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.

Yakapin: huggable stuffed toys for the children victims of Tropical Storm Sendong

My friend, Cathy Babao, is once again at the helm of a drive to collect huggable, stuffed toys for the suffering children victimized by Tropical Storm Sendong. Cathy did this before when she launched "Bearhugs for Baguio" and sent stuffed toys to Northern Luzon for the children victims of Typhoon Pepeng.

If your children, nieces or children of friends have stuffed toys to spare, please donate them to Yakapin. Cathy explains it all in this post:

Put yourself in her shoes. 

You fall asleep snug in the arms on your mother, the rain pounds on the room but you are not afraid because beside you is your mother and you know you will be safe. All of a sudden, the waters enter your home and you are swept and carried away from all that is familiar and everyone whom you love.  

You wake up dazed not knowing what has happened to your family members. You walk around aimlessly, only to find that your home and all that you love is gone… 

Toys are effective tools in helping children heal from the trauma of loss. Stuffed toys are effective comfort givers in times of stress and trauma. To children, stuffed animals are more than toys, they become the vehicles by which they are able to tell their stories and release their pain. Stuffed toys or teddy bears are able to provide some degree of comfort in a scary world. 

Please send clean, friendly looking toys in good condition (no pigs please, owing to cultural and religious sensitivities) in any size, but ideally, big enough for a child to hug. 

Thanks to Dennis Garcia for the image used on this page and to friends who have generously donated their homes and establishments as drop off points throughout the city. Let’s all pull together and send as many hugs as we can to the children of Northern Mindanao. A new and soft teddy bear costs about as much as a Starbucks frapuccino or a ticket to the cinema -- a small price that will go a long way in bringing back hope and a smile into a child’s life. 

May you all be blessed to be a blessing to others.  

Alabang: 12 Brentwood Street, Hillsborough, West Service Road, Alabang Look for Magding or JC
Greenhills: 33 Madison Street, North Greenhills, San Juan. Look for Ann or Shirley Asuncion Berenguer, Inc. 3/f Homestudio Building, 63 Connecticut Street (same building as Homestudio, Torch resto and Bose) Northeast Greenhills . Please leave with guard and indicate “Bears for YBHM”
Makati: The Citadel Inn, 5007 P. Burgos Street, Makati City c/o Andre Urbina
Marikina: 1 Ferdinand Marcos Street, Industrial Valley Subdivision, Marikina Leave with guard please indicate “Bears for YBHM”
Paranaque: Johnson and Johnson, Edison Road, Paranaque City (Edison is street by Zuellig) Leave with guard, indicate “Bears for YBHM”
14 C. Diamond Street. Greenheights Village Sucat Paranaque. Look for Yaya Marlene
Quezon City: A-2 Dona Sotera, Pilarville Subd.,Quezon City c/o Dennis Mariano
41 Milkyway Drive, Blue Ridge B, Quezon City Look for Lily
C1C3 Narra Heights Condominium #28, Mariposa Street, Quezon City (near Camp Crame)
Eastwood area: Unit 5c Eastwood Lafayette Tower 3, Eastwood Avenue Libis Q.C (In front of Watsons, near Mcdonalds) Leave with guard indicate “Bears for YBHM”

She still needs people to volunteer their homes as drop-off points in the following areas: Mandaluyong, Manila,  Pasig. To volunteer or join this project, kindly click "Like" on Yakapin's Facebook page HERE.

Cirtek Holdings debuts on the Philippine Stock Exchange

(Disclaimer: My posts about any publicly listed corporation should not be construed as a buy/sell recommendation. Any person interested in stock investments must do his/her own due diligence review before deciding to buy or sell.)

I was invited recently to the debut of Cirtek Holdings Philippines Corp. (Cirtek) on the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE).

(L-R) PSE President/CEO Hans B. Sicat; Cirtek VP/Director Nicanor Lizares; Cirtek Chairman/President Jerry Liu; Vice President of the Republic of the Philippines Honorable Jejomar Binay; PSE Chairman Jose T. Pardo; and CVCLaw Senior Partner and Former National Defense Secretary Avelino Cruz, Jr (photo taken from Cirtek Holdings website)

Cirtek's listing (which carries the stock symbol "CHIPS" on the exchange) came on the heels of a very successful initial public offering (IPO) which saw the stock oversubscribed over 4 times.

Because I did not know much about Cirtek (goes to show how long I've been away from the corporate world), I tried to google a little bit about the company.

Cirtek Holdings is the holding company of two wholly-owned subsidiaries namely Cirtek Electronics Corporation (CEC) and Cirtek Electronics International Corporation (CEIC). Both subsidiaries are involved in the assembly and testing of electronic devices. Cirtek was organized as a Philippine corporation on Feb. 10, 2011. Its recent IPO generated PhP 295.14-M which consisted of 42.16 million common stock representing 26% of its total issued and outstanding stock. The success of the IPO offering, considering that the offer period only lasted from Nov. 8-14, 2011 showed the public's positive acceptance of the stock.

Here's a short interview I conducted with Cirtek's Chief Financial Officer, Anthony Albert Buyawe, who I discovered was an ex-SGV person like me.

Cirtek does not produce ordinary chips. They make specialized chips that are used in laptops/tablets, defense industry (their lips remained sealed as to exactly what defense technology), auto industry, and medical industry, among others.

How well did it do? Well, on opening day last Nov. 18, the stock closed at P7.95, up from its P7 per share IPO price.

When asked if Cirtek benefited from the floods in Thailand, Cirtek was circumspect, stating that they were saddened by what happened in Thailand but acknowledged that they were indeed negotiating new contracts from flood-hit Thailand. Four of these contracts have been concluded and another 6 could be finalized by end of 2011 or early 2012.

A Purefoods Lunch featuring Fiesta Ham Classic + New Variants

I can't imagine Noche Buena (Christmas Eve) or Media Noche (New Year's Eve) without ham. It's really a staple of our family dinner.

At a recent event with the Purefoods Fiesta Ham people at Via Mare Cafe and Oyster Bar, I was introduced to the familiar, classic fiesta ham as well as its new variants. One trivia: I didn't know Purefoods has been around since 1956??? No wonder we all practically grew up with its products!

This year you will find more than just the traditional 1kg Fiesta Ham in supermarkets. The new variants of the Fiesta ham are the 1.5kg thinly-sliced version of the Fiesta Ham for bigger gatherings; the 200g Fiesta Ham slices that are more affordable and conveniently packed; and the 3.5kg Smoked Bone-in Fiesta Ham.

Celebrity Moms showed us table settings that they themselves did to introduce the different Fiesta Ham variants.

Barbie Almalbis-Honasan

Classic Fiesta Ham

Singer-songwriter Barbie Almalbis-Honasan (popularly known as Barbie) and a Mom of two prepared a European table setting, complete with wine and cheese, to go with the Classic Fiesta Ham. Teapots on top of the vases were used to hold flowers, a nice touch, I thought. Barbie told us their family celebrates 3 Christmas dinners - one with the grandparents, another with titos/titas, then finally dinner at their own home.

Suzi Entrata-Abrera

Smoked Bone-in Ham (3.5kg)

TV host Suzi Entrata-Abrera designed a table setting to hold one of the new variants - the Smoked Bone-in Ham. She chose red because that was also the color theme for their own Christmas decor at home done by a friend. She lets her kids help in the decorating because oftentimes they come up with fresh ideas. For their fiesta ham, her family loves putting lots of sugar on top of the ham, frying it, and just putting it in pandesal.

Danica Sotto-Pingris

Classic Fiesta Ham

Danica Sotto-Pingris chose the Filipiniana theme for her table setting. She celebrates Christmas first with her dad, Vic Sotto, then with her mom, Dina Bonnevie. This year she plans to hang tree ornaments that reminds them of the year that passed. As a Mom of two and a culinary expert, she plans to make a Christmas Day breakfast - Fiesta ham on Eggs Benedict.