2009 October | Rajo's Blog

Archive for October, 2009

Soccarat

Saturday, October 31st, 2009

Every time I am in New York, I have a list of restaurants to try out. Unconsciously, each visit centers around a specific cuisine. The last time I was here, it was all new Italian places, and the year before that, it was all about Asian-inspired restaurants. This visit seems to be revolving around Spanish cuisine. My high school friend Denise suggested SOCCARAT, which is I think is a Catalan word that means to burn or burnt. In Tagalog, this means “tutong” LOL! It’s those crisp burned rice bits that you get in the bottom of a paella.

It’s really a tiny hallway converted into a restaurant. The concept is that you eat along a bar-like area. The atmosphere is very cozy, as I loved the brick lined wall and the white closet-like space on one side that converts into cool storage places.

The dark and cozy interiors of Soccarat.

Read what SOCCARAT is....In other words, TUTONG! LOL!

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NYC Day 2

Thursday, October 29th, 2009

The weather has been pretty grey and rainy in the city, so I kind of feel lazy going out! Instead, I decided to enjoy my fabulous suite! Oh, they upgraded us to a bigger suite by the way! Can you imagine? I love my new suite because it’s so old world! I mean I don’t know anyone from my generation who has rooms that look like this. It’s really lovely!

This is the bedroom! It feels like a room fit for a princess!

This is the living room!

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Tags: family, Fashion Insider, hair, musical, new york city, rajo laurel, travel, vacation
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Fundraising at Felix!

Thursday, October 29th, 2009

When in New York, I always drop by Felix. It’s a fantastic French Bistro who is managed by none other than one of my FAVE people of all time: Thea Robles. Thea was a top model in the late ’80s till she moved to NYC! That night was special because they were having a fund raising event for the flood victims! Nix and I joined the super fun party and met up with lots of NYC folks from home! More to follow!

Me and Thea Robles!

Thea with Ms. Gonzales and my darling Betina Ocampo!

The party scene at Felix!

HUGS!

RAJO!

Tags: Fashion Insider, Felix, friends, fundraising, new york city, rajo laurel, Thea Robles, travel
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Casa Mono

Wednesday, October 28th, 2009

I drafted a small list of restaurants that I wanted me and my family to try. One of these restaurants is CASA MONO. I’ts a Spanish tapas place created by the famous Mario Batalli. I tried to get a table the last time I was in New York, but I had no luck. I heard that even in the time of the great financial crisis, CASA MONO was still one of hardest places to book a table. We took that 9:30pm seating and had the best time. We were joined by my favorite cousin Alexis, who has been living in NY for almost a decade. Between two bottles of wine and what seemed to be more than 16 entrees we reminisced and just had a wonderful time.

When we got there, I bumped into our dear friend JR Abad! Funny how I bump into him each time I am in the city.

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Tags: Casa Mono, family, Fashion Insider, food, new york city, rajo laurel, travel
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New York Pilgrimage!

Wednesday, October 28th, 2009

Greetings from one of my favorite places in the entire planet! NEW YORK CITY! I just love the energy of the place and I come here to energize. I arrived at night and I decided to walk around first to feel the cool autumn air! Thankfully, it was not super cold as I expected. My brother and sisters arrived ahead of me and this is like a reunion of sorts. My siblings and I have not traveled together for a really long time, so I am pretty excited about this. I will be trying my best to update my blog everyday, since there is so much to share and so little time! So far, these are my day’s highlights!

Walked around the city to get my bearings.

Looked up and saw the beautiful Chrysler building all lit up

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Tags: family, Fashion Insider, friends, new york, rajo laurel, travel, vacation
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Things You Never See

Sunday, October 25th, 2009

As I type this entry, I am on a short layover in Hong Kong for a trip to New York. I must warn you that some images here are a bit unpleasant, but I found them funny just the same. I am certain that most of them are photoshopped and perhaps even impersonators, but I just wanted to share with you a good chuckle!

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Tags: Fashion Insider, funny, photos, rajo laurel, random
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Firma’s Triad!

Friday, October 23rd, 2009

I always believed that good things always come in threes. I love the text invites I get from Chito Vijandre and Ricky Toledo, the dynamic duo behind one of the most chic stores in town! The text message invite is always personal and it always has a quirky anecdote in the end, so having received the invite instantly makes you want to go. FIRMA has always been the home of the best fashion accessories in the land! This is where Bea Valdes started her now super famous brand.

The evening was the unveiling of 3 of FIRMA’s most talented Jewelry designers: Kristine Dee, Michelline Syjuco and Paul Syjuco. It was so inspiring just to see their work. I am certain that it was a major success!

The FIRMA boys! I was digging their Holiday colors! Each time I bump into them, it's like they ooze happiness!

I went with my girls Kitty Jacinto and Malu Gamboa. Here they are flanking Ricky.

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Tags: Chito Vijandre, Fashion Insider, Firma, jewerlry, Kristine Dee, Michelline Syjuco, Paul Syjuco, rajo laurel, Ricky Toledo, Triad
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Manila in the ’60s

Thursday, October 22nd, 2009

I just received these photos of Manila in the ’60s today. I just wanted to share it with all of you because I never saw Manila this way! The 60′s were the heyday of Manila! We were like the most advanced nation in Asia. We were on top of our game, so to speak! I am optimistic that this day will come again soon. We just have to get our acts together! Enjoy these photos of a time when life was simpler. Can anyone identify where the photos are? I am still trying to figure it out.

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Tags: 60s, Fashion Insider, Manila, photographs, rajo laurel, sixties
Posted in Fashion Insider | 12 Comments »

Mango Mania!

Thursday, October 22nd, 2009

I was invited to the 10th year anniversary bash of the fashion brand MANGO. Nix and I were really psyched to go because Nix’s classmate from grade school Michael Coson heads Mango here in the Philippines. The event was held at the NBC Tent in the Fort. When we arrived, I immediately loved the chill out vibe of the party.

The tent was decorated like it was some really cool club. Great live music was playing and they were serving lots of drinks and bar food. The energy of the event was really cool, as there were so many young people and they were all so stylish! I had such a great time taking photos and just celebrating with MANGO! I mean, 10 years is a major milestone! Congratulations!!!!

I spotted the beautiful Teresa Herrera with Mr. Victor Siasat.

Loving the looks of Nix and Cedric that night!

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Tags: anniversary, Daryl Chang, fashion crowd, Fashion Insider, Mango, party, rajo laurel, stylish people
Posted in Fashion Insider | 2 Comments »

Lovin’ Lustico!

Wednesday, October 21st, 2009

The Fashion Gala of Dennis Lustico was inspired by the French Legionnaire! I thought it was a beautiful collection filled with the most delectable shapes and fresh silhouettes. The show was broken down into 2 parts; the first part was a collection based on separates! If I were a woman, I would have ordered them all! LOL! I fell in love particularly with this one lace blouse that I think was just brilliant! The second part of the show was where he showed Manila his bravura in evening gowns. My favorite was the 3 final black gowns. I thought they were very well draped! I just want to congratulate my friend Dennis for a FANTASTIC SHOW!!!!

BRAVO!!!