by Penny Angeles-Tan | Dec 9, 2018 | Entertainment
In this age of navigation apps and Google maps, writer Jessica Zafra recommends getting lost as the best way to explore a foreign city.
In her new book, Twisted Travels: Rambles in Central Europe, she gets drunk in Prague, wanders through haunted castles in Cesky Krumlov, browses through bookstores in Budapest, and relives the complicated histories of Warsaw and Krakow.
Along the way she visits the Vienna Opera, loses her luggage in Rome, imagines an alternate life in Venice, and becomes embroiled in a Parisian petty crime drama.
Twisted Travels: Rambles in Central Europe is published by Visprint in cooperation with Discover Central Europe and the Embassies of the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland in Manila. The book is now available at Fully Booked branches, shopee.ph, lazada.com.ph, and National Bookstores.
by Penny Angeles-Tan | Dec 8, 2018 | Advocacy
Ever Bilena, the country’s leading cosmetics brand, took a step closer to protect and preserve our environment as it launched it zero-waste management program. A highlight of the launch is the unveiling of the iECO-800, a thermal burner that is smokeless and odorless and burns almost all kinds of solid waste.
Present during the launch were (L-R) ABS-CBN publishing president and CEO Ernie Lopez, Pacific Online Systems Corporation chair and president Willy Ocier, Department of Public Works and Highways secretary Mark Villar, Ever Bilena president and CEO Dioceldo Sy, and SM Prime Executive Committee chair Hans Sy.
by Penny Angeles-Tan | Dec 7, 2018 | Discounts, Sales, and Giveaways
Looking for a practical gift idea this holiday season? Akari, the country’s top lighting and electrical brand, offers a buy-one-get-one promo on its portable rechargeable fans, exclusively available in Ace Hardware stores nationwide. The bundle promo also comes with a free Christmas eco bag. Purchase the Akari 6-inch LED Rechargeable Cooling Fan for only Php 999.75 and get another rechargeable fan valued at Php 799.75 for free!
These rechargeable cooling fans are must-haves during camping trips with family and friends, at home when there is a power outage, or even for everyday use. To know more, visit www.akari.com.ph or Facebook page, www.facebook.com/AkariLights.
by Penny Angeles-Tan | Dec 6, 2018 | Events
The 2018 Top Leaders Forum with the theme: “Changing the Game: Building a Culture of Resilience Through Public-Private Partnership” was held recently at the SMX Convention Center, Manila. Top Leaders Forum brings together the country’s top executives and leaders from the National and Local government, private sector, academe and science community, to discuss concrete actions in achieving disaster resilient communities.
Highlight of the 2018 TLF was the launch of SM Prime’s Business Continuity Program (BCP) for its small and medium enterprise (SME) tenants as part of its Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) efforts for its business partners and stakeholders.
Seen in photo (middle, seated) are SM Prime’s Hans Sy, Special Representative of the UN Secretary General for Disaster Reduction Mami Mizutori (seated, sixth from left) Secretary of National Defense Delfin Lorenzana (seated, eighth from left) and officials of UNISDR, National Resilience Council, ARISE Philippines, government officials and private and public sector partners.
Top Leaders Forum is organized by the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR) and ARISE Philippines, in partnership with SM Prime Holdings and the National Resilience Council (NRC).
by Penny Angeles-Tan | Dec 5, 2018 | Yummy Reviews
In the past several months most groups enjoy eating out at places that serve food that are perfect for sharing. The mst popular trend is to go to places that serve Korean barbeque at a reasonable price. Just a month ago I reviewed one such place. Today I am posting my review of Yoshimeatsu, a Korean-Japanese fusion restaurant located on Tomas Morato at the corner of Scout Fernandez, Barangay Sacred Heart, in Quezon City.
A couple of days ago, a few bloggers got together to try this restaurant at the invitation of Ross del Rosario of Wazzup Pilipinas.
Most of us were familiar with korean barbeque restaurants so there was no need to show us how to use the equipment or prepare the food. So the question was … what makes Yoshimeatsu different from other unlimited Korean barbeque restaurants in town?
Grilling selection
Yoshimeatsu offers more grilling options than others I have been to. One place I’ve been to offers a different just pork as it’s least expensive option, then chicken and pork as it’s second, and chicken, pork, and beef at its most expensive.
Yoshimeatsu offers all that (pork, beef, chicken, PLUS tofu, wiener sausages, and seafood cheeseballs) for the same price.
Pork
H1, H2, and H4 are the same as what you would find at other Korean barbeque restaurants. H1 (herbed pork) is basically a pork steak that is seasoned with salt and pepper. I honestly do not know what herb they used to season it but it is delicious. 😀
H2 (spicy sliced pork bouquet) is pork cut bacon style but seasoned in salt and pepper. My palate might be desensitized, though, because I really didn’t taste any spice.
H4 (Yangnyeom pork) is pork cut sukiyaki style (which means superthin) and is marinated in a special sauce.
Other restaurants offer the same number of choices but most do not offer my all time favorite isaw! Tagged as H3 in their menu this one dish that my family is wont to order from our corner barbeque vendor very often. Only the cholesterol conscious is wary of it but even they would try it out once in a while. They even serve this with a vinegar sauce on the side.
Beef
The beef selection at Yoshimeatsu is not as extensive as some places I have been to but what they lack in selection they make up in flavor.
G1 (sliced beef) is just that … sliced. No salt, no pepper, just the meat, which is perfect for those who want to season their meat themselves. That is what condiments are for. 😀
G2 (sliced beef with curry sauce) is for those who want a little more spice to their beef. Because it is curry it has that tang of cumin and turmeric that is reminiscent of Indian cuisine.
G3 (spicy beef yakinuku) is flavorful and the spice is just a hint so people who would usually not like spicy food will be able to enjoy this.
G4 (sliced fatty beef yakiniku) is sliced sukiyaki style and premarinated in yakiniku sauce. It makes this meat dish similar to bulgogi but is not as sweet.
For those with a bigger budget and are eager to try something different you can also choose from the ala carte premium grilling options. If you are eager for ox tongue, sirloin steak, prime meat, or the ultimate wagyu beef then this is the menu for you.
One of these days (if the budget permits) I am eager to try the Royale Hida Wagyu Set. All I will need is a windfall. 🙂
Chicken
I will be honest, I didn’t really try this but it is good to at least have the option.
I don’t eat liver so C1 didn’t appeal to me. At a guess C2 is made from chicken breast and I don’t usually eat chicken breast because I find it too dry. I am more of a chicken thigh person myself. But don’t take my word for it! If you love chicken (any part!) then try this yourself.
Others
I called this section OTHERS because they don’t really fall under pork, chicken, or beef.
F1 (sakana tofu) is tofu (soy) so vegans have an option. However, you may not want to cook your F1 with your carnivore friends or it would defeat the purpose. 😀
F2 (wiener sausage) is pork? chicken? beef? The meat is a mystery, it might be a composite of all three. 😀
F3 (seafood cheese ball) is squidballs with cheese inside. Yummy! I often order this when we eat at Shabu-shabu restaurants.
Side dishes
Again I could not help but compare. Some I’ve been to offer just 3 or 4, another offers 8, but perhaps because of the fusion with Japanese cuisine, this restaurant offers THIRTEEN (13)!
R4 (lettuce) not included in the pic below but is always immediately served. R3 (cheese) and S2 (seasoned egg) are also served immediately and is already on the table when customers are brought to the table.
My personal favorites are M3 (spicy tuna), M2 (california maki), and R1 (gohan, plain rice).
Ordering system
Their ordering system is probably the most unique feature of Yoshimeatsu. Rather than trying desperately to catch the attention of the server just to give them your next order, Yoshimeatsu has this.
On every table is installed a tablet on a stand. On this tablet you just tap your choices then click SEND. This will send the order to the kitchen and just moments later (depending on how many customers are being served) your order will be brought to you.
So far this ordering system is good. They only failed us once when they failed to deliver our order of S1, S3, and M3. 🙁
Price
Definitely there are others that are less expensive. From now until the end of the year (December 31, 2018) their unlimited yakiniku costs P549 (tax included). Thereafter the price will be P899 (tax included) unless they announce otherwise.
As per one of the owners, since the current price is already discounted, Senior Citizen and PWD discounts do not apply except on drinks and ala carte dishes. I found this strange because in most places, they would honor senior citizen and PWD discounts even for set meals and promo meals.
That aside, though, P549 is a reasonable price for this much food. Keep in mind that the minimum number to eat here is two because, like I said in the beginning, their food is for sharing. 🙂
Meal ender
Don’t forget to end your meal with their special soft serve ice cream. The flavor changes from day to day as they make it in-house. Don’t forget to ask your server what flavor is available for the day. So far I have tried vanilla, chocolate, stawberry, and taro.
The next time you and your family and friends are looking for a good place to eat in Quezon City, keep Yoshimeatsu in mind. You won’t regret it and you will surely enjoy it. 🙂
by Penny Angeles-Tan | Dec 5, 2018 | Lifestyle
TRILL: Mattress in a Box, the first-ever mattress that has both a plush side and firm side, is now available in the Philippines! This innovative mattress can simply be flipped to suit your desired support.
Available in single, double, full-double, queen and king, TRILL is compactly packed in a creative and convenient 18’’x18’’x42” standard box using the latest and most advanced technology. It is also equipped with a comprehensive manual and tools for easy unboxing, and the box even has wheels so you can easily push or drag it towards your bedroom. What’s more, TRILL: Mattress in a Box offers a 100-night trial and free delivery to anywhere in the Philippines.
Experience premium comfort and convenience and order your own TRILL: Mattress in a Box, now exclusively available at https://www.trillbyuratex.com.
by Penny Angeles-Tan | Dec 4, 2018 | Tech Tutorials
There are two easy ways to upload web files to your hosting server: via FTP (which I discussed in a previous post) and via cpanel. From personal experience, FTP is still the most efficient way but there are times when FTP fails (such as when the internet servers where you are at have blocked FTP). This leaves us with one alternative … CPANEL.
Note: With both FTP and cPanel you need to be online to be able to access your hosting server.
Here are the steps to uploading web files via cpanel
- Go to your File Explorer (on Windows) or Finder (on Mac) and make sure you are at the folder containing your web files.
- Select the files you want to upload and compress them into a zip file.
- If you are only uploading one file then there is no need to compress.
- If you are uploading a folder then you need to compress the entire folder, not just its content.
- Open your web browser.
- Go to yourdomain/cpanel (ex. www.slvrdlphn.com/cpanel) or, alternately you can go to yourdomain:2083 (ex. www.slvrdlphn.com:2083). This may lead you to a page that will ask you if you are behind a firewall or not. In most cases you can just wait and it will bring you to the login page.
- In the boxes provided input your username and password. These credentials should have been emailed to you by your hosting provider.
- Click on Log In. If your credentials are correct you will see LOGIN SUCCESSFUL appear on top of the cPanel word in the screen and it will open your cPanel.
- Click on File Manager.
- Once File Manager is open double click on public_html. This is where ALL web files are supposed to go.
- If you are opening this for the first time it will look like this:
- Click on UPLOAD on the menu bar on top. Select the file you want to upload to “/home/name of server/public_html” (ex. /home/slvrdlphn/public_html).
- Once the upload reaches 100% you can click on GO BACK located at the bottom and public_html will look like this:
- Click ONCE on the zipped file. Note, you are just want to select the file, not open it. Once selected the file will turn blue to indicate it is selected.
- Click on EXTRACT on the toolbar. In the box, make sure that the path says public_html. If you extract your files here it will place the web files in the root folder. If your web content is supposed to be in a subfolder then type that path. For example, if your project is called “hotel” and it is supposed to be in a subfolder then your path should be public_html/hotel. Click on EXTRACT FILE.
- Once successful it will display the extraction results. Click on CLOSE.
- All that is left is to delete the zipped file and you’re done!
by Penny Angeles-Tan | Dec 1, 2018 | Events
KTM Philippines recently treated motorcycle riders of varying stripes—novice, advanced, and experienced—to KTM track day that allowed them to experience the ready-to-race DNA of the iconic Austrian bikes.
Held at the Batangas Racing Circuit in Rosario, Batangas, a whole line of KTM demo bikes were made available to participants for a test ride, including the 390 Duke, the 690 Duke, the 790 Duke, and the 1290 Super Duke GT. Participants were able to feel the full power and performance of the bikes in a safe and controlled environment.
Aside from the test rides, Joey Rivero, a former Philippine Superbike Championship Factor Racer, shared his biking know-how and riding skills, participants. Rivero conducts precision riding training classes for every type of motorcycle rider – on the track, on tour or on the street.
KTM Asia Motorcycle Manufacturing, Inc. (KAMMI), the proud local manufacturer of KTM motorcycles in the country, is a joint-venture partnership between Adventure Cycle Philippines and KTM AG of Austria.
by Penny Angeles-Tan | Nov 30, 2018 | Events
The Design Center, an attached agency of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) successfully showcased innovative and revolutionary bamboo products at Manila FAME 2018.
The special bamboo setting was arranged under a canopy of bamboos and was divided into two innovation projects – the Bamboo 360 and the Bamboo Extreme 2.0. The Bamboo 360 featured design-forward home and lifestyle products while the Bamboo Extreme 2.0 focused primarily on mobility concepts for modern lifestyle.
Gracing the innovative bamboo display were (left to right) DTI undersecretary Nora Terrado, Design Center of the Philippines executive director Rhea Matute, Philippine Nickel Industry Association chairman Isidro Alcantara Jr., Olli Consulting Group Inc. chief executive officer Leo Dominguez, Chamber of Mines of the Philippines vice chair Joey Leviste, DTI secretary Ramon Lopez, Bambike founder Bryan Benitez McClelland, and Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions executive director Pauline Suaco-Juan.
by Penny Angeles-Tan | Nov 29, 2018 | Advocacy
Waste disposal is reaching crisis proportions in the Philippines. Landfills and rivers are overflowing with garbage. Piles of garbage obstruct sidewalks or are dumped on vacant lots, left to rot until they smell and attract hordes of flies.
We know that this is an existing concern in our country. What many of us do not know is that this massive garbage problem is, in fact, a P73 billion industry.
In 2016, 40,000 tons of garbage were collected every day. This totaled 14.6 million tons of garbage per year. If each kilo only cost P5 for disposal, the total cost in waste disposal for 2016 was an outstanding P73 billion.
The money is used to pay the local government, the garbage haulers and the gate fee at landfills. It has even increased this year because the usual P5,000 cost per truckload of garbage with five cubic meter capacity is now P8,000.
The yearly volume of waste generated is expected to increase from 13.48 million tons in 2010 to 16.63 million tons in 2020. In Metro Manila, averages of 9,000 tons of garbage were collected per day from 2012 to 2016. In just five years, daily garbage collection in Metro Manila has reached 93.8 million cubic meters. This is due to rapid urbanization, economic growth and development, changes in lifestyles and consumption patterns.
Aside from the massive amount of garbage generated, there are also the problems of improper disposal and lack of landfills.
Metro Manila Landfills
There are more than a hundred garbage hauling operators in Metro Manila but only three landfills – the Quezon City Sanitary Landfill, Navotas Sanitary Land Fill and Rizal Provincial Sanitary Landfill. New sites are hard to find and are much farther away from Metro Manila. The nearest available landfill is in Montalban, Rizal and it has already reached its maximum carrying capacity, way before 2022 when it is supposed to reach its limit.
Uncollected garbage, about a third of the solid waste generated in the cities, often ends up in drains, causing flooding and an increase in the population of rats, mice and other pests. The urban poor suffer most from the health problems resulting from poor management of solid waste.
The government has the main responsibility for ensuring waste is properly disposed of to avert health and environmental problems. But every Filipino can and should help by properly segregating garbage and by reducing, reusing and recycling.
For those with a bigger budget and are eager to try something different you can also choose from the ala carte premium grilling options. If you are eager for ox tongue, sirloin steak, prime meat, or the ultimate wagyu beef then this is the menu for you.
I will be honest, I didn’t really try this but it is good to at least have the option.
My personal favorites are M3 (spicy tuna), M2 (california maki), and R1 (gohan, plain rice).
The next time you and your family and friends are looking for a good place to eat in Quezon City, keep Yoshimeatsu in mind. You won’t regret it and you will surely enjoy it. 🙂
Waste disposal is reaching crisis proportions in the Philippines. Landfills and rivers are overflowing with garbage. Piles of garbage obstruct sidewalks or are dumped on vacant lots, left to rot until they smell and attract hordes of flies.
In 2016, 40,000 tons of garbage were collected every day. This totaled 14.6 million tons of garbage per year. If each kilo only cost P5 for disposal, the total cost in waste disposal for 2016 was an outstanding P73 billion.
The government has the main responsibility for ensuring waste is properly disposed of to avert health and environmental problems. But every Filipino can and should help by properly segregating garbage and by reducing, reusing and recycling.
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