Our Awesome Planet - Your Ultimate Guide to Awesome Philippines!
http://www.ourawesomeplanet.com/awesome/
Slice of Manila's Hidden Places. Travel Secrets through Word-Of-Mouth. Shared through our Awesome Family Adventures.en-US2009-12-24T08:14:02+08:00This is an XML content feed. It is intended to be viewed in a newsreader or syndicated to another site.Tuloy Pa Rin Ang Pasko!
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ourawesomeplanet/~3/tUBZ2ojzA_s/perfect-christmas-and-tuloy-pa-rin-ang-pasko.html
Merry Christmas to all OAP Friends and your Family! I would like to share with you a simple Christmas Gift from Aidan and his classmates. The next three videos were performed during Aidan's Christmas performance in school. Enjoy! Feliz Navidad...Merry Christmas to all OAP Friends and your Family! I would like to share with you a simple Christmas Gift from Aidan and his classmates. The next three videos were performed during Aidan's Christmas performance in school. Enjoy!
Feliz Navidad
Perfect Christmas
Tuloy Pa Rin Ang Pasko
I will be taking a Christmas Blogging Break to enjoy the Holiday season with our family and my brother who is here on vacation from the US. Enjoy your Christmas and New Year Season!
Live an Awesome Life,
Anton Diaz Founder, OurAwesomePlanet.com Mobile: +63917-LOVEOAP (5683627) Email: anton@diaz.ph Follow me in Twitter: antondiaz Add me as a Friend in Facebook: antondiaz Subscribe in my You Tube channel: antondiaz
P.S. For those people who would want to celebrate Christmas intimately in a nice romantic restaurant outside the hotel, here are a few suggestions:
AUBERGINE 32nd and 5th Building 5th Avenue cor. 32nd Street Fort Bonifacio 1634 Taguig Telephone: +632 856-9888
WHISTLESTOP 24x7 Since 1977 28 Jupiter St. (Between Fiamma and Starbucks) Reserve: +632 896-1989 Note: Yes, they are opened for their First Christmas :)
OLD SWISS INN Ground Level, Somerset Olympia, Makati Ave. cor. Sto. Tomas St. Makati Reserve: +632 818-8251 Note: Last Table for Two
]]>13. Awesome Happenings in Manila circa 2005 onwardsAnton2009-12-24T08:14:02+08:00http://www.ourawesomeplanet.com/awesome/2009/12/perfect-christmas-and-tuloy-pa-rin-ang-pasko.htmlYour "La Vie Boheme" Moment
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ourawesomeplanet/~3/iM8f0AfS2Do/your-la-vie-boheme-moment.html
RENT MUSICAL BACK in MANILA BLOG CONTEST NO. 2 Contest Duration: December 19, Saturday to 11.59pm December 27, Sunday) I just watched the Sneak Peek of Rent Manila with the 2010 Cast. It was a very nostalgic moment for us,...
RENT MUSICAL BACK in MANILA BLOG CONTEST NO. 2 Contest Duration: December 19, Saturday to 11.59pm December 27, Sunday)
I just watched the Sneak Peek of Rent Manila with the 2010 Cast. It was a very nostalgic moment for us, the"Rent" generation. I remembered how the songs truly inspired me -- from pursuing the love of my life -- Rache, to following my passion in life -- blogging about the beauty of the Philippines. So for the next RENT Contest, can you share your own "La Vie Boheme" moment?
To enter the contest, you just have to create a Blog Post or a Facebook note and answer this: "What's your 'La Vie Boheme' moment?" and mention the Feb 6, 2010 RENT OAP Show. Please enter the link of the Blog Post or Facebook note in the comments section of this entry.
The best entry will win: - Two (2) Balcony Tickets for the February 6, 2010, 8pm show! - A Black RENT Shirt for Women (XL Size) - Rent Manila 2010 Poster
(BTW, I recorded the Sneak Peek last Wednesday night. Check it out below!)
RENT MANILA 2010 SNEAK PEEK!
RENT is set in New York City's gritty East Village. This revolutionary rock musical is an imaginative retelling of the classic Puccini opera, La Boheme. This unforgettable and timeless story of a group of starving artists, who, despite poverty and illness, learn to fall in love and find their voices, brings a universal message of hope for everyone.
Winner of the Tony Award for Best Musical and the Pulitzer Prize, RENT with Book, Music and Lyrics by the late Jonathan Larson, has made a lasting mark on Broadway with songs that rock and a story that really resonates.
Introducing...Robbie Guevara and the RENT Manila 2010 Cast!
The artistic team led by Director Robbie Guevara, Choreographer Charles Thompson and Vocal Coach Onyl Torres fused together their expertise in bringing out the message of the two songs.
Robbie Guevara, who also handles the acting workshop before each rehearsal session, made use of various theater exercises that helped the cast formulate their own thoughts and decisions about their characters. The exercises also included activities that made sure the cast was working as a unified ensemble.
Charles Thompson emphasized on the body movement to effectively reflect not only the lyrics of each song, but the melodies that the composer wrote to convey the true feelings and thoughts of each character. He started by giving the cast dance classes, which gave them a uniform sense of body movement, then proceeded on to the specific choreographies per number, in constant consultation with the Director.
Onyl Torres studied the voice qualities of each member of the cast and ran them through "warm up" techniques. Power and strength are two key elements needed to sustain the vocal requirements of the musical. In teaching the songs, he further refined the notes by emphasizing their nuances in detail.
The cast of RENT includes Gian Magdangal as Roger Davis, a songwriter who is HIV positive; Fredison Lo as Mark Cohen, an independent filmmaker and Roger's roommate and Nicole Asensio as Mimi Márquez, an exotic dancer with HIV.
The cast also features OJ Mariano as Tom Collins, a gay philosophy professor and anarchist with AIDS; Carla Guevara-Laforteza as Maureen Johnson, a bisexual performance artist; Noel Rayos as Benjamin 'Benny' Coffin III, the local landlord and a former roommate of Roger, Mark, Collins, and Maureen; Job Bautista as Angel Dumott Schunard, a gay drag queen percussionist with AIDS; Jenny Villegas as Joanne Jefferson, a lawyer, who is Maureen's partner; and Cara Barredo, as Mimi Marquez (at certain performances).
Ensemble members include Ring Antonio, Peachy Atilano, Johann Dela Fuente, Harold Cruz, Gary Junsay, Raul Montesa, Anna Santamaria and Mark Tayag.
La Vie Boheme by Rent Manila 2010 Cast - Sneak Peek!
La Vie Boheme is the finale number of Act 1, that starts off as a mock-answer to the statement "Bohemia is dead...", smugly exclaimed by the quasi-antagonistic character Benny (Noel Rayos). As the song progresses, the rest of the cast, led by Mark (Fredison Lo), show the audience the contrary: that bohemia is not dead, but indeed very much alive through the lifestyle they all choose to lead with much passion and fun.
Finale B by RENT Manila 2010 Cast -- Sneak Peek!
Finale B is the closing number of the entire show. It encapsulates the whole message that RENT aims to share: there is NO DAY BUT TODAY and that life is meaningless WITHOUT YOU or without each other.
RENT Manila Q&A (Part 1): How does it feel for the Theater Newbies?
RENT Manila Q&A (Part 2): On Assimilating the 90's Character
RENT Manila Q&A (Part 3): with Santi Santamaria (Executive Producer)
RENT is presented through special arrangement with: MUSIC THEATRE INTERNATIONAL (MTI) 421 WEST 54TH STREET, NEW YORK, NEW YORK 10019 TEL.: (212) 541-4684 • WWW.MTISHOWS.COM
SHOW DATES ARE: FEBRUARY 5, 6, 7, 12, 13, 14, 19, 20, 21, 26, 27 AND 28. FRIDAYS, SATURDAYS AND SUNDAYS AT 8:00PM
SATURDAYS AT 3:30PM & SUNDAYS AT 4:30PM VENUE: CARLOS P. ROMULO AUDITORIUM, RCBC PLAZA
AYALA CORNER SEN. GIL PUYAT AVENUES, MAKATI CITY 1200
Feb 6, 2010 (Saturday) - OAP Show 8PM/ C.P. Romulo Auditorium, RCBC Plaza Reserve Now! (check out the Seat Plan) Email: amillionmiracles@gmail.com Mobile Number:+63917 8676332 (Minnie Fong) (Tell them that you are an OAP reader. Also, please say hi when you see us at the show.)
Anton Diaz Founder, OurAwesomePlanet.com Mobile: +63917-LOVEOAP (5683627) Email: anton@diaz.ph Add me in Twitter: antondiaz Add me in Facebook: antondiaz Add me in You Tube: antondiaz
]]>Anton2009-12-19T09:21:51+08:00http://www.ourawesomeplanet.com/awesome/2009/12/your-la-vie-boheme-moment.htmlErica's Happy Bacon Chocolate :)
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ourawesomeplanet/~3/AKUexiwC2j4/ericas-happy-bacon-chocolate-.html
ULTIMATE TASTE TEST 3.0 RATING: 3.4 out of 5.0 Happy Bacon is a personal favorite, and I've been addicted to it ever since Erica shared it when we met in Singapore. I encouraged her to join the Ultimate Taste Test...ULTIMATE TASTE TEST 3.0 RATING: 3.4 out of 5.0
Happy Bacon is a personal favorite, and I've been addicted to it ever since Erica shared it when we met in Singapore. I encouraged her to join the Ultimate Taste Test to really put it to the test among foodies.
This is one of the highly debated foodie discoveries in UTT3 (see comments below). Fifty percent loved it because of the unique sweet-and-salty combination that is almost aphrodisiac in nature, while the other half hated it because it's deadly, sinful and they didn't like the aftertaste of bacon. But it passed the test with a rating of 3.4. This is a great Christmas gift for foodies who love new adventures with their chocolate.
The packaging can definitely be improved on and maybe Erica could create a version with the truffle-like quality of chocolate. Some think that its price of P250 for 100g is too high, but for us, the only problem is that the product has to be picked up in the QC / ABS-CBN area.
I'm a Happy Bacon fan, are you?
What Foodies Are Saying About Happy Bacon
"It is unique but no extraordinary taste" "I love the sweet & salty taste .... and the presentation" "sweet + salty = eww :~" "Really, Really Good! Perfect combination of sweet and salty, as a snack!" "Sinful (but awesome)!" "Sinful! hahaha!" "WOW!" "Not my combination" "No big deal. You can coat anything with Choco" "The chocolate coating is too thick, low quality chocolate." "Very good but some bacon "thread" was a bit tough -- overall it was A-OK!" "Weird but good." "I don't think that works." "New! My hubby and I love this!" "It was a bad idea; the taste wasn't right... unhealthy..." "What a combination!" "Taste good at first; but the aftertaste not that good" "You no longer recognize the bacon." "Crunchy but the aftertaste is that of bacon and not of chocolate?" "Something new & interesting, it works!" "I couldn't reconcile the bacon with the chocolate" "Interesting mix of bacon & chocolate" "Might seem like a strange combination but the saltiness of bacon with choco actually works!" "Very Interesting" "Something Different" "Not a big fan of bacon, no didn't really like it." "Never thought this would work but it does. less chocolate sana." "Salty-Sweet Combi. good but not great for me." "Original!" "Can't get enough!" "Reminds me of Royce Chocolate Covered Potato Chips! with Crispier texture! mmm!" "Something different but would not eat a lot of it. The combination is deadly. Once you taste it, that's just it. No more 2nd servings!" "The chocolate is not at par with the novel idea. It's like eating goya. It's more sinful if it were like truffle." "Authentic taste." "We love this one but isn't it too much for high blood?"
The Happy Bacon Story by Erica Paredes
Before I even went to New York last July, my friend who lives there was already telling me about a little chocolate store that sold chocolate-covered bacon. I was intrigued and excited to try it, as I have always liked the combination of sweet and salty. I love Kettle Corn, and grew up eating spam cooked with sugar. Christmas is the best time of the year for me because that's when the sweet-salty Fiesta ham comes out. And I love eating cheese with grapes or figs. It never sounded gross or weird to me. In fact, it made sense.
I was in New York for 5 weeks and it wasn't until the last few days that I went to the place my friend was telling me about... It was amazing as I expected, so thank God I didn't try it before or I would have spent my entire trip (and all my money) munching on the chocolate bacon. It was a bit pricey at about $35 per pound, so I bought a 1/2 pound bag to take back to Manila since the owner said it would keep for about 6 weeks if refrigerated. It was a hit with the people I work with at Metro and something we talked about even months after I returned.
One day, I decided to try to make it myself. It took a few tries but I finally got the perfect bacon-chocolate combination and let some of my friends try it. They loved it, and one person I work with even said mine tastes better than the one I brought home from NY. Cheaper too! I just kept making to bring around with me and have people try because I was thinking of giving them out as Christmas gifts. The thought of selling them also occured to me, but I was planning to do it much later, until a trip to Singapore sped things up a bit.
I met Anton Diaz over lunch and casually brought out my bag of bacon for him and the rest of the table to try. He, fortunately, loved the product and asked me to join his Ultimate Taste Test, which was to take place only a week later. I was slightly panicking because I wasn't even sure if I could produce that much but I managed to do it. The product was received quite well at the event and orders from friends and people who read about Happy Bacon through blogs or were at the event started pouring in. The amount of orders I have gotten this Christmas is still a bit overwhelming for me, since I'm a beginner, so hopefully people are understanding (for awhile) if orders, specially in bulk, take longer than a few days. I'm still trying to work out the kinks and don't even have proper packaging yet -- just a small white bag -- but hopefully, if everything works out, I can work on all of these things soon!!!
Anton Diaz Founder, OurAwesomePlanet.com Mobile: +63917-LOVEOAP (5683627) Email: anton@diaz.ph Follow me in Twitter: antondiaz Add me as a Friend in Facebook: antondiaz Subscribe in my You Tube channel: antondiaz
P.S. The Chocolate Craze in Manila is heating up. Do let me know if you have a chocolate discovery tip! :)
]]>07. Foodie DiscoveriesAnton2009-12-17T21:09:44+08:00http://www.ourawesomeplanet.com/awesome/2009/12/ericas-happy-bacon-chocolate-.htmlFlavored Kefir-licious!
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ourawesomeplanet/~3/s2Mcby_vjyk/flavored-kefirlicious.html
ULTIMATE TASTE TEST 3.0 RATING: 3.4 out of 5.0 My favorite healthy drink these days is Jeren's Flavored Kefir. The healthy benefits of Kefir are popular among the Chinese community. There is already one seller of Kefir drinks in Salcedo...ULTIMATE TASTE TEST 3.0 RATING: 3.4 out of 5.0
My favorite healthy drink these days is Jeren's Flavored Kefir. The healthy benefits of Kefir are popular among the Chinese community. There is already one seller of Kefir drinks in Salcedo Market. I usually get my fix of Kefir in Arama in Serendra.
I had no doubt that the Flavored Kefir of Jeren would pass the discriminating taste of foodies. Some people even commented that it was so good in terms of sweetness and flavor that they couldn't believe that it's made purely of Kefir. I like the Mango and Vanilla variants (in that order). It's like drinking ice cream -- very milky rich, very tasty but still very healthy. How can you beat that?
"The plain milk needs improvement." "Mango was good -- too good! I can't believe something so heatlhy can taste this awesome!" "I would buy this!" ".... but too pricey!" "I don't like the taste but it's healthy :)" "So healthy --- a way to go" "good flavors" "green tea didn't taste very green tea-ish but mango was good!" "Mango flavor is best" "lacks green tea taste" "refreshing" "The chocolate is a little too sweet"
My Yummy Flavored Kefir Story by Jeren Cabral
Through my first article in this awesome website entitled “My Milk Kefir Story” (posted sometime in August 2009), I narrated how I came across the precious kefir grains and how I developed “milk kefir” out of raw milk.
A few days after that blog, orders for milk kefir suddenly soared. Some customers even ordered in bulk for retail purposes. Now aware of the health benefits of milk kefir, my friends and acquaintances are constantly texting or calling me for supply such that I have to work double time to accommodate them. Deprived of ample rest at night, I decided to give up my work in Serendra and focus on manufacturing milk kefir for my treasured friends and customers.
Since plain milk kefir has a tart or sharp taste, not everyone likes drinking it on a regular basis. So I came up with the idea of flavored milk kefir that will be enjoyed by everyone -- adults and kids alike -- to the last drop, depending on his or her favorite flavor. Currently, the available flavors are chocolate, mango, vanilla, and green tea. Other delicious flavors are still being developed and tested in my small food lab at home. I will be updating you soon...
For those who are not yet familiar with milk kefir, please be informed that it is 100% natural and very good for your body because it strengthens your immune system and, in the process, cures your illnesses.
FLAVORED KEFIR PRICE LIST
Plain milk kefir - Php270.00 per liter
Flavored milk kefir - Php480.00 per liter - Php260.00 per 500ml (chocolate, mango, vanilla, green tea)
Kefir ice cream - Php269.00 per 1 pint (410g) (mango, vanilla, strawberry, fruits in season) - Php275.00 per 1 pint (410g) (choco berry) - Php580.00 per 1000g
For flavored milk kefir and kefir ice cream, please order a day or two in advance. The introductory price of Php240.00 for plain kefir has now been increased to Php270.00 because of the 12% VAT. Be assured that all ingredients being used in my kefir products are of premium quality.
Anton Diaz Founder, OurAwesomePlanet.com Mobile: +63917-LOVEOAP (5683627) Email: anton@diaz.ph Follow me in Twitter: antondiaz Add me as a Friend in Facebook: antondiaz Subscribe in my You Tube channel: antondiaz
