Asian Street Food Festival at Novotel Manila with Chef Sau del Rosario

Street food reigns supreme in Asia. The best food is found not in fancy restaurants, but in the carts and stalls lining busy streets and quiet alleys. But of course, you’ve got to be wary of the food sanitation. It’s such a good thing that Novotel Manila understands this. Thus, they’ve come up with Asian Street Food Festival. They even made collaboration with celebrity chef and well-known Capampangan, Chef Sau del Rosario as they'd be featuring Asian Streetfoods with a twist at Novotel Manila's Food Exchange buffet spread.

From August 17 to September 3, 2017, the Food Exchange at Novotel Manila Araneta Center will be featuring cuisines from eight Asian countries through the Asian Street Food Festival. Spearheaded by Filpino celebrity chef and restaurateur, Chef Sau del Rosario, eight chefs from the region will be preparing street food and classic dishes from their respective countries and will be featured on the buffet spread of the restaurant.

Chef Sau del Rosario with Head Executive Chef at Novotel Manila Michael Schauss

Quezon City Mayor Herbert Bautista graced the said media launch

Street food in Asia is something that supports the development of cities, provides quick snacks for people in a rush, and enables poorer people with fewer cooking tools at home to buy food that is full of flavor and cultural history. Some of the found recipes are those which have gained international popularity, but their origins are rooted deep in Asian culture, as well as disputes between countries claiming to have created them.

Gangnam Wings at Megastrip: Bringing Korea's Authentic Fried Chicken 'Just the way It Should Be'

GangnamWings at SM Megamall Megastrip (near Building A) welcomes its guests with colorful facade

The messiest food craze to hit the Philippine shore has to be Gangnam Wings’ juiciest and tastiest spicy wings. Said to serve ‘how Korean fried chicken should be’, it has the most authentic tasting Korean fried chicken in town. Just make sure you get plenty of tissues and a box for the bones. And if you're ordering the spicy variant, don't forget to ask for milk, Yakult or a huge glass of water beside you to 'extinguish' the 'fire that will surely dance on your mouth.'

Gangnam Wings' Sweet and Spicy drizzled sauce chicken wings

It’s crisp, juicy, and in some cases so chilli-drenched you’ll be at risk of hallucinating. They even let you order chicken wings with different dipping sauces so you can try all the chicken variants in a single order.

They’ve been fried not just once, but at least twice and sometimes three times, and licking your fingers is perhaps the best part. Nope, it’s not KFC, but don’t be surprised to find yourself licking your fingers in between eating a mouthful of Gangnam Wings. 

Order them in bulk with three different dipping sauces so you can try everything in a single order!

Korean fried chicken swept the Philippine foodie scene by storm and its appeal has been unstoppable thanks to its liberal use of sugar, chili, and the signature twice-fried technique to produce its thin, crackly and almost transparent skin. So what do I love about Gangnam Wings? For one, they’re never  greasy, always delicious, the finger-licking becomes a second course, so it’s nice to know that it’s always served with plastic gloves and a bin of tissues.

Repertory Philippines' Beauty & the Beast Children's Theatre at Onstage Greenbelt

Musicals come in many forms and can be singular experiences in different world cultures. We have had our own great traditions of musical theatre and many of our classical and folk theatrical forms are rooted in music and singing. After fashion, it may be said that our films are well-crafted musicals. Yet the idea of razzmatazz...the grand spectacle in musical theatre is similar to that from Broadway/West End that has proved to be incredibly successful. Its allure and extraordinariness are bankrolled and bundled in an 'experience' that must be had, that must be consumed. Repertory Philippines' latest offering for their Children's Theatre, staging Beauty and the Beast, the original tale by novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve. But of course, they also included some entertaining elements from the 1991 well-loved Disney film. Thus, this tale as old as time story also offers the same thrill and magical experience.

Sure, it may not be from Disney, but it's still as magical and awesome as I remember it to be. And as expected in any REP production, director Joy Virata, who is also the artistic director for REP, delivers a predictable, yet resounding spectacle, complete with spectacular sets, orchestrated lighting, choreography, and the works. 

The production is also distinguished by its cast. The main cast is solid. They are competent singers as well as actors, thus doing justice to the nature of a musical. The star of the show is clearly Cara Barredo who plays Beauty, but George Schulze, the guy who played the Beast, is fairly good too. Cara [as Beauty] seems perfect in her role.  

Mimi and Fifi [Beauy's sisters] with their suitors Pierre and Jacques

For REP's production of Beauty and the Beast, the story began with a merchant returning home from a failed business trip who sought shelter from a storm in a seemingly unoccupied palace with an enchanted rose garden. After the storm subsides, he plucks a rose from the garden to give to the youngest of his three daughters, only to discover that the palace and garden are enchanted and owned by a terrifying beast. The beast demands that the merchant send his youngest daughter, Beauty, to live with him in payment for the rose, a demand to which the brave maiden agrees.

Beauty with her sisters Mimi and Fifi

Schulze is one of the most articulate actors I have known and can deliver his lines with humour, irony or sarcasm as the case may be. The rest of the team, including the table, the chair, the roses, the candelabra, the silver rose—were all in their element. Quite remarkably, staging the said show can really be a challenge. The flip side though is that this is clearly an attempt, albeit a sincere one, to recreate the 'Disney live action' recent film [which had no less than Emma Watson (Harry Potter's Hermione Granger) as Beauty]. Comparisons in any case would be unfair. But could this REP version have been more challenging and persuasive? Perhaps. 

Cara Barredo plays as Beauty while George Schulze plays the Beast/Prince

I had almost forgotten this classic fairy-tale with its origins in France. When early in the show, Beauty gets exuberant about dreams and adventure, and being the 'odd' one in her family, I sat up. Aah, she brought me back to my childhood as I relish the 1991 Disney film inside my thoughts. Of course, she plies the familiar route eventually, but not before she has the guts to love a 'beast' and reveals that beauty need not be external. It's a perfectly acceptable moral by a spirited heroine for children to take home. Watch this production with your little ones, the bigger ones, or otherwise, and you are in for a captivating theatrical experience with the very capable and charming Cara Barredo leading the show.

Book and Borders Cafe Opens in Manhattan Residences, Araneta Center Cubao

Whoever thought to combine books and coffee was onto something. Just like Book & Borders Café, it takes every customer into a whole new level of experience. At this aptly named cafe, all the books face out from the shelves so you can digest their covers and gobble them up as you please.

This may be the ideal curl-up café: aside from an array of best-sellers, the store has cozy ambiance and comfy seats, while the balcony fronting the other buildings is a perfect spot to indulge in their ridiculously large number of food offerings (including, er, awesome pasta, sandwiches and sweet pastries!). But the walls inside this buzzing café are the highlight; the large colourful bookshelf reminiscent of London and Paris street scene with some of the best-selling books as well as new releases. And there is also a small space, which is used for local artists to perform.

Ribbon Cutting of Book & Borders Cafe Manhattan Araneta Center Cubao

Book & Borders executives: Ms. Mary Simisim, Ms. Nancy Go, Ervic Vijandre,  Book & Borders ambassador Benjamin Alves, Ms. Korina Sanchez along with other VIP guests during the grand opening.

This third branch of Book & Borders Cafe leads a double life: café by day, tapas bar by night… dealing in books on the side. Literally – one side of this café are filled with books, some rare, some can only be found at this café.  During their opening night, they had guests like Karylle who rendered a few songs, Shiela Valderrama, a veteran stage and musical actress and Bossa Nova singer, Sitti. I wonder if they could also feature open mic poetry nights which could draw in the hip young crowd who sit in the outdoor establishments to soak up the world’s literary greats—and some caffeine fix perhaps. 

It's Showtime host and singer Karylle Tatlonghari-Yuzon sings for the guests of Book & Borders Cafe opening

11th International Silent Film Festival 2017 at The Shangri-La Plaza Mall

'Tis the season to be merry if you're a film enthusiast. Save the date, guys and mark these red-letter days as Shangri-La Plaza Mall in cooperation with participating embassy partners present one of the much-awaited film festivals--The Silent Film Festival 2017! Now on its 11th year, they have awesome movie line up as always. Check these out: