lieu

TASTETEST

MAY 2013 / ISSUE No2

ALEX LE NEINDRE

THE FOOD PRINCE

No 2

lieu]nounstead; place (esp in the phrases in lieu, in lieu of)

CREATIVE DIRECTORAidx Paredes

ASSOCIATE CREATIVE DIRECTORAmelia Baird

HEAD WRITERChit Lacson

WRITERSPat BacaltosJanna Moya

HEAD PHOTOgRAPHERNikko Zamora

STREET STYLE PHOTOgRAPHEREarl Dayanghirang

ONLINE EDITORMo Jaravelo

CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICERChi Narciso

MARKETINg HEADSol Matalam

JuNIOR MARKETINg HEADMichael Lu

Live to create.

ROLL CALL

EDITORIAL CONSuLTANTS:Cheekie Albay, Jad Montenegro, Kristine Serrano

Live to create.

IN LIEUPOOFThe Baby Makers / Je Taime Paris / grunge Kid/This Playground Ain’t For Kids

HASHTAGHome Sweet Home/LIEuK Who’s Here/

Summer Satisfaction

CLOSE ENCOUNTERSTHE FOOD PRINCEAlex Le Neindre

FILM ROLLThe Davao We See /

Alapaap Sa Kalangitan / Withdrawal Syndroms /

Of Black and White /

poof!

Here Comes Summer

MuSIC

LIEu MAgAZINE’S MIXTAPE NO 2She’s A Riot by The Jungle giants / Move by MAuSI / Kids In Love by Mayday Parade / I Follow You by Melody’s Echo Chamber / Carried Away

by Passion Pit / Apocalypse Dreams by Tame Impala / A Walk by Tycho

The Baby MakersBy Aidx Paredes / Photography by Nikko Zamora

FOOD

Many businesses, especially joint ven-tures, hail from friendship. Little they may be during their debut, they even-tually become bigger because of the owners’ shared mission to strengthen their craft, not to mention their bond.

Behind Desdemona Cupcakes are two friends, Julia Azarcon and Tiffany So-mosierra, who were inspired by shows like DC Cupcakes and georgetown Cupcakes to make their own mini-mized version of the popular iced pas-try. Julia is the one who bakes, Tiffany does the coating, and they both do su-permarket runs for the ingredients.

Desdemona Cupcakes offers baby cup-cakes in three flavors: butter, chocolate moist, and red velvet. Their cupcakes are called such because of their dimin-utive nature: the size of a baby cupcake is only a quarter of a regular cupcake.

One Sunday, I went to Desdemona Cupcakes’ headquarters in Julia’s home. I sat in a corner as the two friends did the baking, excited to de-vour the baby cupcakes they were making. But I soon realized that Julia and Tiffany had another task for me besides savoring the sweets: to make baby cupcakes myself.

I had never done any baking before in my life, so this challenge came as a treat: not only would I get to nib-ble these little goodies, I would learn to make them, too. So I gamely rolled up my sleeves and went to work mix-ing flour, batting eggs, and throwing in sugar.

I’m proud to say that my cupcake crea-tions—under the tutelage of Julia and Tiffany—turned out fantastic. Not bad for a first-timer.

To order from Desdemona Cupcakes, con-nect with Julia and Tiffany through Twit-ter (@DesdemonaCC) and Facebook(fb.com/desdemonacc).

Where: Paris, France

When: Last week of March 2012

Must-visit spots: Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, Champs-Elysées, Louvre Museum, Notre Dame Cathedral, Mu-sée d’Orsay, The Versailles

How to get there: Ride the red Hop On, Hop Off tourist buses—they will take you around the city.

Je T’aime, Paris By Pat Bacaltos

Picture yourself walking along the narrow streets of Paris. Do you see The Eiffel Tower? Or two lovebirds in the park strolling hand in hand, perhaps? We often imagine Paris as the most romantic city in the world, but it’s more than just that. Let me complete the picture for you. The very first thing I noticed on my first day in Paris was the streets oozing with artistry and Paris’ rich culture. Even places as pedestrian as barbershops were adorned with grand marble pillars.

On my first day, I headed straight to the near-est metro station to the Eiffel Tower. From the station, it was a 10-minute walk to the tower. When I reached the place, I was blown away by how huge the structure was; a village could fit inside the base of the tower alone. For me, the nicest thing about the area was the surround-ing greenery, where everyone was free to have picnics and cavort under the sun. It was truly a beautiful and comforting sight. And it was only the beginning—I knew that the remaining days would be a feast for my eyes as well.

On my second day, I braved the crowds and observed the people I passed by. I’ve always known that Paris was the fashion capital of the world, but I wasn’t prepared for the Parisians’ sartorial opulence. On one of my breaks, I saw

an old man wearing tangerine slacks with a military-inspired vest and a checkered blazer. A few moments later, a teenager wearing a white faux fur coat, gold dress, and a pair of sneakers walked by holding a pack of croissants in one hand and her Alexander McQueen clutch in the other—an odd combination, I thought.

Days later, I realized that there was nothing weird about that—Parisians just go about their days looking like they belong on the runway. On the third day, my father and I had lunch at this quiet place not far from Musée d’Orsay, a famous museum in the city. I had lasagne bo-lognese with salad on the side while my father had entrecole frile.

One of the things I learned during my trip is that prices are cheaper in restaurants far from the tourist areas. So if you ever find yourself set-ting foot in Paris and you can’t be bothered to head to the suburbs to dine, do what I did: buy food directly from the supermarket to save a few bucks. In a nutshell, Paris is a beautiful city—full of history, culture, art, fashion, nature, fine cuisine, interesting people, and heaps of fun.

Now if you ask me if I would love to visit Paris again, a thousand times, yes!

TRAVEL

After four years of studying architecture, Ron Santos suddenly took a different path and is now poised to cross over into the world of fashion. An aspiring designer whose creations scream sexy and edgy, his designs are inspired by the gothic movement, 90s grunge, and deconstruction. Ron’s passion for fashion is more than just a hobby; for him, his unique designs are both a testament to his strong will and a gift he shares with women who aim to stand out from the crowd.

Grunge KidPhotograPhed by JM SaNtILLaN

FASHION

EVENTS

House music. Hot DJs. Free booze. No slides or seesaws in sight.

On March 15, 2013 at the Marco Polo Hotel’s grand Ballroom, Party Animal Events Produc-tion hosted “Playground”, a club event held in time for the Araw ng Dabaw celebration.

Davao’s crème de la crème flocked to Play-

ground to groove to beats by Republiq’s DJ Ace Ramos and Deuce Manila’s DJs Patty Tiu and Kat DJ, who thrilled the party folks by throwing in today’s hottest dance floor bangers.

Besides hot guys, cute chicks, and countless glasses of cocktails, we also spotted some fierce fashion in the crowd. Check out our snaps to see what went down at the Playground.

This Playground Ain’t For KidsBy Chit Lacson / Photography by Aidx Paredes

hashtag

PLACE

“That’s good!” I took another bite. “Oh, gosh. That is really good.”

I was enjoying a slice of Chocolate Moist Cake created by sisters Cha and Rae Canave, the own-ers and cake makers behind Home Avenue Cake galerie. This quaint spot is saccharine heaven for those with a sweet tooth. The moment you walk in, an extravagant and gargantuan fondant cake greets you at the door, while a row of cakes

and cupcakes sit temptingly in a glass case. Small and cozy, with charming knickknacks dot-ting the place, Home Avenue Cake galerie cer-tainly lives up to its name.

I got to chat with Cha and Rae, who were more than happy to share the story of Home Avenue Cake galerie’s modest success—from the be-ginnings, to the bestsellers, to the bizarre orders they’ve encountered along the way.

Home Sweet HomeByAmelia Rose Baird / Photography by Nikko Zamora

How did Cake Galerie start?It started when I was in college. Initially, it was home-based and part of our practicum require-ments. I created low-fat cupcakes and from then, I discovered that I really liked baking. So I went into that, and with the help of our parents, we were able to have our own establishment right by our own home! My sister is also very artistic so it helped make the cakes extra special.

How did you come up with the name for your shop?Actually, at first it was named “Sweet Avenue”; the street where we live is called “First Avenue”. My sister and I liked how shops in the unit-ed Kingdom are named after the street where they’re found. However, people have said that there’s already an establishment with the same name, so we decided to change the name to Cake gallery. Again, we were told that there’s an ex-isting bake shop with that same name, so we just used the French spelling, “galerie” and added “Home Avenue”. So the whole name of the shop is actually “Home Avenue Cake galerie”.

What were the cakes you served in the begin-ning? What have you added since then?

Chocolate Moist was one of them; the usual fa-vorites—Strawberry, Blueberry, Sans Rival, Ap-ple Pie. We then added Tiramisu, Carrot Cup-cake, and some others. If you’re lucky enough, you might be able to catch our Moonwalker Cake. The Moonwalker is something we just came up with; it’s a coffee- and chocolate-base cake with white mousse, cashew, and chocolate mixed in, then covered in chocolate ganache. It was our tribute to Michael Jackson when he died, hence the name “Moonwalker”.

What are your specialties?Custom-made fondant cakes, chocolate moist, those that are on our menu… It took me years to perfect the chocolate moist.

What is the most popular cake on the menu?It depends on the customer’s age range. Kids love the Choco Mousse and the adults prefer the Apple Pie or Carrot Pumpkin Pie, paired with coffee.

What makes Cake Galerie different from other bakeries and cake makers?We would say our imagination is our greatest strength. Another strength would be the quality of our cupcakes, everything from the quality of our taste down to the details of the designs of our cakes. We used to be big critics whenever we’d go out to try desserts at other cafés and restaurants. We learned from their mistakes and created something that pass our personal stand-ards of greatness. We made sure that not only do our cakes look appetizing, they also taste wonderful. As to the shop itself, we’d say it has a unique ambiance. You feel like you’re in your home when you’re at the Cake galerie.

How do you hone your craft?There is always something new to learn! When-ever there are chefs in the country who offer crash or full courses on pastry-making or bak-ing, we enroll ourselves in those classes and take whatever we learn to a whole new level.

If you were a cake, what kind of cake would you be?We’d be a Topsy Turvy Cake. Something colorful and abstract, something with many layers.

What is the craziest order Cake Galerie has ever received?There was this one debut where we had to make a fondant cake and put lights into it. It was inspired by The Hunger games. Since the cake was shaped like a lady standing on top of a traveler’s bag, we placed the lights around the figure’s skirt, pulling off a “girl on fire” look. That was really a great challenge for us. We suddenly became engineers that one particular time.

How about fireworks?Haha! None yet!

The Cake Galerie serves a variety of cakes, sandwiches, and pastas. They are open from Monday to Saturday, 12 noon to 6:30 p.m. For orders, please contact Cha Canave at (082) 299-0557 or 09324060367, or you may visit their Facebook page and leave them a message there at www.facebook.com/CakeGalerie.

On March 9, 2013—a Saturday—while most folks were off to their weekend parties and coffee dates, Davao’s young writers, filmmak-ers, bloggers, musicians, visual artists, and other creative minds gathered at the Blue Room, Apo View Hotel for the launch of LIEu, a new online magazine that champions Davao youth culture.

The LIEu team, headed by creative di-rector Aidx Paredes, unveiled the maiden is-sue, which featured Manila underground music scene queen Mei Bastes on the cover. The rev-elers were treated to raffle prizes, free drinks, sumptuous sweets from Desdemona Cupcakes,

and wicked beats courtesy of DJ Cheekie Albay. The crowd made up creative types, media per-sonalities, yuppies, students, and regular party fixtures stayed until the wee hours, drunk on the spirit of celebration, the presence of friends, and of course, all that alcohol.

The LIEu launch party was presented by HIPHOuSE. Special thanks go to the HIP-HOuSE girls Jad Montenegro, Cheekie Albay, and Kristine Serrano for making the launch a success and to Apo View Hotel’s Chris Pamintu-an for letting us party hearty at the Blue Room.

LIEUk Who’s Here!By Chit Lacson / Photography by Nikko Zamora and Jad Montenegro-Amor

LAuNCHINg PARTY

LAuNCHINg PARTY

Davao’s recreational scene gets an electrifying jumpstart through Tienda del Mercado’s Sum-merfaction. Owing to the success of their Araw ng Dabaw event, where foot traffic reached thousands, TDM wows crowds again with their ongoing weekend mini-events, food festivals, and lifestyle bazaars.

Summerfaction officially opened to the pub-lic last April 26, 2013 with Guilty Pleasures, a Dessert Fair, as their flagship event. Over the weekend, TDM patrons and newcomers enjoyed a wide variety of food—grilled, fried, baked, you name it—from over 30 food exhibi-tors.

“It was super awesome; in one walk, you’ll see great bargains in fashion, cheap ice-cold beer and a very wide range of food,” says Dawn Vil-

lahermosa, a local blogger and frequent ba-zaar-goer.

“It was the ultimate food trip,” says Rudolph Alama, a lifestyle writer and photographer.

“We were there, the sales was really good and people were happy,” says Sid, proprietor of Hollywood Burgers, one of the food exhibitors.

Judging from how the general public felt, Summerfaction’s opening weekend was a huge success. Even though on the first day it rained for an hour, everyone was lucky it ended ear-ly, so people still poured in for the rest of the night. If you’re superstitious, you can say that was God giving His blessing. If you’re not, well, just enjoy the ice-cold beer and the cozy at-mosphere then.

Summer SatisfactionBy Karla Singson / Photography by Aidx Paredes and Nikko Zamora

LAuNCHINg PARTY

One of the main crowd-pleasers of Summer-faction is the nightly audition for bands who joined “Strings Beat the Heat”, an acoustic band challenge. In this competition, a dozen bands are fighting for the slot to open for Up Dharma Down on May 25, 2013 plus a cash prize of P10,000. Moreover, there are weekly side-events that rake in major traffic.

On May 4, for example, TDM will be showcas-ing a cute dog fashion show through “Posh Pups in the City”. TDM takes a break on the election weekend, but when they get back, they’re going to honor the most special woman in our lives for “Mother’s Other Day” on May

19. For this special event, TDM prepared cook-ing demos, a makeup workshop, a tech tutorial booth, and surprise gifts for Mommy. Lastly, on their final weekend, there’s the Up Dharma Down concert (May 25), and a fun run on Sun-day (May 26). And boy, you tell me: isn’t that just the right mix of things that get a family excited for any given weekend?

Cheers for more fun-filled weekends at Tienda del Mercado! See you!

Tienda del Mercado is located at Juna Parking Lot, Juna Subd., Matina, Davao City.

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One hot Friday afternoon, I found myself cooling off in the opulent, old-fashioned surroundings of Claude’s Le Café de Ville, a bistro in downtown Davao that has grown to be-come one of the best French restaurants in these shores. I was there to meet Alex Le Neindre, a promising young chef-in-the-making who is being groomed to take over his family’s dining empire. As the only son of Claude Le Neindre—easily one of Davao’s finest chefs—the French-Filipino 20-year-old clearly has some pretty big shoes to fill. And Alex, not one to rest on his family’s laurels, is the first person to agree with that. As I feasted on sumptuous French specialties created by the budding chef himself, Alex humbly let me in on the charms and challenges, the perks and pitfalls of being heir to the city’s culinary royalty.

The Food PrinceByChit Lacson / Photography by Amelia Rose Baird

COVER STORY

Name: Alexander Christopher Le NeindreBirthplace: ParisPersonal specialty: Steak with Pepper SauceFavorite dish: Pesto RavioliFavorite food outside Claude’s: Japanese and Chinese cuisine, Crispy PataInterests (aside from cooking): Reading books, playing the drums

COVER STORY

You first took up AB Psychology. From psy-chology, why did you decide to study culinary arts?Basically, psychology is an interest of mine because I’m interested in reading and learning about people. The culinary aspect of my life was embedded in my heart. I was born with it. I grew up with it.

How was the transition from learning about people to cooking?Of course, they are very different. But I always like to think that I am in the hospitality in-dustry. I please people. So there’s still a con-nection. But it was tough. Culinary arts is very non-academic and it just made me want to read more to challenge myself mentally.

If you had the chance, would you still want to finish psychology?Of course, if they credit my units. Whatever I finish. I plan to do pastry-making right after I do culinary arts. After that, I’ll finish psychol-ogy.

What do you plan to do after school?I do plan to take over Claude’s. Not take over in a sense that I’ll totally do the whole menu. But I plan to improve everything. I plan to add my own touch to my father’s very, very good standard already. I plan to do my own dishes and not change his. And I also plan to create my own restaurant hopefully one day. But that plan is still very, very vague.

Tell us what it’s really like in the kitchen. Is it like what we see on TV shows like Hell’s Kitchen?It’s like in military. TV shows are a bit exagger-ated. We have to be precise, fast, and accurate. One small mistake and you get yelled at. You get insulted. You get dehumanized. But that’s all part of discipline. And that’s what cooking is all about: discipline.

We know that your father is a famous chef and that your family owns one of the best restaurants in Davao. What are the pressures of being Claude’s only son?I’m already catching my breath. It feels like I have a noose around my neck. I feel like I’m pressured by his art and I have to match that or be better.

Did your father teach you how to cook?He never did.

Have you cooked side by side with your fa-ther?I have and it’s a bit challenging because we contrast each other. You know how a family is. You can’t agree on one thing. But I see love there. Hahaha!

As a kid, were you always in the kitchen?Yes, I was, but I was always in the kitchen to taste.

What do you eat at home?Food from Claude’s. But I prefer to eat in the karinderya, believe me.

Do you wish to have your own restaurant eventually?I plan to do my own concept in the future. But as I said before, that plan is still a bit vague. There’s a lot of planning involved.

Do you plan to keep the traditions set in place by your father?Tradition is always important when it comes to cooking. It’s everything.

Will you also be settling here in Davao, like your father did?Yes. I love Davao. Davao’s my home.

What are your strengths that make you dif-ferent from other soon-to-be chefs?I guess it’s that I wouldn’t brag about my pal-ates even though I grew up with my father and his food and my family is into food. I don’t think I’m different from anyone else. I’m just here trying to do my own thing and my own thing is yet to be discovered. I don’t know how I’m different (laughs).

Name one misconception people have about you.What most people think is that I am arrogant, but I’d love to think I’m not. People would always tell me that they never tried to make contact or talk to me because they think I’m ar-rogant at first glance.

Do you have any quirky habits?I’m a very impulsive person. I plan travels the day before.

What is your biggest frustration?That I didn’t finish Psychology.

In a nutshell, how would you describe your-self?I don’t like describing myself, really. I love food. That’s it.

You’re now 20. What do you consider your best achievement in your life so far?I’m still alive. That’s all.

Claude’s Le Cafe de Ville is located at The Oboza Heritage House, 143 Rizal Street, Davao City.

PHOTOGRAPHED BY AMELIA ROSE BAIRDASSISTED BY CHIT LACSON

I don’t think I’m different from anyone else. I’m just here trying to do my own thing and my own thing is yet to be discovered.

COVER STORY

filmroll

THE DAVAO WE SEEFilm photos by Mikee Calimbas and Claire Estillon

PHOTOgRAPHY

PHOTOgRAPHY

ALApAAp SA KALAngiTAnPhotos by Kristine of alapaapsakalangitan.tumblr.com

PHOTOgRAPHY

PHOTOgRAPHY

WITHDRAWAL SYMPTOMSIllustrations by Jana Moya

ILLuSTRATION

OF CHASINg LOVE AND DRIVINg AN 18-WHEELER

by Karla Singson

Illustration by Jana Moya

the wheels

drag onlike there were

unlimited tomorrowsand everything

was just soheavy, slightly

pantingyou skid onto the side

and you fear offalling too hard,

you tread onso carefully

because therewas always

too much to loseand too little to

gain for the sakeof pride

you don’t makenasty overtakes

you don’t fallasleep too easilyespecially when

it’s very darkand all you’ve got

is an unreliablepair of headlights

more intelligentthan your

own heart.

LITERATuRE

OF BLACK AND WHITEPhotos by Ayie HernandezMakeup by Tiny PinilliModeled byTsim Valencia

FASHION & BEAuTY

FASHION & BEAuTY

Live to create.LiEU OnLinE MAgAZinE

@LIEuMAgAZINE