More healthy treats at Coffee for Health

HEALTHY treats don’t have to be plain and simple for those who are cutting on fat and calorie intake on their diet.

There are foods that are low on calories and yet still come with the extravagance of different flavor infusions and aromatic herbs.

No kids allowed in this Playground

THIS playground is strictly for adults only. No seesaws, swings, slides or sandboxes in this recreation ground. No monkey bars but a bar there is, a long one. No park benches but sofas and bar stools. There is lemonade though, but it isn’t for kids either. It’s spiked and depending on the mix it can be called Lemongrad, Lemondrop Martini or Fred Collins Fizz, French 74 or Fruit Sour.

My favorite lemon juice drink is a refreshing and relaxing one, and laced with whiskey. I was having it in the playground I was in, mixed precisely according to my preferred taste.

They are back

YES they are. I mean bell bottom pants. It looks like the preferred pants of the Seventies are back in fashion. I should have kept mine! Do you remember those pants? Flared and wide at the bottom? You would never know if you were wearing shoes or sandals. And if you were really up to it, you could even sweep the floors by just wearing the pants.

The bell bottom pants are back. And if they are, would it not be logical that their "counterparts" can be close?

Tacio: Kids are not spared from osteoporosis

IF YOU think osteoporosis only strikes adults, think again. Even children are not spared from it. "Although much more common in older adults, especially women in menopause and after, osteoporosis can also occur during childhood," says the Lucile Packard Foundation for Children's Health. "The average age of onset is between 8 and 14 years, but it can occur in younger children during growth spurts" But "osteoporosis in children is a rare condition," assures the Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center in the United States.

Another Italian delight with Morisco Restaurant

DAVAO City's fine dining experience gets an added boost with the arrival of Italian chef Giuseppe Morisco, son of Gaitano Morisco or more popularly known as Don Beppe of the Don Beppe Pizza and Pasta Restaurant located at The Peak of Gaisano Mall.

The coming of Giuseppe completes the father-and-son tandem and gives Dabawenyos greater choices of their favorite Italian cuisine with the opening of Morisco Restaurant in SM Lanang Premier next month.

A trip to Camiguin Island

CAMIGUIN, formerly belonging to the province of Misamis Oriental, boasts of a very enticing beauty that captivates just any tourists who come to visit the area.

Burger in a bordello?

WHY not? But this new joint adjacent to Silom’s latest lifestyle hotel, Pullman Bangkok Hotel G, only mimics the look of one – red walls, the bar in wood, oversized leather winged chairs— it’s plush and funky, Old Hollywood meets modern vibe, and it serves burger. The place—25 Degrees.

Celebrating the heritage of Max's restaurant

MAX'S, one of the country's leading and oldest restaurant, gives Dabawenyos more of its superb taste as it opened its second branch here at the SM Lanang Premier last November 7.

A soldier and a family man

SERVING the public and protecting the people amid the dangers of their profession is his commitment and what inspires Major Jacob Thaddeus Mamauag Obligado, chief of the Army's 10th Infantry Division's Civil Military Operation "Kalinaw" Battalion (CMOBN), in his 21 years in the military service.

He did not dream of becoming a soldier in his youth, but he never regretted this turn in his life.

Water-tubing adventure

WHILE many people stayed either at home or at the cemetery to pay respect for their departed loved ones, I and my travel companies, two of whom were newbies in Davao City went on an extreme water adventure in Talomo.

Zabadani: Halal resto at The Peak

ZABADANI first earned its name being a Halal restaurant located right at the heart of downtown Davao, offering mouth-watering food and delicacies for nearly three years now at its main branch along Ponciano Street.

But now, the semi-fine dining restaurant has gone a long way since then, opening the second branch at the The Peak of Gaisano Mall of Davao. This time around, Zabadani went a notch higher with more improved services and even palatable food items on its menu.

1961

"IN THE purest sense of the word, we are not a hotel, but a creative space where one can stay and immerse into a world of artists, poets, musicians and writers. Not only do we allow guests indulge in the artists' worlds, we also encourage them to take part in the process of the creation of the room as a living art space." Loven Ramos.

Loven is Pinoy. I met him years back when he was still based in Makati and working for a hotel management firm. A brilliant graphic artist, he snagged an opportunity to work abroad. Next thing I knew, Loven is splashed all over the web -- in blogs, in online travel magazines and art journals (I'm pretty sure there's a lot more on print all around the globe).

Ghost stories for the soul

EVERY time I watched horror films like those of Shake, Rattle and Roll, I asked myself if these were just products of imagination of the scriptwriters/authors or if they actually happened in real life.

Investing on a good backpack

WHEELED suitcases can sometimes be a pain in the neck (figuratively and literally). Sure it works great on airports and flat even surfaces but wait till you hit an unpaved road; the wheels start to choke on cracked cement, broken stones and pebbles and it starts to feel like a tug of war between you and your suitcase. And don't even try rolling it on sand, it's just impossible. So good-luck carrying that suitcase with one arm.

DishPal shares the joys of good food

WHEN Cherrylyn Casuga went home this year after working in Dubai, UAE, for four years, her main aim was to be together with her family.

Coming from a family who made a comfortable living in the fruit-selling business, Casuga knows what is profitable and what is not.

Starting it right

THOUGH he wanted to become a chemical engineer or a chemist, good fate brought him to the office of the Bureau of Immigration manning people and handling aliens in this city.

After serving BI Cagayan de Oro City as alien control officer for nine years, Florentino Diputado, 59, welcomed his transfer to Davao City in February this year.

Too short a term

ELECTIONS are just a few months away and aspiring candidates will again air out their noble promises to the people as again, part of the cycle in the politics in the Philippines.

In Davao City, especially, in the past elections, many local candidates have presented promises to the public including building classrooms, bridges, hospitals, and some candidates, especially those claiming to environmentalist, promised to plant at a million of trees.

Learning the ropes

ANOTHER elected official who is still learning the ropes, but this time in Congress, is Second District Rep. Mylene Garcia-Albano, sister of erstwhile Rep. Vincent Garcia and daughter of the congressman before them, Manuel Garcia.

For this neophyte congressman, her major obstacle is reaching out to barangay officials.

A health bar named Energy Zone

IF YOU work or reside in the metropolis, the array of dining options could leave you in want of a healthy regular diet.

Ipanema unravels new flipflop styles

IT WAS not your typical fashion show. The opening of Ipanema shop at the Abreeza Mall on October 12 was a runway show cum fashion festival similar to the raved about fashion parade in Manila recently.

Dubbed “Ipanema Urban Jungle Fashion Show”, the night was was an opportunity to discover a magical side of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, where one of the world’s popular flip-flop brand originated, dedicated to the unraveling of the fabulous “fauna” of new Ipanema flipflop styles.

The Royal Palace of Cambodia

SOMETHING gold, something new. After visiting Cambodia’s dark past via the Killing Fields, we needed to shake off the gloom and cheer up quick. The trip to the Russian Market for something new and to the Royal Palace for something gold did the trick.

Walking down memory lane

PEOPLE came in droves at the Abreeza Mall in mid September.

Some fuss on hormone therapy

DEAR Dr. Fritz,

Good day to you. I am one of your avid readers. I have some questions about hormone therapy. I am really quite confused. I am 40 years old and I have undergone removal of my uterus and ovaries. Now, could I use hormone therapy to prevent bone loss after menopause or to resolve menopausal symptoms, like hot flashes or vaginal dryness? I have heard that hormone therapy can have benefits in preventing chronic conditions. If this is true, what are they?

Golden dream more achievable

A FEW years back, their dream is to take up a "cheap" college course in Tagum City and get a degree that they hope would give them a better future different from that of their parents who work as small-scale miners in the mountains of Pantukan for decades now.

Then came St. Augustine Gold and Copper Limited (SAGCL). The foreign mining company that's undertaking mining exploration in Pantukan, Compostela Valley has given about 27 children of indigenous families a brighter future.

Havaianas @ 50

THANKS to our country’s tropical climate, wearing flip-flops is an all-year affair. And, when one speaks of durable and stylish flip-flops, Havaianas is surely one of the trusted brands on our list.

This year, Havaianas celebrated its 50th anniversary with the introduction of thirteen special pins that “speak volumes of its rich heritage”. They include the “Brasilipinas”, “happiness”, “1962”, “soccer ball”, “crown designs”, which trace their roots to sunny Brazil.

The rise of teenage smoking

A SURVEY conducted by the Department of Health showed that Filipino children as young as five years old are already starting to smoke. On the other hand, the National Youth Commission recently reported that two out of every five Filipino teenagers took up smoking in 2011.

Filipinos start smoking at a young age. An editor-in-chief of a weekly magazine admitted that he started smoking when he was only 14. Until now, he is still hooked with the habit. "If I don't quit smoking, I would probably get lung cancer," he said.

Felcris Centrale to rise in 2013

THE Felcris name is what defines the Yap family.

And on the day it marked the 43rd anniversary of the Felcris name last September 19, the ground breaking ceremony for Felcris Centrale along Quimpo Boulevard in barangay Bucana was held.

A higher power

I HAVE lost weight. My 36 waistline two years ago has shrunk to 32. I had to buy a new set of clothes because my old clothes look like sacks when I wear them now. People have commented that I have lost weight. In fact I am so tired of hearing people tell me I have lost weight.

I want to scream, oo nga I lost weight. Do me a favor, if you know me and we meet, please do not mention my weight loss. I have heard it so many times and it has become tedious. Some even have ventured into making up stories that am sick.

The real essence of happiness

No doubt, this man does not run out of friends.

Hofileña is one of the sheriffs assigned at Municipal Trial Court in Cities-Office Clerk of Court (MTCC). He has been with this job for 15 years now.

Going beyond hotel service

OMNIBUS clouds may have loomed over the Waterfront Insular Hotel in the past years but not overpowering the silver lining in the management's eyes.

With optimism brightly lit, general manager Rouel Guanzon believes the volatile economic situation is merely a matter of perspective. He is pulling out all the stops to kick up a magical storm at Davao's landmark hotel.