Where stars just wanna have fun

Experiencing the joy and pleasure of dining in Boracay is now just a drive away. Café la Carmela, a charming restaurant tucked in the heart of Makati, is a gustatory paradise for those who crave for lip-smacking food, soothing ambience and great service.

Café la Carmela, the new home of excellent Italian dishes in Makati, is getting to be the favorite dining place of celebrities. Even its head chef, a star in his own kitchen, was flown all the way from the famous resort La Carmela de Boracay.

Restaurant owner Samuel “Boy” So Jr. simply wanted everyone to experience the first-rate service they offer at his famous resort that’s why he went on doing this gastronomically exciting endeavour. He decided to open the restaurant because he wants everyone to experience dining and entertainment the Boracay way.

“I was just really having fun doing all these,” Boy shares during the blessing of the café. “I just wanted to do something that I’ve always loved to do, which is to entertain people and make them happy.”

When it opened just recently, the biggest stars from the two giant networks came parading. Mariel Rodriguez, Rufa Mae Quinto, Diana Zubiri, Jomari Yllana, Kiray, ABS-CBN exec Cory Vidanes, Phoemela Baranda, Dr. Steve Mark Gan and Gerald Madrid were some of the stars that added glitter to the cozy watering hole during its blessing.

Judging from the stars who came out to its blessing, Café la Carmela is on its way to being the choice restaurant of the stars. Café la Carmela gives you a dining experience that’s endearing. It offers almost everything — excellent Italian food, the most friendly crew, a breathtaking ambience, and a very down-to-earth and gracious owner.

Café La Carmela offers Italian cuisine for breakfast, lunch and dinner at affordable prices. The place, which can sit up over a hundred, is an ideal venue to celebrate the most important events of your life. The restaurant is also open for catering services.

So if you want to experience Boracay dining in the heart of the city, just drive your way to Jupiter St. in Makati City and visit Café La Carmela. It is the best place to go for delicious and affordable Italian cuisine. Café La Carmela is located at 38 Jupiter St., Bel-Air, Makati City. For inquiries and reservations, call 0918-9388358.

The classic jeans returns

You don’t have to guess that one of the most formidable clothing brands is Guess. There is an anecdote moving around as to how the Guess came about. It was said that when the brothers Marciano were new in the clothing business, they were asked what name and what brand their clothing was and they said, Guess. The brothers were new in America and were just starting with their clothing business. And when the first pair of Guess jeans struck gold, all the rest was history. Guess is one of the world’s leading brands. Celebrities wear it. High paying models and celebrities Naomi Campbell, Carla Bruni now wife of the current French president, Eva Herzigova, Drew Barrymore, Milla Jovovich, Paris Hilton and Yasmin Le Bon own a pair or two of Guess jeans and have graced Guess ads.

Guess recently launched its premium jeans with a fashion show Denim Is Our World at Club Ascend. Guess returns to its roots with its fall/winter 2008 campaign that unites the spirit and distinctiveness of the iconic brand. It also marks Paul Marciano’s commitment to the denim roots of Guess. “Denim is the DNA of the Guess by Marciano brand. It is our world,” says Marciano, CEO and co-chairman of the board. “Of course, customers who come to our stores know they can find a variety of accessories and apparel but this campaign really marks the return of the classic jeans.”

Guess was launched in 1981, a time when wearing denim jeans was not fashionable. The Marcianos changed the perception of denim by introducing the sensuous, innovative and timeless jeans fondly referred to as Marilyn. The famous slim-fit, stoned washed, three zip Marilyn jeans was sold out in Bloomindales within hours of their first delivery and the guess label was born.

The gift of reading

Few weeks ago AHON Foundation gifted two public schools closest to my heart with 20 boxes of books. They were officially received with vigor and joy by my sister Vice Mayor Fe Abunda and the teachers of Eugenio Daza Pilot School (called the Borongan Pilot Elementary School during my time) and the Campesao Elementary School. I am an alumnus of the BPES while my late father helped establish the Campesao Elementary School. Both schools are in Borongan, Eastern Samar. AHON Foundation has done a great job for my beloved school as they have done to hundreds of other schools around the country.

Deep in my heart I am grateful because I know lives of boys and girls who would read these books will be changed in ways only the pliant spirit of the Waray knows.