I had the opportunity to be introduced to Ms. Vivien Tan, My Singapore Food Street’s General Manager. 

Ms. Tan, a notable celebrity chef in Singapore and who happens to host her own TV show, is married to a Filipino who happens to love Singapore food. After migrating with her husband in the Philippines, she brought her passion for Singaporean cuisine and decided to put up the My Singapore Food Street, with the help of business partner Mr. Jean Henri Lhuillier of the PJ Lhuillier Group of Companies. 

The My Singapore Food Street dishes are much like the food that are being offered in the streets of Singapore. It offers the cultural diversity of the country which according to Ms. Tan, a melting pot of different Asian Culture. As a trevia, Singapore is one of the smallest country in the world which use to be part of Malaysia before. The national anthem is in Bahasa-Malaysia, a big percentage of its residents are Indians, Chinese, Malaysians and some Filipinos. Mandarin is being taught in all schools but the primary language is English. 

Ms. Vivien Tan, My Singapore Food Street's General Manager

Having a very diverse food culture, Singaporean foods blend perfectly in the food preference of every pinoys.  After all guests has arrived, Chef Emman invited us to have a Singaporean kitchen experience, where we took our turns to cook the food in their mini-wok station. 

"Laksa" Spicy soup noodle

After that very fun cooking experience, the management serve some of the resto’s most sought-after dishes. Their signature dishes are Hainanese Chicken Rice, Nasi Goreng, Black Pepper Rice, Singapore Fried Rice, Stir-fried Noodles, Dishes such as Char Kway Teow and Mee Goreng and of course the Laksa, Singaporean version of Pa-thai, which is equally spicy and delicious. The Roti Pratha is best served with its signature Kopi Tarik. 

The My Singapore Food Street is certainly becoming the talk-of-the-town among Asian foodies around the metro. Serving authentic Singaporean dishes but with some Filipino tweaks, just enough to accustom your taste preference. It is located at 2nd floor bridgeway, SM Megamall. 

Golden Ticket Events holds successful Hunger Games block screening

PRESS RELEASE:

Golden Ticket Events an up and coming event's company recently held its successful Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 block screening and bloggers night.

Prior to the jam packed movie screening at the SM Megamall Cinema 4, Golden Ticket hosted a fun filled blogger's night at Rack's Megamall. Rack's served everyone a sumptuous dinner consisting of their best selling ribs and sides. Over dinner, Jeanil Alcantara Rack's Operations Manager updated everyone on Rack's new branch in Timog Quezon City.

Following this, Food Panda Philippines  CEO Mauro Cocchieri presented an overview about the company and its app. Food Panda is an online food ordering site which has an app that can be downloaded from the App Store, Google Play, and the Window's Phone Store. The Food Panda app allows users to choose from hundreds of food merchants. The app determines the users location and shows them a wide variety of choices to satisfy their every craving. Capping the bloggers night was a raffle from Torch, Bioessence, and Great Image who along with Regroe gave away lots of freebies to the bloggers.

Following the blogging event, everyone proceeded to Cinema 4 to join the throngs of movie goers who came to the screening. Each movie goer got popcorn and a bottle of Aquabest as they filed in to watch one of the year's most awaited movies. Attendees of the screening had a good time with the program which included awesome raffle prizes from Torch, Bioessence, ToppCock, Cadbury, Mary Kay, Jelly Nelly, Regroe, and MX3. 

Making the event possible are Golden Ticket's sponsors; Food Panda, Great Image, Mary Kay, Alveo, Aquabest, Evee, Skinlyn, Regroe, Pregroe, Torch, Bioessence, Chooga, El Lobo 2 in 1, Tea Kingdom, Cadbury, Bubbatealicious, Huang Shang Developent Corporation, Victoria Towers, Amada, Topp Cock, and Jelly Nelly. Golden Ticket was also assisted by its media partners; ANC, ASTIG.PH, Business Mirror, Cook Magazine, and View Magazine.

INFINIX PURE: One of the many latests of Cherry Mobile (secretly) launched at the "Captain's Ball"

2014 was a good year for Cherry Mobile starting from their release of its quad-core line ups to the Alpha series Windows Phone that was launched just this September. Now, as the year ends, the all Filipino mobile tech giant acknowledges that it has been a good year despite the tough competition in the cellular and smart phone race. And as a show of gratitude to its loyal dealers all over the country and the support of the on line media, Cherry Mobile celebrated its “thanks” with a grand appreciation party at the La Pavilion in Metrobank Plaza, Pasay City. 

Themed as “The Captain’s Ball”, Cherry Mobile honored its long time vendors since the time it took the risk to venture out and took its maiden voyage five years ago. Celebration was also graced by some of its loyal celebrity endorsers like Ms. Ann Curtis and Kim Chiu who shared their talents by rendering a few song numbers to entertain the audience. Ms. Luning-ning, a thriving sexy icon talent also made a remarkable show by performing a Pole Dance number. 

Soon after, Cherry Mobile extended its generosity to the dealers by raffling off cash prizes worth P300,000. Eight lucky vendors won P25,000 each, two won P50,000 each and the first prize bagged a trip for two to Hong-kong. Then, Mr. Meynard Ngu, the CEO of Cherry Mobile awarded the top-ten dealers and each one was given a captain’s hat to symbolically acknowledges their exceptional leadership in bringing Cherry Mobile product to their clientele. 

INFINIX PURE:

One of the many latest of Cherry mobile that will soon to be released in the Market (hopefully )before the year ends is the INFINIX PURE.

With all the new applications that have been coming out lately, processing these apps would require a much powerful engine. While many are still in their dual and quad-core capacities, Cherry Mobile is not slowing down to be left out in the competition by bringing an “octo-core” engine into the race. Infinix Pure is the latest of its kind. In fact this slick smart phone is not on the shelves yet and the SRP is yet to be determined. 

Luckily, we were one of the people who were able to get the first taste of experience on how INFINIX PURE can out-stand other in the “octo-core’ battle and I’m pretty excited to with the feature this smart phone has to offer. For now, I will just enumerate its basic highlights.

INFINIX PURE Specifications:

• Processor – MEDIATEK
• OS – Android 4.4 kitkat
• ROM – 8GB, RAM 1GB
• Rear Cam – 8MP, Front Cam – 2MP
• Processor speed and Capacity – 1.4 GHz OCTO-CORE
• Wifi – wifi b/g/n, BT 4.0
• LCD Display size- 5” HD IPS
• YAMAHA High Fidelity Speakers
• SONY Camera
• Battery life – 2100 mAh
• Dual Sim Capacity

As soon as this phone will be out in the market, I pretty much sure that many would be excited to grab-hold of it. A great gift to yourself or to your loved ones this coming Christmas Season.  

Beeffalo: Marikina’s hidden gastronomical delight…

It’s in the middle of nowhere, the location is out of place, there are no directions and when you can finally get there, there are no visible signage, as if the management intentionally wants to keep the restaurant elusive to people. But when we arrived, it was exactly the opposite of what we thought. Cars were piled up along the highway because the parking provision could no longer accommodate them. 

The Beeffalo by HotRocks is cozy and very homey; the grillers are stationed outdoors along with the tables for people who wish to dine outside. The signage was kind of “un-noticeable” but what captures may attention were the vintage memorabilia that were on display all around the restaurant. Then we were greeted with warm welcome by the owners, Louie Abad, Girlie Cosio-Abad and Caren Diaz.

American-style outdoor grilling

"Out of service since 1965"

Louie Abad, Girlie Cosio-Abad and Caren Diaz

 Brewed by more than twenty years of friendship, the three started venturing into the food industry way back 2004 with their first restaurant business – HotRocks in Libis, Quezon City. HotRocks was a sensational hit and just about when the restaurant was at its peak, the business was forced to closed down to give way for a major infrastructure development in the area. But after eight years of hibernation, the three decided to put up Beeffalo by Hotrocks at the far edge of Gil Fernando Avenue, Sto. Nino, Marikina City. 

Retired at TGIF, now at Beefalo

Lambretta Special 150cc...still in good working condition

Beeffalo is a typical American-style Backyard grilling experience where they specialize in Steak, Barbeque and Ribs. Last week, I just had the opportunity to visit the place and had the first hand taste of the house specialties. I was able to try the Roasted Pumpkin Soup which is a thick soup, and for those who prefer thin, they also served Seafood food corn chowder.

Roasted Pumpkin Soup at P65

Seafood and Corn Chowder at P90

Beeffalo serves two variations of Buffalo wings, the milder type and the original which is hot (really hot)are served in one order. These two variants are served with blue cheese dip and sweet chili sauce. After finishing off the chicken wings, we went straight to the Porterhouse steak and T-bone steak. These steaks were served in a medium-rare level. On the side trivia, if you want to taste the true flavor of a steak, take it on a medium-rare. Those flavors tend to dry-up if it’s well-done. 

Sweeter chix on the right...hotter chix on the left

Porterhouse (250gms) at P340

Soon after we had that scrumptious steak, We were indulged by another house specialty, the Baby-back ribs which were grilled to perfection, the meat literally fall-off from the bones. The meat dishes were served with home-made sauces specially concocted by its resident chef, Girlie Abad. In fact, most of the dishes served were signature dishes of Ms. Girlie, who despite the lack of formal training in culinary arts, has the culinary talent to transform simple “isaw” into a gourmet, fitting to be served in fine dining.

Baby back ribs (full-serving) at P740. 

Baby back Ribs (Solo-serving) at P270

"Isaw"...local street food made classy

After the sample of Beeffalo’s pastas and pizzas, our capacity to take in another dish has come to a halt. But who would turn away to dessert? Most especially if it involves cheese cake! For the last dish, Beefalo served their most sought after desserts; Dolce de Leche Cheese Cake and Brazo de Mercedes. After those grand finale sweets, what better way to wrap up the evening but with a chilled Red Wine. 

Margherita biscuit Pizza at P145

Seafood Carbonara at P165

Our Beeffalo’s gastronomical experience is surely bound to be spread around. We were surprised that many Marikina residents don’t know about it because many of Beffalo’s guests came from far off places and they have only come to know about the place via word of mouth. I wouldn’t agree more, because food as good as this one certainly deserved to be talked about.

Dulce de Leche Cheesecake at P165

Brazo de Mercedez at P125

So where exactly is Beeffalo? I’m not sure. All I know is it’s somewhere within the vast stretch of tall grasses along Gil Fernando Avenue. I don’t really know exactly. But hey, if you yearn for good tasting grilled food hub in Marikina, you have to seek it out yourself. and when you get there, you will certianly know that its worth the find.   

Now, it’s simply GERRY’S…

With over seventy branches worldwide, the house-hold name Gerry’s grill Bar and Restaurant finally drops the “grill” from the brand name. For many brands which are trying to make a mark in the market today, re-branding a popular name can be a risky move. But for a name like Gerry’s, the restaurant synonymous to perfectly grilled dishes, the re-branding move is simply a re-birth of something much better for everyone to experience at Gerry’s.

One exciting new hub to visit is Gerry’s new found sibling, Sweet Chili, the hottest Thai-resto that hits Fisher mall and its being the talk of the town by many food and resto junkies. With seventy branches, Gerry’s is not slowing down in its opening of its branches not just here in the Philippines but in some parts of the globe as well.

A few days ago, Gerry’s launches another restaurant at the second floor of SM Sta. Mesa. The event was hosted by the owner himself Mr. Gerry Apolinario. The opening was graced by friends from the media and of course some of Gerry’s loyal patrons and partners.

The dinner was celebrated by some of Gerry’s top selling and signature dishes where you cannot find it in any other Bar and Grill. Although I’m sure others have their own version of “sisig”, but only Gerry’s can make it far different and much more delicious than any other place. The marinate mix of the grilled chicken is something that is so mysterious; I’ve tried duplicating it at home but failed. I guess that’s one of Gerry’ top secret recipes that keep people coming back for more.

 
Here are some of Gerry’s best selling items in their menu: Special Bulalo, Kare-kare, Lumpiang Shanghai and of course the world famous Crispy Pata. 

Other than SM Sta. Mesa, Gerry’s is also opening branches in SM Malolos, Bulacan, Ayala Terraces, Fairview, Naga, Iligan, Cauayan in Isabela, Tuguegarao, and at the new Fishermall along Quezon Avenue, Quezon City. Gerry’s is not only opening new branches, but also reopening old one as well. So if happen to be in Cubao, you might want to drop by Ali Mall and try visiting a re-opened branch there. And If you’re visiting the US, Singapore or Quatar, you might want to visit them there too.

while other similar restos keep the "grill" attached to their name to capture the grilled-food lover market, Gerry's is dropping it because everyone kows that nobody can grill it better it better than Gerry's. 

ALTERG: A Revolutionary Approach in Sports Recovery and Training…

Whether you are a competitive athlete or a health and fitness enthusiast like me, one common anxiety we share is the dilemma of how soon we can recover from an injury and how fast we can get back to the saddle to achieve that performance level again. Among runners, those sprained-ankles, ITBS, or some other recurring joint pains we experience every now and then tend to beat down our momentum. And oftentimes, if we get anxious and push ourselves during the recovery period, we ended up relapsing, which takes us back even further away to full recovery. Cross training sometimes works but not quite the ideal because it focuses on a different set of muscle groups. 

Finally, those sports and injury issues can be addressed by an indoor treadmill which is so advanced that it actually allows you to workout with much less pressure and impact to the injured body part you wish to isolate.Kinetics Advance Physiotherapy Center introduces a revolutionary treadmill, the technology of which came directly from NASA, very much the same what astronauts use to train themselvesfor an anti-gravity environment.

ALTERG has a special bubble chamber that will be filled with compressed air. The athlete positionshimself on the treadmill wearing special shortswith zippers that snuggly fits to the air chamber. This will be filled with air to calibrate the runner’s current weight, then adding more pressure will make your body be lifted just a bit to make yourself a little lighter. The pressure can be adjusted according to your preference or the percentage of body weight you wish to carry as you run on the treadmill. More pressure will make you lighter; depending on the amount of weight you want to take away.

Last October 6 at RUPM, I finished my seventh full-marathon on barefoot. My time was decent but not as fast as I expected it to be. At the 27th kilometer mark, I felt a sudden sharp pain on the top of my right ankle. At first, I thought it was negligible so I continued with my pace. But in the last four kilometers of the race, the pain was almost unbearable so I had to limp-walk. It was frustrating because it was my first time to experience it, but I pushed myself to finish the race. After that, my recovery was longer than expected. I didn’t expect that my injury would be that “severe”. Nonetheless, I made all the necessary recovery and healing protocols, enough to prepare me for the Rexona Run scheduled on October 26th.

In my personal assessment, I thought that I’m okay to go for a half-marathon. I made good time after crossing the finish line but with a consequence. My ankle sprain returned with a vengeance to further my present injuries. With that, healing and recovery became a much longer path. I feltlethargic most of the time and, as a result, I gained weight. I found it difficult to do even indoor callisthenic exercises that don’t involve putting pressure on my right foot. Simple squats and lunges, even jumping jacks, were impossible.

Last week, I visited Kinetics AdvancePhysiotherapy Center in BGC and I was introduced to the ALTERG, Anti-Gravity Treadmill. At first, I felt a little awkward running on a treadmill with half of my body inside a chamber filled with air. But as soon as it lifted me up, I started to run comfortably on the treadmill without any feeling of shock-load impact on my right foot. The therapist added more air pressure to create more lift thereby reducing my weight to almost half. At that point, I askedfor the speed to be increased to 20 kilometers per hour at almost sprint pace. I almost could not believe I was able to run a much further distance with much longer time at that pace! After 10 minutes, I was able to run more than three kilometers with no pain felt on my injured foot. One great thing about it was I reached the same heart pumping cardio workout burning almost seven hundred calories in 10 minutes.

I also felt the expected muscle strain on my legs and calves, which is good because I was able to get the usual workout on those muscle groupswithout my right ankle hurting. The treadmill can also work on reverse thereby working on the hamstrings. The machine can also be tilted up to a 20-degree incline to simulate a steep uphill climb. Soon, the machine may allow an athlete to run sideways to work on the side lateral movements needed for sports like basketball or football.

Currently, the therapy center also offers the ALTERG machine for people who suffered strokes or for children with cerebral palsy. This machine is far better than having these patients walk on a pathway with hand-railings to support them. The machine even has cameras on three sides so the workout could be viewed on the monitor screens in front of you. This way, you can view your own gait and the way you are running allowing you to subsequently correct them as you move.

I think ALTERG is the most comprehensive treadmill not just for athletes recovering from injuries but also for fitness-conscious people who wish to improve their physique in a much slower pace without carrying the shock-load impact of their own body weight. The ALTERG can be found only in Kinetics Advance Physiotherapy Center, located at Unit 1102 20th Drive Corporate Center, Bonifacio Global City.

For more information on their programs, you may log onto their Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/keneticsadvancephysiotherapy , or call Tel. 887-1409, 09154260680, info@alterg.com.ph