One night at Club Mwah

Although I’m basically nocturnal, I usually spend most nights at home because I’m also a hopeless homebody. A night-out to me is a quiet dinner in a restaurant or in a friend’s home. You will never find me in bars or music lounges and, believe it or not, I’ve stepped on the disco floor only five times in my long life.

I found it strange therefore that I got invited to Club Mwah, which I keep reading in the papers and hearing from friends. Only a few months ago, Dr. Vicki Belo called me up on my mobile phone asking me to catch up with them at the Club Mwah. She was with Joey Santos and they were celebrating the birthday of Vangie Kua, the miracle worker of the various Belo Medical Centers. Although I love my Kumareng Vangie dearly, I decided I was already quite settled at home and didn’t want to leave the house anymore.

And then Veronica Samio personally came to the studio to invite me to come to Club Mwah and I couldn’t say no anymore because Vero rarely asks for favors.

But it took me three more weeks before I finally decided to try out this popular watering hole among celebrities. What am I going to do there? That was the one question I kept asking myself days before my scheduled visit.

Fortunately, I got to speak to Ali Sotto about it and it turned out that she, too, had been curious as to what Club Mwah was all about – and why all the fuss about this place.

After working out our schedule, we decided to meet each other there the other Thursday night. She was coming from the news and was traveling all the way from the ABC 5 studios in Novaliches. In spite of the fact that I gave her all the wrong directions (I asked her to turn left on Boni coming from Cubao), she made it at Club Mwah on Boni Avenue.

Meeting her at the entrance of Club Mwah, I was sure she was going to strangle me for trusting my navigational skills, except that she looked around first and was immediately impressed by the surroundings. "This place is so squeaky clean – I like it," were her first words upon entering Club Mwah.

Going to the third floor where they hold the shows, she looked around some more and fell in love with the interiors. (Aside from the decors being tastefully done, the drapes and upholstery are also fireproof.) Her irritation (only because I gave her the wrong directions) had vanished – to my relief. Now we can enjoy the evening.

After ordering seafood pizza (the crust is crunchy) and buffalo wings, which turned out to be deliciously spicy, we settled in our balcony seats to watch the show.

Club Mwah has 28 performers and, according to the staff, five of them are real girls, while the rest are transsexuals and cross-dressers, but you can’t tell one from the other. And then I remembered what Dr. Vicki Belo told me earlier: "They’re more beautiful than most women!"

The show is Vegas-inspired and from the costumes alone, you know that a lot of expenses went into the production. But more than the cost of putting up such revue, you appreciate all the effort and hard work the performers put into every show. (Earlier in the evening, they have magic shows for children.)

That they have the best performers in town shouldn’t come as a surprise when you consider the fact that these talents fly in and out of Japan – sent there regularly by Club Mwah owners Pocholo Malilin and Cris Nicolas, who are also into talent recruitment.

Actually, Club Mwah is just one of the businesses in that building called The Venue Tower, which is also owned by Pocholo and Cris. Standing on a 1,000 -square meter lot where the family residence of Paeng Nepomuceno used to stand (the world champion bowler grew up there), it also has a parlor, a spa and, of course, the talent agency of Pocholo and Cris.

However, these are not just offices where business is conducted. It has a rehearsal hall that could rival that one in the CCP and a wardrobe department that holds costumes worth several millions of pesos.

Club Mwah, of course, is the crown jewel of that building. And we can’t blame Pocholo and Cris for being proud of Club Mwah since it would put to shame other nightspots in the metropolis. For instance, it boasts of state-of-the-art audio equipment that is so technologically advanced the team of electronic engineers of a leading network had to be given a thorough orientation when the TV station brought one of the shows there for a remote telecast.

And thanks to its other world-class facilities, local celebrities can drop by, have fun and still maintain their privacy. So Judy Ann Santos wants to sing karaoke-bar style? There is a function room for that and as soon as she walks in, the glass window would turn into a waterfall and in a snap, she can sing to her heart’s content without being bothered by other club guests.

Maricel Soriano also visits the place from time to time – and so do veteran stars Susan Roces and Gloria Romero.

Club Mwah, however, is not just for celebrities. Actually, with the way each guest is treated by the very attentive and courteous staff, you too can’t help but feel like a celebrity the minute you walk into this place.