Happy Birthday!

Happy birthday to:

snoop dogg (37)

and

viggo mortensen (51) And yes, even I cannot believe he's that old

Party-throwing tips for the Non-Partyphile

Since the partyphile (that’s me) is absent from my radio show today, here are the top ten tips on how to throw a party without a resident partyphile. That is, here are tips on throwing parties IF you aren’t a partyphile, and you don’t know any partyphile who is willing to help

10.) Always have the latest house music playing in the background. The louder, the better.

9.) Do not serve beer because everyone does that. If you must serve beer, serve it with some pineapple juice and a shot of Vodka or Tequila. This makes a shandy with a kick

8.) Do not serve spaghetti, fried chicken, or barbecue if you are NOT throwing a CHILDREN’S PARTY. If you’ve already made Spaghetti sauce, pour it over some Fries instead, to make Coney Fries. If you’ve already bought some barbecue, slather it with peanut sauce (heat some peanut butter and thin it down with water. Add soy sauce and some ginger) to make a Satay. If you’ve already cooked fried chicken—KILL YOURSELF. No self-respecting party host pre-cooks fried chicken. It just ends up soggy.

7.) Only invite your close friends and people who actually know each other. If someone ends up not fitting in at your party, you will end up with some bad party-reputation.

6.) If you feel like your party is starting to suck…it is time to bring out the big guns. Play a drinking game that everyone can join. For example, group your guests into two. One player from each group go against each other per round. Ask the contestants to drink two glasses of Tequila (or any hard liquor) and ask them to spin around ten times and drink another shot. Repeat this until someone gives up.The first one who quits loses a point. The team with the highest number of points wins.

5.) To make your party seem more exciting, set a theme. It may be as simple as a “color theme” like an all white party or a blue party. This makes people prepare for the party, just a little bit. This gives your guests the idea that your party is actually important.

4.) Give your guests quirky souvenirs. If you are on a tight budget, simply purchase brown paper bags and put a sticker on it that says “puke your guts out”. Hand these out as your guests enter the door for your party.

3.) Always give out invitations. No matter how small the gathering may be, always give your guests invitations. This makes them feel important and appreciated, and you know how egotistical partyphiles can get right? For cheap yet interesting invites, print the party details on simple Oslo paper and burn the edges. Place them inside match boxes and give them to your guests.

2.) Introduce a new drink. To ensure good reviews about your party introduce new cocktails to your guests. There are many recipes on the internet. For simple recipes log on to http://party.i.ph. If you have no time to practice new cocktails, just serve them in quirky vessels like beakers, test tubes, or maybe even an ice bucket (to be served with several straws and shared).

1.) Have fun. Plan everything ahead and have everything ready before your guests arrive. The last thing you would want to happen is for you not to have fun because of stressing too much about your guests. Take it easy. If anything bad happens, blame it on Zhaun.

Drink of the Week: Sangria

Since we are celebrating Brandied Fruit day today, here is a recipe that involves just that: brandy and fruits.

Here's how you make it.

In a pitcher combine:

Two shots of Brandy

Two cups of Soda Water or Club Soda

One bottle of cheap red wine

and slices of fresh oranges, lemon, and apples.

Stir and serve with lotsa ice

October 20 is Brandied Fruit Day (Nilasing na Mangga)

Since it is WORLD BRANDIED FRUIT day to day, here is a recipe for a yummy appetizer or pulutan that can get you drunk.

In a bowl combine:

One green mango

Two spoons of sugar

One spoon of salt

and One shot of Brandy

Let it seep overnight in the refrigerator and serve it the next day with more brandy.

So gather all your friends, serve up some Brandied fruits and get drunk while eating.

October 19 is Evaluate Your Life Day

Today is Evaluate Your Life Day. So go on and evaluate everything you have done thus far and decide whether to keep on doing the crazy stuff that you do. More importantly, evaluate how many party opportunities you have missed just because you wasted time evaluating your life.

Q Bar Gensan

Most discoveries often begin with a question. Partyphiles know this for a fact as some of the best discoveries in Partylandia started as innocent questions like:

“Will Rum go well with Coke?” which lead to one of the most popular cocktails, the Rum-Coke. “Will it be a hot idea to actually give people a place to dance in, without having an audience?” which lead to the creation of the dance bar. Or “will it be a good idea to boil, then grill, then chop up pork cheeks and ears and then serve it in a sizzling plate,?”, thus the creation of the pulutan everybody craves for: sisig.

Alright, alright, so maybe those discoveries did not actually start with those questions, but they totally could have. Because in my experience, a curious partyphile always gets ahead in Partylandia. That is, they get to discover new places, new trends,a n new products. And that is exactly how I discovered my new favorite resto bar in General Santos City. Yes, it all started with a question that went something like “Are there new party places in Gen San”

To my delight, an overwhelming response (that’s four out of five of my Gen San friends) directed me to Q Bar. For Davaoenos, the name might be all too familiar. That is because their main branch is at Damosa Gateway. And yes, being a branch, they have virtually the same menu, and more importantly, they also serve “Endless Chicken” (eat-all-you-ca greaseless chicken with eat-all-you-can gravy, eat-all-you-can rice, and drink-all-you-can Iced Tea). Having said that, the menu is probably the only things the Gen San branch and the Damosa branch share.

The truth is, Q Bar Gensan isseveral notches higher in the aprty-scale than the one in Damosa. So how does it look like? What do they serve? What music do they play? And what is the crowd like? Here are the answers to your questions:

Interiors. The interiors of Q Bar Gensan is awe-striking. The interiors are posh, ultra modern, yet still manage to give off a cozy vibe. In fact, it is so cozy that it is pretty easy to settle in your seat and get lost in a conversation with your friends, without minding the rest of the room. If you still think that Gensan is not urbanized enough, one look at Q Bar will make you change opinions as fast as Lady Gaga changes costumes.

Food. As I’ve said. Their menu is pretty similar to that of Q Bar Damosa’s. That is, they serve the traditional pulutan we all so love including Sisig, Chorizo Sisig, Calamares, ad everything else you would expect from a Pulutan menu. However, being a resto bar, they also serve actual meals. In fact, unlike Q Bar in Damosa, they have steaks, and even pasta dishes. I have only tried their onion-filled Sisig that is super savory and filled with “umami”, their perfectly cooked (that means, super crunchy, yet still quite tender inside) Calamres, and their addicting Cheese Sticks which were not too salty, but were super stringy and gooey. Needless to say, their food was great. So I suggest a trip to Q Bar even to non-drinkers.

Drinks. Compared with most bars in Gensan, they have a more traditional drink menu, but their specialty cocktail, the HypnotiQ is the star of their liquor bar. Unfortunately, the powers-that-be at Q Bar would not tell me what was in the cocktail, but it had hints of citrus, just the right amount of sweetness, and a creamy texture that mad the cocktail go down really well. It was a perfect balance of flavours; a gorgeous blend of all the right tastes that you would hope for in a cocktail. Plus, it looks gorgeously posh, in a deep blue hue.

Music. They play the latest and the greatest mix of house music and R&B. The thing is, R&B music in Gensan clubs is still big, thus the DJ geniusly lays R&B ditties over house tracks to give them the ‘best of both worlds’. Does it work? Well, that is pretty relative, and I’m kind of biased since their play list at Q Bar is almost identical to the play list I have on my radio show; and that should tell you that their song selection is updated. Also, considering that there isn’t an actual dance floor (because again it is a RESTO bar), there are droves of people who dance the night away; and that might be the best gauge of a good play list, and a great DJ.

Crowd. I was surprised to see soo many yuppies and posh girls at this place. Honestly, I have not seen this crowd in all the other Gensan bars, clubs, and watering holes. I don’t know where they were all hiding, but they were obviously waiting to come out for Q Bar. The good news is, even if they all look posh and glam, they are pretty friendly. This lends a light and happy atmosphere that is a wonderful contrast to Q Bar’s dark interiors. The fact that Q Bar manages to generate such a great crowd is pretty mind-boggling as they do not charge for an entrance fee. I think, the fact that their interiors are classy and that their food is really great draws in the ‘right’ crowd. Whatever their secret is, I think more bars should follow suit.

For a wonderful mix of gorgeous people, gorgeous interiors, a gorgeous song selection, and some gorgeously gastronomic treats, I give this Gen San gem, five out of five stars. Visit Q Bar Gensan at the Sun City Compound just along the National Highway, right beside East Asia Hotel.

For comments, suggestions, and more confessions from this partyphile log on to http://party.i.ph. Or follow the columnist on twitter.com/zhaun. Catch Confessions of a Partyphile (the radio show) on 105.9 Mix fm or www.mixfm1059.com every Wednesday evenings, six to nine in the evening.

Top 9 Partyphile Finds

10.) Q Bar Gen San

9.) Oktoberfest

8.) Goldschlager

7.) Black Rhubbard Hookah Lounge

6.) Beer Cupcakes from Johnny Cupcakes-

5.) Spice Boy Gourmet -add them up on facebook

4.)Lychee Martini

3.)C 24/7 - grand men seng

2.) Photo Qube - 09177008933 // 09228805025 :)

1.) Starr