Celebrating everything Japanese

Little Tokyo Garden, a compound of authentic Japanese restaurants in Makati City, has chosen Japan’s No. 1 beer Asahi Super Dry to be its partner in offering its patrons an authentic Japanese experience.

The complex houses a series of Japanese restaurants frequented by locals and restaurateurs who relish quality Japanese food. It’s also a place for Japanese expats longing for the taste of home. The restaurants are owned and managed by a Japanese group and the food and ingredients are shipped directly from Japan and meticulously prepared by Japanese chefs.

To celebrate this partnership with Little Tokyo Garden, Asia Brewery Inc. presented the Asahi Karakuchi Beer Festival, which gathered Japanese food lovers. The event started with a tuna-cutting ceremony performed by Nodasho’s Chef Hasegawa followed by song performances from British-Japanese pop singer and songwriter Baby M.

There was also a Wan Ko Soba eating competition participated by 15 contestants who were up to the challenge of consuming the most bowls in two minutes; and live Japanese painting by artists Atsuko Yamagata and Marie Ikura while the audience enjoyed the music from Yu Miyoshi’s koto performance. The crowd also enjoyed jazz performances from the Verve Band led by Japanese OPM artist Aisaku Yokogawa.

Guests were delighted to experience excellent Japanese food, Japanese tradition through the activities and games, and the crisp and refreshing flavors of Asahi Super Dry.

Since its Japan debut in 1987 as the first karakuchi (dry beer), Asahi Super Dry has continued to expand its popularity offering a refreshing good taste and has gained overwhelming acceptance worldwide. It is brought to the Philippines by Asia Brewery Inc. 

(Little Tokyo Garden is located at 2277 Pasong Tamo corner Amorsolo St., Legazpi Village, Makati City. For Asahi Super Dry inquiries, call 0905-4985210.)

Stronger connections

Following its announcement of the fastest gigabit broadband plan in the Philippines, PLDT HOME Fibr conducted product review among media partners at Forbes Park in Makati City.

Guests were part of the pioneer group to experience the country’s first 1Gbps broadband plan in the spacious residence of Italian furniture brand Minotti Manila general manager and Living Innovations president Ferdie Ong.

Upon entrance, the FAM CAM device was set up to demonstrate its home monitoring features. It is best controlled with Telpad, an all-in-one landline, broadband and tablet device. The first living room displayed the TVolution Stick, which transforms an HDMI-capable TV into a fully functioning Windows computer. The second living room featured iflix and Fox content and the TVolution Box, which turns an ordinary TV into an Internet TV.

The house was also set up with gaming areas backed by the powerful 1Gbps broadband speed of PLDT HOME Fibr, allowing guests to experience seamless and lag-free digital entertainment. Cignal Digital TV channels also run on Fibr.

PLDT HOME Fibr also offers the groundbreaking symmetrical speed that gives users to equal upload and download speeds. And most recently, it unveiled its new Power Plus Plan at a certain price, which offers 50Mbps.

Customers who apply before Jan. 31, 2016 will have their speed boosted to 100Mbps for the first six months of their subscription.

PLDT HOME Fibr delivers the first and fastest Internet of up to 1Gbps, allowing high-speed browsing of multiple websites and the country’s first symmetrical speed service. Fibr is now available in over 1,600 Fibr-powered villages nationwide including Valle Verde 1 to 6, Forbes Park, Dasmariñas Village and Ayala Alabang Village, among others.

(For more information, visit pldthome.com/fibr.)

Sights & sounds of Christmas

Experience a different kind of holiday in the heart of the South through the “Lights of Christmas” at Filinvest City, Alabang this month.

For three consecutive years now, Filinvest City has stayed true to its commitment to reinvent the Yuletide celebrations and traditions with a plethora of sights and sounds that the community in the south has grown to love. 

This year’s theme “Lights of Christmas” highlights the display of 300,000 marvelous lights at the River Park accompanied by the familiar sounds of Christmas carols.

Filinvest Alabang Inc. EVP Catherine Ilagan said, “We offer this Christmas musical lights show to give everyone a glimpse of the kind of color, thrill and fun that they can expect here at Filinvest City, not just for the whole of December, but for all the days and months of the year.”

The annual Christmas Lights show will be playing every 30 minutes from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. until Dec. 30. Fireworks display happens every weekend starting at 8:30 p.m.

Catch these performances at 7 p.m. at the River Park: the Ateneo Glee Club, Dec. 16; Ateneo Chamber Singers, Dec. 18; Jason Dy, Dec. 19; Nyoy Volante, Dec. 26; and other exciting surprise celebrity performers on Dec. 27 and 28. Enjoy these performances while dining at the al fresco area of the River Park’s selection of restaurants.

A staging of Peter Pan by Ballet Philippines will be on Dec. 18 to 20, 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. at 2/F, Carousel Court of the Festival Supermall.

Record-breaking lechon party!

A grand lechon party by Calata Corp., one of the biggest agribusiness conglomerates in the country, broke the Guinness World Record for the largest serving of roast pork. The party served 4,046 kilos of lechon!

 Calata Corp. beats Mexico’s record of 3,094.2 kilos of cochinita pibil, a popular roast pork dish in its Yucatan region.

As part of the company’s 16th anniversary, the lechon party held at the Liwasang Aurora, Quezon City Memorial Circle was also the company’s early Christmas treat for thousands of underprivileged Metro Manila residents. 

Chairman and CEO of Calata Corp. Joseph Calata said, “This year, we are celebrating 16 successful years in the business by giving back to the community. This is a momentous occasion not just for the company but also for the Philippines as we broke the Guinness World Record for the largest serving of lechon. We hope that through this achievement, we will generate attention for the often overlooked farming industry, especially among the younger generation of Filipinos.”

Calata Corp. is the largest retailer and distributor of agrochemical brands, feeds, fertilizers, veterinary medicines and seeds in the country. It also owns and operates the AGRI chain of retail stores, the largest retailer of choice agricultural supply brands like AGRI Crop Protection, Heisenberg veterinary medicines, Thomson and Hine, as well as Ivansmith agrochemicals.

Aside from breaking a Guinness World Record, the company’s lechon party also aims to raise awareness in the importance of the farming and agriculture industry, especially among the Filipino youth.

(Follow me on Instagram @pepperteehankee.)