A fabi addition to Manille’s resto scene

That one-of-a-kind Filipino restaurant Cabalen, dahlings, which has gained fame for serving the best Kapampangan cuisine, opened its second franchise at the new and classy Harrison Plaza Village Square in downtown Manille.

Beaming with pride during the grand opening celebration, palanggas, were beauty and brains Maritel Nievera, the woman behind Cabalen and her constant escort, handsome and hardworking Dori Shani.

Doing the honors at the must ribbon-snipping were Sen. Loren Legarda; popular and well-liked Manila Councilor Kim Atienza and his wife, tall, exotic miss with the four B’s Fely; and Central Bank hotshot Antonio Alindogan.

The franchise holders of this superbly interior-decorated Cabalen outlet are hot, hot mall executive, publisher and restaurateur, that lady for all seasons, Irene Martel-Francisco and her brother, businessman Robert Puyat Martel.

As a quartet played original Filipino songs, invitees couldn’t wait to dig in on the excellently prepared buffet fare Cabalen has been known for.

Fortunetellers were on hand on one side of the resto to read the guests’ cards. A special, innovative pabunot had each guest leaving the happening with a memento of the gastronomic evening.

Naturellement, Irene’s closest pals wouldn’t miss the opening for the world: Rustan’s working socialite Nedy Tantoco; bubbly, vivacious as ever Babette Aquino, who jetted into town for a quick visit from her homebase, Paris; another miss with the four Bs, popular STAR columnist Mons Tantoco; beautiful and tres popular MTV couple, Francis and Maryann Lumen; fun twosome Douglas and Carla Ramsey; all set for another heir, Rose and brilliant Justice Lolong Lazaro; our palanggas, Malou and Oscar Rodriguez; Ophie and Benny Clemente; Norma and Don Sanders; top-of-the-line PR wonder woman Susan Joven and the latest member of her PR company, working socialite Margarita Locsin; plus so many others too nice to mention, palanggas.

Making sure everything went smoothly were observant Cabalen GM Ian Tiongson and other Cabalen executives.

Enjoying the dinner immensely were super popular cardiologist, Dr. Randy Francisco, who joined the table of architect Kenny Quintal; C!’s young, dedicated publisher, handsome and eligible bachelor, Paolo Martel; vivaciously adorable Patsy Francisco; Yoya Tanseco; Reena Robert; Carbon’s good-looking Raul Francisco and his lady love, eye-catcher Joanna Preysler; Figaro’s Chit Juan Carlos; and tons of Harrison Plaza’s loyal tenants and the mall management’s rah! rah! team.

Even before its formal opening, dahlings, Cabalen was packing in food lovers who know what a great meal is all about at the HP Village Square, the new Lifestyle Food and Entertainment Center of Harrizon Plaza. I should know, palanggas, because moi went back not once, not twice, but thrice to the yummy buffet table!

One thing you can be sure of, dahlings, is that once the complex is completed, the HP Village Square will be a breath of fresh air to liven up downtown Manille’s restaurant scene!

Waltzing Matilda at its best!

A fantastic full moon was part of the super ambiance at the sprawling, landscaped garden of popular Australian Ambassador Ruth Pearce’s residence, dahlings, when she hosted a fun cocktail to mark Australia’s National Day.

Chic namedroppables from the government, business and diplomatic sets, media and the arts, celebrated the strong relations between Australia and the Philippines.

Over 500 invitees graced the affair where limos, Benzes, Pajeros and what have yous snaked their way toward the venue in North Forbes. Tall Southern gent, Calvin Millado got the action going when he sang the Philippine National Anthem. The Embassy’s Second Secretary, Clare Gatehouse sang Australia’s National Anthem.

In her speech, palanggas, super charming Ambassador Ruth Pearce commended the "extensive partnership" between Australia and the Philippines, putting it, among others, in the context of the embassy’s closure last year. She reiterated "Australia’s continued commitment to support Philippine contributions to global and regional security efforts." In recognizing Australia’s many partners in the Philippines, the ambassador particularly thanked the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) "as the essential partner for Australia’s long-standing development assistance cooperations; the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP), as partners in Australia’s traditional Defense Cooperation Program; and various business groups such as the Australia-New Zealand Chamber of Commerce and the Philippine-Australian Business Council."

In her response, our very own Acting Foreign Affairs Secretary Delia Albert affirmed the cordial relations between the two countries as she recounted her earlier posting as Philippine ambassador to Australia. In her toast, Secretary Albert acknowledged Australia’s role in supporting local and regional efforts to ensure security and development.

As the chi-chi invitees circulated with wine, beer or champagne glass in hand, dahlings, two wide video screen projectors displayed different footages on Australia.

As we left, each guest received an embassy loot bag filled with promotional materials ranging from a koala toy from the Australian Tourism Commission to a tourist visa application form, courtesy of the Department of Immigration, Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs (DIMIA). Information brochures from the different agencies in the embassy were also handed out: Australian Agency for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), Defense, Aus Trade, plus tourism efforts promoting the beautiful and exciting Australia. Not bad, huh? Not bad at all, dahlings!

The garden, a sight to behold, was filled with green and gold decorations in honor of Australia’s national colors, naturellement. Australian Wine and Food Inc., the exclusive distributor of Beringer Blas Wine Estates, provided the excellent wine for this once-a-year back. Moegen Caemb Merchants sponsored Fosters, Australia’s favorite beer. The catering was superbly done by the elegant Mandarin Oriental Hotel, no less. The menu’s theme was, naturellement, Australian, with barbecue stations and other yummies set up all over the manicured garden. Various superb Australian cheese and bread had the invitees coming back for more. Now you know why everyone had such a great time!

Helping entertain the delighted crowd which at times made me feel like moi was at a United Nations affair were the Embassy’s dedicated, hardworking secret weapons, vivacious visa officer Rowena Brown and brilliant media officer Carlo Figueroa who were here, there and everywhere, seeing to it everyone had a great time. We surely did, dahlings! So much so that moi noticed several hip bachelors and bachelorettes were waltzing Matilda as they left the reception. Well, that’s exactly what a great party is all about, n’est ce pas?

After stopping ourselves with excellent kapampangan dishes from the one and only Cabalen, it was great to go Waltzing Matilda the Down Under way.

See you!