A special ‘Eat Bulaga’ episode for birthday boy Tito Sen

Former Senate president Tito Sotto – a.k.a. Tito Sen — turned 76 last Aug. 24, and he had two celebrations. The first was held on the longest running noontime show, “Eat Bulaga,” which he co-hosts.

The special Saturday episode featured a production number from female hosts Maine Mendoza-Atayde, Miles Ocampo, Ryzza Mae Dizon, Carren Eistrup and Atasha Muhlach, who dressed in colorful retro garb and danced to “Bang-Shang-a-Lang,” a song popularized by Helen Gamboa in the ‘70s.

There was also a surprise number from Quezon City Vice Mayor Gian Sotto and his handsome son Hugo, who both performed electric guitar and sang with the Lockdown band.

The highlight, though, was when Tito Sen’s “only one,” wife Helen Gamboa, appeared and sang “Downtown.” Midperformance, Tito Sen joined her and they performed an impromptu sweet dance.

The next day, Sunday, Tito Sen hosted an intimate dinner at Red Lantern restaurant, Solaire for family and a few guests. Tito Sen looked dapper as always while Tita Helen was radiant in a red printed dress. Their children Apples, Ciara, Lala, and Gian were all there. MTRCB chairperson Lala Sotto-Antonio was with husband Mike, while Vice Mayor Gian was with lovely wife Joy and their children.

Dinner was sumptuous because Red Lantern’s cuisine is excellent and a new personal favorite. For appetizers, we started off with my favorite, Peking Duck (first way), sliced duck wrapped with pancake, hoisin sauce, onion leeks and cucumber. There was also Marinated Jellyfish (which was thicker than usual) with shredded white radish and spring onion sauce, and my new favorite, the divine Steamed Shrimp Dumpling with Black Truffle! The soup was braised scallops, shrimp, crab roe and bamboo piths, which went well with that evening’s rainy weather.

Though I was almost full when the main courses arrived, I couldn’t resist the Stir-fried Scallops with Seasonal Vegetables and Homemade XO Sauce, Homemade Braised Bean Curd with Black Truffle and Lingzhi Mushrooms, Wok-fried Diced Angus Beef with Shallots and Black Pepper Sauce.

The proverbial noodle dish was Efu Noodles with Crab Meat and Enoki Mushrooms and Yang Chow Fried Rice. I made sure I had room for dessert,