1st FRIKE (Fun. Ride. Bike) ENDURO CHALLENGE (Subic Bay Freeport Zone, Zambales)

  

Participants of the  1st FRIKE Enduro Challenge

Last April 30, 2022, Saturday, Le Charme Suites in Subic Bay Freeport Zone, Zambales became the place to be for mountain bikers and mountain bike enthusiasts as Le Charme Fitness Center, with the support of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA), the Aeta community and the staff of Le Charme Suites, initiated the First FRIKE (Fun. Ride. Bike) ENDURO CHALLENGE. 

 

1^st FRIKE (Fun. Ride. Bike) ENDURO CHALLENGE

Subic Bay, the triathlon paradise of the Philippines, is one of the favorite hotspots of mountain bikers who can choose to take exhilarating trails, with various levels of difficulties - longer treks, steep technical descents or high-incline climbs.  

Enduro mountain biking

For mountain biking in Subic and its surrounding areas, there are two types you can try - Enduro and downhill.  The latter, the most dangerous and extreme type, involves large jumps and drops of over 3 m., with trails generally steep from top to bottom.   For the Enduro, there is an equal amount of uphill and downhill but it is not hard to complete a trail, even for a novice cyclist.

The competition, just organized within a month, had two categories - Full Suspension (having both front and rear suspension) Category and Hard Tail (do not have a rear shock and have either a suspension fork or a rigid fork). 

 

Ms. Josephine "Jho" Floresca-Pellicer

The on-site registration (fee: Php1,200) started at 7 AM while race started promptly at 8 AM.  All registrants receive a race kit which includes a finisher shirt, a race bib, a L.O.H.A.S. (Lifestyle of Health and Sustainability) meal, automatic registration for Bike Show, discount coupon for all GGC outlets, lunch fellowship and raffle entry. 

According to Le Charme Suites CEO Ms. Josephine "Jho" Floresca-Pellicer, an active member of the Subic Bay Freeport Chamber of Commerce (now led by Subic Water & Sewerage Co., Inc. CEO Mr. Benjamin "Benjie" E. Antonio III), a total of 50 participants from Olongapo City and the nearby provinces (Rizal, Pampanga, Laguna, etc.) joined the competition, 30 in the Full Suspension category and 20 in the Hard Tail category. 

 

Jho (right) beside the ATV (all-terrain vehicle) that would bring her and members of media to the competition site.  

More wanted to join but, for the meantime, they limited their entries for the event to make sure that everybody will have fun. 

 

Participants, with their mountain bikes on their car's bike racks, leaving the hotel for the competition site

Some of the participants arrived, with their bikes, a day before the competition, availing of the Php5,800 Le Charme Suites offer which included an overnight stay at the hotel aside from the registration.  Le Charme Suites, a true haven for those who go and visit Subic with their bikes, is the only “bike friendly” hotel in town and in Central Luzon.   

Check out “Hotel and Inn Review: Le Charme Suites Subic” and “Restaurant Review: Teppan 101”

 

The biker-friendly Le Charme Suites Subic

Through the years, it developed facilities to accommodate competitive and leisure bikers alike.  This is seen from its elevator (wide and spacious enough to bring in a bike and other recreational equipment); slip-free and wide carpeted hallways to its rooms and lobby with built-in bicycle racks.  

 

Bike rack at the hotel lobby

The eco-friendly competition, involving two downhill stages, was held at the 2.5 km. long Paco 55 Track of the Pamulaklakin Forest Trail inside the Aeta tribal reservation within the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) grounds.

  

The Paco 55 Enduro Track

One of two routes mountain bikers usually traversed when inside the SBMA (the other is the Macoy Trail developed in 2012), the very challenging Paco 55, 3-km. Enduro Track was developed in 2015 by local mountain bike enthusiast Mr. Romeo "Paco" Tagle. 

Bikers ready and itching to go

From a downhill starting area, competitors were released individually, at 20 to 30 sec. intervals, and timed individually. 

  

In the Race Competition, off-road enthusiast Demi Hollsen “Kimi” Grande (No. 33), from Sta. Rosa City in Laguna, won in the Full Suspension category with a time of 5 mins. and 39.9 secs. and an average speed of 31.82 kms./hr..   

Kimi Grande ((photo: Kimi Grande Facebook page)

In the Hard Tail category, Mark Jeffrey Tenedero (No. 18), who hails from Porac, Pampanga, won with a time of 6 mins. and 15.8 secs. and an average speed of 28.79 kms./hr..  Both Kimi and Jeffrey made it a double when they also won the Best Jump Competition in their respective categories. 

 

Mark Jeffrey Tenedero (photo: Mark Jeffrey Tenedoro Facebook page)

The other finishers, in the Full Suspension category, were John Lloyd D. Belano (second, 6:17.8, 28.59 kms./hr.), Raijon Kurt Siongco (third, 6:38.7, 27.09 kms./hr.), Christof Bastin (fourth, 6:46.5, 26.57 kms./hr.), Vincent David Ong (fifth, 7:08.9, 25.18 kms./hr.), Kevin Venus Cortz (sixth, 7:21.5, 24.46 kms./hr.), Jarod Miguel R. Mendoza (seventh, 7:24.5, 24.3 kms./hr.), Nico Nunag (eighth, 7:25.4, 24.25 kms./hr.), R.J. Dizon (ninth, 7:34.3, 23.77 kms./hr.) and Valencia Domingo Jr. (tenth, 7:40.4, 23.46 kms./hr.). 

 

Kimi Grande doing his best jump in the full suspension category
(photo: Kimi Grande Facebook page)

The other finishers, in the Hard Tail category, were Stan Espinola (second, 7:01.6, 25.62 kms./hr.), Diego Nikolas S. Capili (third, 7:35.7, 23.7 kms./hr.), E.J. Fernandez (fourth, 7:37.0, 23.63 kms./hr.), Emil John Rivera (fifth, 7:38.6, 23.55 kms./hr.), Christian Dino (sixth, 7:41.5, 23.4 kms./hr.), Jolly Capitulo (seventh, 7:41.6, 23.4 kms./hr.), Jun Alavaro (eighth, 7:49.8 22.99 kms./hr.), Harvey Baltazar (ninth, 8:04.0, 22.31 kms./hr.) and Chad Ganas (tenth, 8:09.2, 22.08 kms./hr.).

 

After the competition, a free fellowship lunch and awarding ceremony was held at Magic Lagoon where exciting prizes were given away.  Raffled off were a Buzz Rack Beetle (trunk mount bike carrier), a foldable bike, Le Charme Hotels room accommodation and other surprise items.  

Medics - an important component in any competition

First placers got Php7,000 cash, room accommodation, finisher shirt, trophy, medal and a certificate; second placers Php3,000 cash, Taichi Spa voucher, finisher shirt, trophy, medal, and certificate; while third placers got Php2,000 cash, Good Guys Deli voucher, finisher shirt, trophy, medal and a certificate. The fourth to tenth placers receive a medal and a finisher shirt.

 

Come next year, Jho plans to hold it during the long weekend (May 1, Labor Day, will be on a Monday) and she hopes that more will join and in an eco-friendly manner as well. Accordingly, she said “We aim to have lighter race, and not much of a hardcore Enduro race. Because this race that we had was meant to be done for fun.” 

 

The finish line

Le Charme Suites Subic: 2/F La Terraza Bldg. 1131 Palm St., Subic Bay Gateway District, Subic Bay Freeport Zone 2222, Zambales.  Tel:  (047) 250 3333. Mobile number: +63 915 933 8113.  Website: www.lecharmehotels.com.  E-mail: salesandmarketing@lecharmehotels.com and frontoffice@lecharmehotels.com. 

Restaurant Review: Marina Seaview Restaurant (Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu)

 

The Marina Seaview Restaurant 

Capping our whole day media tour was dinner at Marina Seaview Restaurant, an urban restaurant with an elegant and sophisticated ambiance along the Mactan Channel.  It seems like we were dining inside a hotel with a sea view like no other. The restaurant was a combination of popular urban dining by the sea, elegant interiors, and breathtaking vistas. 

 

Al fresco dining at its best

Located on the former site of Anton’s Seafood, beside the Cebu Yacht Club, the sprawling, spankingly new Marina Seaview Restaurant building was concocted along the lines of the Neo International style, with open glassed-in high ceilings and luxe interiors that could compete with those from other world capitals. 

The Al Fresco Resto Bar

The newest hub for Cebu’s ever more discriminating lifestyle habitués, it has a 700-seating capacity with a generous physical lay-out divided into dining spaces fit for various clients, each of which varies with its own specialties. 

 

The elegant, modern and classy Mactan Ballroom, with its dynamic flexibility, can cater to all types of events such as weddings, birthdays and corporate events like trainings and seminars and can accommodate up to 150 persons. The Al Fresco Resto Bar, with its breathtaking ambiance and much more casual feel, is a unique multi leveled structure and a perfect outdoor venue for special occasions and corporate gatherings.

 

We were to dine at the airconditioned Glasshouse, the restaurant’s indoor fine dining area. With its upholstery made of imported sting ray leather, it can comfortably seat up to 90 persons. Live bands, of different genres, usually perform here from Thursdays till Sundays and, as it was a weekend, a band was playing at the Al Fresco Resto Bar.

Our media group at the airconditioned Glasshouse

 Their menu, for brunch, lunch and dinner, ran the gamut from seafood dishes expected of an ocean side restaurant, to Asian, Filipino and American cuisine, from pork to chicken or beef, and pizzas and premium steaks. A wide variety of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages are also available. Their delectable, mouth-watering dishes come at a reasonable price.

 

Breaded Calamari (Php288)

Our four-course dinner started with Breaded Calamari (Php288), a classic appetizer consisting of lightly battered squid (calamari in Italian) rings that’s quickly fried and served with a special mayo sauce as dip.  A flavorful finger food to start our dinner, it was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. 

 

Native Pochero Soup (Php428)

This was followed by Native Pochero Soup (Php428), a tender stew of beef leg shanks with corn and leafy vegetables.  A delicious surprise, it was satisfying and hearty. 

 

Fillet of Salmon in Lemon Butter Sauce (Php688)

The Fillet of Salmon in Lemon Butter Sauce (Php688), butterflied salmon fried to a delicious crispiness, was served in a vibrant and rich sauce made with butter, garlic and fresh lemon juice.   

Grilled Chicken in Ginger Soya & Pickle Ginger Sauce (P298)

The Grilled Chicken in Ginger Soya & Pickle Ginger Sauce (P298), consisting of tender boneless chicken, grilled to perfection, was served with pickled ginger and a choice of two sauces.  

Pancit Special (Php298)

The Pancit Special (Php298), served as a symbol of long life, was prepared with a variety of ingredients and featured a combination of different flavors that made it delicious. 

 

The live band

The spacious, clean restaurant, with its elegant indoor and outdoor area, is a good choice when in the Mactan area and worth a try.  Not only are your stomachs full, so too are your eyes because of the fantastic sea view. The staff was welcoming and friendly and the foods delicious and served fast. Conveniently nestled near the Mactan International Airport, it makes it accessible, not only to the locals, but to tourists alike. 

Marina Seaview Restaurant: MEPZ 1 Skywalk, MEPZ 1, Lapu-Lapu City, 6015.  Tel:  (032) 263-1220.  Mobile number: (0922) 315-8175, (0932) 417-5150 and (0915) 008-8518.  E-mail: marinaseaview2016@gmail.com. Open daily, 11 AM to 11 PM. 

How to Get There: From SM City, ride a 01K jeep (across APM Mall or near Sun Gold) going to Parkmall. You can also ride 01K jeep from Emall. From Parkmall, ride a jeep heading to Island Central Mall. From there, walk your way to Cebu Yacht Club / Marina Seaview. From Ayala Center Cebu or SM City Cebu, you can also ride a v-hire going to Mactan Cebu.

Cebu Pacific Air has daily flights from Manila to Cebu’s Mactan International Airport.  It also has flights from Clark (Pampanga) and Davao City.  Book via www.cebupacificair.com.

The Chocolate Chamber Experience (Cebu City, Cebu)

The Chocolate Chamber (TCC)

After lunch at Adlawon Vacation Farm, a long 45 min. drive took our media group back to downtown Cebu City, to Robinson’s Galleria Cebu where we dropped by The Chocolate Chamber (TCC), a small shop located at the al fresco side of the ground floor. The brand carrier of Ralfe Gourmet, Inc., its mother company, TCC operates with a mission of catapulting the chocolate-making scene in the Philippines a notch higher. 

Check out “Adlawon Vacation Farm” and “Restaurant Review: Kusina Luche”

 

Cacao plants, cultivated in Mexico (Mexicans prefer their chocolate thick and pure), were brought to the Philippines in the 17th century during the Manila-Acapulco Galleon Trade and its arrival started a decadent tradition in Cebu, Leyte and Bohol. Due to limited areas for farming, cacao farming is not as big in Cebu but chocolate drinking is very popular in the province. 

 

This artisanal chocolate company focuses on transforming locally-produced cacao beans into internationally-acclaimed creations through its various products and services as showcased in its cafes, boutiques and other platforms.

 

Though the shop was small (it can only sit about 10 people at a time, indoors, and maybe 6-8 outside), the interior was really great. The layout features an array of coffee tables, with crisp white linens and carefully folded napkins and are adorned by gold-rimmed fine porcelain teacups. Paintings, using chocolate lava as paint, hang on the walls while shelves of various neatly ordered chocolate confections, feature a very tempting display of chocolate cakes and pastries.

 

Upon arrival at TCC, we were welcomed by Mr. Eduardo “Edu” Pantino, TCC’s Managing Partner. Here we experienced the 30-45 min. The Chocolate Chamber Experience, a rich chocolate heritage via a select set of four tablea ((chocolate ganache) creations, all lovingly made from homegrown cacao. The decadence and smoothness of their delicious chocolates are to die for, with quite an intense flavor and a must try for any chocolate lover.  Due to the high fat content of the chocolates, only room temperature water was served while sampling the tablea creations as cold water affects the mouth feel of the chocolates.

 

Mr. Eduardo "Edu" Pantino

The crash course started with Whole Cacao Nib Praline, an earthy, nutty and fruity confection consisting of whole cacao nib is made from choice roasted, fermented beans covered by a rich, chocolatey shell from cacao mass. 

 

Cacao nibs

This was followed by a bite of tartufini featuring a roasted whole cacao nib drizzled with caramel and covered with sweetened cacao mass, pure chocolate in a semi-liquid form.   These first two creations feature the infusion of foreign chocolate making traditions to tablea.  The very familiar Choco-Mango Nugget is a fusion of dried mango chunks and sweetened cacao mass with a hint of sea salt to bring out the sweetness. 

 

The Chocolate SRS (Sweet Rice Surprise)

The finale is the filling Chocolate SRS (Sweet Rice Surprise).  Inspired by the puto sikwate (their version of the popular puto maya rice cake and sikwate), this favorite Cebuano painit (snack) is a balled up, steamed glutinous rice with a hint of ginger and coconut milk.  It is filled with mango jam, coated with tablea.  

Sikwate being poured from a tsokoletera

It was paired with sikwate, a hot chocolate drink made with premium cacao dissolved in water in a tsokoletera and mixed with a batirol (wooden beater).  Edu also encouraged us to pour the sikwate over the puto maya.

 

Ms. Raquel Toquero-Choa

After the Chocolate Stop, we were joined by the 46 year old Ms. Raquel Toquero-Choa, TCC president and founder. An advocate of tablea and an artist with chocolate lava as her medium, she is a Philippine Chocolate Sommelier and an ambassador of Philippine cacao.  This amazing woman, named as the Philippines’ Chocolate Queen in 2011, is behind Ralfe Gourmet (her first store), The Chocolate Chamber (TCC) and, just recently, Batirol where she plans add a new spin to tablea-based local delicacies such as sikwate and champorado (chocolate rice porridge). A kiosk store concept created for franchising, Batirol is a part of the business that her children will manage. 

Raquel was only seven years old when her parents separated, after which she and her siblings were sent to live, in the early 1980’s, with their grandmother Leonila Bogonia (whom they fondly called Nanay Nila) in a remote community in the secluded mountains of Balamban which was when dominated by the rebels. Just to reach school, they would have to cross seven rivers and, to augment their needs, they also sold whatever food they had prepared the night before.

Despite their extremely difficult life, Nanay Nila instilled in them the value of hard work. At night, after a day’s journey of survival, Nanay Nila would also tell, over a cup of hot “sikwate,” a story from a book, a great comfort in their young lives.  Her favorite tale was about the legend of Maria Cacao, believed to be the queen of the cacao forest.

Nanay Nila also taught them how to plant, harvest, ferment and sun-dry cacao and then roasting the beans to make pure tablea, a task that Raquel mastered by heart.  Eventually, this inspired her chocolate journey. 

At 16 years of age, Raquel got married to mechanical engineer Alfred Choa, a family friend. Alfred helped her accomplish her dreams by showing to the world her gift of turning tablea and chocolate into something special. Together, they had 8 children - Michael Ray, Michelle Honey, Anthony, Jonathan, Hannah Mae, Alfredo Jr., Rose Angeline and John Paul. Balancing both motherhood and business, Raquel allowed her children be part of what she is doing, letting them get messy with cacao so they can appreciate the artistry involved in the craft.

 

Ms. Raquel (center) with four of her eight children

Today, Raquel, a woman on a mission, is recognized for her work to elevate the quality of the products made from local cacao beans, starting with the chocolate buffets she organizes at Casa de Cacao, her home in Casals Village in Mabolo, Cebu City, and through her artisan chocolates and chocolate-flavored food and drinks that are available at TCC. She also began to supply tablea and chocolate to high-end hotels and resorts in different parts of the country.

 

Chocolate Cayenne

Raquel still chooses to do her craft the old-fashioned, artisanal way, doing everything by hand, with ethnic grace and calculated movements, and using her highly developed senses to achieve perfection. She still uses a lusong (stone mortar) and alho (wooden pestle) when pounding the roasted cacao beans or nibs into a cocoa mass of pure chocolate in rough form, in the process creating rhythmic pounding sounds. Though it is processed using bare hands, she dispels the notion of tablea as the dirty chocolate.

 

Dark Chocolate with Cacao Nibs

TCC sells a varied selection of chocolate food such as hand-rolled truffles with ganache, alfahores, nibcuits, chocolate SRS (Php285), pralines with whole cacao nib, turrones de tsokolate, tartufini and cacao nib cookies; mushroom soup (infused with 100% cacao mass and served with tablea artisanal bread, Php350); and lemon scones (Php85 for 1 and Php310 for 4).

 

White Chocolate with Cacao Nibs

Their chocolate cakes, by Ralfe Artisanal Chocolates, come at Php285 a slice and come by different names – Torta de Cerveza Negra, Torta de San Miguel, Red Horse Chocolate Cake, Torta de Francisco, Torta de Don Papa Rum, Old-Fashioned Chocolate Cake, Torta de Chocolate con Corazon, TCC Founder’s Cake, TCC Moist Cake and Mud Cake.

 

Hannah Mae T. Choa

For their hot pure, unadulterated, zero-sugar chocolate drinks, served in a tokolatera (good for 3) and with a mini choco nib cookie, you can choose Spanish (Php650), Mexican (Php600), Classic (Php600)  and Traditional (Php585).  Single servings come in cinnamon, hibiscus, mint, salted caramel and crema tostada, each Php185; and Tsokolate Bar (Php200).  Chilled chocolate, also served with mini choco nib cookie, comes in hibiscus (Php200) and Tsokolate Bar (Php210) flavors. 

 

Jonathan T. Choa

Their ensaymadas (Filipino brioche), sweet, tender and tasty bread topped with whipped butter and sprinkled generously with grated cheese and cacao de bola, comes in two flavors – tablea (Php100) and tablea-ube (Php110).

 

Their pasta (spaghetti or angel’s hair, Php385), grated with cacao de bola, comes with the choice of longanisa or tuna.  Sauteed with cocoa butter and tossed with cacao nibs, it is served with bread.

 

They also serve all-day breakfast (Php750), good for two – longanisa and pork tocino sautéed in cocoa oil, rice infused with unsweetened chocolate, sunny side up egg with grated cacao de bola, garden salad with cacao de bola-infused salad dressing, and one cup of sikwate or hot chocolate of preferred flavor.

 

The pizza platter, garnished with cacao de bola, comes with either grilled sausage (Php450) and Margherita (Php400).  For sandwiches, you can choose grilled beef pastrami (Php285), grilled turkey (Php285), grilled tuna (Php210) and grilled cheese (Php210). 

The Chocolate Chamber: Level 1, Verandah, G/F, Robinson's Galleria Cebu, Gen. Maxilom Ave. Extn., North Reclamation Area, Cebu City.  Tel: (032) 40-1521.  Mobile numbers: (0917) 715-151 and (0917) 28-7661. Open daily, 10 AM to 7 PM. Website: www.thechocolatechamber.ph.