HALLOWEEN'S HERE!

Halloween's coming up. In just two days, in fact.

If you're not going off for the weekend to the cemetery, province or even those quasi-Outer Banks rentals then maybe these events may prove to be great vacation alternatives...

These events are guaranteed to entertain and spook the young ones and young once. And whichever way you decide to spend this weekend, Maver is wishing you a Happy Halloween!

BOO!

In the spirit of Halloween, I had to this to cap my lunchbreak...Mr. Pumpkin Head, an obvious enemy of Allie, is just one of Krispy Kreme's Halloween donuts being featured this month. I had a ball eating Mr. P with my drink of the moment--KK's Iced Capuccino.

It may interest you to know too, that Krispy Kreme is offering a "spooktacular" treat for you. Kids can join Krispy Kreme's annual Boo Bash event on October 31, where those who come in their favorite Halloween costume get a free goodie bag!

LESS-THAN-STELLAR CEL

Consumer Electronics Live! 2008 was was a huge disappointment.

From so much wasted space, to unimaginative displays, to poor product demos, CEL Manila was testament that we still have a long way to go in terms of technology and modernity.

The trademark elements were there--shiny cars (which I guess, came bundled with car insurance), LCD screens, lounge chairs and long-legged models, and save for some booths like that of Nokia's and Mac's (which both lacked miserably in product demo "kusa,"), my CEL experience fell flat on its face.

I wasn't too interested to go around the booths SMX Exhibit Hall, and just snapped away while my son (and husband) tinkered with some of the displays.Better luck next time, guys. If there will ever be one.

DIGGIN' DEBENHAMS

No, you do not need eyeglasses.

With the Yuletide season in the offing, expect to get shopping alerts by the minute. From malls, to restaurants to your favorite outlets, the deals and steals get bigger and better. And I'm positive that this is another offer you probably can't refuse...So get ready to strut your shopping smarts. I'm sure you'll dig this Debenhams event!

A LUXURY SHOPPING EVENT

Get ready for two full days of exciting shopping splendor from Manila’s top uprising local designers of clothes. On October 31 and 31, thousands will come together at the Rockwell Tent as the finest event of the year unfolds--the 1st shopping soiree in the country!

Luxe: a luxury shopping event, is organized by Apex Production & Events Organizer.

For more info/bookings, you may contact Ms. Jessa at 480-5667, 0926-6941700, 0923-8017708 or log on to http://apexeventsorganizer.multiply.com.

So get ready to give that credit card limit a strut!

LA LANCOME

The much-awaited Lancome flagship store opens its doors this weekend at Greenbelt 5!Lancome Paris invites you to the opening weekend of the country’s first Lancome boutique on October 23 to 26, 2008, 11am to 9pm, Level 1, at the newly-opened wing of Greenbelt 5.

Enjoy these exclusive Lancome services:

Complimentary skin analysis using Lancome's exclusive Diagnos Expert;
Free beauty makeovers from our Colour Experts;
Lancome's luxurious facial treatments, available for the first time in the country;
Limited edition make-up boxes, samples, and more!

A.VENUE.TO.SHOP

THINK PINK

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

If you want to make a real difference in the fight against breast cancer, the choice of a pink product might just help you give a little bit more. Here are some of the great things that come in pink packages...

Bobbi Brown Pink Ribbon Collection

Bobbi Brown will be donating $35,000 in connection with the North American sales of Pink Ribbon Collection to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation.($40.00)

Estée Lauder
Elizabeth Hurley
High Gloss Lip Color Collection

Estée Lauder will donate $500,000 in connection with the sales of its Pink Ribbon Collection to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation.($16.00)

Prescriptives
Pink Ribbon Collection

Prescriptives will donate $30,000 in connection with sales of the Super Line Preventor Xtreme Franchise to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation (Concentrate: $38.00)

Tommy Hilfiger Toiletries
Dreaming Tommy Hilfiger
Eau de Parfum Spray with Charm

Tommy Hilfiger Toiletries will make a donation of $15,000 in connection with the combined sales of the Dreaming Tommy Hilfiger Eau de Parfum Spray and the Hilfiger Eau de Toilette Cologne Spray to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation. (3.4 oz: $60.00)

SALE ALERT

In the mood for some early Yuletide shopping? Time to check out these bazaars!

SPIFFY

Now wouldn't it be great if any of us had this in our carports? BMW is combining the looks and DNA of their X5 Sports Activity Vehicle and the BMW X model coupes to bring you the first-ever X6 Sports Activity Coupe (SAC). The interior of the X6 is luxurious and spacious. It seats four with a center console separating the two rear seats. As for cargo space, there is plenty. Not only is the 2009 BMW X6 a new breed of vehicle, but the embodiment of style, power and ingenuity.

Our family first spotted this at the Power Plant and we've been dreaming of X6 drives since. Good friend B, who was manning the BMW display at the mall, even offered us a discount.

As if. Hehehe.

HULING HAPUNAN

Para kaming bibitayin.

As you all know and as told here, the Haligi and I succumbed to pressure and agreed to watch the CDF concert last Friday. The tried and tested dishes over at Chicken Bacolod Greenbelt were enough to make us forget our neverending quest for formulas on how to lose weight.

It was a good thing we had a really enjoyable dinner comprised of Batchoy, Chicken Inasal with Garlic Rice, Eggplant Salad punctuated with Chocnut Ice Cream for dessert (sorry, no pic of this!), before our death sentence. Hehehe.

BE BOLD

Following launches in Hong Kong and Singapore, the BlackBerry Bold is now launching in the Philippines via Smart Communications. Philippine residents will be happy to know the BlackBerry Bold will be offered free with Smart postpaid plans of P2500 a month and higher. Unlike the BlackBerry Storm and Apple iPhone, the Bold the new BlackBerry’s ability to connect to the Internet at speeds of three megabytes per second, which would be useful to senior-level executives and owners of small and medium enterprises, allowing them to monitor their operations on the go.

Just imagine, all the ideal smartphone features--email and text messaging, internet browser, organizer, instant messaging, GPS, Blackberry Maps, media player, bluetooth, SureType, a modem, camera and video recording, social networking, and corporate date access, bundled in a single handset!

POWER SALE

Visa...Check. MasterCard...Check! Time to let your plastic friends strut it out as the Power Plant cooks up another sale storm for all of you. Shopping mecca, here we come!

GOOD FOOD FOR A GOOD CAUSE

It's time to give up that diet pill, even just for this weekend. Over at the Rockwell Tent, on the weekend of October 18 and 19th, 2008, one of Manila's most anticipated food festivals will again throw open its doors to welcome the public - Pink Kitchen II.

Now on its second year, Pink Kitchen will provide a once-in-a-year opportunity to indulge in delicacies made by celebrated chefs who do not have commercial establishments open to the public. And in addition to the central event of food and wine, Pink Kitchen has organized talks and activities for the entertainment of its visitors.

Tickets for Pink Kitchen II are P200 for adults and P100 for children. They will be available at the entrance to the event. All proceeds from Pink Kitchen II will go to benefit ICanServe's flagship project, "Ating Dibdibin," the Philippines first community-based breast cancer screening program under the auspices of the American Cancer Society.

Eat, drink and enjoy!

SHOPPING TIME AGAIN!

TACO LOCO

After my short-lived love affair with burgers, another craving made its way. I was in the mood for tacos! So, the Haligi and I hied off to Greenhills this weekend, to one of our favorite taco places--Kamico's, the stall which conquered the palates of the kids (and kids at heart) of my generation.
Kamiko's, which was actually named after the owner's three kids (aniKA, MIguel, and nicKO) has been in existence for 26 years now. They also have another outlet, Taco Mico, over at the Greenhills Theater Mall. If you are coming from Promenade going to V-mall, it's the first food stall. The bright orange set-up is hard to miss.
My favorite is the spicy beef quesadilla, which to my mind, is to die for (at the rate I'm eating, seems like Fentraphen would have to be added to my inventory of medication!). The ground beef is top quality with perfect seasoning, and blended with generous amounts of cheese, housed inside a flaky and tasty tortilla wrap. Served with some nachos and salsa, voila, instant Mexican treat which is so worth the trip from Makati! A creature of habit, the Haligi orders tacos by default at any Mexican outlet. And Kamiko's was no exception. He also had the spicy beef version of the taco, plus a serving of nachos with everything on it.For a just little over P300, we were able to get a serving of quesadilla, tacos, overloaded nachos and a couple of drinks. Plus free entertainment and kwento from the stall owner who reminisced with us, as we traced the history of Kamiko's. I remember that my gang's Shoppesville expeditions back in high school (please don't ask me what year!) were never complete without grabbing a snack at this favorite Mexican nook. My husband too, who went to high school outside Manila, would even take long trips with his cousins just to grab a Kamiko's feast. And here we are, back in our favorite hangout, this time, as husband and wife. Aliw!

A Mexican must-try indeed!

Kamicos
Shoppesville Arcade Level 3
Unit 70 Atrium Lane
Tel: (632) 724-1316/ 721-7459/ 722-5362

SANGO TANGO

Inspired by How I Met Your Mother's "The Best Burger in New York" episode, this week has virtually been a re-visitation of some of my favorite burgers in Manila. Tonight has been the greatest thus far because I was reunited with what I consider as my burger mecca--Sango!
Sango! (don't forget the exclamation point) is a clean, no-frills, no-nonsense Japanese-style burger joint that prides itself on cooking your burgers-mic treats as you order. The interiors are bright and spotless, with an unobstructed view of the burger grill. Just like in a typical fastfood restaurant, you go to the counter, pay, and then wait for your order. There are a lot of stuff to keep you amused while you wait--an LCD screen showing Japanese music videos; a shelf stacked with Japanese magazines and comics, an interesting computerized toilet seat (be forewarned though that the restroom is unisex), or simply the sight of cooks as they efficiently prepare your orders. But do not fret, with food arriving at the speed of lightning, you won't be needing that much stuff to keep you occupied anyway.
As in our usual visits, Haligi and I had the Master Cheeseburger, which features a succulent patty sandwiched between soft buns, and served with a slice of cheese, a thick tomato slice, and a generous serving of their special meat sauce (chili con carne). We both ordered fries, which are long and fat, crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside, with our burgers. We chose to wash our meals down with soda for Haligi, and a rich and creamy Green Tea Milkshake for me. The growing boy that he is--Haligi, opted to order an additional Yakiniku Rice Burger because he simply finds eating just one burger "bitin." This interesting sandwich features piping hot, tender and flavorful beef slices. The rice patties are warm and chewy and come garnished with lettuce. Aside from both conventional and rice burgers, Sango!'s menu features a host of other treats like Donburi dishes, Curry dishes, the Fish Burger, Chicken Terriyaki Burger, Tonkatsu Burger as well as Hotdog sandwiches. All in all, Sango! is your best bet if you’re craving for a new gastronomic experience that won’t cost more than two hundred bucks.

Sango! The Burger Master

Makati City
Ground Level, Creek Side Mall
Amorsolo St. corner Legaspi Village
Makati City
Tel: (63 2) 830-0391

Muntinlupa City
South Supermarket Phase III
Filinvest Corporate City,
Alabang. Muntinlupa City
Tel: (632) 703-1678

Ortigas Center
8101 Pearl Plaza Bldg.
Pearl Drive St., Brgy. San Antonio
Ortigas Center, Pasig
Tel: (632) 636-1991

HEAVEN AT THE PLAYGROUND

Over at Power Plant's "Playground" Level found at R3, a healthy and heavenly ice cream outlet in shades of pink and white beckon to kids and kids at heart. Lulu Belle is the newest (and cutest) ice cream cow on the block and boasts of an interesting array of frozen desserts including iced goodie of the moment--yogurts. Just like its "sister," FIC's The Ice Cream Bar, the experience is interactive, engaging and enjoyable--what with an expansive array of toppings in every imaginable flavor, shape, size and color. The possibilities are limitless with the toppings ready to crown your FIC scoops of ice cream, swirls of frozen yogurt, or even your personalized smoothie.
For our very first Lulu Belle visit, Haligilet chose a scoop of chocolate ice cream topped with Trix colored balls and chocolate chips.I, on the other hand, chose to have a cutie patootie and at the same time, healthy serving of their Natural and Tart yogurt swirl (diet pills plan temporarily on hold). The Natural flavor is sweet and milky while the Tart variety has bits of fruit mixed in it. Soon to make an appearance is their sugar-free flavor. Lavet!!!
Lest you be misled that they serve ONLY ice cream and yogurt, Lulu Belle also boasts of an interesting array of shakes and smoothies, customizable to your personal preference.
Lulu Belle is indeed a healthy, heavenly and refreshing alternative to the usual dessert staples. True to their tagline indeed.

Lulu Belle
R3 “Playground” (near the chapel, on the opposite end of Fully Booked)
Power Plant Mall, Rockwell
Tel. No. (632) 515.8129

FOXY ROXIES

4A friend was probably right. She said my illness was just withdrawal symptoms from shopping! You see, I haven't called on Visa nor Mastercard for over a month now. Clap! Clap!

And so, for a bit of retail therapy, a hied off to the mall this afternoon, did a cash advance against the Haligi's bank account (awww, be kind--I'm sick!), and got myself this cute grey number from Roxy: Not bad for a little over a thousand bucks. And yes, I feel a lot better.

But wait! Cough! Sneeze! Shiver! Relapse alert! Looks like someone has to take me shopping again. Hehehe!

LIVE FOR WEEKENDS

Starting last September, every weekend is a treat as Rockwell's Power Plant presents Baker’s Dozen.The event showcases some of the best home-baked desserts and goodies under one roof. From breads and pastries, to empanadas that melt in your mouth, to sinful sweets, and even to a delectable array of dishes from Manila's most sought after Christmas dinner recipes, Baker's Dozen is indeed heaven to the discerning palate. More importantly, it brings to the fore the faces behind the creators of Manila's gastronomical finds.

Henceforth, every weekend will indeed be a happy one!

SIMPLY AMAZING

The Manila Ocean Park is the Philippines’ first state-of-the-art Oceanarium, open water marine habitat located in one complex at the back of the Quirino Grandstand. Word has it that the park will soon expand to include a mall, a row of restaurants and a hotel.The oceanarium is open from 10 AM to 9 PM. Entrance fee is, hold your breath, P400 for adults and P350 for children 4.5 feet and below. Children 2 feet and below are free of charge. A 10% discount is given to Manila residents with valid ID. The standard 20% discount applies to senior citizens. If you'd ask me, better get those payday loans ready, if you plan to go as a group. We almost fainted when we took 8 adults and 3 kids to the park.

There are lots of sights and exciting experiences at the Park. The first part of the oceanarium is called Agos (Flow) which displays freshwater species in an open forest-like backdrop, including a touch pool where visitors can touch the starfish on display. Next, there's the Bahura (The Reef) which showcases different colorful fish usually found in coral reefs including seahorses and an amazingly gigantic crab. Next stop is the Laot (Fishing Ground) which features more varieties of fish in large tanks.

My favorite part is the 25-meter underwater tunnel found at the Buhay na Karagatan (Living Ocean). Here you may catch a glimpse of schools and schools of fish, including sharks and stingrays. Amazing indeed! My son let out his resounding WOW all throughout our tunnel stroll.

After you exit the tunnel, there's the Ang Kalaliman (The Deep) featuring the barracuda and again, lots of stingrays and sharks. A feast for the senses indeed. What I seemed to miss though were sea turtles, shrimps, lobsters, octopus and jellyfish. It wouldn't hurt to have one or two of these, if you'd ask me.

The park also offers a host of other activities for those tired of walking around the oceanarium. There's a Fish Spa available for P150.00 where doctor fish from Turkey will be nipping at your feet’s dead skin. Eeewww. Hehehe. You can also choose to take a glass-bottom boat ride if you want to have a different point of view from the marine life displays. You can also make a stopover at the souvenir shop (which I did, for my default magnet loot), video arcade outlet as well as a children's playground.A string of restaurants are available to the discerning palates of park visitors. There's the Ozeano fusion restaurant by Steve Tamayo which offers a buffet meal for P600 per person. There are also other outlets like Starbucks, Old Chang Kee, Mrs. Fields, Purefoods hotdogs and burgers, and many more all housed under this very interesting atrium.

I'd have to say that the Ocean Park experience is indeed extraordinary. However, extraordinary too, is the noise level inside the park--a medley of people ooohing and aaahing (and yakking) at the sights, the unmistakable sound of oxygen tanks doing their jobs efficiently, and camera flashes snapping away (this, despite the no-camera flash policy). I was surprised to see the park packed on a Monday and a good six months after it opened, at that. I just felt that the noise level would have to be dealt with. After all, the noise takes away any semblance of the peace and tranquility of the simulated ocean scenes.

Nonetheless, I wouldn't mind going a second time to catch another glimpse of those interesting marine species. I wouldn't mind either to catch another view of this Manila Bay sunset. MANILA OCEAN PARK
Behind the Quirino Grandstand
Luneta, Manila, Philippines
Tel: (632) 5677777
Fax: (632) 5672309