Entries Tagged 'The Fort' ↓

I’m not sure what is the connotation of a ‘Happy Hour‘ in other countries or culture outside of the Philippines. But I think Starbucks Philippines is taking it by the raw meaning  – giving its customers a Happy Hour!

It is an outstandingly happy hour for Starbucks customesr as Starbucks Philippines recently launched its one-week promo on its Frappuccinos which is offered at half the price (50% off!) everyday from 12 noon to 2pm from May 2 to May 8, 2011. This is to highlight their new offering of the ‘However-You-Want-It’ Frappuccino blended beverage option.

Yeah I know, I was quite late in publishing this because I’m quite busy organizing a blogger mountain climbing event. Anyhow, you still got three chances including today!

Starbucks Happy Hour

This promo is so successful that some customers abused it on the first day so they updated the promo immediately by limiting each purchase of the Frappuccinos under this promo to only two beverages for every customer.

I’ve got one secret to share…they actually officially start 10 minutes before 12nn and end 10 minutes after 2pm to avoid inconvenience with minor time difference in watch/clock synchronization with customers. ssshhhhh….  🙂 One more thing, as long as you are in the  queue by 2:10pm cut-off time, you’re still in! 😛

Once this is over, I hope Starbucks do a repeat of this Starbucks Happy Hour soon! This is really an awesome treat specially with the scorching heat of the summer season.

Is it Starbucks’ Happy Hour as you’re reading this? 🙂

Kenny Rogers Roasters invited NomNomClub over to one of their branches before the Holy Week to try out their new Hainanese Chicken offering and frozen yoghurt.

Going Hainanese

Yes, you read that right. Food chain Kenny Rogers Roasters is giving it’s customers a break from their usual offering. From rotisserie chicken, they’re now serving Hainanese Chicken! It’s stil chicken, nonetheless.

Singaporean Hainanese Chicken

For a Singaporean food lover like me, this piqued my curiosity. Kenny’s Hainanese Chicken was served with the traditional soup and a set of three sauces namely ginger, dark-sweet soy, and chili.

The sauces were good but I was surprised that the chicken itself was a combination of white and dark meat; and with bones.

In Singapore where Hainanese Chicken is at the level of a national dish, they only serve white meat; and with barely any bones.

Dark Meat & Bones

It’s good that the chicken meat was tender though. The rice was also commendable and aromatic as it should be but the soup was too salty and needs improvement.

Kenny’s management clarified that this was part of their differentiation from the usual and ‘making it their own’. A serving of the 1/4 poached chicken is priced at P185.

Frozen Yoghurt FTW!

KRR Frozen Yoghurt while working on NomNomClub.com

Staying true to Kenny Rogers Roasters mission of providing healthy food, adding frozen yoghurt to their menu is a natural choice.

Something I’ve been expecting since they have yoghurt smoothies.

I arrived hours early in their event so I stayed in the public area and ordered their new frozen yoghurt.

I didn’t know they’ll have us try this one that night as well because the invitation only showed Hainanese Chicken.

🙂

Kenny Rogers Roasters Frozen Yoghurt

Anyway, so I had one while working online. I just had the plain one to appreciate the yoghurt itself without the fancies…and I liked it!

The quality and texture of the yoghurt was at par with the expensive ones we have around. I mentioned this aspect of pricing because I think this is their strongest point compared to other frozen yogurts. Starting only at P35, you could have a small sized plain yogurt. The biggie size is P55.

Graham (left); Mixed Fruit (right)

Yoghurt Add-Ons

The add-ons come with every P10 addition to the yoghurt base. For now, they have only 4 add-ons namely: Mango, Mixed Fruits, Brownie bits, and Grahams.

Needless to say, I tried all four that night to be able to compare all of them. The fruit-based ones are expectedly refreshing.

Aside from the fact that it’s cheapest among the four, I think they had grahams for the crunchy texture it provides. However, the grahams I got might have been crushed too much that most of it is in powdered form that can make the yoghurt rough and course to the taste and in the mouth. I’d suggest that they don’t crush it that much.

From the four that I have tried, I think the best combination is the fruity Mango and the chewy Brownie bits. Their contrast in texture, softness and taste was a perfect highlight to the tangy-sweet yoghurt. It is the best yoghurt for me in the aspect of taste vis-a-vis price point.

Frozen Yoghurt - Mango + Brownie Bits

Phil Younghusband of Team Azkals & Triathele Mica Tantuico

At the latter part of the program, the gathering lighted up when they introduced Kenny Rogers Roasters’ new sporty endorsers in the persons of Philippine Football Team Azkals starplayer Phil Younghusband together with professional triathele Mica Tantuico. James Younghusband and surfer Lorraine Lapus complete the line-up but they were not able to attend that night.

Kenny Rogers Roasters Hainanese Chicken

In conclusion, the Hainanese Chicken was a so-so and needs more development. On the other hand, their price busting frozen yoghurt is highly recommended by NomNom. I am already excited for the new add-ons I heard Kenny Rogers Roasters will be coming out with soon!

Starbucks Philippines launched the new ‘However-You-Want-It Frappuccino® blended beverage‘ last Monday.

Soy Green Tea Cream Frappuccino Blended Beverage

Basically, it allows customers to create a blended beverage of their liking. You can choose to add a variety of fresh milk or soy to your Frappuccino beverage.

Moreover, you could indicate the intensity of your coffee and pick any combination of toppings and syrups in the same way a Starbucks espresso beverage can be customized.

Among the featured Frappuccino® blended beverage creations are the Extra Coffee Caramel and Soy Green Tea Cream Frappuccino® Blended Beverage

The Starbucks Extra Coffee Caramel is a coffee-intense concoction of caramel syrup combined with new Starbucks Frappuccino® roast coffee, milk, blended with ice and topped with whipped cream and a swirl of buttery caramel sauce.

On the other hand, the Soy Green Tea Cream Frappuccino® blended beverage is made with matcha powder and soy milk, blended with ice and topped with whipped cream.

Extra Coffee Caramel Frappuccino Blended Beverage

Furthermore, Starbucks Philippines elaborates on the new soy options as quoted:

“From soy combinations to those that limit the number of calories, customers can now select their favorite ingredients to find a Frappuccino® blended beverage to meet their dietary needs.  By choosing nonfat milk with sugar-free syrup, a Tall (12 fl. oz) blended beverage has only 100 calories, while doubling the Starbucks® Frappuccino® roast coffee and skipping the syrup will intensify the taste, without increasing the sugar.”

Check out http://www.frappuccino.com.ph/ and enjoy your Starbucks However-You-Want-It Frappuccino® blended beverage.

The Holy Week has traditionally started in the Philippines with Palm Sunday being yesterday. Here are Figaro‘s lenten special offerings for their customers to keep them satisfied without the guilt. 🙂

Kani Sandwich

Figaro’s Kani Sandwich is filled with yummy crab sticks and garnished with lettuce and tomatoes in potato bread. Although the bread quality could still be improved, I love the generous serving of crabsticks in between. More than that, it tastes really good and satisfying with the light mayo dressing packing ’em all together.

At P179, it is served with a salad  of lettuce and ripe tomatoes on the side (again) which is different from the one with the crab sticks to further compliment the filling.

Figaro Chili Sardine Angel Hair Pasta

Chili Sardine Angel Hair Pasta

The chili is actually light, which is good for me. Figaro’s Angel Hair Pasta is mixed with Spanish sardines sauteed in garlic, olive oil, dried chili flakes, onions and black olives. Tossed in angel hair pasta., it is further garnished with finely-chopped parsley and Parmesan cheese. All the  ingredients and its flavors make the whole serving a little complicated to the taste but they all blend well together for that sophisticated taste.

“The saltiness of the fish melts with the sour and salty taste of the black olives exploding in flavors of the spices, onions, garlic and chili flakes,” says an article I read. At P180, it is served with 2 toast bread on the side and a choice of beverage from Figaro coffee or the new Figaro’s Summer Frosts.

Figaro Kani Sandwich

However, in the end, I’m not really a fan of Sardines so  I still prefer the Kani Sandwich. 🙂 Both are shareable enough with the Kani sandwich being served as a pair of triangular slices.

Figaro is going “Light for Life” with their Lenten special snacks that is Kani Sandwich and Chili Sardine Angel Hair Pasta.

Pizza Hut just got a new major major endorser for their new Stuffed Crust Pizza in the person of the charming and world class beauty titlist Maria Venus Raj.

You should be seeing the new TV commercials today introducing Venus Raj as Pizza Hut’s newest celebrity endorser in addition to Diether Ocampo.

Last night, in an intimate dinner with bloggers, we were introduced to Pizza Hut’s new TVC which exuded class and sophistication with Venus Raj clad in the evening gown she actually wore during the Miss Universe pageant where she won 4th Runner-Up.

Venus Raj & Pizza Hut Stuffed Crust Pizza

You would see more of this TVC tonight at the Bb. Pilipinas Beauty Pageant Grand Coronation Night on ABS-CBN.

Pizza Hut’s Stuffed Crust pizza

A product of creativity preferred to be eaten backwards by some, Pizza Hut has long introduced the Stuffed Crust Pizza – cheese baked right into the crust. This time around, Pizza Hut is treating its customers with 25% more cheese as a thanksgiving of sorts.

“We noted the Filipinos love for cheese, and this is evident in every dish we do at home thus, we made our New Stuffed Crust Pizza even cheesier with 25% more major, major cheese; for Filipinos to enjoy. As we are the only Pizza Restaurant that serves Stuffed Crust, we made sure that this re-launch will hit it big to our consumers by adding more cheese as a way of thanking them in loving our Stuffed Crust Pizza through the years” says Edgar Allan L. Caper, Advertising and Promotions Manager of Pizza Hut Philippines.

Interestingly, the 25% more cheese is not stuffed to the crust, but as a layer topping.

For the budget conscious, take advantage of their P499 promo which already includes 2 family stuffed crust pizza or the P699 promo which includes more.

Major Major Stuffed Crust Feast - Valid for take out and delivery from April 8 to May 23,2011

Pizza Hut
Website www.pizzahut.com.ph
Facebook facebook.com/pizzahutphilippines
Pizza Hut Delivery 911-11-11

But wait, there’s more! How about some free Pizza Hut Stuffed Crust Pizza for you and your family from NomNom Club, Venus Raj, and Pizza Hut? Then watch out for that special announcement on April 15, 2011 here at NomNomClub.com

Max’s Restaurant invited NomNom Club for their Blogger’s Night a few days ago. Max’s introduced their new Crispy Pata Feast Meal.

What is it?

The Max’s Crispy Pata Feast is a a complete meal suitable for a group or family of four. The set consists of a serving of Max’s large-sized Crispy Pata, a serving of Sinigang na Tiyan ng Bangus, 4 servings of Rice, 4 softdrinks, and 4 Buko Pandan single-serve cups. All for P865.

Max's Crispy Pata Feast Meal

NomNom Says

Crispy Pata Bone

Just a few months after their previous promo of “Chicken All You Can P165,” here’s the next one.

Although our table group hoped that the crispy pata meat was more fork-tender, we were able to finish it up nonetheless. 🙂

Undeniably, crispy pata would always be a hit in any Filipino dining table. It was amusing as well that the served crispy pata indeed looked similar to the one in their promotional photos. 🙂

Tiyan ng Bangus

The sauce mix of Max’s was also good and very Filipino with all the common spices. It was also crunchy-crispy, standing true to it’s name.

Ironically, we enjoyed the Sinigang na Tiyan ng Bangus more.

The four chunks of Tiyan ng Bangus meat was immersed in a mildly sour sinigang soup and vegetables.

It was our champion of the night.

Sinigang na Tiyan ng Bangus

It was capped by four servings of solo Buko Pandan served by waiter Kim. Buko Pandan is one of my favorite so I asked for the cup of Buko Pandan they didn’t touch from the other table (sayang naman, di ba?). 🙂

4 Servings of Buko Pandan Solo

Max's New Delivery Uniform and Bike

Max’s also presented the new uniform set for delivery including the new bike design incorporating the electric and luminescent labels for Max’s delivery.

Savings

If you compute all the items individually off the menu, your total bill would have been P1206; which means savings of P341 if you’ll be having the Crispy Pata Feast meal instead.

Max’s Crispy Pata Feast is currently available (since January 20) until February 20, 2011 in all Philippine Max’s Restaurant branches nationwide for dine-in or take out.

There’s a new Italian spot in town and it’s at the Fort Strip in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City – Focaccia.

They’re no that new actually. Their first branch is at A.Venue in Makati and Focaccia Fort is their second and bigger branch. I got the chance to sample a number of their pasta, crazy rolls pizza called Pazzo Rollio, and of course, well, the Focaccia breads. It’s good to be paired with any of their tomato, squash, or potato soup. If you can’t decide, have a taste of all three with the Soup Trio which are small cup-size servings of the three mentioned soups.

Focaccia

Focaccia Bread with Spinach Artichoke Formaggio

We had a serving of focaccia bread with Spinach Artichoke Formaggio as appetizer. I loved the spinach artichoke cheese dip as I have always enjoyed the same in other Italian restaurants.

Shrimp Scampi

Pasta

Next came the pasta series. We started with Shrimp Scampi (ok, it’s not pasta 🙂 ). It was followed by a series of Penne ala Sicilliana, Frutti de Mare, Prosciutto Tartufo, and Cannelloni con Ragu.

Osso Bocco

Lasagna variants came in next with Lasagna con Ragu and another one which I forgot. Osso Bocco came in last.

I recommend Shrimp Scampi and Osso Bocco.

The Shrimp Scampi was good but I’d like to suggest that they can offer a spiced-up version – it would be a hit, I think. 🙂

The Osso Bocco is flavorful for those who fancy a strong-tasting pasta dish.

Focaccia Pasta: Frutti de Mare, Prosciutto Tartufo, and Cannelloni con Ragu (not in order)

Focaccia Lasagna: Lasagna con Ragu and another (forgot name) 🙂

Pizza

The finale was their Pazzo Rollo crazy roll pizzas. They are known to have first introduced this in Metro Manila, even way before Yellow Cab‘s Dear Darla pizzas. Focaccia was inspired from this practice of rolling pizzas from Pampanga.

First came the Slice of Italy Pizza followed by Scallopine ala Marsala, Sette Formaggio, and Seafoods Pizza.

Slice of Italy Pizza

Focaccia Pazzo Rollo 'Crazy Rolls'

Seafoods Pizza

With thin crispy toasted pizza and fresh veggie inserts including my well-loved arugula, the crazy rolls were good.

They could have wider slices though for a better ‘rolling‘ experience at the expense of more servings.

The first and last (Slice of Italy Pizza and Seafoods Pizza) gets my thumbs-up.

So how do you do it? Stuff, roll away, and enjoy. 🙂

Crazy Rolls: (1) Stuff, (2) Roll, (3) Enjoy. 🙂

And More

Aside from the Italian cuisines, diners would notice its good interiors. Playing with the red, black and white color templates, Focaccia has the premium atmosphere fit for its target market at The Fort Strip. The owners also acknowledge that the Fort branch is bigger and has a more ‘classy‘ feel than their A.Venue branch. It also has a function room to accommodate private lunch/dinner meetings from corporation around the business district of Taguig.

Focaccia Restaurant Interiors

Focaccia Fort Strip

Going back to food, Focaccia also serve panini variants of roastbeef, caprese, smoked salmon, and Italian sausages. In line with the Italian concept, they have wine (Veramonte, Altozano, Valformosa) and gelato as well. My eyes were on the P\pistachio flavor after dinner but my stomach says “I’m so fulll already.” 🙂

Give Focaccia “A Slice of Italy” a visit at their Fort Strip branch just below Fitness First. Their business hours are 10am to 3am (Wed, Fri, Sat) and 10am to 11pm (Mon, Tues, Thurs, Sun).

Seriously? It’s Starbucks Philippines‘ 400,000++ fans which prompted Starbucks Philippines to give the second Creme Brulee Macchiato for free to their customers.

Having reached more than 400,000 likes in their Starbucks Facebook Fanpage, Starbucks Philippines is treating all their customers to a second Crème Brulee Macchiato.This means after buying a Creme Brulee Macchiato, you get another one free, of any size, of equal or lesser value, of what you ordered, instantly.

I got this from the Starbucks Philippines Facebook page

Free Starbucks Philippines Creme Brulee Macchiato

Creme Brulee Macchiato is a warm mix of creme brulee flavored syrup, steamed milk, and Starbucks® espresso. It is then topped with foam and lined with roast dark caramel. ‘Tall‘ is priced P130, with ‘Venti‘ and ‘Grande‘ at P145 and P160, respectively.

All you need to do is say this line to the Starbucks Barista “I am a Starbucks Philippines Facebook Fan“. This treat started yesterday and will run from until tomorrow October 28, 2010.

You may have your Starbucks Creme Brulee Macchiato hot or cold (Iced Creme Brulee Macchiato) but Crème Brulee Frappuccino Blended Coffee is NOT included in the offer. Congratulations Starbucks Philippines!