10 Important Events at Quezon City’s 80th Anniversary

Quezon City government in partnership with dozens of cause -oriented groups, advocacy group, volunteer organizations, business establishments started the kick-off celebrations on October 12 and 13 at the Quezon Memorial Circle.

Quezon City employees from various agencies attended the grand parade

The event was dubbed Pista sa Kyusi which had a two day event celebration.

Thousands of employees, students, cause oriented groups, bloggers, vloggers and the general public had a rare chance to attend some events, concerts, trade fair, cook-off challenge, art event, sports event, bureau of fire special service section and food fair held within the famed landmark.

10 Important Events at the Quezon Memorial Circle

10.) Quezon City hall grand parade- A grand parade which started within Quezon city hall ground and wereheld around past 7:30 am and moved to Liwasang Aurora at the middle of the Quezon Memorial Circle.

mobile library

9.) Mobile Library exhibit- There were 3 mobile library which is on constant on the move within many parts of the city.

Quezon City public library (mobile van)

The mobile library provide several valuable services like reading literacy awareness, story telling, puppetryshocas among children and students of the city.

QCX museum facade

8. Free QCX entrance – students, heritage advocates, bloggers, ordinary people and even foreign tourist were treated to a whole day of FREE entrance at the QCX museum. There are a lot of see and experience at the museum.

author together with Mr. Paulo Ortega ( juanderingbulakenyo) and two Taiwanese tourists

For those who wanted to know and learn more of the city’s history, heritage, art, culture, advocacy. This is a must visit place.

trade fair booths

Care Channels inc.

Balai Kamay

7. ) Trade Fair- There were over 80 booths which showcases different products, native crafts, organic material, advocacy group, health and wellness, photography group, art association and food.

Len’s Bibingka and Putong Bumbong

Banapple Pies and Cheesecakes

Cook-Off Challenge

6.) Food Fest – There were several food events held at the site. We were fortunate to witness the barbecue cook-off challenge from 6 barangays within the city.

There were two representatives from the barangay. One of the challenge includes pork barbecue cooked-off.

judges included well-known chefs, restaurateurs and qc tourism officers.

pork barbecue

5.) Art and Drawing Sessions- several well-known artists showcase their talents in painting and giving free art lessons. There were also art competition among young and budding artist of the city.

Pop Art booths

Quezon City Small Business and Cooperatives Development and Promotions Office is inviting businesses to join our collective called POP QC (Proudly Original Products of Quezon City).

4.) Plant Stalls- There are several plant stalls located within the park. One can choose from different kinds of plants, ornamental flowering plants, herbs, orchids , pots among others.

herbs and plastic pots for sale

3.) Zumba and Dance Sessions- The group provides free zumba and dance session. One can just join -in with the group.

2.) Free wall climbing and demonstration by Bureau of Fire Services

1.) Garden of Joy and Other Landmarks- This is an important landmark for plant, orchid and horticulture lovers.  This used to be called Flower Garden or Hardin ng mga Bulaklak and now called Garden of Joy.

Garden of Joy entrance

Cymbidium finlaysonianum orchid attached to a narra tree

We hope that the orchids, ferns, bromeliads and other plants mounted on the trees within the garden will be properly nurtured taken cared off. Since a lot of the plants were donated by members of plant organization.

Quezon Memorial Shrine

Presidential Car Museum

One must also try to visit other well-known landmarks like Quezon Memorial Shrine, Presidential Car Museum, Quezon Heritage House and soon to open President Aquino replica house when one visits Quezon Memorial Circle.

Note : Happy 80th anniversary to Quezon City government and to all the organizers of the event.

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Exciting Buffet Menus at the Quezon Restaurant in Fisher Mall

2nd Floor Fisher Mall, Roosevelt Avenue corner Quezon Avenue, Quezon City – Philippines

Mr. Bobby Yan ( celebrity host and model ) Miss Chanel Olive Tomas Miss Philippines -Earth 2015 -Air , Miss Philippine -Earth runner-up , vips and proprietors of the restaurant.

It was after the highly successful first concept buffet -Guevarra’s   , Gruppo Guevarra’s  Inc. ( GGI) .  The group opened another restaurant with a different theme.

buffet dishes

A soft opening was held last October 2015 and through word of mouth , This restaurant is getting a positive review among its customers .

The proprietors decided to open another thematic restaurant within Quezon City aptly named QUEZON Buffet at the Fisher Mall.

old photos of famous landmarks in Manila

The restaurant had a stylish reception area with a 3-d photo of a car somewhere in Escolta , the business district of Manila during president Manuel L. Quezon time.

Hon. John Marvin ” Yul Servo ” Nieto- Manila’s incumbent 3rd district councilor

The white walls had a lot of black and white colored photos of well-known landmarks of Manila and during the Commonwealth era.

ribbon cutting ceremony

The restaurant had a sitting capacity of 200 people at any given time

Chef Monica Bayhon , Mr Raymond Go ( one of the proprietors) Chef Trisha Ocampo , Chef Jordan Rina and Chef Tim Abejuela

The star -studded guests included Miss Philippines-Earth 2015 runner-ups, Mr. Bobby Yan, Mr. John Marvin ” Yul Servo” Nieto (3rd district councilor of Manila) .

Chef Kalel Chan

Celebrity chef Mr. Kalel Chan had been featured by several television shows like Kris TV on ABS-CBN channel 2 , Orange Magazine Television  , GMA channel 7 among others .He envision Quezon as a place where guests can experience a historic vibes through the food that they serve.  He also emphasized the freshness of the ingredients and food that they serve.

people behind the restaurant in a group photo

Miss Ima Castro

She rendered a song for all those people present at the opening.

Entertainment writers Mr Ogie Diaz and Shalala were also present at the opening.

Shalala together with entertainment writers

The restaurant takes pride on their Filipino-Spanish menus which included paella , kare-kare, boneless lechon ,lechon chili belly,  chorizo gambas.

paella

Paella – This is the centerpiece of any event . The dish is widely regarded as Spain’s national dish , with mussels , bits of pork , prawns with bell peppers and green peas.

chorizo gambas

Gambas con Chorizo is a traditional Spanish recipe that brings both of these elements together to create a fusion of sensational flavors.

callos

Callos is a beef tripe soup with chickpeas (grabanzos) , blood sausage and bell peppers.

 lechon chili belly

Lechon chili belly – This is a deboned roasted pig with chili peppers and spices added .  There are a good assortment of condiments like traditional lechon sauce made from the liver of the pork, vinegar sauce and soy sauce.

While Filipino dishes like dory laing , pinakbet, fried fish with salsa , chicken inasal , pork and bangus sisig , dinakdakan .

Lumpiang Ubod ( spring roll with heart of coconut palm ) fried rather than the conventional crepe wrappings) They wrapped them into bite sized portion .

bagnet

Bagnet is deep fried crispy pork with its skin on and in most cases deep fried twice to attain the crispy texture. This is a popular dish in the Ilocos region and parts of Tarlac.

crispy kangkong

 Kangkong leaves ( Ipomea aquatica) also called water spinach , swamp morning glory , kankun , tanglong , kangkung, water glory bind are coated with batter and then deep fried . Leaves usually served as appetizers. This recipe is very much like  vegetable tempura, where you coat the vegetable in a very light batter and deep fried until crisp and golden brown.

This is very important vegetable and during the outbreak of the second world war , where vegetables were scare or hard to come-by .  This had saved millions of Filipinos from starvation .

bangus , chicken and pork sisig

hamonadong manok

Hamonadong Manok – It is marinated chicken hamonado  chicken baked in pineapple juice. It uses the pineapple, condiments and spices as a marinade.  This is quite popular dish in Central Luzon  and Southern Tagalog provinces where there are pineapples  grown .  This is usually serve during special occasions like Christmas and town fiesta.  

fried fish with salsa

Tilapia fish were deboned and deep fried into small pieces  . Best served with freshly sliced tomatoes and salsa .

pork binagoongan

Pork Binagoongan – it is a pork dish cooked in shrimp paste with vegetable like eggplant and topped with shredded  mangoes . I must say that it is not very salty and with the addition of semi-ripe mangoes neutralized the saltiness.

dinakdakan

Dinakdakan is a popular dish from the Ilocos region , The dish is somewhat similar to the Kapampangan dish  ( sisig ) the meat is diced rather than finely chopped

dory with laing/ natong

This dish is a perfect combination of fish and vegetables – The chefs used fillet cream dory aka kanduli or pangasius fish then cooked dried taro ( gabi) leaves in coconut milk. This dish represents the Bicol region.

lechon manok inasal

the chicken is very tender and reflect the regional taste of the Visayan provinces.  However , Those looking for a more authentic taste of inasal or the commercialized ones. This is quite different.

angus steak tapa, grilled vegetables and pork barbecue

Practically recommend this trio , I like the tender angus meat, grilled vegetables and pork barbecue .  The meat of the pork barbecue is quite tender and not tough .

bulalo steak

Bulalo Steak – The dish is made from beef shank and i like the way it is presented and cooked to perfection.

beef kare-kare

Beef Kare-Kare with shrimp paste

dessert table

Dessert table is also a combination of Filipino and Spanish desserts . There are also fresh sliced tropical fruits like water melon , cantaloupe and an area for bottomless soft-drinks and soft serve ice cream.

They have different price set , It is Php 368  weekday lunch ( Monday to Friday) Php 468 weekday dinner ( Monday to Thursday) and Php 568 ( Friday nights , weekend & holidays )

Operation Hours: 12:00 to 2:30pm lunch , 6:00 pm to 9:30pm Sunday to Tuesday , 6:00pm to 10:30pm Friday and Saturday

Contact Numbers : 281-2345, 366-6078

Mobile – (0917-6783966)

Note: children below 4 feet can get a discount of 50% off . Menus may be slightly different from – weekday lunch, weekday dinner and Fridays , weekends and holidays

Quezon Buffet Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/quezon.buffet?fref=ts

Fisher Mall -official Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/OfficialFisherMall

Baga Manila Scenic Sunset Grill at Lakefront in Sucat , Muntinlupa

Lakefront , Sucat , Muntinlupa City – Philippines

A stroll and a fun way to relax  the sunset grill is a way to bring the residents of Lakefront, their visitors, and the surrounding villages to enjoy the Vista community’s open spaces. I have went to this place several months ago and enjoyed the great view , however i did not brought any camera to capture the moment .

white tents at the center

The organizers ( BAGA Manila ) has placed several big white tents at the center together with white wooden dining tables and chairs.  The place also boasts of outdoor tables complete with cloth lanterns that festoon the place  . It is well-lighted had had established a walking path within the picnic area. There is also an ample parking space for those planning to bring their cars or vans.

a family find an ample space to eat

What better way is there to appreciate the great outdoors than to put up those tents, lay out the picnic tables, and heat up the grills.  The place is also friendly to pet dogs and cats. I have seen several pet owners taking their pet for an afternoon of stroll.

pork barbecue

It was organized by Barbecuers and Grillers Association ( BAGA) or BAGA Manila, the event attracts a lot of people from all walks of life. Among the top favorites are their barbecue, chicken intestines , betamax and isaw . They only cost between Php 25 to Php 35.00 which is much cheaper compared to the other food stalls in Metro Manila. There are 4 to 5 stalls which offered different arrays of home-style barbecue, Their only difference is the way they have marinated the pork ,  dipping condiments usually made from vinegar and how they grill them. One of the most popular is Donna’s Grill – Its pork barbecue is quite tender and marinated to perfection.

My Juice

My Juice stall specializes on a variety of juices like 4 season with real fruits bits , buko pandan, buko , black gulaman and  dalandan juice.

Nissan Philippines GT Academy top 20 finalist Mr. Juis Antonio Moreno and a friend

People can also borrow mats while enjoying the sunset and stroll the area.  BAGA Manila started out as a Food and Night Bazaar at A. Venue in Makati several years ago until they moved out to the current place .

Mr. Manfred Manalo – an online writer, enjoying the meal and Ms. Kay Almienda of BAGA Manila

Blogsite: http://thedigester.blogspot.com/

wooden white tables and chairs

The tent dining ares can sit between 400 to 450 people at any given time plus small tables in which  customers can sit down , relax and enjoy the sights and sounds of the place.

Thai Breakers

This is one of the stalls which specializes in food like Pad Thai . The owner/ chef studied Thai recipes and was trained in Thailand .

Brillants Desire

This stall specializes on ice tea and other juices

There must have at least 18 stall holders selling different kinds of meals, barbecue , drinks and mobile bar  . We have tasted Donna’s Grill and Sogah Grill barbecue while Liquid Mobile Bar is the only stall which have mobile drink that are available . Jasha’s Fruit Drink stand offers natural fruits such as  mangoes , avocados, cataloupe , orange ,watermelon, lychee, grapes, apples and banana as refreshing fruit shakes .There is also Hainanese chicken with rice toppings .

Jeph’s Jerks

Jeph’s Jerks which offered Jamaican inspired- sandwiches and burgers. Some of the best sellers are Jerk Burger at Php 135, Jerk ala Pobre at Php 145, Hot Jerk Wing at Php 135,  Jerk Chicken burger  at Php 135 , Jerk Pork burger at Php 105 and Piri-Piri Chicken at Php 155

Shawarma , Burger and Fried Talangka , Mongolian style noodles and grills, siomai ,rice and some sweet  desserts like cup cakes

Mongolian rice with beef and seafood cost Php125.00 set meal , Mongolian chicken and pork cost Php 100.00.

For those who wanted an eclectic mix and fusion of flavors, one must try eating at BAGA Manila Lakefront tents.

It is open from Thursday to Sunday from 4:00pm to past 2:00 am . There are bands , acoustic music every weekends which entertain the crowd .

Note: I would like to THANK Ms. Dawn Mawis and the rest of BAGA Manila for the entire day of relaxation.

Note: photos are taken by the author