Organic Market at McKinley Hill

Today I visited two weekend markets, one is the Organic Market, which set up shop behind One World Square at McKinley Hill, Taguig City. The other, the famous Salcedo Market in Salcedo Park, Salcedo Village, Makati (whew, too many Salcedos). Being a shopaholic, I love going to weekend markets and exploring the sights, sounds and smells of buyers from different walks of life, all looking for elusive bargain finds. Allow me to start with the Organic Market.

My husband bought a kilo of cooked crab from the Organic Market yesterday and was excited to bring it home. He’s allergic to crabs and I don’t really know what the excitement was all about but after cooking it, I realized why he was so happy. It was a good buy for P300.00 (US$7.30). This prompted me to pay it a visit. 

Inside the tents, there were not that many vendors, but the goods sold were worth the visit. I enjoyed visiting their vegetable section and got some really nice kamote.

There were also the kakanin ladies, who sold really good ube halaya, cassava cakes pinipig biko and sapin-sapin. 

They also have food-to-go. 

Since this market will open again from March 6 to 9, I highly recommend those living near the area to visit this market inside McKinley Hill.  

Items here are not expensive and can be enjoyed by everyone, even those on a meager budget. Don’t be alarmed to see some military personnel walking around. This place is beside the headquarters of the Philippine Marines. My next post will feature Salcedo Market.

Bloggers spiked by Delifrance

So this is how bloggers party. For most people, a product launch may be part of the work, but for the bloggers who went to Delifrance’s launch of spiked coffee, it was hardly work. After the Trinoma food tour, I never thought I would see some of these bloggers again. There I saw  AJ, Jayvee, Nina, Juned and Karla. William Tan, VP of the Jollibee corporation (which owns Delifrance) was very accommodating with the bloggers and really went out of his way to give us all the royal treatment. Upon arriving, we were greeted by delectable hors d’ouvres. If you want to see the pictures of the food click here. 

Geisler-Maclang Communications did a wonderful job of putting it all together. Seen here is my picture with Brad Geisler, William Tan and Juned Sonido. 

Here’s the scoop on Delifrance. They now have spiked coffee! By spiked, it means they now serve alcoholic coffee. They have Irish Kiss Bailey’s, Mayan Passion Kahlua and Sputnik Vodka Espresso. I like the idea of having coffee that get you a little buzzed. It helps in sleeping more soundly at night, and can be very relaxing. If you want to get a piece of the action, remember this. On March 3 to March 7, Delifrance is going to give free spiked coffee after 5 pm when you go there for dine-in. Just say "naughty with my coffee" to the barista and you’ll be given a serving of their featured spiked coffee of the day. I suggest you check out their website now for more details. 

Aside from the familiar faces, I also met some new ones. Brad Geisler is a very charming person I was glad to have sat at the same table with him. My husband enjoyed his company and it was obvious they were both enjoying the event, not to mention the flaming choco lava cake.  

Mr. William Tan started the ball rolling with his presentation on their new products. 

His talk was short but informative. I was very happy that Pinoycentric’s Karla Maquiling sat beside me and indulged me in good conversation. I really wish I’d see more of her in the coming events. 

I intend to come back to Delifrance and spend some time there with my friends. There maybe times when my co-teachers would ask me out and a bar would just be too loud for any kind of conversation. Delifrance, with their spiked coffee is a refreshing alternative where I can just hang out with friends and get a little buzzed, without fear of witnessing a bar fight or a fist-fight between inebriated hooligans. I really recommend Delifrance for those meetings with friends or family.

Repertory Philippines Does Hamlet

This is the first time Repertory Philippines restages Hamlet. While this is the second time I have seen a Repertory Philippines production, I must say that Directory Anna Abad Santos- Bitong must have spared nothing in bringing to stage one of Shakespeares’ most famous tragedies. I was in awe at how Niccolo Manahan managed to deliver his lines so well. His lines came out so smoothly and so matter-of-factly. It was as if he spoke that way at home. Kudos to all the actors! Playing a Shakespearean role is not easy. They truly deserved every second of applause they got from the audience. Perhaps even more. Putting it all together was a feat in itself.

None of them wore tights, curly wigs or sported a fake British accent. The lines were as Shakespeare wrote it, but there were no gaudy set designs nor fancy props. It was like Shakespeare in Mad Max territory, minus the car chases. A very unique way of establishing the plot that was mostly about treachery, deceit and murder. 

Before I went to the theater I was hoping against hope that they wouldn’t use the exact lines as in the text. Apparently, since this is their first Hamlet production, Rep played it by the book. Though I was an English major in college, I had to strain to understand the lines as the English of Shakespeare has long been dead and lost. I only realized there something funny when some of the Caucasian expats in the audience laughed in certain intervals. Rep made sure they exploited every opportunity to inject humor just to rouse the audience. But such opportunities were few and far in between. Playing it by the book meant they had to transport the audience to 16th century England. For me, there was language/culture divide. All the figures of speech that would have made the play’s lines so eloquent and distinctive fell flat in my brain. Though the act of marrying your husband’s brother two months after being widowed is something I can relate to as a Filipino, the rest of the references were so alien to me. It felt like Yoda wrote the play. I’ve seen a Shakespeare play staged before: Dulaang UP’s Winter’s Tale, but this one was in Filipino and I felt the pain and anguish of the King losing his wife and child. I was a failure in feeling any empathy for Hamlet’s pain and suffering. 

I hope the next Shakespeare play I watch will somehow bridge the cultural divide for me. 

Because beauty is only Skin Deep

This is the third play that I have seen at the new PETA Theater. After having seen "Batang Rizal" and "Romulus D Grayt" last year at the PETA Theater, "Skin Deep" is most engaging and truly laugh-out-loud comedy thus far. There was a punchline behind every dialogue. The music of Lucien Letaba is catchy and has been instrumental in making its point heard; that beauty and happiness are not the same thing. 

The play revolves around seven individuals who won a free makeover package at the prestigious Skin Deep Beauty Sanctuary owned by the internationally-renowned Dr. Beau. The punchlines come without warning and the witty repartees keep the crowd roaring with laughter. Phil Noble, a PETA veteran, is just irreverent and simply outdid himself from his last role as the hairlipped soldier in "Romulus D Grayt" (That was hilarious! People didn’t see that one coming.) 

Of course, we all loved May De Castro who delivered a lot of the funny lines and repartees.  Playing Amor De Sangre, a 62-year old woman who has gone under the knife more times than there are days in a month, May was a standout. Unbeknowst to many, she is the sister of singer Lani Misalucha as her powerful singing voice gives her away.  Her interpretation of "Don’t take it out on me" is both perky and powerful. Reminiscent of the Motown era, this song was enough to make me dig into my pockets and buy the CD, which I highly recommend you do when you come and see this play. 

I believe that the role of Dr. Beau was so right for Melvin Lee. He had this air of omnipotence around him and throughout the performance, I actually believed he was a doctor. A truly great actor, TV should have more of him than those tisoy wannabes in robotic costumes (those guys in Zaido must be the lousiest actors I’ve ever seen, sorry for the rant.)

Incidentally, this is Robert Sena and Isay Alvarez’s first PETA outing. It was truly wonderful to see Miss Saigon’s the Engineer let his hair down and hear him say something like ‘ Pare that was just mouth to mouth rescusitation, walang malisya yun!" He he he, talk to hand, pare!

I won’t tell you how it all ends, you just have to see it for yourself. After seeing "Tuesdays with Morrie" a week ago, I felt I was recharged and back in my old jolly self. The cast was very nice that they gave us photo ops after the show. See for yourself!

From the right is Ms. Bituin Escalante (a truly great singer), May De Castro, Melvin Lee, Noreen, Eden and Cathy.

From left is Cathy, Mr. Robert Sena, Noreen and Eden.

Happily waiting in line to be seated.

I highly recommend that you come and watch "Skin Deep." It’s a refreshing break from all the bad acting and lousy Hollywood entertainment that we see on cable TV. For more information, you may go to http://petatheater.com/currentseason.html. For discounts, leave a comment below and I’ll help you get a fat discount on the ticket prices.