I super love dining at Pizza Hut Bistro in Gateway Mall, but this one is special. It's a new hip branch they've recently opened up in SM Mall of Asia, and if I may I'd like to quote the executive that said it's the first of it's kind in the world... so in a nutshell this is history in the making.
What's different you say? It's the OPEN CONCEPT. Probably patterned on this trend in the US, they very well know that it would work in the Philippines too. You can take a look and see the whole restaurant from end to end, even the kitchen adopts it as well. That thing in the end has glass from one part of the restaurant to the other. You'll see how your dishes get prepared and salivate on how they make your salads, pasta's, pizzas, chicken and drinks all in one place, and now all you've got to do is experience it yourself. It's a revamped menu too! Not only that, one area of this busy restaurant is dedicated to Pizza Hut merchandise which are now selling like hotcakes, I mean their pizzas, because it honestly looks good too. The whole place can accommodate a BIG crowd, as it felt like a huge food hall but really, this is just one restaurant.
The Fried Chicken, still nice and crispy even without the gravy!
Oh and the famous THICK CRUST PIZZA! I of course want the one with STUFFED CRUST so if you can order that, please do!
Oh yes, they have desserts!
If ever they have events or see that the restaurant would be a little tight like on this day, they can set up pop up counters and sell em slices, or better yet, whole pizzas!
If you haven't seen it yet, make sure you visit the Pizza Hut SM Mall of Asia branch today. It sits right at the center of the mall near the entrance where the fountains/wishing pond are found. After going inside, it's on the left side. You can't miss it because it's probably full of people already! They have a separate counter and the place is pretty open. You'll get to smell pizza even from afar! Haha!
Thank you Pizza Hut for inviting us in your opening! You guys rock!
I arrived at the Tee Radio studios in Cubao, Quezon City a couple of weeks ago to confirm great news about this great partnership they're having with established record label Ivory Music. Now to tell you frankly, I've only seen Tee Radio publish crazy content online with viral videos, appearing almost every day on my Facebook timeline but didn't know they've set up a real deal online radio station with a whopping 6 Million plus strong community to back them up. During my visit, they had local band Eevee being interviewed and broadcasted across their social media channels, their official website http://teeradio.net/ and those who are live streaming from their apps on the App Store and Google Play. It's through a show they properly call "It's Tee Time!".
During the show, I saw a very familiar face. It's Eevee Band's Enzo Villegas. I know his brother Niko whom I did workshops from under Elite. From what I know they're based in Davao, and I've heard their hits a couple of years ago.
It's Tee Time will be shown twice a month (Fridays) 5PM to 6PM. The show will discuss about personalities, music, the latest trends and everything that's interesting on the Internet. It was a little funny on how they did the show when we were there because it was like they were just hanging out, like friends having beers and snacks while being broadcasted live online via the official app, the website and on their popular Facebook page. Their plan is to feature more artists in the coming months, and with the partnership with Ivory Music, I don't think they'll be running out of people to talk to in the coming months.
They didn't disappoint their fans and new listeners because as part of the show, they got to showcase their latest songs, their previous hits, and was even so cool to play a couple of games inside the studio.
Eevee Band has just released their newest single "Gisingin Mo Na Lang Ako" (Just Wake Me Up) under Ivory Music and Video. Aside from that, they've got "Gusto Ko Lang ng Girlfriend" (I Just Want a Girlfriend) and "Sarap Maging Single" (It's so good to be single) which they had released a couple months back. The band is composed of Enzo Villegas who's doing lead vocals, Paolo Seguna on lead guitar, Gianne Garcia on bass guitar and Patrick Anchinges on drums. They're a pretty rowdy bunch and are no strangers to the band scene. They started their career winning in a band competition in 2009 and now that they're part of Ivory Music, they seem to have been enjoying this journey.
Their music is Alternative, but the songs are quite reminiscent of reworked ballads because mostly all of the lyrics talk about love, relationships, its failures and picking up the pieces. It's that weird good feeling, you just need to listen to it to appreciate it. Eevee Band's tracks are all available on online stores like Deezer, Apple Music and other digital stores internationally. Expect them to be touring around malls pretty soon, request them on radio if you want to listen to them ahead of everyone else.
Thank you for the opportunity to talk to you Eevee band! Can't wait to see your star shine the soonest!
Here's a short interview we did with Eevee Band!
Executives of Tee Radio and Ivory Music and Video will bring you more podcast content from hereon with It's Tee Time! Stay tuned for more great music from Ivory Music and Video artists because they're tapping into one of the most popular online radio station in the country, Tee Radio!
It's so nice to know that a well known industry stalwart is now working with an online portal to reach more people to tell them about up and coming bands, artists and fold it into a show that is light, fun and can relate to a generation that is hungry for it. The millennial, the teens, have a long way to absorb what the world has to offer. If that's art, music, or experience, they'll get a part of that today. They consume most of the information we put out there, now all they've got to do is see it live while it happens no matter where they are. So if you're not too busy, please visit Tee Radio via http://www.teeradio.net or their official Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/teeradio and Ivory Music and Video's https://www.facebook.com/ivorymusicph/. It's all there, all it takes is one click!
Have you seen that new show GRIND (Get Ready It's a New Day!) on GMA? I actually missed it last week so I'm a bit sad.
Good thing I had the chance to interview them this afternoon at Palm Grill in Tomas Morato. GMA organized a bloggers conference so we got to see the artists in this project. GRIND is produced by a new company called Wizpher Mac Productions who pitched this show and now it's shown on GMA right after i-Witness. It's a little late, but they were quite confident telling us that they know the story alone could get you hooked in this series. The aim is to bridge the gap between millenials and non millenials, a task quite difficult to understand but we all know that exists right? And let's face it, when people interact with them, they don't get along sometimes. It's a mystery how these not so kids anymore maintain their values. It shows the mindset of millenials, asks questions of why they are driven, how they also work hard for their family. In fact, they are just like the rest of us.
These yuppies are independent, expressive, everytime has a different outfit. Jazz Ocampo plays Solanj, a carefree soul who takes care of her best friend's coffee. Carlo and Solanj are best friends and business partners. Theirs is a pretty cool relationship, but does this automatically mean it's bound for romance?
In the pilot episode, they will start off at different situations, the guy got fired, two ladies had problems. So they got together and put up a COFFEE SHOP. It's where they all pour their passion, you'll see that in their eyes.
He is a millenial, an admitted overachiever. He is socially inept, with an unfriendly vibe, always in the zone, but says he's not really that cold. He keeps the relationships that means a lot to him. The daringness of his character is not just there to show it, it has a purpose, it mirrors young professionals and their lives. Bruno Gabriel quirps "This character may be older than I am but as an actor, this adds to versatility. Carlo succeeded early in college, like the millenials they are, it shows his different experiences. Sexy is just the way it is, I don't feel judged and I think it's a cultural thing."
They also told us about RK played by Benedict Campos. He's a previous Artist Center actor, but is now managed by a different outfit. They described his character like it's the worst among them adding "He's poor because of his own fault. He carries his trolly around like his home, but he's so positive and he's always the happy one. His character is gay, very realistic and not a clown. He attacks his role differently and we think he's the first one who passed the auditions with flying colors. When we read the script, we get surprised by how he executes it, and he's a very interesting character."
Jazz Ocampo adds "Solanj may be a different type of role, a yuppie but Artist Center knows how to put us in characters. I played different ones in the past and I don't think it'll affect our teen image because they train us at workshops, it equipped us in getting different roles."
Ayra Mariano plaus Louie in the show, she says "Louie is a millenial, always on the go, always picking up jobs everywhere and is working for her family with different siblings from differen races. She just ultimately wants to have someone to lean on."
So if you're not doing anything this weekend make GRIND a part of your watching habit. It's an interesting plot, very current, and won't short change you in small amounts of drama, romance, comedy all rolled into one! Again, it's on GMA right after i-Witness.
Thank you to their sponsors for giving away these items :) I like the shirts from BUM and cleaning stuff from Bench!
As a parting shot, here they are inviting you to watch the show!
Looks like someone is making your September even more special as well loved shopping app SHOPEE announces the 9.9 MOBILE SHOPPING DAY. This means a whole day of great deals, promotions, discounts as SHOPEE partners with over 1000 merchants on their app. If that's not enough, some of these businesses will be getting you a whopping 99% discount on their products, so make sure to watch out for flash sales, that's just the start.
If you remember last year, they had 5x more orders than usual, and about 3x increase in traffic because everyone just wanted a great deal from Shopee. This year they are going to include over Php 50 Million worth of marketing activities so almost everyone will have a slice of the pie. They deem the Philippines an important market as this emerging economic power will also have increase in spending in the coming years, online shopping is definitely going to be part of that. Together with their partners and leading brands such as Johnson and Johnson, Oppo, Lysol, Sandisk, Mustela and Makeup World, this will be an epic day to celebrate the biggest mobile and online shopping day in Asia! Go download the SHOPEE app on the App Store and Google Play. They have already started sales on some of the products last September 1, but you wait and see on September 9 because it'll be BIGGER!
If you want to know more, you can visit their site http://shopee.ph/99 and their social media channels. It's that easy!