Some Good Filipino Comfort Food from TAKAM

I was hungry as a bear so I made the decision and ordered a couple of things from TAKAM, a 24/7 Pinoy Comfort Food center in Granada, Quezon City. It's very near my place and they've packed my lunch pretty well. They have my favorite rice bowls and local congee (lugaw/goto) so it's quite perfect for rainy days. Something that you'll just sit by a window sill and curl up while holding their nice containers.

 

I kinda had it waiting on the dinner table because I had to rush and finish a few meetings, but because it's packed like these, I just popped it in the microwave and had it blitz for a few minutes. It was piping hot when I took it out (although it was still fairly warm when I did hold it up earlier since they are quite nearby). I had this CHICKSILOG which felt more like crispy Chicken karaage even if reheated. It's not too salty, just right, and they kept the egg a little runny for those who love sunny side up eggs.

They also have BANGSILOG which is fried to crisp milkfish marinated in different spices. This one was quite nice as it had a tangy, savory and very crispy. I guess the marinade really made the difference. Of course, I had to have vinegar and the atchara which I had on the fridge to make several perfect bites. I would love to also have this for breakfast. Then of course, my favorite comfort food is always congee, and TAKAM has some pretty good GOTO SPECIAL.

What's even better is that when they sent this over is that they've got the toppings packaged separately with the actual congee. What that means is that your crispy pork bits remain absolutely crispy, and not soggy because it has been in the soup too long. That's really smart of them to do and honestly, I could have this alone as a meal (sans second servings). I like my GOTO SPECIAL hot so I did blitz this a few minutes in the microwave oven, but you can opt to heat this up in a small pot because again, they've had it in separate containers. You won't burn the toppings if you had it mixed up like usual food places do. As far as the taste is concerned, it's actually very nice, you get that gingery broth with the rice so it feels quite comforting on a cold rainy night.

I also like the toppings because aside from the crackling pork, you've got crunchy garlic bits, chives, tripe, and those heavenly strips of tendon. Those fatty elements just feel like a human hug. So if you're up to no good, or simply just hungry in the wee hours of the morning and think you can't order comfort food like these, think again. They also have other silogs on the menu, Sisig, Pares, Bulalugaw, Arroz Caldo and serve em in different kinds of rice.

TAKAM Pinoy Comfort Food is also available 24/7 and you can call them via 0922 879 9264 or order via GRAB Food and Food Panda too. They have branches in Timog Avenue and Sucat so for those who are in other locations, you're covered!

Writing about this just made me hungry. :( LOL

Leading Digital Adoption: Unionbank Celebrates 39th Anniversary

 

 

Digital banking has made the challenging days of the pandemic a little bearable. AI and block chain has also been useful to transform this all as Unionbank leads the way for the digital adoption of the Philippines. They are currently celebrating their 39th Anniversary and with this, they continue their mission to spearhead digital banking technology with you their customers in mind. They are also making good headway.

Mr. Henry Aguda the SVP and Chief Technology and Operations Officer + Chief Transformation Officer for Unionbank says "Exciting things are happening with Unionbank as we celebrate our 39th anniversary. Our celebration started with the Unionbank SME Business Banking app. We currently rank 2nd in Instapay which means we are second with regards to usage among other companies. This allows our SME's to have banking capabilities just like the big boys. We also launched BUX and it has already 50K onboard. We also launched SeekCap and Sentro so SME's can get capital and sell bulk as they scale products into the market."

They also addressed Senator Sherwin Gatchalian's case and said "We value the privacy of the good Senator and we have made warnings for our other clients. These hackers prey on emotion, use other sites or emails, use and copy Unionbank's logo to do phishing. While we cannot disclose details, we are working with authorities to run after them. It is not a security hack. We have the transaction details and logs and we are not resting til they are held accountable. We are working on it til now. We ensure the processes are logged to protect our clients. It's a shared responsibility of both us and our clients, so make sure you use different emails for online banking and the regular work. "

"Are we ready? Yes, we have the support of our regulators and a framework that requires us to report incidents like these. There are a couple of bad actors/criminals that make this difficult but we do not succumb to them. It has increased the awareness of our customer base, we are becoming vigilant, to more digital transactions with multiple validations. They will only prey on the weak, but everybody is coming together to push out these criminals out of the banking industry."

"We went through this digital transformation 4 years back. We made sure we prepared for AI. We created the organization to aggregate more information and curating them with other agencies and corporations in  compliance with the National Privacy Commission. It's a long journey but now we are here. We are going to tailor fit customer products that are most relevant to our customers. This also protects transactions going to the bank. From laundering, to fraud, this is anticipated as patterns, all of which are in the initial stages. Our advocacy is to be more sophisticated than criminals, AI is helping us with that. We are now at 170 institutions and continue to scale up, Unionbank has launched PHX. We hope to share this with the government and our corporate clients."

When asked about education campaigns for less tech inclined customers, he says "The best awareness campaign is making the app as easy to use as possible. We took a look at our GSIS customers and worried they won't be able to use the app, our program "Convert" taught them to use the digital platform. Now they can bank at the comforts of their home, but most of them still prefer to go to the branch. When we got them onboard though, they became our ambassadors."

Their mandate today is to move the Filipino into the digital space. Their platform made it possible to reach a lot of people. They are one of the most successful banks in the ASEAN and this transformation has driven them to do it til now.

Unionbank is excited to continue to advocate digital banking services. The end goal is where their customers would move to. Nobody gets left behind. They could move much faster but they have customers who prefer the personalized service is. They are still there servicing customers during the pandemic, the branches have been able to accommodate seniors. They are letting their customers grow with them, and that's a good thing.

You'll see more of that.

RAFFY TULFO Starts WANTED: Ang Serye on TV5

 

 

 

Looks like they are amping up content creation over at TV5 and they're bringing in the big guns as WANTED sa Radyo now becomes a series with their new show WANTED: Ang Serye (Mga Kwento sa Likod ng Reklamo) starring the man himself Idol Raffy Tulfo. This will come out 9-10pm on Saturdays on TV5 and it's associated channels soon. The show will feature several of their actual cases, based on real life which have been shown on the hit news show.

 

 

The first few episodes include Epi Quizon, Ritz Azul, Adrian Alandy whom we also interviewed during the mediacon today. The first one talks about a transgender and a lesbian having an abusive relationship, the other one is about fidelity and all the complexities that come with it. This unfortunately will not be shown on YouTube yet but perhaps soon, as we were told, they will still be looking into it. Here's a short interview we had with them this afternoon.

 

Sir Raffy was asked about why he was the number one person to look for when they have issues, he says "Maybe because I am able to solve their problems, so when they need help they actually look for me first." Here's a little talk from the man himself.

Raffy also promised that in every episode that you will see in this show, you'll learn valuable lessons from the lives of ordinary Filipinos who have been on the show. Not only that, you'll also see some of the really nice solutions to domestic problems that are all around the country. You'll also get to see how they end up, some really reconciled... but you would have to see that on the show. Make sure you do this Saturday at 9PM on the Kapatid Network, TV5!

Why Millennials Choose a BRIA

 

It's a tough season to actually have that thought of getting properties these days. The working class, are full of young, hungry and motivated bunch of youngsters that are very driven, but undecided where to put their money in and for them, one clever option is buying their own homes and investing in properties.. As they grow older, smarter, they now have the capacity to invest and choose real estate properties in different places across the country. Question is, why a BRIA?

The houses and lots, condominium units are affordable, they also have several communities with stable internet connection and just about a multitude of digital payments which are encouraged to pay for the property. That in itself would be very convenient for those who have just started to climb the corporate ladder, or a small family, wherein you don't have to waste your time going to offices, the bank or outside in this pandemic. This makes them the home of choice for a vast number of young and ambitious property seekers.

 

This place is quite near major roads or highways as it was planned well. This community is also sprawling with retail establishments, grocery, churches, schools, government offices, several green spaces and hospitals. BRIA Condominiums also have very secured public and private areas, with essential spaces monitored 24/7, and security personnel to make sure you are safe in the confines of the community. Everything is also well lit as they utilize solar lamps, aside from huge ones on roads and pathways. You'll also love the flora, the trees that have grown all around the property.

They bank on affordability and quality which is why there are a lot of millennials already getting their own BRIA homes. If you want one, just head on to www.bria.com.ph and check out the virtual tours they have. It's a pretty good way to check out the properties without compromising your health (pretty safe from COVID). Or if you're more into social network pages, just head on to facebook.com/BriaHomesInc because they've got lots of people to help you there too.

Are you ready to have a BRIA home?