Simply amazing!

As expected, dahlings, the fantastic fast- paced show of Concert King, Martin Nievera, Smartin Dish, turned out to be a smashing success!

It was a magical night of great music as Martin serenaded the elbow to elbow crowd at Rockwell’s swinging Dish with specially chosen songs that mesmerized the audience. The concert raised funds to benefit The Philippine Cerebral Palsy, Inc. It was no surprise as Martin has always had a soft spot for the less fortunate, especially children; he warmly welcomed the chance to raise funds for the foundation.

The show, naturellement, was made possible by very generous major sponsors–tres popular SMART and world-class Bench supported by Samsung, our very own The Philippine STAR, Cali and Viva Mineral Water.

Applauding endlessly after each of Martin’s well-chosen numbers, palanggas, were Martin’s loving mom, vivaciously adorable Conchita Razon, natch (!) who makes it a point to watch Martin’s shows; Martin’s proud sister, always with a smile Gina Godinez; in-demand manager Joji Dingcong; ABS-CBN’s popular lawyer Dong Puno and his wife; popular lady Marilou Martinez, the gracious wife of SMART’s genius wonder man Boy Martinez; PDI’s Leah Salterio; Cali and Viva Mineral Water’s Efren Briones and Iya Rodriguez; Manila Bulletin’s Yeng Lim; PCPI chairman of the board of trustees, William Balliet; PCPI medical director Dr. Francis Dimalanta with other members of the board; la simpatica, hardworking Raquel Garcia and her son Jaime; Wendy Picache; Louie Ocampo’s wife Jojo Ocampo; Martin and Honey Avancena; world traveler Josephine Knox; exotic eye-catcher Daisy Payumo; gorgeous Susan Reyes and her handsome man, top-of-the-line architect Conrad Onglao; adorable Renna Angeles; Leanna Farrales; moi fave Clarins gal, trilingual Rhoda Campos; Louis Vuitton’s classy country manager Gigi Mabanta; Dish managing directors and their wives, Philip and Tricia Cu-Unjieng and always in-demand EJ and Tess Litton; our palangga, Jackie Ejercito- Lopez and head turner Precy Ejercito and their gang; Tony Uichico and his famille: Joel, Jake and Marisun, and Jong and Cathy; Andrea Bautista; some of showbiz more uppity-up personas Plinky Recto, Cutie del Mar and Vina Morales, the surprise guest singer who gamely strode on stage for a duet with Martin.

With so many other followers, palanggas, it was simply an amazing magical night filled with love and enchantment–and all for a good cause. Yes, palanggas, this is only the beginning; you just have to be smart to drop by Dish to enjoy more musical nights with your favorite performers!

The best of everything nice

Super eye-catching Congressional daughter, attractive Paula Camille Locsin, met her prince charming, Juan Paolo "Rimpy" Bondoc three years ago when her mom, well-respected Leyte representative and fashion plate, Vicky Larrazabal-Locsin, no less, dahlings, invited the young, good-looking legislator from the fourth district of Pampanga to her birthday party.

Paula and Rimpy were just super pals for two years, enjoying dinners with other young hot solons. In fact, Paula even set Rimpy up on dates with some of her gangmates. Rimpy would drive all the way from Pampanga to join the groupie. In October last year, he finally made it known he liked Paula and not any of her friends. Theirs was a whirlwind romance which swept her off her feet. Barely two months later, Rimpy’s famille made the formal pamanhikan (asking of the girl’s hand in marriage).

A gorgeous full moon ago, the lovers exchanged matrimonial vows at the Santuario de San Jose in Greenhills, San Juan. The church was a sentimental choice because it is where Rimpy and Paula and her famille go for Sunday Mass.

Paula was every inch the radiant bride in a simple yet elegant wedding gown by popular Rajo Laurel. She breezed down the aisle in the arms of her father, dynamic Ormoc City Mayor Carmelo Locsin. Mr. Charmer himself, Rimpy, the son of Margarita Puyat and the late Pampanga Rep. Dr. Emigdio Aliwalas Bondoc, wore an embroidered barong tagalog also designed by Rajo Laurel.

Paula attended the Ateneo de Manila and Poveda Learning Center. She is a co-owner of the chic, fine dining resto, Cena in Libis. The groom is on his second term as representative. He graduated from UP Diliman where he was a student leader. He completed his master’s degree in Public Administration at the prestigious John F. Kennedy School of Government in Harvard.

The officiating priests, palanggas, were Archbishop Paciano Aniceto of Pampanga, Archbishop Pedro Dean of Leyte and Rimpy’s grandfather Msgr. Guido Aliwalas. Church music was performed by the Ed Pasamba Strings and the 92 A.D. Choir, Robert Blancaflor of 1816 Flowers did the colorful decor.

The hotshot principal sponsors, palanggas, included President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo; Vice President Tito Guingona; Speaker Jose de Venecia; tycoon Danding Cojuangco; former Speaker Arnulfo Fuentebella; Angeles Guevara; Betty Mactual; Belen Castro; Gov. Matin Petilla; the bride’s aunts Alice Larrazabal and Inday Larrazabal; Capiz’s respected lady Judy Roxas; Rep. Lu Antonino; Majority Floor Leader Neptali Gonzales II; Commissioner Pinong Javier; Cavite Gov. Johnny Remulla; Sen. Serge Osmeña and the groom’s uncles Jose Puyat Jr. and Aristeo Puyat. Best men were Cavite Vice Gov. Jonvic Remulla and Rimpy’s long-time pal Francis Tan. Maids of honor were the bride’s best pal, Eliza Antonino and the groom’s sister, Dr. Anna Bondoc.

Paolo Locsin was the ring bearer; the coin bearer, Felipe Matteo Locsin; Bible bearer, Paco Locsin; and flower girls Pia Locsin, Isabel Nepomuceno, Isabel Velez and Stefanie and Ileana del Rosario.

The excellently prepared dinner reception, palanggas, was superbly organized and catered by the only one of its kind, always consistent Le Soufflé, no less. It was held at the cool NBC Tent in Fort Bonifacio Global City. Repeating the pastel-lavender color theme of the wedding, Penk Ching of Pastry Bin created a towering fondant cake with pink roses as accents. Apres the dinner and the traditional toasts, the Sabor Latino and the Parliament Syndicate alternated on the bandstand for the swinging dance party that rocked the floor until way past Cinderella’s bedtime.

Here’s to the beautiful couple who deserve the best of everything nice, Rep. and Mrs. Juan Paolo Bondoc.

Cheers, palanggas!

Goodwill for all

The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) hosted a goodwill dinner to thank their media friends and trade partners for their support during the past year. Held at Lolo Mao Singaporean Sidewalk Cuisine at The Podium, the dinner was also an advanced celebration of the Chinese Lunar New Year.

Lolo Mao was the perfect venue to launch STB and the resto’s Chinese promotion featuring the Yu Sheng salad, an interesting blend of fresh crunchy vegetables and slices of smoked salmon traditionally served in Singaporean Chinese restaurants throughout the celebration. What makes it even more interesting is the dish’s symbolic meaning. The raw ingredients signify the renewal of life and the sound of the word fish sounding like the word for riches or abundance, Yu.

The most fun part of eating Yu Sheng is the mixing of the ingredients. To ensure "good luck" for the coming year, everyone called out "Lo hei!" which means "to mix it up" (it also sounds like "to prosper more and more") while they used their chopsticks to toss the ingredients as high in the air as they could. It is believed that the higher the toss, the better your luck will be.

The joint promotion dubbed Toss To Your Good Luck in Singapore! introduced the tradition while carrying out the symbolic meaning. It also gave lucky diners the chance to win a trip for two to Singapore via Singapore Airlines with hotel accommodations. The grand draw winner was a lady from San Juan, Metro Manila who surely tossed her way to good luck, palanggas.

STB regional director for Southeast Asia Aloysius Arlando and assistant director for events, Rocson Chang, jetted in from Singapore to personally entertain the guests and to lead in the "tossing" of the Yu Sheng salad. The dinner was hosted to introduce Rocson Chang, the new man in charge of STB for the Philippines. There have been changes in STB’s hierarchy with lots of movements among the young executives.

Lolo Mao Singapore Sidewalk Cuisine, palanggas, located at the Crossroad Arcade in Greenhills and at the fifth level of The Podium in Ortigas Center serves authentic Singapore hawker-style food like Baby Squid, Hainanese Chicken with rice, Hokkien Mee, Singapore Chili Crab, Indonesian Rendang and Indian Mee Goreng, to name a few.

You can’t help but have a great time swinging it at Dish and dining at the popular Lolo Mao, palanggas.

Do drive carefully and have a super fun weekend.

See you!