Around town
An 80th birthday definitely calls for a celebration, and so businessman Freddie Madarang gathered friends and relatives for a birthday dinner at the ballroom of Marco Polo Plaza Cebu when he reached his eighth decade. Wifey Baby with the help of daughter Farina and son Sergei saw to it that the man of the house had a night to remember.
Everything was well-planned - from the backdrop onstage which featured Freddie standees and photos showing him doing his varied preoccupations, to his grand entrance when all the guests were seated and then the blowing of birthday candles, to the video clip of his patented invention (the concealed gun holster) and finally to the musical entertainment headlined by Jun Polistico who sang compositions by Freddie himeself. Yes, the birthday celebrator is a multi-faceted personality—an inventor, a musician (he also played the conga drums at his party) and a businessman. Cheers!
○○○ A "no-occasion lunch," says Catherine Sin, Cathay Pacific manager when she invited a group of SunStar editors for lunch at Cafe Marco of Marco Polo. "Just catching up on each other and sharing news," adds marketing and communications supervisor Connie Cimafranca. At the end of the delightful lunch, we gathered that Cathay Pacific will be adding flights to the 10 weekly flights to Hongkong. And the exciting news is, there will be introductory fares starting as low as US$70++.
Also on tab are additional frequencies to San Francisco, California; Australia (Brisbane and Cairns); and Europe (France, Spain and United Kingdom).
○○○ It was a lovely Sunday afternoon when Landers Superstore hosted a VIP Preview of the membership store at Minore Park along Cardinal Rosales Ave., Cebu City. In charge of the exclusive event was A-List PR & Advertising under the stewardship of Kaye Sala and Cybill Guynn.
All of 8,000 square meters, this new addition to the city's shopping destinations, offers a wide selection of local and international goodies as well as delectable dining choices. There's a cafe called Doppio, a diner named Landers Cen- tral and the Dough & Co Bakery (famous for yummy cupcakes).
Membership perks include free haircuts at Federal Barbers and fuel discounts at the nearby Caltex station.
○○○ The Bosch Home Appliances showroom opened its doors at the Bosch Design Center on A.S. Fortuna St., Mandaue City with Hafele Philippines as exclusive distributor. Special guest was Mandaue City Mayor Luigi Quisumbing who led in the ceremonial ribbon-cutting. Opening day highlight was the raffling off of three Bosch items: dishwasher, food processor and hand blender.
○○○ A special culinary event is coming up at the Waterfront Hotels from June 8 to Aug. 31 in Mactan; and from June 9 to Aug. 31 in Lahug. Dubbed UNO's Modern Filipino Taste: A Filipino Feast for All Seasons, the festival of flavors taps the expertise of the well-known Manila-based husband-andwife team of Chefs Roland and Jackie Laudico. During the preview a fortnight ago, we got a taste of the innovative tweak that the duo made on classic Filipino and Cebuano dishes. I particularly loved their Fried Humba and their version of Pinaupoang Manok. There were many, many more. Check them out at Uno resto from June 9 to 31.