Years back, Joyce Jimenez and her manager Shirley Kuan, teamed up with Sari-Sari to create a lingerie line, Private Joyce; and this was a fine example of looking beyond mere endorsing (the more favored road taken by these celebrities, but which is coterminous with one’s popularity). Vina Morales has her chain of Ystilo salons; and Paolo Bediones has invested in complete dental care centers specializing in cosmetic dentistry (the Esthetica Dental Clinics, of which there will be three branches within the next few months). You enter the malls and you find Ogie Alcasid has his Ogie Doggie hotdog stands, of which there are already seven, three in Cebu. And Dominic Ochoa has over 40 Thumbs Up ice cream counters.
Sometimes, it just works to spread the risk and work with friends. On the occasion of the 10th Anniversary of the Bubble Gang gag show, the current mainstays of this very successful comedy show took the opportunity to launch their themed eatery – Bubble Gang Toppings. Located on the second floor of the FBR building on Katipunan Avenue, a high-rise in front of the Ateneo, the launch was a very informal, fun-filled event, in keeping with the mood of the show, and the ambience of the restaurant. Present and accounted for were cast members Ogie Alcasid, Michael V, Wendell Ramos, Rufa Mae Quinto, Ara Mina, Boy2 Quizon, Diana Zubiri, Antonio Aquitaña, Maureen Larrazabal and the newest regular, Francine Prieto.
With price points ranging from P75 to P125, BG Toppings aims to appeal to a broad cross-section of clientele. For the lunchtime business, one can’t ignore the students streaming in from the academic institutions across the road, and yet, Ogie was happy to report that they’ve been enjoying brisk evening and late-night business, thanks to the live entertainment they’ve opened with. "It’s not a sophisticated sound system, but more of a coffee shop, sing-along kind of atmosphere, and it’s been eliciting a tremendous response, turning this place into a hang-out place till late at night!"
As for the menu, beyond the Pinoy and Asian toppings, one finds the fertile and humorous imagination of the partners at work. The sweets and pastries section is subtitled Sahara Desserts. And among the signature dishes, one finds such entries as Korean Beef Novela, Boy2 Yo with Rice, Wendell’s Meatballs and Anak ng Tinapa Rice. In fact, when I checked with Ogie and Michael on the address of the building (the FBR Building), I distinctly felt some untold Presidential joke palpably hanging in the air... like tobacco smoke?
In this hurly burly, hypersensitive TV world of audience share and Nielsen ratings, it’s so easy for show after show to get the boot or have the reformat button pressed (euphemism for "We’re locked in with these talents and their fees, but this show has got to change!"). So it’s to the credit of the scriptwriters, production people, and heady cast changes, that this show remains a winner 10 years on. I may be connected to ABS Publishing, but I’ll recognize an enviable record when I see one, and give credit to a show "well done."
With a well-planned layout that gives us wide aisles and foodstuffs categorized by nationality and cross-referenced as ingredients, the Taste section is a godsend for adventurous champions of home-cooking. The French section has Fauchon and Hediard comestibles, and that’s all that has to be said if you are a food junkie. The Italian section carries Di Guilio Pagani and Casa Rinaldi pasta and yes, the integrale type is available. Dropping by Spain, I espied La Gula Angulas and I immediately picked up some for my eldest boy who loves them whenever we eat at Cirkulo. Thai, Japanese, Greek, Mexican and Indian shelves were enough to make my taste glands quiver, dreaming of sweet chili sauce, buckwheat soba, fava dips, salsa and hummus. The canned soup section had a selection of Wolfgang Puck’s and Paul Newman’s line. And there’s a wide selection of health foods, those organically grown and are GMO-free.
With a promise to return before the launch was over, I dragged my hungry carcass away from the Taste section to see what else this fresh concept had to offer. There is now a feature that makes your fish section at Rustan’s very different. While most of the types of seafood are "frozen fresh" with ice constantly being replenished, there are also water tanks that carry live fish and seafood. These are similar to what one finds in Chinese restaurants, and if one is talking of freshness, you can’t go much better than seeing your dinner for that night wriggling and swimming from one end of the tank to the other.
The in-house bread brand of Rustan’s Supermarkets, Baker’s Kingdom, now has an on-site bakery by one corner of the store. This means that as you walk past the section, the smell and aroma of freshly baked bread wafts through the air. This is just another of the features that make Rustan’s Fresh and Taste a unique sensory experience.
To make this launch extra special, Rustan’s had brought Margarita Fores of Cibo fame and Jessie Sincioco of Le Souffle to do cooking demos. Margarita prepared bruschetta and a pasta dish, while Jessie whipped up pancakes and ostrich steak. Using ingredients found at Taste, the demo portion inspired us all to do some shopping before heading home. And for me, a kitchen-challenged individual who can’t even boil water, that’s saying a mouthful. Rustan’s Supermarkets Fresh and Taste have certainly staked their claim to bringing supermarket shopping to a new level.