Wednesday, February 16, 2011

How Chowking Completed My Life: On Meeting Kim Chiu

.:Thanks, Chowking! My Life Is Complete:.

Last night, in celebration of Chinese New Year, Chowking asked several bloggers and media people to go to Mercato and be a witness to Chowking’s as they celebrated the way only they could: with a bang.

The whole thing was hosted by Ms. Lyn Ching, who was as eye-catching as ever, and she actually remembered me from my several guestings for Unang Hirit in the past. It was really great meeting her again, and after three years, it finally occurred to me to have a photo taken with her...


She is still awesome! Photo from Russel.

Anyways, as she went through the signature dishes of Chowking with father and son chefs Gene and Gino Gonzalez, who cooked their own versions of sweet and sour pork, orange chicken, and tender beef broccoli, as the audience’s mouths watered with each dish, although we did have some dimsum and some Chicharap for appetizers. As the ineffable Lyn Ching talked up the tastes and sensations of each delightful morsel while poking fun at herself for her supposedly imperfect figure, two of the brand ambassadors of Chowking also made an appearance that night, which made the whole thing even more exciting.

Of course, as everyone can assume, Mr. Jericho Rosales himself was there, which was all good, but more importantly...

Kim Chiu was there.


This features the Marcelle Fabie seal of approval! Photo from Bambi.

From the moment I got the invite to this event, the main reason I went was because, as I told my organizer friend, “You had me at ‘hosted by Kim Chiu.’” I was hoping to run into the lovely young lady, and while I talked a big game of approaching her and leaving a lasting impression, it was pretty clear to everyone on my table, from Arpee to Bambi to Russel that I was not going to be cool and unflappable that night.

My heart was pounding every single time I was within ten feet of Kim Chiu, and I wasn’t sure that I wouldn’t faint if I managed to so much as talk to her. In fact, the only time I could remember myself having a smile this huge was three years ago, when I met Rick Astley during his party in Alchemy (And now that I mention it, that doesn’t sound like a very manly thing to say...).


Mas singkit pa ako kay Kim Chiu sa sobrang ngiti ko! Photo from Russel.

I finally mustered up the courage to have a photo taken with her, and she was kind enough to oblige me. I stood there, grinning from ear to ear like a complete idiot, and the pictures were taken, then I offered a handshake and a heartfelt thank-you to Ms. Chiu, all while I was doing everything I could to keep myself from hyperventilating in front of her.

Unfortunately, she was looking away, and one of the organizers had to tap her on the shoulder to say I was sticking my hand out to thin air. She smiled sheepishly, shook my hand, then said...

“Sorry po, kuya!”

I was mortified, and if I turned any redder, they’d probably think I was already bleeding. But for the rest of the night, I was beaming proudly because finally, after all this time, I have met the undeniably gorgeous and incomparably flexible Kim Chiu. Only Chowking has made this possible for me, so what else can I say but “thanks” to those amazing people who not only serve great and affordable Chinese food, but also made me smile genuinely for the first time in a long while?


I think I need to have my heart rate checked... picture from Bambi

20 comments:

Anonymous said...

im a super kim chiu fan myself, your so lucky to have met and shook her hand, love your article here, readers can really tell that you super like kim chiu, haha, i love her too, hope i can also meet her someday.
By the way may i ask why the last pic was deleted? and what was the content of the pic.
again, THANK YOU, for sharing your experience, haha, i myself now always eats at chowking bec. kim chiu endorses it, super love the S&S pork, thats what i order all the time, haha.

Anonymous said...

you are soo cute...

Anonymous said...

super duper kim chiu fan as well..in fact when i went for holiday last january the first thing i did was to eat in chowking and take note i was looking for the food that is endorsed by kim chiu of course..ganun ko ka love si kim chiu lahat nang mga inendorsed binibili ko - from dublin, ireland

Anonymous said...

im enjoying to read your blog,,happy for u and,how i wish to meet her someday too,,,shes my all time favorite,shes so super cute ,,and i love KIM CHIU so much,,,

angie said...

Super thank you sa kwento. luv it!!
Thank you for loving Kim chiu.

Anonymous said...

I love ur article so honest & real. Somehow I could relate how u felt when I first saw her.

From the day one she went out of PBB house till 2day I never grown out liking this girl.

Kim Chiu's fan based grow even more after every encountered with her.

I totally admired her humility despite fame.

Thank you Russel for a lovely article about Kim Chiu.

bea said...

YUCK! KIM CHIU! EEEEWWWWW

Kel Fabie said...

Most of the commenters are anonymous, but I'd just like to point out that my name isn't Russel.

Thanks for checking out my blog! Much appreciated.

And, oh, Bea... bitter, much?

skysenshi said...

Natawa ako sa photos. Haha! Happiness talaga. :D

Anonymous said...

Thank u for sharing this to us and truly indeed Kim Chiu is our one and only true inspiration for being so humble, kind and a woman with a pure heart. I hope one day like you I will meet her. It's a long way from Sydney to Philippines...

Jepoy said...

kim chiu ftw!

Anonymous said...

i like your blog/article... it's funny. :) just like you i also super like kim chiu. hehe!

Anonymous said...

thank you 4 sharing ur experience'd w/ kim chiu! i really like kim chiu 2...and i hope..next year na magbakasyon ako ng pinas, ay maeet ko rin sya..at sa chowking ko ititreet pakainin ang family..friends...and relative ko..at siyempre yun ini-endorse na food lang ni kim yun iorder ko...

2 bea said...inggit ka day!????

Anonymous said...

I love kim chiu too!She's so nice and way prettier in person. Good example to teens out there.

Anonymous said...

thanks for your story. sana nandoon din si gerald. love kim and gerald together as chowking endorsers.

Anonymous said...

I love Kim Chiu too... :)
I wish I could meet her!
I'm from Fiji... :)
I really enjoyed reading your Blog... Thanx!

Anonymous said...

haha! ur funny! gotta love kim chiu!:)

Anonymous said...

It's so cute and funny. You're such a good writer very expressive. You made me laugh and giggle. I hope you could write a screen play for Kim. Iam a fan too. fr San diego....

Kel Fabie said...

I'm overwhelmed by the sheer number of people who have ended up in my blog thanks to this one post.

It's astounding, really. I'm just glad to have met her, because I really am a huge admirer of her work.

freeze said...

cute naman ng kwento mo. :)