Century Tuna Superbods 2020 is on!

Century Tuna Superbods 2020 is on!

Century Tuna, the country’s number 1 canned tuna brand, is heating up the summer season with the country’s hottest and sexiest stars, Nadine Lustre and Alden Richards, headlining this year’s Century Tuna Superbods.

The two showbiz royalties star in Century Tuna’s newest TV commercial which highlights the message that “Everybod can be a Superbod”, putting emphasis on the concept that everyone, regardless of age and background, can be a better version of themselves through proper diet and exercise. The commercial highlights Nadine and Alden as the ultimate fitspirations. With their fit and toned body, both stars prove that by eating fish daily, moving, and making the right choices every day, anyone can easily be better versions of themselves.

“For this year, we have chosen Nadine and Alden to front line Century Tuna Superbods 2020. Known for their confidence, athleticism, and healthy lifestyle, both of them are great inspirations to enjoin everyone to be more active and fit,” says Greg Banzon, EVP and COO of Century Pacific Food, Inc.

The TVC is a lead up to the highly-anticipated search for Century Tuna Everybod Superbod 2020 with the prevailing message: “Every day is a chance to be a better you.” This summer, Century Tuna is upping the ante as it opens the competition to anyone who leads not only a healthy and fit lifestyle but is also socially aware and vouches for an advocacy.

  • He/she must be a Difference Maker, someone who can make a stand to empower Filipinos to be the best they can be. This is their opportunity to promote health as an everyday commitment.
  • He/she must also be a Voice Lifter by amplifying the voice of the Filipinos and communicate positivity to help uplift the confidence of others;
  • and a Cause Supporter, someone who is a fearless advocate of causes relevant to health and wellness.

Open to male or female with Filipino heritage, and must be 18 to 60 of age, the Century Tuna Everybod Superbod contestant can be a student-athlete, a doctor who is a fitness advocate, a fit mommy, a chef who owns a healthy meal plan subscription, or even a preschool teacher who is also a bodybuilder.

Qualified contestants will be judged based on the following criteria: 30% Body, 30% Personality, 20% Transformation Story, and 20% Advocacy and Social Impact.

Grand winners (1 male, 1 female) will take home Php 500,000 each, runners-up (1 male, 1 female) will win Php 200,000 each while the rest of the finalists will take home Php 10,000.

Like Nadine and Alden, you too can make every day a chance to be a better you with Century Tuna.  To know more about Century Tuna’s Everybod Superbod 2020, visit and follow Century Tuna’s social media pages: Facebook (@centurytuna), Instagram (@centurytunasuperbods). #FishEveryDay #EverybodyCanBeASuperbod #CenturyTunaSuperbods2020.

GCash and 7-Eleven partner up for barcode-based retail transactions

GCash and 7-Eleven partner up for barcode-based retail transactions

GCash President, Anthony Thomas

GCash President, Anthony Thomas

GCash, the leading mobile wallet in the Philippines, and 7-Eleven, one of the largest convenience store chains in the country, announced today a strategic partnership that will allow GCash account holders to pay for their purchases in 7-Eleven stores via the revolutionary Scan-to-Pay (STP) via Barcode feature in the GCash app.

With the growing demand for frictionless transactions, GCash and 7-Eleven are providing greater convenience and security to their customers by introducing the new payment option for physical purchases in 7-Eleven stores across the country.

“This partnership is anchored on the shared goal of enabling more Filipinos to participate in the digital financial landscape. By allowing 7-Eleven stores to accept GCash STP via Barcode payments, we are bringing the vision of building a ‘cashless Philippines’,” GCash President Anthony Thomas said.

How to use GCash’s Scan to Pay

To use GCash’s STP via Barcode, 7-Eleven customers only need to generate their unique barcodes through the GCash app and allow the cashier to scan their barcodes to complete the transaction.

These two easy steps streamline the already-frictionless QR code system. With STP via Barcode, merchants do not need to have a QR key code, which the customer scans to transact. Merchants also need not have their own mobile devices to verify the payments, as STP via Barcode is already integrated into the merchant’s point-of-sale.

7-Eleven President and CEO Jose Victor Paterno

“After scanning barcodes to redeem promotions and reload accounts for over 5 years now, including taking payments from our CLiQQ wallet over the last two, we believe we have built the most convenient payment experience in the country, and that the time is right to open up our infrastructure to partners who share our vision.”

“We are pleased to partner first with GCash, whom we have been working with for several years. Many customers already visit us to cash-in their GCash wallets, now they can use those same wallets to pay for their purchases as well as participate in our CLiQQ loyalty program.” 7-Eleven President and CEO Jose Victor Paterno said.

Supporting BSP cashless vision

The partnership between the fintech leader and the convenience store chain pioneer also supports the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) goal of creating a more cashless Philippines starting this year by migrating 20 percent of the total transaction to non-cash means such as digital payments.

Already, based on a study conducted by the Better Than Cash Alliance, a United Nations-backed organization, the Philippines is close to reaching this target. According to the study, digital transactions now account for 20 percent of the total value of transactions, while 10-percent in terms of volume in 2018.

“As a strong government partner and the leader in mobile digital payments, we at GCash remain relentless in developing more products and services that will fit perfectly into the government’s plans for the country’s financial landscape. Our vision for 2020 is to continue to push for the development of the GCash platform to enable more people to participate in the digital financial revolution,” Thomas said.

photo credit goes to iconicmnl.com

photo credit goes to iconicmnl.com

STP via Barcode is now available in more than 2,800 7-Eleven stores in the Philippines. It is also available in the majority of Puregold outlets and Starbucks stores nationwide.

Join the Century Tuna Superbods 2020 Go-see

Join the Century Tuna Superbods 2020 Go-see

Nadine Lustre and Aiden Richards for Century Tuna Superbods 2020

Nadine Lustre and Aiden Richards for Century Tuna Superbods 2020

Do you have what it takes to be a Century Tuna Superbod? This 2020, the country’s number 1 canned tuna brand says, “Everybod can be a Superbod!,” as it enjoins everyone to embark on the Superbod journey.

If you think you have what it takes to be this year’s Superbod, join the Manila go-see event at SM Mega Fashion Hall on February 22-23, 2020.

The contest is open to men and women with Filipino heritage who are 18 to 60 years of age. Anyone within the age group can join as long as they have the passion for health and fitness as a means to become a better version of themselves. Thirty finalists (15 male and 15 female contestants will be chosen) will be selected in the final callbacks.

Finalists will be judged on the following criteria: 20% will be given for both their transformation story and social impact; then 30% will be awarded for body and personality, all totaling to 100%.

A total of ₱1,600,000 is at stake, with grand winners bringing home ₱500,000 each. Two runners up will both take ₱200,000 each while the rest of the 26 finalists will receive a ₱10,000 cash prize, along with other exciting perks and freebies.

For more details, visit Century Tuna’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/centurytuna. #FishEveryDay #EverybodCanBeASuperbod #CenturyTunaSuperbods2020.

Samgyup + Rotisserie = Samgyup King

Samgyup + Rotisserie = Samgyup King

Samgyup King Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato For quite some time now samgyup has been the binge-eating go-to for many Filipinos in the metro.  With so many such restaurants (sometimes a stone’s throw away from each other) it has become a challenge for foodies everywhere to find the perfect samgyup restaurant.  I, myself, have tried more than a handful from north to south and it always interests me to discover what new thing or “uniqueness” each place has to offer.

Finding the place

There it is! This is the view from near the escalator.

Earlier this week I was invited to try out this fairly new place at Fisher Mall.  I was told it was on the fourth floor which I thought was unusual.  The fourth floor is the cinema level and there weren’t any restaurants there before (to my knowledge).  You see, I live quite near to Fisher Mall and I find myself there at least once a week and yet I never noticed a restaurant (and a full meal restaurant at that!) on the fourth floor.

I later realized why … it was a part of the mall I rarely (if at all) go to because it goes beyond the VIP Cinema.  The few times I’ve been to that part of the fourth floor is when I took the east escalator going up, but I didn’t bother to look across to that direction.  So, finding Samgyup King is like finding hidden treasure.

What makes Samgyup King different?

There is ample space to walk in even while carrying dishes and trays.

Once you enter you will be surprised at how wide and spacious and deep it is.  I certainly was!  I am used to going to samgyup places where you are sitting so close to the people at the next table that you are bumping into each other every time you move.  But not here, this is a breath of fresh air for claustrophobics like me.

By now everyone knows how samgyup works … you sit at a table with a round hot plate grill in the middle and you are served a multitude of side dishes for you to consume and raw meat that you will then cook yourself.  But before we talk about the grill and the food, let us first talk about the service.

Self-Service

From the get-go, this already makes them different.  No more waiting for the waiter to bring you the meat or side dishes you want.  Just stand up, go to the side table and kitchen counter and just get what you want or need there.  Do you need meat?  Sauce? Side dishes?  The only thing you will need to ask the waiter is the ramen, the milk tea, and the bill. 🙂

Are you counting your steps?  If so, then your fitness tracker will be very happy.  Every time you need something you will have to stand up and walk to the back of the restaurant then back to your table.  Since you can only carry so many things at a time, this translates to several trips!  In other words, you exercise while having lunch. 😀

Milk Tea

milk teaEvery person is entitled to ONE milk tea order.  Each milk tea order is served with black pearls in a tall glass with LED lights at the bottom (which are supposed to be turned on).  You can choose from Hokkaido, Okinawa, Thai, or Taro Milk Tea, whichever is available at the time of your visit.

On any given day they only prepare two variants and when I was last there only the Thai and Taro Milk Teas were available.  Luckily for me, what I wanted was the Thai Milk Tea, so it all worked out.  Next time I hope they serve Okinawa or Hokkaido as I want to try those, too.

Side Dishes

Samgyup King offers side dishes just like the other places, but they offer some unique twists, too.

  • Pickled radish and carrots – think atchara but bigger thin slices, not strings
  • Marble potatoes
  • Kimchi – according to Chef Raymond they make this fresh every day, but they don’t serve it until two days later to allow it to ferment.
  • Egg rolls – sweetened scrambled eggs that are cooked thinly and rolled
  • Rice – served in a giant rice cooker at the buffet table.  Go ahead and have your fill!
  • Ramen – think of it as a slightly spicy noodle soup. This was not at the buffet table, so you have to ask the waiter to serve it to you.
  • Chicken wings – this is one of the most sought-after side dishes. It is absolutely delicious!  And you have 4 different sauces to choose from, too.  Some people have even professed that they are ok with just eating this
  • Mojos – when I was there, I was able to try two flavors: cheese and sour cream and onion. I prefer sour cream and onion. 🙂

Food for cooking

Seasoned meat

meat for pan grilling

Other places give seven varieties, eleven varieties, etc. In contrast, Samgyup King provides just five varieties of meat for grilling:

  • Chicken bulgogi
  • Pork bulgogi
  • Beef bulgogi
  • Salt and pepper pork
  • Salt and pepper beef

Bulgogi is a sweet soy sauce so whatever meat is marinated in this would be sweet.  Usually, the meat is sliced very thinly (sukiyaki cut) to make it easier to cook.  The salt and pepper beef is cut just as thinly but is lightly seasoned with salt and pepper, as the name suggests.

The salt and pepper pork is thick-cut meat in comparison.  Think of a pork steak that is lightly seasoned.  To cook this properly you will need to cut up the meat when it is half-done.

I know, at first, it seems like this is not much.  But wait, there’s more!

Skewers

ihaw ihaw

This is one of the features that make Samgyup King different … their skewered dishes.  I was really looking forward to this.

My family loves to order these freshly grilled barbeque style meats from the corner of our street whenever we don’t feel like cooking.  These are what they are offering for rotisserie grilling:

  • Pork barbeque
  • Spicy pork barbeque
  • Chicken barbeque
  • Chicken wing barbeque
  • Gizzard barbeque
  • Pig intestine
  • Chicken intestine
  • Pork skin
  • Pig ears
  • Sausage
  • Garlic longganiza
  • Hamonado longganiza
  • Sweet corn

My favorites of the bunch?  The pork intestine and the pork skin. 😀  I ate a LOT of those 😀

Time to cook!

The Grill

grillAt Samgyup King each table has a long rectangular open metal grill at its center with grooves along its side.  This grill is filled with high-grade charcoal brisket for you to cook with.  On one side the staff will place a flat rectangular hot plate for pan grilling.  This is where we cook the meat samgyup style!

The Rotisserie or Rotating Grill

ihaw style

Remember those grooves I mentioned earlier?  Those are for the special skewers they use for the rotisserie grill.  Each skewer has a flower-like disk towards one end with spokes.  The skewers are placed with the spoked disk aligned with the moving chain track located just beyond the grooves.  This is what makes the skewers turn to make cooking the meat evenly.  Just make sure to space the skewers so that they can turn easily as they cook. Crowding the skewers just means only one side will get cooked (and burn).

That being said, there really is no reason for you not to cook the skewers on the flat grill if you wanted to, it just won’t cook as evenly.  What we did last time was we cooked it on the rotisserie first then when it was almost done, we removed them from the skewers and put them on the flat grill to make them a little crispy.

Do they have dessert?

dessert at Samgyup King

Available flavors: sweet corn, milk, chocolate milk, chocolate mochi, and watermelon

The dessert is not indicated on the menu because it isn’t part of the cost of the buffet.  However, a variety of ice cream is available at the freezer at the back for P20 to P25 pesos.

Is it expensive?

The regular price is P599 with an introductory price of P499.  When the owner, Sir Willy, was asked about how long the introductory price will be implemented he candidly said he doesn’t know yet as they are playing it by ear.

Here’s some good news for those who are looking for additional discounts.  Samgyup King is on Metrodeal!  Get your vouchers on Metrodeal and instead of paying P499 you will only pay P399.  What a deal!

It is important to note that they do honor senior citizen/PWD discounts.  However, while they apply the 20% discount, they do not remove the 12% VAT anymore that is the norm for senior citizen/PWD discounts because, they said, their price is already discounted.

If you are a senior citizen or PWD I would recommend that you just buy a voucher in Metrodeal instead of using your SC/PWD discount because the Metrodeal offer is still cheaper by P20.  I know many seniors who might find using an app like Metrodeal challenging so either ask your kids or grandkids to get the voucher for you if you want to save the P20 per senior citizen/PWD ID holder.

Recommendations

I reviewed them in 2018 and if I compare their offerings and service then and now, they have definitely improved a lot!  If you would like to try this place out, here are some tips I would like to offer:

waitlist

  • Weekends (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday) are toxic, meaning the waiting list is long and the waiting time could take long, too. If you must go there on a weekend for lunch, try to be there when the mall opens at 11am so that you have a better opportunity of eating immediately/sooner. 3pm is also a good time as the lunch crowd has left (or are leaving).
  • Weekdays (Monday to Thursday) are good days to visit.
  • If you are a big group, then it is a good idea to make a reservation
  • A minimum of two people per table is required to eat here.
  • For extra savings, purchase vouchers from Metrodeal.
  • Samgyup cooking is faster than rotisserie grill cooking. This is because the meats prepared for the flat grill are sliced quite thinly that they would definitely cook faster.  Rotisserie grill cooking takes longer because the meat slices and the skewers hover over the heat source rather than direct contact.  Just have patience, though.  I promise it is worth the wait.
  • If you are really hungry and the cooking is taking some time, then grab some chicken wings and mojos. They are ready to eat and available on the buffet table.
  • DO NOT EAT THE MEAT RAW. If you get sick, the management is not answerable for your stupidity.
  • When cooking, please make use of the hood provided over each table. This will lessen the smoke and food smells from clinging to your clothes and skin.

eat with friends at Samgyup KingBring your family, bring your friends, bring your co-workers!  Come to a place that offers more than just samgyup.  Go to Samgyup King.

Samgyup King is located on the 4th Floor of Fisher Mall on Quezon Avenue, Quezon City, with branches opening soon at Cubao and Novaliches.

Yorme joins the Fruitas Family

Yorme joins the Fruitas Family

Manila City Mayor Isko Moreno

Manila City Mayor Isko Moreno

Manila, Philippines – Leading food and beverage kiosk operator, Fruitas Holdings, Inc. (FHI), listed on the Philippine Stock Exchange under the symbol FRUIT, has engaged Hon. Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso, mayor of Manila, as its newest endorser.

FHI President and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Lester Yu

FHI President and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Lester Yu

“The honorable mayor and Fruitas share a lot of common values, including love for country and innovation. From his humble beginnings, he initially made waves in the entertainment industry before transforming himself into a public servant,” FHI President and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Lester Yu, said.

Fruitas adds to its slate of endorsers, which includes Sarah Geronimo, Asia’s Popstar Royalty. Her endearing connection with Filipinos and a wider global audience has recently been confirmed by her hit song, “Tala”, going viral.

Fruitas has established leadership in fruit shakes, coconut-based beverages, lemonades, and meat-filled pastries, offered in kiosks in the Philippines and has recently completed a number of acquisitions, including Sabroso Lechon, Heat Stroke Grill, The Tofu Store, and Kuxina. It is targeting to grow its network to 2,000 stores by 2023.

About Fruitas

Fruitas logoFruitas Holdings Inc., listed in the Philippine Stock Exchange under the symbol FRUIT, is the leading group in the food kiosk industry in the Philippines.

From a single Fruitas stall opened in 2002, the group ended 2019 with 1,068 stores across the country and over 20 brands in its portfolio, which includes well-loved food concepts Fruitas Fresh from Babot’s Farm, Buko Loco, Buko ni Fruitas, De Original Jamaican Pattie, Johnn Lemon, Juice Avenue, Black Pearl, Friends Fries, The Mango Farm, 7,107 Halo Halo Islands, Shou La Mien Hand-Pulled Noodles, and Sabroso Lechon.

For more information, visit http://fruitasholdings.com. #Fruitas #AlwaysFresh #HappyNaHealthyPa #FruitasPh #ShakeMuna #YormeforFruitas

Protected by CleanTalk Anti-Spam