A taste of Japan in Cebu

Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino unveiled its newest restaurant, Mizu, with two opening nights. The first night consisted of cocktails and a sit-down dinner for guests to enjoy the fine Japanese food of Chef Nobuyuki Imamura.

Waterfront general manager Marco Protacio and Mizu manager Carlo Sainz welcomed guests from Cebu and Manila as hundreds of butterflies were released at the restaurant’s entrance.

Guests feasted on sushi, sashimi, tempura, gyoza and other Japanese delicacies while sipping their sake. The restaurant has four private dining rooms and was filled to capacity that night.

The second day party was called "Sake, Sushi and Music" where younger Cebuanos partied from 6 p.m. onwards for cocktails. 

Seen partying at the event were Cocoy Puyat, Debby Enriquez, Butch Carungay, Shangri-La Mactan general manager Tim Wright and wife Mona, Jaime Picornell, Victoria Ma, Cheryl Carcel, Lali Panganiban and John Pimentel.

Check out the newest hot spot of Cebu at the ground level of Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino.

(For inquiries, call (03) 232-6888.)

Live Match II

Over 600 supporters of the Springboard Foundation attended Live Match II, a black-tie affair which featured a sit-down dinner catered by Le Souffle, a live auction of sports memorabilia, a performance by "Mr. Pure Energy" Gary Valenciano, and a colorful appearance by the Bellstar Dancers.

Springboard chairman John Milne, also the principal of Brent International School in Pasig, said, "It was far more successful this year than last year and was once again a unique opportunity to celebrate the Filipino’s achievements in the sports."

During the course of the night, an auctioneer prompted the live bidding for sports memorabilia such as the mahogany framed authenticated "St. Andrew’s" photograph signed by Tiger Woods and went for P200,000 and the 1975 signed "Thrilla In Manila" poster which went for P260,000. This was the same poster won by Danny Giles last year which he generously donated for the auction this year.

Other memorabilia included Wayne Rooney’s signed Umbro shirt, and Muhammad Ali’s and Manny Pacquiao’s signed glove. The live auction raked in P1.2 million.

With the live match, world-ranked Dennis Laurente settled for a technical draw with Arnel Porras after an accidental clash of heads. In another bout, Monico Laurente triumphed over Anthony Esmenida while Sugar Ray Estrada was stopped by Yuri Noda. 

The evening’s most anticipated fight was the amateur bout between two local expatriates from the Nomads Sports Club. The Welsh Wizard, Shane Cosgrove scored a unanimous decision over the Raging Bull Frog, Romain Barberis in a thrilling four-round match.  The Live Match II event raised P2 million in profit.  Also seen at the event were three-time Olympian and Sydney 2000 gold medalist Cathy Freeman and International Olympic Committee representative Francisco Elizalde.

Annette and Rainer Helbig, John and Helen Milne, and Renato Calma formed Springboard in 2002 to finance charity projects with an emphasis on providing needy children and their families with programs and services to address basic needs.

Springboard’s partners include Leyte’s The Kinderhlife Philippinen, The Give A Life Foundation, Alabang’s Tuloy Foundation in Alabang, Hope Worldwide in Baseco and Payatas, Dr. Jose Reyes Memorial Hospital, Fabella Maternity Hospital, Tuloy sa Don Bosco, The Little Children’s Home, Cebu’s Batang Pinangga Foundation, Sun and Moon Home for Children, and The Rehoboth Home for Children.

Since its establishment as a non-profit Filipino independent charity organization, it has raised over P17 million. Would you like to help? Please contact the Springboard Foundation. Its website is www.springboard-foundation.org, e-mail is [email protected], and phone numbers are 821-5449 or 0919-3611714.

Seair turns 10

Popular Greek restaurant Mati in Rockwell was the venue for the 10th anniversary celebration of dynamic domestic airline, Southeast Asian Airlines (Seair).

Seair founders Captain Iren Dornier, Nikos Gitsis and Thomas Lopez were in attendance to welcome their guests in a night filled with a lot of surprise giveaways.

Australian Chardonnay, Chilean Merlot, and Skyy Vodka flowed through the hot evening as Mati served canapés with its tzatziki, tirokafteri, taramosalata, melitzanosalata dips and the famous cheese zucchini croquettes and spanakopita.

Guests were handed "boarding passes" as they entered, which served as their raffle tickets.

F personalities Daphne Oseña and Angel Aquino hosted the show which included an audio-visual presentation of Seair’s history directed by Epy Quizon with Mike de Castro. A modern ethnic production directed by Tommy Ng brought island flavors to Makati.

Raffle prizes included four round-trip tickets to Boracay (35 minutes on Seair!), two Seair Adventure passes (45-day unlimited use to any Seair destination), a trip for two to Club Noah in Palawan, and since the event was backed by Motorola and Smart Infinity, Razor V3 cell phones were raffled off.

Capping the night was a slideshow of photographs by Seair’s new endorser and regular contributor to its in-flight magazine, award-winning underwater photographer Gutsy Tuason.

Paseo Uno resident DJ Elian Habayeb provided smooth music accompanied by percussionist Einar Drilon. Spotted at the party were talent manager Girlie Rodis, Annie Carmona, Apa and Ana Ongpin, Johnny Revilla, Nena Marti-Elizalde, Raffy Rufino, Philip Cruz, Anna Aboitiz, Raymond Moreno, Bimbo Cerrudo, Steve and Presy Psinakis, Senators Jamby Madrigal and Ralph Recto, Milton Adamson, Smart Infinity’s Tom Valderrama, Boracay staple Louie Cruz, Mati’s Geni Psinakis, Rogy Panganiban, Borgy Manotoc and Ornussa Cadness, Eric Valade, cinematographer Dboy Trofeo, director Butch Perez, Kat Abad and Quisine’s Fritz Weber.

Small plate dining

The much awaited opening of Mezze, Bobong Velez’s (of the legendary Faces disco) new restaurant/bar in Greenbelt 2 opens tonight. Mezze (pronounced as meh-ZAY, means small portions of something delicious) will have two openings, tonight and on May 28.

Mezze will be an elegant entertainment hot spot that will specialize in petite plates or small plate dining. After hours, it will transform into a bar. Check it out at the ground floor of Greenbelt 2, former Soleil, beside Nuvo.

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