Comida Chefs Gallery Cafe

Food is something that is non negotiable. When you're busy dreaming, you think of it 80% of the time. We Filipinos are becoming adventurous now that we've got access to more ingredients either from the Southeast Asian Region or beyond. We were fortunate enough to take some of these in at the Second Floor of the Caballete Artist's Gallery. The cafe and restaurant called Comida Chefs Gallery Cafe turned up to be quite an adventurous little place - perfectly fit to take right after the artistic dose you'll get on the art gallery on the first floor. We were welcomed by Chef Danny Dela Costa who also had an old restaurant called Comida Ilocandia in Timog Avenue. Spurred by his love of Ilocano and the fusion with new world dishes, he takes us to gustatory trips around the world then spins it with the ones in the northern region. I already had the great fresh salads he made during the launch of the Caballete Art Gallery and it was really good, bordering on even fancy.

The place could probably fit 20 people, but it was already packed for around a little less than that. Often times, it's gonna be few since foot traffic and audiences from the gallery only account much of this restaurants clientele. It's a bit inviting, to grab a book and study, have a business meeting or perhaps just be with intimate friends and family. Smaller groups would love it, more so the food!

"We have full support to the business we developed. I have been a designer for 45 years and been traveling all over the world. I've been exporting to Japan, the US and Europe then. During my stay in Europe, I took up culinary courses in London as I won competitions with Magnolia Cookfest organized by San Miguel. I won the chance to do so. I fell in love with a guy and opened up a restaurant that served Nonya and Filipino cuisine. I went back here and taught classes with Ms. Heny Sison, cooking started that way. After 4 years, I won a competition in Japan and got to New York for 4 years. I already have a course from UP AB Speech and Drama. Back then I felt that I was already an artist but really, really multi faceted. Although, I still believe I belong to one, that is fashion design. Cooking and making apparel for me felt quite the same. We've been in the business for about 3 years now, we've done mostly regional cooking with my cousins and college friends. Unfortunately 2 of our members passed away and some got involved in politics. We met one day and talked to him, the trend now is a gallery and another business but since I wanted to do hawker food, I did it here. My staff has been with me for a long time, we are in the catering business and do personal chef services. We do TV productions, birthday parties, we can go to your kitchen, ransack your ref and serve everything. We do not use preservatives and now doing heritage food and use modern techniques. I do RTW corporate wear and image enhancement for  department stores here, but my love affair with food has always been there."

Indonesian Tangy Rice Stick Soup

I super loved this one. This is sort of hawker food from Indonesia.It's Tangy Rice Stick Soup. It's got almost everything on it, much like a Vietnamese Pho, but the soup base is done with lemon grass hence the sour taste. If I would order something from this place, it would be this!

I think this stemmed from Sate in the Malay region, Nonya cuisine perhaps.

I think he mixed Chicken, Beef and Pork, formed it into a ball with spices and skewered it in on lemon grass sticks and char grilled to get that perfect smoky smell. It's like Asia meets Middle East so it's very meaty but infuses the herbs to get that distinct smell.

Spalog

This is Chef Danny's spin on the old Pansit Loglog. He used pasta, Spaghetti in place of the usual rice based noodle in the original one. He calls this Spalog. It worked, and the mix of saltiness with the bland pasta was like putting art in a canvass. The hints of smoked fish, crunchy chicharon and some veggies make this a very nice complete meal. Make sure you also get the Pandan Lemon Grass Cooler to hose it down after the very pungent spices from the pasta.

Chori Burge and Longanisa

The Philippines best are showcased here too. They have the Boracay famous Chori Burger and the Ilocano Longanisa. I wanted something meaty that afternoon and they got these made from scratch. They do not contain preservatives and is on the garlicky side. If you are looking for something that you miss in Ilocos, then visiting this place would probably bring you home. Pair this with rice and you're already there!

Latija Comida

Chef says this is mostly an old Filipino Dessert called Latija Comida. It's mashed Banana layered with Cinnamon, milk and cream but it's not too sweet. I like it and would be perfect for people who don't want intensely sweet desserts or for those watching their weight since this is fruit based. The layers felt like crepes too. It's pretty good, something simple but pretty good!

Comida Chefs Gallery Cafe is on the second floor of Cagballete Artists Gallery located at 111-A Kamias Street Barangay Malaya 4 in Quezon City. It's perpendicular to Kasingkasing Street and is in front of a Shell Gasoline station, about 4 blocks away from Edsa. If you're looking for some peace and quiet, comfort food, in a very lovely setting that won't break the bank, then come visit Comida Chef's Gallery Cafe for lunch or dinner. They serve drinks too, all you need to do is ask! 

For more information about their place:

Caballete Artists Gallery

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http://www.Facebook.com/CaballeteArtistsGallery

GMA's Ruru Madrid and Gabbi Garcia Stars in "Let the Love Begin" Remake Soon!

We had a really nice time covering the very intimate blog conference for Ruru Madrid and Gabbi Garcia a few days ago. These two are some of the nicest people artists know from GMA's stable, to think they're just starting at this love team thing. They're pretty successful at it too because in the short amount of time they've been put together, the following they've had is just big and I've got a pretty good hunch why. They also know too that whatever they're doing with each other now, it's something natural. Although they say they're concentrating on work, at the back of their mind they probably have some love for each other. They're both attractive, I couldn't see any reason why they would not be able to fall in love right? On a good note, we didn't even had to ask because when you put these two during an interview, they kinda tell on each other much like the one on this video. Get ready for some kilig moments with Gabbi Garcia and Ruru Madrid!

You can't fake chemistry and these two definitely have that. This is one of the reasons why GMA is also trusting them with their own series called "Let The Love Begin" based on the same movie that catapulted the careers of Richard Gutierrez, Angel Locsin, Mark Herras and Jennylyn Mercado during circa 2005. They'll be doing this on TV and still carry around the same names as the original cast of the film. They haven't really taped any of the episodes yet but are extremely excited GMA is all the most trusting them with a project set to be shown during the station's primetime slot. They've proven their worth in the past projects that the team up is effective so when it comes to this new one, they hope to have the same effect not just to the actual fan base that they have but to the general public that is slated to watch them on that same show. 

I believe they'll bank on these two stars looks, chemistry and the undeniable charm they have. There's no specific date yet when it will show but it'll be in the next few months as this is part of GMA's offering in the next quarter. Hopefully, we get the new shows we deserve because the general public is hungry for things like this that might get these two humble and gorgeous guys up there with the likes of the first ones who did the film years ago. They deserve it, especially when their dispositions are clearly hopeful that they would do justice to the roles they're given when the cameras start rolling. Thank you for the opportunity to talk to you Gabbi and Ruru! I'm sure GabRu fans out there can't wait to see the show soon!

For more information about their artists:

Official GMA Artist Center

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http://gmanetwork.com/artistcenter

Julie Ann San Jose Releases New Single!

Super duper gorgeous Julie Ann San Jose was within our midst a few days ago. She just came from a DAYOFF episode taping and was extremely running on adrenaline during this event. She also won in MYX Music Awards which happened a few days ago but was unable to get her trophy. She had commitments that same evening and had to leave early, so we did the next best thing and asked her to do an acceptance speech for winning the Favorite Mellow Video for the single Right Where You Belong. Here's the rest of our interview!

She knows what she's doing and so confident, her music career is still in the green and flourishing so she's got nothing to worry about. You might have also heard in the video interview that she's launching a new single called "Kung Maibabalik Ko Lang" which is a revival from a previous group/band in the late 80's to early 90's (not the one from Regine). It was also used for the Koreanovela "Future's Choice". It felt hopeful, romantic, to go back and look for love again. I know what you're thinking, haha!

 
 

Julie Ann San Jose started telling stories about the DAYOFF episodes she's also doing. "The process of getting Tuba is super hard. We had support, we had professionals to do harnesses and heights, plus an ambulance nearby which people should wait for because it'll show on April. The first one was with the Coast Guards and I had semi training on how to be one. I was scared of the water, especially because it's Manila bay, the oil, the waste water, I was scared. Then we had to do rescue sequences and had to flip life boats, it's not as simple as I thought it was going to be. I had to jump 20 feet from the sheep and clean the ship's sides. I was with Ate Mae Bautista and that helped a lot. 

The second episode though was a little easy because I just had to cook and sell banana cue. Although I'm always getting wounds from these episodes, I felt these are real battle scars. I have one for every province we went to I think. The third one was a little icky because we had to roam around and collect KB (Kanin Baboy or food for pigs), we had to feed them, we had to clean cages, I wasn't so happy. Especially the part where we had to sell them off after taking care of them for quite some time. 

The fourth episode was in Prince David in Ateneo, that's a 20 storey building and we had to put stickers on it and do it manually. Like a swing, one step and you're gonna fall. The gondola wasn't as easy as I thought, I was safe because of all the harness but think about the whole ordeal when the thing had 4 people on it plus Ate Mae with me. The men who pulled us up wasn't as healthy looking too, but I'm so glad I survived that! There's also an eel episode (igat) which are usually pests, it's so slimy and I didn't like that at all. I got stuck at that challenge because of all that slime, like giant worms. I'd rather have snakes than that. It's good that they don't bite and they live in muddy waters. Although they were already electrocuted, it was still hard, so think of the regular people doing this on a daily basis, they need this to survive. I also don't want to get penalized but I fell a lot in the mud later on because I didn't do well during the whole episode. You should all watch out for that soon because I will do more of it this year!"  

As for plan for another concert, she says YES there will be another one. She plans to do it in Araneta Coliseum and hopes her fans, her friends would support her just like the last one. She's a strong woman and she'll be coming out with more single soon from her album DEEPER which is still out on stores, music stations, record bars too! Follow GMA Artist Center's social media channels to get updates on when the concert will happen, it's going to be this year she hopes!

For more information about their artists:

Official GMA Artist Center

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http://gmanetwork.com/artistcenter

Bianca Umali Celebrates With Street Kids in "Art In Island"

We met a beautiful Bianca Umali a few days ago. We celebrated her birthday at the new "Art In Island" 3D Art Museum in Cubao, Quezon City. I didn't know it was just behind Bellinis and the old Cubao Expo. I believe this place is owned by Koreans and some artists from their country went here and made everything. I think this one is the biggest in the country and perhaps one of the biggest in the world too. Bianca Umali's guests were from "Kaisahan ng Buhay Foundation" which caters to street kids and aims to have every child be cared for by a family. Their priorities lie in Family Preservation, Family Reunification and their Permanent Placement.

Bianca is still in "Once Upon a Kiss" opposite Miguel Tanfelix. They're very close right now and even on the eve of Bianca's birthday, Miguel was actually there to celebrate with her and her family. A simple dinner ensued but it's these things that Bianca feels so special. She also got a gift from Miguel which she'll tell on this video interview. I apologize for some of the questions I'm asking, I haven't had coffee yet during this time haha! She'll also tell you about the Eat Bulaga Lenten special she'll be doing with THE Marian Rivera and directed by Bb. Joyce Bernal.

Aside from that, Bianca also toured the kids inside the museum. It was fun because even I was amazed at the place's murals! I would highly suggest you come here with your friends and family. I think it costs around 500 for the entrance, they also will ask you to take off your shoes while you're there. Super recommended for kids who have really good imagination!

We also met Ms. Jennylyn Mercado. The little kid in the orange shirt is Jenny's son.

Bianca had so much fun with the kids, especially on the super big murals in the center of Art In Island.

Bianca also shared her blessings, together with GMA Artist Center, Art In Island, Zagu, Ellips Cologne, BUM, Aquabest and Zanea shoes. Kids and their guardians went home super happy that they get to see Bianca in the flesh, plus some goodies to take home too to their family and friends. Such a generous heart, super humble, she's really bound to be successful in this industry. I hope her wishes do come true! Happy birthday dear!

For more information about their artists:

Official GMA Artist Center

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Visit their official website

http://gmanetwork.com/artistcenter