My top 10 list of the best of 2008

BY MALU FERNANDEZ

Every beginning of the year I usually have a top 10 list of whatever I find significant, mind blowing or generally memorable for the previous year, be it the best shops, restaurants, books, products, TV shows or events. So here goes.

Funniest New Year commentators ever: Kathy Griffin and Anderson Cooper

If any of you were able to catch CNN counting down the New Year at Times Square in New York you had to love the chemistry of Anderson Cooper and Kathy Griffin. The highlight of the show was when Kathy responded to her heckler ??Screw you,?? she told the heckler. ??Why don?t you get a job, buddy? You know what? I don?t go to your job and knock the d- - - out of your mouth.? She will probably need her first amendment lawyers after that but that sure had me laughing for a few hours! I sure wish we had those kind of first amendment lawyers so I can really shoot my mouth off or err write my a... off hehehe!

Best bitch slap on a TV show: Again, Anderson Cooper

He first dissed Dina and Ali Lohan?s reality show on Regis and Kathy Lee and then called the Hilton family ?horrible people? ...well he is a Vanderbilt so his money is really old. I love it!

Best movie hype (and I say hype because the movie did not live up to its hype): Twilight

Need I say more? All the brouhaha and all the screaming fans and it still didn?t live up to the book, yet I still watched it twice just to see if I was wrong and to look at Robert Pattinson.

Best book ever (if you?re expecting me to say Twilight you are so wrong): By the end of the year I discovered Sherrilyn Kenyon?s Dark hunter series of about 14 books and the best book was Acheron.

The book deals with paranormal beings, Greek gods, romance matrix like action and suspense. This author can kick Stephanie Meyer?s butt and Anne Rice into oblivion because her books bring you in so deep into a different world it takes a while to snap out of it. It?s one of those books that actually make you think and go back to all your ancient history classes and anything you know about Greek and Roman mythology combined with pop culture references. It?s a really good way to get over the disappointment of the Twilight movie!

Best skincare products from last year: There are only two brands (forget La Mer because even if it?s really the best not everyone can afford a miniscule jar of cream worth P10,000 and I only recommend it for winter weather). The best affordable skincare system is Shiseido and if you really want value for money Pond?s anti-aging cream luv,luv,luv it!!!

Best steak in town: Mamou at Serendra

I have been eating Malou Fores? steak even before she opened her restaurant and it is the closest thing to a Peter Luger?s steak you will ever get in this town and much cheaper than flying to New York. Good value for money steak house if you don?t want to spend over P1,000 for a steak is Tender Bob?s at Shangri-La or Greenhill?s Promenade. All the steaks are really yummy and don?t cost you an arm and a leg if you just feel like chowing down.

Best sushi in town: UMU at the Dusit Hotel for a posh environment and for good value for money Omakase at Libis.

It?s kind of a small place so call ahead and just do take out.

Best pastillas I ever tasted: Iya Guingona?s pastillas de leche available at Nenita?s fruit stand in Market Market.

It?s so good I call it crack pastillas. It?s like an addictive drug you start with one and you can?t stop and it?s not the miniscule tiny pastillas you get at the pasalubong counter it?s as big as your thumb and made from fresh milk?a definite must try all year round.

Best TV show (to replace the old British comedy in the ?90s called Absolutely Fabulous): Kath and Kim

It?s so shallow you just have to laugh. I recommend this if you just want to de-stress. It will relax your mind and make you laugh.

Best celeb bitch blog ever: Lanie Gossip

The woman is vicious, witty and hilarious. She has quips about her Asian roots and her Chinese mother and the ability to give the right adjective to the right celeb, for instance she calls Paris Hilton the Ebola Virus and Ed Westwick her shame f...k because he looks sleazy. She cracks me up. I wish she could see our local talent she would have a field day. I know I do but first amendment lawyers here don?t seem to exist. Her blog is an example of how to be bitchy and not hateful. You just laugh when you read it, you don?t feel like taking a shower after reading it like some blogs out there.

I stuck to celebrities, food, books and retail outlets instead of real people and events close to home because unlike Kathy Griffin, freedom of speech in this town is questionable. But I do share the kind of humor she has which, unfortunately, most people here lack. Oh well, it?s the start of a new year and we should all be positive and happy. I know I haven?t stopped laughing since New Year?s Eve so I hope that means I will be laughing the whole year round!