Thursday, April 21, 2016

Enjoying the Summer Heat in the City

Over the weekend, with temperatures nearing 40 degrees Celsius, it was tempting to just lounge around at home or in the mall and turn the AC to its lowest setting.

Surprisingly, athletes and sports enthusiasts heartfully managed to gather at Bonifacio High Street to have fun under the sweltering heat of the sun. 



They had art, rock climbing, camping and rock climbing all in one Outdoor Festival!




Even damsels in distress like me happen to get inspired with R.O.X. (Recreational Outdoor Exchange). It's a multi-storey building that houses brands that will prepare you to take on adventures outside of your comfort zone. R.O.X. has everything an apprehensive beginner or a hard-core pro would need to run, bike, camp, swim, surf or even climb! It really "lets you in so you can get outside!"


Meantime, last Sunday evening, the lovely candidates of Bb Pilipinas 2016 also celebrated the joys of summer at the Araneta Coliseum. With implements of the beach and the great outdoors, the stage was filled with bright lights as the  girls sashayed across the stage. 


PMAP model Maria Mika Maxine Medina bagged the Ms Universe Philippines crown.

Crowd favorite Kylie Versoza won the Bb Pilipinas International crown. It was interesting to note that her mom competed against former Bb Pilipinas Universe and TV personality Joyce Burton-Titular.


Last but not the least, the youngest of the Manalo sisters, Nichole Manalo, took home the Bb Pilipinas Globe award.

The judges obviously had a hard time deciding on who they would want to win this year. There were forty candidates and six crowns at stake including Ms Grand International and Ms Supranational; whereas years back they would only allow less than 30 candidates for coronation night and we only had three titles: Universe, World, and International.

Queen Pia's 2nd runner-up in Ms Universe, Olivia Jordan, served as one of the judges and helped in selecting winners who are as sweet as she is!


Saturday, April 2, 2016

Madrid Fusion Manila 2016

East meets West in the 2nd edition of Madrid Fusion Manila at SM Supermalls. Members of the media were given a taste of the Galleon Trade recently at Sarsa Bar+Kitchen at SM MOA as we traced our connection in history and integrated ingredients from different parts of the globe to modernize local dishes.

Chef Jayps of Sarsa Kitchen+ Bar taught us how to make Adobong Pusit Arroz Caldo. It was like the comforting soup version of Paella Negra. He added a touch of lemongrass to make it refreshing and crunchy squid that has the nice texture of lechon :) He topped it with more squid ink and achete oil.


Meantime, Chef Ed Bugia turned a rice dish into something more Chinoy.. Paellang Pancit! He said Pancit should be our national dish because there are so many versions of it.


He made it less intimidating over the stove without compromising the enticing colors and textures.

Sail away with Madrid Fusion at SM Supermalls til April 15