Kwento Ni Toto

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Celebrating Health With Thermos A Genuine Brand

Toto 8:38:00 PM

The Experience

A month ago, my wife and I were invited to a celebration in Shangri-La Plaza. It was an event of THERMOS, a well known brand, as they celebrate Health with their genuine brand products. For that day their program’s main thrust is about “Cooking for Health”.

I’m sure a lot of us have been with Thermos or have known Thermos since we were a child. Aside from it as a brand, most of our parents have coined the thermal container for hot water as THERMOS. Though it was some other products, still we Filipinos have already made a term for thermal water containers and we have lived with it since then. Thermos has been a family’s aid in the household when it comes to preserving hot water for our coffee or other warm beverages. It is the word of our mouth whenever we want hot.

Now, I was amazed that Thermos did not only stick with one single product but they have indulged their company in a much wider range. Thermos has now a variety of products that each generation will surely love the product Thermos and also being in style.

As their program proceeds that day, they were able to have one of the best Chef in town, Chef Niño Laus of NINYO Fusion Cuisine to share some of his finest menus in his restaurant. Though we weren’t able to see Chef Niño in live action, we get to watch his cooking in a video which was pre-recorded for the event on that day.

Chef Niño shared five of his famous fusion cuisine. They are the Fusion Paella, Wasabi Orange Chicken Tempura, Coconut Wasabi Seafood Medley, Beef Stir Fry and Ninyo Style Vongolle. Right after every menu Chef Niño and the Host asked questions to all the participants. There were lots of cool prizes and take note they were all Thermos brand products. Of course, yours truly were able to win one of the Thermos Premium Stainless Cookware which is a Wok, good for tossing some cooking. Hehehe. It was really a day full of healthy cooking and good winnings.

After the program we were able to have a little chat with Chef Niño about his cuisines and also some picture also. Aside the winnings, the recipes and the fun, we enjoyed also the snacks prepared for everyone. After having that Wok I think I’ll be doing some more experiments on different viands.

The Brand and the Products

Thermos has been first known with it vacuum flasks that is a vessel that provides thermal insulation in preserving the state of the matter, whether it is hot or cold. That’s the product that we have been with for quite long now. So it’s actually been a part of our family, our generation, and our community.

One of the good things about Thermos Genuine Brand is there products safety. According to them their products are all BPA Free or Bisphenol A Free. Bisphenol has been one of the controversial chemical that can be found in the lining of food cans, certain water bottles and more.

Some of their products that we can actually enjoy and trust that it is safe and reliable are the Thermos Sports Bottles, Hydration Bottles, Bottle Coolers, Beverage Jugs, and Personal Coolers which are all mainly for sports and outgoing actives; the Thermos Foogo which is mainly all for kids; the Thermos Office and ThermoCafe which are mainly for office people who loves their coffee warm; and the Thermos Cookware which are rightful for those who loves to cook. Great products and great brand!

Monday, August 29, 2011

Stephanie Dan

OPM Blast With Mang Inasal Media and Bloggers' Night Event

Toto 9:54:00 PM

Last August 1, 2011, Mang Inasal held their very first Media and Blogger’s Night Event at T.E.A.T.R.I.N.O in Promenade, Green hills. This event is held to celebrate the launching of their newest campaign, the I Y Mang Inasal. It’s a look back into the reasons why we Filipinos have fallen in love with this brand, and of course a look forward to bigger things to come.

Aside from the launching of their newest campaign there were two more reasons to have a celebration, first is the Mang Aawit Project which is one of the best thing done by Mang Inasal in promoting the OPM Artist and the other one is their Grand Gadget Giveaway.

The night was filled with lots of fun events, games, food, raffle and music. Of course most of the bloggers and media hoped to win that brand new ASUS Eee Pad Transformers, fortunately one of the blogger got a hold of that. I’m sure he went home with a big smile on his face though the weather was bad that time.

The Mang Aawit Project of Mang Inasal is their way of enriching and empowering the Original Pinoy Music, not only the music but also the artist. It is a project dubbed as the “Mang Inasal Mang Aawit Music Advocacy Program” especially now that most of the OPM are being a little bit set aside. During the event most of the Filipino artist sung their songs and rendered a very nice performance to bloggers and the media people. Some even joined with the artists as they sing and dance with the music. I think the most well loved performance during that night was Onse and Sheng Belmonte. They sure did liven up the night with their song.

The eight breakthrough artists which was chosen are the Pop heartthrobs 1:43 with a debut recording titled “Time for Love”, the multi-awarded RnB and soul artist Arnee Hidalgo, acoustic singer-composer Aries Sales from Davao City, hitmaking pop band Kiss Jane which behind the songs “Lagi” and “Baliw”, Myrus, stand-up comedian Onse of DZBB Teleradyo, sultry pop singer and PDA scholar Sheng Belmonte with her latest “Gigil”and Sony Music’s acoustic gem Stephanie Dan. So let’s all support the OPM as Mang Inasal support the Pinoy music industry.

Sunday, August 28, 2011

Food

Not Your Ordinary Banana Contest

Toto 7:46:00 AM

During my days in the province my grandparents would always tell me not to eat fruits in the morning because it might upset my stomach. Apparently they were wrong because fruits would always give us the nutrients and energy that we need for our daily workloads. My Aunt would always say “don’t listen to them too much sometimes they are wrong” and she would follow “that’s an old folks saying.”

Well, good thing that I sometimes defy the norms and would always go for something that I believed would benefit me much, especially with regards to my health. It was college days when I started eating fruits in the morning, it’s an influenced and also a learning from watching morning TV shows. They featured that fruits are essential to our body, mostly during mornings because our body mainly absorb all the nutrients after that eight hours of sleep. One of the best fruit to eat during morning is the banana. Banana provides lots of nutrients to our body, it got potassium, some calcium, zinc, copper, iron, vitamin E, and selenium. It also contains fructo-oligosaccharide which acts as pre-biotics and does have good fibers for indigestion.

So mainly bananas are good for us and much better if those bananas are fresh just like the bananas from Dole. Speaking of fresh, I know this is not fresh anymore but I just happen to stumble upon the fan page of Dole Philipines after attending the cooking event that they have. I found out that they are running a contest. I know it’s quite late but hey its worth to try and besides sharing your healthy lifestyle is one of the best ways to help others.

The contest is called the “Banana Morning Motto” which runs through August 5 – September 4, 2011. The contest mainly encourages people to have a good motto every morning. So what are the prizes? Well it’s just 10 sessions of Zumba Classes and an Executive Massage Gift Certificate from The Spa. If you’re a spa lover you will for sure grab a chance to these prizes.

So what’s the mechanics? It’s just a nine pointer activity to finish the whole contest mechanics. So here it is…

Sign Up or Log In to www.facebook.com
Like the Dole Fresh Philippines Fan Page.
Register your name and address at the Dole Banana Morning Motto Application
Read the full mechanics.
Take a picture of your DOLE® Banana with your Banana Morning Motto (the “Photo”). Be creative.
Make sure that the Dole sticker is part of your photo (I just don’t know if there’s no sticker available like mine).
Upload your photo
Tag your friends whom you'd like to share your entry (optional)
In the Banana Morning gallery, users can view and vote for their own entry as well as others' entry

Plain and simple! I think readers can easily grasp the whole mechanics but if you have anything to ask just visit their Frequently Asked Questions.
You still got a few days to go and join the contest but before you do that kindly check my post and like them. Here's the link http://apps.facebook.com/dolebananamorninggal/view.php?id=171&fbuid=769113247&from=0 Thanks!

Friday, August 26, 2011

Whisky

A Night with Benmore and Its Ambassador Borgy Manotoc

Toto 7:30:00 PM

It was mid-week and the weather is having a little rain shower, I’m on my way to an event of which I know it is definitely for 18 years old and above. All the way from Clark, Pampanga and went on to the event’s place. Though familiar based on the map, I’m still not sure if it is precise. So together with my bag and alone I traverse a place which I rarely go. Fortunate enough that the weather has somewhat friendly to me that it made me reach the place first before it showers more.

I came to the registration area and met Ms. Jane, she’s the one who emailed me and has been texting, asking if I’m attending. Anyway she showed me the way and met the other bloggers who were there already. Glad that I’m not that late.

Okay so what was the event all about? Well it is the briefing of the new Benmore Marketing Campaign. They really wanted the product to sink in more to Filipinos because as we all know Filipinos are not very much of a Scotch whisky drinker. So through their thorough campaign they are aiming for the flourishing of the Benmore Four Casks. As part of their Marketing Campaign, they are also introducing their Brand Ambassador, Borgy Manotoc. As Borgy have mentioned in his speech this was his first time to endorse liquors, that’s why his really eager enough to introduce the product to the public.

After the dinner and the short program Borgy Manotoc was able to seat with us, the bloggers. He was cool and easy to talk with. We even made that simple little chit chat into an interview, asking questions about Benmore Four Casks and even some touch of his love life. Some of the questions that we shoot to him was “If your (Borgy) going to rate Benmore Four Casks with the rate of 1 to 10, what’s its rate?” Without any much doubt he answered “It’s a 9”. Good enough to hear from the endorser himself. Another one was “If you’ll (Borgy) compare Benmore to a sexy lady who will it be?” He replied “it would be Megan Fox.” Then followed by “if locally who will it be?” Without hesitation he exclaimed “of course Georgina Wilson”. Then that interview ended with Borgy Manotoc inviting every to try Benmore Four Casks.

Of course the product will not be judge without any taste test, so all the bloggers get a taste of Benmore. Some of us tried it with Cola and some just tried it plain. In my case I tried it with Cola and without Cola just to taste the difference. It’s quite good to taste something new.

While having another chat with the staff of Global Noble some of us, bloggers got curious about the name and the icon. So what was Benmore in details? Here’s what according to them.

BenMore Four Casks is a more premium drink that believes that details matter. Expert blenders have specifically chosen MORE of the finest malt and grain whiskies up to 21. These batches have been matured in 4 different oak casks to give an even smoother Scotch Whisky experience. It is made in Scotland and it is bottled by Diageo.

The iconic stag - to represent heritage and authenticity. It connotes masculinity, superiority and leadership. Consumers drinking BenMore will be perceived as smart, stylish, presentable and tough. They know what they want and are a go-getter; but they’re also friendly and open-minded, exactly like the Brand Ambassador, Borgy Manotoc.

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Wedding Tayo Wedding Hindi

What's Behind on Every Wedding "Wedding Tayo, Wedding Hindi"

Toto 12:09:00 PM

Wedding preparations stories doesn’t always good. Most of the differences occur during wedding preparation and this story is well true to all who are still on the setting up stage, who got married and to those who also planned but ends up deserted because of unwanted situations.

The quarrel, the heartaches, the crying, the misunderstanding, the pressure, the resolution, the make up, and the decision, all comes out during planning stage. It seems that emotions do runs to couples wanting to go beyond the boyfriend/girlfriend relationship.

That’s what the story of Wedding Tayo, Wedding Hindi is all about. The movie is all about the stories behind every wedding preparation and the differences of both families. This film is the latest comedy offering of Star Cinema and OctoArts Films which starred by Toni Gonzaga as Belai and Zanjoe Marudo as Oca, together with Eugene Domingo and Wendell Ramos and directed by Jose Javier Reyes.

This is for sure another wacky comedy movie from two veteran comedians. Wedding Tayo Wedding Hindi opens nationwide in over 100 theaters on August 31!

Monday, August 22, 2011

Urbandub

Friday Night with JD Set 7

Toto 11:39:00 PM

The JD Set is back!

The wait is finally over as Jack Daniel’s Philippines brings back into the spotlight the 7 indie bands chosen from last year’s most successful run of The JD Set— Jack Daniels’ global music program. Beginning in the UK and then trickling down to Asia and the Pacific regions of Australia, Japan, India, Korea, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and now the Philippines.

From an impressive roster of 13 promising acts down to its exemplary Chosen 7, Jack Daniel’s is now ready to implement the program’s 2nd phase, The JD Set 7 TOUR. For 7 months, these lucky 7 groups get to tour with the JD Set around Mega Manila as well as a few but impactful opportunities to play elsewhere like at the Sinulog in Cebu. That’s 7 months of playing for fans and reaching out to new audiences. That’s 7 months with a total of 18 events, to campaign for their right to be Jack’s No. 1!

From 7 to Jack’s No. 1, Jack Daniel’s gives the FANS 100% reign in selecting who the people want to be crowned as king via voting in both ONLINE -- thru Facebook and the Web partners (i.e. Odysseylive.net, Splintr.com, and AtTheWomb.com) as well as ON GROUND. When chosen, Jack’s No. 1 will then have the opportunity for an out-of-the-country performance at the next Asia and the Pacific JD Set Event, a one year marketing support from Jack Daniel’s and the prestige of being the 1st ever Jack’s No. 1!

Last August 19, 9pm at the Eastwood Central Plaza the JD Set 7 Tour was launch as the Friday night was blown away by raw talent from Jack’s Chosen 7 who are: Kelevra, Playphonics, Blue Boy Bites Back, Stories of Now, Mr Bones & the Boneyard Circus, Jack Versus the Crab and Paramita. Jack’s Chosen 7 return onstage to showcase that they have got what it takes to represent the Philippines at the next Jack Daniel’s JD Set Asia and the Pacific regional event in 2012!

The night was also heightened by the live performances from Urban Dub and Razorback—two of the country’s most exemplary music acts, defining what it takes to be authentic and a master of music. The JD Set Philippines is powered by JB Music with Distillery as bar host. Also they are extending their special thanks to Jam 88.3, Rogue Magazine, AtTheWomb.com, Splintr.com, Odysseylive.net, Manila Concert Scene, Digradio.ph and Betamaximum Inc for a very successful launch.

For 18+ y.o. only. Please drink Jack Daniel’s responsibly.