Entries Tagged 'Pasay' ↓

Watami Salad

Watami is now in the Philippines and I missed their opening day blow out at SM Mall of Asia (MOA)  last November 16, 2012 where customers enjoyed half-off their total bill (50% off)! So I did not let this chance pass when blogger-friend Spanky invited us over for lunch.

New Watami Teas

Watami is a famous Japanese casual restaurant in Japan with 700 branches in their country alone. They are also in Hongkong, China, Taiwan, Singapore, and Malaysia, among others.

It was a good and filling Japanese lunch and here are the 4 Top Watami dishes NomNom Club highly recommends among those we have tried:

1. Beef and Kimchi Rice in Stone Pot  
   

   Beef and Kimchi Rice in Stone Pot (P245)

2. Sapporo Seafood Ramen Salad (Top Photo – P375)
3. Salmon & Vegetable in Rice Paper 
   

   Salmon & Vegetable in Rice Paper (P185)

4. Beef Rice Bowl with Hot Spring Egg in Tokyo Style 
   

   Beef Rice Bowl with Hot Spring Egg in Tokyo Style (P195)

All four were great-tasting and not too heavy on the budget. I must admit there are some items on the Watami menu which is priced above-average for a ‘casual’ restaurant. On the other hand, the premium pricing is reflected in the quality of service the customer can get. The taste is also authentic Japanese.

We also had the Self-Grilled Short Ribs (P295) and Assorted Sashimi (5 kinds). For beverage, I tried Kiwi Tea with Agar.

Self-Grilled Short Ribs (P295)

Assorted Sashimi (5 kinds) P425

Kiwi Tea with Agar (P145)

I also look forward to ordering the Clams cooked in stone pot with Japanese style sauce (P285) and the Watami Salad is my next visit.

Aside from SM Mall of Asia, Watami is also opening soon at the new Glorietta – also known as the new Glorietta Vibe.

XinWang Hong Kong Cafe

XinWang Hong Kong Cafe in SM Mall of Asia is turning a year old in the Philippines next month. I’ve always seen and passed by this restaurant beside IMAX but it was only last week when I first dined-in.

It was upon the prodding of Marj and her friend from XinWang that I was finally able to try the place. We’ve seen this as well in Singapore last July.

It was a late lunch for us on a week day so we almost had the whole XinWang restaurant to ourselves. The interior was cozy and well-lighted, it was easy to the eyes.

New Menu (same as in SIngapore)

It also came to our knowledge that the restaurant refreshed its menu last October while retaining most of its best sellers. This development was in-sync with it’s international franchise from Singapore. Yes, I thought about that too – a Hong Kong cafe from Singapore which we are trying in the Philippines. To make it more trivially interesting, there’s not one branch in Hong Kong, but they have several in Singapore. 🙂

Iced HongKong Milk Tea (P75)

Back to the menu. For the unfamiliar with Hong Kong cuisine, one would find the new menu a bit overwhelming as it was a combination of Chinese specialties, pasta, western food including burgers, a number of sweet desserts, and a gamut of beverages including milk teas, as expected.

But giving it a second thought, this is how Hong Kong food is – a mixed bowl of different culture dominated by Chinese tastebuds with a huge influence from the West. XinWang Hong Kong Cafe‘s new menu certainly reflects that.

So instead of getting overwhelmed, just enjoy the variety and take it one step at a time. You don’t have to try everything in one sitting.

Mango & Prawns Roll (P100)

And this is what we did. We tried a bit from the different pages of the menu.

Chicken Chop Cream Sauce Spaghetti (P245)

For the appetizers, we dared the oriental combination of prawn and mango in a soft roll. At P100, we got three – not bad considering the prawn content. The taste was ok but it could be enhanced. It has great potential, nonetheless.

This was followed by the Chicken Chop Cream Sauce Spaghetti. Basically, your good Carbonara pasta with a quarter of a chicken on the side. The cream sauce spaghetti was good but the chicken tastes better, I would order it again because of the chicken. At P245, you’re getting a fair deal.

With an effort to go healthy, we ordered the stir fried minced Kai-Lan with Silver Fish. At P220, it was a good try as the dish was not a common fare in regular restaurants and it tasted fine as well.

Stir Fried Minced Kai-Lan with Silver Fish (P220)

XinWang Stir Fried Noodle (P235)

Recommended Dishes

The stars of the day came in at the latter part. The XinWang Stir Fried Noodle is recommended at P235 for its ‘sahog‘ which consisted of seafood and veggies.

HK Braised Beef Brisket with Bamboo Rice (P215)

The HK Braised Beef Brisket with Bamboo Rice comes highly recommended. This was the best fare for the day for it’s authentic-tasting beef brisket. At P215, it was a good deal.

The desserts were also not a disappointment. I think we were lucky enough to get the good ones in such a series. 🙂

The Mango Pudding with ice cream on top is a treat for the sweet lovers. Highly similar to ice kachang, the price of P85 is at par and competitive with Lugang‘s. I’d suggest though that you order this for a group of 3 or 4.

Mango Pudding with ice cream (P85)

The French toast should be relabeled as ‘Big French Toast‘. The huge serving was like a three/four slices loaf packed into one. Covered with beaten egg yolk and fried, the butter melt atop was a sinful delight; best shared in a group.

French Toast (P95)

Coconut Cream with Sago  (P145)

Finally, you should not miss the Coconut Cream with Sago. The price tag of P145 might seem a bit steep but the tastes makes up for it. It is also good for two servings.

It’s a hot serving of rich and thick coconut cream with small tapiocas to merit. It may be too sweet for some but this is just how coconut creams are. Best paired with your favorite buchi covered with toasted sesame seeds. 🙂

It was a good and filling lunch at XinWang Hong Kong Cafe. Check it out beside SM Mall of Asia IMAX. You’ll surely not miss its banner lights and brightly-lit advertisements.

XinWang Hong Kong Restaurant

Jamba Juice Philippines opens yet another store / branch, this time up north of Metro Manila, or more specifically SM City North – The Block.

Jamba Juice Merchandise

This is an expected strategic move by the fairly new Jamba Juice brand in the Philippines having opened earlier in the south with Jamba Juice Alabang and Jamba Juice SM Mall of Asia.

People from Caloocan and Quezon City can now enjoy California’s famed lifestyle brand and try their Banana berry smoothie and Fruit & Yogurt Parfait, among other juice and menu items.

Jamba Juice Menu

Jamba Juice Smoothie Preparation

Jamba Juice SM City North

Jamba Juice SM North The Block is the brand’s fourth store in Southeast Asia.

In their launch early this month, they brought in challenging and energetic activities like Zumba, wall climbing, biking, trampoline jumping, and the famous Bike Blender.

Ms. Sharon T. Fuentebella, Managing Director of Jamba Juice Phillippines

The Bike Blender is the tool that highlights Jamba Juice Philippines’ Give Me Five campaign. The project was first introduced in conjunction with the opening of their pioneering flagship store in Bonifacio High Street Central and was made possible through a partnership with the Bureau of Plant Industry­­­-Guimaras National Mango Researcher and Development Center (BPI-GNMRDC).

“Aside from further bolstering the thrust of Jamba Juice as a brand that complements dynamic living, we wanted our customers to experience the thing that Jamba Juice passionately upholds,” says Sharon T. Fuentebella, Managing Director of Jamba Juice Phillippines.

Jamba Juice The Block Branch

We recently tried a regular smoothie from Jamba Juice SM City North The Block branch. It’s good that they have maintained the Jamba Juice price amidst aggressive marketing. We hope they would come up with new flavors soon.

I think this is the first time I’m blogging about Starbucks while in a Starbucks coffee shop, and finishing the whole article, that is. As of this writing, the rain is  heavily pouring on a Tuesday afternoon just outside Starbucks 6750. It’s also the first day of Starbucks’ new beverage called Starbucks Refreshers offered in Cool Lime and Very Berry Hibiscus.

I’ve tried it last week actually and I thought I’d know just what to order now – but I was wrong. I like them both and I don’t know which to choose so my girlfriend and I choose to order both of them, one for each of us. 🙂

Very Berry Hibiscus Starbucks Refreshers Beverage

The new innovative drink is a combionation of green coffee extract with either lime (for Cool Lime) or blackberries (for Very Berry Hibiscus).

Very Berry Hibiscus Starbucks Refreshers Beverage

The Very Berry Hibiscus Starbucks Refreshersâ„¢ beverage is made from real fruit juice, green coffee extract and whole blackberries.

Cool Lime Starbucks Refreshers Beverage

Cool Lime Starbucks Refreshers Beverage

The Cool Lime Starbucks Refreshers beverage contains real fruit juice as well, green coffee extract and a slice of lime.

Both are hand-shaken with ice for a moderate-calorie, thirst-quenching drink and priced as follows: Tall – ₱115, Grande- ₱125, Venti – ₱135.

What is Green Coffee Extract?

It is interesting to note that the Green coffee extract is an entirely new way to experience coffee – one that doesn’t taste like coffee but has about a quarter of caffeine from the regular roasted coffee.

First, the green coffee bean is picked from the coffee cherry from the coffee tree. Now, instead of roasting it after harvest which usually brings about the bold distinctive taste of coffee, the caffeine naturally found in coffee is extracted from the unroasted arabica coffee beans. This is then used as the liquid base for the Starbucks Refresher Beverages plus a right amount of water and ice for the refreshing taste.

Starbucks Refreshment Tumbler Offer / Promo

Refreshment Tumbler Offer

From July 31 to September 10, 2012, get a complimentary Tall Starbucks Refreshers Beverage for every purchase of 16 oz. Customizable Cold Cup Tumblers (with flat lid and dome lid) .

Starbucks Refreshers

It’s actually a ‘summery‘ drink for me. Ironically, it’s the rainy season here in the Philippines. 🙂 Anyhow, you’ve got to try the new Starbucks Refresher Beverages. I find the Cool Lime more refreshing being in the citrus-y side. The Very Berry Hibiscus has the same effect but has the sweeter aftertaste primarily due to the blackberries.

Are you one of those who collects a lot of discount cards from different shops and brands? From the SM Advantage card to Jollibee’s Happy Plus Card, to Mercury’s Suki Card, down to the 0.1111% discount coupon of your favorite sari-sari store? Well, I’ve got good news for you to add to your collection of discount cards – the Greenwich Ultimate Greencard!

Greenwich Ultimate Greencard

Benefits of Greenwich Ultimate Greencard

Further supporting its tagline of being “better than any other,” Greenwich recently launched its new Ultimate Greencard and they were kind enough to share one with us. I will surely try it soon!

How to Get Your Greenwich Ultimate Greencard:

You can avail one Greenwich Ultimate Greencard in any of the three ways:

• Greenwich Delivery – calling 5-55-55 Greenwich delivery
• Over the Counter – starting August 2012
• Order Online – through www.greenwichdelivery.com

In all three, simply add P199 for the Ultimate Green Card.

To check out the latest deals you may visit http://greenwichdelivery.com/greencard.

Benefits of the Greenwich Ultimate Greencard:

• Buy 1 Take 1 Pizza** (delivery only)
• 10% Discount (dine-in and take-out)
• Save as much as P1000 (delivery only)

** When you order a 12″ Barkada size or 15″ Party size pizza with 1L Coke

The Greenwich Ultimate Greencard also comes with FREE discount coupons!

This is the greencard you have always wanted to have; just don’t mistake it for  your US Green Card. Get your own Greenwich Ultimate Greencard soon!

It was a rainy day in Manila last weekend when my girlfriend and I purposely went to Max’s Greenbelt 3 upon Max’s invitation for the online media launch of their Php 95 Max’s Merienda Mix. It was a challenge but we knew it would be worthwhile and fun-filled. We were not mistaken.

Max’s Restaurant Team with WIlma Doesnt

Celebrity and program host Wilma Doesnt was already pumping-up the food blogger crowd when we arrived and the event just started. If you still remember, Lynn Ching alsoo guested for the Max’s Mother’s Day promo last May.

Blogger event niceties aside, Max’s Restaurant presented the main star of the rainy day – Max’s Merienda Mix at only Php 95 in three simple steps: Choose, Add, and Complete.

Choose

Start creating your set by selecting from any of the following Max’s Corner Bakery products: Cheese Roll, Ensaimada, or 1/4 Cake slice which can come in any of the following flavors: ube, mocha, mango, chocolate, and jelly.

Add

For the next step, choose a Filipino-inspired main Max’s Classic Merienda dish which would complement well with your Max’s Corner Bakery product. Go Filipino with a small serving of the traditional Max’s Pancit Canton or the rich taste of Pancit Luglog plain. But since it was a stormy day, I choose the third option – the petite champorado (chocolate porridge) with milk

Complete

Finally, add the beverage of your choice from regular Pepsi in glass , brewed coffee, or the Filipino-sweet-fancy drink Sago’t Gulaman. I had to pass-up all three however and opted for a glass of hot water because I was feeling a bit under the weather. :p

Max’s Classic Merienda’s Pancit Canton with 1/4 Sliced Ube Cake

Fly to the US Promo

Max’s also announced their generous promo where they are giving away 5 pairs of US airfare tickets to 5 lucky raffle winners to all customers availing of the P95 Max’s Merienda Mix promotion.

Surprisingly, it includes accommodations for two and pocket money to go along with it; plus a surprise concert! What more can you ask for?

Lastly, if you’ll add up the bakery product, a main dish, and a beverage, it can sum up to as much as P194 which means the P95 Max’s Merienda Meal Mix promo can save you up as much as P99.

Max’s Pancit Luglog with Cheese Roll

Our Max’s Corner Bakery Reached Singapore

Max’s Corner Bakery Goodies

Immediately the next day, my girlfriend and I were on board a plane bound for Singapore and decided to give Max’s Bakery Corner goodies as pasalubong (traveler’s gift) to the honorable Philippine Ambassador to Singapore Minda Calaguian-Cruz whom we will visit at the Philippine Embassy in Singapore. We have been thinking about something Filipino to give her this past few days and something from a known reputable Filipino brand such as Max’s was a good choice.

By the time you are reading this, the Max’s Corner Bakery goods might have well been consumed. So anyway, back in the Philippines, try the new Max’s Merienda Mix every 2pm-4pm until September 16, 2012. :p

J.CO Philippines Twitter

If you frequent Greenbelt in Makati, specially the one near the the Cinemas in Greenbelt 3, then you surely have seen the markers “J.CO Greenbelt Opening Soon!” It came true yesterday as J.Co Donuts and Coffee Philippines–Greenbelt  opened with more than 500 free donuts for its customers ‘shared the JCO way.’

J.Co Greenbelt Grand Opening

The grand opening started with a blessing of the branch followed by the traditional throwing of coins. Four members of the improv group ‘SPIT‘ (Silly People’s Improv Theater) were also there to jumpstart the crowd. Celebrities Karylle and Anton Del Rosario of the Azkals were some of the celebrities who dropped by to get some J.Co dounts and coffee.

Celebrities Karylle and Anton Del Rosario of Azkals Dropped by J.CO

Did you know that Karylle’s favorite is the J.Co Green Tease?

Karyll’s Favorite J.Co Donut is the Green Tease

Located just beside Figaro Greenbelt, enroute the entrance of Greenbelt 3 Cinemas, the 3rd branch of J.Co Donuts and Coffee in the Philippines is now giving you another foodie option to take with in the cinemas or simply something to munch on while hanging-out with your friends in the posh gimmick spot.

J.CO Orange Yogurt Frappe

They are specifically located at

J.Co Donuts and Coffee
3/F Greenbelt 3, Makati City

J.Coffee

When you do visit, NomNom recommends his favorite J.Coffee Cappuccino Avocado at Php 120/135 (12oz/16oz). I tried their new citrus-y Orange Yogurt Frappe and Mix Berries Frappe (Php 130/150 [12oz/16oz]) yesterday and it was a refreshing treat. I recommend you get the Mix Berries Frappe.

J.CO Mix Berries Frappe (foreground) Orange Yogurt (background), Tiramisu (donut)

J.Cool

You may also try their J.Cool fat-free frozen yogurt. I got the ‘single’ serve (Php 95) but the best worth-for-money to order is either the ‘couple‘ (Php 140) or the ‘sharing‘ (Php 190) which comes with 3 and 4 toppings, respectively.  I’m not much into the J.Cool Twist, however.

J.Cool Yogurt

J.Co Donuts Recommendations

For the filling doughnuts, get J.Co Philippines‘ signature J.Club Cheezy Rich at Php 45/piece. Pair it up with coffee of the day for Php 110, a cappuccion for Php 135, or an iced chocolate for Php 140.

And of course my favorites almond-topped ‘Alcapone‘ and Avocado Dicaprio (pair this with my favorite J.Coffee Favorite Cappuccino Avocado) should be in your list too.

J.CO Alcapone (left); Tiramisu Donut (right)

J.Co Greenbelt 3

But since yesterday, I got 2 new variants which I just added in my list of favorites- the Tiramisu and Choconuttzy. The latter is ultra yummy!

J.CO Choconuttzy

More J.CO Donuts

J.CO is a popular lifestyle café chain in Indonesia and some parts of Southeast Asia. It first opened in Jakarta, Indonesia in 2005 with the thrust to fuse the popular donuts of the West with … touches of the East. Other countries in the Asian region soon got into the J.CO craze, including Malaysia, Singapore and, more recently, Shanghai in China.

JCO Donuts & SPIT

J.CO Greenbelt 3 Grand Opening

J.CO Donuts & Coffee

For J.Co Donuts Philippines, they also have branches in SM Megamall and SM Mall of Asia. See you more often at J.Co Donuts Greenbelt! 🙂

We’ve just recently concluded the Starbucks Tumblers and Gift Certificate Giveaway whose winners will be announced this week. And now, we have a new giveaway starting today – July 1, 2012 – the Jamba Juice Vouchers Giveaway!

Jamba Juice has recently opened in SM Mall of Asia and have introduced 4 new Guimaras Mango – inspired juices. They are the ‘Mango-a-go-go‘, ‘Mega Mango‘, ‘Peach Perfection’, and ‘Five Fruit Frenzy’. NomNom’s favorite is the ‘Mega Mango‘!

Contest Mechanics

Now, Jamba Juice and NomNom Club are giving away 3 pairs of Jamba Juice Vouchers so you and a friend can try the new Jamba Juice Guimaras Mango inspired beverages!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Jamba Juice Beverage

Just join the rafflecopter-run contest tool above from July 1 to 15. Winners will be announced on the 3rd week of July. The Jamba Juice gift certificates will be delivered for FREE within Metro Manila.

If you are looking for more contests, there’s another Starbucks Gift Certificate Giveaway here.

Enjoy NomNom’s Jamba Juice contest!