Sumosam opens in Gilmore

(Update: Sumosam's Gilmore St. branch has closed down already.)

Sumosam's 10th branch just opened in Gilmore St., Quezon City and I am one of those happy to be invited to its soft opening. Japanese food is just up there on the top of my food choices.

Sumosam is located inside a new food strip, Greenhills Town Center. It's located away from the hustle and bustle of the Greenhills Shopping Center, just after you cross Santolan from Ortigas Ave. There is a McDonald's in front of it, Seattle's Best Coffee beside it, and a few more restaurants inside the center.

I found the interiors very tastefully done in vibrant colors.

Marvin Agustin, President of Sumosam, graced the occasion and patiently went from table to table for photo ops with the bloggers.

The bloggers and guests invited were made to sample Sumosam's newest offering - their bento boxes.

The bento box served to us during the event was the Samurai's Choice Bento.

Samurai's Choice (PhP 488)Chicken teriyaki, beef misono (US beef knuckle),
dory tepan, tuna and salmon sashimi, kani stick, bean sprouts,
yasai itame, gohan, dilis

Tattoo@Home's 2012 Product Line-up

At a recent blogger event, we were introduced to the 2012 line-up of Globe Tattoo@Home.

At the launch was Ford Supermodel of the World 2010 Danica Flores Magpantay who is Tattoo@Home's newest brand ambassador. Danica's mom, Lala Flores, was herself the 1990 Supermodel of the World-Philippines winner who is now making a name for herself as a celebrated makeup artist.

The main feature of Tattoo@Home plans is its customization. Depending on how you use the internet, whether you are just a light user or an ultra heavy user who demands faster speed and more bandwidth, there is a plan you can choose from.

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The barebones, cheapest plan is only P999/month (internet only) with speeds up to 1MBPS. Plans P1,099 to P6,299 are internet and landline bundles with speeds ranging from 1-15MBPS and from 3-5 users. Calls to Globelines and Globe DUO subscribers are FREE for these plans. Plans starting with P1,299 also come with a free wifi router.

Now, if you and your kids download large files, play games like WOW or other image-rich games, or want a smooth streaming experience for music and videos, check out the Tattoo Torque Plans that all come with free landline and wifi router.

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And for those who want to surf using 4G connection, there's still the Tattoo Wimax plans:

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Watch out for Globe Telecom's aggressive expansion over the next 5 years which will see it building an entirely new network infrastructure to address the growing data usage of mobile subscribers. 

DiabetaMil: Healthy Food Choices Not Just for Diabetics

Diabetes is one of the top causes of death worldwide. A study done by the World Health Organization in August 2011 showed that in the Philippines, more than 2.7 million deaths in 2000 were diabetes-related. And most of the time, people do not die of diabetes. They die of complications arising from diabetes, such as heart disease, stroke, blindness, amputation, kidney disease and nerve problems. My own dad was a diabetic who died 10 years ago from heart complications.

Because diabetes is in our family history, I have to be conscious about what I eat. Thankfully, my sugar level does not seem to show any signs of diabetes but I still had to learn to tame my once sweet tooth. I also try to teach my kids to choose healthier meal and snack alternatives since diabetes can oftentimes skip a generation and manifest in their generation.

I recently got a sample of a cookie snack item drink made specifically for diabetics as well as for those who just want to have healthier food choices.

DiabetaMil Nutritious Drink can be a meal substitute for diabetics. It comes in two flavors: vanilla and chocolate. Cereal and oat flakes in the drink give that feeling of fullness and curb appetite. Each box contains 6 sachets and based on directions, each serving involves mixing 2 sachets of the drink with warm water. One serving is 250 calories.

The DiabetaMil Cookies come in Nutty Chocolate and Vanilla Dried Fruit variants. I got the dried fruit variant and liked the dried raisins that were embedded in the cookies. Each box contains 5 sachets, two cookies per sachet. One serving (2 cookies) contains 100 calories. I ate the cookies in one sachet and they taste good.

Both the drink and cookies are sugar-free. They are flavored using Tropicana Slim Sweetener, a sugar-free sweetener known for a low glycemic index (GI) which helps to control blood sugar. (Note: I had no chance to test the exact effect on the GI so I am relying on the representations made)

All variants of DiabetaMil are said to contain a higher amount of chromium polynicotinate, which is believed to help keep blood sugar levels in check by improving the way the body uses insulin.

If you have diabetes, this could be something you may want to add to your list of food choices. But, as it is with any medical condition, I recommend you check first with your dietitian.

DiabetaMil is available in major drugstores and supermarkets. They also have a Facebook page at www.facebook/DiabetaMil Philippines.