Pulso ng Bansa

  Despite the challenges currently impacting the nation, a select number of cities and their leaders are effectively serving their constituents, particularly those in affected sectors. Their initiatives significantly alleviated the populace's frustrations with the national government in anticipation of the forthcoming holiday season.   Marikina, for example, held numerous activities to highlight the city's culture, tradition, and innate fortitude with the Marikina Shoe Bazaar 2025, the Toyota Food Festival at the Marikina Town Center, and the 'Banchettos' in various parts of the city, and just today, December 20, 2025, the city government gave away  Christmas grocery gifts  to its senior citizens courtesy of Marikina's esteemed mayor, Maan Teodoro, and congressman and husband, Marcy Teodoro.   Mayor Maan could've attended the seniors' Christmas grocery gifts distribution event, but left the task to her trusted administration and staff to address more press...

   Cakes and pastries are dime a dozen when dessert makers troop into one competitive locale, but rare do we see pedigree as much as R Cakes  by Rocelle when it comes to creating designer cakes and pastries. Pedigree isn’t just about where and what culinary school one came from, but how they used that knowledge to create works of art in the symphony of aesthetics and flavors.   Certainly, presentation consistently plays a crucial role in the food and confectionery industry. Nonetheless, it would significantly enhance the effect if that aesthetic were complemented by a comprehensive understanding of how to assemble elements to craft flavors that would captivate the palate.   History: Rocelle began baking in 2017. Initially, she merely wanted to make an elegant birthday cake for her daughter. Over time, she developed a passion for it and aspired to create more artistic cakes. She eventually enrolled in the Lyceum Culinary Institute to pur...

  Ubiquity is not “What’s Your Flan? / Ube Story – Project 7 EDSA Quezon City” ’s mantra. Yes, they make the usual flan and flan cakes, but they do it with a flourish. Secondly, they don’t just package your flan in the usual container tubs; they pack it in style, and with plenty of flavors to choose from, it would be an effort to choose just one.     “What’s your FLAN?” started in 2016 at Chef Princess Rosario-San Diego’s home kitchen, where our CEO and operator of “What’s Your FLAN?” operates. She’s a graduate and a Chef Instructor at CCA Manila, and the Marketing Director of the American Culinary Federation (Manila). Since starting the business in 2016, it has grown to over 900 franchisees & resellers in more than 14 countries.   That’s how prolific the franchise is.   And as for this franchise , they are on its Project 7 EDSA, QC Branch.   Concept: Creating new variants and innovating the all-time favorite dessert, Leche Flan, consi...

Fascination is what I felt when I first visited Grams Mercato inside this posh condo compound in Ortigas, known as the Sonata Private Residences, believe it or not.   Yes, we're all accustomed to finding specialty cafes/bakeries like this one inside malls, but discovering GM inside a posh condo is really unusual, yet fascinating nonetheless.   And fascination seems to be part of the motif on coverage day, as meeting the owner herself, Ma'am Duday Camus Dancel, was both experientially fascinating and intimidating. She has that striking mestiza look that gives you pause when you first meet her, and it was confirmed when she told us she has Spanish blood but is an Ilocana at heart. But truly, she's cool.   Moreover, the Dancel family name does give you that nagging sense of familiarity, doesn't it? Of course it does, as she's legally related to Ebe Dancel of Sugarfree through her husband. Well, Ma'am Duday does get free promotions from Ebe himself sometimes. Per...

  The name “I Want Cofi” was inspired by a simple, everyday craving—the moment when you want something comforting and familiar. While coffee is at the heart of the brand, I Want Cofi was created to be more than just a coffee shop. “It’s a journey in every cup.”   At first glance, the cafe may appear as a cute dessert spot where you can hang out and relax. Nonetheless, upon closer inspection, IWantCofi Maginhawa operates a single storefront service similar to one of the Philippines' largest fast-food restaurants.   You can order at the counter, scan its QR code, use the automated machines, all of which offer several options for your convenience, or use the QR code on our visual with the IWC Maginhawa logo and address on the lower right of the photo. It's current, trendy, technological, and intuitive!   Definitely, it's a new storefront with character!   IWantCofi Maginhawa is also a fast-food-inspired café enterprise committed to a specific miss...

  An unpleasant experience is rarely on people's minds when dealing with booking platforms on the World Wide Web. For one, it’s convenient. It’s also economically sound, as customers don’t have to commute to the almost always out-of-the-way address of these travel offices.   Until an unexpected and supposedly straightforward transaction with an online service of Cebu Pacific turns the booking experience of people into nightmare fuel.  A simple online transaction with Cebu Pacific can quickly turn frustrating. Despite expectations of reliability, the platform is plagued by persistent bugs that fail to resolve users’ main issues.   While people generally trust these platforms , it's important to remember that not all are reliable or well - designed . Some online services are plagued with technical issues and fail to resolve the most pressing concerns that users face when interacting with their systems .   Take Cebu Pacific, for example . At fi...

  As someone who has enjoyed music throughout its many iterations and genre fusions, I find it disheartening that modern music production is so preoccupied with formulaic techniques like loops, audio sampling, overused chord progressions, and clever bassline maneuvers that it has become tedious and uninspired. Include random, strange-sounding soundbytes that serve as rap music samples.   The creative flare and variety are gone. Okay, some may dislike what we’re saying and expressing right now, but as things stand, we don’t owe this generation an explanation for why we don’t love the type of music they listen to and enjoy today. We are not making generalizations. To each their own, I suppose.   For the time being, we commend Asian musicians (including Filipino musicians) and composers who continue to create diverse and nuanced music with flourish. Despite minor parallels and influences from previous artists, the intricacies they incorporate into their ideas and composition...