Napa Valley Winemaker Ed Sbragia Visits Manila

Napa Valley Winemaker Ed Sbragia Visits Manila
by Brian Ong

Napa Valley icon and Beringer's Winemaster Emeritus Ed Sbragia visited the Philippines for the first time last week to meet local wine enthusiasts in Manila. Happy Living Philippines, the exclusive importer and distributor of Beringer Wines, took care of this special occasion, with a wine pairing event at Cav Wine Shop and Cafe in Bonifacio High Street.

Ed Sbragia is recognized globally for his significant contributions to Napa Valley. He is the only winemaker in the world to receive Wine Spectator’s “Wine of the Year” award for both a red (1986 Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon in 1990) and a white (1994 Private Reserve Chardonnay in 1996) wine.

Only the 6th winemaker since Beringer was established 137 years ago, Mr. Sbragia spent more than three decades of his career working with the oldest continuously operating winery in the Napa Valley. He is also behind the Sbragia Family Vineyards, a small winery which has been a lifelong dream of his.
 

“We have been inviting Ed to the Philippines since we brought in Beringer in 2000. It is an honor to finally be able to show him Manila and introduce him to the growing Beringer fans,” shares Kathy Yao-Santos, Happy Living Philippines Marketing Director and COO. 

Chef Markus Gfeller prepared a special menu last November 20, the evening that Mr. Sbragia graced Cav Wine Shop and Cafe in Bonifacio High Street. More of the food and wine pairing on my next post. Meanwhile, a portion of the proceeds from the dinner was donated to the victims of typhoon Yolanda.

Of course, I wouldn't let the night end without having a photo with the winemaker himself, Mr. Ed Sbragia. :) Cheers!

Beringer Wines are served in major hotels and restaurants. Among the retail outlets that carry the brand are Cav Wine Bar, Gourdo’s, S&R Membership Shopping, Unimart, Rustans Supermart, SM Supermarket, Landmark Supermarket, Metro Gaisano Supermarket, The Tinder Box in Cebu, Culinary Connection/La Vetta Restaurant in Cagayan de Oro, Iloilo Supermarket and Altura’s in Bohol. Inquiries are welcome at 8956507 – 08, 8960336. Email info@happylivingwines.com or log on to www.happylivingwines.biz for more information. 

Jofer: Seoulia Manila

Seoulia Manila
by Jofer Serapio
photos by Frey Serapio

My cousin was set to take her board exam the following weekend (she passed!), so we decided to have lunch at a Korean restaurant while she still had her sanity intact. There were four of us, including my sister and my cousin's sister, which explains the excessive amount of food. Seoulia Manila is one of my sister's favorite restaurants. My cousin and I weren't new to the restaurant but her sister was. Ironically enough, our cousin who was the "ultimate number one fan of everything Korean" couldn't make it. More for us then.

This dragon is the first thing you'll see when you enter the restaurant. Supportive critter, ain't he?

Banchan

Various side dishes

They come free with every meal. Just like in Korea.

Bulgogi | PhP 350

Spicy grilled beef with japchae noodles and vegetables

Japchae | PhP 220

Sweet potato noodles with various vegetables and meat

Dokbokki | PhP 160

Spicy rice cake with Korean kikiam and vegetables

Ramen | PhP 79

This dish is actually good for two people. 

It's also served in a pot.

Geran Mari | PhP 160

Special egg roll with vegetables

Kimbap | PhP 100

Korean sushi with vegetables and beef

It tasted as good as it looked. This was the most popular dish in our table.

Samgyeopsal | PhP 250

Grilled pork belly

This dish came with a plate of lettuce and two dipping sauces: ssamjang (bottom) and gireumjang (top). My cousin's sister was actually a bit disappointed with this dish because she was expecting bacon. She was new.

Kimchi chige (kimchi jjigae) | PhP 180

Kimchi soup with tofu and pork

Red Iced Tea | P25

The kyotkyot napkin holder I wanted to take home

As I was making a joke (or was it?) about taking this lovely and super *~kyot~* napkin holder home, the manager (who was - surprise! - Korean) overheard me and actually attempted to give it to me for free. She was that kind! Of course, I didn't want to take advantage of her kindness, so I opted to just let the napkin holder go. Like they say, if you truly love someonething, you have to set them free~

Seoulia Manila

St. Thomas Square, P. Campa St., Sampaloc, Manila

Telephone: (02) 7086932 | (02) 505-8122

Email: seoulia@ymail.com

Exchange Students in Japan: Filipino Performance for the Panasonic Scholarship Summer Seminar

Exchange Students in Japan: Filipino Performance for the Panasonic Scholarship Summer Seminar 

by Tiffy 

Every year, Panasonic scholars gather somewhere in Japan for all the scholars to meet. And every year, we have to make a cultural performance and battle it out with other countries for the coveted trophy (that we give back to them at the end of the night). 

Just so you know how well the Filipinos do

We usually go to where we're having the summer seminar a couple of days before so that we can practice. This time, we went to Kyoto first so that we can include our fellow scholar who had to finish his interviews and experiments before we go to Mie Prefecture for the actual event. 

Our amateur performance:

Therese in the Philippines: Uncle Cheffy

I've been in the Philippines on summer vacation for the past month now, and what that means is... Eating and more eating! One of the restaurants I went to is Uncle Cheffy, located in Lucky Chinatown Mall.

Since I was only with my mom that time, we couldn't order a lot of food just for the two of us. We went with their all meat barbecued panizza, for which they are famous for, and their New England pot roast beef paired with a cup of rice.

There were 6 slices of panizza, enough for two people. We really liked it because it was cheesy and crispy. There were also good bits of BBQ although we didn't really like their meat. They also gave us an extra set of fillings for free. If you ask for another set after that, you'd have to pay extra.

After that, the roast beef and the cup of rice arrived. The beef they used was fatty and there weren't a lot of pieces so we were sorta disappointed with that. The sauce and the couple pieces of root vegetables were yummy though!

All Meat Barbecued Panizza | 235 PhP (medium), 450 PhP (family)

New England Pot Roast Beef | 280 PhP

All in all a good meal! Yum!

Have you been there? Any other recommendations? My mom and I are thinking of going back there to try their grilled oysters and other panizza flavors! You can also cross-order food from Kusê, a Filipino restaurant because they have they are in the same location (same owner, perhaps?)

Address: 3rd floor Lucky Chinatown Mall Binondo, Manila
Contact #: (02) 708-9576
You can email them at chefsbinondo@yahoo.com or add them on Facebook!