Aliwan Festival 2013

Quirino Grandstand, Luneta , Ermita, Manila-Philippines

quirino grandstand

Dinagyang Festival, which was represented by Tribu Panayanon of the Iloilo City National High School, bested 16 other regional festivals from Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.

Mango festival from Zambales

Dalaksagaw festival of Baseco, Tondo , Manila

Baseco Compound’s Dalaksagaw, an acronym for “dasal, lakbay, sayaw, at sigaw” — celebratory modalities instituted by the Augustinian friars of Intramuros who have jurisdiction over the area.

Dinadyang Festival participant

Dinagyang festival won the champion prize of P1-million cash on top of P10,000 prize as Best in Music and another P10,000 as Best in Costume.

Second place award was given to Kalivungang Festival of Midsayap, North Cotabato winning P500,000 cash prize.

a roving van

Aliwan street dancing festival is one of the biggest festival in the country , with the best provincial festival winners vie for the national title. The event is well advertise in major newspapers , blogs, posters and even roving vans

girls clad in flower costume

Miss Iloilo Dinagyang – Ms.Victoria Emily Oke was also declared as first runner up in the search for Reina ng Aliwan 2013, which was won by Jaime Ferrell of the Sinulog Festival of Cebu. Oke won P50,000 cash and another P5,000 as Best in swimwear candidate.

traditional costume from Maguindanao province

ALIWAN FIESTA 2013 STREETDANCE COMPETITION

GRAND CHAMPION
Dinagyang Festival – Iloilo City

FIRST RUNNER-UP
Kalivungan Festival – Midsayap, North Cotabato

SECOND RUNNER-UP
Meguyaya Festival – Upi, Maguindanao

THIRD RUNNER-UP
Padang-Padang Festival – Parang, Maguindanao

FOURTH RUNNER-UP
Adivay Festival – Benguet

FIVE RUNNERS-UP
Ang Tipulo Festival – Antipolo City
Mango Festival – Zambales
Pandang Gitab Festival – Oriental Mindoro
Pasaka Festival – Tanauan, Leyte
Sagayan Festival – Buluan, Maguindanao

SPECIAL AWARDS:
Best in Music: Dinagyang Festival
Best in Costume: Dinagyang Festival
Best in Folkloric Interpretation: Adivay Festival of Benguet

Ms. Victoria Emily Oke

Pasay City float which celebrates their 150th founding anniversary

Bahandilan Float – Alang-alang Leyte- winner first place

FESTIVAL FLOAT COMPETITION

1st Place
Bahandilan Float – Alang-alang Leyte

2nd Place
Balinali Sang Gadung Float – Mangundadatu, Maguindanao

3rd Place
Gak’t Kastili sa Banobo Float – Northern Kabuntulan, Maguindanao

Runners up
Pusaka Float – Maguindanao
Datu Odin SInsuat Float – Maguindanao
Sagayan Float – Buluan, Maguindanao
Niyog-Puso ng Quezon – Catanaun, Quezon
Panagbenga Festival – Baguio City
Panimbang A tarakoku – Mother Kabuntalan, Maguindanao
Sinulog Float – Cebu City

Padang Gitab festival participant

The town of Bansud, Oriental Mindoro will present the Pandang Gitab festival, culled from the folkloric dance pandanggo sa ilaw which originated from the fisher-folk of Lubang island.

ladies dress in traditional costume from Mindoro

Note : Unlike last year, the street dancing competition and parade started a bit late.  According to an insider source, the organizers decided to move the street dancing to a later time slot due to the summer heat which can cause some participants to collapsed due to heat exhaustion .

Here is part 2 : Aliwan Festival Trade Exhibit https://renz15.wordpress.com/2013/04/13/aliwan-festival-2013-trade-show/

Aliwan festival was supported by   Smart Communications, Tanduay, Alaska, My Juiz, Cherry Mobile, Coca Cola, 7-11, Hanabishi, Republic Chemicals, Unique Toothpaste, Pride Detergent, M. Lhuillier, Dunkin’ Donuts, Sulit.Com, Solaire, Manila Ocean Park, and Islands Souvenirs, Department of Tourism , Cultural Center of the Philippines, City of Manila , City of Pasay   Aliwan Fiesta is now on its 11th year.  The grand culminating parade on April 13 kicks off from Quirino Grandstand and making its way to the Aliw Theater’s outdoor stage at the CCP Complex, where the awarding ceremonies were held.

For inquiries, call 832-6125, email siarcega@mbcradio.net, or log onto the official website at http://www.aliwanfiesta.com.ph

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Lucky Yu Sheng

“Toss for Good Fortune!”

old pictures of Singapore circa 1940’s to 1950’s

Makansutra Asian Food Village is located within the Manila Ocean Park complex with several street scene reminiscent of old Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand  or Canton in China. There are several hundreds of mouth watering dishes being served in several food stalls in the Asian themed food village.

For local and international tourist a visit to the place is considered as a chance to sample great Asian dishes presented in an unique manner.

The group was treated in an afternoon of delight last February 9, 2010 by the courteous and friendly staffs and managers of the Makansutra Asian Food Village were  a special dish only for the Chinese New Year, comprising several symbolic delicacies which we know as Yushang. When Yushang is eaten, the ritual is for all to energetically  toss the mixed ingredients high in the air with  shouts of “Loh Hei” which literally means to ‘scaling up in life’, and other traditional meaningful phrases like “xing nian kwai le” (happy new year), “nian nian yu yue” (yearly fortune), “sen di jian kang” (good health), prosperity  etc…

Ms. Tina Santos ( green shirt) together with Mr. Christopher Legaspi briefing the invited guests and media

Each ingredient in this dish has a definitive and symbolic meaning to it, all in relation of prosperity, good luck and well blessings for this New Year. It is the most auspicious and popular dish for the festive season. Almost every Chinese in Singapore and their friends (non Chinese included) must have this dish together and confer blessings to each other to ring in a great year ahead.

Noodles – one of the auspicious foods served during celebrations

Most Malaysians , Singaporeans and the Peranakans ( Chinese born in Malaysia and Singapore) it seems, are somewhat indifferent to this dish that is so integral to Chinese New Year in Malaysia , Singapore and parts of China. Yes, it’s lucky and yes, it should be a part of any New Year banquet, but the consensus seemed to be that it rarely inspires cravings.

In the Philippines , this  dish is not commonly served in restaurants and some Filipino- Chinese families do not observed this ritual of tossing the salad.

Yu Sheng Salad ingredients

And I know why. Most versions of yu sheng are, to my palate at least, gloppy, overly sweet piles of unidentifiable ingredients with little discernible flavor, a dish of vegetables and fish (yu sheng means raw or fresh fish) that tastes nothing like either.

The yu sheng is assembled at a lucky red-clothed, triple-tiered prep area at the front of the restaurant. Every ingredient is made or prepared in-house, making the dish an incredibly labor-intensive endeavor. Many restaurants have simplified the process by outsourcing some ingredients and leaving others out altogether.

Before the yu sheng comes together the staff marinates fish slices (jellyfish is another option) and ginger matchsticks in sesame oil. Then pickled ginger (two kinds – white and red), pomelo sacs, pickled green papaya, shredded green onion, pickled shallots, carrot and picama strings, chopped peanuts, sesame seeds, julienned lime leaves, and chopped cilantro are heaped onto a platter and anointed with a drizzle of plum sauce. The lot is showered with strips of deep-fried won ton skins, garnished with lime wedges and green and red packets of white pepper and cinnamon, and served with the marinated fish.

It’s up to diners to empty their packets of pepper and cinnamon onto the fish and give it a good mix before adding it to the other ingredients. Then, a squeeze of lime and much tossing with chopsticks, preferably while chanting a few lucky phrases to auspiciously usher in the New Year.

Filipino chef  trained in Singapore -Chinese style cooking tossing the salad

yu sheng is a textural marvel – the combination of six fresh and pickled ingredients, cut to almost exactly the same shape and size, culminates in one big, satisfying crunch. It’s sweet from the plum sauce, but also boasts varying shades of tartness from pickles, lime juice, and fragrant lime leaves. The overwhelming flavors are of fish and vegetables, spiced up with ginger two ways (pickled and fresh) and white pepper. The cinnamon adds a subtle warm note. Won ton crisps (most other versions use colored crunchies of unidentifiable origin) – sturdy, grease-less, and wheaty – are delicious enough to eat on their own. Kudos to the restaurant for its light hand with the dressing and for its use of sesame oil; I’ve had more than my share of yu sheng drenched in plain old cooking oil – blech!

Balance, balance, balance. Wondering at the magic worked in that kitchen. The combined knowledge of the restaurant’s chefs and prep cooks gives rise to dishes that are nuanced, complex, and always balanced. The yu sheng is no different.

The best illustration of the care taken at Makansutra  ,  those are red and green envelopes. They’re wrapped by hand and their jagged, uneven edges suggest one-by-one, scissor-cut origins. Each year,  staff cuts thousands of pieces of paper into rough squares, lays them flat on a table, spoons ground white pepper and cinnamon in their centers, and folds in the four corners. All this even though pre-filled packets can be easily sourced from a supplier.

For us,  Chinese New Year has always meant extra vacation days and a travel adventure. From now on,this popular dish called ” Yu Sheng ”  is also served at the  Makansutra Asian Food Village  .

mixed Yu Sheng

Winning Toss

Besides being full of flavors and textures, yu sheng is loaded with symbolic meaning. The raw ingredients signify the renewal of life, and the sound of the word for fish in Cantonese sounds like the word for prosperity. The most important (and fun) part of eating yu sheng is the mixing together of the ingredients.

Ms. Gloria B.Jane Baylon – DFA & Philippine News Agency press enjoying the tossing of salad

To ensure good luck for the coming year, everyone calls out “Lo Hei!”-which means “to mix it up” but also sounds like “to prosper more and more”-while they use their chopsticks to toss the ingredients as high in the air as they can. Now that’s what I call a well-tossed salad!

Makansutra Asian Food Village

Contact : Ms. Tina Santos

Location: Manila Ocean Park
Behind Quirino Grandstand , Luneta Park, Manila
Telephone: +63 2 567 3512
Fax: +63 2  567 3512 loc. 105

Business Hours : 11am – 9pm daily

Manila Oceanarium

The Manila Ocean Park ( MOP) is an oceanarium at the back of Quirino grandstand in Manila . It is owned by China Oceanis Philippines Inc., a subsidiary of China Oceanis Inc., a Singaporean-registered firm that has operated four oceanariums in China .

There is also a hotel called H20, restaurants, souvenir shops and a place to find relaxation and watch the famous Manila bay sunset.

garoupa – lapu-lapu

Operating Hours
Manila Ocean Park is open from 10am – 9pm, Mondays through Sundays. Special tours may be requested and booked earlier than tour schedules.

Entrance Fee
The Entrance Fee for adults is PHP400 (approximately US$10) and PHP350 (approximately US$9) for children.

Security Checks
Everyone entering the Park is subject to a security check. Bags, parcels and/or items shall undergo inspection before entry.

Photography
Flash photography is not allowed as this scares the marine animals. Photography, videotaping, recording of any kind, broadcast or transmission for commercial purposes is not allowed.

Guests with Special Needs
Guests of Manila Ocean Park requiring special assistance can bring their own wheelchairs to the Park. Guests bringing in small children may be allowed to use their strollers inside the Oceanarium. A limited number of wheelchairs and strollers may be rented for a nominal fee at the entrance.

Personal Conduct
Interactive kiosks and projections, as well as educational materials and other equipment, have been installed within the Manila Ocean Park to enhance the learning experience. Guests are free to use the equipment under minimal supervision; however, it is expected that care shall be taken during its use.

First Aid
First Aid Stations are available at the front desk and second floor activity center.

The Manila Ocean Park is located behind the Quirino Grandstand, in Luneta,  Manila. For more information, contact +(632) 567.7777 and +(632) 567 2309