Philip Amarillo - Junior Masterchef 2nd Placer

Philip Dave Amarillo is an Argawanon student and amateur cook who placed 2nd in the recently concluded first ever Junior MasterChef Pinoy edition. He has been erroneously introduced as coming from Cebu city as he auditioned there.
He is a student of the Argao Central Elementary School.
In the introduction of the contestants, Philip is shown as coming from a humble family who said that "they could only eat if they had a good day selling at the market." His mother sells not at the public market but near a bakeshop in the town proper.
Almost everyone describes Philip as a fun-loving but very responsible kid. He was born in Argao, Cebu to Fausto P. Amarillo, Jr. and Elizabeth N. Albert in 1998. His family's roots are in barangay Jomgao, Argao. Raised by his mother, Philip learned from an early age how to help out at home.
Philip Amarillo placed second in the final episode of the first season of Junior MasterChef Pinoy edition held last February 18, 2012. Kyle Imao from Marikina placed first. Philip trailed Imao by only 0.7 points. He emerged from the competition with P500,000 and P1.5 million worth of culinary scholarship.

Burping Balamban Liempo

I finally got the chance to taste the much talked-about Balamban liempo. Someone told me about this Cebu-based liempo place near the Buhangin fly-over. I've always considered myself a good judge of anything related to meat, and after two days of having Balamban liempo as my meal well, I have a few things to say.

First, the price is a bit higher than the usual liempos in Davao City. At P180.00 per order it is P50.00 higher than most liempos in the city. However, at that price, one gets the satisfaction of getting a bigger-sized portion per order. In fact, based on my recent order I would surmise that it is almost twice as much as the other liempos in the city. So for the price of P180.00 I guess it is worth the price.

Pricing and size of serving aside, the main thing I can say about the liempo is its too overpowering smell. The servers say it is because of the herbs they rub the meat with. I suppose many people love the smell but I for one do not like the smell. It destroys the experience in its entirety. Every mouthful would remind my senses that there was a powerful smelling hunk of meat in my mouth. And the worst part was the smell I had in my mouth and esophagus which stayed for more than 12 hours.

In the end, I'd still go for Andok's liempo if I were in Cebu or Manila and Uloy's liempo in Davao.