The Bistro Group, a leading operator of iconic full-service, fast-casual and quick-service restaurant brands in the Philippines, today announced plans to expand its portfolio with a newly signed development agreement with Fogo de Chão, the internationally renowned experiential restaurant from Brazil known for the culinary art of churrasco. Through the agreement, The Bistro Group will bring five Fogo de Chão locations to the Philippines over the next six years, marking Fogo’s first-ever presence in Asia. The Bistro Group joins Fogo’s existing international franchise partners in Mexico and the Middle East and expects to open the first Fogo location in 2023.
The Bistro Group is a multi-concept restaurant company that operates a collection of domestic and international hospitality, casual dining, and upscale, chef-driven concepts in the Philippines, unified by a people-focused philosophy. The group currently operates 111 restaurants across 21 restaurant brands including TGI Friday’s, Italianni’s, Denny’s, Buffalo Wild Wings, Rambla, Las Flores and more.
The international development agreement with Fogo comes as part of The Bistro Group’s larger growth plan, as it recently announced plans to open 30 restaurants including new and existing brands in 2022.
“Fogo de Chão is exactly what our business seeks out when looking for franchise partners,” said Bill Stelton, Chairman and CEO of The Bistro Group. “The company’s upscale and internationally-renowned dining concept, paired with its passion for Southern Brazilian hospitality and the culinary art of churrasco makes them an invaluable addition to our portfolio.”
Founded in Southern Brazil in 1979 and now headquartered in the U.S., Fogo de Chão is an award-winning restaurant concept known for offering dining discoveries at every turn, featuring the authentic flavors of churrasco where gaucho chefs butcher, prepare and grill high-quality cuts of protein over an open flame, then carve tableside for guests. Simply seasoned, fire-roasted proteins are the core of their prix-fixed Full Churrasco dining experience where guests can enjoy a variety of flavors ranging from premium filet mignon and bone-in cowboy ribeye; decadent beef ribs and lamb chops; and house specialties Picanha (prime cut of the top sirloin) and Fraldinha (bottom sirloin with strong marbling for robust flavor). With a modern, timeless design and signature offerings including a fresh and seasonal Market Table and an award-winning Bar Fogo menu featuring hand-crafted cocktails and South American wines, Fogo has become a destination of choice in major cities around the world.
“We are honored to partner with The Bistro Group to help bring the Fogo de Chão experience to the Philippines, as we accelerate our plans for expansion in both international and domestic markets,” said Andy Feldmann, President of International at Fogo de Chão. “We can’t wait to welcome the local communities to dine with us and discover new favorites at the Fogo table in Asia soon.”
With 66 locations worldwide and growing, Fogo earlier in 2022 announced a 15 percent planned annual growth rate through company-owned restaurants, with an additional international capital light franchise development strategy.
Viewers today have a lot of entertainment content choices, to the point that it can sometimes be overwhelming. With an extensive library of shows like that of HBO GO, it’s good to get recommendations for shows that are really worth your time.
To help you discover the best watch lists especially as you spend more time at home in this bed weather, PLDT Home ambassadors Gigi de Lana, Gretchen Ho, Jairus Aquino and more are sharing their personal recommendations and favorites — which you just might get to enjoy, too.
Catch all these shows and more on HBO GO powered by PLDT Home, the Philippines’ fastest and most reliable broadband connection. Subscribe to HBO GO using your PLDT Home account to avail of the service at an affordable rate of P299/3 months — all charged conveniently to your fiber bill!.
Bohemian Rhapsody
Currently making waves in the local music scene, singer-songwriter and actress Gigi de Lana is known for her soaring high notes and soulful voice. She picked up her musical passion at a very young age, with the legendary rock band Queen as one of her biggest influences.
No wonder one of her favorite films is Bohemian Rhapsody (2018), an enthralling celebration of Queen — their music and extraordinary lead singer Freddie Mercury, who defied stereotypes and convention to become one of history’s most beloved entertainers.
“Bohemian Rhapsody is a personal favorite because throughout the film, it was like watching history being made – I saw how they composed some of their biggest hits, their struggles as a band and as individuals, how they used their life experiences to write their songs,” Gigi said. “And the recreation of the Live Aid performance was nothing short of amazing! It felt like I was there and the total euphoria of hearing them sing ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ still gives me the chills after several rewatches!”
Like actor Jairus Aquino, most of us have a couple of go-to genres. Jairus is partial to comedy with long-running reality show (Impractical) Jokers and action-comedy-drama like the film Catch Me if You Can (2001). One of his newest discoveries is Barry, a dark comedy series created by and starring Bill Hader.
“What I love about Barry is its premise — it’s a show about a depressed hitman who wants to change his life and become an actor instead–and how they mixed violence and comedy in the script,” Jairus shared. “Not only that, but they also created this crazy combination of characters that will always get a chuckle out of you even when they are trying to kill each other. Bill Hader is great as the emotionless and often awkward hitman Barry but, personally, NoHo Hank (Anthony Carrigan) with all his oddball shenanigans will always be my personal favorite.”
Health and fitness guru Jacq Yu has had a long-standing fascination with DC superheroes, especially Batman.
“Superheroes are human, too, they have their own issues to deal with while they fight crime and save the world. Their humanity is what makes them relatable,” she said.
It’s a no-brainer then that her favorite movie so far this year is Matt Reeves’ The Batman (2022), starring Robert Pattinson in the dual role of Gotham City’s vigilante detective and his alter ego, reclusive billionaire Bruce Wayne. Two years of stalking the streets as the Batman, striking fear into the hearts of criminals, has led Bruce Wayne deep into the shadows of Gotham City. With only a few trusted allies — Alfred Pennyworth (Andy Serkis), Lt. James Gordon (Jeffrey Wright) — amongst the city’s corrupt network of officials and high-profile figures, the lone vigilante has established himself as the sole embodiment of vengeance amongst his fellow citizens.
When a killer targets Gotham’s elite with a series of sadistic machinations, a trail of cryptic clues sends the World’s Greatest Detective on an investigation into the underworld, where he encounters such characters as Selina Kyle/aka Catwoman (Zoë Kravitz), Oswald Cobblepot aka the Penguin (Colin Farrell), Carmine Falcone (John Turturro), and Edward Nashton aka the Riddler (Paul Dano). As the evidence begins to lead closer to home and the scale of the perpetrator’s plans becomes clear, Batman must forge new relationships, unmask the culprit, and bring justice to the abuse of power and corruption that has long plagued Gotham City.
“I love this movie so much because one, it’s a thrilling cat-and-mouse game between the Riddler (Paul Dano), Batman, and Catwoman (Zoë Kravitz), and two, it shows Bruce Wayne making a decision between using justice as a way for self-destruction or actually moving past his traumas and find his true purpose in protecting the people of Gotham,” she added.
Actor Troy Montero has always been a fan of Japan, charmed by its culture where the traditional and the modern often intersect. This fascination led him to discover his new favorite series, Tokyo Vice.
Tokyo Vice is loosely inspired by American journalist Jake Adelstein’s non-fiction first-hand account of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police beat. Filmed on location in Tokyo, the crime drama series captures Adelstein’s (Ansel Elgort) daily descent into the neon-soaked underbelly of Tokyo in the late ‘90s, where nothing and no one is truly what or who they seem.
“Tokyo Vice is an interesting look into Japan — where organized crime (yakuza) and the police work together to form this tenuous balance,” he said. “The series is the perfect neo-noir thriller for when you want to have your mind blown by plot twists. The best part? It has amazingly crafted characters, and Ken Watanabe as senior detective Hiroto Katagiri is both complex and badass. He is easily my favorite.”
In the world of basketball, the Los Angeles Lakers have built an almost-mythical reputation. This is the team of NBA greats that includes Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, and Kobe Bryant, to name a few.
But what made them such basketball heavyweights in the first place? Find out in Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty, a fast break series about the professional and personal lives of the 1980s Los Angeles Lakers, one of sports’ most revered and dominant dynasties — a team that defined an era, both on and off the court. TV presenter and athlete Gretchen Ho has this series firmly in her favorites list.
“Basketball fans should catch Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty as it charts the lives of the Lakers in the 1980s, right in the thick of their Showtime, run-and-gun era where they became the behemoth of the league. It also shows us how players like Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and more created the blueprint of their success,” Gretchen said.“It’s a great series if you want to learn more about your favorite purple and gold players.”
Erik Matti is a Filipino director known for using his films as undisguised social commentaries. And in this hotly anticipated neo-noir thriller On The Job, he didn’t hold back. This six-part series inspired by true events centers around crime syndicates that temporarily release contracted prison inmates to carry out political assassinations for those in power, except that the crime syndicates are run by politicians. On The Job also puts a spotlight on the real-world predicament concerning fake news and how easily truth can be manufactured and disseminated to the public in today’s age of information.
Host-mompreneur Roxanne Montealegre recommends the show not only because she stars in it as journalist Pam Sarmiento, but because it’s a timely film about what’s happening in the country.
“Direk Erik has a masterful way of delivering hard truths on what’s happening in the Philippines and what we’re letting happen,” she said. “On The Job forces us to re-examine our values and what we need to do to create a better Philippines for Filipinos — do we stay silent, or do we stand up against injustice?”
Catch Bohemian Rhapsody, Barry, The Batman (2022), Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty, and On The Job, and more on HBO GO. To learn more about HBO GO and PLDT Home, visit pldthome.com/hbogo. #
Directed by Susumu Yamaguchi, it follows Nobita who picks a small rocket from which a small-sized humanoid alien Papi comes out. He came from the planet name Pirika and came to Earth to escape from the PCIA army of this planet. At the very beginning, Doraemon and his friends were confused by the small size of Papi, but with the gadget “Small Light,” they became small and played together. It features the voices of Megumi Ohara, Wasabi Mizuta, and Yumi Kakazu.
Designed with the everyday modern Asian women in mind, Love, Bonito is launching its Footwear collection with new styles and revamped crowd-favourites that are easy to pair with everyday wear. The new collection is comfortable yet functional, featuring closed-toe and strappy styles which can be matched with almost anything from your wardrobe, from jeans to workwear, weddings to parties or even for a beach day out this summer!
Left to Right: Lissia Cross Strap Sandals in Dusty Yellow, Teresia Square Toe Strap Heels in Nude, Avie Square Toe Strap Flats in Camel
Versatile and timeless designs are key attributes the modern Asian women look for when it comes to effortless styling. With the multiple roles she takes on throughout the day, including running daytime errands, attending work meetings and joining late-night get-togethers, the last thing she wants is to open her closet in the morning and ‘have nothing to wear’.
Left to Right: Halina Square Toe Sandals in Willow, Avie Square Toe Strap Flats in Camel, Teresia Square Toe Strap Heels in Daffodil
Starring a neutral colour palette, the footwear from this collection are everyday essentials, ready to complement any outfit regardless of the day’s agenda. For ladies who prioritise comfort, you can look forward to additional padding on two new pieces, where extra cushioning is provided with every step without losing its form. Featured in the Halina Square Toe Sandals and Avie Square Toe Strap Flats, both pieces provide the comfort and support needed for all-day wear.
Left to Right: Cherise Ankle Strap Mules in Cream, Kori Slingback Strap Heels in White, Lissia Cross Strap Sandals in Dusty Yellow
An evergreen staple to the wardrobe, this Footwear collection is set to be a perfect companion throughout the day. These stylish everyday staples will add a spring to her step and empower her with confidence and elegance to conquer what lies ahead!
Back by popular demand, the collection features iconic weightless straps and ties that boast functionality and style. The Cherise Ankle Strap Mules are a staple pair of pointed toe flats with ankle straps for secure slip-ons, and a micro heel for a casual height boost. The lightweight, thong-styled Kori Slingback Strap Heels is a delicate and minimal piece secured with sling back straps, and ideal for work or casual engagements. The Lissia Cross Strap Sandals would be your go-to piece with its secure design, suitable for days with back to back errands.
Finn Wolfhard, the 19-year-old star of Stranger Things teams up with his Ghostbusters: Afterlife co-star Billy Bryk in directing the film Hell of a Summer, Deadlinereports.
While details about the plot are still under wraps, the directorial debut of the two stars is described as a “contemporary horror-comedy” and is based on a script that Wolfhard and Bryk also co-wrote together. The two actors will also star in the film alongside Fred Hechinger.
Hell of a Summer is joining the lineup of projects under 30West which includes Cooper Raiff’s The Trashers starring Wolfhard’s Stranger Things co-star David Harbour; the thriller Day Drinker from The Amazing Spider-Man duology director Marc Webb; and the forthcoming remake of The Crow directed by Rupert Sanders and starring Bill Skarsgård and FKA Twigs.
More details about Hell of a Summer are yet to be revealed.
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This year, HBO’s Succession tops the list for having the most Emmy nominations with a total of 25 nods, followed by Ted Lasso and The White Lotus each with twenty nods, Hacks and Only Murders in the Building each with 17 nominations, and Euphoria with 16 nods. Other notable titles include Netflix’s Squid Game which received 14 nominations, Stranger Things with 13, and Disney+’s Moon Knight with 8 nods.
In total, HBO comes out on top with 140 nominations, followed by Netflix with 105, then comes Hulu with 58 nominations, Apple TV+ with 51, and Disney+ with 34.
Announced through a live virtual ceremony hosted by JB Smoove (Curb Your Enthusiasm) and Melissa Fumero (Brooklyn Nine-Nine), below is the full list of the 74th Emmy Awards nominations per category:
Drama Series
“Better Call Saul” (AMC)
“Euphoria” (HBO)
“Ozark” (Netflix)
“Severance” (Apple TV+)
“Squid Game” (Netflix)
“Stranger Things” (Netflix)
“Succession” (HBO)
“Yellowjackets” (Showtime)
Photo: Netflix’s ‘Stranger Things’
Comedy Series
“Abbott Elementary” (ABC)
“Barry” (HBO)
“Curb Your Enthusiasm” (HBO)
“Hacks” (HBO)
“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” (Amazon Prime Video)
“Only Murders in the Building” (Hulu)
“Ted Lasso” (Apple TV+)
“What We Do in the Shadows” (FX)
Limited Series
“Dopesick” (Hulu)
“The Dropout” (Hulu)
“Inventing Anna” (Netflix)
“Pam and Tommy” (Hulu)
“The White Lotus” (HBO)
Lead Actor in a Drama Series
Jason Bateman (“Ozark”)
Brian Cox (“Succession”)
Lee Jung-jae (“Squid Game”)
Bob Odenkirk (“Better Call Saul”)
Adam Scott (“Severance”)
Jeremy Strong (“Succession”)
Lead Actress in a Drama Series
Jodie Comer (“Killing Eve”)
Laura Linney (“Ozark”)
Melanie Lynskey (“Yellowjackets”)
Sandra Oh (“Killing Eve”)
Reese Witherspoon (“The Morning Show”)
Zendaya (“Euphoria”)
Lead Actor in a Comedy Series
Donald Glover (“Atlanta”)
Bill Hader (“Barry”)
Nicholas Hoult (“The Great”)
Steve Martin (“Only Murders in the Building”)
Martin Short (“Only Murders in the Building”)
Jason Sudeikis (“Ted Lasso”)
Lead Actress in a Comedy Series
Rachel Brosnahan (“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”)
Quinta Brunson (“Abbott Elementary”)
Kaley Cuoco (“The Flight Attendant”)
Elle Fanning (“The Great”)
Issa Rae (“Insecure”)
Jean Smart (“Hacks”)
Photo: HBO’s ‘The Flight Attendant’
Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie
Colin Firth (“The Staircase”)
Andrew Garfield (“Under the Banner of Heaven”)
Oscar Isaac (“Scenes From a Marriage”)
Michael Keaton (“Dopesick”)
Himesh Patel (“Station Eleven”)
Sebastian Stan (“Pam and Tommy”)
Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie
Toni Collette (“The Staircase”)
Julia Garner (“Inventing Anna”)
Lily James (“Pam and Tommy”)
Sarah Paulson (“Impeachment: American Crime Story”)
Margaret Qualley (“Maid”)
Amanda Seyfried (“The Dropout”)
Variety Talk Series
“The Daily Show With Trevor Noah” (Comedy Central)
“Jimmy Kimmel Live!” (ABC)
“Last Week Tonight With John Oliver” (HBO)
“Late Night With Seth Meyers” (NBC)
“The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” (CBS)
Competition Program
“The Amazing Race” (CBS)
“Lizzo’s Watch Out for the Big Grrrls” (Amazon Prime Video)
“Nailed It!” (Netflix)
“RuPaul’s Drag Race” (VH1)
“Top Chef” (Bravo)
“The Voice” (NBC)
Television Movie
“Chip ‘n’ Dale: Rescue Rangers” (Disney+)
“Ray Donovan: The Movie” (Showtime)
“Reno 911!: The Hunt For QAnon” (Paramount+)
“The Survivor” (HBO/HBO Max)
“Zoey’s Extraordinary Christmas” (The Roku Channel)
Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
Patricia Arquette (“Severance”)
Julia Garner (“Ozark”)
Jung Ho-yeon (“Squid Game”)
Christina Ricci (“Yellowjackets”)
Rhea Seehorn (“Better Call Saul”)
J. Smith-Cameron (“Succession”)
Sarah Snook (“Succession”)
Sydney Sweeney (“Euphoria”)
Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
Nicholas Braun (“Succession”)
Billy Crudup (“The Morning Show”)
Kieran Culkin (“Succession”)
Park Hae-soo (“Squid Game”)
Matthew Macfadyen (“Succession”)
John Turturro (“Severance”)
Christopher Walken (“Severance”)
Oh Yeong-su (“Squid Game”)
Photo: Netflix’s ‘Squid Game’
Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
Alex Borstein (“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”)
Hannah Einbinder (“Hacks”)
Janelle James (“Abbott Elementary”)
Kate McKinnon (“Saturday Night Live”)
Sarah Niles (“Ted Lasso”)
Sheryl Lee Ralph (“Abbott Elementary”)
Juno Temple (“Ted Lasso”)
Hannah Waddingham (“Ted Lasso”)
Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
Anthony Carrigan (“Barry”)
Brett Goldstein (“Ted Lasso”)
Toheeb Jimoh (“Ted Lasso”)
Nick Mohammed (“Ted Lasso”)
Tony Shalhoub (“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”)
Tyler James Williams (“Abbott Elementary”)
Henry Winkler (“Barry”)
Bowen Yang (“Saturday Night Live”)
Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie
Connie Britton (“The White Lotus”)
Jennifer Coolidge (“The White Lotus”)
Alexandra Daddario (“The White Lotus”)
Kaitlyn Dever (“Dopesick”)
Natasha Rothwell (“The White Lotus”)
Sydney Sweeney (“The White Lotus”)
Mare Winningham (“Dopesick”)
Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie
Murray Bartlett (“The White Lotus”)
Jake Lacy (“The White Lotus”)
Will Poulter (“Dopesick”)
Seth Rogen (“Pam & Tommy”)
Peter Sarsgaard (“Dopesick”)
Michael Stuhlbarg (“Dopesick”)
Steve Zahn (“The White Lotus”)
Guest Actress in a Drama Series
Hope Davis (“Succession”)
Marcia Gay Harden (“The Morning Show”)
Martha Kelly (“Euphoria”)
Sanaa Lathan (“Succession”)
Harriet Walter (“Succession”)
Lee You-mi (“Squid Game”)
Guest Actor in a Drama Series
Adrien Brody (“Succession”)
James Cromwell (“Succession”)
Colman Domingo (“Euphoria”)
Arian Moayed (“Succession”)
Tom Pelphrey (“Ozark”)
Alexander Skarsgård (“Succession”)
Guest Actress in a Comedy Series
Jane Adams (“Hacks”)
Harriet Sansom Harris (“Hacks”)
Jane Lynch (“Only Murders in the Building”)
Laurie Metcalf (“Hacks”)
Kaitlin Olson (“Hacks”)
Harriet Walter (“Ted Lasso”)
Photo: Apple TV+’s ‘Ted Lasso’
Guest Actor in a Comedy Series
Jerrod Carmichael (“Saturday Night Live”)
Bill Hader (“Curb Your Enthusiasm”)
James Lance (“Ted Lasso”)
Nathan Lane (“Only Murders in the Building”)
Christopher McDonald (“Hacks”)
Sam Richardson (“Ted Lasso”)
Variety Sketch Series
“A Black Lady Sketch Show” (HBO/HBO Max)
“Saturday Night Live” (NBC)
Variety Special (Live)
The 64th Annual Grammy Awards (CBS)
Live in Front of a Studio Audience: The Facts of Life and Diff’rent Strokes (ABC)
The Oscars (ABC)
Pepsi Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show Starring Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar and 50 Cent (NBC)
Tony Awards Presents: Broadway’s Back! (CBS)
Variety Special (Pre-Recorded)
“Adele: One Night Only” (CBS)
“Dave Chappelle: The Closer” (Netflix)
“Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts” (HBO/HBO Max)
“Norm Macdonald: Nothing Special” (Netflix)
“One Last Time: An Evening With Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga” (CBS)
Hosted Nonfiction Series or Special
“My Next Guest Needs No Introduction With David Letterman” (Netflix)
“The Problem With Jon Stewart” (Apple TV+)
“Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy” (CNN)
“VICE” (Showtime)
“The World According to Jeff Goldblum” (Disney+)
Host for a Reality or Competition Program
Bobby Berk, Karamo Brown, Tan France, Antoni Porowski, Jonathan Van Ness (“Queer Eye”)
Amy Poehler and Nick Offerman (“Making It”)
Nicole Byer (“Nailed It!”)
Barbara Corcoran, Mark Cuban, Lori Greiner, Robert Herjavec, Daymond John, Kevin O’Leary (“Shark Tank”)
Padma Lakshmi (“Top Chef”)
RuPaul (“RuPaul’s Drag Race”)
Outstanding Animated Program
“Arcane” – “When These Walls Come Tumbling Down” (Netflix)
“Bob’s Burgers” – “Some Like It Bot Part 1: Eighth Grade Runner” (FOX)
“Rick and Morty” – “Mort Dinner Rick Andre” (Adult Swim)
“The Simpsons” – “Pixelated and Afraid” (FOX)
“What If…?” – “What If… Doctor Strange Lost His Heart Instead of His Hands?” (Disney+)
Photo: Netflix’s ‘Arcane’
Outstanding Short Form Animated Program
“The Boys Presents: Diabolical” – “John and Sun-Hee” (Prime Video)
Nine years after opening its first café in Tokyo, Café Kitsuné is now finally coming to the Philippines.
Café Kitsuné Manila is expected to officially open in July 2022 at The Podium in Ortigas Center in Mandaluyong City. Further details will be made available at a later date. But expect Café Kitsuné’s Philippine location to have its beloved signature Paris-meets-Tokyo atmosphere and aesthetic. Café Kitsuné Manila, like all of its cafés around the world, is a modernist reinterpretation of the classic Parisian café and wine bar.
Created in 2013, Café Kitsuné has grown to a network of 20 cafés across the world including Tokyo, Paris, Seoul, New York City, Beijing, and Vancouver, achieving cult status amongst specialty coffee lovers around the world. In 2019, Café Kitsuné has also extended its activities to new business lines, adding roasteries, bars, and restaurants to its range.
The ethos of Café Kitsuné echoes this. Modern and urban, with a unique savoir-faire. It offers a warm, sensory dining experience, whether for coffee, afternoon tea, night cocktails, or lunch and dinner among friends. It opened its first café in Tokyo in the Aoyama neighborhood and has since opened other locations in other highly-coveted metropolitan cities such as Paris, Tokyo, Seoul, New York, Shanghai, Jakarta, and Bangkok. Each location maintains its signature modern Parisian café and wine bar look and fee. Yet it also imbibes the local spirit of its iconic global locations.
Café Kitsuné has since become a cult favorite among the locals of its many locations and travelers, and creative coffee connoisseurs. Every Café Kitsuné location is chic and convivial. It welcomes visitors of all ages throughout the day, every day.
The highlight of any visit to Café Kitsuné is its high-quality coffee. Known for being full-bodied and flavorsome, Café Kitsuné cultivates its single-origin coffee beans in Brazil and Guatemala, and are roasted with the utmost care. This makes for a perfect cup of espresso, cappuccino, cold brew, or nitro—smooth and syrupy, with hints of cherry and chocolate. And each cup is prepared by a talented team of passionate baristas who understand the art of coffee making.
Menus in other locations are executed by local chefs who consider their location’s signature flavors without sacrificing the taste fans of Café Kitsuné look for.
Menu items Filipino guests can expect at Café Kitsuné Manila include many favorites, such as its signature burger, styled as a beef teriyaki tartare with bacon, fried egg, and comté; and the croque-monsieur with tuna, lemongrass, and ginger, and the café’s specialty bechamel sauce. Customers can expect a wealth of flavors with the café’s dessert menu, from mochi made with seasonal fruits to a carpaccio served with Sichuan pepper and Thai basilic syrup. Café Kitsuné’s cocktails are also a favorite among regulars, and its emphasis on an understated yet refreshing balance of flavors is expected to carry over in the Manila location.
Manila customers can also expect Café Kitsuné to carry its collection of accessories and tableware.
The young man with chainsaws for limbs has returned! The hit gory manga series Chainsaw Man is finally back to begin its Part 2 after having a 2-year hiatus.
This manga created by Tatsuki Fujimoto was quick to become a rising title in the world of manga, thanks to the chaotic fun it delivers to readers. The fandom was further fueled by the announcement that the manga was being adapted into an anime series by Studio Mappa, the same studio behind Attack on Titan season 4 and Jujutsu Kaisen.
While there’s no release date yet for the anime, the Chainsaw Man manga series will release new chapters every Tuesday. You can now read the first chapter of Chainsaw Man part 2 for free on the Shonen Jump website.
Chainsaw Man follows the young man Denji, who uses his Devil dog Pochita as a weapon to kill Devils for the Yakuza. When the Yakuza betrays him and he was left to die in the hands of the Zombie Devil, Denji is saved by his Devil dog who fuses with him, turning him into the Chainsaw Man– a human-devil hybrid with chainsaws protruding out of his arms and on top of his head.
“The Artist Is Alive” Digital Exhibition by Jasper Castro and curated by Raymond Tribdino goes online this July 15, 2022 at www.theartistisalive.online, inviting the world into an immersive ASMR Art experience for anyone who can access the internet.
Labor Bae (Acrylic on canvas, 4×4 feet)
The exhibition is best experienced with a desktop or by connecting to a larger screen, and a pair of headphones as it would enable the audience to simultaneously take in both the paintings and the recorded spoken word poetry. Through this multidimensional rendering, both audience and artist are looking and hearing the same thing in the most intimate set-up–bringing their psyche to the same place. Aiming to be a notch above walking in someone else’s shoes, it’s being in the artist’s bipolar brain. With this extreme empathy, the artist hopes to connect and befriend the audience as she handholds them through the exhibit to listen to her deepest darkest secrets.
How do you make friends? For her first day at school, her mother advised: smile! But that didn’t work and she was bullied. In college, she discovered a technique herself: start with a secret. She would make friends with random girls by talking about crushes. Opening up on the get-go inevitably created a safe space where others could open up too.
The primary reason this exhibit works as a safe space is that it starts with the artist completely opening her heart and her secrets to the world. By taking the first step, she hopes that the audience, too, would trust her as they dive in, and attempt to find healing together.
Everyone needs to heal.
The exhibit comes at the tail-end of a pandemic that has left almost everyone with surprising and unwelcome self-discoveries about the limits of their mental health.
Jasper discovered the limit of her own mental health in her early twenties when she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. A series of heartbreaks led to years-long clinical depression that stole years of her life. She and her doctor agreed that the blow-up was a long time coming, as symptoms for the disorder had been present since she was a suicidal 4-year-old. However, it was held off for a long time partly thanks to her consistent dedication to the arts.
When Jasper finally got out of her depression, she found she was a completely different person, as though she was reborn. She didn’t love this new self with her new larger frame, and new somber personality–but she understood that these changes had been necessary for her to survive through a difficult time.
In this series of artworks, Jasper finds her way back into loving herself, embracing every phase of her moods, and every facet of her personality. Here, she lays it all out in the open–confessions about desires, frustrations, dreams amplified by triggers, and episodes of mania and depression. Laid out before her, she can find the beauty in them, and despite the temptation for self-loathing, here she learns to forgive herself.
Pushing the limit of expression and getting her message across, Jasper combines her two main mediums: painting and poetry. The audio and visual cues then propel her audience to a destination beyond color and words, serving as coordinates to a third space where both artist and audience share the same mind.
In Trigger, she encapsulates the moment that could lead to a mental downward spiral. A Beta Loves To Fight captures that second before a big angry blow-up. She renders anger in its complex contradictions: soft fluffy afro decked in metallic, harsh shadows on a gentle face, and a fighting fish primed to fight housed in bubble gum. In Heaven’s Looking Down she seeks to express a more subtle trigger that’s harder to pinpoint: disappointment.
The Mangic of My Boston Ferns
In Mania, she sears vibrating, creative manic energy onto her canvas with two pieces that both heavily feature nature that thrives, survives, and thrums amid adversity: the desert cactus and the low-maintenance Boston fern. In Honest Oasis, she confesses her sexuality, and loneliness–two strong emotions amplified during manic episodes. It’s also in Honest Oasis that The Artist is Alive finds its essence: the raw, naked attempt to unify a fragmented self. In The Mangic of My Boston Ferns, she explores creative manic insomnia, delights in how it can be a creative power up but also doesn’t discount the price to pay.
A Floating Lesson (acrylic on canvas)
In Depression, Jasper presents two situations of emotional downward spiraling. My Purple Heart is about coping with the aftermath of rejection through projecting love towards the distant and impossible, to temporarily house a heart longing to love. In Spiral Of Threes, she describes the repetitive, cyclical nature of depression–that it comes with warnings all the time, and yet remains unstoppable as it devours, like crawling poison ivy eating away an immobile house, a pinned down body.
Respite serves as the meditative rest in this series, an important calming ending to a long and winding journey. A Floating Lesson is about learning to breathe and relax when overstimulated by life’s torrential river. Hatch is about finding solace in sleep and learning to shut everything down.
The series ends with Labor Bae, which uses her fascination with nature and honeybees to talk about the formidable task of embracing one’s vocation–whether as a floral-scented short lived spring bee, an autumn bee that lives long but spends most of its life huddled in the hive for winter, or as a long-lasting lonely Queen Bee powerful yet damned to spend her whole life in the hive. The woman sits amid gigantic crimson poppy flowers–an ode to Morpheus, the god of dreams who fuels her art.
The whole collection is a celebration of a fact that the artist shares with the audience: that they are alive. Through the ups and downs, they have survived. The artist announces her presence by using herself as the subject in many of the paintings and also through her susurrous poetry. As the audience journeys with her from brokenness to building herself back again, she bravely brings her secrets out into the open. As Jasper defiantly amplifies her voice, refusing to be silenced, giving it her all–with her colors and her words–she whispers one last desire into the world: she hopes to inspire you to share your secrets, too.
Located at The Shops at Ayala Triangle Gardens, The Bistro Group’s Rumba is now open to tickle your tastebuds. It is helmed by Chef Alfredo Rodriguez Sangrador who has been living in the Philippines for 8 years now and is the Head Chef of the Bistronomia group with restaurants like Las Flores, Rambla, Tomatito, and BCN by Las Flores.
The flavors were inspired by countries that surround the Mediterranean Sea where guests can expect a taste of Spanish, Italian, Greek, and a bit of French. Upon entrance, you’ll notice the rich patchwork of textures ranging from white floral blooms to a compelling wood ceiling and furniture accents in colors that carry the characteristics of the Mediterranean landscape. Definitely a perfect date place or if you’re grabbing a bite with your colleagues.
Rumba focuses on a cooking method using a charcoal oven which infuses smoky flavors into the chef’s specialty dishes. The paella is cooked to perfection using a cast-iron casserole and is placed inside the Mibrasa charcoal oven using 100% charcoal imported from Spain. “We don’t call our charcoal rice, paella, because we don’t use a paellera,” Chef Alfredo explains. “90% of our dishes are cooked in the said oven including French-style free-range chicken, local squid (lumot), lamb chops, duck confit, octopus, shrimp, cheeses, and the mouth-watering cochinillo or suckling pig.
An open charcoal grill, meanwhile, sizzles with other fares such as salmon, tomahawk steak, and tenderloin. There is also a pasta section with choices such as vongole, carbonara, and lobster pasta, along with risottos in choices of seafood or foie.
Chef Alfredo brings his culinary expertise to other Mediterranean favorites such as hummus, lamb, and chicken gyros. He also gives a nod to his Spanish heritage with out-of-the-ordinary takes on traditional food, with croquettas, scallop ceviche, tuna and scallop empanadilla, Spanish cod omelette, and gambas that are not the typical style. The open kitchen provides an inviting feel and connection between the guests and the chefs.
Rumba is located at The Shops at Ayala Triangle Gardens. For reservation or inquiries, call +639158564264,
