ACG's Beyond Borders International Tax Conference Slated June 15

It was certainly one of the nicest conversations over lunch last week when we got to be in the midst of Tax Whiz Mon Abrea (the Chairman and CEO of Asian Consulting Group) and Jose Magsaysay Jr., a founding member of Association of Filipino Franchisors, Inc. and owner of the country's favorite fries, Potato Corner. 

Fresh from the US and his Harvard Kennedy School studies, Mr. Abrea started telling us about how excited he is about the upcoming International Tax Conference in the Philippines entitled BEYOND BORDERS which will be hosted by the Asian Consulting Group (ACG) which he heads. It will be held on the 15th of June 2023 at I'm Hotel in Makati Avenue, Makati City. Issues regarding global taxes, best practices, local and international regulations, policies, it's digitalization will be discussed by esteemed experts and leaders from across the globe. Speakers include those from The World Bank, Asian Development Bank, the International Monetary Fund, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, OECD, Department of Budget and Management and the Senate.

Mr. Magsaysay also shared anecdotes about how he started the very successful Potato Corner and how they also weathered the pandemic. To say the least, his story was really inspiring, including the reason why he's supporting Mr. Abrea and his initiatives.

 

Mr. Abrea also feels this would be beneficial for those in government institutions, private corporations since it will include third party organization with real concrete data not driven by personalities or politicians. Information about the Philippines will be presented (I heard) without prejudice. 

Surely, it'll be interesting to hear about that as well. If you're interested, you may get in touch with them via itc@acg.ph or their contact number 09176278805.

See you there!

Chef Luigi Muhlach’s LUMU Beerhouse and Filipino Kitchen

Filipinos have always shyed away from actually eating their own dishes because they’ve always had it, grew tired of it, and perhaps the lack of imagination of people. I often walk in the Greenbelt 3 area to and from events and if you’re familiar with the place and go up the escalator, there’s a stretch of restaurants on the right side that’s not much frequented by people. Well I think that’s about to change now. You’ll see a pretty line of window panes with the letters LUMU. You see, showbiz royalty and Chef Luigi Mulach has just set up shop at this side of town and called it such because of his names sake, and what people used to put in their love letters when it was still done, it means “Love U and Miss U... cheesy I know but it fits the bill. We attended their grand launch together with his friends in the industry, showbusiness and his relatives. Not to mention his super proud parents Aga Mulach and Janice De Belen. Igi Boy has indeed made strides.

I heard about his story, and putting up this restaurant wasn’t that easy because if you’re like me who frequent food bazaars, you’ll see Luigi do the legwork. He prepares the food himself, serve it to customers and it has been like that for a couple of years. So just seeing this happen made him a little bit teary eyed, I could feel how hard he’s worked for it.

I guess it stems from what hits home, this new venture wasn’t much like a posh fine dining restaurant and he wanted it to be a bit more relaxed where friends and family could hang out after office hours. Just casual, not to dressed up, not a speakeasy pub, but more of a beerhouse. The difference though is that it’s not like the ones that your Titos would probably frequent to, no GRO’s, no noisy videoke machines, but nice sturdy tables and chairs, a tight spot in the middle for a band setup, so you could enjoy singing along every night paired with ice cold beer and good pulutan. The food is where the adventure begins too.

That evening, we had the privilege to see Ogie Alcasid sing on stage with the lovely 80’s hits. Staples in my books, I really enjoyed it!

The Chicken Sisig, served on a hot plate. Mix it up and see how the egg yolk envelopes the chopped chicken meat, simple yet delectable, perfect to pair with beer!

Inihaw Samplers, a good treat for those who want good streetfood. It’s got chicken intestines, pork intestines, pork skin, and sweet pork barbecue.

This is their Cuapao, done like a sloppy joe so it’s a little like east meets west. This is good for starters.

Their Seafood Sampler, they know how to cook. No tough pieces, eat it while it’s hot!

They also have goat on the menu aka Kambing Sampler. The Papaitan, and several soup dishes are hearty and comforting, if you want something during a cold night, ask about it there.

This one I’d highly recommend, if you’re a little adventurous that is. It’s native sausages done in different ways. Each piece described according to flavour(adoring Filipino play on words), ingenious.

For the piece de resistance, this is their Lechon Kawali. The perfect cut of pork, lightly salted in brine (probably) then deep fried. I love the crispy skin, soft meat, which you can dip in spiced vinegar or other sauces. I love this a lot. Perfect for Keto.

Aside from these lovely dishes, they’ve got an extensive array of local and international beers. Not to mention even the Mucho size of a popular local one, so you get to save a buck or two compared to dining spots within the area. They have a pretty mean sago and gulaman, Mango drink that they do with flare. They also have cocktails served in glasses or pitchers, I bet they expect you to crawl out happy after all that booze. Try their proteins, the happy conconctions, it’s not that expensive either.

Chef Luigi Mulach

The dedication, the inspiration to serve hearty meals and well done Filipino dishes in a simple setting, plus how he wants to go to the roots of how the barkada system works, making it still affordable, that in itself will spell the success of this new place. Visit LUMU Beerhouse and Filipino Kitchen today at the 3rd Floor of Greenbelt 3 in Makati City. If you would like to hold events or have reservations, call 504-5240.

KUMAGCOW

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The RISE Makati

We're in North Makati area today and looking around condominium units from famous Shangrila Properties. Their newest project called The Rise Makati located at the NoMa district boasts tons of artsy restaurants and establishments that say a lot about its selling point, Location, Location, Location. They also want you to paint your own canvass and create your own masterpiece in each room. The building will have 55 floors and habitable areas. They got us to look at some of the model units in their showroom, and it is quite impressive for this area. To give you an idea, it's along Yakal Street and almost right behind the Makati Fire Station, the Makati Post Office and the Makati Police Station.

It's got its own mall, a line of homey restaurants, a hangout area, a huge pool + a kiddie pool, a game room, an entertainment area, a circus themed kids room, function rooms, karaoke suites, a kilometer or more running areas all set in the North Area of Makati. I loved every bit of it.

The One Bedroom Unit

This is perfect for bachelors or young professionals who are just starting out living alone or starting to just invest in properties. The company also has programs of you want to lease it. This is pretty small but it's enough for someone like me who wants something classy and simple. Ahm, actually they chose the word Creative, the way they designed and built it. The amenities is over the top, the community is hip and cultured, it's near Team Manila's headquarters. 

The One Bedroom with a Balcony

This one almost fits like the other one and is around 27-29 square meters. The design is made by local and HK based people. The architecture is implemented by locals too. They have different projects in China, HK and elsewhere but the technology is much like the same. They use the best ones in the industry and can also recommend interior designers if needed. The biggest is around 43 square meters, and can cost around 3.2-3.9 Million, depending on the view and how large the area is plus taxes for Comissioner Kim Henares' enjoyment.

Two Bedroom Units with a Balcony

This costs around 9-10 Million but is so good I want one for myself. This can probably fit a family of 4 and I could say it's like 2 and a half rooms. The half could probably function as a home office or a study. If you have foreign guests, this would be something that could well be their second home. 

They also showed us around restaurants in the property and had super good lunch in Chesa Bianca, an authentic Swiss restaurant with b@d@ss fondue and Pork Cordon Bleu! 

I super love it! In fact it's the cheese that makes the difference. If we only had white wine, we could have stayed there for hours!

Then we headed on to my favorite dessert place called Bebe Rouge.

Their Earl Grey Tea and Strawberry Shortcake is to die for! You can quote me on that. Might I also warn you not to hit on the Japanese Chef because he's married, sorry ladies haha!

Then we went onto Suez and Zapote which is on the artsy part of the community. It's a place also by Team Manila but more on galleries and limited edition shirts! 

We even made our own shirts to take home and enjoy! I'll wear this proudly of course! :) 

Then for the last stop, we headed on to Speak Easy in Alphaland Makati Place.

They had a huge wall dedicated to my favorite drink! Aside from that, the gorgeous Russian lady named Allona prepared everything for us that afternoon personally. 

She whipped up Lychee Mojito for the ladies and Old Style thingy for me! It was awesome to cap off the evening with that! 

Thank you so much to the great people behind Shangrila Properties, The Rise Makati and all the establishments we went to today! I really had fun and hope the real soon to be tenants of The Rise Makati would see the value of being in the NOMA district. For more information about the property, please visit http://www.therisemakati.com or like their official Facebook Page The Rise Makati

Love you guys!

For more information about their property:

The RISE Makati

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Visit their official website

http://www.therisemakati.com/