Food Review: Give Me My CHO*LATE!

We always hear of companies giving support to the local market industry or an establishment that was formed in honor of his/her family or uses his/her family recipe to promote his/her food store.  But it is rare that you have all three factors in one establishment; such is the case of Cholate Bar.

Cholate or CholateBarPH is located at One Cristina Place, Gloria Diaz St., BF Resort Village Las Pinas.  It was established last November 2014, this place was formed due to the desire to have a dessert place that offers a not that sweet place for those who loves treats but not the sugar shock.  The logo is an image of a curly man holding/embracing a chocolate bar and a glass of cold chocolate drink.  You may think of this as one of the staff but in reality, this is the image of the owner's dad and the reason as to why it is called Cholate.  Cholate is his way of saying this treat when he is making lambing to his wife - as stated by Lei (his daughter and owner of Cholate)

Cholate is a cafe that makes use of a local treat that is not commonly used  which is tablea.

Tabléas (or tableyas) are pure cacao beans that are dried, roasted, ground and then formed into tablets traditionally used in the Philippines to make hot chocolate.
                                                                                                                                                                 -www.tablea.com.ph

 What they offer are drinks, both in hot or in cold form, and cakes that make use of the local chocolate coming from Davao.  How different is this from other cafe's?  Besides the fact that they make use of tablea and home proven and enjoyed cakes, they also make use of other local treats such as chocnut - yes chocnut! That local choco bar treat that disappears in a flash when you open one bag and you are with friends. (Try to open one pack while you are at work or with friends and offer it, I bet you will be shocked if you get to find a piece left for you to enjoy.)

The place is simple in terms of design and color, with framed chocolate sayings and facts.  No elaborate design or strong colors to draw you in, simply a place for pure hang-out and relaxation.   For Lei (the owner), the place is somehow an extension of her room, a place where she can play and decorate as she please - based on the season; which explains the art work that you would see as you enter the place.  All the staff are well informed with the product/items that they have and will give you a short but knowledgeable description of each food entry and offering.  They would even recommend you entries that are truly worth your time and taste.  Even the owner is charming that she will give time to  chat with each customer as order is taken and waiting to be served.  Some of you may say that it is expected and it is possible that those are family friends ordering, since the place is located inside a village but from the 5 hours that I have been there, she has been consistent in the personal approach that she gives to all who enters her place.  
From cakes to pasta, from hot concoctions to cold, everything is personally created - either a family recipe or something that she has came-up with.

I have tried some of their personal concoctions and enjoyed it.  TRULY ENJOYED IT! - and this is coming from someone who is not a chocolate lover.  Don't get me wrong. I enjoy chocolates but I am not one of those who would take it whenever is possible.  

Let me start the Cholate experience with my first offering - Trio Los Amigos.

Left (with chili), Middle (with sea salt), Right (Scotch-glazed)

TRIO LOS AMIGOS
It is three cups of chocolate servings with 3 distinct chocolate enhancement - chili, sea salt and scotch glaze.  Each flavor added was carefully thought out and added in right ratio to truly give you a good tablea experience.   You will be enchanted as you wait for this drink be served infront of you because the place will smell of tablea being cooked.  That sweet aromatic smell coming from their kitchen will truly make you wait.

How to drink this:
- Start of with the one with the chili.  

The heat coming from the melted tablea and the chili will stimulate your taste buds for what to come.  The chili is not overpowering that you will be hesitant to drink it.  Normal tablea drinker would take this in one gulp but you can do sips or take it in two gulps.  Something that a non-normal tablea drinker could do.

- Follow it though with the one with sea salt.

The sea salt will make the tablea sweet.  Something that you will not expect since salt was place but this is true.  The natural sweetness of the tablea has risen and helped in removing the left-over heat that you may still have from the first cup.

- Finish it with the scotch-glazed tablea drink.

This cup has a light scotch-glaze that will help clean your palate and leave you with just pure chocolate pinoy goodness.  Who won't have a buzz since it is simply a light glaze.  Trust me.

After this I followed it up with their Slumber Party Sandwich.  It is toasted bread with melted marshmallow and drizzled with chocnut sauce. It is not that sweet and gooey at the same time.  You see the white and yellow color of marshmallow melted at the right consistency, giving that image of melted cheese.  The sauce drizzled is made out from melted curly tops (my favorite local choco when I was a kid and up to now - Hehehe!).  Be ready to lick your fingers as you eat this.  This is one sandwich that got me even if it doesn't have cheese or egg in it. For me, this is what I would call a feel-good sandwich!

Their Tuna Pasta de Lei, is a light tomato based pasta with green olives.  The serving that they give is good for 2 already!  It is that much!  Noodles were cooked al dente and the  sauce is seasoned right.  The olives were not strong that you would avoid it; it actually help cut the fishy taste of the tuna.  Though it is a bit watery for me, it is still a good pasta dish.







Now if you want a cold drink treat and have that true tablea flavor, then you have to try their True Blue Pinoy.

True Blue Pinoy is a cold drink concoction made out of tablea and chocnut crumbles with sea salt in it.  This is a true chocolate bomb!  For true chocolate lovers, I encourage you to try this drink!  You have that chocolate taste coming from the tablea, then it would shift to the chocnut taste.  Two (2) flavors so distinct that you will think how is that so.  The answer is the sea salt added in it.  The sea salt made it possible for you to taste both separately and truly satisfy that chocolate craving that you may have.

The drink that got my taste is their Snow Angel.  It is non-chocolate based, not that sweet, and THICK.  Yes it is thick that it reminds me of the shakes that was introduced in the country during the early 80's.  It is creamy and mixed with their homemade caramel sauce, the drink is truly comforting and satisfying at the same time.  Yum yum yum! (Get your own glass for I will not share mine. It is that good!)

What makes them stand out is the personalization that they put on each cold treat served.  Quotes are written on each cup served.  It will make you ponder and inspire you at the same time as you enjoy your cold drink.

I wasn't able to taste their cakes at that time but looking it, I would say it is keeping true to what they offer, plus it is a family cake recipe.  I would say it is a deadly cake treat.



As a whole, I would say this place shows promise in a good way.  Despite the earliness of  their expansion (they will have a kiosk at Robinson's Las Pinas), which is a daring move for a food place that is only months old, it only proves that they have something worth offering and that the people will love.

Cholate Bar is here to offer you new ways to enjoy tablea.  Something that I will look at for new things to come and sink my teeth on.  Add to that the titillation their offerings will give to my taste buds.

Come and visit Cholate Bar at One Cristina Place in BF Resorts Village or when they open their kiosk at Robinson's Las Pinas.  Follow them also via IG (@cholatebarph) and Facebook page. It is worth your time, taste and mind!

Photos:
(All photos were personally taken by me during my visit)

This art work will great you as you enter the place

Lei (owner) and her morning staff

PR: MUNI Market Day Promotes Healthy, Sustainable Living with a Fun, Community Vibe

Now on its 3^rd run, MUNI Market Day continues to bring together mindful merchants and conscious consumers, this timeon March 28,2015, 9AM-5PM at Capitol Commons. True to its mission of providing not just an avenue for sellers, MUNI Market Day continues with its goals to educate guests on how to introduce healthier, more sustainable options into their lifestyle.

Apart from feasting on wholesome food and buying local or eco-friendly products, interested attendees can sign up for workshops on Urban Farming by Bahay Kubo Organics, Plant-based Nutrition by The Superfood Grocer, Vegan / Gluten-Free Cooking by Jertie’s Kitchen, and Indoor Planting by The Green House Project. Also, one of the unique draws or highlights of MUNI Market Day is the selection of musicians who bring a lot of good vibes throughout the event.

MUNI Market Day is brought to you by MUNI, a collaborative community that has been working to promote mindful living through events like this, meet-ups, forums, or other workshops, design collaborations, and content, which can be found on www.muni.com.ph, or their Muni PH Facebook page.

For more inquiries or possible collaborations, e-mail the Muni team at events.muni@gmail.com, or merchants.muni@gmail.com for interested merchants. For more information visit www.muni.com.ph/MuniMarketDay3.

Website: www.muni.com.ph

Facebook: www.facebook.com/muni.ph

Twitter: www.twitter.com/muni_ph

Instagram: www.instagram.com/muni_ph

PR: 9 Works Theatrical Presents La Cage Aux Folles

A little more mascara

“And everything's sparkle dust

bugle beads, ostrich plums

when it's a beaded lash

that you look through”

For its 2015 season opener, GawadBuhay award-winning theater company 9 Works Theatrical hearkens back to the sequins, costumes, feathers and glamorous fervor of the 70s as the company that brought you Grease, They’re Playing Our Songand Sweet Charity brings to life one of Broadway’s most beloved musicals – the three time Tony Award-winning musical hit, La Cage Aux Folles.

Literally meaning “the cage of mad women,” with folles being a slang term for effeminate homosexuals, La Cage Aux Follestakes asumptuous dip into the love story ofGeorges (played by TV and film actor Michael de Mesa), owner of a popular nightclub in Saint-Tropez, and his life partner Albin (played by veteran stage actor Audie Gemora) who is the club’s star attraction.

Set against the backdrop of the 70s and the French Riviera, a time when the gay revolution was high and nigh, the musical in which the Robin Williams’ Hollywood hit Birdcage was based on, has earned critical acclaimworldwide including the Tony and the Olivier through its many-storied glossy productions around the globe.

The musical is based on the 1973 French play by Jean Poiret and ignites when Georges’ son Jean-Michel (played by TV actor Steven Silva) brings home his fiancée’s ultra-conservative parents to meet him and Albin who he affectionately calls ‘mother.’ Mayhem erupts, role-playing and hilarity ensue, and family ties and personal beliefs are put to a boiler, leaving no feather unplucked and no sequinunpolished.

'Cause when I feel glamorous

elegant, beautiful

the world that I'm looking

at's beautiful too

Whilst 9 Works Theatrical artistic director and La Cage director Robbie Guevara and 9 Works Theatrical associate artistic director and La Cagescenographer Mio Infante have assembled a who’s who from the showbiz, dance, ballet and theater world to breathe new life into this production, a huge impetus fell upon the duo’s hands. Besides the music and characteristic flair, how could you besttransport the audiences of today into the sparkly goodness of the 70s?

One word: costume.

So when my spirit starts to sag

I hustle out my highest drag

And put a little more mascara on

“While Robbie used the song ‘I Am What I am’ as a springboard for the production, visually I decided that the song ‘A Little More Mascara’ would be a good entry pointormise-en-scene,” intimates 9 Works Theatrical’s associate artistic director Mio Infante. In the process of digging deep into the psyche of Zaza, Albin’s frivolous, fabulous stage persona, and his ravishing10-person corps de ballet otherwise known as LesCagelles, the duo opted to manifest thenostalgia and mystique of the drag shows of the 70s and 80s as opposed to drag as we know it today.

“Drag then was more feminine. They really imagined and believed themselves as women,” shares Infante– the characters of Georges and Albin having themselvesworked for the famedLido de Paris cabaret show along theChamps-Élyséesbefore arriving at Saint-Tropez. It is this proclivity for enchantment and‘illusion’ that the two characters bring to their own parochial revue.

For inspiration, Infante looked towards the FoliesBergère, a cabaret music hall that was very much rooted in the zeitgeist of the 1890s, the Belle Epoch, all the way through the Annéesfolles (or the golden twenties). Mio also found himself drawing upon the likes of turn-of-the-century Russian-born French artist and designerErté, and closer to the time, the flamingo showgirls from Las Vegas,to addboddess and authenticity to the scenes involvingtheCagelles.

“We wanted to hark back to the 1987 London production of La Cage – the glitz, the glamour, and femininity of the follesas opposed to the 2010Meneir Chocolate Factory production which transferred to Broadway.” It was a version that, although very much well receivedafter bagging the Tony and Olivier, was pluckier and scaled down. “We want to dazzle audiences with the full, sparkling regalia of the Cagelles,” shares Robbie Guevara.

And everything's ankle straps, Maribou, Shalimar

It's worth sucking in my gut and girdling my rear

'Cause everything's ravishing, sensual, fabulous

When Albin is tucked away and Zaza is here

To elevate thisact of nostalgia, Robbie and Mio approached the prestigious Fashion Designers Association of the Philippines (FDAP), headed by Edgar San Diego, to weave together elaborate, one-of-a-kind creations for La Cage Aux Folles’ iconic musicalfinale – “what will surely be a treat for our audiences as these talented and well-respected designers are as much a part of ourhistory as they are creative horsepower,” shares executive producer SantiSantamaria.

Among the famed designers whose creations you’ll seeonstage are John Abul, Danilo Franco, GenerGozum, Edgar Madamba, Ole Morabe, Oscar Peralta, Lito Perez, NholiePilapil, RholandRoxas, Edgar San Diego and Fanny Serrano.

“We’re truly honored to have them onboard,” sharesInfante, adding that Repertory Philippines and theater stalwart Baby Barredo has opened her company’s costume trove to this production of La Cage Aux Folles. “We will be unearthing costumes from Rep’s 1988 production, and from other shows like M. Butterfly as well.” A visual tour-de-force and theatrical spectacle indeed!

So when it's cold and when it's bleak

I simply rouge the other cheek

For I can face another day

In slipper satin lingerie

Appearing alongside Audie Gemora, Michael de Mesa and Steven Silva are some of today’s most respected and up-and-coming theater performers.Theater veterans Raul Montesa and Sheila Francisco star as Jean-Michel’s ultra conservative in-laws Monseiur and Mademoiselle Edouard and Marie Dindon. Miss Saigon alumnaAnalinBantugreturns to the stage as restaurant owner Jacqueline while Hong Kong Disneyland performer Noel Rayosplays Jacob the butler.

Joining them are rising stars of the ballet world Missy Macuja-Elizalde and Joni Galeste alternating in the role of Anne, Jean-Michel’s fiancée while the iconicLes Cagelles will be played by JP Basco, Mara Celine Javier, Randi de Guzman, Carlos Deriada, Chesko Rodriguez, DindoDivinagracia, CheenoMacaraig, James Stacey and TV and film starRafaSiguion-Reyna.

La Cage Aux Folles will be directed by Robbie Guevara, with scenic and costume design by Mio Infante, and special participation of the Fashion Designers Association of the Philippines; choreography by Arnold Trinidad, PJ Rebullida, and YekBarlongay; musical direction by Joseph Tolentino and Sweet Plantado-Tiongson; lighting design by Martin Esteva; technical direction by Dong Calingacion; hair and makeup design by Myrene Santos; and additional costume execution by Twinkle Zamora; photography by Leo Castillo and graphic design by Larry Palma.

Heading the production team is executive producer SantiSantamaria, with Anna Santamaria as company manager; Toff de Venecia as PR director; GM Hernandez as marketing manager; Jonjon Martin and IssaTuason as PR managers; Randy Salvador as production manager; and Mikey Garcia as stage manager.

La Cage Aux Folles will be shown at the RCBC Plaza, Makati on February 28, March 1, 7, 8, 21, 22, 27, 28, 29, 2015, with Friday and Saturday galas at 8:00pm, selected Saturday matinees at 3:30pm, and Sunday matinees at 4:00pm.

A limited number of performances are available for fundraising and block-buying. For tickets and other inquiries, please call 586.7105 or 0917.554.5560, or email info@9workstheatrical.com. Facebook: 9workstheatrical. Twitter &Instagram: @9WTonline. Hashtag: #LaCageManila

PR: PRECIOUS PAGES CORPORATION LAUNCHES “25 MOST PRECIOUS”

Precious Pages Corporation, publisher of the popular Tagalog romance pocketbooks ‘Precious Hearts Romances’ has recently launched

" 25 Most Precious ” -- a coffee table book featuring the top bestselling, most prolific and most pioneering Tagalog romance writers of  the last two and a half decades in a 160-page hardbound, premium limited edition.

            Precious Hearts Romances is recognized as the best-selling Tagalog romance pocketbook dubbed as the best love stories of all time. The novels reinforce traditional values of commitment and a happy ending. It is an eternal escape fantasy of living out adventures and for romance readers it addresses the fantasy of falling in love with Mr. Right.

           

“ 25 Most Precious ” is a must-read and must-have for all fans, readers and aspiring writers as it expounds on the 'writers' lives and the inspiring stories of the 25 women behind the stories which have captured the hearts of millions of  Filipino readers here and abroad.

 The featured writers are as follows: Martha Cecilia, Amanda, Maureen Apilado, Jinky Jamolin, Rose Tan, Vanessa, Elizabeth Mcbride, Camilla, Jasmine Esperanza, Dawn Igloria, Laurice del Rio, Noelle Arroyo, Sheena Rose, Claudia Santiago, Sofia, Sonia Francesca, Heart Yngrid, Victoria Amor, Dream Grace, Angel Bautista, Belle Feliz, Mandie Lee, Aya Myers, Maricar Dizon, and Luna King.

 Now celebrating its 25^th year anniversary, Precious Pages Corporation had long established its name not only as the number one publisher of romance pocketbooks (with 50 titles under various book imprints and series novels released every month) but also as a publication firm. The company diversified into the conceptualization and production of other products, particularly Black ink comics, Coloring books, activity books, young adult novels like published stories from Wattpad and Booklat. The company has also pioneered in translation publication with more than 140 books all of which are best-selling literary titles worldwide translated into Filipino such as Fifty Shades of Grey, Twilight, Harry Potter etc. It has also acquired license to produce educational materials under the labels of Disney, Marvel, Sesame Street, Dora the Explorer, Sponge Bob, Barbie, Tom and Jerry, Thomas and friends, Bob the builder, among others.

            “ 25 Most Precious ” will be available at the following Precious Pages retail outlets: Fisher Mall, Puregold Paso de Blas (Valenzuela City),  Starmall (Las Pinas, EDSA Shaw, San Jose Del Monte – Bulacan), Ever Commonwealth, SM Mall of Asia, SM City (Baguio, General Santos, Davao, Pasig City, Cebu, Iloilo, Pampanga, Calamba, North EDSA, Clark, Fairview, Batangas, Lipa, Taytay, Sta. Rosa and Marilao), SM San Lazaro, SM Manila, and SM Dasmarinas.

The artistic and creative teams of “ 25 Most Precious ” are led by Segundo Matias Jr. (Publisher), Queennie B. Reyles (Project Manager), and Aleli Mae Arcete (Creative Director).

Connect to Precious Pages online through the following social media networks:

Facebook:    www.facebook.com/pages/Precious-Pages

Twitter:          @PreciousPagesCo

YouTube:     www.youtube.com/user/PreciousPages/

Website:        www.phr.com.ph

           

Theater Review: Arbol de Fuego, PETA's Caps Its Season with a Bang!

Philippine Educational Theater Association (PETA), has truly made a strong season finish with their staging of Arbol de Fuego, an adaptation of Anton Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard.  With a cast led by Ms. Cherie Gil, this stage production is truly worth the February Art buzz.

It opened last February 20.  Despite the fact that it opened at the same day with 3 other stage productions, Arbol de Fuego was able to burn true and bright, capturing an audience that was left with pure theater wonder and enjoyment.

Showing till March, Arbol de Fuego is a stage piece worth your time and mind.  This adaptation made by Rody Vera is so good that the actors was able to get the nuances that a Chekhov piece has.  The humor and drama was clearly translated, adapted, shown by the actors and was enjoyed by the viewing public.  Born in the mid-70's, some would say that I really don't know how it was then since I was just a kid at that time but this adaptation was so good that you are brought to see and feel what it was then.

Arbol de Fuego is a story about the decline of the rich hacienderos of  Negros during the 70's and the rise of the rich working class.  It is also about people letting go of the past and moving forward (the Jardeleza family - matriach Cherie Gil and Adjie -Jake Macapagal) and those that gets left behind even if we don't want too (Manoy Iking -Bembol Roco).  It is also about people asking for recognition and their proper place in the new society (Nonoy Tiking - the new breed of businessmen played by Raffy Tejada and Dante, the young intellectual - Riki Benedicto).

The stage design was simple yet bear details that shows the period that is set at.  The depth of the stage in PETA worked well in giving the needed space and dimension that the piece entails.  That depth that gives intimacy and space depending on the scene.  One of the things that I like with this play is the light designs  - it is so photo-friendly!  As a blogger, I make use of photographs in my article that I personally shot as much as possible and there is nothing more effective in sharing the experience but through images I have connection with.

The audience control that Cherie Gil has was truly felt whenever she's on stage.  Not because she is known, but the acting magnetism that she has; coming from a family of actors.  That character shifts that her role calls for was delivered flawlessly.  Her facial expressions are a delight!  Eyes speaking in volumes!  A tear shining at one eye as she hears the news about the fate of the ancestral house.  That ability to show both strength and weakness at the same time is truly a sign of her experience in acting.  Ms. Cherie Gil is not only a versatile actress but an actress that gives her heart and soul to the role that she needs to give life to.

Bembol Roco plays the elderly help of the Jardeleza Family.  Supporting role it may be but it has the ability to speak in volumes and deliver the last nail to seal and hold all together the message of Arbol de Fuego.  He remembers the years past and has stayed in that moment due to old age.  Something that we are all familiar with, may it be something that we have personally experienced at a point in our lives or has seen someone does it and has faded away.  For me, his role is so vital that I am not simply touched because he died but because the fact that he represented those that we have left behind as we all move forward in our lives.  Bembol Roco truly is an actor worth watching and if I am given the chance to act again on stage, I would love to share it with him.

All of the cast members delivered their piece flawlessly!  They all have placed what they can offer and Loy Arcenas has truly woven a wonderful piece.  They never went beyond their roles but simply gave what is needed and make sure that we, the audience, gets to relate with them, no matter what happens.

If I am to compare their performance that night from the reading that they have shown during the press conference, it was totally different!  The character development was great!  They were able to give true justice to the adaptation made by Rody Vera of Anton Chekhov's work!  The way they breath into their character was so defined that they make you feel of people you may met in life regardless of time period.  Like what Agatha Christie's Jane Marple character normally states, man's characteristic is something that crosses societal level and will reminds us of someone from somewhere.

The last thing worth mentioning about this production is the way they have made their souvenir program.  It was definitely not your usual souvenir program piece!  Packed in an enveloped that looks like your typical mail, inside are postcards bearing the faces of those involved in the production and folded papers bearing notes about the production.  Arbol de Fuego will truly leave you smiling, crying and totally captivated that you won't feel the nearly 3 hours that you have spent watching it.

                                   *                                  *                       *

Catch one of the shows this March of this wonderful stage production made by PETA at the  PETA Theater Center, No. 5 Eymard Drive, New Manila, Quezon City.  For ticket's inquiry, you can call PETA at  725 6244 or 0917 5765400 or Ticket World at ticketworld.com.ph / 891-9999.

Photos:
(All photos used were personally taken by me during one of their shows this February)

The set:

The cast and scenes: