I am not joking… If there was one magazine that I honestly thought I would NEVER EVER have a chance of appearing in, it would have been Men’s Health (December Philippine Edition). It’s like many a middle-aged paunchy man’s private fantasy come true, to grace the pages (part of a six-page spread no less) of a magazine that celebrates impossibly fit and buff bodies. Daniel Craig might get a spread in Men’s Health, but Marketman being a part of one? Outrageous. I once posted a photo of myself a la Bond, emerging from the sea, headed to the beach, here, when I was last 173 lbs, but I removed the revealing photo after 20 hours after all the movie and underwear print ad offers started pouring in… hahaha, NOW I AM JOKING. As you can imagine, having a food blog and keeping my weight down are totally at odds with each other, and I am now a chunky 185 lbs with no visible abdominals whatsoever, so when the writer for Men’s Health (Angelo Comsti) contacted me a couple of months ago, I went into a momentary panic…
…until I found out the topic of the article was actually LECHON, not Marketman’s exercise and diet regimen. Bummer. Heeheehee. I even emailed the writer that he should feel free to hire an abs model to stand behind a lechon if they thought my stomach was too fat… At any rate, I answered a number of questions about lechon and shared several photos for the article, which discusses several lechon purveyors in Manila and some recipes and tips to boot. It’s quite interesting, and very visually appealing, but it tactfully ignores the fact that eating lechon will NOT result in abs like Dingdong Dantes, the coverman of the December issue. The calories present in a square inch of lechon skin must be the equivalent of jogging about 4 miles or doing 300 sit-ups! Grab a copy if you want to read the whole article. And no, they didn’t print my Daniel Craig style photo either. Hahaha!
P.S. If you are a regular reader of this blog, you would be able to guess which 4 pictures in the second photo above were taken by Marketman or a crew member…
45 Responses
OK, OK — I’ll get a copy today. How many pounds are you now?
wahahha, what a serendipitous post, MM! I am now in Bacolod and have been thinking of buying a kilo of lechon tomorrow for lunch, sort of my last hurrah before I start my diet on Monday. wahahhaha.
i have read this in one website…. “ang tunay na lalake walang abs”
Lee, hahahaha, I should be reading the websites you have been reading! If someone paid me $20 million like Daniel Craig to do a movie, I would buy someone else’s abs and sew them onto my stomach… :)
MM that’s too painful! Just wear those fake rubber abs that come out on Halloween. :) And pair it with some tattooed stockings on your arms….and have someone photoshop haha
Freaky naman MM !having someone else’s abs sewn into you!Frankenstein ka na nyan!Funny that we should all be talking about flat abs when it’s the Holiday season–the time for Piggin’ out!He!He!He!Di na talaga ma reach ang iyong Zubuchon!Congratulations!
oh…i thought they Photoshoped your body on Dingdong Dantes’ face.:p
he-he-ha-ha-ha – anything goes! the way they airbrush and ‘re-toque’ photo covers these days, medically, surgically enhance lips, puwits, etc. everyone has a chance to be master of the universe, caya lang St. Peter will not recognize a great number when the time comes to seek entrance at the pearly gates!!
let’s just enjoy the zabuchon way (in moderation, of course)
what food goodies did you bring home from the recent trip to New York?
This is great media mileage for Zubuchon, congrats! surely, there will be more publicity generated by this ;) and maybe soon enough, you can bring Zubuchon to Manila na!
although i have dreams of being with daniel craig once in a while, LOL, i would rather read your posts anytime. brains over brawn anytime. but do a Spongebob, where he bought these gadgets that he blew up to simulate muscular arms etc. that would be hilarious. LOL.
i know which pics—the last one on the right and the 3 at the bottom (not the one with the soup tureen)
MM, how many signatures would we need to gather to convince you to bring zubuchon to manila? :-)
Very nice! Congratulations!
Actually, I should say that I didn’t do this article for Zubuchon, and didn’t mention Zubuchon as a product. I did it for the benefit of lechon as a “national dish” of sorts… There are several lechon purveyors in Manila that are mentioned, so there are more than enough sources to choose from. leigh, as for Zubuchon in Manila, I think the crew have to get Cebu right first. More on that in the next few days. :)
New reader here, enjoying your blog. (I found you through your Culion posts; doing research for a story I’m doing.)
What a nice spread you have there. Lechon, mmm. :-)
Dingdong’s waist looks bigger than his chest, how can they feature anyone like that on the cover?
OK, I will bite. The model’s name is Dingdong?!?!?
kurzhaar, hahaha! Totally a cultural thing. Lots of ding dongs, bong bongs, boys, girlies, baby’s etc. as nick names in the Philippines. sister, the angle of the shot probably distorted the cover a bit, the person appears extremely fit in other photos…
Ooookay… I get the nickname thingy for kids, but do people change nicknames when they reach, say their mid-40’s?
Frankly, I just can’t see myself calling out to someone, “hey, dingdong” without ducking!
Kurshaar, there are Blue Boy, Tony Boy, Honey Boys in the Philippines who are in their 60’s. I guess the parent’s of Dingdong Dantes didn’t know what a Dingdong was when they named him. Egadz, what were they thinking. Door bell names are such a common name that no body here really bats and eyelash. Articles have been written on Pinoy nicknames. Don’t you just love it, we had a chief justice nicknamed Claudio “Dingdong” Teehankee, Sr. :-)
kurzhaar, nicknames generally last till folks keel over. People in their 80’s are still referred to as “Baby” and “Boy”… :)
I guess it is all cultural. To me a “dingdong” is either one of those Hostess chocolate cakes (not much better than a Twinkie) or a dimwit. Neither is particularly appealing as a name inspiration.
Lex…I would have an awful hard time calling someone “Honey Boy” as well!!!
At least the article is about roast pig, not how to avoid being a pig! :-D
Really off-topic question, but I can’t find any contact information for Salcedo Market. . .
Does anyone know Salcedo Market’s hours on the 19th of December? They’re usually open until 2, but I’m hoping they’ll be open a little later the Saturday before Christmas. My flight doesn’t get in until 1!
wow, MM..am sure the first time you tried to cook lechon, landing between the covers of Men’s Health was farthest from your mind. the zubuchon is really the pig that went from market to all over the world!
waiting for news about the cebuanos’ daily dose of zubuchon starting tomorrow. good luck to the zubuchon crew!
If you had abs like Daniel Craig while eating and cooking everything you’ve posted in this blog, parang unfair na si Lord sa aming mga mortals who gain an inch just by sniffing the aromatic steam from the Zubuchon belly!
speaking of unusual names… i know somenone whose name is benjo. when
i studied nihonggo, i learned that benjo in japanese means toilet.
kurzhaar, I have a Lola (grandma) Baby and a Lolo (grandpa) Boy. Nothing unusual for Pinoys.
MM, I thought that James Bond photo was back when you provided the link to that older post.
MM can you repost that james bond photo side by side with Ding Dong picture. At least there is some similarities in your shirt color :) ….Really I thought the article is about you with your fashion tips !!! hehehe I guess we have to wait for that in another magazine.
Hey MM I went to Palm Beach few days ago for a charity dinner hosted by Slow Food… most of the women were the types of the kind the ladies who lunch, well what did I expect it was Palm Beach at Cafe Boulud.
So in one conversation with a chef I met in France I told her I must take her to the Philippines and she must meet you for real gastronomic trip.
Aba sabi pa can we go next week? ;-)
Is this just Men’s Health Philippines? Ah don’t worry about your abs…..
I’m going to grab a copy of this. Really MM, you should consider branching out to Manila :) Sayang…I thought I would catch a glimpse of your ala James Bond photo hehehe :)
I agree with sister, his body does not do a Ding Dang thing for me either! I expected more from someone who makes a living looking good! It would have been nice to see you with a Zubuchon in the cover of Men’s Health instead.
The cover photo was a bit folded thus the angle that seemed to show a “tummy”. I caught Dingdong one time in one of those Bench shows, and he does have a decent upper body.
There’s something in a name for sure. How can anyone even fantasize about a guy (abs or no) with a name like dingdong? You can’t scream that name out in the middle of mind blowing sex! Just the thought of it makes me think of a Monty Python skit with Eric Idle in a mailman’s uniform standing by the door pushing the bell as the woman has her moment of bliss.
Anyhoo, the only pics I’m sure are yours are the signed book copy and maybe the first one of the fruits/vegies. The one of the many lechons on a stick, definitely looks more like something from one of the lechon stalls near Dampa. The salad picture near the fold? Hmmmm.
The magazine should go beneath the crispy skin of our favourite blogger, MM. Having a food blog and keeping your weight at ONLY 185 lbs is exceptional. I don’t know Dingdong but like many of tricks and secrets many magazines use to boost sales, digital enhancements are now standard tools of the trade.
I agree with sister, focus on his waist a little while and it looks a bit of a muffin top is showing.
Hwahahaha!!! Si MM nag panic maisip ba namang ihehelera kay dingdong sa isang magazine? abay akalain mo? nakakapraning nga naman yun! …hehehe!!! Natawa naman ako ng sobra! Nako MM you are definitely more than sculpted abs….Mas marami ka namang napapasaya sa mga masasarap mong luto at nakaiigayang babasahin kaysa sa magpost ala dingdong dantes…hayai na si dingdong magpakita ng laman…hehehe!
”magpose ala dingdong dantes” correction lamang po…hehe!!! Pero MM papasa ka din namang magpose eh…ika nga ”pasok sa banga”! hehe!
You made me laugh with your first three sentences…ha ha ha…let me see if there are still copies of that mag…
Am a great fan of TSP (Textured Soy Proteins) Meat substitute for Weight Loss, Low in Fat and Low in Sodium.
Have made Shish-Kebabs with TSP as Meat substitute and the rest of the Ingredients…nobody could tell the difference.
Get those Abs Back !!!! MM
sister, maybe that’s why they had him clothed in black…to fool the eyes….he is not really that sexy…and that’s my opinion….give me derek ramsay anytime….ayayayay!!!! hehehe…..
and mila…you had me laughing-out loud there…….
Mila, your Monty Python vision was a riot! I can just imagine the dialogue…!
I am totally with kurzhaar on the Dingdong comment. Why the hell would you want to be STILL named after the sound of an old doorbell when you’re older than 10? Look at Lucky Manzano, who later became Luis or Billy Joe Crawford who became just Billy Crawford after he grew body hair. And, as nickname for the nickname, they call him Dong sometimes. I wonder why not Ding.
I don’t like the guy, as is obvious. :) But I will buy the magazine because of the lechon article. hehe
HI Marketman,
At the risk of oversimplifying, it seems that abdominal fat results more from excessive carbohydrates (especially refined ones like flour, table sugar and high-fructose corn syrup, etc.) rather than from dietary fat from sources such as lechon. The carbohydrates get converted by the liver to triglycerides (fat) which first shows up in your blood and later stored in your tissues. Carbohydrates also stimulate the appetite leading to increased caloric intake while dietary fat satiates sooner. The protein in the lechon also contributes to satiety.
So an article on lechon is not in contradiction to the implicit message of the magazine’s cover. Good news, I believe, for lechon lovers.
Thanks
Dingdong got an award from E! magazine as the 3rd most sexiest men in the world.. but if he taste the zubuchon, for sure he wil forget his diet…. hehehe.
Emsy, you’re joking right? This poor chap is called “Dong”???!!! OMG, that is even worse than Dingdong! This might be a cultural thing too, but I can’t even *think* it with a straight face!
Mr MM, kahit ano pa po ang shape ninyo…hindi po deter sa akin iyon..na araw araw kong binibisita ang MarketManila…ano po ba ang pabango niyo lechon scent siguro..can’t help it!