Mila at 44

Yesterday was Mila Pantaleon’s birthday and this blog serves to immortalize perpetuality our greetings to her! Happy birthday Mila! Photo shows Chief and Mila enjoying chocolate at Chocolate Cafe in Serendra

Here is a little profile of who Mila is and how she and her loving husband, Bingo, has touched and continues to touch our lives.

We first met Mila and Bingo in Saigon in 2002. They were introduced through a network of friends, specifically, through, Maribelle Regino, who used to work for J Walter Thompson Vietnam. She was a dentist by profession and a wife by vocation to a hard working marketing director of United Pharmaceuticals Vietnam (Unilab).

There was chemistry between us as there was similarities in our lives. Both middle-aged couples, working hard in a foreign country without kids. Both enjoying a good meal at Pendolasco, a good Italian restaurant, along Nguyen Hue, District 1 or breakfast at the Sheraton Hotel.


Often, Mila and Chief would go window shopping around Dong Khoi and often finding themselves at Ms. ha's Jewelry Shop at Mac Thi Boi. Bingo and I would only smile at the their choices. Sometimes, we would be at their home at the Pacific Gardens for lunch. Photo shows Mila, Gege (from Levi's) with my cousin Patrick Velez and Chief (at the far right).

These days, she had many kids. Young pupils who look up to her as a mom or elder sister in a kindergarden school in Jakarta. Us… we look up to her a good, endearing and trusted friend. Belated happy birthday Mila!