October 2020 – Page 4 – Jellybeans in the City

The Bernadettes stage a comeback with new song “Worthless Beautiful”

After more than a decade of absence in the local music scene, The Bernadettes return with a new single under Lilystars Records.

Their latest song “Worthless Beautiful” is another fuzzy, garage rock anthem in the similar vein as their breakout 2009 single “Let’s Make Babies,” but this time, the band documents life under the old normal, reminiscing about drinking the night away with like-minded individuals and enjoying freedom in the best way possible.

Music video for “Worthless Beautiful” by The Bernadettes

Lead vocalist Paolo Angeles shares, “Worthless Beautiful deals with freedom in doing the things you want, the way you want it; no matter how wrong it might feel. The result may be worthless, but there is beauty in its pursuit.”

With the uncertainty of the pandemic affecting the way people lead their lives, “Worthless Beautiful” may come off as a distillation of nostalgia, joy, and helplessness, all rolled into a party that never was. But things are different now, and the sentiments in the song only serve as a figment of a distant memory, a rallying cry in our self-imposed quarantine, a gut-deep wallowing in self-pity.

Taking into account the current social context, The Bernadettes’ latest track functions as both a pre-pandemic recollection and a bittersweet reminder of those years that held promises of eternal youth and fun—snotty punk rock and all.

“Worthless Beautiful” is the first of the four songs that the band has already finished recording with producer Dok Sergio at JNR Studios. According to Paolo, the alternative rock outfit is slated to release a full-length album next year. “The plan is to have the other 3 songs remastered and have them released intermittently,” The Bernadettes’ frontman reveals in a statement. “Of course, we would need to go back to the studio to record more songs. Maybe after the pandemic.”

“Worthless Beautiful” is now out on all digital platforms worldwide via Lilystars Records.

Image and details provided by Lilystars Records in a recent press release.

Ben&Ben to hold online benefit concert for ‘Balik Eskwela’ project

Ben&Ben continues to support vulnerable communities affected by COVID-19 through Balik Eskwela: PuhonPart 2. The nine-piece collective is slated to perform their massive hits for a one-hour live show on October 4, 2020, Sunday at 5pm onwards via simultaneous streams on their official Facebook Page and YouTube Channel.

Following the unprecedented success of Puhon: A Ben&Ben FB Live Event for the COVID-19 Efforts and YouTube Live “Doors” Single Launch + Fundraiser, BalikEskwela: Puhon Part 2 aims to support students and teachers who are “left with limited to no ability to adapt to the changes” implemented in the Philippine education system during the pandemic.

“Ever since the end of the first Puhon, we’ve been aching to help out even more in our own little way,” Ben&Ben lead vocalist and guitarist Miguel Benjamin said. ”And so, when we were figuring out where to help with the myriad of problems in today’s landscape, we eventually zeroed in on helping out a sector that is very close to our hearts: education.”

While the first Puhon gig focuses on COVID-19 response relief efforts, Puhon part 2 prioritizes assistance to the education sector. As Ben&Ben lead vocalist and guitarist Paolo Benjamin puts it, “We have concluded upon analysis that this is one of the areas wherein most help is needed in these times. School in the time of the pandemic is something that none of us expected, and so we will do our best to help out in this major challenge.”

As part of the growing community of artists with a platform of hope and love, Ben&Ben is committed to holding a free online concert to rally support for their fellow countrymen and come up with response efforts specifically for those who are in need.

According to Miguel, this is the first time that Ben&Ben will self-produce a full-length online show during the pandemic, live from the BBTV house. “Expect a very intimate, premium live concert experience straight from our home to yours,” the singer-songwriter said.

The Balik Eskwela: Puhon Part 2 project is the second fundraising initiative of Ben&Ben through their community-driven website, www.puhon.ph, which aims to inspire, uplift and boost the collective morale of all the key stakeholders of the COVID-19 response through uplifting stories, music, art, and more.

The goal of the Balik Eswela Project is to gather funds for:• E-learning and physical supplies that will be distributed to public schools.• Care packages (PPEs and vitamins) for teachers and personnel assigned for distribution of said supplies.• Distribution efforts with localized transport systems that will be coordinated with LGUs.

To know more on how you can be part of Ben&Ben’sfundraising campaign, visit www.puhon.ph or check out the band’s official social media pages.

This event is brought to you by Ben&Ben, Sony Music Philippines, Y4WU Philippines, Planet Drugstore, Limitless Lab, The Spark Project and Brand On Demand.

Image and details provided by Sony Music Philippines in a recent press release.

Red Velvet Cake from Lia’s Cakes in Season

Momshies, did you know that red velvet cake is actually made with cocoa, making it, in essence, chocolate cake?

It’s a classic dessert favorite in the Southern US states, said to have originated in Maryland in the early 20th century. It gained the moniker “velvet” cake for having soft and velvety crumbs as opposed to its coarser crumb contemporaries.

During the food rationing of World War II, bakers started adding boiled beetroot to their cake ingredients to help them retain moisture and its juices to add color to their creations.

Traditionally, bakers used a light and fluffy French-style roux icing to decorate the red velvet cake. Variations using cream cheese of buttercream frosting came later.

I was recently gifted by a fellow momshie with a whole Red Velvet Cake from Lia’s Cakes in Season.

This dessert store is practically a landmark in the foodie haven of Kapitolyo in Pasig City. Set up by young entrepreneur Carlo Carlos in 2004 to feature “fruits-to-cakes in season,” cakes and pastries that creatively incorporate the freshest fruits in season.

Its Red Velvet Cake (Php990 whole | Php140 per slice), however, is the store’s take on the classic fave. It consists of a moist chocolate cake (colored a deep red, of course), wrapped in a smooth buttercream icing and topped with crystal bits for added texture.

To get your hands on this decadent delight, order through Lia’s Cakes’ online store or call +63 917 6605427 (minimum order of Php850) for delivery to anywhere in Metro Manila. Delivery is free for website orders over Php2,000.

So order now, momshies!

Lia’s Cakes in Season is located at 23 East Capitol Drive, Kapitolyo, Pasig City.

SKY treats new subscribers to GrabFood discount codes

SKY is giving new subscribers an irresistible treat as it partners with GrabFood—discount codes for their next food delivery when their application gets approved from October 1 to 31, 2020.

Perfect for their next binge-watch and snacking session, this sumptuous offer entitles subscribers to at least two discount codes or more depending on the plan that they have subscribed to.

For every P500 monthly fee of subscribed plan, new subscribers will receive two P69 worth of discounts. For instance, a SKY Fiber Unli Broadband 25Mbps + All in Box plan worth P1,499 will get six GrabFood discount codes with a total value of P414.

Each discount voucher is valid for single use and may be availed of upon checkout for a minimum food order amounting to Php690 on GrabFood. The discount codes will be emailed to new subscribers within three to five days of successful installation of their SKY service.

To avail of this latest SKY promo, subscribe to a SKYcable or SKY Fiber plan via mysky.com.ph within the promo period. For more details about the promo mechanics, visit mysky.com.ph/grabfood.

Image and promo details provided by SKY in a recent press release.

Palm-sized cookies from Extra Butter

Have you ever had those really stressful days when nothing is going right so you just want to curl up somewhere and seek comfort from a delicious cookie?

During those kinds of days, you know that the comfort you get from a regular-sized cookie won’t be enough.

How about a cookie the size of the palm of your hand?

This monster-sized cookie (and other similar sized variants) are made by Extra Butter.

This new online food seller is a collaboration between two siblings who both have impressive backgrounds in the Pasig food scene: Ingrid and Renz Mediarito.

Ingrid is a culinary instructor and entrepreneur who also runs Buffalo Swing Cafe and Ingrid’s Sweet Haven Pattiserie while Renz is one of the managing partners behind Moonshine Pub and Union Square Pizza.

During the quarantine, the siblings decided to engage in a joint project: a dessert shop that sells palm-sized cookies.

What exactly is an Extra Butter Cookie? Well, it is 150 grams of sweetness, comfort and indulgence. It features familiar flavors enhanced by the use of premium ingredients (such as couverture chocolates) sourced from local suppliers (so it also supports local business). It’s an amalgam of moist and chewy cookie goodness interspersed with interesting textures. It has no preservatives and is baked on a per-order basis.

An Extra Butter Cookie can be one of six flavors:

Triple Chocolate Ganache. Belgian chocolate cookie batter with ganache filling and milk chocolate couverture.

Double Milk Chocolate. Batter made with nutty butter mixed with milk chocolate couverture.

70% Dark Chocolate. Batter made with creamed brown butter mixed with two variants of 70% dark chocolate couverture.

Cranberry & White Chocolate. Oatmeal cookies with tangy dried cranberries and white chocolate callets.

Matcha & Black Sesame Seeds. Cookie dough flavored with Japanese green tea with black sesame seeds and white chocolate chunks.

Salted Butterscotch. Cookie studded with caramel chocolate callets, toasted marshmallows and salted pretzel.

Extra Butter bakes on Thursdays for delivery on Fridays from Pasig to anywhere in Metro Manila. You can get a Box of 6 for Php660.

To order, fill up this form. Cashless payments via BPI, BDO and GCash are accepted.

How about indulging yourself with some Extra Butter cookies? Wallow in the sweet comfort it brings and come out from your shell ready to face life’s challenges again.

Disclosure: Product samples were provided to facilitate an honest review.

Check out my blog posts on other small enterprises and startups in the food business: