Figaro Releases "Blissful Holiday" Drinks and Meals

Had the chance to visit Figaro in Tomas Morato a few days ago together with some other bloggers as they introduced new holiday meals and drinks this season, they call it Blissful Holiday. I tried them all so don't be surprised why I'm fat for crying out loud LOL. Anyway, here's what we had :)

The Chicken Galantine Canneloni is much like our favorite chicken dish but it's stuffed inside Canneloni pasta and laid in with a chunky tomato based sauce with basil and parmesan cheese. It's hearty and filling, but more on the tangy side. This costs 189 and would be perfect with any cold drink I presume.

The Chicken Mushroom Cannelloni on the other hand is more creamy. For those who prefer a not to acidic kind of dinner, then this would be it. The mushroom bits are mixed into the chicken and stuffed inside the cannelloni pasta too. I think they sauteed that before pouring a little cream on top. This is my favorite. They make it al dente so you can still feel the pasta  when you bite into it.

For those who want a more filling plate, this is their Chicken Roulade Plate. It's got fried chicken breast rolled and breaded with meaty filling inside. It is served with a side of Arrabbiata, Pesto, Al Tonno or Carbonara. It's good for 2 actually, but if you're like me that can actually have a big meal... go ahead and make my day! This costs 249, a bit good for how big of a meal this is. Then, here's the drinks!

This is Hazelnut Cinnamon done three ways. One is a Jelly Float, the other is a latte, and my favorite is the Frost! It's all good, very affordable too and you kinda get the spice in the drinks so in a nutshell, it's christmasy if there's a term for that.

Premium Salted Caramel - my personal favorite among the cakes and pastries served that evening. It's deceiving because you think it's going to be chocolatey but no, it's more on the caramel side of things and it's really good.

For those who don't like it sweet, the Light Ginger Bread Loaf may be your best option. It's fluffy, like a soft gingerbread man and would be perfect with black coffee. I like that they stayed with the taste that would probably be more English if that makes sense. 

For those who love those sweet fruit bits on fruit cakes, this Fruit Loaf Mini is something that you would also like. It's like a lighter version of fruit cake but you get those intense bits of fruit you love in fruit cakes. I know that sounded a bit redundant but that's what it actually really tastes like. Yes this also has rum on it, but not going to make you buzzed after a piece or two. It's nice for those Frost drinks they have in the store. Order more!

 For those who want a combination of sweet and tangy, they've got this Fruit Forest Cheese Cake. It's baked cheesecake topped with whipped cream and layers of fruit cream and 5 kinds of berries. I think it was strawberries, raspberries, blue berries, black berries, red currant. I liked this one too. Have hot coffee with this one instead so it'll contrast with the cold cheesecake. Trust me on hot Hazelnut Cinnamon coffee.

Here's what happened during the small event at Figaro in Tomas Morato:


Figaro Blissful Holiday by kumagcow

For those who love merchandise, Figaro can give you the Figaro Notebook, Ribbed Tumbler, Vacuum Flask, Yellow Stainless Tumbler, Magic Mug, Coffee Belt mugs, Bean Map Mug and Mask Mug available all year and you don't have to collect stickers anymore to get it. Cool right? Aside from that, they've got Gift Certificates. It's the best thing to give if you're near a Figaro Branch and your office mates would just use it for their everyday coffee dose. It's available in 100 and 500 denominations, so no need to worry if you're out of ideas. They can decide themselves and get the best coffee at Figaro.

It'll only be available this holiday season so if you've got spare time, visit a store or branch near you!

For more information about their products:

Figaro Coffee Philippines

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http://www.figarocoffee.com/

Maricris Garcia Releases New Single "Ako Na Lang Ang Bibitaw"

The last time I had the chance to see Maricris Garcia was September last year. It was during a charity event in Quezon City and it was raining hard that I didn't get to interview much because it was packed. She of course is part of legendary group La Diva wherein she was together with Aicelle Santos and Jonalyn Viray. Now that they've been able to hold successful individual careers, they're continuing to impress a lot of people, me included. Before this interview, I've seen Aicelle Santos and Jonalyn Viray perform live during Regine Velasquez' concert. This one was an opportune time to hear her sing. 

She's actually also releasing a new single called "Ako na lang ang bibitaw" (I'm letting you go), a material they've long been keeping in GMA Records' coffers for future use. She was just around the studio when she was talking to people when first heard the song from the other room. They suddenly stopped and exclaimed "That song is just so deep! What is that?" then proceeded to the other room and asked about it. That stuck to Maricris' mind for a couple of weeks then one day she received a call from GMA Post Prod telling her she'll be recording a new song. She told them about that same song she heard in the studio and she was shocked that it was actually the same one being offered to her. Talk about serendipity no?

Maricris has been able to achieve a lot in the past few years. She also sang several theme songs for shows like "Mga Mata ni Angelita" (Nang Dahil Sa Iyo), Marimar (Mahal Kita) and "Babangon Ako't Dudurugin Kita" wherein she did "Kung Sana Bukas" and currently, she's part of Marimar playing the iconic Natalia Montenegro. Aside from her acting gigs, she really doesn't have that much venue to actually sing songs because the previous show Sunday All Stars was always there every Sundays. She did oblige to sing a few lines for us

Here's our short interview with her on video:

Maricris Garcia Releases New Single "Ako na... by kumagcow

They're already recording a few more songs in hopes of perhaps releasing a full album, but for now you can enjoy the single "Ako na lang ang bibitaw" on iTunes and digital stores nationwide. Make sure you tell your friends who are already fond of the Pinoy Pop Superstar champion, make this your next glimpse of Maricris Garcia as she takes you further with her music. This is under GMA Records.

For more information about their artists:

Official GMA Artist Center

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http://gmanetwork.com/artistcenter

The Mini Cooper and Shelby AC Cobra from JSPGC: The Perfect Christmas Gift For Boys and the Big Boys

I've been reminded so many times of my childhood as I was writing about this. In some way, this is what I dreamed of. The technological advancement in the toys these days really impressed me and when the chance to write about cars was in the midst, I immediately said yes. I've been wanting something like this since I can remember and it's even in the type of car I want now. Well, let's just stop the theatrics and let me show you "The Perfect Christmas Gift For Boys and the Big Boys!".

The Mini Cooper

The Mini Cooper has been the iconic British car since the 60's. It was the coolest one ever. Back from it's shag days and internationally fancied appeal, the Mini Cooper has been immortalized in toy form by the good people of JSPGC. It's a race car designed by John Cooper. He initially found potential in the car and made it for circuit races back in the days. It's futuristic counterpart was made in the 90's to 2000's and people immediately fell in love with it again. JSPGC actually has been in the trading business since the year 2000. They want you to experience real energy and imagination in their products. They've been trusted and licensed now by many brands to distribute those that can make their most important clients happy, the children.  

Now this isn't your ordinary plastic car usually found in malls. It's built with sturdy hard plastic which I can actually compare with those handy tables and chairs you have at home.

As for the looks, it does actually capture the new Mini Cooper. Theirs is a convertible so your kids would fit in it. The sturdy car can carry approximately until a 9-10 year old kid, or perhaps older when their frame is smaller. 

When I said this is the perfect gift for the BIG BOYS too, I wasn't joking. The Mini Cooper from JSPGC doesn't actually work with pedals, this is actually powered by electricity and runs like a small golf cart if that makes sense.

It comes with a remote control and realistic keys so you could either drive it manually or save your kids from dangerous places by controlling it with this remote. I was clueless at first to actually start it but when I found the keys and a key slot right beside the steering wheel, I turned it on and said WHOA!

It looked like a car and sounded like a car, then it also got these lights on much like the real thing. Impressed, gasped, I was so excited to take it around town and drive it on our garage. I also took it out on the street and had several people approach me because they saw me controlling it with a remote. I think it can go further but I chose to just drive it around nearby so it won't bump against real cars, I don't want to damage it of course. Perhaps it went around 10 meters or so, still you have to take a good look at it so you can watch your kids.

As for the controls, it's pretty simple. There's a button you can flip to go forwards, there's also a high and low speed control, then there's also one you can use to make the car go on Manual Operation or Remote Control. If you see the big circle on the left beside the three red flick switches, that's the key hole where you can put the physical key that comes with the car. You need to turn it like a real key!

The steering wheel is very detailed too. Those buttons aren't there just for display, but it sounds off when pressed. You don't have to worry about crowds crossing the street because it's like real car's horn. I can imagine taking this on the street and stop on corners, you would get the envy of the hood!

If you look closely, that's the only pedal you need to operate while driving. You don't need to break as the thing stops when this isn't pressed. 

The wheel is also made of hard plastic, it can probably carry the weight as I mentioned earlier. I must tell you, I even rode it once to test if it would move... and it did.

The seats aren't upholstered leather but it's going to be comfy if it's just for kids. It's made of the same hard plastic material the car has for its body.

 

Realistic? Yes, super realistic because it's even got those fancy doors which you can open and close by pushing buttons on the outside. It's pretty amazing craftsmanship and ingenuity, that probably made this really work.

All you need to do before actually driving this around is to charge it for a couple of hours (I think it was recommended 4 hours on the manual) before you could actually enjoy driving this around for hours too. Make sure you don't overcharge it so you can extend the lifespan of the battery. Just take care of it and pass it on to another generation. I'm sure it'll last that long and who knows, it might be enjoyed by your children's children too.

It's a dream to have this for your little boys at home and also a dream to get one for the big ones. If it's not enough to impress you, they went ahead and made an even fancier one. Ladies and gentlemen, meet JSPGC Toy's very own Shelby AC COBRA.

The YE!! Energy Pack : An Impressive and Smart 8800 mAh External Power Bank for Digital Products

Ask a blogger and he would probably tell you he's got about 3 powerbanks in his bag on a regular day. With the advent of phone cameras, taking photos and videos, playing games, using map apps is but a regular thing. The need for a reliable powerbank is essential so you could get that story out fresh and fast. More so if you're an iPhone user, because once that you're using LTE, your battery becomes water and you wouldn't be able to keep up if you're just going to rely charging your phone while plugged into the wall and you have to cover events, roam around Manila and waste your time in traffic. I got my hands on the new YE!! Energy Pack. It's an 8800 mAh External Power Bank that you can use for digital products. It's a great product which you can get off the shelves of Digits Trading in their stores like Digital Walker, Beyond the Box and a whole lot more. Now I know there are a lot of power bank devices out there being sold on the streets with some weird brands even written on them. What most people don't know is that most of it probably came from factories in China who recycle laptop batteries and use them for this purpose. It's not only dangerous, but a fire hazard too.

The YE!! Energy Pack is packed a bit sturdy. You won't get it with just the unit itself as it comes with a carrying case which you can use for travel. If you drop it, or bump it elsewhere, it won't give your device any problems because it's protected by it.

When you open the box, you've got the 8800 mAh power bank, a mini usb cable and the product information sheet. You don't really need a genius to know how it works.

I like this part the most on the YE!! Energy Pack because the body of the power bank itself is covered with a soft rubber. Aside from the protection you get from the case, you get more of it on the unit itself. It'll be a bit hard now to see scratches or dents on it through the course of everyday activities.

This also has 2 USB ports on it, one is the 1 Ampere and the other for 2.4 Amperes. Of course the latter would be able to charge your devices a bit faster, one that is obvious. Ampere is a unit of current intensity and if your digital device (phone, tablet, speakers etc.) drains the battery faster than charging it, then it's a sign that your battery is dying. A power bank won't solve that. 

The YE!! Energy pack works like a charm and it does not become problematic as I've been using it for two weeks now. I've had other power banks that I wasn't even able to use because it gets broken from the time it was given to me, this one however lasted me the whole day and a half I think because I only charge my phone when it runs out of juice, and I'm practically a heavy user. I must say it's a bit heavy because there are others out there that are smaller and lighter, but this one is special as it's got something to protect itself from bumps and scratches, from daily abuse of commute and travel, which others don't really have.

This also can have a standby time of around 6 months, if you don't really have use for it yet then you can set it aside without worrying at all. If you want to see how much power is left inside, you just shake it and it'll show the LED lights in front how much you have left. It's that smart. You can also charge the power bank itself while it's being used by your device, I don't know any brand that could do that. It's practically impossible to compete with this since it's very smart. Again, you can get this YE!! Energy Pack in all Digits Trading affiliated stores nationwide. That includes Beyond the Box and Digital Walker.

It makes perfect sense to have this as a Christmas gift too no?

For more information about their products:

Digital Walker

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Visit their official website

https://www.facebook.com/digitalwalkerstore