Entries from July 2010 ↓

Positioning itself as a Filipino cafe in a sea of coffee shops in the metro, Figaro Coffee Company has adopted itself to something unusually found in a typical coffee shop setup: a Filipino Breakfast Meal.

Corned Beef Breakfast

Prepared by Chef Carl Marxist Tan, I’ve all tried Figaro‘s three breakfast meals namely: Pork Longganisa, Classic Corned Beef, and Gourmet Crispy Tuyo (Dried Fish).

I am torn between the pork longganisa and corned beef, they are both good. Perhaps, I’ll just leave that for you to decide.

If you have the Filipino sweet tooth and doesn’t mind the extra fat, go for the homemade Pork Longganisa. You’ll love it and ask for more.

Figaro Pork Longganisa

If you decide to get more serious and prefer it a little salty in the morning, the corned beef sauteed in onion breakfast is for you.

However, I would say that the Crispy Tuyo needs a little improvement in the preparation. Given that it has the “crispy” on the meal title, it somehow fell short of that expectation. Other than that, the tuyo flakes was ok.

Figaro Crispy Tuyo (Dried Fish)

All three sets priced at P175 come with a fried farm sunny side up egg and tomato-cucumber salsa on the side. It is also paired with an 8 oz. Figaro brewed coffee.

New Desserts

Chocolate Eclair Dessert (P65)

Figaro's Ambrosia (food for the gods - P70)

Figaro also adds 2 new desserts to its sweet line: the Chocolate Eclair and Ambrosia.

Eclairs are long custard-filled pastries. This one is covered with chocolate on top. I recommend Ambrosia, also known as Food for the gods.

And yes, you can order the Figaro All Day Breakfast “all day.” 🙂

Figaro is a 100% Filipino owned coffee company and sources its coffee beans locally to support the industry.

If one is coming from Quezon City, the San Miguel By The Bay area across SM Mall of Asia can indeed be considered a far “Ibayo” (the next town). But it can be a worthwhile visit for Filipino cuisine lovers.

Ibayo Barrio Fiesta

Barrio Fiesta has been an iconic restaurant here in the Philippines representing good old classic Filipino dishes well-loved and tested through time.

And with the onset of the owners’ third generation family members in the person of Tristan and Tyrone Ongpauco, they have decided to give it a new twist. From the Filipino home-inspired rattan tables and chairs, Ibayo gave it a touch of modernity with new interiors while retaining the Filipino touch.

From a full-pledged restaurant into a bistro, you could now find bar chow, beer, and cocktails (such as the Ibayo Sunset) in the menu, obviously catering to the younger crowd. The Ibayo branch in San Miguel By The Bay also serves alfresco.

Ibayo Firesticks

I tried it about a week ago with some friends. We had the ever-staple Crispy Pata (deep fried pork knuckles), White Adobo (Adobong Puti), Lechon Kawali, Mama Chit’s Special, Ibayo Firesticks, and  Pinaputok na Pla-pla wrapped in foil.

But before all that, we had the Ibayo Firesticks (or should I say “they” because I never got to try one). My comrades are very fast on the plate. 🙂 These firesticks are jalapeños & cheese rolled up as a spicy appetizer

Ibayo Crispy Pata - P425 Regular P525 Large

White Adobo / Adobong "Puti" - P190

Pinaputok na Pla-Pla - P265 per 500grams

The twist to White Adobo is the combination of chicken and pork marinated in vinegar but without the soy sauce (hence ‘white’) while Mama Chit’s Special (P695) is a mini fiesta of sorts served in a bilao. There’s shrimp, calamares, lumpia, chicken, bangus, and others – all fried. It serves 4-5 persons.

Barrio Fiesta Rice, Kare-Kare, and Buko Fresh Fruit Shake

But what I loved about dinner that night is the Barrio Fiesta Rice, a native Paella style rice. The paella rice was flavorful on its own, surrounded by tahong (mussels) and topped with shrimp and crab.

Barrio Fiesta Rice - P250

Another winner that night was their Kare-Kare, tender oxtail and tripe stewed in peanut sauce. Heat is maintained with a small fire at the pot’s bottom. Kare-kare would be one of the few dishes we can expect to be consistent through all of Barrio Fiesta branches and Ibayo as the peanut sauce they use all come from one source.

Kare-Kare - P220 Regular P350 Family

Buko Fruit Shake FTW! - P105

I can’t rave more about the Buko Fruit Shake I had. If there’s a drink you should not miss in Ibayo, it’s this one. It’s not overly sweet, but it’s creamy. The shaved-ice’s texture and consistency was also perfect It’s so good it could pass for a sherbet.

Turon Ala Mode / Majablanco - P75 / P65

We also had Turon Ala Mode and Maja Blanca for dessert. I’m not sure why it’s “majablanco” in their menu. Maybe it’s an alternative term. I’m just used with ‘maja blanca‘ since I was a child. 🙂

Ibayo by Barrio Fiesta

Dining @ Ibayo

That’s my Ibayo by Barrio Fiesta experience. Try them out at Building G, Unit 7-8 in San Miguel by the Bay, SM Bay City (bayside behind MOA). Don’t forget the Barrio Fiesta Rice, Kare-Kare and Fresh Buko Fruit Shake!  They are open 3pm-12mn on weekdays and 3pm-2am on weekends. Call 0917-5376062 or 0906-5002782 for reservations.

Have you recently “Thanked” your best friend?

Have you shown your appreciation of your epic best friend who has been there ever since, through thick and thin? With or without chocolates? 🙂 Toblerone has actually done a similar campaign last year with a Thank You Day Photo Contest.

Well, Toblerone encourages you to do so. Tobelerone prods you to thank your super best friend now.

Your favorite triangular Swiss chocolate encourages you to say “thank you” to your best friend through simple things that show your appreciation. And why don’t you let the world know about it too! 🙂

Talk about how you met your epic friend, the adventures you’ve gone through together and especially why you are thankful for your relationship with him or her!

Mechanics:

1. “Like” the Toblerone Fan Page on Facebook
2. Upload a photo of you and your epic friend
3. Tag yourselves and TobleronePilipinas
4. Post your answers in the Comments section of your photo
5. Have your epic friend to “Like” the post as well!

Winners:

Ten winners will be chosen based on the number of people who “Liked” your post as well as the feedback from the Toblerone team and a special panel of judges.

Prizes:

Winners will be treated to Toblerone gift packs and a full day of fun and exciting bonding activities, featuring body care treatments at The Spa, with their epic friends.

Isn’t that a great and unique way to start saying “thank you” to your best friend! The contest will run from July 5, 2010 to August 11, 2010. Check more about this promotion at www.toblerone.ph

Gratitude, like friendship, should not simply be a one-day deal. Let this “thank you” opportunity from Toblerone inspire you to think of many different ways to show your friend how much you appreciate all he’s or she’s done for you.

There’s a lot of good things I can say about my recent dining experience in Barrio Fiesta Greenhills.

Too much goodness that a food blog post should do it justice. And while I craft that food article, let me first share my food photo set of the dishes we had with a group of blogger friends in Barrio Fiesta Greenhills branch.

It’s a Food Foto Fiesta in Barrio Fiesta!

Sago’t Gulaman and Fresh Buko Juice

Sago't Gulaman (Tapioca & Jelly Sweet Drink) and Fresh Buko Juice

Kuhol Na Gata

Kuhol Na Gata

Kare-Kare

Kare-Kare

Sinalab (Inihaw)

Sinilab

Kilawin

Kilawin

Bouillabaisse

Bouillabaisse (mussels, clams, shrimp & crab soup)

Sizzling Gambas

Sizzling Gambas

Sinigang Bangus Belly

Sinigang Bangus Belly

Bicol Express

Bicol Express

Pinakbet

Pinakbet

Adobong Kangkong

Adobong Kangkong

Hipon Sa Aligue

Hipon sa Aligue

Steak Tanigue

Steak Tanigue

Chicharon Bulaklak

Chicharon Bulaklak

So where’s the Crispy Pata? Abangan! (soon!)

Hungry? 🙂 Visit the neewly renovated Barrio Fiesta Greenhills situated at Rochester St. corner Florida St. at the back of Play and Display in Manadaluyong EDSA. You may call the Barrio Fiesta EDSA Greenhills branch at 7267836 or email fiestainternationalcatering@yahoo.com.

There are like a gazillion of brands and variants of ready to drink bottled green tea drink these days. And most are basically the same until the new Real Leaf green tea with honey caught my attention.

Finally! Someone got one of my favorite healthy ingredient in these bottles.

I actually used to mix a spoonful of raw honey into my breakfast milk as a kid. I use it as a sugar substitute; talk about being health-conscious at such a young age! My mom used to buy boxes of honey bottles from downtown Chinatown in Binondo, Manila.

Honey can basically serve as energy booster, immunity enhancer, and  is a natural remedy healer for a number of ailments.

Real Leaf Green Iced Tea

You don’t just buy these honey bottles off the streets or grocery shelves here in the Philippines. The usual ones are either old stocks or mixed with water and sugar (volume for more profits). My folks have their way of smelling and scrutinizing the authentic and pure ones.

Back to the present, Real Leaf now mixes the natural goodness of honey with the natural green tea leaves. With a dose of theanine (amino acid naturally found in tea plants), add to that the health factors from honey. That’s like double the goodness and double the benefits.

And if that’s not enough to convince you, it further levels-up with three flavors namely Honey Apple, Honey Lemon and Honey Lychee. Choose your pick.

By the way, I’d like to extend my thanks to JP Manahan for allowing me to use his Real Leaf photos of us (above) during my blogosphere thanksgiving swimming party early this year.

The Brewing Process

Being a Cola-Cola product, Real Leaf iced tea boasts of its brewing process which is said to follow world-class standards based on years of experience and expertise of The Coca-Cola System. They are proud of maintaining freshness, quality, aroma and the rewarding benefits of natural tea. The green tea leaves they used are also sourced all the way from the Zhejiang region from the world producer of more than 70% of the total green tea output – China.

Also check Real Leaf‘s ‘real tea-real honey’ deal and online presence in their Twitter and Facebook fanpage.

I have observed that there are a lot of new dining spots and restaurants popping up in the metro. Either that or the restaurant is reinventing itelf!

Fresh Brews, New Restaurants

In recognition of this trend, I have decided to introduce a new category in NomNomClub.com – “New Brews.” It’s a special category in the sense that new restaurants featured in this food blog which have opened 6 months or less would be classified under this category. It would be under the parent category “Cravings.” 🙂

Rhyming and all, new dishes introduced by old shops would also fall under this tab.

I’m already excited to feature them as I have a number of “backblogs” which has been waiting to be published. 🙂

Watch out for the affordable comfort food of newbie griller ChicBoy, cheesy eats with awesome beats at Gino’s, the newest pasta offerings from Greenwich, the new look of Barrio Fiesta Greenhills, and another side of Barrio Fiesta for today’s generation – Ibayo!

It would be a two-full weeks of new must-try resto finds! Don’t miss a “new brew“  feature, subscribe to NomNom Club’s feed here and like our NomNomClub Facebook Fanpage.

Win Big Prizes from Red Kimono‘s “My Maki Masterpiece Challenge” as they celebrate their fifth year of serving modern Japanese cuisine.

Get a chance to win P5,000 in cash and P5,000 gift certificates by being one of the Top 5 winners. Moreover, your creative Maki recipes will be featured in Red Kimono’s Maki Masterpiece menu.

Red Kimono Modern Japanese Cuisine

No worries even if you are a kitchen newbie as the ‘maki‘ requirements are lenient. No specific rules with your recipes and way of cooking as long as it’s a ‘roll‘ and is ‘nomnom’-able. 🙂

Mechanics:

1. Submit your creative maki recipe with title and a photo.
2. Include your name, contact number and email address as well your story or inspiration behind your masterpiece.
3. Only one entry per participant.
4. Submit your entry via email mymakimasterpiece@gmail.com or in any Red Kimono branch in CD format

Deadline for Submission

• July 29, 2010 (extended from the July 25 earlier announcement)

Perks & Prizes:

• 5,000 in cash and P5,000 in Gift Certificates
• Feature in Red Kimono’s Maki Masterpiece menu
• Feature in print, TV and radio publicity

Red Kimono My Maki Masterpiece Challenge

Judging and awarding of the top 10 finalists will take place on July 31 at Red Kimono Fort branch. Five best makis will be chosen by judges including Ricky De Vera (Philippine Marketing Association Chair), Dr. Edgardo Rodriguez (Dean of Enderun College), DJ Rob Joseph (Wine Merchants and Ralph Wines & Spirits), Carlos Celdran, and Tweetie De Leon Gonzales.

For any inquiries on Red Kimono‘s “My Maki Masterpiece Challenge,” you may check www.redkimono.com.ph call 0917.822.5757 or 577.8382.

First, I’m currently not in Singapore; but I would like to consider yesterday’s lunch as a symbolic one in appreciation of this year’s Singapore Food Festival (SFF). 🙂

Singapore Tourism Board

The Singapore Tourism Board invited a group of bloggers including food blog NomNomClub.com for a feast of Singaporean signature dishes at the Heritage Hotel in Roxas Boulevard, Manila.

In order, we had Singapore Slaw, Nyonya Meatball Soup (Bawan Kepeting), Singpore Laksa and Mee Goreng,  Hainanese Chicken Rice, and Sago Gula Melaka with Vanilla Ice Cream for dessert.

Singapore Slaw

The Singapore Slaw served as the meal appetizer and was constituted by layers of green cabbage, julienned jicama, and strips of onion, carrot and cucumber, among others. The dressing gave hints of sesame oil and vinegar topped by sesame seeds.

It was crunchy and rich in texture with a sauce made just right well-fitting for a starter.

Nyonya Meatball Soup / Bawan Kepeting / Bawan Kepiting

The Nyonya Meatball Soup, also referred to as Bawan Kepeting/Kepiting, was a simple traditional meatball soup mixed with shredded bamboo shoots.

Allow me defer my spicy adventure with the Singpore Laksa and Mee Goreng in a next week’s post. 🙂

And of course, the star of Singaporean Chinese Food – the Hainanese Chicken Rice. Your trip to Singapore is never complete without having at least one serving of Hainanese Chicken Rice.

Singapore Original: Hainanese Chicken Rice

The chicken meat was tender and good as expected although I found the rice quite different from the ones I usually have in Singapore. While variants in rice preparation can include “oily rice,” or with coconut milk, or with pandan leaves,  the one we had was like the local ‘sinangag‘ (re-cooked rice). It was ok though. 🙂

It was accompanied by three side sauces of which I can’t remember the second (I’m thinking if it’s chili but it’s not!). The other two were soy sauce and pounded ginger.

Sago Gula Melaka with Vanilla Ice Cream

To cap our Singaporean lunch, we had the Sago Gula Melaka with vanilla ice cream for dessert. “Gula Melaka” means ‘palm sugar’. This dessert is basically sweetened small tapioca with ice cream on top.

And since I love almost anything with ice cream (although I hoped for an Ice Kachang), needless to say, this one’s good as well. 🙂

Singapore Food Festival 2010

So if you’re on your way to Singapore or is planning to be there anytime soon, prepare for a mouth-watering experience of culinary cultures as you get immersed in a myriad of Singapore Chinese dishes in this year’s Singapore Food Festival 2010.

Tracing its roots as far back as 1994, the Singapore Food Festiva focuses on local food culture and heritage which is a diverse mix of oriental, Indian, and Middle Eastern dishes to the gastronomic delight of participants, foreigners, and visitors alike.

The annual event is not only about ‘nomnoming‘ (eating), there are also culinary workshops, themed celebrations, and competitions.

Schedule Highlights of Singapore Food Festival for your guidance:

• July 16-24 – Clarke Quay Food Street (Clarke Quay Rear Bridge)
• July 25 – Singapore Chinese Dialect Heritage Feast (Clarke Quay Rear Bridge)
• July 16-25 – Singapore Chinese Dialect Tingkat Cruise (Merlion Park)
• July 16-25 – Singapore Chinese Dialect Street Snacks (Central River Promenade, Merlion Park, Clifford Square)
• plus Makansutra SFF Culinary Master Classes

Singapore Food Festival

Missing Something?

I know, I know, you might be wondering where Bak Kut Teh, Chili Crab, and Satay are…maybe we’ll have a Singapore Food Festival 2010 ‘closing‘ lunch a few weeks from now, who knows? (*wink). 🙂