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BGC promotes urban farming

Bonifacio Global City (BGC) has launched various initiatives focusing on food sufficiency, eco-friendly practices, open spaces, circular economy and community recovery. There are the Agri-roofs and Herb Gardens, where edible greens and herbs are grown in carpark and office building roof decks and pocket herb gardens along the stretch of Bonifacio High Street Park. Agriroofs are located on the roof decks of Three Parkade, Bonifacio Technology Center, and Bonifacio High Street Park buildings; some of the crops grown are eggplants, pechay (Chinese cabbage), tomato, sweet potato, and herbs. Other properties in the area such as Horizon Homes and Shangri-La at the Fort also started mini vegetable and herb gardens together with Greenspace as their compost partner. Then there’s the newly launched BGC Urban Farm located by The Flats BGC which gives residents an opportunity to have an edible garden or volunteer to take care of the local farm. Bonifacio High Street Harvest is done every quarter, in which all the yield from its pocket herb gardens and agriroofs are given out to residents in exchange for PET bottles, which is then recycled by Project Bins, BGC’s recycling partner. BGC Urban Farm also offers pick and pay service, which allows guests and residents to harvest their weekly supply of pechay, arugula, lettuce, kangkong, and mustasa for as low as P150-200/bag. To stay updated on BGC’s sustainability efforts and to know how you can help, visit Bonifacio Global City’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/bonifacioglobalcityph!

Johnnie Walker Blue Label has limited-edition gift box

JOHNNIE Walker Blue Label has partnered with glassmaker Riedel and urban artist Taxa to create a limited-edition gift box that creates unity between the trio’s pursuit of fine craft. The gift box houses two of Riedel’s glasses that allow the exceptionally deep whisky to be experienced in different ways — one bold, and one harmonious. The slim, flute-shaped Spirits glass is designed to bring out an elegant harmony of floral aromas and elegant sweetness of the whisky. The Neat glass is specially crafted to enhance the whisky’s rich, fiery spice and dark chocolate aromas followed by a dry, powerful finish. A highlight of gift box is the custom artwork by award-winning Japanese artist Taxa. The outline of a heart is at the center of the piece, while abstract florals and bees are visual representations of the flavors and aromas. A glimpse of wood symbolizes the casks which the whisky is aged in.

Summer treat at Araneta City

TO MAKE the most out of summer, Araneta City is giving away treats like travel packages and Coca-Cola merchandise, all for free. Araneta has teamed up with Coca-Cola for the Cool Summer Gulp promo. Customers who dine in at Food Express, Food Plaza, Food Gallery, or Dampa at Farmers Market can exchange ₱250 worth of single or accumulated receipts from any of those establishments for a 500 ml Coca-Cola Tumbler or a 220 ml ice-cold can of Coke. Receipts can be exchanged at the booths that are located at those food courts and Dampa at Farmers Market. The Cool Summer Gulp promo lasts until May 31. The Summer Travel Fun promo gives shoppers a chance to spend a few days in destinations like San Juan, La Union; Boracay; El Nido; The Farm at San Benito; and Calatagan, Batangas with a friend or loved one. Get one raffle entry by exchanging any of the following for a raffle entry: a ₱1,000 single-receipt purchase from any establishment within Araneta City; a maximum of four accumulated receipts worth P250 from any Araneta City Food Courts or Dampa at Farmers Market; four Gateway Cineplex or Ali Mall Cinema tickets, or ₱1,000 single-receipt purchase from Novotel Manila Araneta City. Receipts can be exchanged at the Gateway Mall Concierge, Gateway Mall Activity Area, Food Express, Ali Mall Concierge, and Farmers Plaza Concierge. The Summer Travel Fun promo lasts until June 22. Two winners will be drawn for each summer destination.

Diageo launches first luxury boutique in PHL

DIAGEO is expanding its presence in the Philippines starting with the launch of the Johnnie Walker Luxury Boutique in partnership with S&R. The boutique highlights Diageo’s portfolio which includes Johnnie Walker. It also hosts private mentoring where shoppers are given the opportunity to taste, view, and order a selection of the rarest whiskies. The Johnnie Walker Luxury Boutique was launched on April 1 at S&R Nuvali in Sta. Rosa, Laguna. The boutique also features a Whisky flavor map for customers to explore other flavors of Diageo luxury portfolio, as well as engraving machine where shoppers who purchase either a Johnnie Walker Blue Label or Mortlach Single Malt Scotch Whisky can customize their purchased bottles with a message or name via its in-store engraving services. The boutique also offers exclusive John Walker and Sons gift bags, and reusable gift tags for their everyday gifting needs. It will also offer tasting kits for customers who purchase more than P15,000 worth of products from the boutique, which will be available to shoppers until June 30. Diageo, Scotland’s largest exporter of Scotch whisky and other spirits, has a collection of over 200 brands enjoyed in more than 180 countries. Alongside the launch of its first luxury boutique in the country, Diageo also showcases its John Walker and Sons Collection, which is the luxury tier of Johnnie Walker. It includes the John Walker and Sons XR21 and King George V.

McDonald’s adds Double Ebi Burger to lineup

MCDONALD’S Flavors of Asia, which brings back favorite Japanese- and Korean-inspired meals, is offering an additional meal: the new and exclusive Double Ebi Burger, a leveled-up version of the Ebi Burger. The Double Ebi Burger boasts of two tempura-coated shrimp patties, topped with lettuce and McDonald’s’ tangy Thousand Island Sauce. Meanwhile, McDonald’s offers the new McSavers Mix & Match where a customer can create their own merienda combos for P75. Diners can choose a main from a range of savory options like Cheesy Burger McDo, McCrispy Chicken Fillet Sandwich, McSpaghetti, and one-pc. Mushroom Pepper Steak, then pair it with any sides, beverages, and desserts such as fries and apple pie, beverages like McCafe Premium Roast Coffee, iced tea, and pineapple juice, or sweet desserts like McFloat and Sundae. The Double Ebi Burger is now available now alongside the other Flavors of Asia offers via dine-in, take-out, drive-through, and McDelivery. The McSavers Mix & Match are available from any McDonald’s store via dine-in, take-out, and drive-through during regular hours (10:30 a.m. to 3:59 p.m.) only.

Jollibee’s Chicken Sandwich going nationwide

JOLLIBEE diners in Metro Manila have been able to dine on the Jollibee Chicken Sandwich since last November. Now the chicken sandwich is coming to more stores around the country starting this month. Select Jollibee stores in provincial Luzon started serving the sandwich beginning April 19, and it will be in stores in the Visayas, and Mindanao starting May. The Jollibee Chicken Sandwich is made with a 100% whole muscle chicken fillet marinated with select herbs and spices, that’s double hand-breaded, topped with special mayo dressing, and sandwiched between brioche buns. It’s also twice the weight of the usual chicken sandwich brand. The sandwich is available for P149 solo and P199 with fries and a drink. The list of stores selling Chicken Sandwich can be found at https://www.jollibee.com.ph/chickensandwich/.

Revel bar and s’mores back at FamilyMart

FAMILYMART Philippines brings back two of its favorite pastries — the revel bar and the s’mores — at its stores nationwide. The revel bar is composed of an oatmeal crust that intertwines with chocolate, and topped with streusel. As inspired by the campfire staple, the s’mores come in a bar with a brownie base, and topped with marshmallow. Both are moist and chewy, and best served warmed after five to 10 seconds in the microwave. The pastries are available in FamilyMart stores nationwide starting at P49 each, and will soon be available for delivery via GrabFood. Aside from the revel bar and s’mores, FamilyMart also recently introduced new items, such as the Ichigo Matcha Latte, a combination of two of its flavored drinks, as well as its own version of the twister fries, which will be made available year-round.

Gateway Gallery holds food photography workshop

ARANETA City’s Gateway Gallery will conduct its first onsite #ArtsyWorkshop for 2022 with the Delish Food Photography Workshop on April 30, 2 to 5 p.m. Veteran photographer Louie Aguinaldo will teach the principles, techniques, tools, and tips on how to capture enticing photos of food. The workshop will train participants on producing Instagram-worthy and ad-worthy food photos even with the use of a smartphone camera, whether for personal use or business purposes. Mr. Aguinaldo has been a professional photographer since 1991. He regularly does food photography for hotels and restaurants. The workshop fee is P1,500 and includes handouts and a certificate. Attendees need to bring a smartphone (with camera) or a DLSR camera. To register, call Gateway Gallery at 8588-4000 local 8300 or send an e-mail to gatewaygallery@aranetagroup.com. Interested participants can also register using the online registration form: https://forms.gle/TZtHLRCbYPE6KodC9

Robinsons Malls celebrate Earth Day

EARTH Day, an annual event held on April 22 since 1970, puts the focus on the need for a global and systemic change to foster and promote environmental protection. Robinsons Malls joins this movement through various activities to raise awareness and encourage mallgoers to heed the call to save Mother Earth. Here are the many ways that mall-goers can celebrate Earth Day in Robinsons Malls: There is the Trash to Cashback Program, done in partnership with BEST (Basic Environmental Systems and Technologies, Inc), which encourages people to segregate their trash and bring their recyclables to participating malls (Robinsons Metro East in Pasig City, Robinsons Town Mall Malabon and Robinsons Otis in Manila City). From April 22 to 23, mall-goers can exchange their trash for Environmental Points (EP), which can be used to redeem products or services from BEST partner merchants. There is the Recycling Market at Robinsons Novaliches (every last Friday and Saturday of the month), where customers can exchange various kinds of paper, plastic, metal, and glass items for cash. At Robinsons Place Naga, there is the Plastic Bank Experience Hub, on view until April 27, which showcases how plastic waste is transformed into everyday items, such as eco-bricks, raw materials for manufacturing, and fuel for powering generators. It is also open to accepting recyclable materials. Robinsons Malls is letting mall-goers hit two birds with one stone — in this case, recycling and planting, by offering free loam soil at the Fun Park at Robinsons Place Antipolo. From 3 to 5 p.m. on April 22, people can exchange used plastic bottles (1.5- or 5-liter bottles) for free loam. The Bureau of Plant Industry will also give away free seeds and seedlings in exchange for recyclable plastics. To minimize the use of plastic, participating Robinsons Malls branches are giving away free eco-bags to shoppers from April 22 to 29. Customers can also get free eco-bags when shopping through Robinsons Malls’ personal shopper service, Robbie and Rosie, for a minimum purchase.