BNS Hosting Attend Digital-Filipino E-Commerce Summit

BNS Hosting attend the Digital-Filipino E-Commerce Summit at The Peninsula Manila, corner of Ayala Avenue and Makati Avenue, Makati City last February 24, 2012.

The topics that had been tackled are:

One of the attendee’s is owner of the sulit.com.ph  Mr. RJ David of  Sulit.com.ph attend Digital Filipino E-Commerce Summit

Jason Ngo of Phil-Seven, Iceal Penaloza, Wilson Chua BNShosting CEO and Miss. Gillian Muessig, Founding President of SEOMoz at Digital Filipino E-commerce Summit

Johnly Lazaro of BNShosting and RJ David Managing Director of Sulit.com.ph attend Digital Filipino E-Commerce Summit

Magnum ice cream is here!

First of all, I was curious to know what Magnum was. The last time we heard, a gun and (ehrmmm…) large-sized condoms were also called Magnum. I didn’t know how hugely popular Magnum ice cream was in other countries. Hubby said he ate it in Iraq, and so did Doc Gelo in Malaysia and Raquel in Germany.

To make a long story short, Magnum the ice cream is here… brought to us by the kind folks of Unilever Philippines. can’t tell you how HOOKED I was when I first bit into its crunchy outer topping made of the finest Belgian chocolate and then drowned in the silky, creamy goodness of its vanilla layer. Heaven in every bite for a suggested retail price of only P50.

Magnum ice cream

Available flavors are Classic, Chocolate Truffles and Almond. Everything’s good but my heart is torn between the truffles and almond. The former tastes luxurious and chocolatey while the latter has a flavor I also can’t resist. No doubt about it: Magnum is my latest indulgence. Good thing it’s so affordable too :)

Actress Rachel Bilson is the global ambassador for Magnum ice cream, and here in the Philippines, it’s the lovely Solenn Heusaff (shown here with much-slimmer Richard Raymond Gutierrez).

Solenn Heusaff & Richard Gutierrez

More beautiful people at the launch: Liz Uy and Erwan Heusaff.

Magnum launch

I was certainly glad to witness Magnum being introduced in the Philippines, mostly because we had a Magnum-all-you-can eatfest :) After this, it’s time to head to 7-11 where it was sold for P60 when I last checked. There’s no doubt this ice cream will be a hit among the masses, especially now that the first trace of summer is here. One Magnum is simply not enough!

A journal for cooks & March 3 class at Maya Kitchen

Maya Food Journal

Out now: The Maya Kitchen Journal for Cooks and Foodies,a compilation of more than 180 recipes tried and tested by The Maya Culinary Kitchen. At 403 pages, it is a nifty way to keep a diary and track one’s schedule.What’s good is that each page contains a recipe of popular and most wanted recipes like beef quesadillas, upside down brownies, puchero with eggplant sauce, kani salad and many more! The recipe selection is a merry mix of appetizers, main courses, desserts and snacks of local and international flavour. Tips and secrets are also sprinkled here and there.


           
Readers are also in for a cultural treat as the book includes famous and little known festivals of the Philippines. The Maya Kitchen Journal for Cooks and Foodies is published by Anvil Publishing and is available nationwide in National Bookstore, Powerbooks and Bestsellers branches.

Meanwhile, The Maya Kitchen unveils on March 3, Saturday, 1-6pm an Asian culinary experience as Heritage Hotel Manila Executive Chef Alex Chong demonstrates well-loved regional dishes like Hainanese Chicken Rice and Laksa plus Grilled Prawns with Healthy Coriander Curry Sauce and Carabao Mango Mint Salad along with Nyonya Chicken Soup and Pork Dumpling and popular Malaysian dessert Onde Onde.

The kitchen also has the following One-Day Lifestyle Courses scheduled for the month of March: Restaurant Best Sellers Lenten Dishes, March 10, Saturday, 9am-1pm; Homemade Sausages, March 17, Saturday, 9am-1pm; Nego Kakanin, March 17, Saturday, 2-6pm; Sugar Free Desserts, March 24, Saturday, 1:30-5:30pm; and International Breads Workshop March 31, Saturday, 9am-3pm.

Certificate courses with hands-on are now offered both on weekdays (Tuesday-Friday) and weekends (Saturday) with the following schedules: Advanced Pastry Class, February 29, March 1 and 2, 9am-3pm; Basic Culinary, weekdays, March 6-9 and March 20-23, 9am-3pm; and weekends, March 3, 10, 17, 24, 8:30am-1:30pm; Fundamentals of Bakery Production, weekdays, March 13-16 and March 27-30, 9am-2pm and weekends, March 3, 10, 17 and 24, 2-6pm; Basic Cake Decorating March 30-31, 9am-4pm.

Enroll now and get early bird discounts for the upcoming Junior Culinary and Teen Workshops scheduled on April 10-13 and May 8-11 and April 17-20 and May 15-18.

For more information, log on to www.themayakitchen.com or e-mail contactus@themayakitchen.com or visit The Maya Kitchen Culinary Center every Tuesday to Saturday at 8F Liberty Building, 835 A. Arnaiz Avenue (Pasay Road), Makati City or call 8921185 / 892-5011 local 108.

Euro Japanese foods at Mr. Kurosawa

Last week, I was invited to sample the latest offerings at Mr. Kurosawa, a Restaurant in Resorts World Manila oofering Euro Japanese delights.

mr kurosawa 007
Fish Katsu

Its been quite a while since I last attended a bloggers event, and I am thrilled to see familiar faces gracing the event.

(...)
Read the rest of Euro Japanese foods at Mr. Kurosawa



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Aquino continues to play blind to Naguiat’s culpability

Aquino swears in trusted friend and classmate

President Aquino misses the point in the Wynn Resorts controversy when he reduced it into just losing one prospective investor.

Aquino said he won’t lose sleep if Wynn, whose intra-corporate fight with his partner, Kazuo Okada, exposed the bribes showered by the latter to officials of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation including the current chair, Cristino Naguiat, Jr., does not invest in the Philippines because there’s a long list of foreign investors interested to come.

Aquino preferred to play blind to the issue of unabated corruption raised in the investigation report made by former Federal Bureau of Investigation Louis Freeh commissioned by Wynn Resorts such as, despite his anti-corruption agenda, “Official corruption in the Philippine gaming industry is ‘deeply ingrained.’

The report mentioned a member of the board of Wynn Resorts recalling Okada’s statement that “Conducting business in the Philippines was all a matter of ‘hiring the right people’ to pay other people.

Aquino is dreaming if he believes his anti-corruption rhetoric has eliminated corruption in the government. That is something that might affect the decision of those in the long list of prospective investors that Aquino was boasting about.

How Aquino handles allegations of corruption involving his kaibigan, kamag-anak and kabarilan would help guide businessmen how to conduct their business in the country.

Aquino has declared innocent his Naguiat, his college classmate whom he appointed chairman Pagcor,one of the government’s cash cows, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation, of allegations of unethical behavior by accepting cash and other gifts from one of the firms that Pagcor is regulating.

The allegations surfaced in the intra-corporate war between Steve Wynn, chief operating officer of Wynn Resorts, and his former partner Okada, whose Universal Entertainment Corp is putting up a casino at the Manila Bay.

Freeh’s investigation revealed that just like his predecessor, Efraim Genuino, Naguiat has been a recipient of the generous hospitality of Wynn Resorts in their gambling facility in Macau.

Freeh’s investigation showed several trips by Naguiat in Macau. But the most staggering was the Sept. 22-26, 2010 trip of Naguiat to Wynn Macau that cost Wynn resorts more than $50,000. That included stay in the $6,000 a night villa.

Naguiat was accompanied by his wife, Maria Teresa Socorro Naguiat, their three children and their nanny.

The Naguiats were accompanied by another Pagcor official Rogelio Bangsil, who also brought along his wife.

On June 6 to 10, 2011, Mrs. Naguiat, unaccompanied by her husband, was also hosted by Wynn resorts.

The President has not asked Naguiat to resign even as he belatedly asked Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa to investigate Wynn’s allegations of bribery.

Deputy Presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said it was up to Naguiat to decide whether to heed the calls for a leave of absence, or even resignation.“Any call for resignation [or leave] for any office, we leave it to the discretion of the official [concerned]. Bahala na sya diyan,” she said.

Naguiat and Okada

Naguiat said Monday that he is not resigning insisting that he has done nothing wrong. “Hindi (mag-reresign). Wala akong ginagawang masama,” he said Monday after getting support from members of the House of Representative and of all people, Sen. Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III and Sen. Gregorio Honasan.

Reiterating that it is “industry practice”, Naguiat said there’s no conflict in his job as gaming regulator and accepting favor from a firm that he is regulating.

“Para sa isang kwarto, para sa isang maliit na kwarto, $2 billion ang investment nila [Okada's Universal Entertainment], nakakatawa naman na ma-impleuwensiyahan ako sa isang kwarto,” he said.

Maliit lang pala na kuwarto, why didn’t he just pay for it?

If there was nothing wrong in what he did he hide his identity when he checked in that $6,000 a day villa?

Here’s a portion of the Freeh report which said Naguiat was identified as “Incognito”. Incognito means without being known; in disguise; in an assumed character.

“Chairman Naguiat did not identify himself and Mr. Okada’s representative insisted that his stay there be ‘Incognito.’

“Accordingly, the bulk of the charges for the trip are reflected on the City Ledger Account as attributable to ‘Suzzane Bangsil,’ the wife of Rogelio Bangsil, a senior Pagcor official and Chairman Naguiat’s employee. However, interviews,photo indentification and documentary evidence clearly establish that Chairman Naguiat was the “Incognito”guest and direct beneficiary of these payments.

“Investigation has in fact determined that Chairman naguiat was registered as an ‘Incognito’ VIP guest with Suzzane Bangsil’s reservation. Therefore, this US$50,523.22 was paid for Chairman Naguiat’s benefit.”