Rocking the night away

Dishing time

It’s dishing time again, palanggas, so moi will begin with this loud, loud whisper that’s doing the rounds of Cosmo Manille. It’s about this well-known married couple who have gone their separate ways  apres only 14 short years of bliss.

The two belong to old-wealth Cosmo Manille familles. "He" was once married to a popular Southern socialite who is now happily married to a well-known taipan (who himself was once married to a retail heiress now engaged to an international businessman who in turn was also once married to an American lady).

"She" belongs to one of the south’s super respected and well-loved familles. This lady with the four B’s (as in beauty, brains, breeding and bucks), was once married to a young sugar baron (the sugar being from his mother’s side) who was also a practicing banker (a legacy of his father’s side). Apres several years, the couple went their own ways. The young sugar baron then married another Southern beauty, although they have bid each other farewell.

Meanwhile, our beauty with the four B’s married Mr. "He." Although there was no third party involved, moi guesses the fire just flickered out slowly for the couple who has had the society pack thinking all along that theirs was a perfect marriage. Oh well.

Sultry beauty and one of the country’s more popular young socialites with the four B’s, Gwendalyn "Wendy" Puyat will exchange "I do’s" with handsome mega achiever, Anthony Hotung, working heir to the Hong Kong-Shanghai Hotung Department Store chain.

Their union will take place on Friday, Sept. 27, 2 p.m. at the St. Augustine Church, Ohua Avenue in Waikiki, Hawaii. A formal cocktail-dinner reception will follow at 5 p.m. at the Kahala Mandarin Oriental on Kahala Ave. Honolulu, palanggas.

Apres a brief honeymoon, the young couple will live in Hong Kong where Anthony resides.

Then there’s this buzz about this society woman, well-known in the literary world, who is also one of our town’s more popular widows. Lately, she has been constantly seen with a super in-demand widower, a former government official and a financial genius running his own tres successful businesses. This widower was also once romantically linked to another tres high-profile literary figure who at the time was separated from her husband but who is now a widow herself.

The widower in fact hosted a very romantic dinner for his former lady love at his beautifully interiored residence. Not long after, he was seen in a cozy corner of a popular resto at The Fort having dinner by candlelight with the first widow moi mentioned above.

The sad thing, dahlings, is that widows outnumber widowers in Cosmo Manille. So, there have been times when widows announce to their friends that "a wedding will take place soon." This usually freaks out the widowers simply because they are the last to know, would you believe? The dish goes that tongues are wagging about what will happen now that his former lady love, being a widow, is free. This is one juicy triangle worth watching out for, palanggas.

Then there’s brilliant international lawyer, another lady with the four B’s, attractive New York-based Tunting Cruz Matters. She breezed into town for two weeks to visit her father and to attend to several clients. "It’s amazing how I’m still experiencing this jet-lag and even before I can get rid of it, I’m off again for New York," she told us over an excellent lunch hosted by ultra glamorous woman of style, Vicky Zubiri at the tres exclusive and chic Tower Club.

In another part of Cosmo Manille, an absolutely fun dinner for 14 hip movers and achievers belonging to the social pack was hosted by ultra glamorous former First Lady Imelda Marcos at the new and terribly "in" NUVO Restaurant and Bar. The affair was superbly organized by PR wonder boy Keren Pascual to welcome Imelda and her friend and companion, Southern lady Verna Lomotan, from a visit to China.

Making her entrance in an eye-catching embroidered dragon jacket, Imelda had all eyes on her. She told us so many fascinating stories about her recent trip to cosmopolitan Shanghai and bustling Beijing where she was entertained by China’s Prime Minister Zhu Rong Qi, no less.

The fun point of the dinner was when the former first lady told her aide to open a small valise filled up with name brand watches. "They are all fake and are so much fun to give away," she explained, as she enjoyed watching us having a field day choosing several timepieces and Mont Blanc pens.

More on this dinner sooner than soon, palanggas.

* * *

The night temperature zoomed even higher at the already a hotshot Rock Star, dahlings. The reason? The unveiling of Penshoppe’s latest cool underwear collection and the presence of Penshoppe’s gorgeous endorsers, Jonathan Kovac and Edith Werbel who jetted into town just for the fun bash, natch!

Excitement soared as a black curtain parted, revealing the sexy and comfy pieces of Penshoppe’s Innerwear collection. Penshoppe, palanggas, "designed each piece for maximum comfort yet supreme stylishness to go with the latest fashion trends. Using 100 percent pure combed cotton and other materials like Lycra, Penshoppe guarantees all day confidence and comfort," explained to moi by dynamic Prince of PR, Keren Pascual.

The PJR Innerwear collection for babes featured the signature thong, low-rise thong (perfect for low-riding jeans!), string bikini, hi-leg bikini and bikini briefs. Next came the enhancer bra, sports bra, underwire bra and tank top. For the dudes, it was the PYM Innerwear collection featuring boxer briefs, tanga briefs, low-rise sports hipster brief, supporter briefs, and tank tops.

Aside from drop-dead lookers like Jonathan and Edith, Penshoppe’s hotshot management team came in full force: president and CEO Bernie Liu; marketing SVP Albert Ong; store operations VP Dino Sagun; marketing manager Gibi Tibi; and merchandising managers Daisy Go and Chim See-Lua. Saatchi’s gal with the money, account manager, Marvi Agbulos and talented associate creative director Vic Acedillo made sure the show was perfect.

Stunningly svelte beauty Vina Morales belted a couple of songs while super handsome Victor Neri played the drum in his usual knock-‘em dead fashion. Angela Velez did a sexy number. Circulating namedroppable shining stars included handsome brothers two, Troy and KC Montero and Bernard Palanca.

Concert Queen Pops Fernandez came in her usual eye-catching way as did one of the best movie actors, drop-dead good-looker Albert Martinez. Sports Unlimited’s Dyan Castillejo lounged around as she people watched. In another corner having a blast were starmaker and mega manager Joji Dingcong with the popular Pineapple boutique’s Anton Barretto. Working society young Miss, Leah Puyat, rounded up the hotshots.

Check out the latest Penshoppe products at the nearest Penshoppe store, or at www.penshoppe.com. They’re all real cool, palanggas.

The Asian connection

Way before the coming of Spanish conquistadors, dahlings, the Philippine seas were busy avenues of trade and commerce. Merchant boats from China, Japan, Siam (Thailand), Cambodia, Sumatra, Borneo, Java and other islands of old Malaysia were familiar sights. Porcelain, silk and bronze would be bartered for wax, exotic fruits, preserved venison, and prized Sulu pearls. Such lucrative commerce attracted people from the hinterlands to settle in coastal villages.

Because China produced the most number of coveted wares, Chinese influence on crafts, social mores and eventually, cuisine, became the most pronounced, palanggas. Intermarriages during the Spanish period further cemented Chinese relationships, producing not only to a mestizo class but also a mestizo cuisine. Filipino menus gradually assimilated the technique and taste of Chinese and Spanish cuisine.

The variety of fish and fowl; vegetable and legumes; spices and flavorings, were conducive to uncomplicated Chinese cooking. Filipino wives gradually became familiar cooking with sianse and takure, toyo, tokwa and tausi, flavored liempo and kasim cuts. Mami, siopao, and siomai became merienda delights easy on the pockets.

Many towns became known for their indigenization of the pancit with ingredients attainable from their backyards. Lukban evolved a humble habhab; Malabon garnished white thick noodles with oysters and prawns. Marilao spruced its thick sauce with chicharon and kamias. Lipa came up with a thick-sauced lomi. Pancit Canton, naturellement, became an ubiquitous restaurant fare.

The Malays who adhered to the Hindi religion of India, dahlings, brought Sanskrit words and consciousness into the language. "Tala, ganda, parusa, guro, asawa, ahas," and many others were assimilated into Tagalog. Cuisine, naturellement, could not be far behind, dahlings.

Through such methods, one can still savor the tastes of the river and the sea in "paksiw and pangat." Sinigang was concocted to lower body temperature for the sweltering tropics. Coconut dishes made hot by "siling labuyo " warmed the body during the last months of typhoons. Naturellement, dahlings, all these could only be savored with the contrast of rice, the simplicity of the white staple.

Ours was a culture continually evolving, open the challenges poised by influences. But these influences could only bloom with a counterpart transformation, the Asian connection.

It was no wonder that the super smashing successful, Asian Festival held at the popular and renowned Dusit Hotel Nikko a full moon ago had the lunch and dinner bunch dashing to the hotel’s Café resto for more. This was why the festival was extended for another five days.

Leave it to Dusit to always come up with great eating, the Dusit way, palanggas.

Well, that’s our town. There’s definitely never a dull moment if you’re in a snazzy Penshoppe outfit or if you breeze in the popular Dusit Nikko Hotel, palanggas.

Smile and see you. Have a happy weekend, dahlings.