Sweat, food, and awesomeness

MANILA, Philippines - And so here I am, after being lured by my editors through visions of cute chinitas, kung-fu, and more cute chinitas, finding myself in the middle of busy downtown Binondo on a hot and humid day, following a tour guide and 10 strangers wearing the same stuffy shirt I am. Good thing I wear a pretty good deo, ‘cause it’s going to be a long and sweaty day.

Turns out, I’m part of the Rexona Clinical Protection Binondo Challenge where we become test subjects for their new deodorant, in exchange for free and yummy Chinese food and a walking tour of historic Binondo. I swear, the bribes for test subject these days are getting better, I’m moving up from sliced cheese, myself.

The tour is hosted by Old Manila Walks and the product we’re using is Rexona Clinical Protection, an anti-perspirant deodorant that lasts 48 hours and gives up to 3x more protection against sweat and body odor with regular use. Rexona Clinical Protection is by the way, formulated with the revolutionary TRI solid body responsive technology which contains three important components: clinical strength wetness and odor protection, patented encapsulated odor-fighting technology and skin-moisturizing ingredient formulated to reduce skin irritation.

All the food places we go to have great food and great historical know-how. One place is an old hotel that’s converted into a lumpia shop. The lumpia there is great! Very filling, very tasty, it isn’t just your ordinary lumpia. Add some magic sauce (it’s that sweet, brown sauce that you basically put on all Chinese dishes) and you are in lumpia heaven.

As we walk along the hot streets of Binondo, we carry these heavy so-called “gift bags” of fruits, chocolates, hopia, and what not. All the better to work up a sweat, my dearies. Impressively, as my lean and mean biceps are carrying the gift bags, I notice I’m working up a sweat as I normally should. What’s more impressive is that they made me apply the deo the night before and not in the morning before the challenge. They said this is because clinical studies show that at night when the body is at rest, sweat glands are at least active and skin is more receptive to Rexona Clinical Protection. It also has an anti-bacterial property that works overtime to fight bacteria while you sleep and builds a strong level of protection for the day ahead. Hey, if they say “clinical studies show” then it must be true. My hairy pits are a living testament to this.

One of my favorite stops was the fried sio-meow. In line with Binondo’s efforts to keep the stray cat population down, they now serve sio-meow instead of the usual siopao. Kidding aside, the fried siopao was also good. Light on the stomach compared to its steamed counterpart.

Another favorite stop of mine was the mami house. Here, they serve old-school noodles and fist-sized siomai, all swimming in magic sauce. (As I write this at 5 a.m. in the morning, I am slowly starving from all this thinking about food. God help me.)

At the end of the day, no cute chinitas are seen and no kung-fu is taught. But my belly is full and I’m sweat-free, thanks to Rexona Clinical Protection, the deo for men and women who are looking for an effective product that provides clinical strength wetness and odor protection against excessive sweating.

Now, where do I find myself some siomai and siopao at 5 a.m.