Running out of Valentine’s Day ideas? Don't hit the panic button just yet, men...

AHH, VALENTINE’S Day. That most dreaded time of the year…for men.

Oh yeah, we gals just love Valentine’s Day. Trust me guys.

Even if she says, “Oh I don’t care about Valentine’s Day. It’s just another commercial holiday thought up by merchandisers and retailers to get us to buy stuff and boost their sales after Christmas,” she doesn’t mean it. She expects you to give her a present, today. And if you do, she’ll be secretly thrilled.

So maybe she’ll say something like, “Ohh, you didn’t have to. I told you not to get me any gift.” DO NOT believe her. You WILL get added pogi points in that scorecard she keeps in her head, if you give her a cute or thoughtful present.

Even higher pogi points goes to the man who brings his lady out to dinner, or better yet, cooks her a meal. Why? Because food and romance are tied together like a happy couple. When you are satiated with a meal, your body releases dopamine, exactly the same neurotransmitters released by your brain when you are in love.

"Falling in love causes our body to release a flood of feel-good chemicals that trigger specific physical reactions," said Pat Mumby, PhD, co-director of the Loyola Sexual Wellness Clinic and professor, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, at the Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine. "This internal elixir of love is responsible for making our cheeks flush, our palms sweat and our hearts race." (http://bit.ly/1cuOjFo)

Chocolates, for instance, also release dopamines in your brain, which is why when you eat it, you just feel good all over. It’s like a happy pill that makes you feel warm, content, and secure. (Royce’ Nama dark chocolates are just the best for me. But if you’re in the mood for more after-romance romancing, studies show that white chocolates release more dopamines in the brain, than ordinary milk or dark chocolates. Try out the Potato Chip Fromage Blanc for a whimsical sexy treat.)

Falling in love, eating chocolates - your brain releases the same kind of feel-good chemicals in your brain called dopamines. For that feeling of euphoria and added romance, get her some Royce' chocolates. (Photo from http://chocolateihaveknown.files.wordpress.com)

An alternative is to prepare a picnic dinner and spend the Valentine evening at Fort Santiago in Intramuros where the world-famous Philippine Madrigal Singers will be performing at 6:30 pm in “Sining sa Muling Pagbabago.” It’s also an art and photo sale to raise funds for the survivors of Supertyphoon Yolanda. The best part is, it’s free admission! (Uncouples, dateless individuals, barkadas, and families are welcome as well!)

If you’re already in that stage where you go on vacations together, bring her to Tagaytay where the cool weather is conducive to lots of hugging and snuggling. (Discovery Country Suites is a favorite of mine. Aside from the awesome individually decorated rooms, the cuisine served at its Verbena restaurant has never failed to excite me.)

Or go for a staycation in the metro – I’m pretty sure there are a number of boutique hotels around your area just dying to host you and your honey.  (My personal getaway in Quezon City is Cocoon Boutique Hotel with its warm wood interiors and green theme. It’s also right in the heart of the food and dining area of Timog/Tomas Morato Ave. So you can check in early, park there, walk to a restaurant for your Valentine meal, then go back to your room for a late-night swim before uhm, bed.)

What about presents?

Treat her to a massage at home. (Photo from
http://www.gpatlas.org.au)

We gals love jewelry.  The sparklier and more expensive, the better.

Of course, if you’re still in the dating stage and not yet quite “a thing” with the girl in the accounting department, a cute bracelet with a set of charms will do the trick. (Check out Silverworks for their affordable silver jewelry or Promod, a clothing store which carries a lot of tasteful and chic bracelets, necklaces, and earrings. I love shopping there especially during sales.)

If you’re already “a couple,” a set of siopao pearl earrings would make a nice statement. It’s still easier on the pocket than jewelry from Tiffany’s – she will have to wait ‘til you’re married for that, or if you win tonight’s Superlotto – but tells her that you’re in this relationship for the long haul. (Go to your friendly Muslim alahera in Greenhills.  Ask your sister or gal pals for a personal recommendation.)

If you’re gifting your wife, please don’t give her a new frying pan, or a new washing machine unless she asks for it. I know husbands are already in the practical mode when they get to a certain point in their marriage, but trust your wives enough that they will tell you when they need those things.

For Valentine’s Day, however, aside from a big bad bling! you can also give her the gift of health. Why not treat her to her very own spa massage at home? She works hard at her job, she takes of the kids, too (as well as you, you big baby!), and thus, deserves to relax. Bundle up the kids and take them to your mother-in-law, and arrange a real therapeutic massage for the wifey. (Call Spa Works at 975-3255, 394-8674, (0917) 596-0011, (0922) 8320111. They bring everything, the massage bed, the spa music, and the therapeutic oils. Very efficient.)

Give her that youthful glow-present her with some
Blooming-G from Bausch.

While you’re at it, give her food and beauty supplements to keep her healthy and radiant. Lately, I’ve been hearing the ladies rave over Blooming-G, which was popularized by actress-singer Sunshine Cruz. I’ve always admired this girl for managing to smile and radiate positive energy even under the most trying of circumstances. And notice how her skin glows?!    

Blooming-G apparently is made of Borage oil, a type of essential fatty acid that contains high amounts of gamma-linolenic acid (GLA), also known as omega-6. Basically it helps a woman retain skin moisture and protects skin cells from damage.

Florinda San Antonio, founder of Bauch Laboratories, underlines the effects of Blooming-G, not only on physical wellness, but on a holistic approach: “Blooming-G was developed to help today’s women live happier, more meaningful lives through its health and beauty benefits. When a woman feels good about herself, she gains the confidence to do more and standout. That is our goal; to improve the quality of life through products that are trustworthy”.

So remember that men - the key is to make your woman feel good about herself. And if she’s happy, obviously she will strive to make you happy as well. Ahem.

So ladies, enjoy this day. Say thank you to the men or significant other who make you feel wonderful crazy and in love. Be glad for the present and more time with your beloved.

Happy Valentine’s Day to all! 

(This piece would've been in the BusinessMirror today, Feb. 14, 2014 in my Something Like Life column, but due to a huge volume of ads, was displaced. Anyhoo, thank you for always supporting us, dear advertisers! We love you!)

The happiest girl today

...must be none other than Cecile Ang, daughter of Ramon S. Ang, CEO of San Miguel Corp. Why you may ask? Well it's because Valentine's Day has been extremely kind to this exceptionally talented young lady, and no, I'm not talking about her love life.

Check this out:


This was taken at about 5 pm today at the Royce' outlet in TriNoma. Its chocolates are almost sold out. The sales girl told me this was the first time it's happened to them, and when I asked if there were any more stocks coming in, she said there would be some sent over by the Greenbelt 5 branch. But a media colleague said, he passed by that kiosk, and all its chocolates were sold out also! I espied some boxes in the TriNoma branch's chillers, but the sales girl said these were already reserved and paid for.

Whoa! Either there are a lot of smart boys/men out there looking to impress their girlfriends/wives/mistresses, or the ladies have become demanding and more discerning in their tastes. Ahem. Sorry boys, bawal na ang Goya, Toblerone, at Cadbury's ngayon. haha ;p

(Cecile Ang, Royce' Chocolates' local franchisee. She is also president of Diamond Hotel, which is owned by her father, San Miguel CEO Ramon S. Ang. Photo from Philstar.com)

Of course, Cecile is none other than the franchise owner of this uber-hot Japanese chocolate brand, which has outlets also at the Power Plant in Rockwell and at Robinsons Place in Ermita. Cecile knows I'm a great fan of Royce', and I usually buy the Nama champagne chocolate and its dark chocolate variants.

I asked her last November when she was bringing in the brand's equally delicious ice cream. In an email, she said, "We are planning to open a bigger shop that will have Royce' ice cream and chocolate drinks and baked goods. We are just looking for an available space."

Yay! Can't wait.

A different kind of Valentine story

(Mars Reyes - founder of Joseph & Jaemark's, and his new partners Neneng and Reggie Arceo.)
THIS being the month of hearts, let me share a different kind of Valentine story.

You could say that it was for the love of their five-year-old Matthew that persuaded Reggie and Neneng Arceo to invest in reopening Joseph & Jaemark’s, considered the Holy Grail in grilled-tuna goodness among local foodies.

Neneng narrates that Matthew was just desperate for the “crispy fish” from the restaurant’s Magallanes branch. But the branch closed already, so her husband had to look for the restaurant’s founder, Mars Reyes, to persuade him to partner with the couple and reopen.

“If it’s not Jollibee, it’s Joseph & Jaemark’s that Matthew looks for,” says Reggie. “When I found Mars—matagal na akong fan since the Katipunan [branch] days—I gave him the big ‘What if?’ I’m not a Henry Sy. I had to look for the financing, I had to look for people to put it up, but, you know, after less than a year, nabuo namin ’to, from k’wento to meeting to opening.”

(Steaming bowl of hearty Halaan soup.)

You could also say that it was because of his passion for tuna and his customers that led Mars to allow himself to be drawn into the zealousness of Reggie and Neneng to re-establish the landmark restaurant, now in its new location at Sgt. Esguerra, Quezon City. Of course, there was some amount of faith as well that convinced Mars that the couple and their partners were the right people to do business with.

“Madaming ibang nag-offer na i-reopen ang restaurant. Pero nakita ko naman [sina Reggie] nasa tamang edad, may maturity, ’di tulad ng iba—madaming pera nga, pero sobrang bata. Mahirap ’yung ganun, kasi baka madaling magbago-bago ng pag-iisip. ’Tsaka sina Reggie ang unang kumausap sa akin, at matagal na din silang customer. Alam ko seryoso sila. Inisip ko din meron market agad kasi dahil sa mga kaibigan ni Reggie. Madali s’yang humila ng tao,” Mars says.

The Arceo couple admits that while they did have a broadcasting business before, the food industry was a completely different animal. So they got other partners who could fill in the other skills needed to run a business, and were knowledgeable in financial projections, planning supplies, recording inventories—mostly financial/administrative stuff. “S’werte kami ni Mars at nakahanap kami ng mga business partners na summa cum laude in Business Administration,” according to Reggie.

It seems that despite some minor setbacks, everything just fell into place as well. Finding the Sgt. Esguerra location was quite providential. They were about to close the deal on a 60-sq-m space along Mother Ignacia, but when they returned to give the reservation fee, the building owner told them someone else had already ponied up the fee to rent the space.

(Guinataang Kuhol w/ a hint of curry.)

“So Mars and I, riding on my 600cc motorbike, started cruising the area looking for the other vacant space that Mars had noticed but just couldn’t remember the exact location. Then we found [the Sgt. Esguerra spot]; we inspected the area, saw its huge size, and thought the Filipino interiors even fit with the kind of food we were going to serve,” Reggie says.

Mars says he just had a “good feeling” about the space, and soon after, they spoke to the lessor and managed to get a deal even better than the initial space they had originally eyed. And voila! The restaurant reopened in November 2010, much to the delight of many of its devoted aficionados. (Rumor has it that even Sharon Cuneta—a long-time fan of the restaurant—told her driver to immediately stop the car when she happened to pass by the new location. To her delight, it still served her old favorites and has been a regular customer since.)

Just to backtrack a little, Mars established Joseph & Jaemark’s—named after his two children—back in 1993 to while the time away while he was on vacation from his job on one of those Miami cruise lines. He saw the Cuneta Astrodome in Pasay City being built, which would then become the home of the PBA games, and he applied for a space. At first, he just offered light snacks like sandwiches and goto at his still-nameless stall, one of the 22 which offered similar fare to customers, mostly to fans of the games.

But a cousin visiting from General Santos encouraged Mars to offer something different that would make the stall stand out from the rest. The cousin suggested jaws (panga) of tuna, which was such a delicacy in GenSan and Davao. So Mars told his cousin to send him some and started grilling them. Needless to say, the dish became an instant hit. (The Astrodome’s capacity is about 11,000 – a veritable captured market for all the small stall owners, Mars points out.)

(Crispy buntot, or tail of the tuna)

While he had no formal culinary training, Mars says he had learned a trick or two from his colleagues from the hotels and cruise ships he worked for. With some experimentation, he came up with his winning basting sauce for the grilled Panga, and soon after he was grilling tuna belly, while the tail (buntot) of the tuna, he deep-fried to a crisp. “Actually 'yung buntot iniihaw ko pa dati. Kaya lang ang dami kong natanggap na reklamo sa buntot na ang tagal maluto; sunog na balat, di pa luto. Pinag-aralan ko kung pano gawin para di masunog at mabilis maluto. Kaya naisip kong i-deep fry ko.” Just think of it as a healthy crispy pata.

After only two months in operation, and with business brisk, Mars completely forgot about returning to his old job in Miami. “Nag-enjoy na ako eh,” he chuckles, especially since he started meeting the players and a number of well-heeled customers, the VIPs, some of whom would motor from their palatial homes to Pasay just to eat his food.

After every game, basketball players like Robert Jaworksi would descend on the little stall to gorge on Mars’ grilled tuna specialties. “Lima [buntot] ang in-order nun,” Mars says of Jaworksi, marveling at the appetite of the star player and that of his colleagues, especially after a grueling game.

And this being the month of hearts, Mars and Neneng also shares that one-time bold actress Cristina Gonzales said in one interview that during their courtship, her then-suitor, now husband Alfred Romualdez, took her out to J&J (“a hole-in-the-wall kainan”) on a date. “The food was good, huh! At mura,” the sexy star told Philippine Star’s Ricky Lo last year. Indeed, the restaurant not only satisfied starving tummies, but hungry hearts as well.

(Thai-style Catfish salad - a crispy-sweet 'uya'-breaker.)

Joseph & Jaemark’s reputation as a haven of "pangantot" (panga and buntot) spread, and soon the restaurant branched out to other areas (Katipunan, Makati, Magallanes and C5).

Aside from the love and passion that rebuilt Joseph & Jaemark’s, there is also the genuine respect for a fellow foodie. Culinary heir Sandy Daza, according to Mars, graciously shared recipes for dishes like the crispy catfish salad to add to the restaurant’s menu. “Sabi [ni Sandy], ‘Pare, kailangan mo nito para ma-break [ang lasa ng mga ihaw].’ Napakabait na mama.” Mars says before he serves a new dish, he asks Sandy to taste it first. “S’ya nagsasabi sa akin kung okay na, or kung meron pinapadagdag s’ya [na ingredient]. Kasi s’ya ang nag-culinary arts so alam nya ’yan.” Sandy has become a reliable friend and a generous spirit to Mars since his Cuneta days.

Then it is my own fondness for simple food cooked really well that has made me into a certified fan of this restaurant, now in its nth reincarnation in Quezon City.

(Stuffed pechay - with pork and tinapa - a surprisingly pleasant combination.)

Aside from the deliriously delectable tuna dishes, I love the hearty Halaan soup, a spicy and smoky stuffed cabbage (with pork and tinapa, what a surprisingly pleasant combination! again, a Sandy Daza creation), and Mars’ own take on the ginataang kuhol, with a hint of curry. All of these no-nonsense dishes reminds one’s palate of my Lola’s home cooking, or evokes memories of a leisurely food trip to the provinces eating at roadstop stalls and tasting the local cuisine. It’s all very rustic and comforting.

The prices of the dishes continue to be friendly on the pocket. The highest-priced dish is the crispy pata (P460)—yes, aside from seafood specialties, there are down-home pork dishes as well.

While Reggie is wont to declare that reopening Joseph & Jaemark’s Family Grill is “in the service of the Filipino palate,” to me it is all about love, passion and faith—just like any great Valentine romance.

(The main headliner at Joseph&Jaemark's - Grilled Panga or Jaws of the Tuna)

(A condensed version of this piece was published in the BusinessMirror, Feb. 4, 2011. My column, Something Like Life, is published every Friday in the paper's Life section. I own the copyright to photos that appear here. Joseph & Jaemark's is at #5 Sgt. Esguerra, South Triangle, Quezon City. For reservations or inquiries, pls. call 410-TUNA. Check out its Facebook page here.)

Recessionista love

For Mr. Matsumoto, Valentine’s Days past meant splurging on $700 to $1,000 dinners, $400 and $500 dresses from Theory and Eli Tahari, and jewelry from Tiffany’s. This year, he and his wife are planning a meal at home. The menu includes foie gras with persimmon port and lobster sous vide with yuzu butter, but they will split the $125 cost. (Read the rest here.)

Guy proposes to FA girlfriend

CUTE story in time for Valentine's Day:

LOVE must be in the air: A flight attendant who flew in from Korea on Thursday morning was offered a diamond engagement ring by her love-struck Filipino boyfriend shortly after debarking at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

With a bouquet of yellow flowers in one hand and a diamond ring of unknown carat on the other, Eugene Padua knelt on his knee and asked Marian Ocampo, 23, that much-awaited question: “Will you marry me?” (Read the rest in BusinessMirror)