Joyfully Yours

Manila Chamber Orchestra (MCO) Foundation, home of some of our country's finest artists today, is on its 26th year this 2011. Like their past years, this year's Great Performances are guaranteed to be very interesting with musicians playing different instuments and coming from different countries. As Executive Director of MCO Foundation Angeli Nacino said in her email, "Celebrate life through art and music with the MCO Foundation!"

Got kids?

If your kids love music or play any instrument, bring them here to experience a magical night filled up with different sounds to enhance their love of music.

Want a romantic date?

Having a date here with your special someone will surely bring out the romance and start the fireworks. Just don't forget an early romantic dinner first to set up the mood.

Looking for a gift?

Giving MCO Foundation's concert tickets to your parents, siblings or friends will show how much you care for them to have a relaxing good night filled with wonderful sounds serenading their ears. Impress your the parents of your special someone or your boss by giving these tickets to show how cultured you are!

To start the Great Performance Series 2011, "Marimba and Friends" will be the first concert on July 16, 2011 (Saturday) at 7:30pm in Philamlife Auditorium, United Nations, Manila. Listen to the sounds of marimbist Dena Fernandez, saxophonist Michael Young and pianists Peter Porticos and Lourdes de Leon Gregorio as they play classical, romantic, neo-romantic and tango music to spice up the night.

Repertoire includes: Liszt's Rhapsody #12; Duet arranged for Marimba and sax (Bach's 2-part invention #8, Canon by Pachelbel and Libertango by Pizzola); Bach's Concert #4, 3rd movement; Mozart's Sonata #13.

Carmencita Sipin-Aspiras, the first Filipina to graduate from Vienna Academy for the Performing Arts will be staging a piano concert on September 11, 2011 (Sunday) at 6pm in Philamlife Auditorium. She is also the first Asian and the only Filipina grand prize winner of the Bonn International Beethhoven Competition. She will be playing the music of Brahms, Chopin and Schumann.

On November 2011 at the Philamlife Auditorium, a concert entitled "Flute Divertissimento" will enchant its viewers with principal flutist Ullrich Muller-Doppler who is one of the most sought after soloists and flute pedagogues in the world today. He has played with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, the Rome Festival Orchestra, the Belgium Symphony Orchestra and has given masterclasses in Boston, Atlanta, New Orleans, Virginia, Rome, Poland, Russia and Sweden. Accompanying him will be flutist Caitlin Coyiuto and pianist Rudolf Pelaez Golez, both of them are from the Philippines. Caitlin is one of today's most promising flutists in the Philippines while Rudolf is the Grand Prize winner of the First Asian Chopin Piano Competition.

Ticket are available at www.ticketworld.com.ph. Ticket prices are PhP1000 for Orchestra Premiere Seats (Limited); PhP500 for Orchestra Left; PhP300 for Orchestra Right; PhP500 for Balcony Center and Left and PhP300 for Balcony Right. Students and faculty members get 50% on any seat!

For more details, you may call MCO Foundation at 750-0768.

Mayor Alfredo "JR" Coro, mayor of Del Carmen town on Surigao del Norte’s Siargao Island, has confirmed his municipality’s participation as one of the exhibitors at the 1st International Agriculture and Tourism Expo on June 30 to July 2, 2011 at the World Trade Center in Pasay City. He will lead his town’s drive to protect the mangrove areas in which his municipality is very rich in. He is also promoting his town as the next tourism destination.

Image taken from http://www.kalinawresort.com/

Since March, a sty has been bothering my left eye. It is not obvious when you look into my eye because the sty is quite hidden in my eyelid but when touched, there's a bubble-like thing inside my eyelid.

From the size of a peanut, the sty reduced to mung bean size in a long span of three months. What I did was putting warm compress three times a day and for the past month, I've been using Tobrex which was prescribed by an eye doctor. However, the sty did not disappear which made me really worried that I might have to undergo incision of my eyelid to drain the pus of my sty.

This problem has been re-occuring back when I was in college. It started after I got my course card during my first Fotocam. I failed my photography class and it was so hard accepting it because I've poured my heart out for this subject. I cannot understand why can someone fail photography. I was not able to stop myself from crying after seeing my course card with my contact lens on. After that day, I got a sty which did not subside until the eye doctor made an incision to drain the pus then another came out then back to the eye doctor who made another incision and another came out. There was a total of eight times that the sty came out with the eye doctor making an incision and the he kept telling me to practice proper hygiene and avoid dust but no matter how careful I am, another one still came out which made him inject something on my eyelid.

Since the very painful injection, I did not get any sty for years until last year when I had another sty on my right eyelid. The good thing is that it subsided after putting on warm compress. This year, this sty on my left eye came out and for three months, it did not disappear which made me quite worried and afraid that I might have to undergo incision again so I finally changed my eye doctor for a second and third opinion.

The first time I went to an eye doctor this year was last month who prescribed Tobrex to me. The medicine helped reduce the size of the sty however, it did not disappear. The doctor told me that after two weeks if the sty did not disappear, my eyelid will be incised so I decided to look for another doctor.


A friend introduced me to a doctor whose name when I told my mom rang a bell. Fifteen years ago, she had a doctor with the same last name who might be this doctor's father. Then we found out that the father is still a practicing doctor after all these years. According to my mom, this doctor is the one who operated my late grandfather's cataract years ago so I felt at ease going to this doctor.

At first look, Dr. Cosme Naval looks quite old but do not under estimate his age. At 79, he still sees a lot of patients everyday and he remembers the cases of his patients clearly. When he looked at my eye, he told me that my left eyelid needs to be operated right away because I have a cyst. It was the first time that I've heard I have a cyst. I asked if I can just take any medicine or put on eye drops. He said that it's because of the cyst on my eyelid that caused an infection because my body is fighting it. This infection turns into a sty every time I lack sleep, I'm stressed or ate something oily. After a moment of shock, I've decided to have it operated.

While I was being operated, Dr. Naval said that the cyst looks like it has been there for a very long time since it was deep and big. As he was saying this, memories of what have happened to me on that dreadful day back in college when I received my Fotocam course card. I think that somehow that sad event has caused this cyst. Don't get me wrong, I'm not angry with my professor but I'm really mad at what he did that caused this. I know that the dusts, finger prints, black and white must be back and white not gray, shadows, blur, out of focus, etc.. in the negatives or pictures which I've developed are the reasons why I failed. Behind it all, I really think I took some good pictures. I have some samples of the pictures I took during that class which I've loved over the years.

I hope that someday my professor realized what he has done to me and learns to become more considerate to his students who really work their hardest (skipping meals and sleep) to pass. I know that it's the skills we must learn during that class but with technology, I think what really matters in a photo is its subject's composition and the tension of the photo which tells a story.

A big thank you to Dr. Cosme Naval for discovering the cyst and removing it. I'm now recovering slowly. It still hurts when my left eyelid is touched and there's holes which I can feel on my fingertips but I hope it heals soon.

That's me with an eye patch taken on the day after my eyelid was operated.

If you're having the same eye trouble like mine or would like to have your eyes checked, Dr. Cosme Naval can be found in the following clinics:
- Cardinal Santos Medical Center
Suite 206, Medical Arts Building
Tues & Thurs 10AM - 1PM
727-0001 loc 2206

- Makati Eye Laser Center
Fort Palm Spring Condominium
Suite 7GH, 7/F, 1st Ave. cor. 30th St.
Fort Bonifacio, Global City.
Monday, Wednesday & Friday 10AM - 2PM

Joey Pepperoni opened to the public on December 2005 at the G/F RFM Corporate Center, Pioneer St., Mandaluyong City. This is where they have invited me and their other guests to try out their new menu.

(Top L-R) The facade of Joey Pepperoni. Its interiors in black and grey colors with their lamp covered in their brown paper bag. (Bottom L-R) Joey Pepperoni's Marketing Manager Carla. Pizza. Salad. Joey Pepperoni's Chef Anna.

Over the years, Joey Pepperoni has invested with the New York mafia image with the colors black, grey and red which was also their main colors for their previous menu however, since Filipinos are very festive and love colorful things, they have decided to change the look of their menu.

Joey Pepperoni's Marketing Manager Carla presents the new colorful menu and explains the items.

Spearheaded by their marketing team together with their chef, Anna, the team created new variants of delicious pizzas, appetizer, gelato and lunch meal in their delectable Italian-American inspired menu.

Joey Pepperoni's Chef Anna G. tells us the ingredients of the food being served.

Chef Anna explains to us the first dish that they're serving us which is the Baked Cheesy Fries. It's made out of rusette fries with their house special meat sauce (the same sauce they use for their pizzas), sprinkled with chili flakes to give that spicy kick, white onion, cheddar cheese and their special cheese sauce. Despite being topped with so many sauce and toppings, the fries remains crisp on the outside.

Baked Cheesy Fries

Another starter was introduced to us called Shrimp Fresh Salad. True to its name, the ingredients in the salad are really fresh like the light pinkish-red shrimp has the right amount of firmness and the green Romaine lettuce maintained its crunch in every bite. Other ingredients in this salad includes its honey mustard dressing, parmasan cheese and croutons to give additional crunch to the salad.

Shrimp Fresh Salad

Before the pizzas come in, they introduced another meal to us that is one of the all-time Filipino favorite, Barbecue Chicken Wings! Yes, you heard it right. Joey Pepperoni wants to satisfy every Filipino by bringing to Filipinos their favorite chicken with rice so that you don't have to worry about lunch when you're on a rush. The deep fried chicken is tossed with Joey Pepperoni's special barbecue blend at the right temperature and served at the exact correct time to maintain the chicken's crunch mixed with the mouth-watering sauce to give the crunchy and saucy satisfaction Filipinos love in their chicken. Having a bite will surely make you want more.

Barbecue Chicken Wings with rice

The pizzas in Joey Pepperoni have always been in thin crust but this did not limit them in putting more toppings in their pizzas which their crust can handle. The dough of Joey Pepperoni is always freshly made so it takes some time for the pizza to come out but the good thing is that it's guaranteed fresh which will not disappoint you.

Carla explains the difference of their pizza from other pizzas.

3-Cheese and Mushroom Pizza

Beefy Mushroom Pizza

For a Mexican twist, meet the Taco Pizza. It's an amazing pizza with all the taco fillings on top of it - beef, mozzarella, tomatoes, white onion, cheddar cheese and taco seasoning for the tickling spicyness. Unlike the real taco whose shell breaks and create a mess when you take a bite, this naked taco is not difficult to eat. The toppings stay on top as you bite into the dough. It's a wonderful way to eat a taco without creating a mess! It is a very convenient way to enjoy this Mexican treat! What more can you ask for?

Taco Pizza

The fourth and the last one for this season's Double Tops Pizza series is their Mushroom Alfredo. The dough of this pizza is smothered with bechamel sauce topped with mozzarella, ham, garlic, mushroom, red onions and bacon bits. It's alfredo less the pasta. Another choice for those on a less-carbs-diet. It's less sinful because there's no overflowing pasta and just a slice can already make one happy.

Mushroom Alfredo

As per Carla, it is true that their dough is flavorful. The dough tastes like a crunchy thin bread which absolutely fits their toppings! I can't wait going back to this place and have another pizza after this taste test!

Any sumptuous meal would not be complete without sweet endings under the name of dessert. So when the Cookie Dough with Vanilla Ice Cream came, I was really amazed that the cookie dough is shaped like a slice of pizza which fits into their theme. The cookie dough is soft and crumbly which holds the vanilla ice cream well as one digs into it.

Cookie Dough with Vanilla Ice Cream

The last dessert is another favorite of mine. Oh yes, it's Gelato! A lot of people are confused with the difference of gelato and ice cream. They might look the same but their taste is quite different. Gelato are creamier and softer than ice cream. It has less fat. Also, after you freeze a gelato that has melt, it still becomes a gelato unlike ice cream which becomes ice! The gelato in Joey Pepperoni is made from scratch so it's fresh and creamy. The price of the gelato is amazingly lower than other gelatos in the market which is a wonderful reason why one must have dessert here!

Gelato in cups: Oreo Cheesecake, Chocolate and Pistachio flavors.

The only downside in having this el cheapo gelato is that it's not available in all Joey Pepperoni branches since it's specially made. Even though the price of the gelato is inexpensive, as you can see on the picture above, the serving is generous at 100 grams per cup! So better hunt the closest Joey Pepperoni to try it out!

At present, Joey Pepperoni has 21 branches. Half of it is company owned and half is franchise however, the quality of their products are the same everywhere since Carla and her team really goes to each store to try the food and check. The branches of Joey Pepperoni Pizzeria can be found at the following places: Robinsons Place Ermita, SM Mall of Asia, Fairways Tower at The Fort, SM Mezza Residences in Araneta Ave, SM North Edsa Annex, Eugenia Arcade in Iloilo City, SM Center Las Pinas, SM Cubao, The Columns in Ayala Ave, SM City Manila, Graceland Mall in Malolos, SM City Dasmarinas, DBP Bldg in Makati, SM City Lipa, SM City Tarlac, SM City Baguio, One E-Com in Mall of Asia, SM Calamba and SM Masinag.

Aside from the new menu, Joey Pepperoni still offers their Awesome Twosome! with either Pizza! Pizza! or Pasta! Pasta! combo for only P199. For those who might have heard this combo and are wondering, yes, you've heard it before. Joey Pepperoni was in charge of Little Caesar years ago. The group has reorganized itself and created the new Joey Pepperoni but they still have the rights on using the Pizza! Pizza! and Pasta! Pasta! combo which will forever stay. The only thing that will change is the choices of pizza and pasta. It is truly affordable and easy on the pocket for those who are working on their office and would like to have good food during their lunch breaks!

Awesome Twosome! poster inside Joey Pepperoni-Pioneer.

Before we left the restaurant, I was surprised that we were given packs of Kornados. Joey Pepperoni's gastronomic inventions does not only stop in their restaurants but they also make snack foods under the name of Kettle Foods Corporation (the makers of Kettle Korn popcorn). There are three variants of Kornados which is the original flavor, cheese and barbecue. It's a 3D shaped corn snack that's bubbly and crunchy. The bubbly texture is helpful for the flavors to stick on the snack and not on one's fingers. Kornados is now available in all grocery stores.

Kornados 3D-Shaped Corn Snack