Lechon: In the resto or on the road

SERVING something classic and as old-fashioned as lechon is beginning to take on a more innovative approach.

Cebu’s culinary heritage

EVERY year, there’s something that makes Gabii Sa Kabilin (GSK) grander. While last year guests were treated to a “let’s get there first, beat the others” Amazing Race-like game that required them to make puso or practice calligraphy, GSK on May 31 adds a whole new ingredient into the mix: food.

Sira-sira store: I’m ‘chori’

I WANTED to kick myself for not thinking of the survey cooked up by GMA 7 sometime in April. I’m really chori (sorry) for not thinking of this.

The TV network has this wonderful show, I Juander, that discusses beliefs, food, fashion and other cultural aspects that define Juan de la Cruz. I Juander is hosted by Susan Enriquez and Cesar Apolinario, who both lend a folksy note to the show.

Best chicken barbecue in town

PINOYS are food lovers. That's why, we tend to crowd many food establishments in downtown area, be they carenderia, deep-fried chicken house, restaurant, or barbecue house just to enjoy the all-time Filipino foods.

For the same reason, maybe, why food businesses have higher chances of surviving a tight competition.

At the height of glamour

SHANDAR is a foreign word that is becoming more and more familiar in Cebu and also gradually in Manila. It is the Hindi word for “proud” and can also mean “elegant” or “fabulous.” The name is apt for Mark Tenchavez’s line of shoes, headdresses, hats and accessories, none of which could be described as plain or boring.

5,10, and 20-minute beauty tips

SOME people think putting on makeup is a task that will eat up an hour of their day, the kind of time that most busy women don’t have. If you have even five minutes to look pulled together, here are some beauty routines to help you look more polished in a rush. When getting ready, it helps to consider which parts of your face need perking up, i.e. if you have sparse brows, you’ll need to spend more time on them than someone with fuller, groomed brows.

Serna: Fast forward: More events

WHEW! That was a grueling, taxing, draining, exhausting electoral exercise that we had last Monday. If we, ordinary voters, felt that way, I can just imagine how the candidates, their close associates and avid supporters felt.

Barbecue nights at Parklane

LATELY, summer nights have been a bit sweltering. Instead of staying at home with the air conditioning, one can spend them better by being on top of Cebu Parklane International Hotel. This is not just a breezy escape to a toasty night, but also an indulgence to a delish dinner to share with friends and family.

Parklane’s Barbecue Buffet is truly a must-try for these warm summer nights. For P450, one can already dig in to a sumptuous all-you-can-eat dinner at the hotels’ poolside restaurant.

Global Football Club visits Autowelt BMW Showroom

GLOBAL Football Club, the private football club owned and managed by Philippines Men’s National Football team manager, Dan Stephen Palami, visited the Autowelt BMW Showroom in Nivel Hills Lahug Cebu City last Monday, May 6, 2013.

The players who represented the Global FC were Ange Marios Tresor Guisso, Moussa Sanogo, Ben Starosta, Nino Ocohotorena, and Valentine Kama.

Australia as Top Study Destination in IDP Fair

AUSTRALIA is highlighted once more as among the world’s best education destinations in the next education fair organized by IDP Education Philippines this month.

The Australian Education Exhibition 2013 will be held at the Marco Polo Hotel in Davao on Friday, May 17. It moves to the Dusit Thani Makati the following day, culminating with its Cebu staging at the Radisson Blu Hotel Cebu on Sunday, May 19.

New Tattoo Lifestyle Stick

TATTOO, the country’s most reliable mobile broadband, unleashes a new weapon bringing to life your many passions, designed to seamlessly sync with your fast-paced lifestyle whether online or offline.

From three different lifestyle sticks now come one revamped and powerful mobile pre-paid gadget that combines countless passions exclusively created in tandem with esteemed furniture designer Kenneth Cobonpue. The three exclusive stick designs exemplify style and function in unison, and is also the smallest and lightest broadband stick available in the market today, only from Tattoo.

Random thoughts and hopes after the elections

NOW that the counting is almost done (some still doing it manually… geez…) we have the results and instead of ranting and complaining, we accept and embrace all the elected officials. Congratulations to all of you!

Just like most, we were glued to our television sets the evening of the D-day and on to the next morning and we even still follow the news. Whether local or national, as a voter who exercised my right, I want to know what the latest is.

Davao beyond durian

WHEN I talk to friends about Davao, the reaction is often, “There’s nothing to do in Davao except eat durian.” I beg to differ.

Utzurrum: A fond farewell to a beloved diplomat

AFTER 52 years in the Philippines, British Consul Moya Jackson can truly say, “that’s half my life I’ve spent among such warm and wonderful people.” Of these 52 years, 25 of them were as British Consul in Cebu, and what a job that was!

Proudly, Moya retires as an MBE (Member of the British Empire), a singular honor if ever there was one. This was significantly mentioned by British Ambassador Stephen Lillie when he and British Consul (Manila) Brendan Gill, honored Moya with a consular award at farewell cocktails at the Cebu Country Club.

Fetalvero: Surpassing trials with dignity

“I GET up every morning and I shake my fist at God and I say, “I will not be defeated.” These are powerful words from Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy, mother of the first Irish Catholic President of the United States, John F. Kennedy.

Throwback Thursday: Long live the Queen!

IT WAS an unscheduled trip back to the US, three years too early, in fact. After hopping from state to state, east coast to west, crossing time zones in a span of sixty days, I was exhausted, very exhausted. Every city started to look the same (except for the Big Apple) that my reply to anyone who asked when I will be back for my next visit was, “Not in another five years.”

Guess what? I was spoon fed with my words by no less than a royalty— the Queen of Pop we all know as Madonna.

A day in Mt. Malindang

IT WAS a 21-woman team who took the more than four-hour trekking challenge to the peak of Mt. Malindang in Misamis Oriental recently. It was definitely tiring, but along the way they rediscovered what the tourism slogan "It's more fun in the Philippines" really meant.

The trek up to the peak was made even more spectacular with the picturesque sceneries of varied species of flowers and lush vegetation of shrubs along the rolling terrain. These postcard pretty images are proofs of our rich homeland.

Jimenez: 25 years of success in the sugar industry

IT was more than a two-hour drive the other week when this writer and PR man Charles Lim with JG Summit Holdings Corporate Communications lady Len Balmonte joined URC-SONEDCO boss Lance Gokongwei and the officers and employees of the Gokongwei-owned sugar central in its celebration of 25 years of business success.

Sarap Magbabad in Panabo

IT'S summer time once again and beer market leader San Miguel Brewery Inc. (SMB) has brought fun and adventure on a higher level as they add the "Wildest Pulutan Challenge" onstage game to their weekly battle of the bands all throughout the country in their Sarap Magbabad Taste of Summer this year.

The celebration for the Filipino's zest for fun and friendship with the world's best-tasting beer along with their favorite pulutan has officially begun on March 15 but the party series have continued all over country until May is over.

Royal treatment on the green

GOLF aficionados have a new place to tee off and perfect their swing on the green, without having to hop on a plane to enjoy world-class facilities.

Spanning over 70 hectares in the town of Medellin in northern Cebu, Queen’s Castle Golf and Resort is the newest golf course and hotel on the island. The 18-hole golf course spans a total length of 6,850 yards.

Literatus: Knots of pain

I GUESS the most painful experience a person can have upon waking up is to have muscle cramps.

The condition consists of a sudden but involuntary contraction of a muscle or part of it that is painful as well as self-extinguishing (or self-limiting), with a palpable knotting of the muscle accompanying it.

Chill with Fantastics at Marco Polo Plaza

SUMMER in Cebu is hot and as the temperature goes up Marco Polo Plaza Cebu brings you something to cool you down. Indulge yourself to Fantastics, the thirst quenchers that will keep you pumping up with coolness in the midst of the heat of summer.

Relax your mind with Matcha Green Tea. Clear your head from all negative thoughts, enjoy the comforting view at El Viento and take a sip of this smoothie. Though the heat may hype everything, the soothing effect of matcha will calm you on any weather.

SilkAir to fly to Semarang and Makassar

SILKAIR, the regional wing of Singapore Airlines, will soon fly to two more cities in Indonesia, increasing its Indonesian network to 11 destinations.

Subject to regulatory approvals, SilkAir will offer thrice-weekly flights between Singapore and Semarang, the provincial capital of Central Java, from July 29, 2013, and thrice-weekly flights between Singapore and Makassar, the provincial capital of South Sulawesi, from Aug. 1.

Golden Haven annual awardees for 2012

GOLDEN Haven Memorial Park, indisputably Cebu’s most beautiful memorial park recently feted its top investment professionals for 2012 during Golden Haven’s annual awards night held last March 18, 2013.

Leading the year’s top awardees was Rupert Rabanes of Big R & Associates who bagged Top Business Director, the evening’s highest award. The other top winners in the other categories were Alma Quintilitisca (MB Explorers), Top Team Manager, and Auji Dakay (Team Player & Associates), Top Investment Consultant.

How old should my child be to go to preschool?

THERE used to be a general idea that children cannot go to school unless they are at least three years old. Some even go so far as to say that they can go starting five years old.

But now, research and studies show that early stimulation of young children's mind and bodies go a very long way towards their eventual success in big school, even in life.

WPF completes rollout of automated weather stations

WEATHER Philippines Foundation (WPF) has completed a nationwide rollout of 500 out of the planned 1,000 units of automated weather stations (AWS) by mid 2013.

WPF, founded by a partnership between Aboitiz Foundation, UnionBank, and Swiss firm Meteomedia, aims to deliver critical and accurate localized weather forecasts to the Filipino community, with the hope of improving nationwide disaster preparedness and timely response to variable weather conditions.

A summer toonfest at SM Supermalls

THE SM Supermalls gathers together forty well-loved cartoon characters as it celebrates summer with an SM Toonfest at 44 malls nationwide.

Ongoing until May 31, the Toonfest features exciting activities, cartoon-related toys and interesting finds for the whole family and the cartoon-lover to enjoy.

Calligraphy of art

CALLIGRAPHY, the dictionary says, is beautiful or elegant handwriting. In the case of Iranian artist Hassan Eftekhari, he used Arabic script to create works of art that to the unlettered in Arabic or Persian script, looks like modern non-figurative art: numerous little squiggles in different vibrant colors which are actually letters or words seem to swirl on the paper they are painted on, resulting in a piece of abstract art pleasing to the eye.

Espina: Power up tourism

EXCITE Cebu! “Power up Tourism!” The tourism team of the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) will intensify the marketing brand of Cebu locally and internationally and share the best practices of Asian countries—like Thailand, Singapore and Hong Kong—and, of course, the Philippines, hotels, resorts, airlines and travel groups.

Columbia-backed team wins in Mt. Apo Int'l Boulderface Challenge

LESS than 10 minutes shy of the first placer, Columbia/DOTA team conquered the 24-hour Mt. Apo Boulderface Challenge with a record time of 12 hours 32 minutes 21 seconds on April 29 in Sta. Cruz bagging P100,000 cash prize.

Composed of Dexter Nonato, April John Maniyog and Weng Rocha (logistics) led the pack of contenders in the first part of the race--mountain biking which is their forte. When asked what broke their momentum, Nonato said their tires deflated along the route to Kapatagan.