Summer specials

Lent is here, and for most people, the period of abstinence is the best excuse for staying away from meat, even for the briefest period. Every Friday is meatless day for most practicing Catholics, so at least once a week, we have no meat at home.

There are quite a few restaurants now mindful of the growing trend towards healthier eating. Fish & Co., under the umbrella of Italianni’s group of companies, offers quality meals, and we have had good Sunday lunches there. Their version of fish and chips is hearty – the fried breaded Creamy Dory, always fresh, soft and luscious, the French fries teeming over. There is literally a platter-full of fish goodness in that dish, and it is worth ordering.

Another family favorite is Recipes, a family-run restaurant born out of a family’s fondness for food. Remember the time when you had doting lolas puttering around the kitchen, busy with the all-important Sunday family lunch? The family behind Recipes must be out-and-out foodies because their big family favorites inspired them to open the now-popular Recipes.

It started simply as a humble canteen, and now boasts of four more branches around the metropolis. The secret behind their success, they claim, is their ability to innovate continually, even on their own original ideas. They offer a variety of pica-pica that is most popular with the after-dinner crowd – Thai spring rolls, chicken wings, etc. They offer budget meals for the working crowd, vegetarian meals for the health-conscious. And they offer gourmet selections for the tired palate.

Their gising-gising is one of their best sellers, a dish with a liberal dose of pork and veggies and steeped in a creamy coconut sauce. They also have a chicken dish that is simply out of the ordinary – it has a sweetish, spicy sauce that is not easy to describe and best sampled. Even the ordinary tilapia is given a fresh twist. And their kare-kare is one dish that regular patrons swear by.

The key, I guess, is knowing your palate first, testing these recipes exhaustively, before gambling on their acceptability. These best sellers were family favorites for more than a generation, and they continue to be favorites at the different branches. I have not sampled the other branches, but I have tried out the cooking at their Libis outlet, which always seems to be full for lunch and dinner. It’s certainly worth trying out again.

New home

Two of our shows now have a new home – Sports Plus. As most of you know, all of the block time shows on NBN-4 have been pre-empted, except for the station’s own shows. It’s been more than a month since we have been off the air, and we simply couldn’t stand around much longer, not knowing when we’d go on the air again, if we were going to be on the air at all.

Actually, free TV was, for us, an excellent choice because of the wide reach. Well, with the advancement of cable TV, we now find it in every town and barrio, most anyway, and this was a pleasant surprise. Thanks to our overseas heroes, our OFWs who make a TV set on top of their priority list of appliances for the home from their first paycheck. Sports Plus, specifically, is very popular even outside of Metro Manila, and we are proud and happy to be counted in as family in this prestigious network.

Auto Focus, Philippine television’s premiere motor show that’s exclusively dedicated to the automobile and the auto industry, is on every Thursday at Sports Plus at 10 p.m., while Motoring Today which holds the distinction of being the longest-running motoring program on local television and undeniably recognized as an institution, which I co-host with the country’s racing "living legend", Pocholo Ramirez airs every Sunday (it starts tomorrow) at 4 p.m. on the same channel.

The country’s biggest motor show

The Petron Xtra 2006 Auto Focus Automobile/Motorcycle People’s Choice Awards are just around the corner! In this much-awaited event, consumers are empowered to voice out their choices of automobiles in different categories: sub-compact, compact, mid-size, and large sedans, sports cars, AUV’s, compact, midsize, and large SUV’s, mini and full-size vans, pickups and, for the first time, motorcycles. And of course, top vote-getters will be declared the Automobile of the Year and Motorcycle of the Year.

There are three ways by which you can vote. You can log on to the Auto Focus website www.autofocus.com.ph. You can text in your votes by texting Auto Focus to 622 for Smart, 2858 for Globe and 2622 for Sun subscribers, and you can also vote on-site during the Awards’ Grand Display & Test Drive.

Make sure to be within the vicinity of the Fort on April 22, 23, 29, and 30 because this year’s event promises to be fun and extremely exciting for the whole family! Not only will you get to be up-close and personal with all the current-model automobiles, you will even get to test drive them. There will also be a special presentation, a photo-exhibit, "Philippine Motor Sports-Heroes and Legends" where I’m sure you’ll find quite a number of photos of my partner Pocholo "living legend" Ramirez, "the late great" Dodjie Laurel, who holds the distinction of being the first Macau Grand Prix "back-to-back" champion, Dante Silverio and other late motor sports luminaries like Dodo Ayuyao and Tony Mapa to name some. A great way for the present young crop of motor sports buffs and sports fans to have the opportunity to get to know better the pioneers of the country’s motor sports. As if that’s not reason enough for you to bring your entire family to the Fort’s Central Gateway, there will also be a "grand sale" of parts and accessories from participating car companies and top after-market product distributors. I can’t think of a better way to enjoy the warmth of the summer sun than to be surrounded by gleaming cars and the sunny smiles of your family at the Petron Xtra 2006 Auto Focus Automobile/Motorcycle of the Year-People’s Choice Awards with the chance to test drive the 2006 models of participating auto manufacturers that include Ford, Honda, Hyundai, Isuzu, Mazda, Nissan, Toyota, Volvo, CATS Motors, PGA Cars and Honda Motorcycles.

Poker Tour takes a rest this Lent

There’ll be a Holy Week break for satellite poker tournaments where winners earn seats in the Main Event of the Million-Peso Hold’em Philippine Championship scheduled by the end of April.

However, my brother, Rey Gamboa, who’s the chairman of the Philippine Poker Tour, organizers of this biggest and richest non-wager poker tournament ever to be held in Philippine shores, announces to poker enthusiasts that the satellite tournaments shall resume daily at Valle Verde Country Club.

Mabuhay!!! Be proud to be a Filipino.

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