Our Christmas party was held at the house of Felix Ang, owner of CATS Motors (Mercedes Benz). The young and pretty lady of the house, Grace, said there’s a party at their house every other day this Christmas season. If I have a house that big, I would also throw a party frequently. There wouldn’t be any problem with space.
The two-year old modern structure sits on a 2,300 square meter corner lot with extra wide frontage. One of Philippines’ top architects Ramon Antonio did a great job compartmentalizing the mansion so that it still feels cozy without sacrificing spaces for large gatherings. It’s a magnificent house through and through.
The biggest BenCab painting I have ever seen is the centerpiece at Felix’s grandiose main living room. There are several other living rooms, maybe 5 more.
Our dinner was catered by Florabel. As soon as we entered the foyer, one whole leg of Jamon Serrano greeted us. I didn’t taste it. I got distracted asking people who they were voting for. I also spent time exchanging woes with Jun who’s feeling disgusted with the way things are going in our country. I commiserated with him.
I liked Florabel’s table setting, it was elegant but not ostentatious.
The food was a mix of Asian and continental. There was sushi.
Florabel also make good sushi.
There was traffic in front of the lechon de leche.
The sweetheart of Felix is named Grace. Florabel named the pasta after her, just like the famous Salad a la Tessie of Via Mare, named after actress / comedienne Tessie Tomas.
Lamb chops
Steamed seabass
I will give Atty. Mike Toledo the best-dressed award. He always looks like he has just stepped out of the GQ magazine cover. He’s always well put together from the way he styles his hair down to his shiny shoes. Mike was one of the cabinet secretaries of former president Erap.
Atty. Mike Toledo
William Co and son Val. They own the biggest school in Rizal. They did a mock election at their school with over 1,200 student participants. Who won?
Noel Onate, Amb. Joey Antonio, Medusa, Beaver Lopez, Atty. Mike Toledo
Antonio Cojuangco, welcomes our guests from the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Washington DC who just arrived on that day.
Our guest of honor, former Pacific Command Chief Retired Admiral Sam Locklear gave us a briefing on the current situation at the West Philippine Sea. Former CIA China Station Chief Chris Johnson and CSIS Southeast Asian Depurty Director Murray Hiebert were also with us.
Rey Oben, Jun, Dindo, Jun Periquet, William.
Back table: Babe Romualdez, Raymond Garcia, Fausto Preysler, Gigi Montinola, host Felix Ang.
They were late that’s why napunta sila sa likod na mesa.
Jun is feeling discouraged doing business in the Philippines. He told me he and his family would be going to Sydney in April to look for a house. He would remain in Manila because of his business. He said he wants his family to live in a place where it’s clean and orderly. Where you don’t have to look behind your shoulders to see if someone’s going to holdup you, grab your bag, or kidnap you. He doesn’t want his 8-year-old daughter to grow up thinking that it’s okay to be a mistress. He said the television shows, Tagalog movies, magazines, and Philippine published books are mostly about the glorification of mistresses. He is also tired of the chaos, filth, and extortionists he has to deal with. He has lost faith in our leaders and doesn’t believe that any of the presidential candidates would do a great job improving the situation in our country, specifically the peace and order (crime), traffic situation, drugs and guns for hire. Plus the difficulty of doing business in our country, the red tapes, exorbitant taxes, etc.
Tonyboy Cojuangco, Admiral Locklear, Ed Lacson, Philip Romualdez
One of these days I am going to ask Florabel to cater to our party. I like their style. Food and service are an 8.
Only a few stayed to have dessert. Puro kami taga media, mediabetes.
Thank you to Felix for hosting this year’s Christmas dinner.
