Vegetarian Food Fair 2012

The Vegetarian Food Fair 2012 is an awesome event for vegans and also for foodies. 
It was held last December 4, 2011 at the Fong Guang Shan Mabuhay Temple. They have this kind of event yearly usually every December. I am attending their activities and other events in the temple about 2-3 times a month so I also invite my sisters and other friends to come here as well. 

The event started at 10am with a health talk featuring the speaker Nanay Nona Castillo (she's a vegan for more than 20 years) about on how to live a healthier lifestyle on our daily lives and a demo on how to make fruit smoothies using a blender. It was a very informative talk and not a boring one.

 

After the health talk around 12pm, we proceed downstairs to for the vegetarian buffet. Usually we dine at the dining hall but we were surprised that day because at the entrance of the temple there were tables and vegan food served for 800 attendees!

Me and my sister Cathy posing at the Fresh Fruit table with decors. Looks so nice. 
I'm the one in brown shirt at the left side while my sister is at the right side. 

Who says vegetarian food is bland and boring? You're wrong!
Let me show to you some of the dishes served at the buffet. You'll be stunned. 



The vegetarian Sushi (favorite #3)  looks good and tastes good too!

The vegetarian Tacos (favorite #2) so yummy! Even my sister likes it too!

The vegetarian Barbecue (favorite #1). Me and my sis love bbq and she was amazed of how it looks and the texture of the veggie meat used for the bbq. We love it! 

Still not convince?! 
The vegetarian Baked Macaroni. So good that I ate two of these hehe. 

The vegetarian Fried Rice with veggie ham, shiitake mushrooms, and string beans.
I love it too!

 

Sweet tooth anyone? Desserts? 

YES! There were desserts served in the same time of the food event.

Different kinds of Rice cakes (Maja Blanca, Sapin-Sapin, Kalamay and Biko). 

I'm a big fan of Filipino rice cakes so I took one of those each.

Fruit salad (I think the decoration was overdone but I like the taste of it honestly).

and of course the assorted fresh fruits!!! There were like 4 tables of fresh fruits and lots of left overs after the buffet. The lady monks gave us lots of fruits to bring home.  Me and my sis were so stuffed yesterday.

Why go vegetarian? 

Its not just for health reasons but also for your own well-being and compassion to animals. 

At the moment, I am still eating some meat but I am planning to be a strict vegetarian again when I have my own kitchen so that I can cook my own food. 

The Fong Guang Shan Mabuhay Temple is located at 656 Pablo Ocampo Street, Malate, Manila (across Century Park Hotel and near Rizal Memorial Stadium) and open to everyone but if you want to try their some of the vegetarian dishes, the Water Drop Tea House is open from Tuesdays to Sundays (except Mondays) 9am to 5pm only. 

How to Become a Money Magnet

I attended the Money Magnet Seminar yesterday at the SMX Convention Center with my sister and friends. It was a whole day seminar from 8am to 7pm and facilitated by John Calub, the speaker/trainer of the John Calub Training Inc.  

Money Magnet Seminar (courtesy of John Calub)

Money Magnet E-Wrist

I also attended his 2-hour free Keys to Success Seminar last October 19 at the Cinema 9 of SM Megamall with my friend Lyn so I got a discount with the 10 tickets of the Money Magnet Seminar.  I have invited friends to come over to the seminar. However, only 7 friends of mine came. Not bad though my 2 other friends were seating a bit far from us since they came late. 

Me, my sister and friends (I am wearing the striped Pink top)

During the seminar, I learned a lot of things from Mr. John Calub. He tackled about the most common Filipino misconceptions about money, how to attract money (law of attraction), how to give (charity) and how to manage your money wisely. If you're a millionaire already and you don't know how to handle your money, you can spend it in 3 months only like the Filipino lotto winner of P14M. Which makes sense, right?

Mr. John Calub during the seminar

The reason why I attended this seminar is not only how to become richer, but I also like how the speaker/trainer delivers every bit of information. His presentations were very simple as a fact but he has a great sense of humor. You won't get bored or tired of listening to him. 

He also gave motivation and some right affirmations so that we can attract good things in life. He's a good and an effective trainer. I think no one in the seminar has fell asleep. 

Participants raising their hands when asked, "Sinong gustong yumaman dito?"

I can't disclose the information being taught during the seminar, you have to pay and attend it just like everyone else did. We were also supplied with training materials like manual, pen and a certificate.  It was all included in the Money Magnet Seminar ticket for the discounted price of PHP500 only (except meals, you have to provide that for yourself). Again, this is an all day seminar.

Training Manual

Training certificate

I highly recommend this seminar to everyone, young and old as long they have an open mind to absorb every information being given during the seminar. I want to attend his other seminars like Attracting Wealth and The Firewalk Bootcamp when I have the right opportunity (of course, time and budget is the problem for me at the moment).  You can also check out his website for other seminars www.johncalubtraining.com

For more details about Money Magnet Seminar, you can go here:

www.moneymagnetseminar.com

Barracuda Restaurant: Fab Birthday Lunch

It was my birthday yesterday and  I just turned 33 years old. I celebrated my birthday together with my two younger sisters and my sister's bf.  We had a 3-course Italian lunch at the Barracuda Restaurant. It's a fine dining restaurant in the Oasis Park Hotel. I like the interior and the ambiance of the restaurant though it was empty when we came in yesterday. 

So we were just the customers during lunch time.

At the wine display of the restaurant

I got 2 discount vouchers from Ensogo that I purchased last June for only P275 (regular price was P720). Each voucher was good for two persons though they have a different menu for Ensogo customers. I called them the day prior to my birthday for reservation as part of the voucher's fine print.

 

Menu of the Day

 

We were served with complimentary Foccacia bread with olive oil and pesto while waiting for our ordered food.  

Foccacia Bread

Our appetizer came, the Pumpkin and Carrot Soup. The soup was creamy and had croutons, not salty or sweet, just right. Yummy and healthy!

Pumpkin and Carrot Soup

Yellow dress and yellow soup?!

For the main dish, we ordered two different kinds so that we can taste the other dishes as well.  We ordered pasta and chicken for our main dishes. The Pesto Pasta with Zucchini and Bacon Roulade was good, its not too oily and the spices were just right for the taste.     

Main Dish #1: Pesto Pasta with Zucchini and Bacon Roulade

We were surprised with the second main dish, the Chicken Afritada. It's not the usual Filipino dish as we know. It was different in some ways. The chicken meat was rolled and on top of a hash brown. The afritada sauce was at the side of the plate then garnished with carrot strips.

Main Dish #2: Chicken Afritada

Dessert anyone? Of course.
I have a sweet tooth and its like a treat for me after lunch on some special occasions like this. We had Apple Crumble. We like it though it has whipped cream and mint leaves. My sister doesn't like the mint leaves for some reasons. The dessert was not too sweet, so we had finished it. I love the mint leaves because as I chew it, it feels so fresh and cool in my mouth like I brushed my teeth :)

Dessert: Apple Crumble

Their food was not bad at all, it was good though my favorite Italian restaurant is still Italianni's. The staffs were courteous and attentive to us. They even assisted us with an umbrella when we were about to board the taxi since it was raining yesterday. I think they lack some advertising for their establishment in order for them to be recognized.

We didn't have to pay for the service charge, we just provide them our Ensogo vouchers and off we go to SM Manila to catch a movie.  I love watching movies/films and that will never be skipped on my birthday. 


Barracuda Restaurant is located inside the Oasis Park Hotel 
1032-34 Belen Street, Paco, 1007 Manila (near Paco Park)