Dining @ Mannang, Mall of Asia

After a bit of discussion of where to eat before watching Ice Age 3 last night, Yobs and I ended up dining at Mannang. Mannang is distinguished by its tandem of Chinese and Filipino cuisine while its sister company, Mann Hann, is renowned for its basic Chinese delicacies.

We ordered lechon macau, clam soup, steamed brocolli with oyster sauce, plain rice and honey lemon iced tea. The clam soup has a taste of lemon grass and ginger, which made us crave for more. Yobs said it has a soothing effect on him. There's nothing different with the brocolli but it is one of my favorite veggies so it is always special for me. The lechon macau is just as crispy as chicharon. Dipped in gravy, you can almost forget your name.

It was a satisfying meal :) We were both satisfied with the taste, the serving, the ambiance and the customer service of Mannang Restaurant. We'll surely come back!

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Adel's Birthday Treat @ Hap Chan - Malate

Adel celebrated her nth birthday yesterday with her Corres kapamilya @ Hap Chan - Malate. After office, we excitedly went to the venue. Videoke-ing is one of the favorite bonding activities of our officemates since almost all of us are "gifted" with the talent. Right, Cuz?

The dinner was great, especially the beef with brocolli in oyster sauce and the breaded fried shrimp. I also loved their chilled taho in syrup. It was a delightful meal really. Thanks, birthday girl!

I got home @ 1:15 A.M. today, slept for three hours, and woke up @ 4:30 A.M. Kahit na puyat, super enjoy naman!

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The New You Achievement Awards (NYAA) 2009 by Fitness First

Geiser Maclang texted and invited me to attend the New You Achievement Awards (NYAA) 2009 conducted by Fitness First Philippines. For the past few months, I seldom attended events like this due to my busy schedule but since being healthy and fit is one of my priorities, I didn't hesitate to come. I asked my two friends to come with me - Edel and Melai - so that they can also witness this important event.


"As a business geared towards improving people's lives, the NYAA is concrete proof of Fitness First's commitment to deliver real results to real people," said FF Phils. Country Manager Mark Ellis.




The competition concluded a winner in each category and a grand winner from the overall competition. They are Roderick Beco (Shape Category), Dr. Eileen Lorenzo (Sports Category), Alfonso Flores (Strength Category), Brandon Bon (Staff Category) and the grand winner, of course, is Angelica Balatbat from the Health Category. Sen. Freddie Webb and Ms. Pinky Amador were present during the event.


"Seeing our members look better and live healthier is our motivation to constantly innovate and remain at the forefront of fitness. We hope more people will follow the lead of these inspiring individuals and welcome the dawn of a new and better life," ended Ellis.


I was also inspired by the dramatic changes in the lives of the 15 contestants, and for sure, Edel and Melai were encouraged to join FF, too. We went home happy, especially because we got a free one-month membership in Fitness First. Hmmmn... this is just the beginning!

Photo Credits: Az Coladilla, Edel Mabalay and Carmela Alvarado

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Something to Ponder On...

Last Wednesday, our choir had been invited to sing for a necrological mass. I was touched by the sermon of the priest. I'll try to tell you the same story as how I remember it...

One day, a lay minister died, ascended to purgatory and met St. Peter. As the saint scanned his computer (yes, St. Peter uses a computer for his database) to check how well did the lay minister do while on Earth, he discovered that the lay minister did many good things and some bad. St. Peter said, "Ok, ok, I can't decide whether to give you the keys to heaven or let you stay in the fire underneath. So I'll be giving you a spelling test. If you spell this word correctly, you pass the test. Here it goes... spell "LOVE."

The lay minister answered, "Oh, that's very easy! LOVE, L-O-V-E, Love." "Oh well... you're correct. You may now enter the gate of heavens."

The next day, St. Peter decided to go for an out-of-purgatory vacation. He chose the lay minister to replace him as the guardian of heaven's gate. Then came the next soul. It's the lay minister's wife. "Oh, darling, you're here! Let me check if you did well on Earth."

The lay minister went on with the list. "Darling, you did great when you were still alive but you also did some sins, most of them I don't know." Upon realizing the secrets of his wife, he also gave her a spelling test, a harder one."

"Spell CZECHOSLOVAKIA." The wife was stunned and said, "Darling, I don't know that. You made this test very hard for me."

"Then, you can't be with me in heaven..." the lay minister said.

The moral of the story is "God always makes things easy for us. He helps us in our trials and leads us to His kingdom. But we, humans, always make things difficult for others. We keep on pulling each other down and making others' lives miserable."

Who are we to judge other people when we, ourselves, are also imperfect?
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Some Photos

I was browsing a kababayan's webpage at WOW Sibuyan Island Network site when I saw some photos that he took while he was on a vacation last summer. I was just amazed with some of the pictures and I, somehow, miss my hometown upon seeing these shots.

We call these young group the "Hagis Boys." They actually swim and dive near ships and boats while docked on ports and wait for passengers and tourists to throw coins. When the coin falls in the water, they will dive together and whoever finds the coin gets it. I can't remember what part of Magdiwang (Romblon) is this but the mountain ranges on the background is the mystic Mt. Guiting-Guiting, which is one of the best climb destinations for local and international mountaineers. The line of trees that you can see are mangroves. Perhaps this was taken at a part where tabang and sea water meet.

Again, it's the ever beautiful G2 on the background but now, it was taken in a rice field or "lanasan." Agriculture is one of the modes of economy in our municipality and rice is the basic crop, along with copra.

This is a housing project of the local government that will benefit residents who live in the coastal areas of Magdiwang, particularly those in Brgy. Burias. Most of them are fisher families. This housing projects aims to provide them with a better and safer place to live in as we all know that it is really risky and dangerous to live near the sea, especially during typhoons.

(Photos courtesy of Mr. Don John Morgado)

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Missing My Sisters...

I'm panicking! I'm hearing no news and reading no blog updates from my dearest sisters, Janice and Jena :) I'm wondering what's keeping them busy now. I hope they could just chat, text, call, e-mail or blog a bit so that I would know how they are doing out there.

I'm just missing them...
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SMARTalk, Girl Talk and Kilig Talk =)

SMARTalk 100 of Smart Communications is such a great deal! It really connects people.

Yesterday, Ate Joy and I super enjoyed this promo because of its "unlimited call" feature. And what better way to enjoy it is to communicate with a friend and have some girl talk.

...And when you say "girl talk," lovelife would be on top. Hehehe! I was so overjoyed while chatting with her because we're talking about boys and special friends. *Kilig to the bones*

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