Sunday, July 22, 2012

Larry and Mau Diner: Good Food and Good Friends Go Together

Craving for great food with an ambiance of just chilling out with your good friends?  Then might I suggest heading over to a certain Larry and Mau Diner and let your palates experience the zing built by friends.


GOOD FOOD AND GOOD FRIENDS GO TOGETHER.
It's written all over the place and no doubt about feeling good dining here! Larry and Mau Diner is the brainchild of two guys who, from "rags-to-riches", managed to build another foodie haven goers will surely be fans of! From their six brands of well established restaurants including Uncle Cheffy, Old Vince Grille, Chef's Quarter Restaurant and Wine Bar, Kuse Traditional Filipino Cuisine, Beurre Blanc Restaurant and now came Larry and Mau Diner.
Larry and Mau Diner is similar to fastfood outlets that lets you order your food at the counter. However, they are not just serving hamburgers and chickens but a whole lot more! Here's what they served us that afternoon.


NACHOS SALAD | Php95 - Savory, tangy, cheesy! Our appetizer just hits the spot with this crunchy nachos salad!


FISH PAILLARD | Php 139 - Flattened meat fish served with rice or fries, carrots and corn and their one-of-a-kind Pinoy Steak Sauce which I surely loved because of its distinct taste. The fish meat is so tender one could not even use a knife with this.


PORK PAILLARD | Php139 - Flattened pork meat served with rice or fries, carrots and corn ans Pinoy Steak sauce and mustard sauce. My personal favorite because of its aroma upon serving and its tenderness which is easy to chew.


SMOKED BOILED BACON TASTE OF IRELAND | Php169 - It looks like our native viand "nilaga" but tasted way better! At first, it got me weirded since I knew bacon is cooked fried. But this one made me an instant fan because of its tenderness and savory meat. One should try this when visiting Larry and Mau!


SEAFOOD MARINARA | Php89 -  A pasta bedazzled by seafood. This nifty concoction puts a spice in our everyday pasta and trickled it with the vast taste of the sea.


ALL MEAT POMODORO | Php89 - So who wants meat? This dish boasts an all meat cast that are tender, moist and oh so meaty!


 
(L-R clockwise) Tuna and Cheese melt, Php95 | Spiced Corn and Eggplant, Php89 | Pork Afritada, Php89 - The all time Filipino favorite torta now comes with a twist! With its soft texture on the inside and right crunchiness on the outside, no doubt that it really does taste great than your ordinary torta at home. Perfect match with their sauce!


For chicken lovers, this is a sure treat for you! 
ROASTED CHICKEN, price starts at Php79 for one-piece chicken 

BUFFALO WINGS | Php130 for 150gms and Php230 for 300gms - one bite and the crunchiness hits the spot! Very crunchy and has a right taste of tangy and spiciness on it! 


CRISPY FRIED PORK RIBS | Php99 Regular size and Php450 Family size. - Crispy, crunchy and all around delectable. These ribs are cooked to perfection and has become an instant fave of mine after the first bite!


Definitely with all the food served on us, we were downright full! But alas, the nice waiter served us their hefty ONE POUND of pure beef patty topped with tomatoes, cheese, lettuce and the works! Like OMG, with the size of that burger, it should have been our whole main course! 




SUPER BURGER | Php395 
In fact, this coming month of August, they will be launching the ULTIMATE BURGER CHALLENGE which stars their one pound burger! Saturdays are open to aspiring Kings and Queens (male-female couples, 18 years old and above) while Sundays are reserved for Kings and Princes ( father and son tandems. Father must be 25 years old and above, child must be between 8-10 years old). Competitions are scheduled at 10 in the morning and will run the entire weekend for the whole month. Winning pairs will receive gift checks and discount privileges from all their establishments!



Alcoholic beverages are served round the clock, literally! Because Larry and Mau Diner is OPEN 24 HOURS!


Many thanks to Miss Nana Nadal for the wonderful Larry and Mau Diner experience! :)






LARRY AND MAU DINER
Ground Floor, Two E-com Center, Palm Coast Drive
Mall of Asia Complex, Pasay City
Contact no. 869-7939
Email larrynmau@yahoo.com

Sunday, July 8, 2012

Indies Unleased at Komikon Indieket 2012


Have you ever read a comic book about fighting street foods joining a talent contest to help out their broken hearted friend forget his lost love? How about the one where call agents who moonlight as superheroes try to escape a psychopath they inadvertently gave a ride to? Perhaps you’ve read about the misadventures of an exasperating and disagreeable boy who is equal parts witty and offensive as he tries to live thru life? Maybe you came across the one where a once feared barbarian king now has opened up a barbershop and spends his days cutting hair and chatting with his friends? No? Then you’re missing a lot. That is how rich and varied the books our independent comics creators produce and now Komikon is proud to provide an event that will showcase all of it in their awe inspiring independent glory, KOMIKON INDIEKET 2012, the 1st Komikon Grand Independent Komiks Market.


From zombies, superheroes, cute girls, monsters, robots, national heroes, katipuneros, talking hotdogs, talking chickens, and anything else our own crop of comic geniuses can cook up, the depth and width of Filipino talent in creating various worlds and stories will be at the center of the spotlight. Unencumbered by editorial mandate and censorship, their imagination unleashed and armed with the freedom to produce anything they can under the sun. All of these and more are available in this year’s KOMIKON INDIEKET.


Aside from having creators at the event, there will also be talks on how to create your own comic book and to improve your skills as a comic creator. Speaker Melvin “Taga-ilog” Calingo, known for his work for Culture Crash and Seven Seas Entertainment will discuss the nitty gritty on producing your own independent comic book. Best Asian Album at France’s Prix-Asie ACBD, Quai des Bulles Award winner and Eisner Award nominee Gerry Alanguilan will be giving a talk about komiks in general. UP Professor and Cadre comic book producer Emil Flores will be on hand to give a lecture on Comic Book writing.
So if you are interested to sample the best and new crop of comics our Filipino comic book creators has to offer and perhaps learn a thing or two about comic book creation, please do join us.  KOMIKON INDIEKET 2012 will be held at Hall A of Bayanihan Center, Unilab Compound, Pasig City on July 14, 2012, from 10am to 7pm. Entrance Fee is Php 50. Visit  http://www.facebook.com/Indieket for more details.


KOMIKON INDIEKET 2012  is organized by KOMIKON Inc., organizers of the recently successful Summer Komikon 2012. Special thanks to Cadimus Prime, Summit Media, Oh No Manga and Unilab.

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Food Trip Saturdays: Big City Grilled Hotdogs and Sausages and Swensen's sundaes

Pardon for this delayed post but my flu over the weekends gets the energy out of me. Somehow I feel better today that's why I managed to make 3 blog posts of different topics ! Huzzaaaah I am so superwoman! Ha ha!


I would like to call my Saturdays now my 'Cheat Day Saturdays'. Not because I'm cheating with you-know-who but with my stomach! Yes, I am on a serious dieting mode now which consists of 2 bananas and an oat fiber crackers for lunch and no dinner for me (or I'll just include crackers just before 6pm). I do it routinely for almost 2 weeks now and guess what? I LOST 3lbs! I created this diet routine myself and it works like magic!


Okaaaay, I'm not here to brag about my dieting wonders but I'm here to tell you how I treated myself for a day. I really can't help it. I LOVE FOOD! But I should discipline myself with my eating habit or else I would end up a mini-whale T__T For last week's Saturday, we ended up at SM Mall of Asia. Le Boyf wanted to buy me a present: a sturdy bag that can handle my essentials. To make the story short, I wasn't able to buy one because I'm too picky. So we ended up eating a lot and to rest our tired feet inside the restos.




First stop is Big City Grilled Hotdogs and Sausages. It's a small store in the middle of two main restos which I completely forgot. But looking the interior, it will catch your fancy mainly from the bright lights and colors. Red, orange, yellow will dominate your sight upon entering, homey and warm.


Le Boyf ordered All Beef Burger with your choice of fries or onion rings and a drink | Php100. He's a big fan of juicy and meaty patties so this goes to his favorites as well. I hesitated to try the onion rings but when I tried one, I grab another until gone! Perfect with mayo!


Mine was an All Beef Sausage with pickles and relish with choice of fries or onion rings and a drink | Php 130. I think the best hotdog I've ever tasted yet! They just grilled it in perfect time to be that juicy and tasty!


What we didn't like there is their ketchup. What constitute a great hotdogs and burgers stand are the condiments dude, and they like diluted it in water. Maybe they want to have more amount of ketchup in the bottle but it tasted bland, definitely killed my hotdogs. Hoping the next time we visit them, the consistency and the tomato-ness of the ketchup will be there.


Next stop, Swensen's!
My intense dieting made me crave for sweets. So I didn't let my Saturday pass without having one! We darted to Swensen's just in time for our dessert.
Lookie-lookie at their glass! It's so cute and I want to take it home!
We settled for a small glass of sundae. Knowing Swensen's hefty servings of real good ice cream, we might not be able to finish the whole glass! Sayang! I ordered Chewy Chocky Fancy | Php 135.


And maaaan, it was heavenly to the last spoon! I simply love those divine wafers and the frozen cherries on top! The hot fudge envelopes the creaminess of the chocolate ice cream, creating a delightful mood within me!


Le boyf has his choice of American Tower | Php 140. Same thing! It was simply divine! Most especially when we reached the strawberry flavored part of the ice cream, not too sweet but just the right thing to leave you smiling and wanting more!


If you're a close friend or following me on my Facebook and Twitter, I posted many times how one day I craved for Almond Roca -- a chocolate of some kind. I was web-browsing and when I saw it somewhere, kid memories came flushing in and in an instant, I wanted those ASAP. Imagine my surprise when I saw a cute, small packet of Almond Roca at Mall of Asia!


and, I was disappointed. Don't ask me why.




Big City Grilled Hotdogs and Sausages
SM Mall of Asia, Seaside Blvd

Pasay City, Metro Manila
Philippines

Swensen's 
G/F SM Mall of Asia, South Wing, Bay Blvd
Pasay City, Metro Manila
Philippines
(02) 804-0046

Monday, July 2, 2012

HTC Philippines launches HTC One S and HTC Desire Series

I've been eyeing several smartphones from different brands in the market for some months now. With my current savings and with thorough research and whatnots, a busy working girl like me needs something handy but carries the essentials like a good camera with vivid and sharp images, a longer battery life, web browsing on the go and of course, the classy and elegant finish. I have held and touch several phones that would capture my heart, and I found it with HTC.


Last April, HTC Philippines had launch the range of HTC One phones in the market like the HTC One V (which I'm longing to buy!) and the HTC One X, but through Google I found out that one more model is missing out -- the HTC One S. Soon enough, HTC Philippines has recently launched the HTC One S at The Block, SM North.



Not to sound weird but while I'm holding the HTC One S phone, I instantly felt crazy in love with it! Did you know that the metal casing undergoes a process called micro-arc oxidation, which according to Wikipedia -- "is an electrochemical surface treatment process for generating oxide coatings on metals." Not too sounding geeky much but to say it in simplest form, the casing has just been hit 10,000 volts of electricity, almost like the lightning strikes, causing a microscopic transformation which creates a super-strong ceramic case that is 5 times stronger than aerospace aluminum. Wow, just wow.





HTC One S runs on Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich OS with 1.5 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Processor and a 1GB of RAM. Comparing it with HTC One X, it has a slightly smaller 4.3 Super AMOLED display and is slimmer with thickness of just 7.9mm making it the slimmest handset HTC has release by far.





What's more better with this phone is that it has a built-in Beats Audio™ to deliver more premium mobile service. With an f/2.0 lens and auto HDR mode, HTC ImageSense technology delivers fast image capture with stunning results, even under adverse lighting conditions. In just 0.7 seconds you’re able to take a shot and, with its new superfast 0.2 second autofocus, you’ll never miss a moment again. You can even take pictures as you shoot HD video, or extract high resolution stills from HD video in playback.


HTC One S is now available at authorized retailers and mobile operators with a suggested retail price of Php 26,990.


HTC Philippines has launched as well at the event their HTC Desire series phones following the success of their  HTC One series phones -- the Desire C and Desire V.
“Listening to music is one of the most popular things people use their phones for, so it’s more important than ever that we deliver the power and emotion artists capture in the studio,” said Richard Javier, country Manager, HTC Philippines. “The HTC Desire family offers customers excellent design, easy access to content and fast connectivity – making them the perfect lifestyle smartphone choice.”




Combining a durable metal frame with precision engineering, the HTC Desire family of smartphones is ideal for those who want a premium-designed phone. Boasting sharp in-call sound, hyper-viewing angle display and metal camera bezel, these compact smartphones not only offer some of the largest screen sizes in their class, but also an unrivalled level of design and user-experience for their class and at an affordable rate.

HTC Desire V

Like HTC Desire C, HTC Desire V is a dual-SIM smartphone for busy users who need to keep track of their work and personal lives on a single mobile companion. With a brilliant 4- inch screen and the latest HTC Sense 4.0 integrated with Android 4.0, HTC Desire V (3G and GSM) is HTC’s most affordable 4-inch smartphone, and a fantastic choice for those who want to combine technology with style. The Desire V makes it easy for users to save all contact numbers—from business contacts to family and friends, they can access all of them in one gadget. This dual-SIM smartphone lets users switch easily between personal and work mobile phone numbers and accounts, allowing for greater freedom and cost management.  It also enables users to easily switch between networks for better coverage, ensuring that you stay connected no matter where you are.




HTC Desire C
Available in red, white and black, and coming with HTC Sense 4.0 integrated with Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich), the HTC Desire C is great as a first smartphone or for those upgrading from an existing one. Packing a powerful battery and offering access to thousands of apps and games– available through Google Play – you will always be connected and entertained whether at work, home or on the move. 

HTC Desire V and HTC Desire C are now available in HTC concept stores and authorized retailers nationwide. HTC Desire V comes with a suggested retail price of Php 16, 990 while HTC Desire C has a suggested retail price of Php 10,990. 

While I'm still saving more for my favorite HTC phone model, my blogger friend here, Camille Salazar, whom I invited as well to go with me at the launch won an HTC Desire C they raffled off at the event! WAH! I wanted the phone myself! LOL I even haggled the phone to her at a lower price or just give it to me for free but she just won't nudge! *grumble* *grumble* When the perfect time comes, I'll have the perfect HTC in my hands!




*******
About HTC
Founded in 1997, HTC Corp. (HTC) is the creator of many award-winning mobile devices and industry firsts. By putting people at the center of everything it does, HTC pushes the boundaries of design and technology to create innovative and personal experiences for consumers around the globe. HTC’s portfolio includes smartphones and tablets powered by HTC Sense, a multilayered graphical user interface that vastly improves user experience. HTC is listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE: 2498). For more information, please visit www.htc.com


Bigfish Innovation White 2012 - Party 'til dawn!

After a week piled with paper works and five days worth of stress, I'm definitely looking for one thing that could relieve all the stress. And that calls for the biggest party happening on a wonderful Saturday night: THE BIGFISH INNOVATION WHITE PARTY 2012!

The party is all set and ready to take the party crowd in at the World Trade Center. As we walked inside, we got caught in a flood of people all dressed in white and strange but beautiful creatures sparkling and glowing pass us by. We were also offered with samples of Power Horse, an energy drink to give us the kick and pump our energy all the way 'til dawn!


I was very lucky to be invited and be able to see face to face the legendary DJs namely Cosmic Gate, Myon and Shane 54, Bobina and Emma Hewitt playing for us tonight! At the PressCon, we waited a bit long for them to arrive but in an instant, everyone was up on their feet, clamoring and is extremely excited as they arrived! Talked about being fashionably late! Soon, the room was filled with flashes, talks and questions from the bloggers and press people.
Left: Me with the stunning and gorgeous Emma Hewitt! She's so nice!
Right: Standing tall with me are the Cosmic Gate guys! I look like a kiddo here haha


After the press conference, we all went down and I'm pretty much excited as everyone else to party along!

The international sensation Cosmic Gate wowed the start of the epic party. There were fireworks, confetti and strobe lights that streamed through dance floor! Everyone moved to the beat of and pumped, danced and had a great time! DJ after DJ the floor was never short of great music, everyone hyped up and moved with the beat!

I have to say but Bigfish is great for bringing the greatest and coolest talents from all over the world here in Manila. With the success of Innovation White Party, I cant wait for the Black Party this August! I'm really excited and can't wait for my party feet to move along!


Special thanks to Jason Tomas, PR for this one night of fun and booze, for inviting me and accommodating everyone who came to party 'til dawn!