Energizer Night Run 2015: How far can you go to lighten up the life of a poor child?

Energizer Night Run 2015 is a run for a cause organized by Energizer to benefit the medical needs of indigent children under the Bantay Bata 163 Foundation. This year, the night run will have a different kind of twist. It will be an open run that will allow runners to push themselves a little further to run as far as they can within a three kilometer loop in 2 hours of run time. 

A P700 registration will cover all distances. Runners can run for 3k or more, depending on his or her capacity. For every 3k loop a runner makes, Energizer will give additional donation to Bantay Bata 163. This running event will hope to raise more than P1 Million donation to fund the medical needs of children in critical conditions. 

The running event will be held at Alabang’s popular running circuit, the scenic and nature-inspired Filinvest. The event will start at 5:00pm on June 27, 2015 and more than 3,000 runners are expected to join. This run for a cause are catered not only for beginners but also to the seasoned runners like me who has the capacity to run much longer distances within two hours. 

Another special feature of this run is that, there will be no podium winners and all who will participate will be recognized as champions.  According to Mr. Vincent Lizo, Energizer Philippines’ Business Director, the first open run bears truth that no competition is needed if we want to help improve the lives of children. "Being generous is all about benefiting others more than yourself”, Lizo said. “For its part, Energizer, as a company, will recognize every runner of this event as a winner since no medal nor any form of special recognitions are needed to fulfill our responsibilities to the community," added Lizo.

Registration includes both online and through official registration sites Reebok Filinvest, Trinoma and Megamall, RUNNR BGC and Royal Sporting House Glorietta.  Online registration and details of event are through Energizer’s official website at www.energizer.com.ph,  www.Facebook.com/EnergizerPH, and race partner www.pepsquadevents.com.

The Legend Villas: Part Vigan, Part Manila…All Filipino

The Legend Villas is a three-star hotel with a Five-star Filipino service. Located at the Pioneer area in Mandaluyong City, The Legend Villas is the only hotel in this area that is built-inspired by the early 19th century old houses that thrives Manila many years ago before most of them were destroyed by the Japanese occupancy in the 2nd World War. 

Legend Villas is part of a group of hotels such as Legend Palawan and Kabayan Hotel, among others, that caters to the busy corporate clientele who wish to just unwind, relax and momentarily escape the daily grind of the corporate rat-race. For many, the hotel’s first impression would be a little pricey, but it’s not. The room rates ranges only at P4,600 for a spacious studio room to P10,400 to a Team Suite that can accommodate, as many as five to six person. 

All accommodation are bundled with tons of amenities such as a powerful wi-fi access, a complementary in-room massage and of course a classy all-Filipino buffet breakfast at Lola Maria Restaurant, where you can experience to taste some of the best Filipino dishes much like the ones our old “lola” used to cook. 

Lola Maria Restaurant offers a wide array of Filipino dishes from different parts of the archipelago 

Lola Maria's special version of "Lumpiang Hubad"

The Lechon Paksiw is just one of the "sinful" indulgences that will make you forget your daily diet plan

Yesterday, I and some friends of mine in the social media industry were able to have a glimpse of the services of The Legend Villas. The Management treated us to a hefty lunch buffet that covers the best Filipino dishes from different regions in the country. And for dessert, all of us indulged in a Halo-halo treat with more than 12 ingredients and toppings. 

A dozen ingredients is certainly not enough to make a perfect "Halo-halo"

Would 15 ingredients do the trick?

Shortly after lunch, Ms. Abby (Legend’s Communication Officer) toured us in some of the rooms of the hotels. We were briefed that the whole hotel is being given a new “face-lift” and all rooms underwent renovations with added amenities to serve their loyal guests even better. For those who plans to hold wedding ceremonies, the hotel offers seven function rooms and one of which can accommodate more than 200 hundred guests. 

Receiving area of one of the Deluxe Rooms with Twin bed on the second-floor

A multi-functional rooms that can accommodate more than 200 guests...

Smaller function rooms are offered to those who wish to hold business meetings and corporate events. For some who just wish to dine, Lola Maria Restaurant offers a buffet breakfast for as low as P390 per head. For the foreign guests, the restaurant offers selected international cuisine.  

The Legend Villas is very much accessible practically from all directions. So, it is easier to go to the malls you wish to go to with no hustle of traffic congestion. For reservations, you can reach them through: 

Tel. (63 2) 702-2700 to 04

Fax. (63 2) 702-2780 / 638 9255

Mobile: (63) 917 702 2700

centralreservations@legendhotels.com.ph

Website: www.legendvillas.com.ph

FB page: thelegendvillas

Honor Series by Huawei

Huawei, a China-based mobile phone giant have finally come up with a brand name that is more highly acceptable to a global market. Just recently, the Honor mobile phone series was launch to go head-to-head with other mobile phone giants that has become an iconic hose-hold name to all mobile phone users. 

A few years ago, one of my first smart phone was Huawei Accend Quad XL. It was one of the early quad-core smart phones in the market that is equipped with an eight mega pixel camera. At that time, for me, it was pretty high end. One experience that changed my perception with China-made smart phone was an experience that really blew me away. 

Photo taken May 2015

Last 2012, I participated in a kayak 25km marathon from Bataan to Subic and back. My partner and I paddled the 25km race in the open sea for more than five hours and only to realize that my Huawei Phone was still in my pocket without any protective case. It was drenched in salt water for hours. My realization was alarmed by a text message, so that’s why I knew it was still with me. When we got back to the shore, I resigned to the fact that my phone is destroyed. But lo and behold, after two days of air-dry, the phone booted up and is working until now! From then on, I see Huawei Phones a lot differently.

Photo taken June 2013

Can you beat that, iPhone?! 

Last May 12, 2015, I was fortunate to be invited to the launch of Huawei smart phones under the name Honor series, specifically the Honor 6 plus, Honor 4x and the Honor 4c. Honor 6 plus, being the flag ship model among the series, is backed by cutting edge designs and features. 

KEY SPECIFICATIONS - HONOR 6+

Dimensions: 150.5 x 75.7 x 7.5 mm (5.93 x 2.98 x 0.30 in)
Weight : 165 g (5.82 oz)
Size:         5.5 inches (~73.2% screen-to-body ratio)
Display:         IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
Resolution: 1080 x 1920 pixels (~401 ppi pixel density)
SIM:         Dual SIM (Micro-SIM/Nano-SIM, dual stand-by, dual call)
                                Micro-SIM - PE-TL10
Platform Os: Android OS, v4.4.2 (KitKat)
Chipset:         HiSilicon Kirin 925
CPU: Quad-core 1.8 GHz Cortex-A15 & quad-core 1.3 GHz Cortex-A7
GPU: Mali-T628 MP4
Memory Card: microSD, up to 128 GB (uses SIM 2 slot)
Internal:         32 GB, 3 GB RAM
Camera:
Primary:                 Dual 8 MP, 3264 x 2448 pixels, autofocus, dual-LED flash
Secondary         8 MP, 1080p@30fps
Connectivity: WLAN Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, hotspot
Bluetooth         v4.0, A2DP, EDR, LE
GPS        Yes, with A-GPS
Battery:        Non-removable Li-Po 3600 mAh battery

KEY SPECIFICATIONS HONOR 4X

Dimensions: 152.9 x 77.2 x 8.7 mm (6.02 x 3.04 x 0.34 in)
Weight: 165 g
Size:         5.5 inches (~70.6% screen-to-body ratio)
Resolution: 720 x 1280 pixels (~267 ppi pixel density)
Display: IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
SIM:         Dual SIM 4G/LTE (Micro-SIM, dual stand-by)
Platform:         Android OS, v4.4.2 (KitKat) or Android OS, v5.0 (Lollipop)
Chipset:         HiSilicon Kirin 620
CPU         Octa-core 1.2 GHz Cortex-A53
GPU         Mali-450
Memory Card: microSD, up to 32 GB
Internal 8 GB, 2 GB RAM
Camera
Primary 13 MP, 4208 x 3120 pixels, autofocus, LED flash
Secondary 5 MP, 720p
Connectivity: WLAN Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct, hotspot
Bluetooth         v4.0, A2DP
GPS: Yes, with A-GPS, GLONASS
USB: microUSB v2.0, USB Host
Battery: Li-Po 3000 mAh battery

KEY SPECIFICATIONS HONOR 4C 

Dimensions: 143.3 x 71.9 x 8.8 mm (5.64 x 2.83 x 0.35 in)
Weight: 162 g (5.71 oz)
Size:         5.0 inches (~66.9% screen-to-body ratio)
Display: IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
Resolution: 720 x 1280 pixels (~294 ppi pixel density)
SIM:         Dual SIM 3G (Micro-SIM, dual stand-by)
Platform OS: Android v4.4.2 (KitKat)
Chipset:         HiSilicon Kirin 620
CPU: Octa-core 1.2 GHz
Memory Card slot: MicroSD, up to 32 GB
Internal 8 GB, 2 GB RAM
Camera:
Primary                 13 MP, 4208 x 3120 pixels, autofocus, LED flash
Secondary         5 MP, 720p
Connectivity: WLAN Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct, hotspot
Bluetooth          v4.0, A2DP, EDR
GPS         Yes, with A-GPS, GLONASS
USB         microUSB v2.0, USB Host
Battery: Li-Ion 2550 mAh battery

The Honor 6 plus, Honor 4x and Honor 4c are now available in all Huawei Concept Stores and authorized distributors all over the country. The SRPs of Honor 6 plus, Honor 4x and Honor 4c are P17,490, P8,290 and P6,390 respectively. 

Honor, a bolder brand, equipped with a cutting edge features, Huawei is now brave to compete with the rest.

WING STOP: Experience the Nine Great Flavors of Chicken Wings!

There are several restaurants I know serve “Buffalo Wings” as part of their menu. And I find them very tasteful too. But many of these restos serve it with 11-13 pieces per order. It’s quite plenty, because the wing parts were too small. 

Several years ago, there was Wing Hub, a resto that serves mostly Buffalo Chicken wings and it comes with several flavors and the Chicken parts were also in big sizes. My family and I visited Wing Hub several times, but was surprised to see it closed already. My kids felt bad because they love to eat chicken wings. 

Just a few weeks ago, I was invited to cover a launch of a resto in Glorietta Ayala mall, which specializes in Chicken wings. The place is called Wing Stop and it’s located outside Glorietta 2 beside Landmark. This chicken wing resto is a part of a 21 year old food enterprise that started in the US and has grown several branches in many parts of the world. In the Philippines, it has now seven stores and will increase soon to more branches in all the major parts of the country. 

Mr. Charlie Morrison, President and CEO of WingStop shares the secret of what makes their food so good to eat. First, the sizes of the wings are the biggest in the country. For most restos, they serve 11-13 pieces per order, but the with WingStop, it serves 6-8 pieces only because the wings are so big and you get more of the meat than the bones. These wings are carefully chosen to be of the best quality before they are prepared. 

WingStop are always cooked-per order, so you get freshly-cooked food every time. Approximately, the cooking time for the wings are 17 minutes and these wings are always fried to perfection. After which, they are dished in flavorful sauce covering every spot with crave-worthy flavors, so you need to be patient when you order them. 

As of the moment, Wingstop offers nine flavors of chicken wings and these are: Atomic, Cajun, Hot Buffalo, Louisiana Rub, Mild Buffalo, Hickory Smoked BBQ, Lemon Pepper, Garlic Parmesan and Teryaki. Each flavors are braised with character that best matches every costumer’s preference and personality. But if you’re the adventurous type, your chicken wings crave can be challenged a little further by trying them all.

So, why don’t you rest your taste buds from the usual fast-food type of chicken dishes and try other ways fried chicken can be served. Get and taste all the nine flavors of Wingstop in their newly open branches; Glorietta 2, Makati, Eastwood Citywalk, University Citymall, Taft Avenue, Fairview Terraces, Starmall Prima in Taguig, Starmall Las Pinas, Estancia in Capitol Commons, and Greenhills Prominade.