Page 2November 28 - December 4, 2008 Asian Journal - (619) 474-0588 Visit our website at http://www.asianjournalusa.com
who is torn between the love of Luna and Celestina.Completing the cast are DanteRivero as Joaquin Sagrado, ChandaRomero as Benita Alejandro, SherylCruz as Alice Sagrado, Romnick Sarmienta as Dominic, Rita Avilaas Diana Sagrado, Gardo Versoza asDante, Ariel Rivera as Simon, Mark Herras as Kamilo, Luis Alandy asAndoy, Kris Bernal as Malou, Aljur Abrenica as Libado, Iwa Moto asDonita, John Lapus as Karya, BethTamayo as Lanie, Pauleen Luna asAdita, Michelle Madrigal as Anata,Hero Angeles as Alguwas, Mosangas Piryang, Marky Lopez as Efren,Bearwin Meilly as Bikodong, JadeLopez as Susira, Paolo Avelino asJohnny, Prince Stefan as Henry, andJace Flores as Lucas.The story begins in the outskirtsof Baryo Mausok where the townfolks still believe that Engkantosdwell deep within the forest. There
lives the affluent Sagrado Family –
Joaquin and Benita, and their two beautiful daughters Alice and Diana.Diana attracts more suitors and thisearns Alice’s ire; especially after Dominic, her lover, also falls for Diana. Diana, however, is in love
with Simon, a disfigured young man
who is believed to have descendedfrom the Engkantos. Diana’s parentstry to end their romance but theydiscover that she is already preg-nant. Diana, with Dominic’s help,runs away from home to escape her parents who want her to get rid of the baby.Unknown to Diana, aside fromthe human baby Luna, she also
Love and Magic Shine in GMA Pinoy TV’s LUNA MYSTIKA
(Continued from page 1)
gave birth to a baby in the form of a shadow. Diana leaves her baby inDominic’s care to go looking for
Simon. Luna, who is disfigured like
her biological father, grows up anoutcast. Celestina, her twin shadow,is her only friend. Around this time,Luna will meet Dexter, a blind boywho detests the Engkantos.When Luna turns seven, Dominicdecides to bring her back to her relatives in Baryo Mausok. Luna’snightmare begins: Alice and her equally cruel daughter Donita tor-ment Luna every chance they get.When the twins become teenagers,Celestina begins to yearn to have a body of her own. On their visit tothe forest, Luna eats a fruit from anenchanted giant tree. This fruit turnsout to be key to their mysterious ori-gins. When the moon shines brightlyat night, Celestina transforms intoa fair-skinned and alluring womanand Luna becomes her shadow but during the day, Luna will onceagain regain her body and Celestinareturns to being a shadow.Dexter returns to Baryo Mausok
searching for Luna, his first and
only love. Fearing Dexter’s rejec-tion, Luna hides her horrible appear-ance from Dexter and waits for thenight to come so she can appear tohim as Celestina. Eventually, Ce-lestina falls for Dexter. In no time,Dexter sees through the deceptionand he discerns who the real Luna,the woman he loves, is.Following Dexter’s rejection,Celestina schemes to destroy her twin sister.Will the twins’ common affectionfor Dexter destroy their relationshipas sisters? How far will Celestina’s
selfishness drive her to evil? Will
Luna ever get a chance to be withthe one she truly loves? And willCeletina’s wicked plans prevail?Experience love, magic, and trans-formation with LUNA MYSTIKAonly on GMA Pinoy TV. Call your preferred pay TV operator now tosubscribe.
zerland.At least 10 senators are go-ing abroad either as part of their
official functions or personal
vacation.Senate President Manuel Villar Jr. will also lead the PhilippineSenatedelegation to the IPU where heis expected to discuss with foreign parliamentarians pressing interna-tional concerns.Joining him are Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr., SenatorsJuliana Pilar Cayetano, GregorioHonasan II, and Rodolfo Biazon.They will be accompanied byCarmen Arceno, director general,
Senate Office of International Re-
lations and Protocol, and lawyer Edwin Bellen, deputy secretaryfor legislation.Pimentel and Pia Cayetano bothleft for Geneva yesterday.Pia’s younger brother, Sen. AlanPeter Cayetano, said he is going toa “long planned” vacation abroad,while Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiriis going to Russia with Senatemajority leader Francis Pangilinanon Oct. 16.Senators Juan Ponce Enrile andMaria Ana Consuelo “Jamby”Madrigal have also planned their separate vacations in Europe.Other congressmen and sena-tors are attending the World Bank meeting in Washington D.C.,together with some Cabinet mem- bers.Senators adjourned their ses-sion for the month-long break lastWednesday night. Some of themhave already reportedly left for Geneva.The House, on the other hand, isscheduled to adjourn session after the expected approval of the 2009 budget today. Nograles was originally setto leave also today, but Major-ity Leader Arthur Defensor toldThe STAR that the House chief decided to delay his departure by one day to await the approvalof the proposed P1.415-trillion budget.Registration for the IPU confer-ence begins today.Members of the Nogralesdelegation are RepresentativesMark Cojuangco of Pangasinan,Jesus Crispin Remulla of Cavite,Amado Bagatsing and ZenaidaAngping of Manila, Rodolfo Plazaof Agusan del Sur, FerdinandMarcos Jr. of Ilocos Norte, Victor Ortega of La Union, and MitosMagsaysay of Zambales.In the case of Villar, it couldnot be ascertained if he wouldagain treat congressmen belong-ing to the Nacionalista Party (NP),which he heads, to an expensiveriver cruise after the Genevaconference.Last year, after an IPU meet-ing in Geneva, he and about 20 NP congressmen, including their wives, went on a 10-day cruisealong the Nile River in Egypt.Before that, Villar, who is facingan ethics committee case for al-
leged conflict of interest, gave his
NP loyalists a Three Gorges Damtreat.The dam, which impounds water from the Yangtze River, is reputedto be the largest in the world andhas become one of the newesttourist attractions in China.Defensor, referring to the budget, said: “We are on track toapprove it tomorrow. We will bedone maybe by 9 or 10 p.m. As of today, we are already 80 percent
finished.”
The House was scheduled lastnight to approve the budgets of several agencies, including theDepartment of Agriculture (DA).Last Wednesday, Nograles saidhe would like the DA outlay to beincreased “since it is one of our frontline agencies in cushioning
the adverse effects of the financial
crisis in the United States.”“We should ensure easy andaffordable access to food, par-ticularly rice, which is our basicstaple. We can survive any crisisas long as we have food on thetable,” he said. The budget of two
big agencies – the Department of
National Defense and the Depart-ment of Public Works and High-
ways – would be tackled beforethe month-long break. – With
Christina Mendez
It’s junkettime again
(Continued from page 1) IN MY BASKET By Lydia D. Castillo Philstar
Who would not remember the lo-cal mamang sorbetero peddling icecream in many neighborhoods! Theapa was always crispy and sweet.
The flavors? Ube and mantecado.
Even if the big players came, em- ploying more modern techniquesto produce this all-time favoritedessert, the kariton continued, eveninvading the glossy areas such as theMakati commercial district. One ex- pat airline manager was wide-eyed,
amazed, at seeing some office work-
ers ‘sandwiching’ their ice cream in pan de sal. A prominent gentlemanwould always ask, “Okay, where dowe get our ice cream?” even after ahearty meal.“Memories” was the theme of the “Ice Cream Journey” recentlymounted by Selecta, the ManilaPeninsula and Unilever Foodsolu-tions, who asked their guests tocome with someone special. Memo-
ries of the first multi-flavored bowl
of Pen Pals ice cream (seven fullscoops in one large glass then, 17 to24 now) offered by the hotel shortlyafter it opened its doors to Manilans
in 1976. Guests – foreign and lo-cal – marveled at this sumptuous
concoction, sometimes skipping ameal to enjoy the giant dessert. And
the Pen halo-halo – who can forgettheir first huge bowl of ice cream
and sweetened fruits at the lobby of the hotel? Sharing, the inevitableelement in eating these desserts,
definitely strengthened family and
friendship ties.Through the years, and for still along time to come, these concoc-tions’ main element has been sump-tuous servings of Selecta ice cream,which has, in the span of 60 years,evolved into the preferred item tocap a meal. We have fond memoriesof lunch at the old Selecta restauranton Roxas Boulevard where we once
held office, always punctuated with
ice cream. A sibling, on the other hand, would not settle for anything but Selecta’s cheese ice cream.And so it was that the threesponsoring companies laid out the
Rigodon ballroom with fresh flow-
ers, white table cloths and napkins,and bright lights. It was like being
Ice cream andmemories
in a Spring event, lively and refresh-ing. From the start of the month,the Pen Lobby has served the newconcoctions by the youngish execu-tive chef Adam Mathis. He createdan expanded line that focuses on thelegendary quality of their chosenice cream brand, that allow the
“flavors to speak for themselves.”
The resulting collection is beauti-ful in presentation and delightful intaste. Try their Pinoy with pistachio,choco hazelnut brownie and nutty pageboy. You’ll not leave your seatuntil the last drop is consumed. Now for a memory of the meatykind. For years, our selected foodstuff would always include Pure-foods Fiesta Ham, not only duringthe holiday season, but anytimethe cravingfor somethingspecial wouldcome up. Wehave beenusing this for breakfast, inour paella,embutido andother dishes.Recently, at thecompany’s cu-linary center inUgong, Pasig,we discoverednew ways toserve their Fiesta Ham,which nowcomes withthe sweet pineapple and pine-raisinsauce.Can you imagine an open-facedFrench toast? They call this newtreat ham and eggs benedict onFrench toast. You need 12 slices of bread (any type), 3 whole eggs, 2cups milk, one half teaspoon cin-namon, one half teaspoon salt, 1 cup butter, 24 slices of ham, 12 poached
eggs. For the glaze – one half cup
maple syrup, one half cup water, 1tablespoon brandy, a pinch of cin-namon and one fourth cup raisins.Beat the eggs in a bowl, add milk and salt. Dip the bread, one at atime, and fry in butter. To assemble, place two pieces of cooked ham ontoasted bread, top with poached egg.To make the glaze, mix all ingredi-ents (except the raisins) in a sauce- pan. Allow to boil, then simmer toslight thickness. Add raisins just before removing from heat. Drizzleover the toast, ham, and eggs.Another unusual recipe is the meatyham cupcakes, each topped with aswirl of mashed potatoes. We might print the recipe in the next issue.Every time an announcement of price reduction is published in the papers and every time we call theattention of sellers to this, the replywould always be, “Sa dyario lang po iyan.” True enough, for an LPGreplacement tank that was deliveredvery recently to us, we got only P40discount instead of the proclaimedmore than P100 reduction. Canthis and other industries be better monitored?
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