PENSHOPPE Launches #iamdifferent Campaign

Have you ever been bullied? I have, a lot of times actually. I am glad to have joined several campaigns that have tackled this difficult problem that people have been through all these years. It makes me realize that it's a also a cycle, admittedly I have also bullied some of my friends, and I know it's not right. As much as I can, I try not to do that anymore because it's wrong on so many levels. I'm glad Penshoppe is doing it too.

You see my crazy hair? The weird clothes I wear? The shoes that I use? I love them all, but I'm sure a significant part of society won't consider that normal, up to their standards, but if you think about it I am the personification of this particular campaign because #iamdifferent. Being different doesn't mean people have the right to abuse you, use you, or tell you bad things because it's not right. That difference should be celebrated, because it's something good, it's individuality, it's taking a gamble with non conformity. It's cool, it's fashion forward, and no one should put you down because of it.

Together with the iconic men and women that are endorsing Penshoppe like Lucky Blue Smith, Sandara Park, Cameron Dallas, Kaia Gerber, Bella Hadid, Mario Maurer, and local stars Tanner Mata and Hashtag Ronnie Alonte, this night was something they wanted to happen because they were excited about this cause according to Jeff Bascon, Penshoppe's Fashion Director. It's very current, it's still happening and they will put a stop to it by funding a grassroots program module that would teach kids acceptance, against bullying via the organization Teach For The Philippines. 

All you have to do now is support the movement by purchasing limited edition shirts included in the #iamdifferent collection. Each shirt has a unique serial number and is supported by models, artists, individuals from around the world who believe in the cause. I'd like to take this bit to thank PENSHOPPE for including me in this campaign. I would really love bullying to end, and I know this is just the start. 

If you want to support the cause, please visit your nearest Penshoppe branch and purchase these lovely shirts made of really good material, with specially hand crafted tags just for the cause. Congratulations Penshoppe!

Ken Chan and Barbie Forteza for "This Time I'll Be Sweeter"

It's but fate that led them here after working in a lot of projects in GMA and the popular #KenBie love team has been adored by their fans all throughout the country. This is the same formula they are working on as Regal Multimedia Inc. gambles with this movie called "This Time I'll Be Sweeter" starring the very humble and down to earth Ken Chan and the bubbly and talented Barbie Forteza. 

Barbie says "We are so thankful as we come back to mainstream movies. I am more happy, excited to finally see this on screen. I am the type that watches how they make an effort, then give what I can if I fall in love. What I like about Ken is he remembers the smallest things, even the things you talk about 5 or 10 years ago. Direk doesn't rehears because he would rather have something raw, almost takes the first one and treats it as gold."

Ken adds "I am nervous because this is my first movie. I get really encouraged with what people tell me just by watching the trailers... on how excited they are to actually see the film. I wish we could exceed our goals in the box office. Even in Singapore I was hounded by Barbie's fans and they even sent stuff for her from Singapore. Barbie is sweet, she knows if you are hungry or tired and she makes an effort to show how she cares. If we have heavy scenes, we try to understand the story, internalize them and do different styles to do it."

Direk Joel Lamangan says "I have done a lot of romcoms but you'll see them be younger here. Even if they are young, they are professionals and I could feel how young I got too working with them here. These guys are all intellectual actors, all of them."

This is directed by no other than Joel Lamangan and will continue to push with this KenBie formula that started with their previous show "Meant To Be". In this story, Erika and Tristan used to be lovers back in college. Their relationship didn't work and both were caught heartbroken, but later on found themselves in different careers, to meet again, and perhaps have a second wind in their relationship. Will it work if they had their own emotional baggage with them? Will their past haunt them? Or will a third party (in the person of Thea Tolentino) come and destroy this budding romance? That remains to be seen.

Aki Blanco says "If I fall in love, I would be super happy, excited but really a jealous type. I am single now, the last relationship I had was when I was in high school and I'm sure if ever we had a relationship it's going to be more mature, handled differently."

Kim Rodriguez says "If I fall in love, I'll really have to take care of myself first because it's hard to trust people these days. I am single, but extremely happy with my relationship with God. I hope I get to work with Alden Richards because I get so kilig with him and Maine Mendoza."

Jai says "It's so funny but even if I'm working with stars from other channels, it's like a family here and now we're like a huge barkada. You should try this thing if you can."

This movie also stars Ara Mina, Rey PJ Abellana, Neil Ryan Sese, Yayo Aguila, Kim Rodriguez, Hiro Peralta, Akihiro Blanco, Jai Agpangan, Kaki Ramirez, Fiona Yang, Jon Leo and a lot more stars on Regal's stable. This movie will be shown on November 8, 2017. 

KUMAGCOW

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Smart To Start iPhone 8 and 8 Plus Pre-Order Soon!

A few days from now, the one and only Apple iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus will be offered in the country. Of course it will only be better if you're with the BIGGEST network with the widest coverage, Smart Communications Inc.

Our friends from Smart Communications will offer these Apple products starting on Friday, November 17, 2017. That's very near already and if you're like me who's REALLY excited about it, it's time to actually pre-order for it. The new generation iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus. pre-order site starts this coming Friday, November 10, 2017 at the Smart Online Store (store.smart.com.ph) and your friendly neighborhood Smart Stores nationwide.

Stay tuned because as you may have seen during the reveal, this is the most exciting iPhone yet! We'll update this article as soon as we get the direct URL for the pre order site. 

KUMAGCOW

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Great Comfort Food at BEEFFALO by HotRocks in San Juan

It was a nice afternoon for a great lunch so we headed our way to BEEFFALO by Hotrocks located at 135 Hoover Street in San Juan City. If my memory serves me right, I think I've already eaten in one of their defunct branches at Club 650' in Eastwood Libis which closed down because they stopped the lease and making that a community of condominiums. Now this place is off the beaten track, only a few restaurants exist in this place with the exception of the nearby Wilson Street area.  

The restaurant was conceptualized by a husband and wife team - owners who adored grilling in their backyard in Marikina. Back then, their guests often comprise friends and family who absolutely adored their home cooking. The weekend parties became pretty frequent, even bigger and they kept on going back. The crowd became huge and later on found themselves spending a lot for food, then the husband thought about putting up a restaurant. His lovely wife thought he was crazy but decided to go through with it because he already paid for the space. The place in Marikina was barren land - where you would often see grass growing wildly, people often get lost as it was right in the middle of nowhere but people still flocked as a destination restaurant. 

Today the whole street has been lined with shops, some commercial establishments jumped the opportunity to also open there. They decided it was time to open BEEFFALO so they could cater to more people in Manila, a place that would still have shades of HotRocks food people love, a chill spot for home cooked food, coffee and good desserts.

The Place

This place is quaint, a little rustic, got that shabby chic kind of decor with a touch of color here and there. During our time there, they were already preparing for Halloween and the General Manager Louie Abad told us how they take this occasion seriously. They really dress up and find it was good to entertain their customers too.

It could probably accommodate around 50 people in one go. Lines are a normal scene during lunch and dinner so they'd appreciate if you reserve ahead if you plan to have a meal here. Though if you're really in the mood, go here on weekdays and you'll probably have a better chance to dine.

I was actually excited to see they had the BEEF to put up decors like these cows in the mix. I felt right at  home because you know, we're KUMAGCOW after all.

For small groups who plan to have intimate parties, might I suggest you get this section of the restaurant for more privacy. This would be fit for meetings as well.

Now all these nice things on the restaurant got me worked up. I think it's time to get to the more serious stuff and try out their food. Here's what you can expect from BEEFFALO.

The Food

Their dishes were pretty much a mix American comfort food, the ones that Filipinos love. The difference is the way they make it. I think it stems from the way their food is prepared because she (the wife) isn't formally trained, a proud home cook (a very talented one at that). You get to see the care and heart put in on every dish, which I absolutely love.

 

This is their Taco Barbecue Salad. It's a pretty hefty serving so this would be best if shared by two people. It's got nachos, taco beef, salsa, cheddar on a bed of roughly chopped lettuce. It's served with drizzled ranch dressing and a bit of barbecue sauce. Filled me up already, but there were more things on the menu.

They had a few soups on the menu but I chose this Roasted Pumpkin Soup. It's sweeter than the usual because they do roast the pumpkin before they blitz it. It was hearty, I felt warm and fuzzy already.

They do serve beer but prefer you have their hearty meals, if you want a bottle or two you can order these Nachos. They serve this with Salsa or Spinach Dip but we asked them to serve both because we're nice people. These are nice things to have before the main course, which we'll get to in a bit.

Might I interest you with this Biscuit Pizza of which they're very proud of because of it's super thin crust. This is their Margherita Pizza.

If you're a bit adventurous, go for the Garlic and Mushroom Pizza. Still with the thin crust, you get to taste more of the flavors of the toppings which they wanted when they made these pizzas. They also have it in Three Cheese and Pepperoni variants.

This is their Porterhouse Beeffalo Steak served with real mashed potatoes and vegetable slides. Now how do I put this, it wasn't as perfect as I wanted it to be because it's Tenderloin filet on the one side and the other is Strip Steak, which means it's more likely you get  tougher piece of meat on one side and a softer one on the other. This was seasoned well but I suggest you eat this as soon as it lands on the table. It'll feel different if you let it rest too long on the table with airconditioning. Still, I love meat so I'd order this in a heartbeat.

I love this one, it's their Buttermilk Fried Chicken. This started as an experiment they had with a popular food magazine in the Philippines but they have now included this as a permanent item on the menu. It's served with mashed potato or garlic rice and a side salad. The creamy gravy MUST be there for obvious reasons. It's a good representation of comfort food.

Since we were that special, they served us something that's not on the menu. This is their Salmon Steak. It's been deboned, so you don't get pricked. This obviously is a HUGE serving so we asked them to perhaps have this toned down once it lands itself on the menu and they were very nice and accommodating with regards to feedback. I like that about them.

I would like to personally introduce to you my favorite item on their menu (aside from the next one though!) is these lovely, mouthwatering Beeffalo Wings with Blue Cheese Dip. It's perfectly fried wings saturated in their Original Spicy Buffalo Sauce and it's available in HOT or SWEET variants. You can also ask them to prepare both if you have friends who don't like it spicy, but I'd rather see you  try it out yourselves. If my hunch is correct, they don't just use Tabasco here, but more of the Schezuan Pepper Corn which is known to be a bit hot. It's got a peppery profile so it permeates from the back of your mouth to your nose, I like this a lot I almost ate all of it LOL.

This brings it up a notch big time, this is their Baby Back Ribs. They do mean one and they use their own concocted spice rub which they say will remain a secret. As you may understand this is for sharing but if you're a big guy like me, please enjoy this on your cheat day. It's sweet and savory, not dry and you can taste how the meat must have been in the grill for hours as it also falls off the bone. If you have a special guest, please do not leave this place without ordering this.

BEEFFALO is but a wonderful place to get home cooked comfort food in San Juan. If you're near here or frequent this place, consider yourself lucky. It would be the best place to have a cup of coffee, dine with family and friends without minding too much on the budget. Best for groups too because most of their dishes are intended for sharing. Though I've seen quite a few pairs having lunch there, as it's cozy, not too fancy, very casual.

Please do visit them at 135 Hoover Street in San Juan City. I find that typing in the address on UBER or GRAB was easy than the actual name of the restaurant. I'll try and upload the photos on Google so you can find it, don't worry! 

Bring around 1,000 for a date night and that could feed 2 people (if you're on a diet, much less than that). Trust me on the wings!