The Philippines is set to be the host of the International Tax and
Investment Conference dubbed "FAST FORWARD 2025" aimed to promote ESG
investing in the country. For those who don't know, that stands for
Environmental, Social and Governance, a way to evaluate sustainability
and ethical impact of a company.
The conference will be very
instrumental in this discussion and encouraging more foreign investments
in the country. March 26 will start panel discussions, exhibits on
local products and the ACG Global Awards to recognize champions and
advocates of sustainability. Lead Convenor for this event is Mon Abrea,
the CEO of Asian Consulting Group who's tax reform advocacy has moved
mountains in the region. To date, ACG has over 191 Billion pesos of
savings from BIR cases of their clients. Dr. Bing Limjoco Head of the
Philippine Franchise Association and Franchise Asia will be Vice
Chairman of this event.
The event will also mark the launch of Mon Abrea's newest book "Re-imagining the World Without Climate Change" which includes real world studies of FAST industries who follow ESG principles, proving it can be done. The press conference also was graced by the one and only Madame Loida Lewis, who was given honors before she left for New York. Young entrepreneur and actress Bea Binene also shared why she trusts ACG and how ESG efforts have made her even trust the firm more in managing her tax and businesses to this date.
Here's the press conference in its entirety!
If you want to join FAST FORWARD 2025 you may email them at itic@acg.ph or visit their website itic2025.helixpay.ph if you want to secure a slot to the event.
Ever had a time in your life when everything seem to have fallen into place? I think that's exactly what is happening to multi awarded actress Ms. Sylvia Sanchez. The talented actress from Agusan Del Norte has gone leaps and bounds from when she started. Hailed as "Ina ng Bayan" for her portrayal of motherly roles in several shows, her illustrious career has spanned over 30 years. Recently, she copped the Best Actress award for her performance in the indie film "Jesusa". She's also gotten the nod from the Asian Academy for Creatives Awards and won Best Actress for a Supporting Role category for her character Barang in hit ABS-CBN primetime series "Huwag Kang Mangamba". Aside from that, she also got the Best Actress award from Philippine Movie Press Club's Star Awards for Television when she reprised the role of Luz Ramirez-Mabunga in "Pamilya Ko", a program that spanned 2019-2020.
Winning the national tilt for Best Actress in a Supporting Role from the Asian Academy for Creatives Awards will get her to represent the Philippines and be pitted against others who won in the same category from ANZ and other Asian countries.
She says "You know, these awards are all bonuses for all the hard work I've put in my craft over the years. It makes me inspired to even work harder in roles that I've never done before. It's like constant learning. I am so thankful for all the recognition I get from award giving bodies, I feel they trust me and my talent as an actress. I am just extremely thankful!"
Currently, Ms. Sylvia is endorsing clothing brand BENCH and also leading beauty brand Beautederm Corporation. This coming December, she's going to represent the country in the Asian Academy Creatives Awards after her son Arjo Atayde won in his performance in Bagman (it is currently shown in Netflix). If you want to know more about Ms. Sylvia and see updates about her shows and her life, follow @sylviasanchez)a on Twitter and IG. You can also like her page Sylvia Sanchez on FB and subscriber on her YouTube channel.
Congratulations Ms. Sylvia! All I can say is, well deserved! I love you, your husband, Arjo and Ria who have all been so good to me these past few years. Looking forward for you to get that AACA award in December! Cheers!
We were there last year covering at the sidelines of the red carpet. I thought this year was just going to pass but it looks like the 25th installment of the Asian Television Awards is pushing through and will be hosted by Wallace Ang together with actor Benjamin Josiah Tan from Singapore, anchor Ji Xiao Jun from China, beauty queen Rennie Lau from Malaysia and ATA 2020’s winning “Best Actress in a Supporting Role” Anyarin Terathananpat of Thailand. This will be headed by the international creative firm Wonder Paradise Group. Entries from the whole Asia Pacific region have been coming in, so expect the best
For those who don't know, the ATA's has been recognizing actors, directors, producers, artists and presenters since 1996. They also have awarded several Asian programs and TV networks in the region. This year, it's going to be a lot different as the format will all be done digital. The ATA Technical and Creative Awards will be held on January 15th and will be streamed on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Weibo at 8:00 PM wherein 30 awards will be presented plus a new category for Best Direction of Non-Fiction entries. There will be performances by actor, singer and dancer Alfred Sng, singer Sherraine Law, pop artist HAVEN and singer Emiliano Cyrus who hails from Singapore. Ernie Zakri and Lee Pei Ling from Malaysia will also be singing, plus a number by Dat Ozy from Vietnam and our very own Sam Concepcion from the Philippines.
Again, the 25th Asian Television Awards will be shown in 500 million homes across a network of regional broadcast partner networks on January 16, 2021 at 8:00 PM. This includes Formosa TV of Taiwan, Viu TV of Hong Kong, Jiangsu Broadcast from China, Cignal Colours and TV5 from the Philippines, Bangkok TV of Thailand, Today TV from Vietnam, Channel O, Citra Entertainment and the Indonesia Channel for Indonesia and last but not the least Bayon TV of Cambodia. You can also follow their social channels to get updates from the awards ceremonies.
Make sure you're tuned in on these channels on this date! It'll be fun to see your Asian idols/celebrities there!
This has been no stranger to my cupboards as they've made each french frie piece extra special with their HEINZ Ketchup. Just a few days ago, the brand launched something new, a whole new line of Asian sauces. They had us at Tong Yang Plus which is a cool hotpot and yakiniku place, though this time they got us tons of bottles of their sauces on the table. We wondered how this would turn out.
The broth was a little bland so I got the Heinz Golden Mark Oyster Sauce, Heinz Light Soy Sauce and a little Heinz Blended Sesame Oil in it. Tasted a spoonful, and it was already perfect.
On the side, I prepared two sauces. The Heinz Sweet Chili Sauce and the Heinz Garlic Chili Sauce. I used the first for some of the strips of beef I got in the grill while the other was for the tons of things I got in the hotpot. You usually do get a little tired of things in the grill but since I got it all a little spicy because of the sauces, I had about 4 servings of it in one go. I also had about 3 servings of hotpot and kept coming back for the Cheese Meatballs, ahh, it was heaven!
But really, it was a great idea to have these things used for dishes we're used to. It brightens up the flavor of each dish, making it even special and not just settle with the usual things we have in the kitchen. These noodles were actually prepared by the Chef using Heinz Golden Mark Oyster Sauce, Heinz Premium Light Soy Sauce and the Heinz Blended Sesame Oil.
For fried stuff like this fish, they got it on a batter and put the Heinz Sweet Chili Sauce, and voila! You can have restaurant quality dishes at home.
They also have Heinz Soy Sauce, Premium Oyster Sauce which you can use with noodles, mushroom, veggies, and a little flurry. Those Chinese dishes would be easy because you've got them all figured out with Heinz' new Asian sauces.
The Heinz Premium Light Soy Sauce, Heinz Soy Sauce, Heinz Blended Sesame Oil, Heinz Premium Oyster Sauce, Heinz Golden Mark Soy Sauce, Heinz Golden Mark Soy Sauce, Heinz Thai Sweet Chili Sauce, and Heinz Garlic Chili Sauce is nothing but a great addition to what you have in your pantry. Everything you've had during breakfast, lunch and dinner would be just better, price wise they're also very competitive. I could even say, they're even better than those popular ones in the Asian section. I am so inlove too with the Garlic Chili Sauce, a bottle didn't last me for 3 days because I loved how spicy my dishes became after a dab of that.
Now it's your turn, go find them on the shelves of your favorite groceries and try them, trust me on the Garlic Chili Sauce. You've got to try that!
Do you fear missing out on this particular awards night? Well don’t fret because this will be good news for you. One of the hottest streaming apps in the world apparently got hooqed and got rights to the inaugural Asian Academy Creative Awards so viewers from the Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand would be able to stream it at their own time on the one and only HOOQ app, now isn’t that good news?
This is only available to subscribers at no extra cost so if you’re already paying for the monthly subscription, you can watch this without the need for tickets right at the comforts of your own home. This event will include the brightest stars and professionals in the industry so if they did good on their craft, they will be one of he 99 lucky awardees in this side of the globe. Mind you this will be the most coveted as the best of the best industry people will gather in Singapore appearing in events like the Singapore Media Festival, the grand dinner, the gala final, plus the red carpet event.
This will happen on December 6-7 so make sure you watch them as they happen plus some backstage access (so you can see your favorites) for those who stream with HOOQ. So go download the HOOQ streaming app on Google Play and the App Store if you don’t want to miss this opportunity.
Alabang is so far from my place that I'd feel overly burdened to go there if it's not worth it. Work for most of the time made me travel there - and before I do go home, I'd plan ahead and make sure I discover something different, something that would impress my friends, my workmates, my family and my own taste buds. That's not hard to do mind you, but I guess there's an underlying notion of it being "worth it" before I do actually enjoy it this time because I traveled far for it. This is one of them, it's called AKROTIRI which serves modern Eurasian cuisine.
Set at the sprawling Filinvest business district at Commercenter in Alabang, this place is known for a small mall (by Philippine standards) and the neighboring food establishments. I have frequented this place in the past as I was staying in nearby hotels, so do expect people from neighboring towns, tourists and expats as well.
Akrotori is a cozy little place that could sit 50-60 people. It's got fancy - proper seating, a huge bar and a small function room upstairs for private parties. It's perfect for small events and you can even fit a stage inside since it's got pretty high ceilings. They didn't shortchange in design because the whole place wreaks of a modern bistro - added with a look of an English pub you would often see in that region. Ahh I can still remember the few drinks I had there, I was in tipsy heaven!
The Food
The food is exquisite, albeit being a
little pricey, you would see their servings are actually large. They use the freshest ingredients - and
quality wise, it's worth it! I would never hesitate to take a few family members here to enjoy the food. It's fusion so I think it's easy to adapt with flavors that are used in the west, a hodgepodge of taste and cooking techniques that are familiar in Europe - all here in Manila.
The Grilled Squid stuffed with Feta Foam and Black Ink Risotto was a good starter. It's slightly fishy because of obvious reasons, soft and the risotto was comforting. Make sure you have this while it's hot.
We went back to 25 Mushrooms Kitchen with Chef Margaret Santos to make authentic oriental flavors with Kikkoman Soy Sauce. We can see the difference now as the Kikkoman Soy Sauce is reddish brown.
The chemically created soy sauce is darker, it also sticks to the chopsticks and is very salty. Kikkoman is light, sweet and appetizing. It's not processed and you can feel it smoothly unlike the heavy ones in the market. Taste wise, Kikkoman tastes the best!
Soybean, wheat, water and salt. They make this the natural way in Japan and you can't really get that quality distinct taste anywhere else like Kikkoman does. It's pasteurized and gone through quality tests because it is from Japan.
Here's a video I made before the event started.
We have three recipes today so we started by doing a Sushi platter. With Uni, Ebi, Tuna and Salmon, we were bound to make a beautiful dishes this afternoon!
We used Sashimi Grade tuna and salmon plus lovely Kani and shrimp if you're into that.
Making the rice is important because it will make or break your dish. Remember to use Japanese rice and in the ratio of 1: 1and 1/4 cup. You can make this in your rice cooker so it doesn't take a genius to do that. We cut the tuna, put the spices and Japanese mayo for the Spicy Tuna.
Tuna or any other seafood should always be cold. Add hot sauce or Togarashi powder for more added kick! Use your hands to firmly pack the rice, more than your usual sushi, do the same on Uni. Put in a cut Nori Wrapper on the sides so it would be like a basin for your spicy tuna.
Do the same on the other rolls, just make sure it's bite sized, and finish it in one or two bites. That'll be enough to feed you the whole day. If it doesn't stick, just put water and you'll be fine.
I'm so good at this hahahaha!
Then we made Pork Tonkatsu too!
We pound the meat first, then put it in Flour, Egg and Breadcrumbs.
Then fry it in oil for about 3-5 minutes or until golden brown.
Now you have Pork Tonkatsu! Now let's make the sauce!
Making Dashi first by dissolving the powder on the boiling water. This is your stock. A little oil, onions, mushrooms, leeks (green and white part), then set it aside. Pour the teriyaki sauce in the dashi, eyeball it, put a little sugar, then put the pork in. Put in your egg then wait for it to cook. When the egg gets cooked, slide it on your rice and enjoy!
It was still crunchy on the sides and the flavor really seeped in. Must try this at home.
Then we also prepared Sukiyaki. It's that sweet soup commonly found in Japanese Restaurants. You've got veggies, rice noodle, beef and egg. You just combine ingredients, make the soup to taste and voila! You've got your lovely Sukiyaki in minutes!
I love it! It's sweet and not too salty. It was heaven in a bowl. I want to cook this at home too. :)
Now have you already cooked something for your family lately? Maybe it's time you get Kikkoman Soy Sauce and Kikkoman Teriyaki Sauce today and make that kitchen masterpiece a reality today!
P.S. They even made us desserts by using two heaping scoops of Vanilla Ice Cream and drops of Kikkoman Soy Sauce. Apparently, it works!
By the way, I'll be giving away a few cooking classes so you guys get the chance to cook too. Stay tuned on my Instagram account @kumagcow and tell me about your favorite dish!
We braved the streets of Manila again to get to Binondo, one of the city's great food destinations. I rode the MRT2 which is bigger and wider compared to the sardine can like MRT3 in Edsa. It's pretty convenient, but like any public transportation you must be reminded to take care of your belongings since there are a lot of crooks when traveling here.
It's nice and roomy, and the coaches look good too as they've got advertisers covering them up as moving billboards. Like this one with AlDub on them!
Which I know you'll find cute too. After going down on the Recto station, I rode a jeep to Divisoria. I never bought anything the first time I shopped there and unfortunately, I didn't find anything interesting again so I went right across the street and walked a bit further to the Binondo district where most restaurants were still open even on holidays.
I saw a small bridge in the middle (I forgot the name) but it made me cross the street easier and didn't have to go around the area. There was also a small dumpling seller on the street right after this which I'm going back to soon. It's cheaper I think and most of the Chinese people in the area bought their dumplings there too. I will go back definitely.
I was gearing towards having dinner in Eng Bee Tin the famous hopia shop which consequently also had their own Chinese restaurant too right beside it. I bought hopia, peanut ampao, white tikoy and corn tikoy for take out then walked a little more towards the Binondo Church.
It was a little funky there because they had horses manure and piss on the road which I think should be something the local government should probably do something about. This is the San Lorenzo Ruiz Minor Basilica. Then there's a nice spot across the street.
The Plaza San Lorenzo Ruiz is nice but there were tons of street kids that would spoil the view, they'll keep asking you for change so don't do that as they'll get used to it. I saw some of them using rugby, not a good thing..
Anyway, I walked on the left side of the church and saw Tasty Dumpling. It's not my first time because I've been to their Banawe branch, but first time here in Binondo. It's a bit small, can fit around 20-30 people and most locals have dinner or lunch here I think. They have a huge sign not to bring BAON because students probably do that on regular days LOL!
I ordered two drinks. One is the Wintermelon Juice (that tastes like sago without the actual sago part) and the best seller Dalandan Juice (which tastes like the fruit, a little tangy but sweet).
I also got two types of dumplings. The original one is just pork, the other is called Kuchai which means it's pork and spring onions on it. They have light soy and vinegar plus home made chili which you can dip the dumplings into. Make sure you eat it while it's hot because it's just gonna be better.
For those looking for something filling, Tasty Dumpling has the BEST Pork Chop. It's served as Pork Chop Rice with some really good sweet and savory sauce over it. It's like the Taiwanese pork chop but I guess it's their version. It's huge too and probably good to share. If you're a bit hungry, I suggest you order more rice from their menu as they've got that too. Service was also fast, they got my order fixed in as short as 5 minutes I think. How's that for fastfood no?! They are located at 960 Ongpin Street right beside Binondo Church so you wouldn't really miss it.
I want to see more hole in the wall restaurants in my next posts. Stay tuned for that. As for now, I'd like to wish you guys a very happy new year! Thank you for reading this and thank you also for making my 2015 a good one. Let's make 2016 even better!
