Krispy Kreme's Baked Creations - Bacon Love

I recently tried one of Krispy Kreme's Baked Creations, the Bacon and Cheese pull-apart (Php 75) available at Krispy Kreme Greenhills (one of two locations carrying the baked creations line). I love the bacon and cheese infusion and how they went well together with the soft and chewy bread. A little bit of mayo and black pepper made it more delicious. You have to try it!

Senator Dick Gordon with Moymoy Palaboy dances "In The Jungle"

This is how you do viral video campaigning. I agree with JuanCountry when he posted that the man behind this video of Presidential candidate Senator Dick Gordon collaboration with Moymoy Palaboy is plain genius! He is not afraid to try out new things, and that's one trait I admire of him. :) Kudos for this video! I love it! :))

No need to spend billions in TV & radio ads! Continuation please!

Paramore autographed items arrived for VIPs, PARA-AWESOME-TASTIC!

As a consolation to a last minute change of position of VIP and Gold ticket-holders to their "Live in Manila" concert, Paramore management agreed to give all their very insignificant patrons (err i mean, very important peoples)-ticket holders, through their Manila production counterpart, 5 personalized autographed Paramore photos, and an official Paramore Live in Manila autographed shirt each. :3 Very nice and cute peace offering if you asked me. But some of the people who paid Php 10,000, compared to the Gold ticket holders who just paid almost Php 4,000, are seriously pissed. I wonder what they think of this :)) I love Hayley Williams! Thank you! \m/

Susan Ople, Adel Tamano and Gilbert Remulla visit UP Diliman

I had the chance to follow Nationalista Party (NP) senatorial candidates Susan Ople (Estelle), Adel Tamano and Gilbert Remulla as they went around UP Diliman the other day. I had the privilege to ask them this question. “Why did you choose UP as one of your stops in the campaign and what can you say to all of the UP students?” You can read more about their campaign in UP on my article in Blogwatch.

Adel Tamano says that, “UP is special. The best and the brightest come here. My wife is a graduate of UP, which shows you how high and esteem I hold UP. It is important that before the students participate in the mock elections that we go to them. My message wasn’t vote for me. I came here to tell them to choose the best. Just like in UP, you don’t choose the most popular or the one who was a former UP student when you choose the students who will enter [the school, instead] they choose the best.”

“That’s the message I want the UP students to have – that they learn about all the candidates. I hope that they also learn about me, what my accomplishments are, what my track record is, so that they could choose. I am not saying that I am the best, but though I am saying is that let’s choose the best. I think we have had enough of Lito Lapid’s and Bong Revilla’s in our Senate, it’s time that we choose the best,” he stresses.


On the other hand, Gilbert Remulla, through his media officer Gelo Villar says, “Of course, it’s his Alma Matter. He has a sense of loyalty to UP, and also since he values education the most. The campaign is a way to give back the scholarship of a UP education to the taxpayers who paid for his studies. If he wins as Senator, he will be able to repay them with public service.”


His message to the UP students is to “make the most out of your stay, be active and vigilant to social issues around. It’s not all about studying, but to also to finish on time to give other worthy scholars a chance to have a UP education,” he says.

Susan Ople, through her daughter, said, "We chose UP as one of our stops because we believe the youth have the capability and desire to change Philippine politics for the better. We appeal to all voters, UP students or otherwise, to vote wisely. Look beyond celebrity and established names. New politics requires new names and faces in the Senate. So look at the new names more closely. Don't rely solely on media and ads. Google your candidates and share what you find out to fellow voters. If we do that, there is a better chance of us obtaining the change we deserve."

Cantonese Soup Kitchen's Healthy Soup Selection

A “Soup Kitchen” is usually identified to charitable activity that provides food for the homeless and those who are hungry during wintertime; since then, the term has been used everywhere to mean a feeding program for the poor or the malnourished.

This restaurant is far from being a feeding program, but nonetheless, it provides a variety of good food and nourishing soup and tea selections.


More than its food which you, more or less, can find in other Chinese restaurants (some of which you may find in pictures here below), I would like to highlight its selection of “Chinese Herbal Soups.” True to its name, “Cantonese Soup Kitchen,” this restaurant offers a wide variety of traditional soups which have medicinal properties good for one’s health.


The “Chinese Herbal Soup Menu is a most natural dietary way to good health. Adding Chinese herbs to soups is a long tradition and is a distinctive feature of Cantonese cuisine. Chinese herbs have very well known curative functions for the human body. And one of the most common way to use Chinese herbs is to brew them together with meats over slow fire for 2 to 3 hours, releasing all the essences and nutrients of the ingredients into the soup – which the body can absorb and assimilate quickly without having to digest and breakdown the meats and herbs.”

This is the most ideal and natural way to obtain loads of nutrients minus the calories.


Sibot w/ duck soup (Php 195) Sibot duck is one of the oldest and most popular Chinese herbal Soup recipes. This soup is famous for restoring energy and strengthening of the immune system, and is very good for men and women of all ages.


Black Chicken w/ 3 kinds of Ginseng soup (Php 220) This herbal soup is most beneficial to restore chi or energy. It is good for lungs, and invigorates blood to counter fatigue and stress, and effectively strengthens liver functions.


(L-R, T-B: Garlic Burst Spareribs, Seafood with Broccoli, Honey Glazed Pork, Beef Broccoli with Oyster Sauce, Steamed Fish Fillet with Japanese Tofu, and Cold Tofu w/ Pork Floss in Special Sauce)

Chowking's OH!some OH!range Chicken

Chowking launched its newest oh so delicious, oh so yummy, the OH!some OH!range Chicken at the Chowking Fort Bonifacio (Rizal Drive) with bloggers and cosplayers in attendance.

Literally, the whole Chowking was turned into the hottest dance club last night as Jericho Rosales, the new celebrity product endorser of the Chowking Orange Chicken, taught everyone the dance steps to the "Chicken Dance."


Hosting with Echo was Chef Rosebud Benitez, one of my celebrity chef idols who hosts QUICKFIRE at QTV, and Ginggay dela Merced.

I am sure you are wondering how this dance is done. So here is Jericho Rosales, more known as Echo in showbiz, teaching how to dance the Oh!some Ohrange Chicken Dance. Also, Chowking President Erwin Elechicon dances with Jericho Rosales in the next video.


In attendance was Alodia Gosiengfiao, famous internet icon and cosplayer; and other cosplayers like Megatron, War Machine and this cute little girl.


In line with this new campaign marks the 25th year of Chowking, one of the best Chinese fast food chain in the Philippines. It started in 1985 with its store at the Makati Commercial Center. Right now it has more than 400 branches not only in the Philippines but also in the US, UAE, Indonesia, and the Middle East.


The Orange Chicken costs Php 69 for the Rice Chow Meal with a generous portion of Orange Chicken and rice; Php 99 for the Lauriat, which includes crispy noodles, Chicharap and Buchi; and Php 125 for the Salo-Salo set ideal for sharing.

Photo of me with the Chowking President Erwin Elechicon

Goodbye Professor Emilia T. Boncodin, we'll miss you!

I had a hard time accepting that my professor's gone. I really can't believe it when the first text came in at around 3pm. Of all people, why Ma'am Emy? :( Suddenly, Inquirer tweeted it, then came GMA 7 News, then ANC ALERTS, and finally ABS-CBN News. Shucks, she's gone.

More than being my Accounting 1 professor in NCPAG, Ma'am Boncodin, as we students called her, taught us actual life lessons and stories in government, dealing with people and her job as a Cabinet Secretary.

I remember one instance during our Accounting class a few semesters ago, when she had to miss almost the entire class because she was interviewed by Korina Sanchez. It was at the height of the "NBN ZTE Brouhaha". After that, with almost only 30 minutes left for class, she cried to us. She cried because of her sincerity and her passion for this country. Allow me to quote part of my post last February 2008:

She explained to us the procurement system of government, where it is open and transparent. She blames it on us, Filipinos, because we let this thing happened. We weren’t “extra extra extra to the infinity” careful.

She told us that “ang mga pinag-aaralan ninyo, mga binabasa ninyo, wala ‘yan. Those things you’ll learn if you go into the bureaucracy.” What she can say is that, “never second guess the bureaucracy.” She’s angry at those people who keep on criticizing the government, the bureaucracy. She continues by saying, “you don’t know what it is to be in the bureaucracy. Unless you actually been in the bureaucracy, you don’t have the right to say those things.”

She also said that she’s sympathizing with Secretary Neri. She knows that he’s a good man, but right now, he can’t really get out of it already .”He boxed himself in.”

She didn’t sign the plea of the past cabinet secretaries, calling for the present cabinet secretaries, undersecretaries, etc, to resign. According to her, “they’re barking up the wrong tree.” Others shouldn’t suffer for the mistake of one, or the few. “Wala naman silang kinalaman.” She adds, “You know, there are a lot of good people in government. The sad thing is the ones who’re not good are always the ones being seen and featured.”

She ended by saying that “someday, you will make that choice.” You will have to choose “one way or the other.” There’s no neutral. You have to choose.

This is the most recent picture I took of Ma'am Emy Boncodin. I asked her to pose with a paper crane. It is to symbolize hope, a wish, for a clean, honest, peaceful elections this May 2010. Her hopes for the future of this country and its people shouldn't go to waste. I think the best way to honor her and her memories is to live it, to protect our vote and to ensure that this election pushes through cleanly, honestly and peacefully.

She has done her part, now let's do ours. I felt like I lost a hero and an "adviser," but her memories are dear and precious, and will hold them close to my heart. I am proud to say that she's my idol in government. I hope others follow her example.

I will update you on the plans of UP and or the National College of Public Administration (NCPAG) regarding tributes or masses (if there would be any) soon.

UPDATE FROM NCPAG: Necro for Emi Boncodin today (March 16) at de la Strada Church. Mass at 7pm, necro at 8pm. Inctegov necro tomorrow. DBM necro Thurs.

Malacanang endorses Design Against the Elements

Recently, I was able to step inside Malacanang Palace, the official residence of the President of the Philippines and where the seat of power of the Republic is located. It was a rare occasion that you get into the Palace and supposedly get to meet the President. This was this once in a lifetime chance, when I was invited as a blogger to cover the Design Against the Elements launch.



As their website simply puts it, the "Design Against the Elements is a global architectural design competition meant to find a solution to the problems presented by climate change. Spurred by the devastation wreaked in the Philippines by tropical storm Ondoy (Ketsana) and driven by a powerhouse multidisciplinary group of organizations from the private, institutional, and government sectors, the project aims to draw together the most innovative minds in the fields of architecture, design, and urban planning to develop sustainable and disaster-resistant housing for communities in tropical urban settings."

The winning design will be built as a prototype disaster-resistant and livable eco-village in Taguig City, Metro Manila. The village will be the first green and disaster-resistant community in the country. It will provide a model that can be studied and replicated in similar areas. The finished project will house a marginalized community living in an environmental danger zone, giving them a sense of security, ownership, and awareness of sustainability that can be practiced at all levels in their everyday lives.

Contest details, mechanics, and everything you need are found in this website.


The President was supposed to be there, but at the last minute, it was announced that she cannot make it. And so, we were breaking protocol (they said) to proceed with the ceremony without the host, the President, in the hall.

For me it was better because I wouldn't want to see the President, not this current one, at least. The Malacanang, as an architectural structure, is really awesome and filled with history. You cannot help but really bask in the awesomeness of the Palace.


This is the hall where we usually see of the President walking down in pictures. This leads to the hall where all the official activities/functions of the President is held. The hall is filled with portraits of all the past Presidents of the Philippines. Adjacent the hall, we see the famous painting Blood Compact of Juan Luna. It's so huge and amazing!


A food blogger is always a food blogger. This is what we were served during the event. Since it was Friday, and the Palace is observing Lent, there was no meat in the food that was served.