Entries Tagged 'Nomnom Loves' ↓

Magnolia Flavor House on Dry-Run (Augugst 2012)

Do you still remember the Magnolia Ice Cream House along Aurora Boulevard?

If it doesn’t ring a bell to you, you might have been too young or were not even born yet in Manila during the 1990’s when the Magnolia Ice Cream parlor was an iconic landmark for families and ice cream lovers. It was the place to be when you talk about banana splits, parfaits, and special ice cream concoctions such as the peach melba sundae.

With the opening of Robinsons’ newest mall – Robinsons Magnolia – in the very same spot where the old Magnolia Ice Cream House once stood, the new Magnolia Ice Cream House was born. The mall itself was named Robninsons Magnolia because of this nostalgic history. It’s now called the Magnolia Flavor House.

New Magnolia Ice Cream House beside Starbucks

The new Magnolia Ice Cream House – the Magnolia Flavor House -  is located in the garden area right beside a Starbucks coffee shop under construction and not within the mall premises.

They were in dry-run last month when we visited the ice cream parlor but I believe the menu selection now would have increased.

Here are some photos of the new Magnolia Ice Cream House in Robinsons Magnolia at night.

Magnolia Ice Cream House

Magnolia Ice Cream House Menu (they now have more selections)

Robinsons Magnolia Garden

This is a photo of the Magnolia Flavor House from the top during the day.

Magnolia Flavor House by day

Magnolia Flavor House (New Magnolia Ice Cream House)
Robinsons Magnolia Garden
Dona Hemady corner Aurora Boulevard, New Manila, Quezon City

We were busy that night with the Samsung Concept Store launch in Robinsons Magnolia so I was not able to dine in. But I’ll make sure to drop by Magnolia Flavor House again, the new Magnolia Ice Cream House, very soon. 🙂

Batangas Vice Governor Mark Leviste

Magnolia is one of the first names in the ice cream industry in the Philippines.  And just in time for the festival month of May, Magnolia Ice Cream launched a new collection called “Best of the Philippines.”

Best of the Philippines

Everybody got to taste the Magnolia Ice Cream Best of the Philippines Flavors

In the gigantic media launch, Magnolia Ice Cream revealed the “Best of the Philippines” collection: the Macapuno Banana and Macapuno Langka representing the province of Laguna, Coffee Crumble and Tsokolate Tablea (chocolate) from the province of Batangas, Mangoes & Cream of Guimaras, and finally the Ube Keso (cheese) from the cool climate of Baguio. It reminds me of the ube jam from the sisters of Good Shepherd.

Special Guest DOT Secretary Ramon Jimenez, Jr.

Magnolis Ice Cream Team with DOT Secretary Ramon Jimenez, Jr.

Magnolia Ice Cream Best of the Philippines Grand Media Launch

Obviously, the “Best of the Philippines” ice cream collection is in line with DOT’s current tourism campaign, “It’s more fun in the Philippines.” The honorable DOT Secretray Ramon Jimenez, Jr. himself was a guest speaker in the grand launch and admired the nationalistic-themed ice cream collection. The newest flavors of Magnolia Ice Cream do not only taste good but also promotes tourism and nationalism in the country.

I believe these are the best flavors I have tasted in the Philippines, not only because of the yummy flavor, but also because the variants that promote tourist spots and festivals of the Philippines. Imagine that, nationalism that can be promoted even through our ice cream. 🙂

Like what they said in the event, “Huwag maging dayuhan sa sariling ice cream” (Don’t be a foreigner in your country’s own ice cream”). I agree, even the ingredients used in manufacturing the ice cream and its sources, are very Filipino.

Magnolia Ice Cream Best of the Philippines Collection: Macapuno Banana, Macapuno Langka, Coffee Crumble, Tsokolate Tablea, Mangoes & Cream, and Ube Keso

Nationalistic Packaging

Moreover, the reusable plastic containers are illustrated with Filipino festivals that we can be proud of and organizations of the provinces each flavor represents. A truly colorful packaging befitting the colorful flavors of Magnolia Ice Cream’s Best of the Philippines collection!

MIC General Manager Mayo Alcon said that the flavors best represent these provinces in the same way that the brand promoted the Baguio Good Shepherd with the Ube Keso variety.

* Story by Athena Tria of AthenaTria.com for the Blogger Apprentice Challenge. Photos by NomNom Club

The media launch was a success and I know the newest flavors will be a success too specially the Tsokolate Tablea from Batangas which is my favorite (although most seemed to like Baguio’s Ube Keso most)! Thank you to Magnolia Ice Cream for bringing out the “Best of the Philippines!”

Oishi has been a long established snack brand in the Philippines. It was one of the few I grew up with as a child when there were only a handful of snack brands in the market.

Oishi Kirei

Years forward, NomNom Club was invited the other day for Oishi’s new campaign/slogan – “O Wow!” It’s long withstanding snacks like the Oishi Prawn Crackers & Kirei  and the newer ones like the Gourmet Picks, Baked Porky Pops (which I just tried last week off the grocery shelf), Marty’s Cracklin’ , the ultra sweet Pillows, Bread Pan, Oishi Potato Fries, and Wafu were all presented in an “O Wow” way.

Baked Porky Pops

NomoNom Favorites

The Oishi Prawn Crackers brought back a lot of childhood memories but among the Oishi products, Smart C has been my favorite in the beverages line. It’s not too sweet like other bottled juice and tea drinks.

Oishi Prawn Crackers

Among the snacks, the Gourmet Picks is almost always a staple in our grocery cart while Oishi Wafu wafer stick is my personal sweet indulgence – highly recommended. 🙂

Also getting my thumbs up are the Oishi Potato Fries (for being baked, not fried) and Marty’s vegetarian chicharon that’s almost as good as it’s sinful pork counterpart.

Marty's Cracklin'

Finally making in the NomNom’s a-list is the Bread Pan (photo above) whenever I wanted a quick toast-bread-fix matched with some jam. 🙂

Two more of my favorites which I did not see that day was Marty’s Baconette Strips and Oishi Ridges. Something I forgot to ask the people from Oishi.

Elmo for Oishi

Elmo Magalona: New Oishi Celebrity Endorser

In the finale of the Oishi-O-Wow presentations, their newest product celebrity endorser was revealed in the personality of Elmo Magalona, the son of the late Francis Magalona – an icon in the Philippine music industry.

Still in his teen years, Elmo represents Oishi’s energetic and dynamic product line from beverages to the variety of its unique snacks.

Oishi ‘O Wow’
Website: http://oishi.com.ph/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/oishi.ph

Elmo Magalona: New Oishi Snacks Celebrity Endorser

It’s good to see a long-established brand like Oishi continually developing itself and keeping abreast with the times and its market. Oishi deserves it’s own “O, Wow!” 🙂

They suddenly came and so it was – a package of Oishi snacks and Smart C+ juice drinks that is. 🙂

It came as a surprise and seemingly sent anonymously but obviously from Oishi. 🙂 Perhaps it’s a gesture of gratitude for my write-up on Smart C+ a few months ago.

Baconette Strips from Oishi

I was also glad as the snacks include one of my favorite snacks – Baconette Strips. It’s bacon-flavored but is non-meat. It’s a fitting snack for those observing the Lenten season.

Marty’s Cracklin' Vegetarian Chicharon

Next is the Marty’s Cracklin’ Vegetarian Chicharon. It’s chicharon goodness that is healthy.

And of course, the Smart C+ juice drink which I wrote about before.

Thanks Oishi! It was a delicious surprise!

“Pwede na akong mamatay” is a local euphemism which literally  means “I can die now.” Indeed, after you have tasted Pizza Hut’s Lechon Pizza, you could say that without hesitation, especially if you know you are going to Heaven. And well, because your cholesterol shoots up double time. 🙂

Pizza consumption by itself is one  the West’s strongest influence in modern Filipino food culture. The number of competing brands alone speaks for its itself.

The varieties also testify the market’s complex taste and preference of their own pizza. You have the thick, the thin, the stuffed, the pop-ups, and the top thats.

On the other hand, the “Lechon” (roasted suckling pig) is a major food centerpiece for big gatherings, fiestas and celebrations here in the Philippines.

I never thought the day that the lechon and the pizza would meet can actually happen. But Pizza Hut did it. Pizza Hut dared and successfully combined the goodness and crispiness of lechon and the quality of their pizza.

Lechon Pizza Slice

Think of Pizza Hut layered with generous cheese with chunks of lechon meat and slices of the sought-after crispy lechon skin and you have your deadly but delicious Pizza Hut’s Lechon Pizza.

The skin is not the traditional shiny lechon skin but more of the fried and crunchy. Good thing I liked it more this way. Pizza Hut intentionally air dried the skin separately and adds it as topping on top of the pizza only as it is served. This allows the lechon skin to maintain its crispiness.

Your initial temptation is to pick the crispy lechon skin atop the pizza slice and eat it by itself. But that might  leave your pizza lacking as a whole. I prefer to hold my guns and consume it altogether and experience the crispy lechon skin as I take one bite at a time of the lechon pizza. 🙂

You could also request for the sauce to be held and not immediately spread on top of the pizza as served. Although the lechon pizza sauce is still on the sweet side, it is not as much as your retail favorite Mang Tomas lechon sauce. This can either be good or bad on a person-to-person basis. 🙂

Hold that saliva from dropping. The Pizza Hut’s Lechon Pizza comes in two sizes – medium and large.  The Lechon Pizza price starts at Php 329 for the former with 10 inches and Php 499 for the latter of 14 inches.

You can also have it as part of a special package under the Manila Signature Dishes where it is paired with  other servings and wine for the price of P799.

“Inspired by the popular local favorite, this new flavor celebrates the Filipino creativity and ingenuity.“

Manila Sugnature Dishes 2010:
Pizza Hut Bistro New Lechon Pizza Set P799 (Price still subject to service charge and local tax)

• Medium Lechon Pizza
• Seafood Supremo
• Olive Garden Salad
• 2 Glasses Casillero del Diablo Merlot

It has the rustic burnt lechon aroma you can smell from afar as it comes nearer your table. It is an ultimate dream come true for pizza and lechon lovers. Have the best of both in a single serve. You should not let this ultimate foodie comfort food pass this Christmas holiday season as it is only available until about the end of January next year.

Pizza Hut Lechon Pizza

I recommend the Pizza Hut Lechon Pizza with a thumbs up for those who love pizza and lechon. Be sure to bring family and friends to share it with as  I myself was only able to consume 3 slices. Try one before you die, it’s Pizza Hut Lechon Pizza or forever hold your peace. 🙂

365 days and 121 foodie articles after, NomNom Club turns 1 today! From its first article in Sept 9, 2009, this food blog has evolved in leaps and bounds.

NomNom Foodie Club Members

Based from the internet slang “nomnomnom” which refers to “eating,” NomNom Club has featured a number of restaurants, new dishes, recipes, food events, and other food related matters.

We have also started a NomNom Foodie Club open to all enthusiast of anything related to food. We have foodies who simply love to eat, mommy chefs, recipe-seeking housewives, food bloggers, and food industry players such as restaurant owners. Membership count is now at a little more than a hundred.

It was a fruitful year and I am thankful to all who supported NomNom Club through email subscription, joining the NomNom Foodie Club, or even simply commenting in the articles. My heart also goes out to those who nominated NomNom Club as one of the Top 10 Emerging Influential Blogs for 2010. Your votes of confidence meant a lot.

NomNom Club 1st Annoversary Celebration

Greenwich Pasta Feast

Lastly, the Foodie Club also celebrated the anniversary in advance last September 4, 2010 at Greenwich SM North Edsa with about 30 members and guests.

It was extreme fun and food fiesta supported by Greenwich and SolidHosting.ph.

Pizza, pasta, and prizes were overflowing – almost everyone won in the raffle :). SolidHosting.ph gave away 15 webhosting packages worth more than P10K.

Greenwich and SolidHosting.ph supports NomNom Club

From here on, this food blog of 200 email subscribers will slowly turn into a group blog by having memeber-guest bloggers write for us at least once a month. Moreover, we will make it more interactive by having top commenters of the month join us in monthly food activities. We alsoo hope to have other foodie activities such as contests, coffee 101 seminars, and food article writing seminars for foodie club members.

Games and Raffles Winners

Get free foodie updates in your inbox by being an email subscriber. Follow us on Twitter @NomNomFoodie, Facebook and join the NomNom Foodie Club! Cheers to another year of more NomNom Club nomnoms and fun!

Mini Stop's Ube Halaya Sundae

While walking along the streets of Makati the other night, I passed-by Mini-Stop along Pasong Tamo to satisfy my usual craving for cheap soft serve ice cream.

The last one I had was when it was still the Hershey’s Chocolate sundae flavor (which is yummy by the way).

To my surprise, I saw an ube colored poster and asked details about it. It turned out that it’s a new flavor which just started last Dec 28 in all of their branches – it’s Ube Halaya Sundae!

However, it’s on a Limited offer basis and most probably would only last for a week or two. So hurry up!

It seems that Mini-Stop is just testing the market for the flavor. It may come back later on if it does well.

Ube Halaya or Halaya Ube is a rich dark lavender purple color of sweet yam-jams usually stored in bottles found in local grocery shelves. It is  made from a variety of sweet potato called purple yam (ube)

almost done 🙂

more Ube Halaya Sundae

It almost tastes like its real ice cream counterpart.

At P15 (USD 0.33), Mini-Stop‘s Ube Halaya Sundae is love. 🙂

Just have it in moderation though; powder-based soft serve ice-cream/sundae are not exactly healthy food. One Ube Halaya Sundae per day would do. 🙂 (kidding!) Nomnomnom….

Choco Walnut Fudge

I was ecstatic a few weeks ago upon knowing that Red Ribbon will be releasing their second ‘premium’ cake – the indulgent Choco Walnut Fudge.

The first one – Coffee Walnut Bavarian – became my instant favorite when it came out early this year.

Aside from the fact that it’s from Red Ribbon, the Choco Walnut Fudge was made more special since it used Hershey’s dark chocolate.

All these premium qualities earned this new cake from Red Ribbon the title “a 5-star  Indulgent Dessert.”

Red Ribbon's Choco Walnut Fudge

Slice of Choco Walnut Fudge

A creamy layer of chocolate mousse rests on the lower brownie cake both loaded with fudge and chopped walnuts all over.

Surrounding the cake is Hershey’s  dark chocolate ganache. Even the sprinkles on top and long chocolate curls around it are all made with Hersheys.

Yumm…

Aside from Hershey’s dark chocolate, I think it’s the chocolate mousse which caught my tastebuds. I’ve always loved the chocolate mousse cake.

Choco Walnut Fudge Cake with Hershey's Dark Chocolate

Hurry! Catch your own Choco Walnut Fudge soon since its only offered this holiday season! It retails at P680 in one size. Nomnomnom…