Picture Feature(d): Cicou

Excerpt from “InFlight Living: Indulge” by Ces Rodriguez for InFlight December-January 2011

“One of my favorites was fish fillet stuffed with prawn mousseline and coated in herbed crumbs, with mashed green peas, terrine of glazed carrots and fresh coriander. The herbed crust broke off delicately; the pompano fillet, delivering the stoutest flavor, was cooked to perfection. The bells and whistles were reserved for the mashed peas and the carrots.”

“The soup was a fireworks display of flavors beginning with the moat of cream of mussels dotted with tiny croutons surrounding a peppery ravioli of mashed watercress. What was extraordinary, however, was a perfect tender bud of oyster with a low whisper of brine at the heart of the ravioli. As the final bite, the oyster was an instantaneously serene counterpoint to the outside din of flavors.”


“A must try. Next time I’d like to try the soft boiled egg with sea urchin, green pea broth, mashed cauliflower, crispy smoked pork belly (P290) and – because it’s not over the top, it’s exquisite – I’d like it with a bit of that duck liver, please.”


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Picture Feature(d): Bukidnon

Excerpt from “Ins & Outs” by Margie F. Francisco for InFlight December-January 2011

“One of the most convenient ways to reach Bukidnon by land is taking the bus from Cagayan de Oro. There are regular flights from Manila to Cagayan de Oro. From Cagayan de Oro, take the Davao-Bukidnon Highway to reach Dahilayan, Bukidnon.”


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Picture Feature(d): Island Life

Excerpt from “Island Life: School Daze” by Ces Rodriguez for InFlight December-January 2011

“Mariglo Laririt plans and solves problems for a living. It goes with her title of president of Ten Knots Development Corporation, the landholding company of those beautiful El Nido Resorts – Miniloc Island Resort and Lagen Island Resort”

“By the time their year came to a close, Laririt had begun training the resort staff in much the same subjects her husband was: the importance of the environment. Today, her early forays into ecological consciousness have borne fruit. El Nido Resorts has been recognized time and again for their “greenness”, from Conde Nast Traveler Magazine to ASEAN’s Green Hotel Standard”


Sidebar: El Nido: My List
“Miniloc Island Resort relaxes me. It’s my favorite breakfast place. While on Miniloc Island, I try as much as I can to go to the Big and Small Lagoons to kayak and renew the spirit of awe. In fact, drop me off at any island in Bacuit Bay and I can relax”


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Indulge — A Food and Wine Supplement

Excerpt from the introduction of Indulge Supplement by Monica De Leon

“Enjoy InFlight magazine’s first Indulge supplement: Boracay Edition, where Boracay is featured and lives true to its identity as a top gastronomic destination.

Boracay has been top of mind if looking for a place to relax, enjoy a fine beach ambience, marvel at the great view, and enjoy fantastic meals. One of the charms of Boracay is its infectious island party vibe, which is likewise reflected in most, if not all, the restaurants and eating joints on the island. Host to about 200 dining establishments, Boracay Island has places that offer the best grills, freshest seafood dishes, and unique dining options whose inspiration goes all the way from across the Atlantic, or whose creations are like works of art. The dining experience in Boracay is so diverse that we hear of stories like a food enthusiast hopping on a plane, visiting the island for a day, only to dine.

In this supplement, you will be entangled in a maze of about 20 restaurants, learning about delectable dishes from appetizers to main courses to desserts. You’ll also be guided well because this supplement comes with description on ambience and setting, and prices of each featured restaurant, a handy map (see page 3), and a directory of other bars and restaurants (see page 32).”

Credits:
Concept by InFlight
Photo by Daniel Soriano
Art direction and styling by Jocas A. See
On the cover: Dos Mestizos’ chorizo hecho por dos mestizos

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InFlight December – January 2011

Credits:
Concept by InFlight
Photo by Daniel Soriano
Art direction by Jocas A. See
Styling by Waldo Villados
Hair and make up by Aisa Fay Costo
Modeling by Camila Sales
Location: Small Lagoon, El Nido

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Picture Feature(d): Mamou’s Kitchen

Excerpt from “Mamou's Kitchen” by Ces Rodriguez for InFlight October-November 2010

“Warm colors dominate, with wooden floorboards, wooden chairs in red leatherette, ever-so-slightly scratched tabletops, backlit smoked glass cupboards behind the serving counter, and butler pendant lights create a laidback vibe.”

“The piece de resistance: an 800g dry aged USDA prime grade porterhouse steak (P3,500 for the twin size, P2,800 for the 600g). It came darkened by the grill, pre-sliced into strips. We tried all four side dishes that came with it: baked mashed potatoes, creamed spinach, corn pudding and white rice sautéed in steak fat.“


“It can get noisy at times at Mamou, but the food is good and the setting, nicely casual, says Ces Rodriguez”


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Picture Feature(d): Short Breaks

Excerpt from “Short Breaks” for InFlight October-November 2010

“I’ve also been to Batanes for work. It’s really like Ireland. We stayed at Shanedel’s. The trip and place was unforgettable” – Guada Reyes, fashion stylist

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Picture Feature(d): Metro Manila Shopping

Excerpt from “Insider’s Guide to Metro Manila Shopping Essentials” by Lei Chavez for InFlight October-November 2010

“Where to eat: On Jupiter St., Café La Carmela has tasty chicken and pork barbeque served with authentic Visayan vinegar sinamak”


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InFlight October - November 2010

Credits:
Cover concept by: InFlight
Photo by: Jeffrey Sonora
Art direction by: Jocas A. See
Styling by: Waldo J. Villados
Hair & makeup by: Aisa Fay Costo
Modeling by: Jessica Paras
Location: Dahilayan, Bukidnon

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A Love and Hate Relationship, Part I: Almost Love

To every traveler, being on land, sea and sky is a love and hate relationship. Occasionally it is a bumpy, rocky and dusty journey. And at times, it is a long, sweet and smooth trail like a porcelain skin. But whichever a traveler choose, it’s inevitable not to experience both side of the relationship.

I can’t recall much of my previous travels and dispatches a road that is so sweet from the moment we drive off from our starting point ‘til the time I alighted. Though two years ago, there’s one particular dispatch that is still fresh in my mind, and that was on our way to Ugong Rock, northwest of Puerto Princesa, Palawan. Almost 60km of paved road. No traffic or any road obstructions. I was lulled to sleep by the smooth swinging of left and right turns of our Ford Everest, our service vehicle then — while the rest of the crew discussing the further development of Puerto Princesa's eco tourism — not until we reached the environs of Barangay Tagabenit where we’ve had experienced the mild bumpy trail on our way to the village.

Watchout: A Love and Hate Relationship, Part II: Entirely Hate

To peg or not to peg

Back in the olden and lucrative days of advertising agencies, the creative team was comprised of a towering hierarchy. On top was the egoistic Creative Director (CD) — who usually takes the credits, then The Art Director (AD) and The Copywriter, followed by The Visualizer, then The Artist and lastly, The Final Artist.

On a normal working routine, once the sultry, alluring and persuasive advertising account executive brings a new client in, she then meets with the CD about her client’s creative requirement. After a couple of hours of flirtatious meeting with the CD, the CD then drafts a creative brief. This creative brief will then pass to the AD and The Copywriter to brainstorm for the “big ideas”. As soon as these “big ideas” were conceived and perfected based on the creative brief, it goes now to the Visualizer. With notes and directions from the AD, The Visualizer comes up with rough thumbnail sketches of the concepts. From specific description of models — gender, age, type of hair, actions, moods, etc. — to a specific description of a scene as well — time of day, exact location, etc. These rough thumbnail sketches will then go to The Artist. The Artist will work his sorry ass ‘til the wee hours to produce these rough thumbnail sketches to composite images complete with copy from The Copywriter for presentation to The Visualizer then to the AD and The Copywriter, and finally to the CD for the “go” signal for client presentation. These composite images are simply called pegs.
The advent of internet has cut the advertising agencies’ creative hierarchy short. An agency, still with solid financial backing from their mother company, will enjoy a creative team composed of a CD, an AD (who doubles as Visualizer, Artist and Final Artist) and a Copywriter. The internet has been plague with abundant online stock photography houses, spreading rapidly like wild fire, to choose from and still counting as of this moment. Even the high-and-mighty, photo agency Image Bank yielded for online presence.

Pegs are not anymore composite images produced by The Visualizers and The Artists like they used to be. Pegs are now an ensemble of different photographic images for each and every concept available and conceivable. It is now being produced by, none other than, the advertising photographers themselves (well, most of them), Hired by the ad agencies to execute the approved peg by the client. As of this result, no need for the hapless Visualizers and Artists anymore. I’m so sorry for the guys.

Now, the question is, to peg or not to peg?

Hello?!

It’s a waste of time.

Save it. As for the others.

But for me, actually yes. Some of us won’t grasp an idea by simply describing by words. As Elmore Leonard’s had pointed out on his 9^th rule:
Unless you’re Margaret Atwood and can paint scenes with language or write landscapes in the style of Jim Harrison.

In my years of working in the publication industry and visual communication by the side, coming up with a peg have had helped me a lot in communicating my ideas to my editors and collaborators — photographers, illustrators and fellow designers. Sometimes a peg can be a model’s poses or just a specific attire, hair style or how a model was been made up. Most of the times, it’s the type of photography or lighting, and so on. All you need is just a solid concept to help you in producing the right peg that would best convey your concept. And at the end of the day, by using these pegs as inspirations, it will give you better perspectives and big results visually.

Producing pegs is as simple as ordering at McDonalds and even simpler — without falling in line — just by dialing a less-than-10-minute-delivery number.

But wait, there’s more
What if I can’t find a peg for my great concept? That I’ll leave it up with your imagination…

Picture Feature(d): Fear Factor Holidays

Excerpt from “Fear Factor Holidays” sidebar by Chip Childers for InFlight August-September 2010

“Starting at the trailhead, about 20km from the Town Hall, the trek is a leisurely 3km hike that follows the Wahig River through canyons, and agricultural areas. Trekkers get picked up at the mouth of the canyon.”

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Picture Feature(d): Makati’s New Bolt-holes

Excerpt from “Makati’s New Bolt-holes” by Margie Francisco and Monica De Leon for InFlight August-September 2010

“Makati City has seen the opening of trendy boutique hotels the past few years, providing great variety for all types of travelers. Shopping and entertainment centers have also expanded to embrace both international designer brands and exciting, new local designer products.”

“Café La Carmela on Jupiter Street offers chicken and pork barbeque dishes, made more special by its dipping sauce of sinamak or traditional vinegar originating from Cebu.”

“Papertrail at Lao Center, Makati, sells journals, note pads, organizers, quirky tote bags and “smencils” or scented pencils, all imported from abroad.”

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Picture Feature(d): What’s On Your Table?

Excerpt from “What’s On Your Table?” by Ces Rodgriguez for InFlight August-September 2010

“ For Chef Stephanie Zubiri its ostrich, duck’s embryo, frogs, and goat at restaurants Moomba and Bistro Remedios.”

“At Moomba, Zubiri likes the tian of ostrich (P450), marinated ostrich strips with vegetables, mashed potatoes and whole baked garlic cloves. “It looked juicy, was thinly sliced but softer because it was cooked with a sauce. The flavors were strong yet you can taste the ostrich more.””

“Bistro Remedios is known for frogs, goat and balut. It was a few weeks too early for the Pampanga specialty kamaru or rice field crickets, spiced and fried to a crisp, so the order of the day were adobong balut (P120), two unfertilized duck eggs stewed in soy sauce, vinegar, and garlic, and betute or farm frogs.”

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Picture Feature(d): The Peacock Garden Luxury Resort & Spa

Excerpt from “Bohol Bling” by Chip Childers for InFlight August-September 2010

“I thought to myself as I approached the resort, which resembled Tony Montana’s digs in the movie “Scarface”. Well-groomed and expansive fruit orchards give way to Roman holiday type villas and buildings, occupying a knife ridge with a view of the Bohol Sea. There’s an infinity pool reflecting the view, spas, restaurant, wine room and bar.”

“Given the jaw-dropping surroundings and exterior, having a disappointing room at the Peacock Garden will be like finding out Wolfgang Puck doesn’t know how to slice onions or cook up a steak. And the rooms here do not disappoint. The various rooms, of which there are 40 available, range from 270 to 560 square feet, and come with decks and sliding glass windows. All rooms feature standard mod-cons like dvd player, coffeemaker, writing table, WiFi and sitting rooms.”

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