Entries Tagged 'Chinese' ↓

All is set for the big day tomorrow as Manila’s benefit summer food fair – Best Food Forward – comes back to town from its success last year!

Sumang Malagkit with Tsokolate

Bigger and better, BEST FOOD FORWARD 2012 returns with more surprises and enjoyable activities on March 24 and 25, 2012 at the NBC Tent, Bonifacio Global City in Taguig. It promises to be an affair where everyone can savor the best food from food entrepreneurs and exhibitors all in one roof.

Best Food Forward likewise aims to encourage group of friends, families and industry people to appreciate our local delicacies, entrepreneurial talent and creativity/

Photo Teasers:

Not too long ago, NomNom Club, together with a select group of foodies, were able to try about ten of the food exhibitors in the upcoming Best Food Forward that served like sort of a teaser. 🙂

They are

• The Fruit Garden – Luxury Jam
• Casa San Luis
• Manang’s Chicken
• Pint Homemade Ice Cream
• Skew U
• Butter-Beer
• Simply Pie
• Quantum Cafe
• Carlo’s Kitchen – Crunchy Belly
• and the Chocolate food concessionaire which served different chocolate by-products including brownies, and chocolate dips for the suman. The taste  is so rich and authentic…I forgot their name! 🙂

The Fruit Garden (by Pierre Marmonier Marmonier) - I got to try their new flavors

Casa San Luis

Mannang's Chicken

Simply Pie

Quantum Cafe

Chocolate Food Concessionaire (whose name/brand I forgot) 🙂

All the above-mentioned ten concessionaires served fantastic treats but four among them deserves the ‘NomNom” seal! 🙂 You should not miss the following in tomorrow’s Best Food Forward:

• 

  Skew U

  Crunchy Belly of Carlo’s Kitchen – awesome crunchy liempo bits will make you ask for more

• Skew U – pronounced as just “Skew”, you’ll be surprised with the tender meat of their chicken and pork skewers.
• Pint Homemade Ice Cream – My readers know how much I love ice cream, ‘nough said.
• ButterBeer – Harry Potter fan or not, you’ll love this wizardy beverage. Make sure to have it really cold for best results

Crunchy Belly of Carlo's Kitchen

Butter Beer with its Child Creator

Panghimagas: Pint Homemade Ice Cream

Here are some more of the food concessionaires (including):

• Chicken Delish
• 3 Angels
• AZChia-ChiaBia
• Bacolod Chicken Inasal
• Bliss
• Bonanza Roasted Calf
• Casa San Luis
• Chewy Junior
• Choclery Artisan Chocolates
• Cinq Dessert Boutique
• Cuisiniers
• Culinary Institute of Aristocrat
• Cupcake Boutique
• DEC
• Downtown Philly
• Duckie’s Cupcakes
• Eat my GF (Garlic Fries)
• Enzo’s Shawarma
• The Fruit Garden – Luxury Jam
• Gold Leaf Tea
• Ineng’s
• Jam Foods & Co. – Angus Beef Tapa
• Justine’s Baked Goods
• Kate Baked
• Kate Bakes
• Khao Shong Coffee
• Little Louie’s Cupcakes
• Lu Chi Authentic Dimsum House
• Mama Lou’s
• Manang’s Chicken
• Megabites Chocolates
• Monster Cookies
• Our Cookie Jar
• Our Kitchen by Manila Catering
• Perfect Home Living
• Picket Fence Milk & Ice Cream Bar
• Pint Homemade Ice Cream
• Rice Pots
• SaWrap and Roll
• Smoochies Basil Seed Drink
• Skew U
• Snow Joe Cream Coolers
• The Souq Organics
• Sugar Cakes by Ana’s Kitchen
• Sweet Vanilla
• Teys’ Cakes and Pastries
• Think Wink Cookies
• Tokyo Bubble Tea
• Unit 16 Sweets
• Yemashita

Food Cencessionaires who explained their delicacies led by Ms. Gwen Carino

Best Food Forward 2 is also for the benefit of the Unang Hakbang Foundation and is supported by Gastro Chef, M Café, Chelsea Market & Restaurant, Mr. Jones, Momo, Melba’s Farm, Café Lupe, Flavors on Fire Catering, Modern Culinaire Academy, Gourmet Farms, Pinoy Organics, Baicapture, and Make Believe.  With special thanks to media partners Flavors, Yummy, Entrepreneur, Appetite, BC Media, BusinessWorld, Click the City, 88db, Openrice, MacGraphics Carranz, Media Magnet, Nuffnang, Myweb.ph, AllTravelSpots.com, IEMAS, and Crossover 105.1.

Best Food Forward 2012

NomNom Club and BFF

For more information on Best Food Forward, you may contact 0917 8871933, 2119644 or bestfoodforward2@gmail.com. Check out  www.bestfoodforward.com.ph as well. Ticket prices for entrance is at P50.

Filipino coffee company Figaro taps into satisfying its market from breakfast ’til night with it’s newest offering for dinner – Figaro Dinner Meals.

I got two try the first two variants namely the Chicken Rice Bake and Tofu Steak Rice.

Chicken Rice Bake

The Chicken Rice Bake is a cup of flavorful chicken, bell peppers, mushrooms, carrots, rice in creamy white sauce baked and topped with mozzarella cheese baste.

Paired with a cold glass of lemonade it is priced at P150.

Figaro Dinner Meal - Chicken Rice Bake

Tofu Steak Rice

Next is the Tofu Steak Rice. It’s a deep-fried Tofu glazed with a flavorful special sauce with hints of onions and topped with white sesame seeds on steamed rice garnished with parsley.

Tofu is known to be rich with health benefits such as being a good source of protein. Check out the health benefits of Tofu here. It would make a healthy vegan meal for those looking for one and is paired with a complimentary cold glass of lemonade (Price: P150).

Recommendation

Being familiar with the common Chinese dish Mapu Tofu, the Tofu Steak Rice was no stranger to my taste buds. The sauce tastes good, however, paring tofu alone with rice as “ulam“, falls short to my expectation for a filling meal. My thumbs-up goes to Chicken Rice Bake, instead.

On the other hand, I had a crazy idea/recommendation of combining the two – Chicken Rice Bake + Tofu Steak (without the extra rice). Chicken, Tofu, and baked cheese as a comfort food fills the complete meal set.

If you have a big appetite and welcomes the extra rice from the second meal, try ordering both and ‘taste‘ what I mean. 🙂 If ever Figaro would be reading about this and happen to combine the two and logically offer it at around P200, that would be great! 🙂

Figaro Milk Tea Craze

Taro Pudding Milk Tea

Figaro Milk Teas

In that visit, I was also surprised to see Figaro Milk Teas. They have cached-up with the milk tea fever. 🙂 Curiosity piqued and I tried the Raspberry Milk Tea. It turned out to be just average and  instead, I liked the Taro Pudding Chiller Frost Milk Tea my other friends ordered.

Try Figaro Healthy Dinner Meals of Chicken Rice Bake and Tofu Steak Rice. It started to be available at all Figaro stores and outlets nationwide since the start of the new year.

Together with some foodie friends and food bloggers, we were able to dine on a Chinese New Year buffet at F Restaurant in F1 hotel located at Bonifacio Global City (BGC) a few weeks ago. This is such a fitting article for this season – Chinese New Year. Kung Hei Fat Choi!

Cucumber Slices

One of my co-writers have actually featured the restaurant here in NomNom Club a few months ago so I am glad to see the place myself. 🙂 They are currently offering a Chinese New Year buffet consisting of the traditional Szechuan/Sichuan Beef, Peking Duck, and Crab and Corn Soup, among others.

Appetizers

To start with, we had a set of appetizers namely Jelly Fish, Beef Kimchi, Cucumber with Garlic and Chili Sesame, and Cold Pork Knuckle. Be sure to share these much appetizers to leave room for the main course.

Jelly Fish

Cold Pork Knuckle

They were all good but the cold pork knuckles with vinegar was new for me. I would compare it to a version of the Philippines’ local ‘kinilaw.’

Beef Kimchi

Although the jelly fish and cucumber came off too ordinary for me, the mix of garlic and chili sesame with the cucumber was a good twist.

In this appetizer set, the Beef Kimchi is the winner in the aspect of taste. Although I was surprised at first because I expected Chinese dishes while kimchi , as far as I know, is basically Korean.

Crab and Corn Soup

Fried Noodle

Soup and Noodles

To further elaborate the list and hold the mystery of the main dishes, we had a bowl each of the Crab and Corn and Seafood Spinach soups. They were both satisfactory and filling.

The Deep Fried Noodle followed right after mixed with sliced pork, bokchoi, carrots, mushroom, and the Chinese signature X.O. sauce.

F Restaurant in Best Western Premier F1 Hotel

Main Dishes

A quick run down of the main dishes include the Peking Duck, Steamed Marlin with Soya Sauce, Deep Fried Pork Ribs with Salt and Pepper, Sichuan Chicken, Sichuan Beef, Steamed Asparagus with X.O. Sauce, and Lechon Macau.

Sichuan / Szechuan Chicken

Sichuan / Szechuan Beef

Lechon Macau

While the Sichuan Chicken and Sichuan Beef needs more spices for that needed oriental taste, the Deep Fried Pork Ribs with salt and pepper and Lechon Macau made up for it.

If there is any that you shouldn’t miss, it’s the above-mentioned Deep Fried Pork Ribs with Salt and Pepper, Lechon Macau and the Peking Duck (I missed their Deep-Fried Tiger Prawn with Salt and Pepper though).

In the background of the Lechon Macau photo on the right are fellow foodies and food bloggers including Anton Diaz, Spanky Enriquez, Ivan Man-Dy, and Stonibert Lim.

It was generally a good oriental buffet at F cafe / restaurant with a wide view of Bonifacio Glocal City and ongoing area developments.

Steamed Marlin

Mango Sago for Dessert! (It was full of small tapioca pearls and mango bits)

Although the Chinese New Year was just over, don’t fret. F Restaurant’s Chinese New Year buffet menu will still be available  until January 31, 2012 for lunch and dinner buffet for the price of P998++.

Best Western Premier F1 Hotel Chinese New Year Promo

F Restaurant, F1 Hotel

For reservations, call +632.928.9888 or +632.908.7888. F Restaurant is at 5th Flr. Amenity Level., Best Western Premier F1 Hotel, 32nd Street, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig 1634, Philippines

16 student chefs, 16 delicious dishes and desserts, 5 celebrity chef judges, and 1 brand to remember that is Moulinex – that is how you would describe the afternoon of January 14 last Saturday – having been the Moulinex You Cook Video Recipe Challenge semi-finals!

Cream Pie with Malunggay

16 student chefs and HRM students from 9 reputable cooking schools cooked-out each other as they competed for the coveted nods of 5 celebrity chef judges in the recent Moulinex You Cook contest.

Held at Hotel Intercon in Makati, the 1.5 hour cooking challenge decided the top 8 finalists from among the contestants who submitted their video recipes. The Top 8  moves on to the final round on January 28, 2012 (venue TBA).

Kitchen Ingredients

Batch 1 Moulinex You Cook Challenge Participants

Batch 2 Moulinex You Cook Challenge Participatns

They were judges on the following criteria:

• Taste 30%
• Ease of Preparation 20%
• Creativity/Originality 15%
• Visual Appeal 15%
• Optimization of Moulinex Products 15%
• Personality 5%

Moulinex YouCook Judges

The celebrity chef judges were: Chef Bruce Lim, Chef Niño Laus, Nina Daza-Puyat, Rory Subida, and Laurent Casteret.

Celebrity Chefs in Action

Chef Masters

Almost all the dishes looked great, while a few was challenged by the limited time. Nonetheless the judges were encouraging enough giving a pat-in-the-back advise that they can still do better the next time.

Food Photos:

Budding Chefs

Participant Photos:

Tempting Dishes

The Top 8 Finalists

After the scores were tallied and counted with a DTI representative, the Top 8 Finalists were named. They are (in no particular order):

• Halson Lapuz (First Gourmet Academy)
• Romeo Apostol Jr.
• Juno Pocholo Sedigo (First Gourmet Academy)
• James Andrian Bacaldo (Center for Culinary Arts Manila)
• Nino Carlo Rosali (Asian Institute of Culinary Arts)
• Rosana Ramel (Maligaya Institute for Culinary Arts and Residential Services)
• Karen Grace Santiago (La Consolacion College – Manila)
• Leonelia De Castro (MOST Institute)

Moulinex Products

Moulinex is exclusively distributed by Collins International Trading Corporation. Moulinex appliances are available at all leading department stores and appliance stores nationwide. Their kitchen appliances include a Food Preparation Line such as food processors, meat mincer, chopper, electric knife, immersion blender, hand mixer, and stand mixer. They also have a Beverage, Cooking, Breakfast, and Home Care Line.

Moulinex Products

Grand Finals Prizes

Grand Prize Winner:
Contestant: P40, 000 cash, Stay and Learn Program inclusive of an overnight stay of Intercontinental Hotel, Moulinex Master Chef Tour, gift packs from sponsors and a Certificate of Recognition.
Mentor: P5, 000 cash, P5, 000 worth of Moulinex products and gift packs from sponsors.
School: P25, 000 worth of Moulinex products and an F & B/Cooking Seminar for selected students courtesy of Intercontinental Hotel.

Second Prize:
Contestant: P20, 000 cash, gift vouchers from Intercontinental Hotel, gift packs from sponsors and a Certificate of Recognition.
Mentor: P4, 000 cash, P3, 000 worth of Moulinex products and gift packs from sponsors.
School: P15, 000 worth of Moulinex products.

Consolation Prizes:
6 Consolation prizes of P5,000 cash each for the other 6 finalists and Certificate of Participation.

For more details and information, visit their website www.moulinexyoucook.com or email moulinexyoucook@gmail.com Contact Mr. Marvin Mancera, Brand Marketing Assistant-Moulinex at 681-6161 or 681-6163.

In the grand finals 8 days from now, the student chefs will go head to head in their last showdown to know whose dishes will rise above the rest. Certainly, there’s no place for mediocrity and we will anticipate on that day whose creation will emerge as the 2011 Moulinex You Cook Video Recipe Challenge Grand Winner!

A lot of people don’t realize that in the midst of the meat-eating restaurants, there are also vegetarian alternative places to go and eat. If you are a vegetarian, finding these restaurants can be difficult if you don’t know where to look.

They are around though and easy to locate. If you can look away from socializing on the internet or playing Foxy Bingo for a while, it is very easy to find vegetarian cuisine here online. If you aren’t a vegetarian, though what are the benefits of trying the food?

Sabah Vegetables (close to our 'Kangkong' but less leafy and more on trunks/stems)

Vegetarian Alternatives

The answer is simple: vegetarian food tastes better than what people expect. Whether you fancy Chinese, Italian, Indian or even Thai, there is always a tasty vegetarian option. For example, you could eat vegetable fried rice, vegetable curries, soups, potato samosas and vegetable sushi. All delicious alternatives.

Nurture Spa's Garden Salad

The choice of restaurants that serve vegetarian food in Metro Manila alone is vast. Places like Barbara’s at the Orchidarium, a Thai style restaurant that offers soups, tofu and vegetable dishes, or Green Wok Deli & Café in Quezon City which supplies all the flavor you would expect of a meat-based dish, only without the meat. Vegetarian Chinese food is also available in places like the café, Happy Veggie Health Food on Masangkay Street, Manila or Kong Tiak in Quezon City. You don’t know unless you look. 🙂

Vegetarian Menu

If you have problems with the menu in a restaurant, there are ways around the issue. Ask the chef if he can make you something vegetarian with the ingredients in the kitchen. Remember they want you to dine again so they will help if they can.

If you are dining around someone else’s house, make sure you let the host know your preference in advance. This will be less awkward if they supply a meat-only meal. Offer to buy vegetablesfor the cause or bring a dish over to share with fellow guests.

Starbucks Philippines' Roasted Vegetables on Flat Bread

Great vegetarian food is just around the corner from you, wherever you are in the country. You just need to keep an eye out.

The Food Adventure at Venice Piazza is back. It’s where you can taste the flavors of 12 restaurants for P600.

We have tried something similar to this mid of last year and another one about three months ago called Platter for 8 also in Venice Piazza where 14 participating restaurants offered big servings of dishes fit for eight people only for Php800.

This time, the Food Adventure if from 12 restaurants and only for P600! I have yet to try this one but they will start this weekend January 7 and every Saturday and Sunday following that until March 31, 2012. It is also offered only during 4pm to 9pm. Let’s see how this compares soon.

The Participating restaurants are :

• Blackwood Bistro
• The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf
• Empire Deli
• Figaro
• KBOP
• KUSE
• Little Asia
• Old Vine Grille
• Pho Hoa
• Pinchos
• Red Crab Alimango House
• Ramen Bar
• Sol Gelato
• Yo Swirls

Food Adventure at Venice Piazza

It’s nice to see Figaro joined the promo this time as they were not in the list of previous promos (or maybe it’s a new branch, I don’t know). 🙂

Check out the details of the promo mechanics at Taste of Manila blog (click on link).

12 Restaurants - Php 600

So if you’re not doing anything this weekend, you might want to drop by McKinley Hill and check out the Food Adventure at Venice Piazza. Personally, I suggest you try it starting January 8 onwards, you wouldn’t want the inconsistencies of first day blues that goes with new activities. On the other hand, I’ll be at Market Market on Saturday, hopefully I can pass by. Bring your family to enjoy!

We Filipinos are very familiar of festivals. With more than 7000 islands here in the Philippines, just imagine the number of festivals we celebrate in a year. Do we think that’s enough? Apparently, one cannot have too many festivals. On the 13th of October 2011, Appetite, together with Shangri-la Mall presented the Appetite Restaurant Festival to food writers, food photographers, food bloggers, and every kind of food enthusiasts.

Pages' Deli Meat Platter

Before going to the Appetite Restaurant Festival, I have prepared myself for a night of feasting so I did some chores which required walking from one mall to another. Finally, hungry from all that walking I headed to Shangri-la Mall for the upcoming festivities at the Appetite Restaurant Festival. Oh boy, did I have plenty to feast my eyes and mouth!

Cravings' Chicken A La Pobre

By now you might be thinking “what kind of festival is cooking at Shangri-la Mall”?

That was also my question when I arrived at Shangri-la Mall so I first stopped by at C2 Cuisine which I later learned is also one of the participating restaurants in the Appetite Restaurant Festival. The friendly C2 Cuisine staff instructed me to go to the ground floor where the Appetite Restaurant Festival will be held. I was thirty minutes early which is a good thing because I had all the pleasure of taking pictures of the different food selections at my pace.

I also had time to think about what to eat and try. There are lots (and I mean lots to choose from) and one can easily feel prey to gluttonous indulgences. After reaching the end of the station for pictures, the beginning of the festivities started.

Appetite Restaurant Festival Passport

Airplane Flight Theme

Apparently the theme is an airplane flight and that the guests are the passengers. Each passenger is given a passport which they have to show to each restaurant station for them to partake what the restaurant is offering. After the passenger receives his or her food, the passport is stamped which means that you have visited that station already. Apparently return visits were discouraged that time to accommodate other passengers.

Appetite Restaurant Festival filled the Shangri-La Mall Activity Area

By the way, the head flight crew is Sam O who donned a sexy flight attendant outfit. She introduced the representatives from Appetite Magazine and Shangri-la Mall who welcomed all the guests to try this one stop shop at the Appetite Restaurant Festival. The idea for the Appetite Restaurant Festival is to enjoy different cuisines coming from different locations: Asian, Mediterranean, American and European in just one stop which is Shangri-la Mall.

The Best from Classic Cuisine - C2

Lemongrass

What do I think of the concept? I love the idea! This is simply because it gives me choices on what to eat. I have a few favorite restaurants from the participating restaurants like Cravings and C2 Cuisine but I can’t go there every time. At the Appetite Restaurant Festivals I can still get something from the restaurants I frequent to and at the same time try also something new from other restaurants in just one stop. You have the elements of convenience and variety going on in just one location. I can imagine Sunday lunches with family or birthday celebrations being spent in the Appetite Restaurant Festivals.

Dessert Time!

It gives you that Sunday feeling of a laid-back eat-all-you can one-stop shop like the one in San Lorenzo’s place or the Sunday Market at the Lung Center (now moved somewhere!) but inside the mall. So for people who want to enjoy the comfort of an air-conditioned room with the feel of Sunday market menu, I highly recommend trying the Appetite Festival Restaurant.

Other participating restaurants include Lemongrass Asian Bistro, Cafe Provencal, Crustasia, Cyma, Pages, Pepper Lunch, Clawdaddy, Green Tomato, Secret Recipe, Pho Hoa, and Sing Hainanese Chicken House.

Appetite Magazine Dinner Event

Good food from Clawdaddy

I haven’t been back to the Appetite Restaurant Festival but I told the boys we ought to try it out after we get back from our diving trips. So far I want to know who has tried it too. Have you?

What was your experience during the Appetite Restaurant Festival? Drop me a link, a comment, or anything! I am really interested to know what you think of the Appetite Restaurant Festival.

For the whole second anniversary month of Marriott Hotel Manila this October 2011, Marriott Cafe is promoting their Lunch Buffet at 50% off until October 31!

Grilled Prawns

Feast on Marriott Café’s stuffed turkey, butter fried prawn on a bed of asparagus, blue marlin with tomato coulis, and Arabic chicken. All that even from appetizer, soup, salad, and dessert!

Together with some foodies, we got to try once more Marriott Cafe‘s international dishes last weekend.

I usually go around the buffet and pick only those that I liked. But this time around, I tried them by areas. 🙂

My first plate was Chinese-inspired with oriental dishes.

Oriental Dishes: (Japanese - left; Chinese - right)

The second plate was a Japanese special with maki, sushi, and one of my favorites – tempura, among others.

My third plate was from the Middle-East with beef skewers and grilled meat. 🙂

Middel Eastern & Western Plates (L-R)

The fourth plate has a western theme filled with steaks and some seafood.

Here are the other luscious photos I got during our lunch buffet at Marriott Cafe.

Salads

Steak

Marriott Cafe Dimsum

Chicken Dishes in various preparations

Roast Duck

Prawns prepared in a different away and served in singles

Desserts!

Marriot Cafe Desserts: Sweets, Cream Puffs, and Ice Cream!

Tiramisu Cream and Tarts!

Marriott Hotel's Marriott Cafe Buffet Lunch Promo

Visit Marriott Hotel and avail of this opportunity from October 1 to October 31, 2011 (Mondays-Saturdays) at the Marriott Cafe Lunch Buffet promo and get to enjoy a 5-star hotel dining experience with flowing ice tea at only half the price – P875 . 🙂