Khalil Ramos and Elisse Joson for iWant’s Ampalaya Chronicles

Unrequited love is painful, but here goes Firestarters Production under the helm of Real Florido to tackle the story based on best selling author Mark Ghosn’s book called Ampalaya Monologues. This pilot episode is entitled ADIK written by Carlo Hornilla. It tells the life of hopeless romantic and poet named Carlo, and his muse cum long time crush Nina. This is played by Khalil Ramos and Elisse Joson. The episode is written by Florence Henzon.

In a way, this is very relatable for people who didn’t get the chance to show their love for someone. Spoken word poetry has been a very ingenious way to be an outlet, to foretell love with a play of words, which sometimes are effective, sometimes not. One thinks how he could just look from afar and hope he gets noticed by the lady he so admires, one who wants to also protect her from other guys, some situations he wouldn’t have any control over. He hopes his efforts would bear fruit, one day, someday. 

Khalil Ramos says “Good evening to everyone, I play Carlo here. It was important for me to study, at first the look and screen test, we already talked. We rehearsed this kind of poetry, it’s rhythm, it’s like rap and I had to do it right. The character is one of many, like people who want to profess love. Carlo is intimidated with Elisse, she is like the dream girl, out of his league, he went through a lot. It has so much to do with his identity, his purpose in life, he is very introverted, he has been bullied and has dealt with his friends and family a lot. Emotion wise, I have my own struggles, it is natural for most of us. For me it’s what I wanna do, about my future, I got it from there. I find myself looking at my own inner purpose, my relationships, my friends. I wouldn’t say I wanted to quit, it was just stressful and it will break you. Knowing yourself, I have had one sided love, in highschool I felt his frustrations. It was an immature love, heartbreak. I couldn’t tell you the story, I might spoil it for you so please watch it.”

Real says “Some of the performances you have seen a while ago will be put on screen. I came from trad broadcasting but understanding the generation involves producing for the new audience. TV as we know is changing, this is familiar, this is relatable, when we saw Ampalaya Monologues three years ago we planned this out and is now streaming. It is the hunger for new kind of entertainment, they have a different kind of thinking and it is so nice to see on the digital platform. The nice thing about this is when we pitched this to iWant, they gave us builds about family, a person’s journey, when we developed this we delved into problems, heartaches of the new generation and you have something to learn from it. There is value in pain. Generally the series is about the bitterness and pain, you wouldn’t experience love without it.”

Isiah Dela Cruz, Alex San Agustin, Henz, Mark Ghosn will also be in this episode. Real Florido has done a lot of remarkable films in the past, and having top caliber actors like Khalil and Elisse in this iWant digifilm, this would be another nice piece to watch. This is an iWant Anthology, a different show every week so stay tuned! 

The “Anak Ni Waray vs Anak Ni Biday” Presscon

Kate Valdez and Barbie Forteza has a gem in their hands. Their show Anak Ni Waray vs Anak Ni Biday have all the ingredients of a very special show. The remake based on a movie in the 60’s, and another one in the 80’s will be a fun, love stricken conflict. Their family will get involved and friendships will be broken.

The series will be flanked by some of PH’s greatest actresses like Snooky Serna, Dina Bonnevie, Jean Saburit, Teresa Loyzaga, Faith Da Silva, Tanya Montenegro, Ms. Celia Rodriguez, including Jay Manalo, Benedict Cua and Migo Adecer. Ginalyn and Katelyn will be battling over Migo’s character. Max Collins, Lovi Poe, Jason Abalos will be their young versions, so it looks pretty special. This is directed by Marc Sicat Dela Cruz. Golden Cañedo also sang the theme song for this, she was well applauded during the presscon. 

Direk says "I didn’t get to watch the old movie but I didn’t do it so it would have less bias, I believed in the creative group, so it has drama, of friendships, of lovers, of Mothers and a lot of comedy. "

Barbie says “We have bonded quite well, we’re friends now because of the time we spend together. Waray is feisty, but all out when her family is involved.”

Kate says “I am so grateful for the chance to work with industry veterans, for GMA to believe in me, I am so thankful! My version is very thrifty, I do it even now.”

Snooky Serna says “During the 80’s, I really felt it had sentimental value for me. Working with Dina, I felt we didn’t leave each other, we just picked up where we left off. Dina is so sweet, I love how she brings snacks unceremoniously. We are not in good terms with our characters.

Dina says “I asked to be Biday, my husband is an Ilocos Congressman and it’s so nice to do this and promote our province. I am excited and hope we have more shoots in Ilocos because we really had fun there. This time even if she is evil, she’s going to be a little nice on some times. It’s funny because we are good friends, it is different but being with her, I remember our Regal days so thank you to GMA for doing this.”

Celia Rodriguez says “I don’t have to tell them what to do, they’re all pros. They go to the set early, ready and know their lines. They ask if they need help and they do good, I’m sure they will be big stars very soon.

Migo adds “I agree, friendship first, love between friends can level up and it is easier to fix rather than doing it with strangers.Cocoy is different, he’s caught in life so he kinda gets to be with different women, because he’s afraid of commitment. I haven’t played a man being fought by two ladies, I take this is similar to Sahaya but the other way around. I feel how she feels now.”

Jay Manalo says “No, I haven’t felt I was being torn by women, I on the other hand did that. I believe in friendships, I would rather lose the love than break them like in this story.”

Teresa Loyzaga says “A contrabida is a contrabida is a contrabida. My name is different now, I guess people will be surprised as this is different from My Special Tatay. I take it as a complement when people react like that, I make an effort because I put myself in the character.”

Faith Da Silva says “I do wish to be lead sometimes but this is a role and I am happy for it. I think I get to portray interesting roles, I want to do Marimar in the future. Maybe that will happen.”

Jean says “For me any role is a good role, it’s how you tackle it, no matter how big or small it is I do it to make the show whole, not taking it in other ways. It’s work and passion.”

Anak Ni Waray vs Anak Ni Biday will show on January 27. This is on GMA’s Primetime slot.

The New HEINZ Asian Sauces

This has been no stranger to my cupboards as they've made each french frie piece extra special with their HEINZ Ketchup. Just a few days ago, the brand launched something new, a whole new line of Asian sauces. They had us at Tong Yang Plus which is a cool hotpot and yakiniku place, though this time they got us tons of bottles of their sauces on the table. We wondered how this would turn out.

I got a few ingredients, my personal favorite was the Cheese Meatballs. I also got Tofu Skin, Chicken Dumplings, Bok Choi, Noodles, Corn, Strips of Beef, Pork with Barbecue Sauce, whilse my friends had the fish, innards and shrimp. I got the Saté broth for the hotpot so it would be a little mild. I then prepared the pot by turning on the table induction cooker. When it boiled, I got the ingredients all in. 

The broth was a little bland so I got the Heinz Golden Mark Oyster Sauce, Heinz Light Soy Sauce and a little Heinz Blended Sesame Oil in it. Tasted a spoonful, and it was already perfect. 

On the side, I prepared two sauces. The Heinz Sweet Chili Sauce and the Heinz Garlic Chili Sauce. I used the first for some of the strips of beef I got in the grill while the other was for the tons of things I got in the hotpot. You usually do get a little tired of things in the grill but since I got it all a little spicy because of the sauces, I had about 4 servings of it in one go. I also had about 3 servings of hotpot and kept coming back for the Cheese Meatballs, ahh, it was heaven!

But really, it was a great idea to have these things used for dishes we're used to. It brightens up the flavor of each dish, making it even special and not just settle with the usual things we have in the kitchen. These noodles were actually prepared by the Chef using Heinz Golden Mark Oyster Sauce, Heinz Premium Light Soy Sauce and the Heinz Blended Sesame Oil.

For fried stuff like this fish, they got it on a batter and put the Heinz Sweet Chili Sauce, and voila! You can have restaurant quality dishes at home.

They also have Heinz Soy Sauce, Premium Oyster Sauce which you can use with noodles, mushroom, veggies, and a little flurry. Those Chinese dishes would be easy because you've got them all figured out with Heinz' new Asian sauces. 

The Heinz Premium Light Soy Sauce, Heinz Soy Sauce, Heinz Blended Sesame Oil, Heinz Premium Oyster Sauce, Heinz Golden Mark Soy Sauce, Heinz Golden Mark Soy Sauce, Heinz Thai Sweet Chili Sauce, and Heinz Garlic Chili Sauce is nothing but a great addition to what you have in your pantry. Everything you've had during breakfast, lunch and dinner would be just better, price wise they're also very competitive. I could even say, they're even better than those popular ones in the Asian section. I am so inlove too with the Garlic Chili Sauce, a bottle didn't last me for 3 days because I loved how spicy my dishes became after a dab of that. 

Now it's your turn, go find them on the shelves of your favorite groceries and try them, trust me on the Garlic Chili Sauce. You've got to try that!

AGSUNTA Releases "FEELS TRIP" Under DNA Music

From doing covers, to making their own music, and now homegrown pop rock band Agsunta is releasing their new EP called "Feels Trip". 

In 2015, they started doing covers after being formed in a local studio. The band's name was actually from the name of their professor back in highschool. Jirah says "We are happy to have been given a chance to start doing our own music. The dream is to someday perform in larger concert venues such as the Philippine Arena and MOA Arena. This started when we met a couple of months ago, endless meetings resulted in different materials. We will have a show at Jesus is Our Hope International Assemblies in Cubao Quezon City on January 25. This is under DNA Music which is a subsidiary of Star Records."

Known for their hugot songs and undoubtedly hurtful lyrics, they're ready to get these previously composed songs which they had in their coffers and new one. A song about hope and failures in life is Bagong Umaga. Alas Dose is about a love reminisced, Kundi Na Ako is about selflessness. Locomotor is about people who fool other people, a fun tune. Highschool hits is about reminscing the life we had in the Generation Y who are now part of the workforce. 

They mentioned they have released a lot of songs in the past and didn't make the cut with the public. They just got noticed they got traction with the covers but after the connection, they wanted to introduce their own now. Til now they consider it a challenge, but feel it is their lucky medium to get in touch with the people's psyche with regards to their songs. 

Make sure you get their EP on streaming mediums, they're all there. This is again, under DNA Music.