Triple Treat on the Thriteenth.

While the date traditionally has it's share of jinxed news and the like, I have to admit that this Friday the 13th has offered by far one of the best treats I've had in a long time. Perhaps make that three :-) Hence, this blog post will be a three-part feature.

Part 1: Regine Velasquez goes Low Key
To start it off the triple treat, there was the Regine Velasquez show at the Eastwood Mall Open Park. Being a big fan, I knew I didn't want to pass up the opportunity to see her perform live again, despite my admittedly waning admiration of her.

However, after watching her tonight, I am a fan again!

I got her new album Low Key a few weeks ago and after playing it about five times in my car's cd player, I was undecided about whether or not I liked it. What I enjoyed was the playlist, as it featured many of my old favorites, such as Of All the Things, She's Always a Woman, How Can I Tell You and Longer. What I disliked, on the other hand, was the absence of her signature tagalog songs, especially thosed penned by her "good friend" (weee) Ogie Alcasid. I also felt a little disappointed at first because her renditions did not seem as effortless as she usually seems. It seemed to me initially that as she strived to keep a low key, it felt strained and over controlled to me. But then again, I'm no music expert! To be fair, I did love the fact that she lessened her "birits" because at one point, it really was too much!!! Nonetheless as I watched her, I was captivated once again. It made me remember why I enjoyed her as an artist to begin with.

Part 2: Eastwood City Mall .
Of all the malls in Metro Manila, I think this is the only one left I have not explored. While tonight did not give me the opportunity to go through the entire mall, I was really glad to finally see Eastwood City. It's not just a mall apparently! I am amazed at how big and spacious it is. It literally is a whole city on its own! As a noob, I mistakenly tried to park in the first parking area I saw...which apparently was CitiBank. Duh! Hehe. Before going off to see the show, I browsed their website, www.eastwoodcity.com, and was impressed at the concept of the mall. Can't wait to check it out further next time! The host of the show this evening mentioned something about Eastwood Mall being the only one to have a Concierge service that included Butlers that you could get to carry your purchases as you shopped. Hmmmm....I wonder.....

Part 3: Truly Indulgent Chocolate Cakes from Indulgence Deli Cafe

A friend of mine told me about the yummy food served in Indulgence Deli Cafe located at Perea St. , Makati. As usual, the directionally-challenged me has not yet mustered up enough courage to brave the one-way-infested streets of Makati so I haven't really tried it yet. However, Leirs, the cafe manager and a friend of mine, surprised me with not one but two slices of cake when I saw her today. HEAVENLY INDULGENCE!!! In the picture is the Amaretto cake. I liked it, but it had to much of a strong after taste for my liking. Delicious nonetheless. But the other one... Oh my gosh....It was like a mesh of chocolate mouse, pure chocolate, and soft moist cake...how can you go wrong?!?

See, Friday the 13th isn't always so bad, right?!? Hope yours went pretty well too!!!

Heartfelt thanks go out to AZ of Azrael's Merryland for organizing the Online Bloggers for the show (as well as the one of The Dawn, whcih I opted to skip...hinika ako sa tuwa kay Regine e!) and to Ms. TinayMagtira, marketing officer of Eastwood Mall for the VIP seats.

Deep gratitude and appreciation also goes out to Iris Acosta for the photographs...what would my blogpost be without it!!!

And of course, Leirs, my hips thank you too.