My Oishi O'Wow Experience

It was a funtastic day at the Oishi O’Wow event yesterday at W Tower's Skye Lounge in Bonifacio Global City. Not only did I meet celebrities, received free Oishi products, and played exciting games; my team also won the Oishi O’Wow competition with the help of our very enthusiastic team leader, Phil Younghusband!

We were eating delicious food from the buffet while enjoying the open-air at the rooftop venue when suddenly Phil and James Younghusband arrived and sat across us at at our table. My mom asked the two football players if I could have a picture taken with them and they said yes. They are very nice and accommodating. 

After several minutes, more celebrities arrived wearing colored Oishi shirts like Ramon Bautista who wore Green, Slater Young who wore Yellow, and Elmo Magalona who wore Red. Together, they form the Oishi O’Wow team. Their newest member arrived last and it was no other than Daniel Padilla.

After lunch, event hosts RJ Ledesma and DJ Suzy came up on stage and showed us the famous “Kaleidescope World” music video by Mr. Francis Magalona that has been edited to include his son Elmo. We also watched several cool videos of Team O that showed them surprising and delighting people. 

For instance, Kuya Ramon went to a school with Oishi products stuck on his clothes. Then there was that video of Team O riding a jeepney and hiding their faces at first from their fellow passengers. When they revealed who they are, each ride ended up with happy screaming passengers.

After the video presentations, the competition started where each team has to go through several Oishi booths. Everyone needed to complete the whole course and had to finish each obstacle with a team picture in order to win. 

We were the yellow team and we were fortunate to have a strong and energetic team captain. Once the hosts gave the go signal, Phil was off and running, helping us with all the tasks needed. We finished obstacle by obstacle really fast and took pictures as a team in each one. 

When we reached the last challenge, we had to spell the old Oishi brand name using giant Scrabble tiles. Luckily, the answer, which was "Liwayway", was in our Oishi passport.

When all teams were able to complete the whole course, the hosts started announcing the winners for each category. After they have been announcing several teams already, we became worried why our team wasn't being called and thought we lost. But just when we thought it was over, RJ then announced the grand prize winners which was no other than Team Yellow! 

Of course we all shouted with joy because we couldn't believe we were really the fastest team! Too bad Phil was no longer around (they have a game that afternoon) when we received our prizes on stage from Daniel Padilla. But we sure were thankful for his presence and for being such a great team leader. 

Aside from enjoying all the activities, my mom, dad, and I, got to take home a lot of Oishi products. It was truly an Oishi O’Wow day being with my family and team!

If you want to have a chance to also meet some of the members of Team O, join Oishi's contest! Just think of an O'Wow moment you want Oishi to surprise people with and you'll get to see for yourself when they execute that! 

Have an O'Wow day everyone!

*To see more photos taken during the event, please click here and here.

  

A Day Trip to Seafood Island Harbor Point and Zoobic Safari

I was invited to go to Subic to be part of the grand opening of Blackbeard's Seafood Island at Harbor Point Square. It took us around an hour and a half to reach the place from Quezon City. 

When we reached the venue, we were greeted with loud and energetic music played on tribal drums. It really boosted the fiesta-like theme and ambience of the restaurant.

The first food items I ate were appetizers. There was this kind of like a cross breed of a salad and nachos. Well, for me, it tasted like a salad with a crunchy twist. Anyways, it was delicious! 

The waiter also served us some fried squid rings. They were a little crispy and were the best fried squid snacks I've ever tasted.

Then I was introduced to the Boodle. I found out that this is a dish presentation where a lot of items are arranged artfully on a big container. This time, it's a nice boat that Chef Chang Magdaluyo filled with various foods.

Upon closer inspection, I saw that the boat was filled with a lot of popular seafood like crabs, shrimps, and fish. It was really well decorated and the presentation was awesome. I couldn't wait to try that out and when I did, I was not disappointed.

Aside from eating food items I'm already familiar with, I discovered that seaweeds taste delicious! I'd never expected them to taste like that. I thought they would be bitter. The clams have a very unique flavor too. I was really full by the time we finished eating and there were quite a lot of leftovers from our table. I think they served us way too much food than we could handle.

After that sumptuous lunch, we were also invited to drop by Zoobic Safari since it's quite near. I've already been there during a school field trip a few years ago so this was my second time to visit. 

The place was exactly the same as I remembered it although the three o'clock show has some really fascinating animals to show during the parade. I really enjoyed our time there. It was better than the first time because I got to see other areas I've never been able to visit before. 

There were a lot of people visiting Zoobic Safari despite its distance from the city. It's really something one should see when they go to Subic. Drop by there soon!

Orange Magazine TV Features Bryan Termulo on 2nd Anniversary Cover

This month, Orange Magazine TV celebrates its 2nd anniversary by featuring Bryan Termulo on the July 2012 cover. The popular singer has also just released a new album called Hanggang Ngayon.

I attended the bloggers' event at Moomba Bar in Quezon City with my mom. Rain was pouring hard almost the whole day so we got there later than we would have wanted. We arrived during the Q&A with Bryan where many of the guests asked him questions about his songs and career. He told us how grateful he is to his fans who have been supporting him and who serve as his inspirations.

After that, Bryan sang a few songs from the new album. Later, Kuya Jeman of Orange Magazine TV raffled off a lot of prizes. I think everyone who came got to take home a prize. I won an FMCC shirt which, unfortunately, was too big for me so I decided I'll just give it to my dad when I get home. My mom (check out her blog post about the event here) was luckier because she won a Samsung DVD player! 

Bryan was very accommodating when he was asked to pose for photos with the guests. He also patiently signed our albums which came with the press kit. It was a really fun event. I got to meet other bloggers who also like music. I hope to join one again in the future. 

The Online Media Launch was made possible by BWB Records and Music Production Inc. in cooperation with OrangeMagazineTV.com, Pinoy Magazine, BND Hair Gallery by Bing Nogara-Dio, Lifeline, Dickies, Erase Placenta, and Moomba Bar & Restaurant.

Cosplayers and More at TOYCON 2012

Toycon 2012 is the first ever convention about Anime, Games and Toys that I have attended. There were so many people there and a lot of cosplayers. The event, which was held in Megamall from June 15 to 17, started at 10AM and ended at 9PM. I went there with my friends and we saw a lot of toys for sale.

photo borrowed from toyconph.com

I approached the Playstation Booth and there were a lot of discounted PS3 items on sale. As a Playstation fan myself, I saw a lot of my favorite games there. They were also showing the trailers of upcoming games with some of the footages coming from E3 including the trailer for the Last of Us, and the upcoming Assassins Creed 3. There was also a booth about the upcoming Batman film called The Dark Knight Rises and they also showcased products and toys about the movie.

I was very happy to see that they are still producing new Gundam Models. When I was a kid, the Gundam Models were some of my favorite toys and I also watched the Anime show; the new one from 2011. I also saw a lot of The Zoids series toys which I also played with as a child.

Comics enthusiasts would be happy to know that there were also a lot of Manga available for sale at discounted prices. There were a lot of them and I didn't have much time to browse them all. But I saw a lot of my favorites there like the Vampire Hunter D which is not actually a Manga, but a Japanese novel. Then there was Death Note which I actually like although the ending is so messed up. I likewise saw one of my top favorite manga of all time -- Ghost in the Shell. For me, its concept and art design is what makes this the best manga.

Moving on to Cosplay, there were a lot of cosplayers there. So many, that they had to categorize them under Anime, Games, and Super Heroes. I recognized a lot of the cosplayers from the games category  because, as a hardcore gamer, I've played a lot of games. I saw some characters from the Final Fantasy and Metal Gear series. But my favorite was the Dragonborn from the Elder Scrolls 5 Skyrim, one of the greatest games of 2011.

Up next was the Anime category and I recognized a lot of them too. The characters from the Death Note series appeared on the runway along with Alucard and the police girl from Hellsing OVA. It's a shame though that that not all of my favorite anime characters were there but still I had a great time. All of their costumes were wonderful and very detailed.

Well that's just about it. Before closing time, I asked some of the cosplayers for a picture and they seemed to be very energetic when it comes to dealing with fans. I'm sure they were already pretty tired for posing and showcasing, but still they remained cheerful when accommodating photo requests. Now that's great attitude.

I hope I can attend the next Toycon and I'm hoping that the Video game section makes a bigger comeback. Until next time!

SM E-Plus Relaunch

I like the movie Cars and got a chance to watch its sequel, Cars 2, when SM Cinema's E-Plus card held a family day at the IMAX theater in Mall of Asia.

The E-Plus re-loadable card stands for Entertainment, Privileges, Lifestyle, Upgrades and Surprises. It allows people to watch movies without having to wait in line just to buy tickets. With the E-Plus, you just load credits into your E-Plus prepaid card and you can also upgrade it to a loyalty card. With an upgraded card, moviegoers can earn points like when they use the card to buy at any Snack Time branch in all SM Cinemas.

SM Cinema's brand new E-Plus launch in MOA was a great experience. Guests got to watch Cars 2 and later, we were given vouchers so we can join fun games and redeem free meals. There was a ton of exciting things to do like this game at the White Hat booth. Contestants have to stack as many White Hat cups as they can in their arms and try not to let them fall until a picture is taken of them holding all the cups to get a free White Hat yogurt with the toppings you chose. It was not easy to do but I had fun trying to fit in as many cups as possible.

There were also great raffle prizes they awarded to guests. I didn’t win anything but I still had a great time.  Plus, there was this Magic Act by one guy who performed amazing tricks for us to see and they were so cool. I am always amazed when I get my mind blown away by dazzling feats of magicians because I like to try doing magic tricks on my cousins too. 

All in all, the whole experience was great for me and my dad and I wouldn’t have missed it for the world. Too bad dad forgot to bring a camera so we didn't get to take good pictures. 

Movie Review: Special Forces

The first time heard of the Special Forces movie, I thought it was a film based on the popular Korean FPS game here in the Philippines. It turned out that it's a movie by Stephane Rybojad, a French director who specializes in Documentary Films.

During the press con, Mr. Rybojad shared a lot of interesting stuff including witnessing a lot of battles and gruesome moments while he was in the Middle East. That made me think that he really is the guy who's perfect to direct this movie. 

From the Q and A, I thought Special Forces was going to be a very hardcore action movie but the director said emotions flow heavily in the story so I guessed the film will be combining drama and action.

Special Forces stars Diane Kruger and Djimon Honsou. Diane takes on the role of a reporter who got captured by Taliban rebels. The French goverment ordered a six-man Special Force to retrieve the captured prisoners. Unfortunately, the Taliban rebels outnumbered them and pressured them to take the long way around to get to Afghanistan. The movie was made with excellent cinematography and its outstanding characters made it more realistic and very emotional.

Overall, the movie was great. I've watched a lot of Military Action Films and French Films like District 13 which was also good movie but I think Special Forces is now the top one for me. I hope to see more French films screened here in the Philippines.   

Come Join TOYCON 2012 this coming June 15, 16, & 17!

The Philippine Toys, Hobbies, and Collectibles Convention is coming back on its 11th year! Earlier today, I excitedly attended the press conference in SM Megamall and learned about a lot of cool stuff.

In the conference room, we witnessed the most awaited cosplay battle of the century -- the battle between Marvel Heroes and DC Heroes. It was evident how much effort both teams really exerted in creating their wonderful costumes. Particularly, I was very impressed about the detail in Iron Man's. Although it was just a sort of exhibition "fight" and no winners were declared, I'd vote for The Avengers because I think their costumes were better than those of their competitors'.

Since I listen to K-Pop, I also enjoyed watching the wonderful act of the trio who performed this kind of music. Some of the songs were quite familiar to me and I'd say the performers did great on the dance floor.

Aside from the entertainment, we also got to check out various toy collections that I inspected closely. There was this rare collection of Hasbro stuff that included a lot of GI Joe figures and models from the 80's to the current generation. You'll be able to see these exclusively showcased at the TOYCON so look for them there.

For the past ten years, TOYCON has been highlighting the best of all things pop-culture including movies, anime, comics, gaming, and pop-culture collectibles and memorabilia. 

Honestly, I haven't attended any TOYCON in the past but this year, since I have more time and can travel on my own already, I'll make sure to grab the opportunity to be there. I have always been a fan of Anime, Western Comics like Marvel and DC, and of course Video Games which, I'm sure  I'll see to see a lot of in this year's TOYCON. I heard they are adding a lot of cool stuff so this time, I'll definitely make it.

By the way, Warner Bros. Consumer Products and Pacific Licensing Studio are co-sponsors of the event where it will feature the latest products and merchandise of the highly anticipated film "The Dark Knight Rises" which will be released on July 19, 2012 in theaters and IMAX.

Alongside the TOYCON, there will also be a "DC Comics and The Dark Knight Rises" on ground event at the SM Megamall Events Center. You may also want to check out in store promotion of the DC Comics and Dark Knight Rises merchandise at all SM department stores from June 1 to July 31, 2012. For every single receipt purchase of P500 worth of merchandise, customers may win 1 of 2000 movie passes for the Dark Knight Rises movie and an entry pass to the DC Comics/Dark Knight Rises event on June 16 and 17.

So if you're a toy aficionado or collector, jot down June 15, 16, and 17 on your calendars and head on over to SM Megamall's Megatrade Halls 1, 2 and 3 from 10AM to 9PM! Since it's also Father's Day weekend,don't forget to tag your dad along and have a good time! See you there!

For more information, please log on to www.toyconph.com or visit their Facebook page.

Event Coverage: Nuvali's Earth Day Concert

I was invited last Saturday to come to Nuvali in Laguna to participate in an Earth Day concert. The last time I was in Nuvali was a year ago and it's nice to come back to this place because of the fresh air and the nice scenery all around.

It was an honor to attend this wonderful event because it made me more aware of what's happening right now in our environment. Through the clips shown in between songs during the concert, audiences were reminded that even the simplest of things like picking up trash and recycling stuff can already make a BIG impact to save Mother Earth.  

The concert was graced by well-known singers in the Philippine music industry. Although my mom has Zia Quizon's album already, the other night was the first time I've heard Zia Quizon sing. As a jazz fanatic, I was amazed by her voice and honestly think she could be one of the best OPM jazz artist in this generation.

Jed Madela also sings fantastically. My favorite part was when he sang "What a Wonderful World". I really would have wanted to hear Christian Bautista sing one or two songs from his album Outbound, which I have, but he didn't. At least he sang a Michael Jackson song and that, for me, was enough. This is not the first time I have seen Christian Bautista up close. The first time was during a Bloggers Meet at the Universal Records office last November. You can read my review of his CD and about the event here.

Kyla and Juris also sang with the other three and the night was filled with good music and good vibes for the environment. 

Overall, I enjoyed the event very much. Audiences not only got to witness famous people perform on stage but also learned how we can do our part in saving our planet. And Nuvali's open air concert area was the perfect venue to do all that. It was a really great night.

Event Coverage: IP e-Games' Domination 6

Yesterday, I attended Domination 6 hosted by IP e-Games at the World Trade Center. The event venue was fully packed by more than a thousand gamers and cosplayers by the time we got there before noon. It's a shame that I didn't get to stay to finish the whole thing because we had to catch a concert that night and had to leave earlier in the afternoon than I'd like to, but I've witnessed a lot of cool stuff. 

The merging of IP e-Games and Level Up! Inc., the two biggest online gaming companies in the Philippines was great news to me! You see, I have been a fan since Ragnarok Online came out. During the event, we saw the trailer of a new game called Bounty Houndz. The gameplay video of it has outstanding graphics! I'm sure that Bounty Houndz will be successfull as well as other games they are planning to release.

Point Blank is still looking great. It's still the best online FPS game for me. By the way, not only is e-Games releasing Bounty Houndz but also Level Up! games is releasing Eligium -- a massive Player Versus Player game, featuring Guilds, Sieges, and Legions. I bet Eligium will be a story-focused online game. The representative who talked about it on stage said that it will be much similar to World Of Warcraft so I have high hopes for this one.

Diablo 3 will also be released here in the Philippines. Since the 1990's Blizzard has always been successful when it comes to gaming. They have some of the best games like StarCraft, WarCraft, Diablo and Diablo 2. There's no doubt that Diablo 3 will be successful as its predecessors were .

Of course, the gaming ambiance won't be complete without some of the best OPM bands present. Up Dharma Down delivered a clean and wonderful performance. Their hit single Oo and Tadhana made the crowd go wild. We already left before Tanya Markova went on stage but I'm sure they also rocked the place with their music. 

Overall, the event was a HUGE success. Hopefully, the merger between the two gaming companies will lead to a promising future for game enthusiasts. If you are a gamer, you should also make plans to attend when the next Domination event comes around next year. It's really, really cool!

* Photos borrowed with permission from Orange Magazine TV

Event Coverage - Charge your Summer with Spyder Sportswear

I was invited to the Spyder Sportswear event held in Festival Mall Alabang yesterday. When I arrived at the activity area, there was a massive display of sunglasses and motor helmets. The first thing that came to my mind was that all these stuff must be expensive! 

But then, the spokesperson started to explain that buying the items is a good idea because of the insurance you get by adding only 150 pesos to your purchase. The insurance covers 100,000 pesos of human life damage even if you are not riding a motorcycle at the time of the accident. 

It's good to know that they value their customers. I think it's already a good deal to pay 150 pesos for what they call the Spyder Assist Program because of the insurance benefits which also include a 30 percent discount when you purchase a new helmet.

The great thing about Spyder is that they have a lot of different merchandise to choose from. The sunglasses are really high-tech in terms of design that will attract a lot of people who do sports. Not only that, there are features embedded within the glasses like the Polartech which makes the glasses very sleek, removes glare, and enhances color perception.

The cycling helmets also look very nice especially with the distinctive spider design. The Sigma Downhill helmet is my favorite as it has a concept I found interesting. In addition, I like the visor of this helmet because, as an artist, it inspired me to think about creating designs for helmets.

The motorbike helmets, on the other hand, have these unique airfit system that makes it more comfortable for users to wear. My favorite model is the Hex, again because of the visor design that fascinated me.

Spyder did impress me with the unique designs and features of their products. Hopefully, I'll get to have a motorcycle of my own soon so I would have a reason to buy one of their products which, for me, are a must have. Furthermore, it's not just about the merchandise but the insurance as well because we will never know when accidents can happen.

* Thank you Orange Magazine TV for the invite and for the photos

Event Coverage: Relaunch of the New Netopia

Earlier today, I was invited to witness the ultimate transformation of Netopia at their branch in Binondo. Yes, the internet truly has just gotten better. After 16 years, the time has come for Netopia to become much more innovative and functional. 

Michael Lacy, the President of Digital Paradise Inc. showed us their upcoming plans for the new and improved Netopia. Not only that, the Vietnamese-famous Highlands Coffee is now in the Philippines and integrated within Netopia stores although you will also find it as a standalone branch in other areas.

Since my family moved to Manila a few years ago, I searched for a decent computer shop among the many establishments in our area which mostly can't provide the speed I need  for streaming videos. When I tried Netopia for the first time, I was very impressed because it's very clean and has tons of computers waiting to be used; but most of all, the internet was very fast. 

And the best part is, you only have to pay 20 pesos per hour a session. Netopia is one of my favorite internet shops of all time, so I was very happy to find out about the new and improved version of its branches that is yet to come.

Gamers like myself would be glad to know that Netopia has the latest games available, unlike other computer shops. And since Netopia computers have powerful specs, you can be sure that you can play your games with max graphics. As for Highlands Coffee, you can choose there a wide selection of drinks that you can avail of for 60 pesos which already includes a 30 minute session of computer time. Sounds like a good deal!