Watsons Says It's TIME TO RENEW

Watsons knows how busy you've been the whole week. They also know how the weather, humidity and stress takes a toll on your hair, your skin, and your overall health. They want you to know that IT'S TIME TO RENEW, and that means restoring your beauty and bring vitality so you can enjoy live even more!

During the event held at The Podium, they let us try a lot of activities and win tickets in the process. The prize? It's tons of products from Watson's vendors that promote health and wellness, for your hair, skin, including your body which needs vitamins and minerals, and lots of anti oxidants.

Then we had a small booth dedicated to take a look at your skin. It was a little frightening, to see it magnified that much but seeing it's overall health would make you understand what you need in order to make it better. So we listened to their suggestions. They also took a look at our hair and suggested more things from Tresseme, L'Oreal, Dove and Moringa. For the skin, the suggested lotions, creams and moisturizers from Ponds, Olay, Belo, Celeteque, Snow, St. Ive's (my personal favorite), Nivea Men, Neutrogena and vitamins from Cosmo Skin.

"Here in Watson's we want everyone to look good and feel great!" 

They had Ms. Iza Calzado, John James Uy, some guy from Loreal (who announced Brown hair promos in Watsons), and Ms. Alice Dixson as guests that afternoon talking about skin, hair and body care products available at Watsons.

These ladies had us take some tests about our diet and after getting our results, will match us with the best KILO OFF product we need to use if we want to take their fruit based diet products, that's got no sugar added. Other stuff like Gluthathione, Collagen, anti stress capsules were also explained to us a bit and helped us understand the benefits of taking them to get our bodies fixed even if we were too busy to do it.

You too can enjoy these things at every Watson's shop nationwide. Make sure you bring your SM Advantage Cards so you could win revitalizing packages with it. Every Php 500 single receipt purchase can get you one raffle entry. If you want to win Spa Packages, full gym memberships, and weekend wellness packages, you should definitely join. You'll get more though if you are an SM Advantage Card holder so apply for one if you don't have it yet. Now go to Watson's stores now because it's definitely TIME TO RENEW!

Time to shop, earn points and more perks! 

KUMAGCOW

Fresh Blogs Fast!

Affordable, Awesome Ramen at MURAMEN UBELT

MURAMEN UBelt, an affordable ramen place, it's instagrammable too!

News spread like wildfire that our boy Nash Aguas and his friend Carl Barrameda had put up a new ramen place over at the University belt area. We couldn't wait to actually see it for ourselves so we did the next best thing and review this joint on our own time. My neighbors Rai and Stanley were game too so right after a whole morning of shopping in the nearby Recto district, we went on our way to MURAMEN UBelt at 1174 Sh Loyola, Sampaloc, Manila. 

Here's the map!

The place is right at the intersection of Tolentino and Loyola streets, so if you're taking public transportation just go down at Tolentino street in Espana, then walk a block to get there. You will spot the shop right across the street. See the sign?

The place is pretty small. It's not your run of the mill restaurant but more of a place where students can dine, definitely not intimidating. It's apt for the audience they're trying to attract as they literally sit right beside schools like UST, FEU, UE and a couple of other colleges. This isn't fine dining, but it's clean and tidy. It also needs a little upkeep but we've seen people assist with eagerness. That's a sign that they love what they are doing.

This is downstairs, where they house their front of house, the kitchen and their comfort room. This is where the action usually occurs because before you go up, you must order here. First off, I would like to congratulate these young entrepreneurs for keeping the price friendly. They must have spent a lot in the interior but didn't get that in the way of putting all the expense in the food. That's a good thing. Rai ordered right away!

This is the second floor. The place can probably sit around 32 people, more if you're willing to budge on some of the seats since they also have a private room for that. It's not Tatami but it's comfy to hang out with friends or family. This place is also air conditioned but they have electric fans just in case you have places that couldn't be reached by it. Again, it was comfortable by my standards.

This is the private room that I mentioned earlier. I would have figured this would have been a single room if this place was an apartment.

If I were in a group of 5 people or more I'd probably sit here. We went to the wooden table though because we were already tired walking the whole day. We couldn't wait to taste the ramen we ordered!

The Food

MURAMEN serves ramen with a bone broth base. It's also called Tonkotsu in Japanese which is milky white in consistency. It's made of pork, chicken or beef marrow bones, tons of fat, spices and even dried fish sometimes. It's either cooked an hour, or for several hours depending on the Chef's preference.

They have the original MURAMEN pegged at Php 120.00 while they also have a JR. MURAMEN (smaller serving) for only Php 80.00. They have the SPICY MURAMEN and JR. SPICY MURAMEN priced the same too, so see how affordable it is? Now if you want your MURAMEN to be a little special, they have the toppings and extras that can be ordered separately. The Bacon Chasu costs Php 29.00, the Lechon Kawali is Php 39.00, the Tamago/Egg at Php 15.00 and Fresh Gyoza at Php 49.00. You can have them all put on top of your bowl so just ask for it. They also have extra rice and extra noodles, so order more if you feel like it.

I ordered the MURAMEN (original) and asked to add Bacon Chasu on it. The serving is actually good for the price, and the taste is quite light unlike other ramen shops in malls.

I'd suggest they improve one thing though, if it's possible to actually cook the bacon to order (or heat it up when people order) because the one on top of my ramen was already cold when it arrived. But aside from that, this was a good deal. I would pay a good amount of money for good ramen, but since they've catered to students, this isn't just a great deal, THIS IS AN AWESOME deal. Imagine a bowl of it for Php 120? While other shops would have priced this at around Php 400, so really, you can't complain.

This is the SPICY MURAMEN. If you're going to order something good, make it this one. Stanley ordered this one and added the Lechon Kawali topping just for fun. The spice level comes from this bean paste you see on this shot, imho it's better than the original one and please try it even if you don't like spicy stuff. It makes the broth more alive, tasty and make your trip to Manila (if you're from QC like us) all worth it.

This is the PORK TONKATSU which is part of their Rice Bowls line. It's freshly cooked, a bit overcooked perhaps in the photo but for the price, how can we complain no? They have other things like the Chicken Karaage, Beef Bowl and Chicken Katsu. I would like to suggest you order this or the Beef Bowl because I find them more appealing. All their rice bowls though are Php 99 only, so if you're a rice loving person, this is it. You can also order the Calamansi or Dalandan Juice which they make in huge bottles for sharing. It's quite healthy, super worth the price if you ask me. 

Itadakimasu!

So if you're around the university belt or Espana area, please make sure you take the trip to MURAMEN UBelt at the corner of Tolentino and Loyola streets in Sampaloc, Manila. You don't have to reserve, there are lines sometimes, but really, it's worth all the trouble going there. Oh and yes, Nash and Carl often are in the shop during their free time so if you are fans of the two, you know where to go!

Congratulations Nashie! You're doing good in the business, and you're helping a lot of students in Manila. Imagine a ramen bowl for Php 120? It's so MURAMEN!

Kris Aquino Joins iFlix Family

I love Kris Aquino, sure she had her bouts with drama about love and family, but we all know she's not perfect. She's human just like the rest of us. I don't know her personally but with what I've seen and experienced these past few weeks, she's a nice person and I really don't like the nasty comments she's getting online. She's a strong woman, like a bull, and no matter how much wrong things people do to her, I applaud her for still staying classy despite of all the judgement thrown at her.Her success, is seen worldwide.

With her upcoming controversial inclusion in the Hollywood film about Crazy Rich Asians, it would put her on a pedestal once again and we would only get to marvel at how all these opportunities have presented themselves despite her real crazy life. She's also an entrepreneur, making sure her fame and fortune would be put to good use. Aside from her franchises of Nacho Bimby, and tons of other businesses she's had in the past, she's now joining the iFlix family, a successful online streaming platform that was once dubbed a crazy idea but is now number 1 in emerging markets like the Philippines. She knows why.

The iFlix family probably felt it was but right to make this a super big announcement, to have the honor of having the Queen of All Media Ms. Kris Aquino in their roster of endorsers, and boy did they deliver. Oh but she's not stopping there. She won't be just the face of the company as Kris will function as key advisor in developing projects for iflix Original Productions. Yes ladies and gentlemen, they plan to do local original content projects by working with indie production houses, locally based producers, big or small studtios. Much like the recent work they've done with Internet Action Superstar Ramon Bautista with "Hoy! Bibig Mo", a no holds barred comedy series available in the platform. Soon, this will be one of MANY thing they have on the pipeline.

The iFlix Group Co-founder and CEO Mark Britt added “It is a tremendous honor for us to have Kris in the iFlix family. Our goal of bringing together the most influential local and international icons of the entertainment industry will surely make their mark to get our content out there, bringing unprecedented growth for the company. We know Kris' unparalleled achievements in the Philippine entertainment industry and we look forward to continue and revolutionize the way Filipinos experience entertainment. We will be doing that together with her.”

iFlix Philippines Country Manager Sherwin dela Cruz says "We are so glad to have a well-loved Philippine icon to the iflix family. She's got successful movies already on the platform and with her web and TV programs that have been produced in the country and abroad,  she will be instrumental in strengthening our local presence. She will also be part of the driving force as Filipinos continue to shift watching shows through platforms online.”

Ms. Kris Aquino also shared a lot about her plans with iFlix. Aside from doing movies and original shows, she's going to have an offer with another network. She also thought of game shows that they are still in the works and they're working on it as we speak. This is just a start of a long list of things they plan to do, and are already doing. I can't wait to see it all, but for now, know that there will be BIG things to come now that Ms. Kris Aquino is part of it. You should know, you love her like I do.

Congratulations Ms. Kris Aquino and iFlix Philippines! Cheers to your years of success, and our continued enjoyment of HOURS upon HOURS of iFlix shows in the country!

Jollibee Crispy Fries Takes You on a Flavorful Adventure!

I got the shock of my life when fast food giant Jollibee released this Jolly Crispy fries flavor, the latest of which is the Garlic and Cheese Fries! This is Jollibee's way of making sure you're going on a flavorful adventure each time you're hungry and plan to eat in their stores. True enough, the savory, salty, and cheese flavors found in every bite of these awesome fries was just over the top. I had servings of it by peddling with the large fries of my Mom and Dad (they get the burger meals with fries and just upgrade it while I have Chickenjoy too LOL) right after Sunday mass at Jollibee Tomas Morato (the nearest one near my hood). I like it with ketchup, but honestly it could stand on it's own. So if there's another flavor coming, I think I'm going to enjoy it the same way as I did on this one. 

Now you've got tons of reasons to go to Jollibee. Bring your friends, your family, your favorite people and get those fries and yourself on a flavor adventure. I already like the original Jolly Crispy Fries, but now that it's got flavor, it's worth a try.

Get them all on Jollibee stores today!