Take Wine Guesswork Out at the Happy Living 30th Anniversary Wine Festival!

 

Have you ever gone into a wine shop and felt a little lost seeing all the kinds of wine on the rack? Me too. It is so complex, each bottle different and even sourced from a certain country, and certain regions. It's like it has its own personality, you get to know it by flavor, aroma, texture and taste. It also comes in various colors, can be mixed into a concoction. If you're up to it, there's a Wine Festival on June 15th at The Tent in Enderun at McKinley Hill, Taguig. With the theme “A Continuing Journey Across the World's Most Famous Wine Regions and Wineries", their goal is for you to learn how to identify the right one is for you.

This is part of Happy Living's celebration of their 30th Anniversary. They are importers and distributors of over 150 kinds of wines and spirits sourced from all over the world. 

Oh it's RED!

When dining, it's always there for a  lot of people. It's got strong, bolder flavors. It's also got tannin that makes it red, and gives it that certain mount feel. The wine festival will feature Arzuaga Reserva 2009 from Ribera del Duero of Spain which has won several awards, and will surely be appreciated at the event!

If you prefer WHITE

Ones I do like, are mostly white, light and bright. This is present in most flavors it gets, some fruity, sweet, a bit acidic especially Sauvignon blanc.

A crisp, elegant, and fresh white wine favorite is  sauvignon blanc, known for its bright acidity with vibrant flavors of fruits such as green apple, lime, and herbs. Sauvignon blanc drinkers are refreshing and expressive, unafraid to express themselves and their preferences. One that will be featured in the Happy Living Wine Festival is Lionel Osmin Villa Côte d'Argent Sauvignon Blanc 2022. It's a region known for being fresh, fruity and aromatic. A bit stronger is the chardonnay, and if you enjoy other flavor profiles, there are a lot of other things you can have on that date.  

Certainly Fun Sangria

There's nothing more fruity than a glass of sangria. Try the featured Lolea No1 on ground made from quality Tempranillo and Cabernet Sauvignon. With fruits infused, acids and spice, you'll be talking a lot during the event and love the options. Else, get Lolea No2 or Lolea No3 Brut, your Spanish friends would thank you.

If you're raring to go, get tickets via happylivingph.com today. Again, the event will happen on the 15th of June at The TENT at Enderun Colleges. There will be masterclasses available, but only limited seats (go get them while it's hot!). There are also over 150 wines and spirits to try at the venue, and it runs 4PM to 9PM. Get the tickets HERE. This is only for those 18 and older. See you there!

Glaiza, Tj Shines On My Letters to Happy

Just saw My Letters To Happy this evening at their premiere in SM Megamall. I had a notion this would be a love story alone, but it has made me realize they’ve probably made this for the twist of the story which we can’t mention here.

Not everyone was built strong. That line alone would make you think how hard and complicated this relationship is for Abet and Happy. One day they’re fine and dandy, a little bit crazy over each other, the next day they’re all talking serious stuff. They delve into that a lot, I felt uncomfortable at first because as millennials put it, there’s some ghosting involved. How far would a person show his love for someone?

Because we often forget how important our time is. This line had me thinking, do we all really do that? Do we not put importance to that moment we spend with out loved ones and instead just became superficial? How do we count or identify the things we need to put real attention to?

Abet and Happy made me feel a little hurt, especially in that one scene (I couldn’t tell you to spoil it!), a little helpless sometimes, but the fun parts, you encounter several skips of your heartbeat. Story wise, My Letters To Happy has given a subject much importance. Check it out if you want to see how, why you need to be crazy sometimes.

This film shows on July 17, 2019. Take your love struck crazy friends along and learn how to love without conditions, it works for some people. Glaiza, is a fine actress... and this just proves even if she reads lines from a phone book, she makes it work. Congratulations to the production too, but hope you ease up on the camera shake, I felt dizzy in the first frames (sorry).

8 Hakaw Flavors at Happy Dumplings

Rode the road less traveled in the north at SM Fairview and climbed up to the second floor for a new spot called HAPPY DUMPLINGS. It’s a new Chinese food concept by the same people behind Black Sheep Coffee Manila, Bawais Vietnamese Restaurant under the Leave the Herd Behind Group. 

The place is nice (and very cute) with a modern oriental "happy" interior using very colorful walls, acccents and cute dumpling characters too. There are tons of bunk chairs inside (comfy seating for two), a few bar stools and a couple of usual seating in the front for groups of 4 or more. They also have an open kitchen concept so you literally see them cooking it when you order. 

Rice comes so good with this Salted Fish Fried Rice - since they just opened, they've got a promo ongoing for UNLIMITED RICE so if you're a heavy eater, I suggest you get that one. It is good for plain white rice lovers out there.

This is primarily a dimsum place and to start off, they've got these Fried Wanton. My guess is, your mouth is watering.

Now this is a good reason to go here. The new and awesome flavored HAKAW available in Original, Garlic, Curry, Salted Egg, Wasabi, Saté, Schezuan and Bagoong flavors. Would you believe it’s only Php 238? Yes, they’re crazy for doing that! (Be careful with the Schezuan because it doesn’t hold back, you’ll get that spicy kick you asked for, and currently my favorite). It’s super worth it! 

My other favorite though is their Beef Brisket Noodle Soup because of it’s not too salty broth, plus their noodles are firm and doesn’t taste rancid like other egg noodles. 

This is their COMBI 3 which is a combination of their Pork Asado, HK Style Fried Chicken and Lechong Macau. They also have a COMBI 2 if you're on a diet, but for groups of 3/4 you should definitely get this for variety.

My shots were fogging up because of the steam coming from these containers, it's fresh hot Pork Siomai with a whole shrimp which they stick in the center. It's really different when it's freshly cooked.

I also ordered their Beancurd Roll, which they had fried and doused with sweet salty soy sauce. It was light, not too greasy, order this for kids so they have protein.

Still steaming hot, this is their Chicken Feet. I didn't eat this but my seatmate did, let's just say he finished it all in a few minutes (while I was judging him LoL). It smelled so savory, I couldn't blame him.

Their management says they have planned to open up a few more branches in malls real soon, but for the meantime, you can visit this joint at the second floor of SM Fairview. I can't wait to go back there because it is quality Chinese food at an affordable price, how can you go wrong with that!? 

Unlimited rice and 8 flavor HAKAW on my plate sounds like a good plan!