A few days shy of V-day, Auction.ph launched a promo dubbed Dare To Date An Auctionista. The promo contest gave Auction.ph members a chance to date anyone from our stable of website ambassadors, the Auctionistas.
After a week of bidding frenzy, two Auctionistas emerged as the most wanted and two website members were rewarded for their tenacity. The Auctionista winners are Monique Lim of DLSU getting the highest bid with 130,000 and Kurt Fernandez of UP Diliman with 150,000. The members who won free dates are top-seller Benedict Qua aka Tycoon888 and Auction.ph newbie, Carina Traballo.
Benedict seems all set to meet Monique
Carina waits calmly for Kurt to arrive
The date started with refreshments in Krispy Kreme in Greenhills. The daters were given some time to get acquainted with each other and to dispense with casual introductory tactics. In true dating fashion, the guys surprised the ladies with romantic staples that include one red rose and a box of chocolates.
Carina meets Kurt...
...and Benedict meets Monique
After the rendezvous, the daters were transported to Okura Fusion Japanese Restaurant in Jupiter St., Makati City. Restaurant owner Mr. Jay Ha was on hand to personally greet everyone. Extra appreciation goes out to Mr. Ha for making sure that the daters had a memorable dining experience.
Off to Fusion
Okura Fusion in Jupiter St.
For lunch, the daters relished an exquisite buffet meticulously prepared by the restaurant staff. The daters selected from a colorful array of Japanese traditional cuisine and inventive dishes that fuses different tastes and textures. From Asian-style kebabs to sumptuous sushi, the restaurant’s lunch time buffet has everything to please everyone–from the most seasoned gastronome to anyone simply looking for a straight-up, satisfying meal.
Raiding the buffet
Great food in good company
Mr. Ha demonstrated his generosity by offering the daters a bottle of red wine. The daters accepted graciously. It was the perfect complement to an excellent meal.
The gracious host and his guests
Finding an angle
After lunch, the entourage proceeded in taking photos of the daters together with the wait staff. They then exchanged farewells and the daters left Okura Fusion with bellies full and cheerful smiles that can only be inspired by unforgettable food.
The lovely guests and the genial staff
Mr. Jay Ha and the daters
The daters then headed to Market, Market for a bout of LazerXtreme–a fun and exciting way to burn calories. It was also a charming ruse for the guys to play the hero. Alas, the daters were squared-off with toddlers for 20 minutes of lazer tag action therefore eliminating the damsel in distress angle and replacing it with “don’t step on the kindergarten” heroics.
LazerXtreme, here we come!
Ready to zap and get zapped
Twenty minutes later, the daters stepped out of the battle chamber happy and proud of their scorecards. Kurt performed particularly well landing number two on the kill count. Carina, on the other hand, just slightly missed hitting rock bottom. She went “hip-hop gangsta” for ten minutes and held the lazer with just one hand which, in effect, made her fire lazer blanks. The lazer gun has to be held with two hands to fire.
Benedict also managed to get a respectable score. He had a hard time shooting moving targets who were below his waistline. Monique on the other hand had a hard time avoiding them. She collided with one and was later on bullied from a higher platform by ten-year olds.
Date memorabilia: Scorecards!
Refreshed but in need of refreshments
After intense lazer tag action, the daters had refreshments in a nearby coffee shop. They recalled the highlights of the date and then proceeded in exchanging mobile numbers. They found the food and the Okura Fusion atmosphere particularly delightful. They said they had a blast in LazerXtreme and went on further by saying that a revisit is definitely in order. Hopefully, with a gang of slightly taller competitors.
“We had fun and we thank Auction.ph for this experience,” said Benedict. “We really didn’t know what to expect but we all got along. It was such a relief!” added Monique. Kurt and Carina were also both thankful for the experience and confessed that it was one of the most comfortable dates they ever had.
Big smiles also served
Sequel?
So what lies ahead for our daters? It’s really none of our business. But the thing is, we’ve done our part and the rest is now up to them.
Carina
Kurt
Monique
Benedict
Auction.ph would like to thank the Auctionistas, Monique Lim and Kurt Fernandez, the winners, Benedict Qua and Carina Traballo, Ms. Christine Travina and the staff of Krispy Kreme, Greenhills, the official photographer Mr. Norman Gorecho and Mr. Jay Ha and the staff of Okura Fusion Japanese Restaurant for their support and cooperation.
Check out more amazing photos of the date by Norman Gorecho here.
