Search Results for 'singapore' ↓

A yummy cool surprise greeted me last week when I flew back from Singapore – I found a set of Selecta Hershey’s Ice Cream Collection for sampling and review in our freezer. The flavors included Hershey’s Milk Chocolate, Milk Chocolate with Almonds, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, and Hershey’s Kisses. Awesome!

Hershey's Chocolate Shop in Universal Studios Singapore

It quickly gave me flashbacks of the Hershey’s chocolate store I just visited at the Universal Studios in Singapore right beside Resorts World Sentosa. It was a chocoholic’s dream come true going into a shop full of Hershey’s chocolates in all forms and variants.

(Flashback ends) Ok, back to the ‘now.’ All my friends know I’m an ice cream lover, in what ever brand or form it may come. Although of course, I do prefer some flavors over another.

Needless to say, I had to try all four flavors in four different sittings. And after trying out the Selecta Hershey’s Ice Cream flavors one by one, I tried them again all at the same time just to be sure in the ‘taste analysis’ I conducted myself. 🙂

Hershey's Milk Chocolate Ice Cream

And the verdicts are…..

Milk Chocolate

It’s Hershey’s classic milk chocolate transformed into ice cream. This is for the Hershey’s Milk Chocolate loyalists who wants it as it is and in no other way.

Hershey's Milk Chocolate with Almonds Ice Cream

Milk Chocolate with Almonds

This is my better version of the Milk Chocolate variant because of the chewy chocolate chips, thicker chocolate ripples, and nutty texture care of the almonds.

However, I do believe there’s still some room for more chocolate chips and roasted almonds. 😛

Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups Ice Cream

Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups

This is the odd one among the four. But that’s just me. I’m not a fan of Reese’s chocolates which explains everything.

But if you love Reese’s Chocolates or the peanut butter flavor, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t like this one as chunks of Reese’s peanut butter cups are spread all over.

Hershey's Kisses Ice Cream

Hershey’s Kisses

This one’s a twin swirl of milk chocolate and white chocolate ice cream sprinkled with cookie crumbles, chocolate ripples, and of course, bits of Hershey’s Kisses. I love how the whites gave my palette some rest from the slew of chocolate ice creams. 🙂

It was a hard choice for me in deciding between this and the Milk Chocolate with Almonds. In the end, I had to choose one.

There you go! Ice cream manufacturers understandably continue to try creating interesting ice cream flavors to satisfy the modern market’s ever demanding taste. But combining Unilever’s ice cream with one of the most loved chocolate brand on the world, how can it go wrong, right? 🙂

And the winner is…

All four variants has the same Hershey’s chocolate base that is undeniably creamy. But I like the mixture and added texture provided by the chocolate chips, almonds, and chocolate swirls of the Milk Chocolate with Almonds. It’s my winner with the Hershey’s Kisses coming in close second.

Hershey's Kisses Ice Cream (right) is my 2nd best choice

Pulling from their tagline “sarap ng weekend ‘pag may pure Hershey’s happiness,” I say weekend or no weekend, it’s an ice cream holiday for me, anytime, everytime.

Selecta Hershey’s Ice Cream Collection

The new Selecta Hershey’s Ice Cream Collection comes in 800mL (P135) and 1.5L (P240) packs and are now available in supermarkets, groceries or convenience stores nationwide. The Milk Chocolate variant is a priced a little lower at P125 and P225 for the 800mL and 1.5L, respectively.

In a recent trip to Singapore, we checked out the Lantern atop Fullerton Bay Hotel. The stylish rooftop bar definitely provided an awesome panoramic view of Singapore’s Marina Bay including the majestic structure of the new Marina Bay Sands.

Lantern Bar

Located alongside Marine Bay and having opened only last year, “Lantern derives its name from Clifford Pier’s historical Chinese name – ‘Red Lantern Pier‘…a landing point for Singapore’s first immigrants and red lanterns used to hang from the pier as a guide to seafarers,” its website indicate.

Merlion Cocktail

Lantern houses signature vintage and modern cocktails including concoctions of mojito, vodka, tequila, , and of course – wines. Most are inspired from the Caribbean Islands and Latin America.

Being a light drinker, I just had a glass of the ‘Merlion.’ At S$24, it is one of their signature cocktails and not a surprising choice from a tourist like me. 🙂 The Merlion is a Don Julio tequila with young ginger, honey water, lime and soda. It came out good with the other ingredients making the tequila seem light, which I think fits my drinking level, in that sense. 🙂

Fullerton Bay Hotel's Lantern

Lantern with the panoramic view of Marina Bay Sands

Other options include the Imperial Berry Mojito (S$28), Caipirinha (Cachaca, Lime, Refined Sugar – S$19), and Air Mail (S$22) which is basically a mixture of Pampero dark rum, lime, honey, and champagne.

Lantern's Live Band / DJ

They also offer a short list of tapas and grills for a light dinner or something to nibble on. The live band and acoustic beats further adds to the bar’s chic ambiance.

Lantern Rooftop Bar
Fullerton Bay Hotel
Singapore
12 pm – 2 am
Phone: (65) 6597 5299
Website: www.fullertonbayhotel.com

Lantern's Swimming Pool glass cross-section visible from the bar

As if that’s not enough, a picturesque infinity pool at the center, with a visible cross section, further accentuates Lantern‘s sophistication.

The Ayala Triangle Gardens was then just a garden behind the business-heavy Makati Stock Exchange within the Makati Central Business District. But in the recent months, Ayala Land developed it further and now morphed into a leisure park complemented with a line of restaurants and dining places to enjoy – chat with a friend, nourish oneself after a healthy jog, or simply binge to your heart’s content. 🙂

Ayala Triangle Gardens

And indeed, I got the chance to somewhat ‘binge‘ a few weeks ago with friends. This was actually my second time at the Ayala Triangle Gardens. My first was a dinner of authentic Hainanese Chicken Rice at the famous Wee Nam Kee from Singapore. And after that night, I swore to be back and try the other restaurants.

And so it was. This time, I made sure I came earlier, which was in the afternoon.

Banapple

Similar to a famous food blog, dessert comes first. We took it the other way around and first indulged in Banapple. Aside from the usual Banapple Pie, we also had their in-season cake – Banana Starry-berry Custard Cheesecake.

Banapple

BonChon Original Chicken

Next stop was Bon Chon. We got a small order each of the Korean chicken wings in soy garlic (non-spicy) and of course, the ‘Hot & Spicy one. They took care of the latter while I feasted on the former.

BonChon Chicken

A small order of 6pcs. cost P185 while a medium order (12pcs) is P365. They also have drumsticks, chicken combo and chicken chops. In any variant, you’ll love the different crunch of the interestingly-breaded chicken skin.

Pho 24

It’s Vietnamese food, and I am most delighted with the traditional Vietnamese Pho Noodle Soup served to us. Complete with condiments served on the side, it included beansprout (taw-ge) and lemon slices, among others. The soup was both filling and internally refreshing as common in most oriental soup.

PHO 24

If you want to make it more exciting to taste, you can also add some Sriracha Hot Chili sauce by the table side.

* Expect a dedicated blog post on what else we had on each of my Banapple, BonChon, and Pho24 experiences. 🙂

Almost all the restaurants offered an open al fresco dining experience facing the greens of Ayala Triangle Gardens.

MOMO Cafe & CBTL Soon!

Chef Laudico's BFast

Other restaurants include Amici, Cara Mia, Omakase, and Chef Laudico’s Bfast for an all-day breakfast menu. There were some shops which are stilll under construction though. But it won’t be long before we can try Momo Café, my darling Kanin Club, C.B.D., and Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf (CBTL).

Golden Spoon

Next on my restaurant list when I come back at the Ayala Triangle Gardens is Golden Spoon for their frozen yogurt delights. I’ll be bringing a ‘golden fork‘ to complete the pair. 🙂

Ok, actually, it was an afternoon snack with some friends. But I really do hope it was breakfast then at Kopi Roti because French toasts are so my morning favorite. 🙂

Kopi Bun with Kaya Spread Filling

At the Greenbelt 3 branch, we tried their Hainanese style ‘Kopi‘ (coffee) with sweet milk at P50 and signature Kopi Bun (P40) which is a soft bread with coffee flavored crust and sweet buttery filling.

Kaya Toast

We also had 2 “Roti” French toast (P55), “Roti” Kaya toast (P45), some Kaya puffs, soft boiled eggs (P30), and a Milo Dinosaur beverage. The first two were served with the ‘secret‘ Kaya spread and butter while the third is filled with the former.

For that day however, my kaya toast was so ordinary, and I don’t know why; so I’m raving only about the roti French toasts and my Milo Dinosaur.

As long as it’s slightly toasted and fresh hot, my French toasts never fail me. It’s one of those soft-and-chewy inside but slightly-toasty on the outside comfort food. Just remember to consume them immediately upon serving so it’s still fresh hot.

Kopi Roti French Toast with Kaya spread and butter

Milo Dinosaur

The Milo Dinosaur is a cold concoction with the Milo branded chocolate malt powdered drink. If you love Milo from your childhood years, you’ll be getting flashbacks with its large serving. 🙂

Soft Boiled Eggs

From the menu board, I recommend Set A which is composed of 2 “Roti” French toast (for your egg and carbohydrates), soft boiled eggs (for your protein needs), and Kopi for your caffeine kick (almost perfect if it could be changed to a Milo Dinosaur). It’s a complete breakfast at P125 which saves you P10 from ordering them separately.

Kaya Puffs with Special Kaya Spread Filling

Non-incidentally, today is also Kopi Roti’s 5th year anniversary in the Philippines! Being a Singaporean franchise, the raw ingredients supplying their 18 branches here are sourced directly from Singapore.

In light of this, avail of their special treat from Aug 4-8, 2010 : Kopi Roti offers you the “5 + 1 anniversary promo“. …Buy 5 Kopi Roti products, Get 1, free.*

Congratulations Kopi Roti! More Kopi Buns and French toasts for breakfast! Woot! 🙂

It’s that season of the year again when the blogging community goes on the sprawl searching for their Top 10 Emerging Influential Blogs for the year.

There are a lot of great and influential blogs out there. But the trick in this search is the term ‘emerging.’ It pertains to the NEW blogs, those which started about a year ago – March 2009 to be precise. And that’s where discernment is needed – because of a blog’s young age, it’s really hard to judge if the blog would eventually kick-off or die down into oblivion in a year or two.

I have been participating in this annual activity for three years now. And I have noticed something unique this year – a rise in the number of new food blogs. I think it is safe to say that this is partly the result of the increase in food blogger events as well, prevalent in at least three major areas in the Philippines namely Cebu, Davao, and Metro Manila.

Nomnom Club

NomNom Club itself is an out-sprout form LetsGoSago.net, a former travel-and-food-blog now turned travel blog. It was September 09, 2009 (09/09/09) when I decided to start this food blog to avoid diluting LetsGoSago.net which was slowly being dominated by non-travel related food posts. The rest is history.

More than the increase in new food blogs, the latest top rank list (week 9) were dominated by at least 5 food blogs sharing 2nd, 4th, 6th, and 7th spots. Compared to last year’s winners, there were only 2 food blogs.

In this light (and being a food blogger myself), my first five Emerging Influential Blogs for 2010 are:

NomNomClub.com – This food blog. If I don’t vote for my blog, how can I encourage others to do so? 🙂 Hence, I hope you will (*ahem*vote*ahem).

Foodie Manila

By the way, I’m trying to develop it to become community-based by year 2 so feel free to Join NomNom Foodie Club and expect exciting foodie activities soon! We’re turning one next month! 🙂

FoodieManila.com – If you’re not much of the reader-type, this food blog is for you. Just look at the awesome photos, dream about it but hold that saliva drip, asleep or awake.

Kusina Maria

KusinaMaria.com – Maria is her first name and cooking is her surname. Find personal recipes from her blog

Thirsty Blogger

ThirstyBlogger.com – And you think having a food blog is already a focused niche in itself, this guy goes a step further by focusing on drinks and juices, or any beverage for that matter.

TeaCompletely.com -  Tea blogging. And you thought a beverage blog was already extreme? This blog tandem of Aileen and Drew is about their tea adventures in Manila, Davao, or as far as Singapore!

Tea Completely

I guess 50% of my nomination slots going to food blogs is enough. I’ll look into other emerging and influential blogs and update this post within the month.

Aug 31 Update:

ll===============================================ll

And the other 5 non-food blogs completing my list are:

Facebuko – this is one of the best and wittiest humor blogs we have today. Maintained by a fellow UP alumni, I’m not surprised (lol).

Ganda Ever So Much – I am not usually fond of personal blogs as monitoring the personal lives of individuals is not my cup of tea (unless they’re extra special). But this one got a magic touch to it care of Orman. 🙂

When In Manila – From zero to hero, Vince managed to prove that there is still room for more creative blogs in the Philippine blogosphere.

Fat Girl No More – this blog is unique and inspiring as it journals the quest of a fat girl who wants to loose the extra pounds. I admire her dedication despite the odds and her courage in sharing her journey with us.

Tara Na – I have personally met all my nominees above except Erica. Nonetheless, her zest in the write-ups and articles shows her zest for the craft. I believe she is one emerging and influential blog to look forward to in the months to come.

Sadly, we can only include 10. If for any reason, you don’t prefer my complete list, you may consider the following similarly deserving blogs in your list:

• http://www.project52weeks.com
• http://www.reluctantstylista.com
• http://www.survivingautism.net
• http://www.paolodome.co.cc
• http://www.rabsing.com
• http://www.christianhomeschooler.info
• http://www.avatar.ph
• http://www.thecreativedork.com
• http://www.no-benta.blogspot.com
• http://www.bonggaba.com

ll===============================================ll

If  NomNom Club passes your standard to be one of your Emerging Influential Blogs for 2010, please do so in any of your blogs and it will be very much appreciated. 🙂

This writing project will not be possible without the support of sponsors such as Events and Corporate Video, Budget hotel in Makati, Pinoy Party Food, Copyediting Services, PR Agency Philippines, Budget Travel Philippines, Send Gifts to the Philippines, Black Friday Deals, Roomrent – units for rent, Search Profile Index, Corporate Events Organizer.

Imagine how it would be like to have Iron Chef, American Idol, and Survivor rolled into one cooking competition? That is how this year’s SM Super Chefs will be.

SM Hypermarket recently launched its latest edition of the Super Chef series by turning it into a reality show where participants can create their own versions of Adobo, Kaldereta or Menudo to be submitted with a proof of purchase in appointed Hypermarket branches.

SM Super Chefs 2010

Are you a housewife, a culinary school owner, a carinderia cook, or a food blogger like me? It doesn’t matter because Super Chefs is open to anyone who can cook, be they students or professional chefs.

The competition is divided into three stages: the audition, elimination, and grand finals.
The Super Chefs grand finals will be aired on the Asian Food Channel and hosted by Chef Tristan Encarnacion.

To get qualified for the audition round, interested participants just need to present a P1,000 single or accumulated purchase from any SM Hypermarket inclusive of the sponsors’ product together with your cooked dish on the submission day. Throughout the competition, their creations will be judged by celebrities Winnie Cordero and the country’s top chefs like Reggie Aspiras, among others.

The SM Hypermarket Super Chefs Grand Winner will take home a kitchen showcase worth P100,000 and go on a 4-day all-expense-paid trip to Singapore for a culinary training. Runner-ups will also win a P50,000, P25,000, P15,000 or P10,000 SM gift certificates.

The contest runs from May to July 2010. For details, visit any SM Hypermarket branch, log on to www.smhypermarket.com, or like Super Chefs on Facebook.

Super Chef Complete Contest Mechanics:

1.Contest is open to all cooking enthusiasts.
2.To join, just present a P1,000 single or accumulated purchase from SM Hypermarket, inclusive of at least one product from the following sponsors:
3.The contest is composed of 3 stages: audition, elimination and finals.
4.Criteria for judging:

• 50% Taste
• 25% Originality
• 15% Plating/Presentation
• 10% Affordability

Audition Stage

•Create your own version of Adobo, Kaldereta or Menudo and submit the finished product with proof of purchase at the appointed Hypermarket branch (see schedule below. You may submit as many dishes and join in any branch.

Submissions will be accepted from 2 pm to 4 pm.
DISH TO SUBMIT: ADOBO
June 15 – Centris Station, Valenzuela
June 18 -  Marilao Molino, Sucat, MOA

DISH TO SUBMIT : KALDERETA
June 16 – Bicutan, Pasig, Clark
June 19 – Novaliches, Mandaluyong
June 30 – Makati, North Harbour

DISH TO SUBMIT : MENUDO
June 17 РNorth EDSA, Las Pi̱as, Taytay
June 23 – Muntinlupa, Rosales, Baliwag
June 25 – Fairview

•Three (3) winners from each branch will be chosen (or a total of 60 winners) who will qualify to the next round.

SM SuperChefs Cooking Competition

ELIMINATION ROUND

•The 60 winners will be clustered into 3 branch locations and will be competing in a live cook-off at SM Hypermarket
•Contestants will be given 45 minutes and a P250 budget to shop for ingredients and prepare a dish using a secret ingredient which will be revealed on contest day.
•Four (4) winners from each cluster (or a total of 12 contestants) qualify for the Finals.

FINALS

•In the grand finals, contestants will be grouped into teams of 3.  They will go through four (4) rounds,  each preparing “themed” dishes (themes will be revealed on contest date) good for 6 persons.
•Contestants will be eliminated as each round progresses until only two (2) are left.  They will then face off for the grand prize.
•The Finals will be aired over the Asian Food Channel (AFC) and will be hosted by Chef Tristan Encarnacion.
• Super Chefs 2010 winner will receive aP100,000 kitchen showcase and a 4-day, all-expense-paid trip to Singapore for Unilever Cuisine Training.

Join SM Super Chefs 2010!

You could say that the Hainanese Chicken Rice in Singapore is a national obsession. 🙂

If you are going to ask friends what food or dishes to try in Singapore, I believe 9 out of 10 would say that you should not miss Singapore’s Hainanese Chicken Rice – well, I did when I first went there in 2008.

Hainanese Chicken Rice

But this wasn’t the case anymore when I went back last year. Together with Filipino food blogger friends, it was an adventure with every meal. Let me share to you the other dishes on another entry, for now, let’s focus on the Hainanese Chicken Rice adventure.

White Singapore Chicken

As I’ve mentioned earlier, Hainanaese Chicken Rice is almost everywhere in Singapore so you wouldn’t miss it in any hawker centers around the country. Hawker centers are food centers comparable to our “food courts” found inside malls minus the airconditioning system. Establishments are separated into stalls and usually employs the self-service system.

Queue to Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice

The uninitiated might ask if we could simply order Hainanese Chicken Rice from any of these hawker centers and that’s it?

Well, you may. But wouldn’t you want to taste the best one in town? And this is where Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice stall comes into the picture.

Fellow food blogger-friend Fran Haw recommended this one so on our second day in Singapore, we went to the Maxwell Food Center in Chinatown located at the corner of Maxwell Road and South Bridge Road (near Sago Lane).

There were about 100 food stalls but we specifically searched for Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice. And to my amazement, there was a queue of about 10 people in front of us. This might not sound surprising, only that the other food stalls doesn’t have a queue like ours.

Tian Tian Hainanese Chi cken Rice

It was already past 12 noon and my growling stomach was very much tempted to order hastily from the other stalls. But I placed my faith in Fran that the experience of ordering my Hainanese Chicken Rice specifically from Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice would be outstanding.

Hainanese Chicken Rice Menu Price

My turn to order came. I observed that the price of their Chicken Rice at 2.80 Singapore dollar was actually a little higher than the estimated average of its peer stalls at only about 2.50 singapore dollars. I don’t really mind the .30 difference and continued to order. I can’t remember though if I ordered the small one or the big one at $3.30 .

Anthony Bourdain himself said: "Chicken Rice is so fragrant & delicious that it can be eaten on its own"

Anyhow, as expected, the steamed chicken meat was tender, fresh, smooth and smelled good. Without the sauce, others might find it lacking since it’s the kecap manis which heightens the flavor. But for me, I can appreciate the freshness of the taste and soft texture of the meat even without the sauce. I had some from time to time.

By the way, don’t expect any charming service from the stall servers. They’re just up-and-straight – “What’s your order?” (in singlish if they immediately notice that you’re a foreigner). They reply to you with the price and prepare your order. They receive your money, gives you the change, you wait in front, and they hand you your order.  Seeing that I only ordered one dish, the guy took my tray back and had me carry my plate by hand.

I’m not really sure why he did that; but I didn’t want to get into any argument and just accepted my tray-less fate. 🙂

Singapore's Hainanese Chicken Rice

And that is my Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice story.