Year 2013 with NCD

2013 is almost over and what a journey it has been for www.nagacitydeck.com. Year 2014 will be a little special, for we will be celebrating our 5th year online. Before we head on to our 5th year journey, allow me to thank the following people for giving color to our blog and allowing us to experience first hand what Naga City industries can offer to us locals giving us a reason to stay. Hopefully NCD was able to influence fellow Naguenos what we can enjoy here in Maogmang Lugar.

JANUARY

Mr. Kengkoy PH for showing us how social entrepreneurship can give a positive social change to our community. Wearing Mr. Kengkoy backpacks does not only give us a fashion statement but a genuine statement of caring for our local communities' welfare. Kudos to Mr. Kengkoy, hope to see more bags next year!

NuecaPOS RS - Nueva Caceres Technology Solutions Inc. launched a mobile app the Nueca Point of Sales Restaurant Edition. They are the same team who made iTyphoon which is known worldwide. Yes! We do have mobile app developers based in Naga. We are so damn lucky to have this kind of industry in the city.

Kick off of Bigg's 30th Anniversary - Witnessing how Bigg's takes care of their employees gives us more reasons to patronize our homegrown brand. 30 years of providing 'good food' to Bicolanos is a milestone that we really have to celebrate. Thank you Bigg's!

FEBRUARY

Who would have taught that someone from NCD Facebook page was so kind enough to give me a Starbucks Planner? Well it did happen, Ms. Jet Jet, a total stranger reminded and inspired me more to continue what I'm doing online here in ncd. 

MARCH
David Pomeranz in Naga City - I value simple moments, as they become vivid memories. Welcomed, greeted, hand shaked, photographed and watched David Pomeranz's live performance. Thank you Avenue Plaza Hotel, the organizers, Ms. Apple and Fr. Andrew!

APRIL
A Benefit Dinner Concert for the Thyroid and Breast Cancer Surgery Patients with Luke Mejares, Kitchie Nadal and Juris. Also got to taste a recipe of one of the most skillful and talented ladies in Naga, Junior Master Chef Louis Mabulo. Three artists in one night of performance was awesome. Thank you for having us there.

JUNE
P-Bar at Magsaysay - One of the best bars in town! This place has become a personal favorite. Great food with the coldest beer in town, the Beer Below Zero. The place is almost always crowded with the youth, yuppies, professionals.. see? P-Bar it is for everybody. Looking forward for an even more amazing year with P-Bar!

JULY
A fellow Nagueno, now based in Auckland. Thank you for the pasalubong, that is sooooo useful for NCD (blogging has been a whole lot easier) and in my profession.

SEPTEMBER
Afternoon Tea was introduced to Naguenos by Cafe Plazuela of Avenue Plaza Hotel - Another first in Naga or in Bicol perhaps. Have a cup of tea with delightful cakes, pastries or sandwiches, all these are best enjoyed with your company. Avenue Plaza Hotel never fails to let us experience the good life.

A little kitchen with big taste - Woodstone Kitchen. Thank you Woodstone for showing us how diverse your menu is. From local dishes to international cuisines, Woodstone Kitchen has a lot of ideas to share to Naguenos and Bicolanos. I bet the coming year will be even more exciting for Woodstone. More power!

SMB Fiesta Fever at Avenue Square with Calalily and Banda ni Kleggy -  The month of September is always a busy month for all of us Naguenos. Avenue Square the first lifestyle center in Magsaysay have always given us a star studded fiesta.

OCTOBER
University of the Philippines Harong or commonly known as UP Harong. They conduct a yearly Academic Fest for high school students. It's so nice to keep in touch with the youth through this academic event. Thank you for having NCD as one of your online social media partner for the 2nd time in a row.

DECEMBER
Two New Sets of Afternoon Tea - For the first time, I was with fellow bloggers and "social media influencers". They were my company in trying out the two new sets of afternoon tea offered by Cafe Plazuela. I can't thank enough Ms. Apple for always pampering us when we are at the Avenue. While having met the two amazing Chefs of Cafe Plazuela, it has always been heartwarming being welcomed by Mr. Allan Cu, the GM of the hotel. God bless you more Avenue!

Gas Up!
I attended a wedding in Tagaytay last December 18th and I had to look for means on how to save a little since I was on a tight budget. God really knows how to provide for my road trip. Two gasoline stations serving Naguenos with a very competitive price - Stop And Fill Express (SAFE) Gas Station with branches at Roxas Avenue (Diversion road beside Bangkot Sentral) and San Felipe. Stop and Fill offers almost a peso lesser than the major gas stations. If you are brand conscious, I will recommend Caltex also along Diversion road. Thanks a lot Ms. Cathy of Stop and Fill and Mommy Myonee of Caltex! God bless you more!

Shawarma All The Way!
For us, Spice Eleven Shawarma offers the best shawarma in town. With two branches beside St. Joseph School and 2nd Level of Nagaland E-mall. So either you're on the go or at the mall, Spice Eleven will always spice you up with their tasty shawarma.

I also would like to apologize if I have missed or delayed other requests because of my busy schedule. I'll make sure that the delayed features will be set for January. 2014 will be our 5th year, every corner of Naga City Deck is growing and I'm trying to learn every aspect of it. I will try my very best this 2014 to keep a timetable between my work and NCD. Dios Mabalos po sa gabos! I'm really excited for what's next in Naga this year!

Most importantly, thank you to our fellow Naguenos and those who are in love with Naga. Thank for supporting NCD. Maogmang bagong taon po saindo gabos!

P.S. Want to be featured next year? Let's have a talk, you can message me on NCD Facebook Page so that I can respond promptly. 

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Parkour Naga

What is Parkour? When you Google its meaning, this is what you'll get..

..the activity or sport of moving rapidly through an area, typically in an urban environment, negotiating obstacles by running, jumping, and climbing.

According to other websites, another term used for Parkour is "free running". Now if you have seen people doing Parkour we might associate it with break dancing, hip hop, free styling and the like due to movement similarities perhaps.

Take a look how they do it...



Did you know that we have a group of youngsters here in Naga who has passion for Parkour? The social media is indeed a tool for us to see what people nowadays are engaged in. Think about this, the youth involved with Parkour is a better way for them to stay away from vices and drugs. Parkour may be considered as an art which in turn is also subjective. But what matters most is one's passion for activities that can be worthwhile and can build up a persons confidence. As long as these kids know how to prioritize things at their young age while doing Parkour, this will always be beneficial. I hope parents of these youngsters will be able to guide them properly while they are having fun with Parkour.

With their Facebook page Parkour Naga (don't forget to like and check out the page), little by little this emerging passion of these youngsters can help them be connected to international groups and who knows they might give honor to our city one day. So if you happen to have the same interest as these youngsters, you can message them on their Facebook Page to stay connected.

Remember guys, sabi nga sa Karate Kid "too much of good stuff is bad stuff". Have fun but still keeping an eye on your goals in life. Thank you for sharing your talent to our fellow kababayans.

Keep the fire burning and keep safe Parkour Naga!

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Afternoon Tea: Two New Lovely Sets

Cafe Plazuela of Avenue Plaza Hotel I believe, is one of the many reasons why they have been receiving a lot of awards both from the local and international tourism scene. The Afternoon Tea  as part of what Cafe Plazuela offers, has been a common past time and leisure to a lot of Naguenos and guests after it was introduced a few months ago.

*UPDATE* September 16, 2014 - Avenue Plaza Hotel re-launches the famous Avenue Plaza Hotel. CLICK HERE

While most of us Filipinos are fond of eating the usual baduya or simply pugon with butter alongside softdrinks or coffee, Avenue Plaza Hotel introduced us to a whole lot of "experiencing the good life" through different perspectives. From fun filled activities to skill building sessions, musical presentations across genres to food adventures from around the world. The Avenue has been always providing us not only an alternative but a journey of experiencing the good life right in the comfort of our city.

If there's a saying that "it's sweeter the second time around", the two new lovely sets of the Afternoon Tea is a testament to that. The first set is known as the Classic (3rd from left). You can read my previous post about that HERE. 

Feast your eyes! Everything is beautifully presented both in plating and how the cakes and pastries were made. The "looks" of the sets will not deceive you, for everything is really palatable and next to perfection. Everything you see on the plates are cooked / baked with passion by the Chefs of Avenue Plaza Hotel. The sets along with the its name, carries a different personality or taste that anyone of us will be able to appreciate. But if you have this "love for food", don't forget to try all the sets to satisfy your craving for food adventures. 

The Classic set consists of the following

From bottom to top layer:

Smoke Salmon Sandwich and Clubhouse Sanwich

Banana Chocochip Cupcake, Avenue Ensaymada, Walnut Muffins

Blueberry and Marble Cheese Cake, White Panacota Vanilla, Chocolate Cake, Tiramisu

More pics by layers on our previous post HERE

Only P342 good for 2 to 3 persons (or more).

The two new sets are just as lovely as the first set, only that they are more special this time.

The Exquisite set consists of:

From bottom to top layer:

Pork Barbecue Quesadillas with Tomato Salsa

Chocolate-Coffee Cupcake, Cinammon Twist, Cream Puffs

Chocolate Sponge Caramel Shot, Triple Rush Chocolate Cake, Orea Cheesecake, Lemon Cake

The Avenue Signature set consists of: 

From bottom to top layer:

Grilled Chicken Panini, Mini Beef Burger

Tomato and Cheese Scones, Apple Crumble, Nutella Eclairs, Fruit Tart

Truffle Chocolate Cheesecake, Pistachio Sansirval, Banana Cream Pie, Red Velvet Cake

Give your self, your friends or your family a treat once in a while. Price ranges from Php 580 to Php 480 down to Php 340. What you see is what you get, no other hidden charges once you get the bill. The alternatives are here and it's up to you to choose. I know, you along with your company have a certain taste for cakes or pastries, but I bet you'll find it hard to choose which set will you order first. But then again, you are always welcome to come back and enjoy the rest of the sets (over and over again) or until you have tried all three.

Now here's another favorite from Cafe Plazuela, the Avenue Ensaymada. This will be perfect for the holidays as gifts or for Noche Buena. Available in Box of 6 and 12. For bulk orders make sure you order a day before you intend to purchase. Freshness guaranteed! 

So if you are running out of gift ideas, why not give them a gift certificate of any of the Afternoon Tea Sets, the Business Lunch (a menu which we will also feature soon) or a box of the Avenue Ensaymada. Or perhaps a night stay at the hotel or Olympia Gym membership. By the way, we Bicolanos can avail of the 25% discount on published room rates with Avenue Plaza Hotel's Hometown Specials Promo. For more details about the gift certificates and Hometown Specials Promo just call (054) 473-9999.

I enjoyed the company of the other bloggers and social media 'influencers' last Friday the 13th. Just like what Ms. Sam Brown said that Friday the 13th was a lucky day for us. Thank you Sir Allan Cu for pampering us and Ms. Apple, for making us always feel so at home whenever we are at the Avenue. Hats off to the two amazing Chefs of Cafe Plazuela who we personally met and spared us a few minutes of their busy 'kitchen time'. (apologies, I forgot their names hehe)

Remember, afternoons are better with tea and company only at the Cafe Plazuela of Avenue Plaza Hotel. So come visit and enjoy the afternoon tea, the holidays are here to stay with your friends and loved ones. Cheers to Avenue! More power!

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LCC International Choices

If you're looking for gifts these holiday season or any special occasion for people who are also special like your boss or people who you think has it all that you don't know what they like or don't like, well fret not, LCC International Choices may be able to help you. Other than as gifts, these goodies are for personal consumption too that will surely delight you.

LCC International Choices provides us with: imported chocolates, chips, candies, canned goods, Asian groceries, noodles, juices, stuffed toys, candles, to classic wines and liquors in a beautify designed cellar-like basement. They also have kitchen tools also ideal as gifts, imported towels, soap, shampoo, lotion and the like.

Come visit LCC International Choices at LCC Mall Naga near LCC Department Store and Toys Section.

Wonderland for kids and young at heart!

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Light of Hope

Join the candle lighting event for Typhoon Yolanda Victims. Donate and get your free ticket.

December 14, 2013
@ Avenue Plaza Hotel Back Parking

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Livestream of Privilege Speech of Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago

Livestream courtesy of GMA Network via YouTube

Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago gives her privilege speech in which many of us are awaiting her response to Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile last week.

LIVESTREAM ended at around 4:15 pm today, December 4, 2013

*Recorded by Rappler.com posted Via youtube.com*

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