Fiesta!

It was fiesta when we visited my folks' place at Fairview. I took the opportunity to let the kids experience true-blue "peryahan," or a small barangay carnival, I really don't have an English word for it. :p I have great memories of the cheap thrills that comes along with going to "peryas." Back in the day, bets for "hulog-barya" or that game where you throw coins that must fit in squares on a board to win prizes was only 25 cents. Pellet gun stalls went for just P5 per magazine of 12. Now, it's P15. Rides cost only 10php. I was surprised ride tickets were sold at only P20. I haven't been in a carnival since college and that was when Pasiklab 2000 was still in Philcoa and we'd drop by after rehearsals from Dulaang UP.














We ate cheap popcorn and cotton candy


Someone got a bingo! See Kuya making a thumbs up (meaning the bingo was good)





P400 pesos later, check out my prize from throwing coins!

Persian Kabab

Throwing all dieting sensibilities aside, here am I and my gayest bestfriend, Carlo, at my favorite Persian food diner, Persian Kabab at Pioneer Street, Mandaluyong. It is seriously the cheapest Persian restaurant in existence. Even cheaper than on-the-go shawarma food stalls. You see, I have a love-hate relationship with Persian food. I enjoy eating it but after that I just want to barf it all out. Whatever things they put in there doesn't sit well with my stomach. I don't know if it's the spice or the yogurt shake or the garlic mayonnaise. The ONLY shawarma that doesn't hurt me is Tri-Mo Shawarma at Lagro, Quezon City but that one isn't even authentic. It's more Filipino. We had the place to ourselves. The server was super sleepy and assumed sleeping mode position on the sofa inside the restaurant, but she was fun. Can't blame her, we were the only customers, this day being a Monday dawn.













After all the beef, ox brains, hummus and spicy mayo that we had, we knew that we needed something else to hold down the acids gurgling in our tummies. We went straight to McDonalds and had some hot chocolate and more acid fries.





Have a good week!

Starbucks: Smoking No More

Before Starbucks officially banned smoking yesterday, me and my friend Carlo decided to commemorate all our Starbucks smoking days with a last hurrah! I no longer smoke, having kids make you stop all sorts of vices. (Well, I just turned to food. Bah.) Starbucks you are awesome because I literally pour all my stresses and negative energies on your establishments. You are a great shock absorber and you even award me with free frappucinos (got customer voice receipts hehe) and you never fail to send me home feeling so much better. You are five minutes from where I live, seriously, if I had a better friend of a restaurant, it's you.





Starbucks
Metrowalk, Ortigas Center, Pasig City

Disney Live! Comes to Manila and Cebu

No other cartoon company has been a part of my childhood as much as Disney has. Countless days and nights I have spent imagining I was a Princess Belle, Jasmine and Ariel wishing for that one day I will meet my true prince, talk to animals and belt like an opera singer. (Hah!) To this day I can sing Disney songs by heart and all the lyrics are pretty much encrypted in my brain. I imagined escaping to a world where I lived in a castle and wish upon a lamp, and a blue genie will grant everyone of my wishes, like owning a mall, and have pretty much everything I saw on TV from toys to cars. LOL. Such wild dreams were very much a part of my childhood. Back in the day when things were simpler, there was a very fine line between reality and the magical world of Disney.


Now I'm a fully grown adult and a mom to little people like how I was once was, I learned that we should never stop dreaming. This is what makes Disney so unique, a spark of dreams, family-friendly themes, history lessons and good values in a brand that has sought out generations and generations. My kids are not immune to loving Mickey and Friends, their preferred channel over other cartoon channels is still Playhouse Disney. I remember watching Disney on Ice from a time not too long ago. It was magical. I couldn't be happier that Disney Live! comes to Manila and Cebu for the first time.



Mickey Mouse and his band of friends, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck and Goofy will be performing in a music mash-up of mega proportions  as Disney Live! comes to Manila and Cebu City for the first time with its newest stage show Mickey’s Music Festival.  Concert goers will hear greatest hits from the blockbuster movies, Aladdin, The Little Mermaid, and Disney/Pixar’s Toy Story remixed to rock, pop, reggae, hip-hop, jazz and country, among other jams.  Produced by Feld Entertainment, Disney Live! Mickey’s Music Festival brings the biggest concert experience to hit live family entertainment.

   “One song can touch millions of people around the world and Disney has been at the beat of this concept for years by making music a main ingredient of storytelling,” said Producer and CEO of Feld Entertainment Kenneth Feld.  “In Disney Live! Mickey’s Music Festival we are celebrating with the Disney characters to a soundtrack of the latest sounds and chart-topping hits. We want our guests to walk away with lasting memories and singing these unforgettable melodies long after they leave the show.”

Disney Live! Mickey’s Music Festival, featuring an all star line-up of more than 25 Disney characters,   begins with audiences watching a state-of-the-art video projection of the frenzy backstage which spills onto the stage as Mickey welcomes guests to his concert tour.  Soon thereafter, they will be transported to a new world of hip hop beats, dizzying acrobatics, flying carpets and magical transformations with Aladdin, Jasmine and Genie.  Underwater is where the crowd will meet up with Ariel, Sebastian and their nautical pals to groove to the reggae rhythm. And, family and friends will stomp to the beat as Woody, Buzz and Jessie teach them how to boogie rodeo-style.  Anyone can be a member of the band as giant-sized balloons fall from the ceiling in one scene and then in the next, Disney characters are dancing in the aisles.  

“We’ve created an environment where audience members will be able to connect with the Disney stars,” said Alana Feld, Producer and Executive Vice President of Feld Entertainment. “Within each concert moment are elements of personal interaction and they will be harmonizing, dancing, laughing and having an outrageously good time with the characters right there in their city.”

Disney Live! Mickey’s Music Festival is presented in the Philippines by Vivre Fort Entertainment Inc. and is set to be staged this year at the Waterfront Cebu City Hotel from September 23-25 and at the Araneta Coliseum from October 5-9. For Manila shows, tickets are exclusively available at Ticketnet (911-5555) located in SM Department stores and at the Araneta Coliseum. For Cebu shows, tickets can be purchased at SM Tickets (032-231-3876) located in SM Cinemas, Waterfront Cebu City Hotel (032-232-6888), Ayala Center Cebu and also at Ticketnet. For more details, visit www.disneylive.com.ph or call Vivre Fort Entertainment at (02) 470 6956.

Can't wait!

PartyFuel Cocktails

When I was still in high school, I won A LOT of slogan contests. Whether I don't have much competition or am I truly talented, or the stars aligned just for me, my winning streak remains a mystery. But what I do know is I always liked winning some extra cash or in the absence of cash, bragging rights.


Apparently, my knack for slogans is still an existing part of me. I recently won an online contest sponsored by PartyFuel, a prolific mobile bar company seen at many events around the metro catering the best on-the-spot parties and master-mixing cocktails, mocktails and shots. I haven't experienced their mobile parties but my husband, E, already has, at the company he works for.


Look at the sweet package they personally delivered at my doorstep:





Well someone couldn't resist gettin (more than) a sip! Each bottle makes 25 shots.





The flavors: Tiramisu (P500)
Lipsmacking mix of Liquid Dessert

Coco Lychee (P500)

Ladies' Favorite Blend of Coconut and Lychee

Beach Bum (P500)

Feel the Beach with this Special Blend of Coconut and Pineapple

Strawberry Margarita (P500)

Strawberry Infused Classic Margarita

Mojito (P500)
Classic Cocktail with Mint and White Rum





They're stacked in the fridge in my parents' house. After my cleansing, we shall meet again. :D


Update: They are currently running a promo, all cocktails at P250 each! That's 50% off the regular price. Delivery is free for orders 5 bottles up or you can pick up at their Quezon City office. Visit Party Fuel Mobile Bar for more info. 

Circque du Soleil's Varekai in Manila!

They say you should see Cirque du Soleil at least once in your lifetime.

The touring arm of the world-renowned Cirque brings one of its best productions to Manila, Varekai. Varekai has been touring for the past nine years in North America, Australia and Europe and this is the first time they're performing in Asia. 

A short synopsis from Everything In Budget reads:

Varekai is a Cirque du Soleil touring production that premiered in Montréal in April 2002. Its title means "wherever" in the Romani language, and the show is an "acrobatic tribute to the nomadic soul". The plot is based loosely on the Greek myth of Icarus, who melts his wings after flying too close to the sun. Rather than drowning in the sea below him, in Varekai Icarus lands inside a lush forest, in which the creatures teach him how to fly again.

The Varekai troupe consists of 56 performers, of which there are a few principal characters. Varekai's acts comprise many acrobatic talents, ranging from aerial arts to Russian swing, among others.

Taken from The Manila Bulletin:


“What I love about ‘Varekai’ is that it was always meant to be a celebration of life,” Cirque du Soleil's Artistic Director for Varekai Matheiu Gatien shares. “From the beginning of the show, all the cast is onstage, and we really kick it off with incredibly beautiful music… very explosive. In times that are a bit difficult, economically and for different reasons, we need to give people a place to dream and to escape… and to just appreciate something that’s just beautiful.” 


For the first time in its storied history, the world renowned Cirque du Soleil comes to the Philippines with one of its touring productions. With a promise to bring its audience into an extraordinary world deep into the forest, at the summit of a volcano, where the story unfolds, “Varekai” will be an explosive fusion of drama and acrobatics set in a magical forest with fantastical creatures all joining the absurd-yet-extraordinary adventure of a young man in the midst of it all.


Just to give a brief idea of how intricate the production is, the costumes alone provide astounding figures. There are over 130 costumes in the show’s wardrobe—with a total of 600 original costumes, shoes, wigs, hats and accessories developed after over 33,000 hours of hard work. In North America, Cirque du Soleil has almost 400 full time employees working in fields as varied as shoemaking, textile design, wig-making, lace-making, and so on.

And because the show is so intricate, and without time to train local workers or even artists, Gatien admits they could only hire local front-of-house staff (ushers) as well as food and beverage people for each stop, like they would in Manila. “It’s more… [for] welcoming of the people. We trust the local people to know how to operate, how to speak to them, to make them really welcome in our big top,” he notes, but also adds, “The follow spot operator, we hire one every city, as a gesture.”


This not-to-be-missed spectacle runs from June 23-July 10, 2011 at the Blue-and-Yellow Grand Chapiteau (Big Top) Tent at the Luneta, across Quirino Grandstand. Make Varekai that once in your life chance to see Cirque du Soleil!