Mabuhay Restop’s Manila Vanilla!

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Enjoying wonderful world to sing, dance and dine for Bayanihan with Mabuhay Restop’s Manila Vanilla! Last week, we had awesome homestyle dinner, with regional Philippine specialties and family favorites. The place is so nice and spacious venue for meetings and special occasions. People can have breakfast, lunch or dinner meetings, Filipino-Themed Children’s Parties and Family Reunions.

We enjoyed the experience of MANILA VANILLA , the Cultural Dinner Show while we having  a sumptuous Filipino buffet dinner!

MABUHAY RESTOP in Roxas Boulevard , near Manila Ocean Park, and Rizal Park, offers a unique tourism experience of the Philippines, with the Filipinos. Enjoy Filipino homesyle cooking, different Philippine regional specialities, and some family recipes and favorites with a Filipino twist. 

It is a widely known fact that Filipinos are very hospitable people, so much so that they greet guests not by asking, “Kumusta (How are you)?” but by asking, “Kumain ka na ba (Have you eaten)?” Such quirks and other peculiar Filipino traits are celebrated in Mabuhay Restop’s Manilla Vanilla--a unique musical comedy directed by Nestor U. Torre, with music composed by Ryan Cayabyab.

The show tells the story of a Filipino family as they prepare to open their home as a bed & breakfast. Served with deliciously self-deprecating humor and lighthearted song and dance numbers, the show will tickle your funny bones and serve as an enjoyable introduction to those new to Filipino culture.

Aside from a night of pop-cultural entertainment, audiences will also get to enjoy a delicious Filipino buffet of home-style dishes and different regional specialties.

Mabuhay Restop’s Manila Vanilla! stars Celine Fabie of the Ryan Cayabyab Singers and Spotlight Artist Centre's "Katy: The Musical," Astarte Abrahan of Resorts World Manila's "The Sound of Music" and Repertory Philippines' "A Portrait of the Artist as a Filipino"; singer and comedian Andy Bais; and entertainer and Gawad Kalinga volunteer Edward Fernandez.

As a museum, travel café, and social enterprise in one, Mabuhay Restop is devoted to promoting Philippine culture and heritage in creative ways while making a difference. The social enterprise has committed to give 30% of Mabuhay Restop’s net income to Gawad Kalinga, a Filipino nation-building movement dedicated to eradicating poverty and restoring human dignity through building empowered and sustainable communities

“At Mabuhay Restop, we want our guests to get to know and experience the Philippines like never before,” says owner and president Rose Cabrera, a UCLA-educated California lawyer and GK advocate. 

“We don’t just offer great food and entertainment; we also offer voluntourism tours and other avenues to provide visitors with an opportunity to create better lives for communities who need it most.”

Other attractions to its repertoire of shows, Mabuhay Restop also offers something for the kids and kids-at-heart with Mga Kwento ni Tita Beauty, also written and directed by Nestor U. Torre. A spin-off from Mga Kwento ni Lola Basyang, the show features creative and theatrical storytelling featuring 6 original Filipino and English tales imbibed with valuable moral lessons. This will be Saturdays (3pm) show and includes special Pinoy Merienda for the kids!

For a different Philippine travel experience, Mabuhay Restop offers the Voluntourism or Kalinga Tours. 

They provides visitors a totally different Philippine travel experience by taking them not just to beautiful tourist spots in Bicol, Bacolod, Palawan, and Davao, but also to several Gawad Kalinga villages, where they can experience the warmth and hospitality of the Filipinos, practice compassion in action, and understand the soul of bayanihan. 

Additionally, Mabuhay Restop also offers the Bayan Tour, a 3-hour guided and interactive tour in Rizal Park for visitors who wish to learn more about the Philippines and the Filipino. This tour features the one-of-a kinds "I am Filipino" art exhibit with 12 Filipino artists like Ugu Bigyan, Nemi Miranda, Ramon Orlina, Ryan Cayabyab, JC Buendia and Ernie Francisco, and Albert Badz Magsumbol.

 Stained glass art displayed above their buffet table

Ultimately, Mabuhay Restop aims to make a difference in the lives of Filipinos through social tourism and entrepreneurship. “We want to be able to set an example to other entrepreneurs by showing it is profitable to invest in the poor and partner with them through social enterprises.”

Let's experience the Philippines like never before by joining a KALINGA TOUR which will take you not just to Philippine tourist spots, but also to a Gawad Kalinga village where you will experience the much vaunted warmth and hospitality of the Filipino, practice compassion in action, and discover hope.

More pictures, click Here.

Gourmand World Cookbooks Award

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Food writing ! More fun in the Philippines! This was a most blessed foodie year. The following books were named the Philippine national winners in the Gourmand World Cookbooks Awards:

1. The Foods of Jose Rizal by Felice Sta. Maria (National winner, Best Food History book)

2. Savor the Word: Ten Years of the Doreen Gamboa Fernandez Food Writing Awards edited by 

     Micky Fenix, Maya Besa Roxas, Felice Sta. Maria (National winner, Best Food Literature Book)

3. Linamnam: Eating One’s Way Around the Philippines by Claude Tayag and Mary Ann     Quioc-Tayag (National winner, Best Culinary Travel Guide)

4. Larry Can’t Cook: How Larry J. Cruz built an Empire that redefined Filipino dining by the LJC Group (National winner, Best Corporate Cookbook)

5. Inside a Chef's Life by Bruce Lim (National winner, Best TV Celebrity Book--Rest of the World)

6. Journal for Cooks and Foodies by The Maya Kitchen (National winner, Best Easy Recipes Book)

7. Baking Secrets by RV Manabat (National winner, Best Desserts Book

Aetas Blanket Weaving Center at Pampanga Visited by Villar

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‘Katutubong kababaihan’ (Aetas) belonging to thousands of Filipinos who are beneficiaries of  her livelihood projects was visited yesterday by former Las Pinas Rep. Cynthia Villar, who is running for senator under the Nacionalista Party-Team PNoy.

She visited the handloom weaving center to check on the sustainability of the project given a year ago to Aetas from the towns of Porac, Mabalacat and Florida, Pampanga. Popularly known as “Misis Hanep Buhay” due to her programs of giving opportunities to our countrymen, especially women, to earn a living, checks on the woven blanket made by women Aetas, who were beneficiaries of her livelihood projects.

Villar has been going around the country to share her livelihood projects. For being consistently entered the “winning circle” of senators preferred by voters in the coming May elections based on various election surveys, has obtained recognition from the United Nation for her livelihood projects from wastes. In running for senator, the three-term congresswoman, said she wants to bring her projects nationwide. “Mas malawak ang maaabot ng aking mga proyekto kung ako’y magiging senador,” assured Villar.
 

Even before she decided to run for senator, Villar has already handed six handloom equipment for blanket making to these Aetas. She likewise helped them acquired the necessary training and skills needed for this particular livelihood project.

Together with Pampanga Gov. Lilia Pineda, Villar handed certificates to the Aetas attesting to the fact that they have finished their training in blanket making.

'Habemus papem': Bergoglio takes name Pope Francis I as the new Pope

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"Let us begin this journey together; it is a friendship of love, trust and faith between us, let us pray for always for one another, for the whole world because - let us have a big brotherhood." 

- - - Pope Francis I

'Habemus papem': Bergoglio takes name Pope Francis I as the new Pope from Argentina. Pope Francis I, the former Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Buenos Aires, is a priest of holinesss and tremendous modesty of manner – a man who, until now, has taken the bus to work.

His challenge is clear. He needs to learn from Benedict XVI's greatest success – and his greatest failure. The success was the restoration of reverent, mystical worship to the centre of Catholic life, an achievement that has inspired a dynamic generation of young Catholics. The failure was Benedict's inability to reform the corrupt structures of the Roman curia, which should be recognised as the rotten core of the abuse crisis. 

The historic decision to choose a Pope from the New World will perhaps make that task easier. Almost his first words as Pope were that he is “from far away”.

Latest Pulse Asia survey: Villar Ranks No. 4

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The managing director of the Villar Foundation, Cynthia Villar has been addressing the concerns of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) for the past 20 years.  Being the three-time congresswoman, she also has gained the moniker “Misis Hanep Buhay” due to her programs giving jobs to poor Filipinos through her livelihood projects, was also No. 4 in the SWS survey last February 15 to 17. 

In the latest Pulse Asia survey covering the period of February 24 to February 28, 2013, TEAM PNoy senatorial candidate, former Las Pinas Rep. Cynthia Villar Ranks No. 4.

She obtained 44.0 percent of votes in the latest Pulse Asia survey. The results of various election surveys where she consistently belonged to the Top 12, Villar said, inspires her to work harder to convey her message to the people.

She thanked the Filipino people for their continuous support and trust and confidence in her programs and advocacies that she wants to bring on a national scope. The wife of former House Speaker and Senate President, Senator Manny Villar, assured to diligently do her ‘mandated’ duties if she becomes senator while strictly adhering to President Noynoy Aquino’s righteous path.

“Taos puso po akong nagpapasalamat sa inyong lahat, una-unang sa ating Panginoon sa patuloy na paggabay sa akin at sa lahat ng sumusuporta upang manatili ako sa Magic 12. Makaaasa po kayong lalo kong pagsusumikapang maiparating ang aking mensahe sa buong kapuluan,” stressed Villar who disclosed she feels very happy with the survey results.