PHILIP Lifestyle Guy! Season 2 The Lifestyle Show and Website for Lifestylers

Take time to know more about this guy...

Philip Abadicio

February 2014.  Over 20 years ago, Philip Abadicio was invited to write for the lifestyle section of the Manila Times. He had no journalism background but he always wanted to know what was the latest, the newest restaurants and food finds, the upcoming designer and the best new work of the artists, the interior decorators and the culturati, and he wanted to know how the glitterati lived. It was the end of the excessive discos of the 80s and the start of the all-night clubbing 90s. 

For years, Philip Abadicio has been writing about the newest, the most delicious, the best dressed, the ultimately exclusive, and the lives of the rich and raunchy. He was also a PR practitioner and established RPA & Communicate where he mastered the ropes of the lifestyle industry.  The experience gave him the chance to hobnob with some of the country’s celebrities in society, showbiz, business, politics and media.  It molded Philip into the Lifestyle Guy. His renewed contract for a 2^nd Season with TV5 has given him an assurance of his status as the only TV show and host that paves the way for lifestyle to be more interesting and within reach of all Filipinos. Philip Lifestyle Guy airs Sundays, 11 a.m. to 12 noon on TV5.

“In the past, lifestyle was mostly for the affluent, the highly educated, and because of this perception, it catered to a very limited audience. I want Philip Lifestyle Guy to be relevant and enjoyed not only by people of wealth and influence but by all our Kapatid here and abroad,” explains Philip Abadicio with so much passion.  The lifestyle show will make the audience experience the delicious food, the wonderful places, the latest gadgets, the latest fashion, the beauty fixes, the spa treatments, and all other aspects of lifestyle.

Philip fondly calls his viewers and readers ‘lifestylers.’ “It’s a term of endearment for all those who watch the show, consult me about their lifestyle concerns, have joined our contests on-air and of course, online,” he shares.  Philipabadicio.com brings the art and style of living with more in-depth information on some of the feature stories of the show, Philip Lifestyle Guy. The show and more recently, the website, have become an eye-opener on how life can be lived in style and with loads of fun. Philipabadicio.com is the Lifestyle Guy’s Site for Lifestylers!

“We hope to provide a lifestyle show where we all learn and be more conscious of the beautiful, inspiring and delicious things around us. It’s a show that I’m hoping will educate, entertain and inspire all of us,” he explains. Philip Lifestyle Guy will be visually appealing, culturally enriching, and gastronomically appetizing with the different segments in every episode.

In 2014, lifestyle is made move available by Philip Lifestyle Guy and philipabadicio.com. There are on-air and online contests where the audience and readers can easily participate and win various lifestyle experiences. You can also find out about the contests, winners and other announcements on their social media accounts: ‘like’ Philip K. Abadicio on Facebook and ‘follow’ @philipabadicio on Twitter and Instagram.

Philip Lifestyle Guy is produced by Style RPA Media, directed by Dave Hukom and Tootoots Leyesa, and written by Rod Divinagracia. It airs on TV5 every Sunday from 11 a.m. to 12 noon. Set to provide more fun, information and entertainment to your TV viewing experience, get ready to travel Metro Manila and other parts of the country with style, as media maven Philip Abadicio shows you how to celebrate and live a good, happy and stylish lifestyle, whatever status, situations and circumstances you have right now. 

A Late Lunch and Early Dinner at Lugang Café MOA

It was in January 31, 2014 when my friend arrived in Manila from San Francisco. This was her first day to step her feet on a rich land surrounded by seas called "Pearl of the Orient Seas"--The PHILIPPINES!

She left the Philippines in 1992; then returned in 1996 when her grandmother departed and this was her second time to come in the Philippines. Not like on her first visit was a quick and emergency, this time is for vacation and to get relax from plain stressed out of being overworked. Me and my other friend who picked her up from the airport were too excited on that day that we finally reunited and see each other. She planned for our ultimate girl bonding ( i will write about those activities on my other blogs)..and it was all done in Mall Of Asia which is less than 15 minutes drive from NAIA Terminal 1.

From Airport to MOA

It was 11AM (Philippines time) when she finally checked out from the terminal, that means it's already 7PM, Jan.30 in San Francisco. She was about to hit the bed for that! But because she's now in the Philippines, she should be awake! So we just stopped by at a coffee shop/stall and ordered a double shot coffee to really keep her alive and awake for our ultimate bonding. After drinking coffee, we started our ultimate girls' bonding by having a massage that took us 1 hr. Then waited for our nails to be done from another salon that consumed us for almost 2 hours including the time we waited for our turn. Because we wanted all of it to be done first..we skipped lunch and ended at about 5PM. That was the time we decided to have our very late lunch and early dinner at Lugang Café.

Lugang Café in MOA

i honestly don't know what kind of restaurant is Lugang Café. But seeing the logo with Chinese fonts, i believe we were in a Chinese restaurant..hehe. When i first read the name..it's kinda weird for a restaurant to name it that way, but i thought they did not mind about it since it was a Chinese restaurant which i think they have their own meaning for Lugang :)

So, here's what we ordered for our meal..

Stewed Beef Tendon with Turnips

STEWED BEEF TENDON WITH TURNIPS

(House special) P390

This succulent stewed beef tendon is really a mouthwatering menu that has hearty flavor of sweetness and saltiness just perfectly right. A thumb up for our guest who loves beef so much.

Spinach with Garlic

SPINACH WITH GARLIC

This vegetable on a table balances a healthy meal. A classic sauteed spinach with garlic is simply sumptuous!

Three Cup Chicken

THREE CUP CHICKEN (House special) P320

I wonder why they called it "Three Cup Chicken"?

Maybe because the chicken was measured 3 cups? LOL! That was a wild guess for me. But according to http://rasamalaysia.com/ It was named three cup chicken because it comes from the three main key ingredients: sesame oil, Chinese rice wine and soy sauce. CUPS refer to equal ratio instead of literal measurement.

This one is another thumbs up for us..yummy!



Though we skipped our lunch for the day, we were satisfied with the yumminess of our early dinner meals at Lugang Café. Maybe next time, we should try their Dimsum and noodles too!

Great Food at Lugang Café MOA

GOD BLESS!

An Elegant Stay In Mövenpick Resort and Spa Cebu

"Relaxation is a way out to a busy and overworked body and mind"

My Bestfriend in elementary days spent her two-weeks vacation here in Philippines. She worked for more than 12 hours a day in her job that really get her busy. She could skip meals and just drink a lot of strong coffee and could only remember to eat her breakfast, lunch and dinner in one meal..that's when she get off from the office. She could have get physically weak and ill before she made her decision to finally pause and take a big break from work. 

She never been here in the Philippines for over 2 decades from the time they migrated to the U.S. Finally, She flew half the globe to find rest and chose the Philippines for it. For long time she did not visit the Philippines, she honestly don't have the idea how to live here anymore. She doubted at first if she could have made her decision right to spend a "relaxing" vacation here or might got stressed a lot because of the negative news she heard over when she was still in the U.S. We brought her to MOA on her first day as soon we picked up her from the airport, she find it good though.

CEBU is known as the "Queen City of the South". On her third day, we fly out to Cebu from Manila to have a more relaxing vacation. And Oh! This is also to celebrate our friendship since this is our 'first times' to be together again (after 2 decades), to fly together, to be in Cebu together and to relax together :)

The View of Movenpick from the swimming pool area

She picked and booked the hotel Mövenpick Resort and Spa Cebu through internet even her cousin suggested the much bigger hotel near  Mövenpick, she find this 5-star hotel suited for a traveler like her who longs for the serenity and not crowded place for stay to get really relaxed. Mövenpick Hotel Mactan Island Cebu was formerly known as the Hilton Hotel is nestled at the Southern part of Cebu in the Island of Mactan. A 20-25 minutes drive from Mactan Airport. We were welcomed by the hotel attendants with "Good afternoon, Welcome to Mövenpick" address. They get our luggage out of the car and entertained us well as they arrange our hotel room. They welcome us with complimentary freshly fruits concoction which is very refreshing.

We got in to our room which is Deluxe Ocean Front, a room with overlooking the ocean views from the private balcony. A 32 sq.m airconditioned room that has two single beds is equipped with modern technology 42" LED TV. An elegant bathroom with separate shower and tub, provided with cabinets, hair dryer and iron :) 

Overlooking Beautiful Views from our room

Comfy beds

I can say that many hotels in Cebu are more competitive when it comes to facilities, but boasting the Mövenpick Resort and Spa Cebu with their excellent service and hospitality. They deal with their guests to really feel at home away from home. They are very polite and make sure that their guest had a good stay at the hotel. They would greet you with their sweet smiles anywhere and everywhere when you crossed within the hotel. My friend find the hotel in American style. From the interiors with modern style to their foods--it's more of an American! We both loved the place, very calm or maybe we just arrived at the hotel on off-peak season. 

The Lobby

The Beach and the Ibiza Bar

Wine Cellar @Ibiza Bar

Cheers BFFs!

They have the small white sand beach, i think it was man made though and it is rocky enough to hurt your feet so make sure to wear slippers when walking at the water. The open beach is open from 7AM to 6PM. 

Overlooking the White Sand Beach

There is also a swimming pool to dip in if you find the sea water too salty for you, it is open from 7 AM to 8 PM. 

The Swimming Pool Area

Relaxing at the pool area with refreshing Coconut juice and Green Mango Shake!

They have the activities area where we enjoyed playing billiards while listening to music. The activity area is closed by 9 PM.

At the activity area palying billiard

The hotel has weeknights show at Ibiza Bar from 8 PM - 9 PM. It is located at the beach area, glamoured with blue and pink lights. We have enjoyed the Latin show on our first night and the Retro themed show on our 2nd night of our stay which was also the Ladies' Night!  

Weeknights Show 

Ibiza Beach Club Bar

Ladies with the Performers on a Retro Night Show!

Ladies are privileged to get two free ladies drinks on Wednesday as Ladies' Night!. Performers were really really good in entertaining the guests that they could dance and sing as well. I think Cebuanos are gifted when it comes to singing.

Ladies' Night @Ibiza Bar

After the Ladies' Night gimik with the ladies

Cocktail Drinks

Cheers! To a lifetime friendships!

We really had a good stay at the hotel, with good service, good surroundings, good food (Lami Uy!) and good people. 

Green Mango Shake and Bacon wrapped Asparagus

Our Lunch-- Onion Rings/Wrapped Angus Beef/Beef Caldereta/Rice

But one thing we did not enjoy is the driving of a chauffeur taking us for City tour. He might driving for a public vehicles without caring that his passengers are tourists. The hotel did not even informed us that we may encounter heavy traffic at the City. If they informed the guest about it, maybe my friend and I would probably just stay inside the hotel or maybe do other activities like island hopping in Olango that we could enjoy more than the heavy traffic in the City. I believe that things happened for reasons. Maybe that was allowed for us to inform the management on what happened to us, NOT for complain but to suggest on things for improvement of service--the drivers which are consignors should be given a training since they carry the name of  Mövenpick Resort and Spa Cebu. Whatever they do, it reflects on the hotel. 

The management were really good that they offer us a complimentary breakfast on our last day and a free shuttle service and took us to the airport for free. 

Our Last stay of vacation having sumptuous complimentary breakfast

The Hotel Manager even talked to us personally before we leave and apologized on experiences that caused us bad on our stay at the hotel. They also give us tokens for us to remember the good people and good experiences out of our stay in Mövenpick. That was really appreciated by me and my friend-- we never expected that they would give extra effort and time to have our last minute stay and experienced very memorable. 

Our Hotel room 

One relaxing morning at Movenpick

One last Picture before our Good byes to Movenpick! 

Enjoyed vacation at Movenpick

I thank God for giving me a very special friend who treasured our friendship even being separated for long years. This vacation in Cebu is my ever luxurious experience of vacation. I thank God for renewing our friendship and hoping that we could be together on more journeys of our friendship. We both appreciate how God created things wonderfully.