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Manila Bulletin devider Opinion devider Basty and friends

Basty and friends

Published Apr 9, 2022 12:05 am
MEDIUM RARE Jullie Y. Daza Late in the last century, Sebastian Chua made a drastic business decision. He shut down what was at one time Asia’s largest paper factory. He didn’t explain the reasons, not to me anyway (his presses printed the countless editions of my book about mistresses), but it was my heartfelt guess that he could no longer stomach the thought of killing more trees. Today Basty’s as up-to-date with technology as the business can take him. He’s the exclusive distributor of Xiaomi in the Philippines, which gives him license to market everything from phones to pillows, robotic household appliances to 55”-wide TV screens, air purifiers, and more hi-tech products whose names I cannot pronounce and functions I cannot imagine. To celebrate the success of the enterprise despite a two-year lockdown and gather his friends for a long-delayed birthday party, Basty threw the biggest lauriat I have been to since 2019. And, you’re right, he raffled off six of Xiaomi’s top-of-the-line products and served 10 whole roasted lechon. His friends, whom he called “those dearest to me,” were seated around what could have been a hundred round tables on the third floor of East Ocean Palace at Aseana Business Park. Robert Sy, manager of the new Chinatown’s most capacious restaurant (in the vicinity of the spankiest casinos), proudly boasted, “Now you see why our lobby downstairs is so spacious. It has to accommodate 1,000 people when they go down after a party to wait for their drivers to pick them up.” Among Basty’s guests who were within my line of sight were Sen. Cynthia Villar and her daughter-in-law, Justice Undersecretary Emelyn, Sen. Antonio Trillanes, Chavit Singson, former Ambassador Alfredo Yao, Kim Henares, Ariel Querubin, Charo Yu, WCY, Ichu Villanueva, Wilson Flores. Basty’s daughter Sandy and his right hand Clarita shared the hosting chores. This little story about a big party in the MOA area is also about Sebastian Chua’s moving with the times, so to speak. Long ago the place for Chinese birthday and wedding parties was Ongpin. By the time I was old enough to make it to Basty’s list, the shift had been to Greenhills. Now, it looks like Aseana-MOA is the Chinoy choice for the most expensive dishes and the biggest lauriat events in town. Kampei!

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