Month: February 2012

Something to scratch off my to-do list: getting to know more about BlackBerry and attending a BB how-to workshop in the past week. The BB operating system is one thing I’ve never used but it was nice to be acquainted with it, no matter how short the session. It gave me an insight on why celebrities prefer to use the BB messaging system. Voice note rocks and so does bar code scanning. BB is also deemed to be a lot cheaper. Imagine having to send MMS and email for free because BB makes communication possible with cheap data plans provided by the leading networks.

Spotted were Laureen Uy and Isabelle Daza, two lovely personalities who are also avid BlackBerry users -

Says Isabelle, a BBM user for almost four years: “BB is all about contacting my family abroad with ease. While I was in Europe a few years back, my younger sister sent me a voice note of her singing. It made me feel better because I was missing her so much.”

Laureen says: “I’m in a BBM group with my best friends, who are bloggers, too. We would always talk and send photos to each other. I find it so amazing because it’s very useful for us when we can help each other out with blogging in such a fun and efficient way.”

More celebrity testimonials:

Solenn Heusaff, a BBM user for almost five years now: “I love BBM because of group chat. I can talk to 10-15 of my friends all at once while keeping everyone else updated at the same time.”

Divine Lee, a loyal BBM fan for over seven years, says her boyfriend, model, and actor Victor Basa, would call BBM her other boyfriend. “I can’t live without it and I can’t let go of my BBM groups!”

Kiefer Ravena: “BBM is easy to use. My friends were telling me to go BlackBerry na lang. It’s easier to chat and it’s free. I tried it out and I liked it!”

With BBM-only plans for as low as 99 pesos a month, BBM is now more accessible than ever. You can also jump on the BBM bandwagon by joining BlackBerry Pilipinas’ photo contest “Express Yourself with BBM” running on the Facebook fan page (www.facebook.com/BlackBerryPH) from February 15 to 28, 2012. All you need to do is to upload an original and creative photo of yourself with a BBM speech bubble for a chance to win a BlackBerry smartphone.

An invitation that read “this is where PNoy took Grace Lee out on a date” certainly got me curious about the new restaurant called LuLu in Rockwell. Okay, this used to be the old resto called Lu (which I never got to try) until it was sold to the new owners, Chef Tom Hines and DJ/ businessman Rodel Intia.

Judging from the initial degustacion (where I sampled a little bit of everything that was on my lunchmates’ plates), looks like LuLu is a place I can go to again and again, budget permitting

First of all, I like the merry mix of contemporary and retro in the interiors. I heard that they’re going to renovate soon but I do hope they don’t change these attractive red chairs….

The rather long menu is well thought-out and not mundane (read: ordinary). This is culinary fare you would expect to find in hotel fine dining outlets but the prices have been slashed down to please the mall crowd. And it’s a good thing!

Here’s some of the food you can expect to find in LuLu:

The classic beef wellington (P850) was reportedly what President Aquino ordered in the only time he’s dined here. It looked impressive enough: tenderloin of beef is enclosed in puff pastry then topped with mushroom duxelles and red wine sauce. What’s good is that the meat came out amazingly tender. I wish I was able to enjoy this dish to the fullest.

But I ordered the US Certified Angus Beef Entrecote (P1250) instead and while I specified “medium,” this came out rather well done. I still like the specialty entrecote offered by another restaurant but it seems I couldn’t resist munching on the pomme frites that came with my steak in LuLu.:)

For seafood lovers, the Green Tea Salmon (P650) with wilted spinach and lemon mashed potato looks inviting. This is a new take on our favorite fish, if you’re tired of having baked salmon that is.

Somebody in our table said LuLu’s Mac n’ Cheese scented with truffles (P420) is the best. How can it not be when it deftly combines five luxurious cheeses? The dish was filling enough and I wondered why they put this under ‘Appetizers.”

More food porn: (what my friends ordered)

Ultimate Pork Chop (P620), one of the house bestsellers. I liked that they had pumpkin mash as siding, instead of the usual mashed potato.

The 12-hour Mediterranean Lamb Shank (P695) certainly looked like it was worth waiting for.

LuLu’s other promos like the P695 Sunday brunch and lunch sets which they call Prix Fixe Lunch give me reason to go back. They certainly left a good impression.

Chef Tom and Rodel will warmly welcome you to LuLu

Address: G/F Joya Building, Joya Drive
Rockwell, Makati City

Tel. No. 403-3991