Event Post: Uncle Cheffy Unlimited Chicken and Pork Cracklings Food Review at Venice Piazza (August 8, 2015)

 

Aldous Calubad, an esteemed food blogger and well-connected PR person, invited me to try out one of the restaurant offerings at the semi-clandestine Venice Piazza, Bonifacio Global City. The area is a quaint mall owned by Megaworld Properties Inc. The logistical difficulty of getting to the place was remedied by the sumptuous serving of food given to us by Uncle Cheffy, a restaurant that mainly serves Italian fare such as pizza and pasta.  

For those who don't know, the establishment was popular in the past years for offering a Php 199 promo for its unlimited pizza and pasta. Now, however, their seasonal gimmick is an unlimited fried chicken and pork cracklings promo to be offered from July 29 until October 31, 2015. This is a refreshing variety to their normal Italian fare. 

When some bloggers asked the owner on what he had to say about the food, he had three words: Mura. Mabango. Masarap. According to him, this new promo is a testament to his claims about the freshness and taste of the food.

Upon testing, we found that the food accurately demonstrated the 3 M's the owner had been claiming. The high-fat fare was well-cooked and tasty. It wasn't too salty; and the meat wasn't tough and dry. Even with a single serving of rice, one can savor the copious amounts of chicken and pork being served because there were tender and juicy. The female diners, for some strange reason, enjoyed the unlimited meat which was the stereotypically typical Pinoy male pulutan (usually complete with beer). Its surprising to know that the dish caters to diners of different genders and age groups.

 

The meal wasn't complete with the meat. While not part of the promo, we also had a generous helping of their Anchovy and Mushroom Panizza. One can enjoy it by rolling it together with tomato salsa, alfalfa, and lettuce. The pizza was cooked well and wasn't too salty too. The mushroom and the veggies provided us with a wonderful alternative to all that meat served earlier.

Lastly, the buffet wasn't complete without the much needed dessert. We were given not one, but two servings. First was the leche flan; and the second was the brownie cheesecake. I gladly approve of these two dishes due to their focus on a variety of flavors and not merely an overload of sweetness. These were not merely sugary treats; they also had an emphasis on the presentation and balancing of flavors. Both desserts were not bland, either.

According to Uncle Cheffy, the buffet rules are:

1. The buffet is for 90 minutes per person only

2. Any excess in eating for 90 minutes be charged another Php 199 for another 90 minutes

3. There is no sharing, no leftovers and no take out

4. Left overs will be charged 300 per head

5. Refills will only be granted to those who have cleaned their plates.

Only certain branches of Uncle Cheffy offer this promo. These are:

Bluewave Stripmall, Marikina
Robinsons Metro East, Pasig
Venice Piazza McKinley Hills, Taguig City
Solenad Nuvali, Sta Rosa Laguna

Do check their FB page at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Uncle-Cheffy/195383127315?fref=ts

And that is all. Stay tuned for my next post!

The meal in pictures:

The flagship dish of the promo: the 199 eat-all-you-can crispy fried chicken and pork cracklings of Uncle Cheffy. This is truly a high fat delight for people who enjoy such fare

Although not part of the promo, we were given their complementary Mushroom and Anchovy Panizza which can be rolled into bite-sized chunks with alfalfa, lettuce, and tomato salsa. It was a refreshing dish after all that fat

 

We even had two servings of dessert: the leche flan which had a tempered sweetness - the syrup was not too overwhelming for the taste

and the brownie cheesecake which was fully loaded with all that cheesy and creamy goodness together with a sweet helping of brownie chunks, syrup, and a cherry

Special thanks to:

Mr. Aldous Calubad of http://www.aldousatetheworld.com/ for the invitation
Ms. Gladsy Gozon of http://www.flywithg.com for the invitation.
Ms. Lina Peralejo of https://thebackpackingballerina.wordpress.com for the pictures.

PLDT #BeTheBoss Campaign powered by Rappler, PLDT SME Nation, and Smart Enterprise Launch Event (August 5, 2015)

In the month of August, blog events are a plenty. To cap off my participation and attendance as a blogger, I went to the PLDT SME Nation #BeTheBoss launch event. This was possible through the generosity of Ms. Millet Liberato of DDB. The event was held at the newly opened Brewery at the Palace located in the Fort Bonifacio, Global City. PLDT SME Nation pampered its attendees with a lot of fun games and surprises. More than 5 Samsung Galaxy Tablets were given away to lucky bloggers via raffle, while almost everyone got a powerbank. Add to that the fact that the goodie bags were filled with high quality peripherals such as European designed water bottles, soft laptop covers, USB Flash Disks, and Cellphone accessories.

Another special mention was the food. It truly catered to the tastes of the guests. There was sisig pizza which boasted of a cheesy overload, a selection of German sausages which had a variety of tastes, mini-cheeseburgers with a helping of beef patties, and the obligatory buffet which was for meat lovers. There was beer-cooked beef, chicken terriyaki, baked potato, salad, and the tangy pasta.

The establishment, though, was famous for its freshly brewed varieties of foreign craft beers. Up to 5 varieties of fresh beer was served to the guests. I did try the Indian Pale Ale at 5% alcohol. I'd say that the combination of sweet and bitter tastes did a lot to make my day. Now on to the business side of things!

Last August 5, 2015, PLDT SME Nation, one of the subsidiaries of the Telecom Giant Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company Inc.,  revealed its latest pet project - the Bozz Awards. This initiative consists of a crowdsourcing program for a select group of budding tech entrepreneurs. These people must be known for heavily utilizing technology to accomplish their business objectives and building their commercial platforms. Also, they must be the creators of revolutionary innovations in the way they conduct their enterprises.

For this campaign, PLDT SME specially partners with Rappler.com, an online media giant with an extensive social media presence. Through this approach, the program hopes to disseminate the event and further inspire Filipino business people in creating and replicating the success stories of those who have gone before them. The initiative also desires to empower Filipinos in embracing the challenges and risks of the digital era. For this purpose, Rappler becomes the main promoter of the Bozz Awards and handles the crowd-sourcing aspect.

According to PLDT First Vice President and Head of SME Business Kat Luna Abelarde, PLDT SME Nation has consistently been at the forefront of celebrating success stories in business as well as promoting a new breed of entrepreneurs. While the MVP Bossing awards has always been there to champion the cause of business giants, the Bozz Awards, on the other hand, promotes up-and-coming startups. Talk about a way of equalizing the playing field!

The Bozz Awards event is merely the start of PLDT's Small Business Month program that seeks to give more opportunities to small players and help them achieve success. Do expect to see more activities in store for SME's in the coming weeks!

For those interested, the qualification for joining this elite program are as follows:

Entrepreneurs must be:

1. at most 45 years old.

2. based in the Philippines

3. business owners for at least 2 years

4. falls under the categories of

       a. The Boss for Mobile Readiness

       b. The Boss for E-commerce

       c. The Boss for Social Media

       d. The Boss for Customer Service

       e. The Boss for Social Responsibility and Entrepreneurship

The public can nominate an entrepreneur who fulfills these categories through the official  site developed by Rappler. The nominations will start on August 10, 2015. 15 nominees will be chosen. The nominees will have to be under the 5 aforementioned categories. Also, a maximum of three 3 persons per category will be chosen in the initial selection. The scoring to be given by the panel is divided into 5 aspects, namely: Promising Entrepreneurial Journey at 20%, Market/Brand Affinity at 20%, Integration of Tech to Business at 30%, and Product Service Innovation at 30%. The public vote will comprise 40% of the score while the panel vote will comprise 60% of the rating. After a public voting campaign and panel deliberations, only 5 people (1 per catgeory) will be chosen in the awards events. The winners will be announced in the culminating celebration of the first ever Bozz Awards campaign.

The winners of this competition will be given a Smart Enterprise Biz Kit comprising hardware essential for their business, as well as SMART's data subscription package. This way, these enterprises can ensure that their online presence will be bolstered. This package can also help them streamline their operations. As an added bonus, the winners will be given a chance to go to Silicon Valley, California, to inspire them to improve their tech startups.

#BeTheBoss now! Visit rappler.com/betheboss to know more about this campaign. Also, know more about the Brewery at the Palace at https://www.facebook.com/TheBreweryAtThePalace.

Special Thanks to:

Ms. Millet Liberato of DDB PR for the invite

Rappler.com for the pictures.

Novuhair: Nature's way of preventing hair loss

Last August 5, 2015, popular singer-composer Abby Asistio engaged the traditional and online media community about her discovery of a revolutionary hair care product called Novuhair. The venue was at Runner's Kitchen at Tomas Morato, Quezon City. The media was generously treated to a sumptuous lunch consisting of fried longganisa with couscous and green mango garnish. We also got a taste of organic dalandan juice and sweet cream puff. After the meal, Abby serenaded us with her lovely music. However, the event wasn't complete without the main event: an intimate discussion on Abby's struggle with Alopecia Aratea. While successful in her career as Singer-songwriter, TV host, and the poster girl for alopecia in the country, Abby still had that dismay and frustration about her condition before discovering Novuhair. She was diagnosed with alopecia areata since 4 years old. It is an autoimmune condition characterized by the loss of hair due to damaged hair follicles. The physical manifestation of this is the loss of hair on all parts of the body. As a result, Abby became bald and had to wear wigs or caps to cover her condition. She had to contend and overcome various physical, emotional and psychological obstacles.  Having exhausted almost all possible treatments to no avail, Abby finally came to terms with her condition and even rose above it. She went public with her condition in 2012, but still had that longing for a full head of hair. After her public outing in 2012, Nutramedica, the makers of Novuhair, reached out to Abby. She once heard of it from brand endorser Fanny Serrano, but was reluctant at first. She was eventually convinced to try it, and the rest is history. She even became brand endorser for the product. Now, she is very content with her new look. She boasts of a full head of hair, and isn't afraid to show off her head. She claims that it has been growing consistently for the past two years. She promotes the products through her long-time Aloepecia Philippines advocacy and speaks in conferences locally abroad to show the changes in her condition. From her story, we can truly say that Novuhair has proven to be a natural remedy that works.

  

As the all-natural remedy to hair loss, Novuhair is renowned for its Topical Scalp Lotion, 2-in-1 pack that includes a topical scalp lotion and a herbal shampoo, 3-in-1 pack that includes a topical scalp lotion, herbal shampoo and a herbal conditioner, and the new 2-in-1 Plus One pack that includes 1 topical scalp lotion and 2 herbal shampoos. Made of herbal ingredients that include moringa oleifera, panax ginseng, virgin coconut oil and the essences of peppermint, lavender and rosemary, Novuhair helps improve blood circulation to the scalp while increasing its nutrient supply, thereby preventing and remedying hair loss.

Its effectiveness has been championed by Salon Expert Fanny Serrano, Singer/Composer & Alopecia Warrior, Ms. Abby Asistio, Natural Health Advocate & Trivia Expert, Kuya Kim Atienza   and Tim Yap – Eventologist & Entrepreneur.

Novuhair is exclusively marketed and distributed by Nutramedica, Inc. For more information, visit www.novuhair.com, Facebook Page: Novuhair Official, follow on Twitter: @NovuhairNatural or call Novuhair hotlines at 413.6570 or 0922.883.0575. The product is available in all Mercury Drug Outlets, Watsons Outlets, and Lazada.ph.

Special Thanks to:

Mr. Arnold Yew of http://www.citylifemanila.asia for the pictures

Event Post: Metro Online Influencers Kapihan 2015 at Wheatberry Cafe

Last July 31, 2015, the first Metro Online Influencers Kapihan was held at Wheatberry cafe along Roces Avenue, Quezon City. I was invited by Mr. Paolo Florenda, an esteemed PR and Marketing Manager. The event was a gathering of prominent personalities in politics and the social media sphere who were there to discuss some of the most popular topics circulating around the online sphere. These people are Sen. Antonio Trillanes, Manila Vice-Mayor Isko Moreno, Atty. Karen Jimeno, Abs-Cbn News Anchor Ms. Lynda Jumilla, Social Media Specialist Ms. Janette Toral, and Social Weather Station Research Specialist Dr. Ana Tabunda. Each of them had their own take on their perception of the current social media landscape and its use to their respective occupations as important influencers of society.

To lead off the discussion, Sen. Antonio Trillanes III announced the importance of social media. He recounted an experience wherein he used the then burgeoning social media site called Friendster to field his political campaign as a candidate for Senator. As a result, his popularity as a viable candidate without his physical presence in actual rallies and events due to his temporary detention.

On the other hand, Mr. Isko Moreno recounted the advances of technology which were beneficial to his urban development project as the vice-mayor of Manila. His tech-savvy policies involved the use of Facebook, internet connected CCTV's, Twitter, and email. He used these platforms to monitor the health and safety of Manila's streets, as well as provide data to his constituents regarding class suspensions, garbage disposal, crime prevention, and accountability checks of public officials. He claims to have seen the success of electronic media to achieve these ends.

Ms. Janette Toral explored a different page of social media, notably e-commerce. She noted that  developments in this field will be improved by physical economic developments such as a poverty alleviation program spearheaded by the government, tax incentives and reduction, Internet speed and connectivity improvements, and establishment of electronic payment systems. Through these processes can the Filipino e-commerce field become a dominant market player in the future.

Ms. Lynda Humilla, on another note, explored the importance of accountability in maintaining an online persona. With the protection of anonymity online, anyone can express anything and even utter irresponsible and baseless dialogue. She urged the listeners to practice accountability and transparency in maintaining an online presence. She also recognized the need to exercise discipline in expressing views online. 

Dr. Ana Tabunda explored the statistics of increasing internet use in the country. She noted the rapid spike of users and data bandwidth transfers originating from the Philippines. With this exponential growth rate in usage, she only hopes for the best in the development of the social media sphere.

Lastly, Atty. Karen Jimeno summarized the previous speakers' points. She also tackled questions and doubts regarding the cybercrime law and the data privacy act. She claimed that these laws improve the penalties against persons who use the electronic sphere to commit crimes such as hacking and online libel. In her answers, she noted that the new law closes the lacunae of electronic publication that isn't within the ambit of the 1935 libel law in the Revised Penal Code. She also dispelled the fears posed by a blogger that the laws threaten the freedom of speech and do little to solve the problem of hate speech. Instead she focused on the laws' power to help regulate the online sphere and prevent abuse.

In conclusion, the event showed the members of the media that the internet has a variety of uses, particularly in enhancing one's presence and promoting advocates. But with this power must come an understanding and practice of discipline that will enable an online citizen to become a responsible and beneficial member of the virtual community in the internet.

The story in pictures:

(Left to Right) Lynda Humilla, Ms. Janette Toral, Sen. Antonio Trillanes III, Vice-Mayor Isko Moreno, and Dr. Ana Tabunda

Another shot

Atty. Karen Jimeno - Moderator for the day

Special Thanks to 

Mr. Paolo Florenda for the invite

Mr. Arnold Yew of easternmotors.info for the pictures

Metro Online Influencers Kapihan Facebook Page for the pictures