Wealthy, incredibly smart and unpretentious, tall and good-looking Raymond Illusorio Yap is making his mark as the new royal of the fast-food business.
We finally met him at the Yap-owned grand lady by the bay, the iconic Manila Hotel, where Raymond introduced his new resto acquisitions. Since acquiring Café France, the Yap Group has now seven more food chains and restos—Congo Grille, Karate Kid, Tempura, Flavours of China, Heaven & Eggs, Holy Cow and Gitara Grill.
Raymond’s close pal, my palangga Jojie Dingcong, superbly organized the meeting that gathered beautiful show-biz faces, a handful of movers and shakers, and a dash of old-wealth personalities, each of them brought by chauffeured white sedans to the Manila Hotel, palanggas. Hey, that’s what I call “style” dahlings, di bala?
The guests dined at the renovated Ilang Ilang Café, designed by a Singaporean team.
Here, I went gaga over a gargantuan feast of Indian, Japanese, Filipino, American, Chinese and Arabic cuisines. Dinner was totally salivating and devilishly delicious. Wow!
The tables had elegant floral designs. Robert Blancaflor designed the gilded frames featuring the eight brands like pieces of artwork.
Once dinner was over, we just had to stand up to shed off some of the dreadful calories we devoured.
A perfect way to end the night, there were more snacks, thanks to the charmant Raymond Yap and Jojie D., who have mastered the art of entertaining, palanggas.
Blake back in Manila
Blake, the tall and handsome British classical vocal quartet, jetted back to town to thrill fans in a series of mini-concerts held at Greenbelt and Trinoma recently. Their tour was supported by the Ayala Malls, Philippine Tatler and Bench. The man who organized the return of the group was new impresario on the block Anton San Diego, Tatler editor, natch!
Bench’s brilliant CEO Ben Chan invited a select group of pals for dinner at his sprawling, well-designed home to honor the dashing quartet composed of Jules Knight, Stephen Bowman, Humphrey Berney and Ollie Baines.
Some of the gorgeous faces in Manille’s social scene came in full, excited force, palanggas, such as Max Kienle and Zelda Kienle, their daughter Stephanie Kienle Gonzalez, and Bea Zobel Jr. and pal Karen Santos.
The talk of the night was that Blake would be joining the retail giant’s roster of international celebrity endorsers, such as Bruno Mars, David Archuleta, Lucy Hale, Michael Trevino, and K-Pop stars Choi Siwon and Lee Donghae.
I was told that during their pictorial for Bench, heartthrob Jules Knight commented: “I am so impressed with the fit of Bench denim. They’re the best-fitting and comfortable jeans I’ve ever had by far.”
But there’s more to come, when Bench continues its streak of surprises and events as it celebrates its 25th dazzling year in the retail industry! It’s a global brand reaching out to the stars, palanggas.
Josie Natori’s young line
The name Natori spells class, style, sophistication and prestige. She has helped charities, donated to deserving foundations and has totally inspired our new breed of designers, especially with her successful Citem project.
After Citem and before she went back to the US, Natori celebrated everything chic by bringing out for Rustan’s her new Josie line, which she called her “younger and playful line,” characterized by electrifying colors, spirited prints and free-flowing fabrics.
Josie’s Spring Summer 2012 collection was featured at Salon de Ning, dahlings, with four muses—Katrina Tantoco-Lobregat, Stephanie Zubiri, Rosanna Ocampo Rodriguez and Stephanie Kienle Gonzalez.
“My designs can definitely be worn anytime, by any age group that knows what fun and style is all about today,” Natori said.
The collection sold out faster than you could bat an eyelash. One old-wealth woman bought a cool P2 million worth of Natori’s caftans.
Well, dahlings, that’s what the upscale Natori brand is all about, n’est ces pas.
Barney
The kids and the young at heart will love Barney’s Space Adventures, April 26-29, at 1, 4 and 7 p.m. Tickets are at P2,200; P1,900; P1,600; P1,000; and P700, available at all TicketWorld outlets. Call TicketWorld at 8919999; or visit www.ticketworld.com.ph and www.facebook.com/ticketworldmanila.
