The Next Cucina Idol Cook-Off Challenge Grand Winners

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Congratulations to The Next Cucina Idol Cook-Off Challenge Grand Winners from both Culinary Enthusiasts Division and Culinary Students Dvision, namely Mercedita Madrona and Kimberly Jane Solejon respectively who both won a staggering P 250,000 kitchen showcase prize for beating other finalists from the recent Melawares Culinary Clash held last Saturday, October 11, 2014 at the Global Culinary and Hospitality Academy in Ortigas Center, Pasig City.

The other finalists of the culinary competition, namely Maria Luisa Juanson, Maridel Pacleb, Ayah Potian, and Vivian Tiongkiao from the Culinary Enthusiasts Division, plus Maverick Javier and Mark Johnsent Talento from the Culinary Students Division, all went home with a prize of P 25,000 each. Not bad since all contestants were able to join the contest by simply purchasing P500.00-worth of Melawares, Bestware, Perfect Dining, and Urban Kitchen products and filling out an online contest registration found at the Melawares Cusina Club Facebook page, and submitting online the photos of their entries. Preliminary winners were chosen based on the plating, cleanliness and preparation, and number of Facebook shares.


The chosen finalists for the Culinary Students Division were asked to impress the judges with their star dish using chicken, while those in the Cooking Enthusiasts Division tried to stand out from the competition with their original fish recipe.Mercedita impressed the judges with her Adobo Marinated Hito while Kimberly Jane made it to the top with her Pan-Seared Chicken.

Pride Press Party 2014: LGBT Community Launches 20th Anniversary of Metro Manila Pride March

Wazzup Pilipinas!
In support of the LGBT community, your friendly neighborhood blogger went out of his way to attend a press launch on a Saturday night. I usually reserve my weekends for family but since it's the first time Wazzup Pilipinas was invited by the organizers, curiosity got the best of us to trek to an unfamiliar territory in Quezon City.


Coinciding with the National Coming Out Day - a civil awareness day that recognizes the bravery of lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgenders in the face of hardships in their everyday lives, Task Force Pride (TFP) Philippines, official convener of the annual community-driven Metro Manila Pride March, launched the 2014 Metro Manila Pride Season with the Pride Press Party last October 11 at the Boho Sarapsody Bistro located in Cubao, Quezon City.

I had a bit trouble finding the place since Boho Sarapsody Bistro was a residential house in Ermin Garcia Avenue renovated as a cool crash and hang-out spot. As indicated on their Facebook page: " In our group of friends, there's always one person in the group who has the go-to house where we are all welcome to crash and hangout. We are that house." True enough, the place seems like your everyday friendly neighborhood's house perked up a bit and added with a bar that serves drinks and surprisingly great meals.

Meet the Singh Family: An Interview with the Homeowners at Lancaster New City Cavite

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Meet Mr. Butch and Ms. Marivin of the Singh family, with their grandson Patrich, proud homeowners of a 3-bedroom Margaret home at Somerset Village 4, one of the many phases inside Lancaster Estates, "a 1,400-hectare English countryside-inspired community in Lancaster New City Cavite Mega Manila, specifically Alapan located in Imus, Cavite, that is just 15 to 20 minutes away from NAIA airport."  Their new home was a gift from their loving son, the father of Patrich, who works abroad for a living. Amazingly, the house cost only 1.9M which was a bargain since

Your friendly neighborhood pambansang blogger met them after lunch time at Gregoria's Kitchenette where we dined on delicious Sinigang na Baboy, Afritadang Manok and Garlic Butter Shrimps immediately after our tour of Lancaster New City Cavite.

It was an awesome opportunity to interview them about their new home which was turned over to them last January of this year. They started renovating the house from its bare form to its present state last March, and was able to move in last April. This means, as of this writing, they've been staying in their adorable new home for six months already.


What the couple liked about their new home is that "the neighborhood is so peaceful especially at night. There's also no traffic and pollution as compared to our previous home which we were just renting. We are also so happy to share that our grandson has gained lots of new friends with the neighborhood kids. We are confident that he will be safe as our village is guarded 24 hours a day. We can instruct the guard not to let the children out so they won't get into trouble outside the village."