Around the World Toys Series 2 from Jollibee

The country’s largest fast food chain again release another set of kiddie meal toy which will bring delight for children and fast food collectors not only in the country but the rest of the collecting community.

Dubbed as ” Around the World series 2” this showcase Jollibee mascot in different tourist destination sites around 6 destinations and countries.

California, USA shows Jollibee on top of surf and waves. It had a movable base which can move up and down.

Venice in Italy where gondola is a traditional, flat bottomed boat, often the gondola is propelled by a person portrayed by Jollibee (the gondolier) who stands facing the bow and rows with a forward stroke. The character had a detachable paddle and its arms can move forward.

Hawaii, USA – Jollibee had a garland of yellow flowers and guitar. Hawaii is well known for her flowers and guitar makers. Large Filipino expats community also lives in the state.

Hong Kong, China – Jollibee is sitting on a dragon boat with movable arms beating a drum. Dragon boat race is quite popular in the territory.

London, United Kingdom – Jollibee is portrayed as Queen’s guard (guards on foot) wearing full-dress uniform of red tunics and bearskins (hats). With its iconic black tall hat and movable arms. The company just recently opened a branch within the outskirt of the the city.

Singapore– Jollibee is standing beside the country’s most iconic symbol. The merlion is part mythical creature with head of a lion and body of a fish is an iconic mascot of the city state. The merlion is detachable,  It can be lighted up and change into different color specks by a switch on the side of the merlion.

The downside of having a battery operated lighting merlion, Is that it’s lighting feature may not last long when children keeps on playing the item.

This is a better kiddie meal series compared to the first one issued earlier this year.  Aside from bringing joy and happiness, This also bring educational awareness on geography of the respective country and marketing on other foreign branches of the company.

The toy series can be bought at all Jollibee stores nationwide from November 1, 2018 until supplies last.

First Series

The first series of the Jolly Kiddie Meal Jollibee “Around the World” toys was released from February 1 to 28, 2018 and  part of Jollibee’s 40th anniversary.

Among the countries featured where Canada, Vietnam, New York, Texas, and the Philippines, dressed in some of the most iconic costumes from these places.

Note: The author is lucky to have completed both set of kiddie meal toys.

Warning : The toys had some small parts which can cause some choking hazard for children less than 3 years-old. Adult supervision is a must for children playing this toy set.

Full Disclosure: This is not sponsored post by the company. All sentiment, opinion was based on the toys bought and reviewed by the author. The author is also a member and administration in some FB group which collects fast food toys.

 

 

 

 

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Easter Postcard from McKittrick , Missouri

Happy Easter and Maligayang Pasko ng Pagkabuhay ! to my avid readers,

Easter postcard circa 1911

I was doing some clean-ups in my personal collection will take back for more than a century on April 12, 1911 when an Easter postcard was send from Montevista College from California to McKittrick, Missouri .

The town  is small according to wikipedia and US census  in 2010 the city had a 678 inhabitants per square mile (261.7/km²). There were 36 housing units at an average density of 400.0 per square mile (154.4/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 100.0% White .Reference: US Gazette

The Easter postcards was written on April 11, 1911 Holy Tuesday and was delivered sometime April 12, 1911 Holy Wednesday  to Mr and Mrs. Andy  Schroff from Mc Kittrick , Missouri – It was send by their cousin to congratulate them for having a daughter Lucile and greeting them Happy Easter. Easter falls on April 16, 1911 .

I got this postcard from a local bourse several years ago

 

 

Ms. Abby Asistio Meets Facebook Founder Mark Zuckerberg

California- United States of America

Last January 31, 2016, Fellow Filipino Alopecia Ambassador Ms. Abby Asistio flew to San Francisco and had the wonderful opportunity of being chosen as one of the eighteen invited by Facebook on their 12th Anniversary Friends Day celebration with California-based Alopecia awareness advocate, Ms. Rachel Regal.

l-r Ms. Rachel Regal  , Mark Zukerberg and Ms. Abby Asistio

Alopecia is an autoimmune condition which results in partial or total head and body hair loss. Abby Asistio have had it since she was four while Rachel just developed itsometime in 2012, the same year she discovered that her 10-year-old daughter, Eliana, had it,too. Six inspiring stories were picked by Facebook among its 1.64 billion users and Abby’s friends were all amazed when theye’ve found out that Abby’s Alopecia story was one of them.

 

Abby and Rachel met each other through the double A hand sign campaign that Aby started in2012, and They’ve been “connected” since then. Last year, Facebook Stories featured how thesetwo were able to build a friendship, as well as campaign for disease awareness throughFacebook! And last February 1st, Abby and Rachel had the chance to tour FB headquarters inMenlo Park, San Francisco, meet and chat with the people behind Facebook (Founder & CEOMark Zuckerberg, COO Sheryl Sandberg, CPO Chris Cox, and a whole lot of awesome people),get crazy cool gadgets and have one of the best experiences of their lives.

 Ms. Rachel Regal and Ms. Abby Asistio

Abby recounted that it was such a surreal feeling to be in the same room as the creator of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg. Mark Z was wearing his trademark look (jeans, sneakers, shirt anda big smile on his face), and had such a friendly, approachable aura and demeanor about him.

Not at all intimidating! He shared stories about how the company started, its mission-vision,  the ups and downs that come along, and their future plans. Those invited also had the chance to ask him questions. When Mark Z was asked about achieving success and life’s “impossibilities”. Hesaid, “There’s a difference between impossible and things taking a really long time. Even if you’re not going to be able to do something in a short time period, if you care about something,you want to see the world to move into that direction… So the best thing to do is just get started and not be discouraged. It’s tough because this stuff is hard, or else people would’ve already done it.”

Abby Asistio got the chance to ask a question to one of the world’s 50 most powerful, successful women in business, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg. Aside from Alopecia awareness, Abby isalso an active Real Beauty advocate with girls and women struggling with various insecurities,being so consumed by the world’s unrealistic and sometimes superficial standards of beauty. So Abby asked Sheryl about her perception of it. Sheryl said that beauty is just like success and thatno one could really define it for you. We are all unique. We have different stories, dreams and desires. We should explore our own inner and outer beauty, believe and embrace that we are beautiful, and never allow anyone to tell us otherwise.

Mark capped off his talk by sharing their company philosophy with everyone present. Though already having over 1 billion subscribers, there are still 7 billion people all over the world without access to all the meaningful connections and information that Facebook brings. One thing that the company stands by is that “things are always 1% completed”. It keeps them grounded, reminding them that there is always so much work, growth and progress to be done, and so many people to reach out to and help.

Everything about the Facebook trip was overwhelming and inspiring according to Abby. More than anything, it reminded her about “responsibility”. We are all given our own platforms, in this case “accounts and connections”, to make a dent in this world. It is up to us to become complacent and take these vehicles for granted, or maximize the opportunities and use them to make a positive impact in this generation. Abby is grateful that Facebook has become a medium for her to communicate disease awareness and touch people beyond the confines of her tiny room and her country. Abby is also glad that she and Rachel are two out of millions of people choosing to recognize the importance of social media in contributing to making this world abetter place, and actually doing something about it.

Ms. Abby Asistio amazing hair transformation with NovuHair

Truly, God plans the best adventures and creates the most beautiful surprises. Abby knows that to spread and reach new heights and she is particularly grateful to Facebook for giving her this opportunity and to Novuhair, Nature’s Answer to Hair Loss (www.novuhair.com), for always

being so supportive of her advocacy and endeavors. Abby is proud and honored to have represented the Philippines and the Alopecia community in this once-in-a-lifetime, international experience.

 

 

NAPA Restaurant: an American – Italian restaurant in Scout Borromeo , Quezon City

NAPA Restaurant ,# 2 Scout Borromeo Street, Quezon City- Philippines

Napa Restaurant signage is very visible within Scout Borromeo street in Barangay South Triangle with ample area .

I had a privilege last January 24, 2013 to join an eyeball and a victory party  (Filipino Bloggers Worldwide) organized by Ms. Sumi Go that was held in the heart of the busy Barangay South Triangle area. This area is known for its restaurants, condominiums, medium- sized malls that are perfectly located just a stone throw away from two popular television stations.

According to some old time residents , This area used to be a quiet and lazy residential area even up to the late 1970’s when commercialization started converting the residential lands into tall condominium units and business establishment.  The restaurant used to be called Bistro Napa located at IL Terrazo in Quezon City.  The place used to be an old residential house, then converted into  a pre-school  run by ABS-CBN Children’s Center  for about a decade, before it was re-adapted as a restaurant and bar by its present owners.

Function:

Much of the foundations of the old-house was retained and was enhanced by the present proprietors (Kudos for its re-adapted re-use).

used wine bottles  as a lightning fixtures in the restaurant

It had an open area perfectly fit for occasions like garden events, baptism, meetings, and a hangout place for barkadas.

Napa restaurant outdoor area serves an an ideal place for couples or small group its garden -like theme is perfect for moonlighted date or team building

NAPA restaurant had function rooms that can hold private affairs from company team- buildings, seminars, meetings, family reunions, parties, media conference and special events ranging from 20-120pax.

chicken buffalo wings -one of the signature dishes of the restaurant

According to Chef Joseph Apolinario , the name was derived from NAPA Valley in California that is known for its grape vineyards  and agricultural lands. Another interesting trivia is that one of the proprietor hails from the NAPA Valley region hence they choose the name.

Ms. Ruby Rodriguez with her family dining at Napa Restaurant ( photo credit :  Napa Restaurant)

Celebrity clients:

There are some celebrities and government employees, is said to have been regular clientele of the restaurant among them  were Ms. Ruby Rodriguez, Mr. Piolo Pascual , Mr. Gerald Anderson , Mr. JM de Guzman , MTRCB Chairman Atty. Toto Villareal, PBA player Mark Barroca and Artista Academy celebrities of TV channel 5.

Artista Academy of TV channel 5 press conference ( photo credit : Napa Restaurant )

The garage area was converted into an outdoor patio style setting, perfectly fit for those people who wanted to admire the various flowering and ornamental plants carefully arranged in a landscape.

This area used to be a garage  , now this was converted into a semi-outdoor  dining area by the proprietors

The friendly staffs and crews were very accommodating and even escorted us to our dining area. The new location comes an updated menu, with a focus on comfort food like pizza, pasta, cakes, spare ribs, spicy buffalo chicken wings, sweet potato chips, lava cake and other popular favorites.

painting are hung on the wall serves as gallery for the art collection

Gallery: The wall of the restaurant had a several collections of paintings and object d’ art (collection by one of the owners)  –This is another reason to visit this restaurant.  Aside from the yummy food that they serve, their restaurant offers a visual treat.

wine bottles serve as lightning fixtures in the restaurant

What I like most about this restaurant is their ability to convert their used wine bottles  as accents for their lightning effects and retaining the structure of the old residential house.

Filipino Bloggers Worldwide group picture (Photo credit :Napa Restaurant )

Food Menu :

We would like to Director Rich Ilustre and Chef Joseph Apolinario and the whole Napa Restaurant & Bar team, Thank you so much for hosting this wonderful event for us. Maraming Maraming Salamat po sa inyong lahat!

The restaurant will have their valentine’s day treat

How to get there: From MRT (EDSA -Quezon Avenue station) take a short walk 10 to 15 minutes or take a tricycle/ pedicab ride going to Scout Borromeo street ( Php 25 special )

 Public transportation (from Manila, and South areas) take the PhilCoa and Fairview buses /jeepneys and go down at the Quezon Avenue / National Bookstore/ Tropical Hut area then a short walk for about 5 minutes. The restaurant is located just about 2 blocks away from Quezon Avenue.

I would give my few cents of ratings

 Location: 8/10

Parking: 8/10

Ambiance: 8/10

Service: 8/10

Food: 8/10

Drink: 9/10

Price: 9/10

Facilities: 9/10

Address: Napa Restaurant and Bar-12 Scout Borromeo St.,
South Triangle, Quezon City , Metro Manila, Philippines
Telephone: (02) 414-8272

Operations: Monday to Thursday

11:00 am to 2:00 pm and 5:00pm to 1:00 am

Friday, Saturday and Sunday

11:00am to 2:00pm and 5:00pm to 2:00am

* The restaurant also accepts reservations for events

Facebook : http://www.facebook.com/pages/Napa-Restaurant-Bar/177409372345905