Business, business...

Owner of a company who sells janitorial supplies, Peter Chua is definitely a businessman to look up to and I was fortunate enough to be able to interview him regarding his business skills and techniques.

Tell me about your career. How did it all start?

       “I started when I was second year high school, doing sales, being a salesman during Saturdays.”

What inspired you to be a businessman?

       “It’s because of the money, the earnings that you get out of it.”

What do you like most about being a businessman?

       “Ofcourse, money.”

10 years ago, did you think of yourself as the person you are today?

       “No, I don’t think so. Well in business, I mean, you don’t really know which path it will lead you to. Everything is unexpected.”

What was a failure and how did you cope?

        “That time… my biggest failure…” (thinks deeply) “My biggest failure was when I was cheated in a business deal. And how did I cope up with it? I had to start from the beginning.”

How sure were you in the beginning that your business would succeed? What made you take that risk?

        “There’s no such thing as… sure, when you do business. (shakes his head) There’s always a trial and error. You just have to have the courage to take that risk, because there’s always a risk. You just have to be optimistic about it.”

What interests you most about your job/career?

         “The technology.”

What message can you give to those people who want to succeed as much as you have?

         “Never give up, never give up.”

Oreo Kids

                

                   “Twist. Lick. Dunk.” has become one of the most famous commercial taglines in the world. One of their many commercials was when there were two brothers who were having the cookie as their midnight snack. The younger brother, then, was copying his older brother in the way he was eating the cookie which was twisting, licking then dunking it to milk.

                     This commercial appealed to me because I thought that the kids were cute, and the way they showed how big of an influence the big brother was to his younger brother was nice. It sent a message to the people that they must be aware of their actions.

                       It was effective commercial because besides the fact that they use their tagline all the time, the models they used this time were appealing and attention-seeking. It is also effective in a way that people will follow the way of eating the product once they have bought it, and/or even does the same way to other cookies similar to the Oreo cookies.

A Drink at Cibo's

                          A meal, for me, is not complete without a drink that goes with it. I’ve always been fond of different kinds of juices and shakes, and one of these that has become my favorite is the Pompelmo shake from Cibo.

POMPELMO SHAKE

                          Pompelmo is a pomelo shake that is served with a pomelo slice and a mint leaf on the glass. It is very refreshing to drink because it is served ice cold and fresh. This drink can also be served to you as a juice, by request. Instead of it being shaked and blended with ice, you may have it squeezed as a juice instead. The price for this drink is about P120 to P140. It may be a little bit pricey, but it is definitely worth it! Try this shake together with Cibo’s Genovese pasta and experience an ultimate meal! This combination has become one of my favorite at Cibo’s!

                           What makes this special is that you can’t find pomelo shakes just anywhere. Not all restaurants serve pomelo shakes and juices, and those that do, they aren’t as good as Cibo’s Pompelmo. This drink is definitely worth a try! Trust me, you won’t regret it.

TV's Influence on Society (not about food)

               

             Everyone watches television. Whether you’re young or old, there is always something on TV for you.

          There are so many different types of shows, and each show has a different message that gives to the viewers. These messages are what we call “values”. Values are very important and very sensitive. All of us have different opinions therefore even if the show means well, others may still take its message negatively, and it has greatly affected our society. Television greatly affects people’s minds, and we are easily influenced by it. Taking telenovelas as an example, we know that when there is a love story, conflicts are always there and there will be someone who will try to ruin the relationship of the two lovers. Therefore, others who are in a relationship are scared to take risks and are very pressured. Others who watch action movies tend to think that reality goes the same way action movies do. They become violent and active. Comedy shows, on the other hand, teach people not to be serious, and other people go overboard that they take everything as a joke already.

             On the upside of television, values can also mean well to people. Some shows teaches people how to do things in cases of emergencies, and others teach good deeds that will help society improve themselves. In comedy shows, we are taught not to be serious all the time and that some situations can still be solved.

              In the end, it is still up to people and it depends on us whether or not to take shows seriously. We are still the ones responsible for our actions and we are the ones who control our minds.

Christmas In the Chinese Way

               

                        Christmas is definitely my favorite time of the year. I love the warm feeling of this season, and I am able to celebrate it with my relatives altogether. What makes this even more special is the delicious home-made food that my amah prepares! (amah= Chinese term for grandmother)

                          It has already been tradition that every Christmas, my amah prepares food for us to feast on. We usually have fruit salad, leche flan, pancit noodles and her famous stuffed chicken that she makes herself. These are just some of the food that we have and these are the food that cannot be absent during our Christmas get-togethers. Once, my amah told me how she prepares the stuffed chicken and she explained it to me in Chinese. “The first step is to take a whole chicken and slice it open in the middle, on its stomach (do not cut the whole thing in half). You must remove all the insides of the chicken and clean it, making sure there is no more blood an all that black stuff inside…” The next thing she does is to make her own stuffing using brown rice with mushrooms and chilis. After she prepares that, she puts the stuffing in the chicken and uses a needle and thread to sew back and close the chicken to its original form. It is then baked in the oven and before you eat it, you cut the thread and remove it from the chicken. My amah makes the best stuffed chicken! It is one of my favorite food to eat during Christmas together with her fruit salad and leche flan.

                            In Chinese tradition, we must also have pancit noodles especially during the New Year because it symbolizes long life, and the stuffed chicken is like the turkey during Thanksgiving Day, it can never be complete without it. Our grandparents also give us “angpao”, which is a small red envelope with money in it. The money in this envelope, as they say, must be saved-up to start a good year. Ever since I was a kid, this is the traditional way that I was brought up to during Christmas and I know that the food of my amah cannot be replaced by anyone or anything else! Family food is definitely irreplaceable.

A Burger for a Small Appetite

                I’ve never been a big fan of burgers, but ever since I discovered Brothers Burgers Jr. patty, I’ve been constantly craving burgers’. The person who I’d always tag along is my sister since she has been a burger fan ever since. We’d drive along Tomas Morato, and slow down once we see Jollibee right across a big red Chinese restaurant; Brothers Burger is right beside Jollibee.

                The Baby Brother, I believe, was meant for kids, but since I have a small appetite, it’s what I go for. It is cooked very simple, with only one patty and a ketchup-mayo for dressing. The burger is sold at a rather reasonable price, and get this! every purchase of a Baby Brother gives P1.00 to the charity! The burger also goes best with their crispy fries and/or onion rings, and their milkshakes are good as well. Though the milkshakes are served not as big, and sold at a hundred pesos each, their yummy flavors won’t fail to satisfy you! Brothers Burger is definitely a place to try! J

Edible Food

             Barefoot Contessa, 30-minute meals, and Everyday Italian with Giada are just some of the most famous and talked about culinary shows around the globe. Culinary arts has become in-demand these days and media is always there to enhance and at the same time reverse things to the people.

The media has created an image of good food as “if it doesn’t look good, then it won’t taste good.”

              In these culinary shows, hosts are meant to look good and make the food they cook as impossible to create as possible. The food they make are supposed to attract all the people and encourage them to even buy their cooking books to think that if they do buy it, then they could also create the mirror image of the dish done on television. Media has made everything in reverse. They fixed an image on people’s minds. Even the kitchens used in these shows look great. They did not show the reality in cooking that most of the first times, you may fail. They did allow people to see the downsides of culinary and the things that they may encounter during the process like burns and imperfect presentations of the food.

                Although these things are already practiced, media has also restored and regained the power of food in people. They created ways to encourage people to be unique and creative when it comes to food and the process of eating it. Manners were developed and they thought of cooking as an activity worth wasting time on.

                 Media has given food, in general, a good image. There are a lot of people who are influenced by this and there are also people who are not convinced. Everyone has their own opinions and it is still up to us if we will believe or not.