Busy people like me who does their Christmas shopping in the last few days before the BIG day expectedly always have a hard time when it comes to traditional shopping. Add to that the Philippine traffic scene and parking problems!  Even some the famous e-commerce sites do have troubles delivering on time with their courier due to the Christmas rush! Continue reading →

Don’t you just love your coffee extra warm during the cold months approaching (and until) Christmas?

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Christmas in the Philippines is synonymous to a lot of parties and binge-eating for the whole season where parties can start as early as November. But it doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice your health to enjoy all those food! That’s why Healthy Options is giving you, well, healthier options with a spirit of giving! 🙂 Continue reading →

December is fast approaching and mom’s are surely already thinking of what to prepare this Christmas season and for upcoming parties and family gatherings at home. Clara Ole already knows this and came prepared for the rescue.

Clara Ole Pasta Sauces

The joy of preparing meals can easily turn into a nightmare when moms are pressed on time or when ingredients fall short from what she needs. This is the area where Clara Ole does it best – easy to prepare meals and ready-to-use products.

Wide range of Clara Ole Products

Pasta Sauces

Pasta dishes is one of the most in demand creations during the Christmas season; and you don’t have to settle with the usual spaghetti and pasta you have in every celebrations throughout the year.

With Clara Ole‘s wide range if versatile pasta sauces, you’ve got more options and something new to surprise your family with. Mommys can choose to go international with the “Italian style” or stick to a safe formula with the “Sweet Style.” For those a bit sophisticated, “Three Cheese” may do the trick while the “Filipino Style” may tickle the loyalists.

Pancake Syrups

Old stocks of Clara Ole products in our kitchen cabinet

Breakfasts and mornings could be made sweeter with Clara Ole’s Pancake Syrup, a fit partner for, well, pancakes. 😛 They can choose from Original, Maple, Cinnamon, or Truly Fruity. For those watching their blood glucose levels, Clara Ole Maple Syrup is sugar-free! While the chocolate lovers, they can have the Classic Choco and Choco-Nut Syrup.

Marinades & Dressings

Lunch meals can be made tastier with marinades. One of which is Clara Ole’s Original Barbeque Marinade which is best for grilled meat such as pork or chicken. Other variants include the honey mustard, hickory, Korean barbeque, tapa, and tocino marinades.

On a diet with salads? Make it more interesting with Clara Ole Dips n’ Dressing variants Thousand Island, Caesar, Honey Mustard, and Ranch and Asian. It goes well a dips for fish & chips, or buffalo wings as well.

Clara Ole Strawberry Jan

All the above-mentioned sauces and recipes are actually the turf of my wife. NomNom Club‘s personal favorite from Clara Ole are the jams (Blueberry Jam in particular) which we use in the morning for breakfast. Contrary to the usual Filipino customs or having rice even in the morning, we are closer to the American tradition of having breads with jams in the morning.

Know more about Clara Ole , Christmas recipes, and their line of products at  http://ClaraOle.com or follow them on Facebook at http://facebook.com/myclaraole. They are also on Instagram at @ClaraOlePH and they have a Facebook App called “Pot Sessions” A Cook without A Book.”

It’s Christmas Eve! Aside from the usual excitement for gifts that we’ll be giving and receiving, another highlight of the Filipino Christmas eve is the Christmas Noche Buena. And this year, we’ll be having a CDO Holiday Ham on our table tonight.

Christmas Ham

I always look forward to the Noche Buena because, aside from Buena Noche, it’s actually a rare opportunity to eat a full meal during midnight with the whole family.

Although, we’re not having a Lechon pizza, we do include the traditional ham in our Noche Buena set but it’s usually just the regular ham.

Last month,  I got invited by CDO on their media event of CDO Holiday Whole Meat Premium-Cut Ham. Chef Rob Pecson also joined us and demonstrated how to come up with salads and Christmas dishes using the CDO Holiday Ham.

Christmas Ham Dishes

Ham Salad and Ingredients

Check out Chef Rob Pecson‘s episode 1 video on ‘10 Ways for the Holidays with Chef Rob Pengson‘

CDO Holiday Ham

It also gave me the opportunity to know more about Christmas hams and what makes CDO hams different from the others in the market. While there are a number of meat brands we are familiar with, CDO Holiday Ham’s premium-cut ham has:

– no extenders
– high-quality smoked ham
– one whole boneless meat from the hind leg

Chef Rob Pecson and the CDO Holiday Ham

It turns out that meat from the hind leg is the best cut of pork for hams, is tastier, and meatier.

Furthermore, the net marks of CDO Holiday Ham means they are whole-meat hams because only whole meat hams can be smoked in ham nets. Otherwise, pieces would fall off.

It would also be best to consume the whole ham in a few days after the ham has been opened; even if kept in the freezer.

Learn more about Holiday Ham on their website at http://holidayham.com.ph. ‘Like’ them on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/HolidayHam.

Have a Merry Noche Buena Christmas with CDO Holiday Ham everyone! Nomnomnom….:)

It’s Christmas! And NomNom Club starts it with Starbucks Christmas Cheers Party!

Starbucks Cheers Party

The Starbucks Christmas-themed beverages and Starbucks Christmas-themed food items are back! Last November 3, 2010, the 6750 branch in Makati held the first Starbucks Cheers Party this year for their loyal customers and patrons from 6-8pm.

Starbucks Peppermint Mocha

Starbucks Christmas Beverages

We enjoyed sample servings of Toffee Nut Latte, Praline Mocha, and Peppermint Mocha.

If you miss the Christmassy feeling, try the Peppermint Mocha. The minty aftertaste, rich chocolate, smooth espresso and velvety steamed milk would reassure you of the season’s atmosphere. It is topped with whipped cream and red sugar sprinkles.

Starbucks Toffee Nut Latte

The Toffee Nut Latte on the other hand has the buttery flavor of sweet toffee combined with toasted nuts.

Also blended with smooth espresso and steamed milk, it is topped with whipped cream and toffee-flavored  sprinkles.

Praline Mocha is similarly prepared but accented by hazelnut syrup and topped with mocha sauce drizzle.

My favorites though are Toffee Nut Latte and Praline Mocha; in that order.

Starbucks Christmas Red Cups

Starbucks Coupons

Similar to last year, guests were given Cheer Party cards with coupons. It has a raffle stub, planner promo card, photo booth pic, 10%off on Starbucks merchandise / Starbucks VIA ReadyBrew, and a complimentary tall beverage.

Acapella Manila

Although I did not win in the raffle draws, I got to taste a wide array of the Starbucks Christmas-themed food items while the Acapella Manila choir serenaded us with popular Christmas songs.

Here are photos of Starbucks guests and friends in the recent Starbucks Christmas Cheers Party:

Starbucks Cheers Party

Starbucks Barkada

Starbucks Merchandise

Starbucks 6750

Starbucks Philippines Family

Starbucks Friends

Starbucks Christmas Cheers Party

More Starbucks Philippines Cheers Party might be coming your way over the next few weeks!:

• Nov 12 – Starbucks Silver City (7-9pm)
• Nov 17 – Starbucks Aguirre BF Homes (8-10pm)
• Nov 18 – Starbucks Northeast Greenhills (6-8pm)
• Nov 19 – Starbucks Katipunan (6-8pm)
• Nov 26 – Starbucks Marquinton (6-8pm)
• Nov 29 – Starbucks #10 Congressional (5-7pm)

It was indeed an awesome Starbucks Cheers Party 2010! I’m already excited for next year; hahaha! 🙂

Ok, this post is quite late, but nonetheless still made it. 🙂

Red Ribbon introduces Santa's Wish Cake

Last month, almost at the same time as the launch of the Choco Walnut Fudge, Red Ribbon Cakes by Design introduced a cake made for your Christmas festivities, the Santa’s Wish cake. It really looks appealing and in season.

Santa Wish Cake

Inspired by the beloved icons of Christmas, Santa Claus, with his cherry-red hat, twinkling eyes and fluffy white beard, Red Ribbon’s Santa’s Wish cake enhances the joy of the Christmas spirit, not withstanding the true meaning of Christmas which is Christ Jesus. :).

It’s made with moist and dense rhumbutter cake and a layer of creamy caramel filling. The outermost layer is covered with icing and decorative green and red pine tree cuts.

Santa's Wish Cake Slices with the Green & Red Pine Trees

Merry Christmas!

Embarrassingly, I tried to take a bite off the green pine tree on the first time I tried it thinking it was made of sugar. It actually is, however, it was thick and not made with the purpose of being eaten. 🙂

What’s special about this cake is that the Santa’s Wish cake will be available on a pre-order basis only at any Red Ribbon store from November 27 – December 15.

But don”t worry, Red Ribbon’s Santa’s Wish cake will be available off-the-shelf in all Red Ribbon stores from December 22 – 24 at P550 – so you still have like…uhm… 2 days. :)  Merry Chirstmas to all! NomNom will be back after Christmas! 🙂

Merry Christmas! Indeed, cold mornings and hot coffee for breakfast is in season! As a treat for the holidays, NomNom Club is giving away a Limited Edition Starbucks USB thumb drive simply by creating your Christmas Wishlist of 5, similar to Facebook’s Wishlist which is five.

Simply create your wishlist consisting of 5 items and post it in your own blogs. In not less than 100 words, give it some story or narration for that creative touch. Place a link to NomNomClub.com and you’re good!

Submit your full name and blog’s URL/link to admin<at>NomNomClub.com anytime from today upto 11:59pm of  January 4, 2010. I’ll choose the best entry based on the following criteria:

White Starbucks USB Thumb Drive

Creativity of Story & Writing Style -  60%

Overall Impact – 30%

The Uniqueness of your 5-Item Wishlist  – 10%

The contest is open to anyone residing in the Philippines with a valid local address. The Starbucks USB 512mb thumb drive will be couriered to the winner anywhere in the Philippines for free.

The winner will be contacted through the email address he/she will use in sending the link.

Starbucks Christmas Wishlist Contest

If you’re not much fond of the original Limited Edition Starbucks USB, you may want to participate in the Starbucks Planner 2010 contest; or better – join both!

So what are you waiting for? Create that short blog entry, link to NomNomClub.com, and send that email to join NomNomClub.com’s Christmas Wishlist Contest and get that Limited Edition Starbucks USB!