Good Corporate Governance

I passed by Ayala Avenue this morning and saw some words promoting good corporate governance posted by the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) on the LED monitor of the Insular Life Building.  It's an interesting concept, and memories of my involvement in the capital markets came flooding back fast.  While working for the government during Tita Cory's presidency, I had to deal with representatives of the World Bank and the US Agency for International Development (USAID) on the issue of strengthening the Philippine capital market.  The issues were twofold--full disclosure and good corporate governance.  We were all in quick agreement; the meetings were over fast, and as an instant solution, we actually copied the rules and standards of the NYSE for the Securities Regulation Code and the PSE.  Homework finished!

As I look back, it's not just how the quarterly and annual reports are filled in and submitted to both the SEC and the PSE.  Sometime during the meetings at the Philippine Association of Publicly Held Companies (PAPCI), I came to realize that  good corporate governance just actually an iterative process of question and answer from stockholders who buy your stock--

       What have you done with my money?

       Were we profitable or not?

       How come we lost money?

       What in heavens name did you do?

       Why should I retain you?

       Maybe you should get fired!

       =$@*&^+%#!

To the boards of directors of listed companies, if you can answer those questions without batting an eyelash, then I would suppose that you are on the right track.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is Good Corporate Governance in a nutshell!

Ely Ramos

As a consequence of opening the Roca butter crunch candies at Gwammy's place, the conversation inevitably segued to the oft-repeated story of the Ely Ramos chocolates.  Together with Fernando Poe, Sr., Ely Ramos was a matinee idol and LVN contract star in the late thirties.  He happened to gift my grandmother with a box of Whitman chocolate samplers sometime in late 1938.  My lola put the box atop a dining room shelf, waiting for an opportune moment to open it, like when the whole family was together for some celebration.

Ever the chocolate lover, Gwammy would look at the box daily, dreaming of the time that the box would be opened.  Gwammy would pester her mother to open the box, to which lola would reply (in Spanish) something like, "Not today, but perhaps during a special occasion."  Now this went on weekly for several months, and sometime in the middle of 1939, lola finally decided to open the box.

To their dismay, the chocolates were half-consumed by weevils and/or ants!  And despite how lola tried to locate and carve out edible portions, Gwammy and her siblings just lost their desire to eat the Whitman chocolates!  And since then, my grandfather decreed that the family should, "Eat while the eating is good!"  To this day, whenever we decide to open some chocolate goodies, we are reminded of this particular incident, and the wisdom that Ely Ramos brought upon the family.  To the chocolate lovers out there, note that Whitman's still sells the sampler in the same packaging today as in 1939!  I find the brand a bit too sweet for my taste though, but all in all, it's the memory that counts.

Giliw Ko (1939) with Fernando Poe, Sr.

Maynila (1946) with Tita Duran

Sumpaan (1948) with Norma Blancaflor

Roca Buttercrunch

The Roca Buttercrunch sometimes gets to be a conundrum--you either love em or you hate em!  Cousin Gene dropped off the box shown left in Gwammy's place and the clan gathered together over the weekend to unceremoniously open the box.  The original flavor developed by Brown and Haley (incorporated in 1914) was the Almond Roca, and this was a log-shaped chocolate candy with butter and chopped almonds.  It was packaged in a distinctive pink tin can and as such, was regularly exported around the world.  Today the candy has several different other flavors like peanuts, macadamia, cashew and coffee.  I remember the first time I tried this was when someone gifted Erica with a tin can back in the late seventies--I found the candy to be too gooey for my taste!  I didn't quite like the way my teeth kept sticking to each other while eating the candy, as this felt quite uncomfortable especially since my gums were sore from wearing retainers all night long.  It was a good thing that I later on learned to refrain from chewing the candy directly, and now that I can manage my bite, it seems that this is a good dessert to have around the house!

Carrier

Carrier is the world leader in air-conditioning and climate control systems.  Most engineering students learn that Willis Carrier studied the principles of heat exchange, humidity and thermodynamics and consequently invented air-conditioning in 1902.  This year, the brand celebrates its 50-year presence in the Philippines, and we have been fortunate to have been part of the brand's local history (maybe a few people can remember that in the 1990s, we made a television endorsement of their room air-conditioners, attesting to the robust engineering and noteworthy cooling power).  Vicky and I were at the Fort Tent this evening to celebrate this milestone with the group.

The Philippine partnership started in 1962, when the Jose Concepcion Sr,. was granted a license to manufacture and sell Carrier air-conditioners in the Philippines.  Today, the Concepcion family is in joint-venture partnership with United Technologies Corporation (the parent company of the Carrier Corporation) in what is known as the Concepcion-Carrier Air Conditioning Company.  Here's a toast to the group--congratulations for taking us through the spring, summer, and autumn of our lives, and here's more power for the next 50 years, as we look forward to the coming winter!  Three cheers to climate control--a showcase of human ingenuity!

Aji Ichiban

Monique has been a fan of Aji Ichiban for as long as I can remember.  This Japanese sounding snack food retailer is actually a HK based organization, and it's international reach (around 90 locations) is pretty wide considering that Chinese candy is pretty generic and has absolutely little name recall.  We dropped by their Makati store and Monique got her fave--choco rocks (mini chocolate candy color-coated to resemble river pebbles)--which was priced at P100 for 100 grams.  We just love it!

Choco rocks are in the middle row--earth colors on the left and bright primary colors on the right!

Snackers

This is absolutely a super treat for those chicheria lovers out there.  Cheese puffs simply called Snackers, which is actually in generic packaging.  It's absolutely delicious, super cheesy, with a long-lasting crunchiness!  Vicky has an office mate that sells this stuff and the giant pack is only P70!  It's not even labelled--no manufacturer or telephone number or address--but since it's so yummy, there's a big demand for this stuff!  The funny thing is that I don't even know where to get it, but if you somehow see the packaging at right, this is it, folks!

Commons

Located along Valero St. in Salcedo Village, this restaurant used to be known as Aposento a couple of years back, and after some remodeling (the new concept is quite hip and mod), the new owners decided to call the restaurant Commons.  The food is mainly Filipino and the restaurant is always full weekdays during lunch time, and I understand that at night, the loud music and TV programs almost turn the place into a sports bar.

We had a sumptuous seafood meal, starting with bangus sinigang, which was soured just right for my taste.  The prawns in crab fat was a cholesterol magnet, but we had so much fun with it that it didn't seem devilish at all.  The grilled squid came in hot and was pretty tasty; their mussels with sweet chili sauce made me think it was a Thai dish.  For our fish staples, we had crispy hito--really crunchy and seasoned just right--and in true Pampagueno fashion, this catfish came with a side dish of buro (fermented rice).  Still not contented, we also got and order of steamed fish fillet.  After drinks and dessert, our bill came to around P700 per head.

Seattle's Best

I haven't been much of a coffee shop fan as I only take coffee when I have to keep awake--like driving on long trips or staying up late to work.  Don't get me wrong, I enjoy my coffee black and I do love the aroma of freshly brewed coffee.  Unfortunately, I palpitate with the caffeine and my sleeping hours get wrecked, so I keep to hot chocolate and light teas.  I happened to have a meeting at Seattle's Best yesterday, and I found out that they have come up with their own concoction of milk tea, complete with sago (cassava pearls).  I'm getting to like this stuff and i can see why Monique and Vicky are already hooked!  Price? A little over P100 for this one.

Marco Polo Plaza

We capped our night at the Blu Bar at the top Marco Polo Plaza hotel in the Nivel hills area of Cebu.  This used to be the Cebu Plaza Hotel run initially by Anos Fonacier.  Sometime in the mid-nineties, the hotel was bought by the Pathfinder group.  After some financial difficulty, Metrobank foreclosed on the property and as such, the hotel is now owned by Federal Land, an affiliate of the bank.  I understand that the Marco Polo chain manages the hotel and from the looks of it, the hotel is even better now that it was when it first opened.

At night, the city view is quite beautiful, you can see the lights all over town.  I enjoyed our ride up the scenic elevator, something that was in vogue during the eighties, but nowadays not much used by architects and building owners.  The cool breeze was a welcome treat, and most of the guys had some beer while the girls held onto their cocktail drinks.  As usual, I had a shot of whiskey (this time single malt Glenfiddich).

I like the new look of this hotel.  We stayed around till almost midnight and even reminisced on older Cebu hotels like the Magellan and the revolving Chinese dimsum restaurant.  Being one of only two 5-star hotels in the city (the other being the Radisson), I'd recommend this hotel to any traveller who would like to stay in a hotel Cebu with a spectacular view.

STK

Upon the suggestion of one of our colleagues, we went to a place called "STK ta Bay sa Paulito's Seafood House" near the provincial Capitol.  It's a mouthful to pronounce, but it's basically an invitation to friends to eat Sinugba (grill items), Tinola (clear soup) and Kinilaw (raw fish in vinegar) at Paulito's Seafood House.  Whew!

You can see by the number of pictures hanging on the wall that a lot of celebrities, politicians and athletes have eaten at the restaurant.  The restaurant owner, Karen Alcover-Cabahug greeted us as we entered, and we were instantly mesmerized at the wealth of family heirlooms that dotted the interiors.  I gathered that Paulito is her brother, who is the head chef.

We started off with grilled scallops, and proceeded to taste the hot beef soup, which was quite tasty and a welcome treat for our tummies.  We continued with 2 kinds of grilled fish (tuna and a smaller but tastier local fish that I did not recognize), more grilled squid, fried pork cutlets and some veggies.  Overall, we spent something like P350 per head, and we went home with bulging tummies!

Sto. Nino Cathedral

Our next stop in Cebu was the Sto. Nino Church in downtown city center.  The church was first built by the Augustinian friar Rev. Urdaneta in the 1500s, and has been razed and rebuilt several times over the past centuries.  I think the church standing now was built in the 1700s and houses the Sto. Nino de Cebu.  This is pretty much the focus of the Sinulog fiesta activities in January--you can hear the devotees chanting "Pit Senyor!" to hail the Child Jesus.

The church is right next to Magellan's cross--if I'm not mistaken, the actual cross is inside the wooden casing!

Mactan Shangrila

This recent overnight trip to Cebu was a tiring trip for me as I had to show some colleagues around the sights and sounds of the city.  Tiring but fun, as I became a tourist myself!  We landed in Mactan at around 9am, and we immediately took a tour around Mactan Shangrila.  I was amazed at the way the Shang people have taken good care of the place, and even though it's around 15 years old, the property still looks beautiful.

The hotel has expanded its facilities from the last time I saw the place.  I understand aside from putting greens, there is a mini golf facility for the kids.  They also have a boat center, and tours to surrounding islands can be arranged.  One of the best local resorts, I would say!

Trinidad Moruga Scorpion

I found an interesting article on the Yahoo site about the world's spiciest chili pepper: the Trinidad Moruga Scorprion!  The exotic-sounding name itself already evokes fear and awe; take note that this frightening baby packs a mean wallop of 1,200,000 units in the Scoville heat scale (used to measure spiciness or the amount of capsaicin present in the pepper).

Photo from the New Mexico State University's Chili Pepper Institute

I checked out the equivalent pepper power of this 1.2 million rating and I found out that this is the same amount of capsaicin contained in a can of pepper-spray used by law enforcement agencies!  Can you imagine that inside your mouth?

If the Trinidad Moruga Scorpion would be compared on the Scoville heat scale shown above, then it would be way past the heat generated by the Habanero and Thai varieties, which go for only 500,000 units on the scale!  So would you like to try some?

My Kitchen

I almost forgot to write about our encounter with Chef Chris Locher at My Kitchen, located at the ground floor of the Oasis Hotel right beside Paco Park in Manila (the space was formerly occupied by the Barramundi restaurant of the hotel).  Monique and I dropped by for dinner last weekend and to our delight, we learned that Chef Chris has decided to open his own bistro as he brings his famous rolling panizza to Manila.  Some of you might recognize him as the head chef of C's restaurant in Angeles, Pampanga (where he introduced the panizza, the tradition of which has been continued in other local restaurants and pizza chains like Uncle Cheffy's and Yellow Cab).  The Oasis Paco Park Hotel used to house the Swiss Inn some decades ago, and it's good to find a good restaurant operating in the area again.  The ambience is pretty neat and cozy, and I like the Vigan tiles for the flooring, as it gave a very homey atmosphere to the place.  Service was pretty efficient, and courteous and well-trained staff made it a point to make our visit a delightful one.

We had their Paco Panizza, which was newly created specially for this bistro--quite flavorful!  Monique enjoyed rolling the panizza, and I was quite surprised that she would eat veggies--alfalfa and arugula--which she usually avoids.  Spaghetti with mushrooms came next, and for our meat dish we had 3 kinds of sausages, one slightly sweet, one in garlic and another flavored with rosemary and fennel.  Being in the Ermita area, right next to the tourist belt, prices are a bit on the high end--expect to pay something like P800 to P1,200 per head if you will eat in this restaurant.

Vegeta's Tribute to Whitney

The news is all over, Whitney Houston was found dead at her room in the Beverly Hills Hilton Hotel.  Anita pointed out this tribute to Whitney by Vegetta, husband of Bulma and arch-rival of Son Goku, courtesy of You Tube.  Take a good look!

Ms. Polly's

Vicky was able to take home a chocolate cake from Ms. Polly's, the piece de resistance for our Valentine's Day dinner.  Quite heavenly--the cake itself was spongey, soft and the icing was thick, moist, glistening, truly chocolatey, with just the right amount of sweetness.  We left the cake out at the dining table surrounded by a moat, not refrigerated, so as to keep the spongey texture.  It was still great today!  This is a real find, and at P540, is pretty reasonable to me.

Country Chicken

Celebrated Valentine's Day with chicken delivery from Country Chicken, a roaster which has been around since the early eighties.  I must say that the chickens that arrived were pretty big and juicy, but this time around, I was a bit disappointed as I felt the chicken per se lacked a bit of flavor.  Of course it came with gravy, but I feel that chicken should be tasty enough even without gravy--which would just be an added bonus.  The gravy itself was a bit spicy and on the sweet side, which to me sounds more like chili banana ketchup, and isn't exactly my idea of what gravy should taste like.  Overall still okay, but a bit pricey at P320 each.

Fitflops

As we went malling in Greenbelt over the weekend, I happened to pass Restoerun, a store selling Fitflop, a British brand of footwear that specializes in footwear with a Microwobbleboard inside.  This technology uses 3 midsoles of different densities that create a squish-squash sensation on the foot, supposedly allowing one to have a mini "gym workout" session while walking.  I had no intention of buying a pair, but upon the insistence of the saleslady, I tried a pair of leather shoes to feel the sensation.  I must admit that it felt slightly different from regular shoes in a couple of ways--first, the midsoles are about one and a half inches thick, which threw me a tinge off-balance and made me feel a bit awkward, and second, the heel of the shoe is curved, such that there is a bobbing action and thus a semi-grinding sensation on the stride.  After some thought, I bought the shoes to see if it works, and I've tried it on for a couple of days now.  I must say that it takes some getting used to--I feel that it takes a bit more effort to walk in these shoes, and perhaps that is the "workout" that is advertised?  The shoes are not cheap--I got mine for P7,500.  Here's hoping that there really is some long-term benefit in using this technology!

Marcona Almonds

I've always thought that all almonds were the same shape, and moreover, i believed that "Marcona" was simply a more expensive Spanish brand of almonds.  I found out today that I was totally wrong on both counts.  My cousin Cliff gave us a bottle of Marcona almonds, and the first thing I noticed was that the nuts were slightly smaller than regular almonds, were much flatter, and had a rounder shape too.  After checking the internet, I found out that the Marcona is a type of almonds primarily grown in Spain--not a manufacturer's brand.  We opened the bottle today and the nuts were much softer and easier to chew than regular almonds.  Great for a mid-day snack!

NAIA Terminal 3

I was booked on Cebu Pacific on trip to Iloilo last week, and as such, I had to use NAIA Terminal 3 to board my flight.  I had arrived around 5am, and I was surprised to find out that the parking lot was already full at such an early time.  Thinking that long lines would delay my entry, I rushed inside only to find that the the place was hardly full.  Aside from Cebu Pacific, I understand that this terminal is also being used by Air Philippines; while I saw some signboards of Zest-Air, I did not see any Zest-Air operations being conducted in the terminal (Zest-Air continues to operate at the old Manila Domestic Terminal, known as Terminal 4).

It's such a pity that Terminal 3 is not operating up to its potential.  The place can obviously handle more passengers (the only problem being the lack of adequate car park buildings).  I understand that the hullabaloo on the ownership is already settled (the government has reimbursed the original BOT proponent of the Terminal), and the current administration has started work on correcting the physical deterioration of the facility.  It seems, however, that a little bit more effort has to be put in to maximize the operating capacity, and this has to be given focus, specially now that Terminal 1 is reportedly slated to close for rehabilitation works.

Jasmine

I was invited for a fast business dinner at the Jasmine Chinese restaurant at the second floor of the New World hotel.  The restaurant is an elegant and quiet place, suited for business meetings and guest entertainment, a little different compared to the family-style Chinese restaurants more commonly found in the Metro.

We had a fast meal consisting of spareribs topped with mayonnaise, prawns & scallops with broccoli in egg, and dried fish fried rice.  I was looking at the set menus for the tables, and the starting prices came to around P1,500 per head, going all the way to P6,000 per head for the exotic menus.

The food was tasty and served in the authentic Cantonese manner--as I understand it, since both the Hyatt and the New World hotels are owned by the Chow Tay Fook holding company of HK billionaire businessman Cheng Yu Tung, the chef of the restaurant was actually seconded from his original posting at the Hyatt's Lili.  Thumbs up for the food and serene dining atmosphere!