Family Celebration

My grandmother "Nanay" recently turned 88 and to celebrate, I took her along with my family to Prince Albert. I had eaten there before and I thought my family would also really enjoy the food in this restaurant. When I saw Deal Grocer vouchers for a pretty hefty meal for two at Prince Albert, I thought it would be as good a time as any for me to bring my family there.

Each voucher was for a four-course meal for two that included soup, salad, a prime rib main course, and dessert. It also included a drink (soda, fresh fruit juice, or iced tea) and coffee or tea. At 52% off, it was a pretty awesome deal!  We had two choices of salad; a few of us opted for the Arugula, Green Pear, Walnuts and Roquefort cheese salad. I initially ordered that but there was a mistake in the order-taking and I didn't want to waste the food so I ended up having the more-standard-but-still-good Caesar salad. For soup, there were also two choices but one of the options was unavailable that night so we all had the Forest Mushroom Soup.

Forest Mushroom Soup

I've blogged about the Prince Albert Prime Rib before and it didn't disappoint. Even the side dishes - Yorkshire pudding, baked potato with bacon bits and sour cream, and grilled vegetables - were a massive hit with everyone. For dessert, we had a couple of options: Crepe Samurai and Pistachio Lime Cream Financier. The crepe was available that night but the financier wasn't. Our waiter told us we could instead have the Raspberry Meringue Tart (I think that's what it was called). Half of us got the crepe and the other half got the pie. Both were really good, but I think I liked the Raspberry Meringue Pie a bit more. It also looked really beautiful!

Raspberry Meringue Tart

As we were finishing our dessert and coffee, the waiters turned the lights off in our area and started singing "Happy birthday". As they did, they brought in a beautiful cake! As it turned out, they gave this to us for free because it didn't appear in the bill afterwards. I thought it was really wonderful that they did this. Since we were all so full, the waiters said they would just pack it up for us so Nanay could bring it home with her.

Thank you, Prince Albert, for the free cake!

I'm really happy I was able to bring my family to Prince Albert. The food was amazing and we were all stuffed, the service was superb, and we got a free cake. My aunt and her family were also able to join us, making Nanay's 88th birthday celebration even more memorable.

More ways to help the Nepal earthquake victims

As of this writing, the Nepal earthquake has taken more than 2300 lives.As if the first 7.8 magnitude earthquake yesterday wasn't enough, a massive 6.7 aftershock hit the country again earlier today. Rescue efforts continue and international aid continues to come in, although the damage to infrastructure has made it difficult for help to get to where it is needed.

For those who want to help, CNN shares a list of  ways that you can donate.

Looking for ways to help victims of the #NepalQuake? @CNNImpact has a list of organizations http://t.co/964rXMx3XJ pic.twitter.com/NxphPBQGZ0
— CNN (@CNN) April 25, 2015

Here's the list of the different organizations that are working on relief efforts now but you can read this link to read more about each of these organizations.

Nepal Red Cross Society (donation link)
American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (donation link)
AmeriCares (disaster relief fund)
CARE (donation page)
Catholic Relief Services
Concern Worldwide (online donation)
Direct Relief (online donation)
Global Giving (online donation)
Handicap International
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (online donation)
International Medical Corps (online donation)
MercyCorps
Operation USA
Oxfam International (links to: US donation, Great Britain donation)
Save the Children
Samaritan's Purse
UNICEF (online donation)
The World Food Programme (online donation)
World Vision Nepal earthquake relief fund

Earthquake hits Nepal

I just saw the very sad news on CNN. A magnitude 7.8 earthquake just hit Nepal earlier today. As of now, it has been confirmed that more than 1400 people were killed and several thousands have been injured by this disaster. There is massive destruction throughout the country and many historic monuments such as important temples and palaces have been greatly damaged if not reduced to rubble. The earthquake also caused a huge avalanche on Mt. Everest and many casualties have already been reported.

My thoughts and prayers go out to Nepal and everyone who has been affected by this catastrophe.

How to help:
International Federation of Red Cross: Donate to Nepal Earthquake Relief
Global Giving Nepal Earthquake Relief Fund

Kimberly Nichole sings House of the Rising Sun on The Voice

I'm happy that I stumbled upon this performance while switching channels earlier today. Kimberly Nichole from Team Christina brings everyone to their feet with this smashing, soul-stirring performance of House of the Rising Sun.


video uploaded in youtube by The Voice

During the build-up to the performance, guest coach Reba McEntire commented that if Kimberly performs on stage the way she did during rehearsal, she would get everyone on their feet. I thought it was an exaggeration. As it turned out, it was not. She got a standing ovation and I had goosebumps. I'm interested to see how well she will do in The Voice. Would be awesome to see her go far and even win.

Getting there

Rafa Nadal lost in the semifinals of the Monte Carlo masters to nemesis Novak Djokovic.While it's disappointing - Rafa still hasn't had a good result this year in any of the big tournaments - there are a few positive things he can take away from this tournament. It's his first semifinal in a bit tournament that featured many of the top 10 players. He avenged his quarterfinal loss in last year's tournament to David Ferrer. And after dropping to 5th place in the ATP rankings, he climbs back up to 4th. I'm still hoping he gets close to top form in a month's time.

In the meantime, Novak Djokovic continues to rack up records. He recently passed Rafa in terms of number of weeks at #1 (he has now been at the top of the rankings for 143 weeks; Nadal stopped at 141 when Novak took over from him). And with his win in the final, he becomes the first person to win the first three masters tournaments of the year. He is now on a 17-match winning streak and has lost only two matches this year, winning 30. Novak looks to be head and shoulders above everyone else at this point in the tennis calendar so it will be interesting to see what he achieves the rest of this year.

College reunion dinner

Talk about a blast from the past. One of my college friends, Dino, is in Manila and we decided to meet up over dinner. A few dozen of our college org mates were invited but while only about 8 of us made it, it was an incredible night of catching up. Probably half of the people in our dinner group I hadn't seen since college! After graduation, the only folks I got to see on a regular basis were people from my batch; I never really got to see my friends from other batches anymore.

Our dinner was Village Tavern in Bonifacio High Street and once we were all there, it was loud and fun and full of energy. We talked about what was going on in our lives  and we shared stories about the people we regularly get to see to those who haven't seen them in a while. Of course, a college reunion wouldn't be anywhere near complete without a trip down memory lane. We remembered the outings, the parties, the school events, and the crazy adventures back when we were still young. :)

We realized at some point that we were the only people left in Village Tavern so we had stayed there until closing. And why not? There was a lot to talk about it. As we said our goodbyes to each other, we thought it would be good for us to meet again at some point soon. Hopefully that does happen, and hopefully more of our college friends can also join us next time.

Celebration at Lemuria

This is a bit of a late post but a few weeks ago, my uncle and aunt, Tito Erwin and Tita Maritie. celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary at Lemuria.

I hadn't heard of this place before so I had to go online to figure out how to get there. It's a fine-dining restaurant and events venue that is perfect for relatively smaller gatherings; there were about 40 to 50 of us in our group. I'm not sure if this is one of those places that used to be someone's house that was later converted into a restaurant or a party venue but it does have a very warm and cozy ambience.

There are also a few rooms here so there can be a few dinners or celebrations going on at the same time. It also has a large open area that can probably serve as an open-air ballroom.

My mom and I got there a bit late and once we arrived, Tito Erwin was giving a welcome speech. Dinner was then served buffet-style and the food was pretty good. Afterwards, random people started giving speeches. In our table, we were discussing who would give a speech and I ended up volunteering. I kept my speech short and sweet but I talked about how Tita Maritie and Tito Erwin have been very important in helping our family get through tough times over the last few years and how they are blessed because they continue to bless others.

It was around 9:30 when the wedding anniversary celebration ended. Tito Erwin and Tita Maritie thanked everyone for coming and the wine glass we used during dinner also served as the party souvenir.

Of course, there was a lot of photo taking before we finally left. This was the last time I saw my grandmother Mama so I'm just thankful I got to spend quality time with her before she passed away. I'm also really happy that I got to celebrate the 40th wedding anniversary of Tita Maritie and Tito Erwin with them and with other members of our extended family. Congratulations to them and I look forward to their golden wedding anniversary in ten years.

Lemuria
http://www.lemuria.com.ph/
5 Julieta Circle, Horseshoe Village, Quezon City
email: lemuria@brumms.com.ph
mobile: +63.927.428.4202
landline: +63.2.724.5211, +63.2.722.2185
Operating Hours: Lunch by exclusive booking only; Dinner Tuesday-Sunday 6:00 pm-11:00 pm

Gerphil Flores gets the Golden Buzzer on Asia's Got Talent

What a wonderful way to make it through to the semifinals of the first-ever season of Asia's Got Talent. Gerphil Flores from the Philippines sings a flawless classical rendition of Speak Softly, Love (the theme from The Godfather). Not only does she get a stand ovation and a yes from all four judges, she also gets a Golden Buzzer from her idol, David Foster. Cool!


video uploaded in youtube by Asia's Got Talent

Birthday dinner celebration

My friend Anna turned a year older a while back but as she's based abroad, we didn't get to celebrate until earlier this week when she was in Manila. We had dinner at Chef Jessie in Rockwell. I had never eaten here before and the set menu was very enticing - almost everyone else at our table ordered this - but when I saw that there were many cheese soufflé options in the menu, I decided to have one of them instead. I opted for the Bacon and Cheese Soufflé and oh wow it was so incredibly good! Anna told me that Chef Jessie used to be the chef of Le Soufflé and said I made a good choice. Brilliant! I also ordered the Aglio Olio pasta with Prawns and that was a quality dish as well. Lala couldn't finish all of her set menu so I ate all her leftover main course and dessert. While this restaurants is on the expensive side, the food is tremendously good!

It was the first time I saw the gang in a few months so there was of course a lot of catching up to do. I finally got to give my photobook gifts to my friends Michele and Joyce (Iona normally makes her own books - she finds it almost therapeutic and enjoyable - so I just give her vouchers as a gift). I also lent Joyce my DVD of The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel since she recently watched the second one and enjoyed it she but didn't see this first one. I also gave Anna my spare commemorative P10 coin.

It was close to close to 11PM when we finally called it a night. I still owe Anna a proper birthday gift. I was supposed to make a photobook of her recent travels but she still hasn't been able to give me her photos. I think after seeing the other books I passed around that night, she feels a bit more compelled to put together her photos and send them to me. Happy birthday Anna and thanks for the wonderful dinner!

Rest in Peace, Mama

Last week, my grandmother on my dad's side, whom we affectionately call Mama, passed away at the great age of 91. She thankfully survived a few health scares over the last few years but she suffered a heart attack last weekend and when my cousin called me to tell me about it, the prognosis was grim. Apparently, the doctors were saying Mama could go at any time soon so I decided to pass by the next evening. (Thankfully, visitors were allowed in the ICU even late at night.) There were several of us there when I arrived and several more came after; I guess we were all expecting the worst and wanted to spend some time with Mama while she was still alive. Most of us started out talking to her and telling her that we love her. I also prayed with her. After a while, I wasn't sure what to talk about anymore so I started humming (I'm not good with lyrics so I figured I would just hum the tunes instead). I went on that way for a couple of hours and while I was there, I was noticing the figures on the monitor slowly dropping. I left at close to 2am and I was told when I woke up that Mama had already passed away early in the morning.

We laid her to rest on Good Friday and everyone in our Manila-based extended family and our family friends were there to say goodbye. As luck would have it, it was my cousin's birthday that day. So it was decided during the funeral that we would all head to my uncle's house afterwards to celebrate. After all, while we were all very sad, Mama did have a great life and we wanted to celebrate that as well.

The last time I got to spend time with Mama while she was conscious was a few weeks ago during my uncle and aunt's 40th wedding anniversary. I'm just glad that I got to see her in very joyful circumstances shortly before she passed away.

I'm also happy that in Mama's twilight years, I got to spend some quality time with her. There was her amazing 90th birthday and I will never forget the time I took her and Tito Raul to Aristocrat as a post-Christmas celebration. She had difficulty moving in her final years so it was not easy taking her to different places but whenever she was at a party, she always still had the energy to dance. :) Mama will definitely be missed.

Eternal rest, grant unto Prudencia Pobre, O Lord
and let perpetual light shine upon her.
May she rest in peace. Amen.

Record month

What an interesting month. I achieved a few personal blogging records and milestones this March. I celebrated my blog's 10th anniversary. I scored another perfect month after managing to put up one blog post for each day of the month, a feat I accomplished only twice before. I also became a bit of a blogging machine as I published 67 posts in the first three months of 2015. This is by far the most I have written over a three-month period.

Due to a combination of these things and a few other factors, my blog also recorded the most number of views in a single month, with 3608. Wow! This is the first time my blog exceeded 3000 views in a month; prior to this, the most hits my blog got in a month was 2720. Checking my blog stats, it seems that about half of the traffic I got in the entire month came after I published these four posts:

Michelle Obama dances on Ellen on March 18.
Total hits that day - 835
Not sure what was going on here but immediately after I posted this, my blog ended up with 763 views. Which is strange because this post itself only has 12 views. :) My guess is that maybe there is a horde of bots that detected what I wrote.

Happy 10th anniversary! on March 10
Total hits that day - 557
I shared this blog post with all my friends so my blog was bound to have a lot of views after that.

Happy 10th anniversary! (Part 2) on March 11
Total hits that day - 239
I also shared this post with my friends, especially since it had a very good summary of the many local and international trips I've taken.

10 books that have stayed with me (part 2) on March 18
Total hits that day - 182
Once again, I don't know what was going on. Maybe a lot of bots picked up something I wrote here (or in the previous post on 10 books that have stated with me (part 1)

Regardless of how these blog stats work (they all still don't really make sense to me LOL), March 2015 is definitely one of the most memorable months in my blogging history.

The Fox on Just Dance 2015

I stumbled upon this video on youtube. I think it's really silly but in a cool, funny and entertaining way, living up to the playful humor and spirit of the song itself.


video uploaded in youtube by AverageAsianDude

Where can I get a fox costume like this (including the swag gangsta coat and jewelry)? I'd love to perform dance this somewhere hahaha.

Juan Flavier's Legacy

This piece of news has been making its rounds recently. And why not? It's a wonderfully heartwarming true-to-life story about how good government can greatly improve the lives of people.

Juan Flavier was the Health Secretary back in the 1990s and under his leadership, the DOH launched Oplan Sagip Mata. Apparently, many Filipino children suffer from loss of vision but in a lot of cases, blindness can be prevented by proper medical care. One of the beneficiaries of this program was Sandra Magalang, a cross-eyed child from a poor family.

While we don't know whether or not she would have lost her sight given her situation, her eye problem was corrected and the assistance she got from DOH definitely made a significant impact in her life. So much so that during Flavier's wake late last year (sadly, he passed away on October 30, 2014), Sandra paid her last respects and left this note for Flavier's family:

photo from www.interaksyon.com

To the family and loved ones of Dr. Flavier.

I apologize for writing at the back of this guest list, but this is the only way I can think of to convey my gratitude to your family and to Dr. Flavier.

My life was changed by his Oplan Sagip Mata almost 20 years ago, and thanks to this great man I was able to live differently despite being born cross-eyed and poor. Without him, I could not have achieved the honors I have achieved, and his health programs have helped me reach places I never thought I would. I even graduated summa cum laude from this university, and this is all thanks to your great father/grandfather/loved one.

Thank you, and my deepest condolences.

Sincerely,
Sandra Magalang, UP Diliman 2010, 2014

As it turned out, Sandra graduated salutatorian of UP Law last year 2014 and she placed third in the recently concluded Bar exams. Amazing! While Juan Flavier is no longer with us, his legacy lives on. He has definitely left an indelible mark in the lives of the many Filipinos.

photo from www.rappler.com

The Village

No, not the movie by M Night Shyamalan. I'm talking about the board game. I played The Village for the first time recently. My friend Mike is a major board game fan who had been living abroad for many years already before returning to the Philippines late last year. He asked me to join him recently with a few of his other friends to play this game, which is apparently one of his curent favorites.

photo from boardgamegeek.com

As is true with most other games, the objective of The Village is to end up with the most points. There is a whole variety of ways to score points, making for very interesting game play. It normally takes an hour to finish the game but the first time we played, it took us a bit (a lot?) longer as a few of us were still figuring out what the best strategy was to score as many points as possible. The key to a great game is that the actions of your opponents can trigger a change in your strategy and this is true for the Village as my approach was different each time I played it. Hopefully I get to play this game again in the near future and see if my learning curve will help me win the next time. :)

Movie Watching

I got to see three movies in the last week. (Before I talk about them, though, I am a bit surprised at how expensive cinema tickets are now: Greenbelt 3 - P240, Glorietta 4 - P220, Megamall - P232. Up until 1-2 years ago, you could still find theaters that sold tickets at under P200; that no longer seems to be the case.)

Kingsman: The Secret Service

photo from www.comingsoon.net

Based on the comic book series The Secret Service, Kingsman provides its viewers with an awesome combination of hip superhero-movie flair and old-school spy-film style. It's edgy and cheeky, paying homage to classic spy thrillers while throwing in enough modern-day twists and turns to make it entertainingly unpredictable. Colin Firth has the refined-gentleman role down pat but he is equally superb as a very physical, well-trained fighting machine. His co-star Taron Egerton has the right amount of diamond-in-the-ruff edginess and charm. The movie also gives us an uber-cool villain sidekick Gazelle (seriously, she is one of the absolute coolest movie villains I have seen in a long time!) and it also features Mark Hamill in the cast (he portrayed Luke Skywalker in the original Star Wars trilogy although I really didn't recognize him). Kingsman: The Secret Service has a lot of great action and is loads of fun.

The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

photo from www.fiordlandcinema.co.nz

This is actually a follow-up to the first film, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. That film was released in the US on the same day as the mega-blockbuster The Avengers so it flew under the radar. Its premise intrigued me so I got the DVD of that first film last year and I enjoyed it. The question is, how does this second one compare to the first? I actually thought The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel was better, making it a perfect sequel. Because the first film had already established the context, the characters and their dynamic, this second one was able to move forward at a faster pace without losing its heart. The acting remains superb, but that is to be expected from a cast that includes two-time Oscar awardee Maggie Smith and Oscar awardee Judi Dench. I do think that watching the first film will make you appreciate this second one a lot more, but that said, my friend Joyce and her friends watched only this sequel and they all still really enjoyed it. The ending is a bit too neatly tied together but hey, with all the bad news happening in the world, I can definitely do with more of these really nice happy endings. :)

Cinderella

photo from en.wikipedia.org

This is the second Disney movie I've seen this year that  is based on fairy tales (the first was of course the Into the Woods). I was sort of expecting a major twist in the plot of this Cinderella but there wasn't. That said, there were a whole lot of smaller differences and updates to the original storyline that strengthened the character development and made for a very interesting watch. The cinematography is beautiful and the costume design is topnotch. This is another feel-good movie that makes you smile, even if you do know things are going to turn out in the end.

Finale B from Rent

One of my favorite songs from any musical, and my favorite song from Rent. Finale B talks about how fleeting life is and reminds us that we need to live in the moment and appreciate what we have while we have it.

There's only us, there's only this
Forget regret or life is yours to miss
No other road, no other way
No day but today


video uploaded in youtube by LivetoRENT

Plane crashes in the French Alps

Tragic news. Germanwings flight 4U 9525 from Barcelona to Dusseldorf crashed in the French Alps yesterday. Sadly, it has been confirmed that there were no survivors. (A total of 150 people on board - 144 passengers and 6 crew members.) 

My thoughts and prayers go out to all the victims of the crash as well as their families and loved ones.

Read more about this tragedy here.

Va Bene Pasta Deli

I had been hearing about Va Bene, a little Italian place at the Petron station on Edsa corner Pasay Road, for a while now. When I saw Deal Grocer vouchers for this restaurant, I decided to buy a few. As such, I ended up visiting this restaurant three times in the last couple of months. (The good thing about the Petron station is that you can get your parking ticket validated by the establishment you visit, meaning you get free parking for the first two hours. The downside is that parking space is limited; it may take you a while to find an available slot.)

As a result of my three trips here, I got to try a few different items on the menu. The first one I had was the Pappardelle, which is a pasta dish with 12-hour braised lamb shank, Italian sausage, semi-dried tomatoes, and black olives (P460). I always enjoy braised or stewed meat and I love pasta so this was a good combination for me. The lamb was tender and the flavor of the sauce was good.

Pappardelle (P460)

On my next visit, I tried the Organic Eggs Tagliatelle with portobello mushrooms, white wine cream sauce, and truffle oil (P440). I'm a huge fan of truffle oil so I was expecting to be blown away by this but it didn't quite live up to the hype. I thought it lacked salt. (Now that I think about it, I should have just asked for salt; maybe I would have enjoyed it a lot more). In my opinion, Cantinetta still has the best truffle pasta that I have tried.

Organic Eggs Tagliatelle (P440)

Finally, I had the Nonna Gnocchi, which is potato pasta with Italian sausage, portobello mushrooms, prawns, and taleggio cheese (P480). This dish I loved for the most part. Ever since I search gnocchi in the internet because I kept on hearing it in Top Chef and other cooking shows, I've become a fan. This dish was rich and full of flavor and the prawns were perfectly cooked. I didn't really like the crumbled bits of sausage though. I though they were out of place and didn't really add anything to the dish.

Nonna Gnocchi (P480)

Overall, I found Va Bene to be a good restaurant. The pasta noodles are fresh and very well-made (although for me, something about the noodles doesn't allow them to fully absorb the flavor of the sauces they are served with). The service is also excellent. While Va Bene is multi-awarded, I prefer a few other Italian places to it. That said, this is still a quality restaurant and I wouldn't mind eating here again.

Va Bene has been recognized multiple times as one of the best restaurants in Manila.

Va Bene has two locations: Makati and BGC. (Note: there seem to be slight differences in the menu of these two restaurants. I think Nonna Gnocchi is not available in BGC. Check out the menus here.)

Va Bene Pasta Deli
http://www.vabenepastadeli.com/

Makati Branch
2nd Floor Petron Gas Station
EDSA Cor. Pasay Road
Dasmarinas, Makati City

BGC Branch
Cinema Level, 3rd Floor Bonifacio High Street Central Cinemas
Fort Bonifacio Global City (BGC)
Taguig City

Telephone: 02-5569442 / 2169879
Mobile: 09177225780

Indian Wells

Congratulations to Novak Djokovic and Simona Halep who took the men's and women's titles at Indian Wells, one of tennis' biggest events outside the majors and the year-end championships.

Both finals were three-set affairs. The men's championship match featured another battle between the world #1 Djokovic and #2 Roger Federer. Federer had been getting the better of Djokovic recently, winning 3 of their last 4 matches. Despite this, Novak repeated his achievement last year as he emerged victorious against Roger. On the women's side, Simona Halep overcame injury, personal tragedy, and a resurgent Jelena Jankovic to win. Halep's cousin committed suicide last week and she struggled through the grief while also battling a blister on her foot. Former #1 Jankovic was in fact up a set and a break and she served for the match at 5-4 in the 2nd set before Halep mounted her comeback. This is Simona's third title in 2015, the most of any player so far (granted of course we are only 3 months into the year and there's a whole lot more tennis to play).

The story of the tournament, however, is Serena Williams' first appearance in the draw since 2001, ending her 14-year boycott of the tournament. That year, Venus withdrew from her semifinal match against Serena at the last minute, and both Williams sisters were booed in the final with Serena playing and Venus watching in the stands. (Read more about this controversy here.) This year, it was Serena's turn to withdraw from her semifinal match against Simona Halep, but her departure from the tournament was met with supportive cheers from the crowd.

Rafa Nadal is still slowly working his way back into top form, making it to the quarterfinals before losing a very tough and close three-set match against world #6 Milos Raonic. The clay court season starts next month and hopefully Rafa can return to his winning ways by then.

Bizu Macaron Day: Macarons for Charity

I finally recovered from sore eyes and to celebrate, I spent most of Saturday out of the house. I watched a movie (I'll write about this later), met up with friends, and went to the mall. In the course of the day, I happened to pass by Bizu and I decided to buy coffee and one of their bread products since they apply a 30% discount to some of their baked goods towards the end of the day. As I made my purchase, the lady at the cashier handed me a free macaron, saying that it was Bizu Macaron Day. Cool!

my free macaron

She further explains that the proceeds of all macaron sales on that day will be donated to Virlanie Foundation. As such, despite having a free macaron already, I decided to get two more: Tainori, a macaron made of 64% Valrhona chocolate, with flavors of yellow fruit with earth tones of roasted almonds (P65) and the Lychee Rose (P55).

Lychee Rose (left) and Tainori (right)

I think Bizu Macaron Day is a great idea and I love that it has a charity aspect to it. As I do enjoy macarons, maybe I will keep an eye out for this next year.