The short sizzling summer signaled the flight of the privileged to their favorite places. For moi and some pals, it was, without batting an eyelash, taking the one-hour-and-40-minute smooth flight of Philippine Airlines 747-777 to Hong Kong.
A favorite of mine, this awesome city is where one can have a wide choice of excellent world-class restaurants, exciting night life on the fast lane, and classy shops and boutiques where you can shop till you drop and go broke, palanggas.
But the best part of this city is one can walk and enjoy the city. And walked we did, dahlings.
A friend told us before we left that it was “sooo hot,” which made us pack loads of light summer clothes and Bermuda shorts. But the weather turned cool for four days. It felt like it was February weather and totally not summer. It was a good excuse to go shopping for warmer clothes.
On the same flight was Dr. Aivee Aguilar-Teo, the incredibly popular dermatologist who can invent your whole being into one word… Beautiful! dahlings.
She was with Dr. Zee Teo, one of Singapore’s top plastic surgeons. They were with their son Ken-V and with Carissa Oledan Coscolluela.
(Weeks after our Hong Kong trip, Aivee jetted off to Singapore with her hubby and son to deliver her second child, another son set to be named Kenzo.)
I stayed at my favorite, Marco Polo Prince Hotel. We went shopping immediately after unpacking.
Next day, it was shopping time again, but we did it all at the Ocean Terminal Gate Way Mall, since it was too cold to go walking outside, palanggas.
Saturday had the grand dame of jewelry, Liding Miranda Oledan, inviting several of her friends to one of my favorite late-lunch eating places, The Peninsula’s Verandah.
The Peninsula Hong Kong has always been the second home of the Oledans. I teased Liding O: “Wow! Everyone here from the GM to the last staff member of the hotel knows you so well. It’s like you’re a big stockholder here.”
“I wish!” she said, then laughed.
(The day before, Linda Oledan hosted a dinner for Sen. Mar Roxas and his wife, TV hotshot Korina Sanchez, at the famous Lei Yee Moon restaurant.)
Joining the fun lunch were Chickie Locsin with her daughter Bea, who watches her diet, like I do, since she’s a triathlete. “I have to be super-fit when I join La Marmotte Cyclosportive in Bourg d’ Oisans with some friend from my team on June 28-July 3,” she said. (Polo Tri Marmotte is a mini tour de France on the French alps, known as “the iron man of cyclists,” Bea told me.)
Other invitees were ace photographer Alex Van Hagen, Liding’s granddaughter Linda and Carissa O. Coscolluela.
While walking to lose the calories from our excellent lunch, we bumped into super beauty, Susan Reyes, Malacañang social secretary, who was with her son, Iñigo Arnaiz.
Other namedroppables in the city were Sen. Serge Osmeña and Bettina Lopez; Nini Licaros and her famille; world traveler Naty Pappas; Judy Araneta Roxas with her daughter Ria and son-in-law, businessman Gus Oledan, and their children.
The following day was Linda’s turn to host us in one of the best Sunday champagne-brunches I’ve had in Asia, at the chic Brasserie of the Conrad Hotel.
It was a mega gastronomic trip. We couldn’t sample all of their endless buffet. Imagine one long table alone had the to-die-for and cholesterol-full foie gras! Plus, all the Veuve Cliquot champagne one can have!
The Sunday brunch at the Conrad is very much in-demand that our host Linda had to make the reservations three weeks in advance from Manille.
After more shopping around Hong Kong and Kowloon (in the cold), we got our bags ready for our leisurely flight back home the following afternoon.
Nothing like recharging your battery and getting away from it all, di bala, palanggas?
Ito Curata show
Renowned for his ultra-glam sleek designs which always receive loud applause, Ito Curata recently showed his latest collection during Fashion Watch 2011. He dedicated his eye-popping collection to his late mother, Lourdes Mendoza Curata.
His collection revolved around the romantic city of Venice and employed lace which provided a romantic feel to the collection.
Fashion Watch 2011 is organized by the Council of Fashion Designers of the Philippines. Each week features the collections of two designers in back-to-back format, at the chic lobby of Shangri-La Makati Hotel, palanggas.
The Fashion Watch quartet boasts of industry greats working behind the scenes, such as project director Grace Molina, makeup artist Patrick Rosas and Inno Sotto as creative director, palanggas.
Fashion Watch 2011 presented by Olay, Makati Shangri-La, and Stylebible.ph. Major sponsors are BMW and Metro Pacific Investments.
Andrew Lloyd Webber songs
The musical revue, “The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber” is pure platinum, dahlings, director Stuart Maunder’s production will offers audiences the canon of Lloyd Webber songs.
Through state-of-the-art technology, the musical will provide us a dazzling journey of the Lloyd Webber musicals from “Jesus Christ Superstar” to “Evita,” “The Phantom of the Opera,” “Cats,” “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,” “Sunset Boulevard,” “Woman in White” and “Love Never Dies.” Wow!
Presented in Manille by Lunchbox Theatrical Productions, David Atkins Enterprises, All Youth Channels and Concertus, in association with Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Really Useful Company Asia Pacific, “The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber” will be staged at the Cultural Center of the Philippines on a strictly limited run from June 24-July 3. There will be only 13 shows.
Ticket prices are exclusive of TicketWorld charges. Tickets available at TicketWorld, select National Book Store branches, Robinsons Department Stores and Ayala Center.
Call 8919999 or visit www.ticketworld.com.ph.
