Freshly brewed beers and great food at The Brewery at the Palace

Back in the day when the only beer flavor I have tasted is the usual hop (from the bottle and in can,) (the bitterness comes from the generous amount of hops, yellow to brown in color). I always got the kick drinking my beer from the chiller, I love how the frozen beer tasted,  the frozen state flattens the bitterness  and compliments the food I love to pair.   In those days to enjoy my chilled beer I have to partner it with peanuts, tacos. pizza, chicken sandwich, and or  rice toppings! I cant imagine drinking it unchilled, as I dont want to savor the flavor of hops, I have no choice then.

Only recently did I know that beer has flavor categories, from hop to malt to fruity. and that the darker your beer is, the better digestion  you'll get as it contains one gram of soluble fiber, Im eyeing my Stout now. It also helps lowering your bad cholesterol, so it is good for the heart then.   There are so many health benefits from beer but the thing is you have to drink in moderation in order to achieve this.

 The Brewery at the Palace at BGC, celebrate its soft opening for the media last August 7.  This is the place where you can enjoy freshly brewed beer with great food, live bands and cocktail beers.
There are four artisanal beers to try on the list, each brewed in a precise way from malts, hops, yeast, and water to achieve a distinct flavor, aroma, and taste.

A selection of specialty beers on tap is a source of pride for The Brewery, prepared fresh everyday from its very own microbrewery – the largest of its kind in town. The microbrewery is a permanent fixture housed at the mezzanine floor, and shares the restaurant’s ample two-storey space with an open stage for performing bands, a fully-stocked bar, and dining area.

L-R, Stout, Wheat, IPA and the Pilsner

Stout or Brown Ale (p210) has a hint of coffee flavor that  gives its distinct appeal and has just the right kick with 4.7% alcohol content. Fresh and fruity sums up the flavor profile of Wheat (p200), which packs a  4.5% alcohol content. IPA or Indian Pale Ale (p220) is a malty bitter contrast to pilsner with a golden amber and 5% alcohol content. Pilsner (p180) is a Czech light lager style, clear and golden in color with 4.3% alcohol content. The Brewery will launch other beer flavors with local infusions like honey and ginger.


A beer would not be complete without the food pairing, Chef Carlo Miguel, one of the business owners provide the best food and or pulutan, from eclectic mix of starters and sides, delicious bar fare, pizzas, savory sandwiches, succulent steaks, varieties of pasta, and scrumptious desserts. He uses beer as an ingredient to some of his specialty dishes.

Sisig Pizza

G.O.A.T Burger 

The Sliders

The Brewery's Sausage Platter

Modern Sisilog

The Brewery's Fisherman's Basket

The Pub Style Nachos

Stout and Onion Soup

Clam and Mussel Spaghetti

To cap of everything, Chef Carlo Miguel's dessert is a must try!

 Brewer's Cheesecake

 Skillet Cookie

The Brewery at the Palace swings open its doors for a unique experience beer consummates would readily sink in.

Located at The Palace in Uptown Fort, Bonifacio Global City, the newest addition to this neighborhood’s vibrant dining and entertainment landscape offers a modern spin to the common beer-chugging evening by presenting a delectable menu accompanied by live band performances to keep the mood bubbly and rocking.

 Mikhal Perner, Raj Sadhwani, Mitch Malli, Chef Carlo Miguel, and Rico Blanco 

“The Brewery is far from your ordinary pub in that we’ve put together the top three things customers look for when they want to have a good time - great food, great live entertainment, and of course, excellent beers to round out the whole experience. No need to hop from one place to another because you can have all these here at The Brewery,”  said Raj Sadhwani, CEO, The Brewery. “We wanted to showcase the artistry of the beer brewing process and be a major force in changing the local dining landscape by providing fresh beers on tap paired with a delectable menu and some of the most popular bands in the country today.”

The place, which is usually packed with mostly young professionals coming from nearby offices in the area, is run by the same owners and operators of The Distillery Group, a company whose reputation is built on its serious appreciation for beer and food.

On Wednesday or Thursday nights, guests can look forward to sipping their beers and downing their chows while listening to a mix of their favorite well known groups playing a whole stream musical genre, ranging from jazz, soul rock and reggae.

Thanks to Rico Blanco, who happens to be one of the men behind The Brewery,  making  sure live entertainment hits the spot and is always exciting.


“The Brewery is the perfect mix of a relaxing and kick-up-your-heels kind of night. It’s a different kind of gastro pub experience. We are also open for lunch daily so young professionals can try our menu offerings.  Those who come here, any time of the day, will not be disappointed,” said Mitch Malli, Operations Director.


The Brewery at the Palace is located The Palace 10th avenue cor 38th in Uptown Fort, Bonifacio Global City and is open Mondays to Sundays, 11am until 2am for dine in, take out and events reservation. Contact their reservations hotline at 0917.813.9429 and Events hotline at 0917.638.3339)

Joanna Ampil and Mig Ayesa star in The Bridges of Madison County

Two iconic performers share the same stage for the first time in what is sure to be the most romantic musical of the year. West End musical theatre star Joanna Ampil and Broadway and West End rock star Mig Ayesa lead the cast of the first international production of the Tony Award winning musical THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY, produced by Atlantis Theatrical Entertainment Group (ATEG) in November 2015.

Fresh from the success of SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER, which is now embarking on an Asian Tour, ATEG brings you THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY, one of the most romantic stories ever written. Now an irresistible, two-time Tony Award-winning Broadway musical, based on the best-selling novel by Robert James Waller, THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY tells the story of Iowa housewife Francesca Johnson and her life-changing, four-day whirlwind romance with traveling photographer Robert Kincaid. It’s an unforgettable story of two people caught between decision and desire, as a chance encounter becomes a second chance at so much more.

This brand new production features gorgeous, soulful music by Tony Award-winning composer Jason Robert Brown (Parade, The Last Five Years) that draws upon the rich textures of Americana and folk and the sweeping, expressive balladry of classic Broadway. The Daily News hails it as “one of Broadway’s best scores in the last decade.”

Joanna Ampil, who rose to stardom in London’s West End as Kim in Miss Saigon and Mary Magdalene in Jesus Christ Superstar, says of her latest role, “It will be my first musical in Manila after a long hiatus. The last one was The Sound of Music in 2012. I'm hungry for a new challenge and this role of Francesca will certainly give me that challenge, stretch and creativity that I'm always craving for as an artist.  Jason Robert Brown and I performed in London sometime ago way before he wrote Bridges and to be able to play a lead in one of his works will be a wonderful experience; because I know that he writes some amazing stuff. I look forward to sharing the stage with MiGAyesa, also. But, the thing that appealed to me the most was the idea of working for ATLANTIS for the first time and being directed by Bobby Garcia.”

MiG Ayesa, who performed the role of StaceeJaxx in ROCK OF AGES on Broadway and in Manila, says, “I am so thrilled to be returning to the Manila stage with this production of THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY. The score written by Jason Robert Brown is so breathtakingly beautiful it has to be considered a modern classic, and well deserved of the Tony Awards it received. I cannot wait to show such a different side to me, as the last time Manila audiences saw me was as the crazed rocker ‘StaceeJaxx’ in ROCK OF AGES. The chance to be working opposite such a world class performer such as Jo Ampil, as well as under the direction of Bobby Garcia, promises to be an experience I will never forget. This will be my second stage production with ATEG, and it has always been a labour of love in that camp. Any excuse to visit the Philippines is worth the work! I cannot think of a better way than to return with such a production as beautiful as this.”

Directed by Bobby Garcia, who recently directed the critically acclaimed Asian Tour of SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER, THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY opens on November 20, 2015 at the Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium, RCBC Plaza, Makati.  Select shows are now available for Show Buying and fundraising opportunities.  Corporate Packages are also available.  Contact Jorelle at 0917-8381534 or info@ategasia.com for more information.

Snacks, Surprises and More at Oishi Snacktacular

I attended my first Oishi event last year,  here http://lemongreenteaph.blogspot.com/2014/02/my-oishi-owow-moment-with-daniel-padilla.html.

It was I tell you the happiest and most fun event that I have attended, because Daniel Padilla reignited the fan in me, and  that was the day I discovered Oishi's Oaties milk and Choco Chug, which I have been buying from the supermarket and instantly became my breakfast staple.

 Fast forward to today, when I heard that an Oishi Snacktacular event is coming up first week of August, I cant contain my excitement, I have to attend this and have to witness what the Oishi O Wow Snacktacular will offer, this time in public at The Trinoma Activity Center.

When I saw the  Oishi Snack Catcher situated right in the middle of the activity center, I just cant wait to put my harness, dive, jump and grab all the snacks that  awaits my short arms. I got to try the Oishi Snack Shack first with fellow bloggers Earth Rullan and Marjorie Uy.

I got my eye on the Wafu Creamy Leche Flan rolled wafer, choco chug and oaties milk and choco crunch snacks.  In a span of 60 seconds, we went crazy grabbing everything and tried to put all the Oishi goodness inside the 2 ft. Oishi bag. I should have gotten 2 bags. Exhausted from all the madness mini shopping, I treated myself to the Slush-C booth and a special soft-serve sundae made from Oishi Choco Chug Chocolate Milk Drink and filled it up with my favorite Oishi toppings!

What better way to enjoy your weekend by visiting the Oishi Snacktacular 2015 at the Trinoma Activity Center with your family. The Oishi Snactacular 2015 opened  up yesterday  August 7, with Oishi Ambassadors Elmo Magalona and family, Slater Young, Ramon Bautista with celebrities Christine Patrimonio, Kean Cipriano.

Whether you love that crunchy sound or can’t get enough of its satisfying taste, everyone enjoys eating their favorite snacks - especially snacks we’ve grown to love through the years! After the success of last year’s event where Oishi lovers were encouraged to be creative snack makers, the much-loved snack brand made things even bigger at the Oishi Snacktacular 2015
.

Oishi lovers were treated to three-day event filled with a bevy of surprises. Giving everyone the opportunity to roam around the Trinoma Activity Center, customers enjoyed all sorts of activities and treats. An exhilarating and creative field of play, this event boasted some of the most unique and simply O, Wow activity booths for family and friends to enjoy!

At the Oishi Snack Catcher, participants were strapped into harness and dipped into a pool of Oishi snacks for them to grab all they can. While some had their thirst quenched with Oishi’s very own Smart C+ slushies at the Slush C+ booth, others had their sweet tooth satisfied  with a special soft-serve sundae made from Oishi Choco Chug Chocolate Milk Drink topped with their favorite Oishi sweet and savory treats like Oishi Pillows, Wafu Leche Flan, Gourmet Picks Potato Chips and Marty’s Baconette Strips. 

Other participants got to create their own personalized bag of Oishi at the Make Your Own Snack area where they picked out from  a selection of Oishi chips to go along with different flavors such as cheese, barbecue and nori. Keeping up with fun and games, guests at the Snack Shack ran around to fill up their limited edition 2 ft. Oishi giant pack with all their favourite Oishi snacks and beverages in 60 seconds.  Another surprise were the special celebrity guests who were the servers at each Oishi station. Now that’s some kind of special service!

One of the highlights was having Alex Gonzaga, the latest member of the Team O barkada to join the current line-up of Elmo Magalona, Kathryn Bernardo, Slater Young, Ramon Bautista and Daniel Padilla who all effortlessly  turn up the O, Wow factor for their fans and Oishi lovers.

GrabTaxi brings convenience and safety to Baguio commuters

I have always considered Baguio City as one of the more commuter-friendly places for tourists and and compared to the taxi drivers we have in Manila,  the taxi drivers in Baguio are generally more courteous and friendly.

So I didn't think GrabTaxi would be setting up operations in the City of Pines anytime soon.

But as it turns out, the local residents were clamoring for even better service-- and the convenience that only GrabTaxi can provide.

And just as fast as you can book a GrabTaxi ride, Southeast Asia’s leading on-demand transportation app , got the approval from the Baguio government allowing taxi franchises to install the Grab system on their units.

GrabTaxi Country Marketing Head, Ms. Khriztina Lim

Even more surprising, was the invitation I got to join Grab Taxi at their formal launch at the Baguio Craft Brewery  last August 5!

Together with GrabTaxi Country Marketing Head, Ms. Khriztina Lim, and media both from Manila and Baguio we witnessed what could be another game changer for the 300,000 plus commuters and almost one million tourists visiting every year.

Baguio becomes the 6th city in the Philippines that GrabTaxi operates in. The app first launched in Manila in 2012 followed by Cebu, Davao City, Iloilo, Bacolod and now Baguio.

“We are committed to provide convenience to every taxi driver and commuter wherever they may be. We bring GrabTaxi to Baguio to be of service to both drivers and passengers. We want to help increase earnings of the drivers while letting the passengers have a more convenient commute,” said GrabTaxi head Poch Ceballos. 

We paid a courtesy call to Mayor Mauricio Domogan at his office in Baguio City

“With the success of the app in other mega cities, we plan to bring the app to more places in the country. Now Baguio people can experience GrabTaxi rides that have always been rooted in our three key pillars of Safety, Certainty and Speed,” said Lim." 

As I discovered during our three-day trip, my impression of Baguio drivers was apparently wrong, as I heard stories of choosy" drivers who refuse to pick up passengers, those who charge extra P50 and even an instance where a passenger jumped out of the car because she was scared of the driver who took a very different route.

With the Grab booking system in place, there would be no reason for drivers to ask extra, or refuse passengers once they accepted the fare. But more importantly, riding a taxi becomes safer with Grab's live tracking feature.

You also get the profile of the driver and get the option to share their whereabouts privately or on social media through the ‘Share My Ride’ function, assuring the passengers of a safe and convenient commuting experience.

The app even saves a history of your Grab rides so you can always contact the driver in case you forgot something in their car.

GRAB 101
GrabTaxi mobile app allows people to virtually hail a cab with just a few taps on their smartphone. Available for free for Android, iOS and Windows phone users, GrabTaxi connects the passengers and the drivers to allow seamless commuting experience.

GrabTaxi passengers just have to type in their place of origin and their destination, and wait for the app to assign a cab for them. When there is already an assigned cab, the passengers will know the location, plate number, estimated time of arrival of the cab, as well as the name and contact number of the driver. These features would allow the passengers to contact the driver for the specifics of the transaction.

To jumpstart the operations in the city of pines, GrabTaxi opened the Baguio and is looking to hire over 50 employees. “Aside from improving the commuting experience of the passengers, this expansion, following the success of the app in Metro Manila, Cebu, Davao and Iloilo, also means creation of more jobs all over the Philippines,” added Ceballos.

For more information, please visit www.grabtaxi.com .

Oishi Snacktacular is Back!

When it comes to giving its consumers an exciting experience, Oishi never fails to deliver! Coming off from last year’s successful 40th year celebration at Glorietta 2 , Oishi brings back Snacktacular! A fun-filled event that will make everyone of all ages go, “O, Wow!” 

This year, Trinoma Activity Center will be transformed into an Oishi factory! Don’t miss your chance to run and play in awesome booths this Aug. 7, 8 and 9! Your P 20 will go a long way at Oishi Snacktacular. For a minimum fee, you can refresh yourself with Oishi Slush C+; your favorite Smart C+ in slushie form! If you’re a big Oishi Choco Chug fan, you would want to cool down with some Choco Chug ice cream at the O-Twirl Booth and top it off with some Oishi Pillows, Wafu Leche Flan and 2 new savory toppings. You surely wouldn’t want to miss your chance to make your very own Oishi snack at the Make Your Own Snack station! Run and go crazy at the Snack Shack booth as you fill up your limited edition 2 ft. Oishi giant pack with all your favourite Oishi snacks and beverages in 60 seconds! 

Oishi, being the brand that always aims for fresher and more exciting ideas, brings in a new addition to the Snacktacular experience: the Oishi Snack Catcher! Remember that arcade game where you try and grab treats with a robotic hand? Well, now you can be that hand! Get strapped up and guided to an enormous pool of Oishi snacks and grab all the treats you can take with your own hands! Some kind of catch isn’t it? 

While enjoying all these fun stations, the members of Team O will grace the event with more entertainment and performances. Elmo Magalona, Slater Young, Ramon Bautista, Kathryn Bernardo, Daniel Padilla will be joined by Oishi’s newest endorser for Crispy Patata, the beautiful and funny Alex Gonzaga. Oishi and Team O are upping the O, Wow! factor of this year’s Oishi Snacktacular!

 Now talk about fun and excitement!

Don’t miss your chance to party with your favorite Team O members and bring home a whole bunch of your favorite snacks and other goodies! Drop by Oishi Snacktacular on August 7, 8 and 9 at the Trinoma Activity Center,  the most “O, Wow!” event of 2015! 

For more information log on to www.oishi.com.ph or visit Oishi’s Official Facebook page at www.facebook.com/oishi.ph. #OishiOWow  #OishiSnacktacular.

Red Ribbon remains a part of everyday sweet moments for Filipino families

RP pastry business grows as Pinoy taste evolves

Red Ribbon capitalizes on Filipinos’ predisposition to turn the ordinary into unforgettable sweet moments

 In a survey released in 2013 by the Annual Survey of Philippine Business and Industry (ASPBI), the number of manufacturing establishments for 2010 reached more than 16,000.  Interestingly enough, manufacturers of breads, pastries, cakes, pies and other similar perishable bakery products accounted for 20.3 percent or more than 3,000 of the total number of establishments.

This was a far cry from a time when small, independent neighborhood bakeries catered mostly to residents of small towns and barangays to the massive industry that it is today where bakeries are now conspicuously present in malls and other large commercial areas.The industry has grown to what is now a large scale concern also evidenced, not only the proliferation of many branches by the key players, but also by the entry of foreign brands.

The growth of the industry has not only been a source of employment; it has been responsible for changing the way Filipinos eat and enjoy food that was, only a few decades ago, not the usual fare.

“Decades ago, the usual merienda would be the regular Filipino fare, the kakanins,” said Zinnia Rivera, general manager of Red Ribbon.  “Today, cakes, pastries and breads have now become common food items in Filipino homes and enjoyed every day.”

As one of the leading bakeries in the country, Red Ribbon has endeavored to make the consumption of cakes, breads and pastries a regular fare.

What sets the company apart is its inherent understanding of the market that allows it to innovate its product offerings to better delight customers.

Aside from its best-selling favorites like Black Forest, Triple Chocolate roll, Butter Mamon, and Dedication Cakes, Red Ribbon leads in developing flavors and variants that celebrate the many occasions Filipinos observe such as Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Christmas, Easter, and the like.

“We have always made it a point to understand what our consumers want and what resonates with them especially when celebratory occasions are concerned.” Rivera added.

Rivera said that the company is a firm believer in reinventing best-selling items into limited edition offerings that celebrate a much-loved occasion.

Its classic and novel sweet offerings have never failed to impress and endear the brand to its consumers because it touches the heart where it matters.

“I believe that that the ability to re-invent our products is what keeps us relevant to our consumers,” she added. For instance, we have developed many new variants of mamons and cakes that have since become favorites such as the Cookies and Cream Mamon, Caramel Mamon, Choco Banana Split Cake, and Dedication Cakes, just to name a few.”

Today, Red Ribbon remains a much-loved brand in the minds and hearts of its customers because it has succeeded where it matters most:  in being a part of everyday sweet moments for Filipino families for many years now.

And for as long as Filipinos come together, Red Ribbon will remain relevant and will always lead in evolving the way we strengthen family ties.