Great New Features On Update: WeChat 5.2

As you may have figured out by now (through the constant updates on my site), I've been really busy these past few weeks. Not complaining though, because I really find fun in that. From international music festivals, restaurant reviews and new shopping destinations that I've been writing about, the new WeChat 5.2 update (available for Android and iOS) really made things easier to communicate with my friends even when I'm out of town. Plus, they revved up the the app's menu with new features so it'll be easier to organize, send messages and make your day a tad easy.

The Menu Bar

Simple, ergonomically made options on the menu makes WeChat 5.2 perfect for a person on the go. It was intended and designed to fit the habits of regular smartphone users. The white minimalistic interface makes WeChat 5.2 very clean looking. You basically have three working sections other than your own profile. There's CHATS which contains your message exchanges, DISCOVER which contains moments, your QR Code and a place to scan one, the Shake feature, people nearby and games. Then there's the part for CONTACTS where your friends/connections are listed. It's almost the same in Android.

The Friend Radar

I regularly cover events and business conferences. In a nutshell, I meet a lot of people. There's a new feature called Friend Radar on WeChat 5.2 which can identify users in your immediate vicinity. It'll also give you options to add individuals to your contacts with a single tap of their photo. I really felt like James Bond when it started to scan. It had that sonar like sound when it did that part.

Now, there's no more fuss of finding calling cards, or finding a pen or paper to give your numbers to them. Definitely NOT old school. The Friend Radar can be accessed by going to Contacts > Add Contacts then clicking on the option for Friend Radar. It's fast, efficient and free. Pretty soon, no tree would be cut down to produce your business cards. Paperless baby!

Real Time Location Sharing

When I was covering the an International Music Festival a few weeks ago in Pampanga, I had problems getting in touch with my friends because I had to go back and forth to the media tent to live blog. Aside from the fact that the place was huge, there were thousands of people who attended that event. WeChat 5.2 has Real Time Location Sharing making it possible to share locations through the app. You'll see where your friends are in no time!

It's got the other features you can also use while on a chat. My friends are really lazy sometimes that we often use the Walkie Talkie. It was all audio pretty much the whole time. Quite convenient.

The Group Chat Photo Album

If you're like me who often chats with friends (sometimes in secrecy LOL) we also have times where we have to share photos to remember some of the most incriminating events in our lives. One place to do that is the Group Chat Photo Album feature in WeChat 5.2!

Photos will be shared to everyone in the group chat - and organized automatically by date (good for OC's like me). It can be simply done by pressing the Photo Album Icon while you're there. It's like looking at those silly moments you had with them, then you just laugh about it afterwards. Memories will definitely come crashing back to you, it's that neat!

The Universal Search

Now I know there are certain people here who are engaged in multiple groups and chat sessions with their friends. Sometimes the CHATS section of the app usually gets filled up with a multitude of saved special messages, important dates or names you don't want to clean up. There's now a way to search for it on the app. Just type in the name of the contact and it'll pop up there as a search result. You can always start where you left off, no need to remind you of what you last talked about.

The Customization of the Contact List

Since I've already been dipping my hand going to huge events and conferences, it would be normal for my contacts to swell in no time. A little convenience would be that WeChat 5.2 can now let me add photos, home/business addresses and important items to my friends profiles. If you are like me who always have friends of the same name, you can now edit and personalize your contacts. It'll be up to you on how you would be able to identify/tell them apart. That's a level up their alley, which I'd be glad to say "thank you" for!

Aside from these great features, they've enhanced some of the app's original functions. You can expect more animated stickers on the Sticker Shop to make your WeChat 5.2 capture your exact mood at any given time of the day. You will also get Group Chat Mention Notifications when your name gets said on a Group Chat. They have also improved and boosted the quality for Video and Audio Chats, so our Walkie Talkie talks would be clearer and better! (now that's great news!). They have also added LinkedIn on WeChat and that will get your professional circle get even a lot bigger! WeChat 5.2's improvements and new features would make your dull day a brighter one from any standard. 

Download the app and experience the new features that will make you love WeChat all over again. If you don't have it on your phone, find out why over 300 million users signed up for WeChat. It's the hottest new chat platform for Apple, Android, Windows Phone, BlackBerry and Nokia Symbian smart phones.

Add @kumagcow (my WeChat ID) and don't forget to say hi! Let's connect!

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The AVIDA Food Hunt

It's a hot weekend afternoon in Makati and what better way to enjoy it but by having a Avida Food Hunt. This is organized by Avida and hosted by Chef JJ Yulo who does food events professionally.

We went off to our first location which is Titania located west of Makati. It's also a stones throw away from Avida's Asten project. 

As you can see, Titania is a mecca for all kinds of wines, a variety of cheeses and savory cold cuts that can rival any deli internationally. During the tour, we were treated with a wine tasting class by its owner. 

You get to also have a little more than the usual knowledge about wines and their classifications. Sweetness, acidity, aroma, you'll know the complexities of the things you have in wine glasses. Sort of a Wine tasting 101 which is pretty edicational. The full course usually takes 3 hours and we got a compressed version. Still learned a lot! The place also accepts walk ins and drive bys if you want to get a bottle or case for your parties. Balbec White Wine from Argetina was recommended by Joe Meneses who owns the joint. Chef Renee (Le Cordon Bleu) can even customize your food according to your budget. I'm already am excited to see what's next!

Thao and Ahn Ngo owns one of the best places in Sandwich History. Their establishment is called Bon Bahn Mi (Vietnamese Sandwiches). They are located at 8390 Mayapis Street San Antonio Village in Makati. I almost bought a franchise because DAMN! Their sandwiches are SO GOOD! 

It's truly authentic as they have the freshest ingredients. The bread, pate, and pickled vegetables were to die for. They are after all, real deal Vietnamese so it doesn't get any authentic than that. Their prices too are dirt cheap as less than a hundred pesos per piece that could feed 2-3 people in one sitting. Their artichoke iced tea is also a good pair for any sandwich coming out of their counter. The bread they use can change your life. I highly recommend it! 

Next on our trip! 

This is 8065 Bagnet. It's located at 8065 Estrella corner Tanguile Streets in Makati. It's pretty popular already with locals and groupies. It's also owned by the family of Kitchie Nadal. Their bagnet is soft but crunchy on its skin. They also have Kare Kareng Bagnet that might rival the original. I soooo love their bagnet that I had 3 cups of rice in a few minutes. Do not leave Makati without it!

Don't tell me I didn't tell you to stay because you'll regret it!

Next we headed to Mao Jian Hunan Cuisine.

I already reviewed this place back when they were still in Ronac Center. Now, they are in a better location that's even VERY close to the Chinese embassy so it's normal for you to see mainland people eating here. 

Their specialty:

This humongous piece of hotness is their Spicy Fish Head. Don't worry because they can customize it's spice level according to your taste. They also have other items on the menu which you can call recipes from Northern China. Pretty spectacular food in this joint of course! 

You can also try their Chili Chicken or Hot and Sour Spicy Cabbage (which I love!) for some variety.

The small shop has VIP rooms for those who want a more private dining experience. The restaurant is located at Bagtikan Street, Makati City. For authentic Hunan cuisine, this is the place you should go visit! Hot hot hot! :)

Then we had desserts! 

BEBE ROUGE Patisserie is located at Sacred Heart Street San Antonio Village Makati. It is right beside Hatchin Grocery that's popular among Japanese nationals. It's best seller and my favorite is this STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE!

It was as good as what I had last night. I swore a little when I tasted it because it's so awesome I had to have seconds! Other items on the counter would just get your mouth water!

All of these stores are actually located in San Antonio Village area which means you can walk to these places on foot with ease. It's also near the AVIDA Asten site which means people who bought the property are so LUCKY! Now, you can actually try the AVIDA FOOD HUNT to get a feel how to live amongst those who already have condominium units by signing up on the AVIDA LAND Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/AvidaLandPH) or visiting their Avida Showroom at the 2nd Floor Glorietta 4. They will choose lucky ones to go with them so please say hi and check out the details there!

Ciao! 

KUMAGCOW

Men's Lifestyle Redefined!

(LIVE BLOG)

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TOKYO TOKYO Fire and Ice

We were in BGC a few days ago to attend popular Japanese restaurant chain TokyoTokyo's Fire and Ice event. We were kind of kept in the dark of what it was all about but I had a pretty good hunch it was about new products in their store. I got my answer right after a few rounds of my favorite TokyoTokyo Red Iced Tea. Mmmm...

 

FIRE - an element that pronounces a man's courage and fervor. It's the perfect element to also signify hot melted cheese, oozing out on layers of soft meat covered in crispy bread crumbs and fried to perfection. This is their new CHEESE TONKATSU BENTO. 

Imagine your teeth sinking into finely shredded cabbage with roasted sesame dressing, tons of melted cheese with pork cutlet covered in crispy bread crumb batter and piping hot rice. Tell me, how can you go wrong with that?!

How cheesy is it?! Let's ask Paul!

You might not be able to hold it up with your chopsticks that long because the melted cheese just drips put of the meat. 

Then it was time for desserts!

ICE - made from the element of life, water. It signifies all things living and celebrates the sweetness of it.  shows better in the new TokyoTokyo dessert offerings!

This is their new SNOW ICE. It's roots come from the mother of all Asian desserts called Kakigori in Japan. It is said to be the forefather of the Philippines own HALO HALO or the Ice Kacang of Malaysia. They usually serve this at festivals to celebrate and induce luck and fortune. It's also available un three variants namely HaloHalo, Choco Sensation and the Mango Peach Medley. The halohalo is a modern take on the local dessert complete with ube, leche flan, nata de coco and crunchy corn flakes. Choco Sensation felt more of like brownie ala mode as it is composed of brownie chuncks, marshmallows, chocolate sauce and a cherry on top. My personal favorite the Mango Peach Medley resonates that fruity tropical flavors you'll love on a hot Sunday afternoon. All of these desserts lie on a bed of super finely shaved Vanilla ice that gives it just the right amount of sweetness. It's also perfect for sharing! 

Tokyo Tokyo also had Kaya F.C. and Daniel Matsunaga there that afternoon. Even the Japanese guys in the team were overjoyed that they tasted a lot of what they had back at home. If they approve it, Pinoys should definitely rush over to TokyoTokyo branches nationwide and get the same Fire and Ice love we had that afternoon. 

I'll definitely go back for the Cheese Tonkatsu Bento and the Snow Ice desserts soon!

Ciao!

KUMAGCOW

Men's Lifestyle Redefined!

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