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Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Run for FAME
I have a lot of backlog lately on my blog posts so I'm sorry for the multiple posts in one day. I have a lot of stories to tell and I can't wait to post all of them.
Congratulations to the H@ppy Feet runners who finished the Run for FAME last Sunday at Mall of Asia! FAME stands for The Filipino Association for Mariners' Employment. It aims to unite all legitimate shipmanning companies for a more formidable presence in and source of the world's maritime labor force.
I try to keep running 10Ks to balance off all the food trips with my wife. Recently, we went on a food trip in Marikina and I can't wait to share with you our discoveries. We ran a total of 11.5K around Mall of Asia and my legs hurt a bit probably because of the additional weight gained from the food trip.
September 26, 2007 in 12. My First Marathon and Beyond | Permalink | Comments (5)
Screaming O of Cuptails & Dreams
Have you tried this cocktail-inspired cupcakes branded as Cuptails?
I particularly like Screaming O which is a chocolate cupcake with Kahlua topped with Bailey's buttercream frosting. I can eat this everyday for dessert and I like the alcohol kick from the Kahlua and distinctive taste of Bailey's from the icing. This is a heavenly dessert for people like me who loves Kahlua and Bailey's.
We also tried Cosmopolitan, Mojito, Margarita and I particularly like the fresh lemon squeeze after taking a bite of the cuptails. The cupcakes are a mild version of the cocktails so you don't have to worry about getting drunk nor tipsy from eating these.
The non-alcoholic cupcakes like Napolitana and Original Sin (recommended for chocoholics) were a disappointment. The cake base of the cupcake had this separation where it was not evenly baked, and you won't have that rolling-your-eyes effect as you close your eyes and take a bite of the cupcake. I would prefer Sonja's cupcakes over the non-alcoholic ones.
Cuptails & Dreams
Reena Francisco
Mobile: +63 927-5653261
Official Site: http://www.flickr.com/photos/cuptailsanddreams/
Orders by the dozen (maximum of 3 flavors per dozen, or 4 pieces per flavor). P650
Pick-up points in Quezon City, Makati (tue, wed, and fri only), and Las Pinas.
Please order 3 days in advance.
Cupcake towers available for parties & events (minimum of 100 cupcakes, maximum of 5 flavors per tower).
Makati Pick Up c/o Dan Francisco
Mobile +63 917 842 3263
10am-12nn or 1-5pm at People eServe Corp.
G/F Mapua IT Center 333 Sen. Gil Puyat Ave. Makati City.
The building is along Buendia corner Reposo corner Jupiter street.
September 26, 2007 in 07. Foodie Discoveries | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBack
The Greatest of All Time LT Presentation
The LT team dancing to the tune of Fame.
Every year, P&G Philippines has this unique tradition of celebrating how successful our pension plan fund is. (I know it is kinda weird). This is the biggest celebration in our company which is held around September. It is bigger than Christmas because this is the only time we have a joint celebration with the plant, the shared service center, and the sales and marketing organization. One of our pride as P&Gers, is to retire in P&G and this night also serves as a venue for honoring the retirees.
Every pension plan celebration night, there is an inter-department competition on the best musical presentation given a particular theme. This year's theme was 80's Ballroom Dancing. For the first time in the Pension Plan celebration history, the leadership team of the company presented in the Pension Plan. Thanks to Direk Mel Soriano and team for creating a memorable fun presentation (that we won't forget and won't happen again :)
We really had fun with this presentation. I wanted to capture that joy and share it with you (even if this post is kinda personal). Here is a glimpse of the LT presentation.
Our boss Jim Lafferty was flying through the air in this graceful solo performance.
A decent attempt of a High School musical performance where each person will show the pom-poms one after another to create a wave effect.
Pauline, our media manager, was the only female in the team so we had to improvise and make our Corporate Lawyer, Junie and Shared Service Center manager, Patrick be in female roles.
I was in front together with Pauline as we danced our last High School musical sequence.
The star of the night was the beautiful Miss China, Patricia.
It was indeed a greatest of all time performance from the leadership team. We were a 3rd placer for this! Congrats!
September 26, 2007 in My P&G Days... | Permalink | Comments (3)
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Kanin Club, The Pride of Paseo de Sta. Rosa, Laguna
If BF Paranaque's best kept secret was Conti's (before they expanded), Technopark's best kept secret in Sta. Rosa Laguna is Kanin Club. After two years, the restaurant has doubled in space size and this is the only place packed during lunch time. On a Sunday lunch, we had to wait for 30-45 minutes before getting our seats which is a good indication of how successful Kanin Club is.
Located at the center of Paseo Sta. Rosa, this is a good place to start or end your weekend trip to Tagaytay. They serve filipino dishes with a one of a kind twist that I've not seen in any restaurant. Their best seller is the Crispy Dinuguan and the Kanin's Club Turon. They serve different kinds of rice (Kanin in Tagalog word) and the best part is they serve healthy brown rice! You can also opt to order All-You-Kanin which is an eat-all-you-can white rice for only P40 per person.
Shame on me for ignoring this gem when I first heard of this a year ago. Don't forget to try out Kanin Club on your next trip to Tagaytay. (Just a tip: when going to Tagaytay don't exit via Sta. Rosa, use the exit right after Sta. Rosa which is Greenfield and this should take you to Paseo Sta. Rosa faster and without any traffic)
Kanin Club already expanded to add more capacity to the restaurant, but still it is full on weekends.
Kanin Club Menu
Appetizers and Salads
Rice and Noodles
Main Dish
Soups and Seafood
Seafood and Vegetables
Dessert and Drinks
Brown Rice (P22). One serving of steamed unmilled unpolished mountain-grown rice.
Aidan loves rice and he likes it as it is.
Crispy Dinuguan (P120) spicy pork stew flavoured by vinegar and pork blood like European blood sausage, except it's a stew.
When we knew that this version of the dinuguan contains crispy chicharon bulaklak, and other crispy pig internals, we wanted to stay away from this dish. My mind knew that this was not good for my health but my hands and mouth kept on eating this one spoonful at a time until it is finished. How can this classic filipino dish be so unhealthy but taste so good? Stay away if you want your cholesterol to be on the safe side...
Seafood Kare Kare (P240). The National Dish: Mussels, squid, shrimps and vegetables slowly cooked in peanut sauce. Served with bagoong. A rich dish that all Filipinos love.
The key to Kanin's club success is their sauces. The Kare Kare sauce with the bagoong is another thing that you can't resist. It has the right peanut and sweet taste that you like to keep coming back for more. There was too much tahong in this kare kare versus the shrimp or the squid even the veggies were kept at a minimal.
Suman and Mango. This is a relatively new dessert and it was too sweet for us. There were buco strips, macapuno and chocnut crumbles on top.
Turon KC ala Mode (P82). A Kanin Club Original. An updated version of your lola's turon. It was with bananas, purple yam jam, macapuno strips and monggo beans wrapped and deep-fried in a rice paper roll. Your halo-halo version in a roll with a scoop of ice cream on the side.
This was a hit in the pink kitchen. I like the idea of having the halo-halo ingredients inside the turon. We love this!
I do hope Aidan doesn't get fat with all the desserts he loves eating these days. I need to teach him to run marathons as early as now...
Kanin Club
Paseo de Sta. Rosa
(049) 544-0332
Reservations for Dinner only.
September 25, 2007 in 02. 100 Awesome Restaurants in the Philippines | Permalink | Comments (22)
Friday, September 21, 2007
Shroud of Turin
Is this the face of Jesus Christ?
I was hoping that the exhibit would have a profound effect on us. Unfortunately, it did not and I'll tell you why.
The exhibit proves that the cloth is authentic and a documentation of a man who was scourged, speared, crowned with thorns, and crucified during the time of Jesus Christ, as depicted in the bible. But there is no conclusive evidence that suggest how the full front and back image could occur on the Shroud without any distortion and by only residing in the outermost surface of the weave. This is the core of the mystery, how could this even be possible to have a silent account of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ as depicted in the Shroud of the Turin. It was amazing to see how the cloth survived through centuries and how it nearly escape destruction with some burn marks to prove it.
So when reason ends, faith begins. The Risen Christ theory suggest that the image was formed by the radiation created during the resurrection of Jesus Christ. I believe that the shroud is a miracle art where it depicts the brutal crucifixion but also the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. How can a piece of cloth be this powerful?
There are only two ways to look at the Shroud of Turin exhibit. The first one is that it is a P250 light and sound show of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and a documentary on all the evidences/ conclusions based on the countless studies on this cloth. The other way is to approach it with reverence like praying the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Holy Rosary and reflecting on Jesus' brutally murdered body to save us from our sins.
There are three parts in the exhibit. The first part is a meditation on the crucifixion of Jesus Christ by having life size dioramas of the Sorrowful mysteries. It is followed by a documentary on the Shroud of Turin and brings you up to date on all the studies on this mystery cloth. The last part is a personal journey on what the Shroud really means for you.
"In 2005, using the very latest digital photographic reproduction techniques, the Shroud has been recreated-- in life-size form on backlit and full-size transparencies, on full life-size digital prints and in both positive and negative formats, along with many close-ups of the individual detail of the man on the Shroud—and all these were exhibited in New Zealand for the first time."
(The Shroud Exhibit in the Philippines)
"The Shroud of Turin is a centuries old linen cloth that bears the image of a crucified man. A man that millions believe to be Jesus of Nazareth. Is it really the cloth that wrapped his crucified body, or is it simply a medieval forgery, a hoax perpetrated by some clever artist? Modern science has completed hundreds of thousands of hours of detailed study and intense research on the Shroud. It is, in fact, the single most studied artifact in human history, and we know more about it today than we ever have before. And yet, the controversy still rages. This web site will keep you abreast of current research, provide you with accurate data from the previous research and let you interact with the researchers themselves. We believe that if you have access to the facts, you can make up your own mind about the Shroud. Make sure you visit the page where you can Examine the Shroud of Turin for yourself. We hope you enjoy your visit."
(The Shroud of Turin by Barrie Schwortz)
What is amazing for me is that this is a full body 3d silent account of the brutal death of Jesus Christ. As you get closer to the life size replica image of the Shroud of Turin, you'll just notice the obvious burn marks. As you step back and look at it from a distance you can clearly see the face of Jesus Christ and the suffering he endured for our sins.
A miraculous Santo Entiero from Cebu is also on display after the exhibit. You'll appreciate this image even more after reflecting on what the shroud of Turin really means for you.
In the adoration chapel, you'll see the portrait of the dead face of Jesus Christ. There is no doubt in mind that it is indeed, Jesus Christ.
My only regret was that I approached the exhibit with the intent of blogging about it and the Devil capitalized on my curiosity. You will be tempted NOT to go to this exhibit either because of its P250 entrance fee or you'll conclude that this is just one of Henry Sy's gimmick to bring in traffic to the SM malls.
Approach it like going to a pilgrimage to the official exposition of the Shroud in Turin in 2025. The image is the same and we know for sure that the cloth is authentic. Let it touch your heart.
The Shroud of Turin Exhibit in SM Mall of Asia
Locked away in a cathedral in Italy, the Shroud of Turin is a mysterious artifact displayed only three or four times a century, drawing pilgrims from all over the world to witness its exposition. Although the next official exposition of the Shroud is slated in 2025, Filipinos do not have to wait for a couple more decades nor travel thousands of miles to see it.
For the first time in the Philippines, and the first time in Asia, Shroud Exhibits International, Inc. presents the Philippine Exhibition of The Mystery of the Shroud of Turin.
After enlightening New Zealand, the exhibit’s journey continues in the Philippines – the only predominantly Christian nation in Southeast Asia—as the country plays host to this very special exhibit that allows visitors to journey with the Shroud’s history, discover the facts and myths behind the Shroud, and unravel the mystery behind this treasured piece.
After a successful first leg at SM City Pampanga, the Mystery of the Shroud of Turin runs at SM Mall of Asia from Sept. 8 to Dec. 9; SM Davao from Jan. 18 to Feb. 3, 2008; and SM City Cebu from April 4-27, 2008.
P250 entrance fee. It is located opposite of the IMAX theatre beside the Fish & Company restaurant in the first floor.
For more details, contact Shroud Exhibits International, Inc. at 895-2966 or 610-0870, or email info@shroudexhibit.ph.
September 21, 2007 in 10. My Personal Journey in Loving God | Permalink | Comments (18) | TrackBack
