Do you love ice cream? I do! Do you love macarons? I do too! How about combining the two?

Diamond Hotel

Well, there’s good news for you as Diamond Hotel introduces a new take on the Ice Cream Macaron craze by making them into mini round versions in delightful flavors of Rum Raisin and Cherry Kirsch.

An order of a Mini Ice Cream Macaron is P 40 a piece, or you can get the Ice Cream Macaron Dessert Plate for only P 390 which includes 6 pieces of Mini Ice Cream Macarons in 2 variants served in a homemade waffle cone with one scoop of Pistachio Ice Cream. Woah! 🙂

Macaron Ice Cream: Just in case the mini ones are not enough for you. 🙂

DIAMOND HOTEL PHILIPPINES
Roxas Boulevard, corner Dr. J. Quintos Street, Manila Philippines
Telephone (632) 528-3000 or (632) 305-3000
Email: bizcenter@diamondhotel.com

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So for those with a special penchant for sweets, let’s troop to Diamond Hotel Philippines‘ lobby lounge the soonest. Alternatively, the Mini Ice Cream Macarons and the Ice Cream Macaron Dessert Plate are also availbale at The Cake Club at Power Plant Mall in Rockwell, Makati City.

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.

I haven’t visited Mercato Centrale (the day market) since it started, but I was able to check out Midnight Mercato first with other blogger friends last weekend. This is defiintely for night people like me who can’t wake up early on weekend mornings. 🙂

Chilled/Hot Taho by Tahooo!

It was also the launching night of Midnight Mercato at the Bonifacio Global City last Friday so there was a simple opening ceremony, ribbon-cutting, guests, and the likes.

Briefly to the unaware, Midnight Mercato is a weekend late night food bazaar where foodies and barkadas can hanging out and enjoy great food you can’t easily find otherwise. You can feast on a wide array of food choices from gourmet selections to ‘lutong bahay‘ (home cooked) dishes; even sosyal street food and balut included. Add to that acoustic musical performances by Rock Ed – all in an air-conditioned ‘kubol.’ Yes, that is Tagalog for ‘tent’ (as fellow blogger Alex shared).

Here are some food trip photos I’m sharing from:

Buy 1 take 1 Sausages @ P150 and Chips To Go Booth (similar to Potato Loops)

Monster Burger & the Monster Burger Challenge (finish it in 4 minutes and it's FREE!)

Nutsylicious have different kinds of nuts including walnuts and pistachios!

After all the photos, it’s my tummy’s turn. So I got an authentic shawarma (P75) from a Mediterranean-looking guy whose booth I forgot, three Mochiko mochi ice cream, and  some Takoyaki balls.

Mochiko Mochi Ice Cream @ P70

Mochiko had a very long line and was out of stock before 12midnight. That speaks for itself. 🙂

I also had a set of Armenian Lavosh Chips with Pesto Mozarella Cheese dip (P145) from the stall with a witty name of ‘5 loaves and 2 Fishes.’

Armenian Lavosh Chips (right); Claypot Chicken Rice (left)

Big Bob's Quarter Pounder Burgers

I also got a bottle of Raw Honey and Organic Gourmet Rice from ‘Fresh Start‘. They’re quite pricey actually but I know mom would love the brown rice while I use the honey as sugar substitute in my morning milk (there goes the revelation). 🙂

Fresh Start Organic Gourmet Rice (Brown Rice P200) & Raw Honey (P300)

There were a number of media outfits and got to spot some celebrities including Mara’s Mom in ‘Mara Clara‘ , Ashlee Gosengfiao, Sarah Meier (I think), Mercato Centrale guy RJ Ledesma, and others. I also spotted Anton Diaz and wife Rachel at the Human Nature booth.

Rachel @ Human Nature booth (right); Mexican Kitchen (left)

Balut (Duck Embryo)

I wanted to try so much more but I can only take in so much having come from a full dinner at Rai-Rai Ken a few minutes before going to Mercato Centrale.

There were also other food finds which caught NomNom’s fancy and instantly became a favorite.

Watch out for that post coming out next week including my predictable Mochiko review. 🙂

It was a haven of grilled food, hamburgers, and suasages outside the Midnight Mercato Tent.

Moreover, I got some tips from foodie friends and is looking forward to try the following in my next visits:

Off Beat Burger‘s Krispy Kreme Burger,  Ravioli’s of Natalia,  and the Angus Beef Tapa Rice Toppings, among others.

Krispy Kreme Burger

I also got news from Antin Diaz’s blog that Bale Dutung will start tonight @ Midnight Mercato! I’ll have to wait a little longer though as I will be going to Thunderbird’s Resort in Rizal tonight and I’ll be at the Pyromusical competition in SM Mall of Asia tomorrow.

Check out more about Midnight Mercato and Mercato Centrale here.

Midnight Mercato Tent, Tables, and Interiors

Midnight Mercato happens every Fridays and Saturdays at Bonifacio Global City from 11pm to 3am the next day. They are located at the corner of 31st and 9th streets (vacant lots between Serendra and STI Fort). Mercato Centrale day market continues Saturday and Sunday 7am to 2pm.

Early last month, Magnolia Ice Cream announced a blog writing contest here to promote their Holidays Limited Edition flavors.

We express out gratitude for your positive response and to those who helped promote the contest to their friends and networks. We also had to extend the contest from Christmas to the first week of January to give chance to those on vacation or those coming home from the provinces during the holidays. Nonetheless, together with this extension is an upgrade of the prizes. The first prize was increased from P2,000 to P3,000. The second and third prizes were also upgraded.

In total, Magnolia Ice Cream is giving away P6,500 worth of gift certificates (GCs) to our Top 3 placers. And as promised, the winners will be announced today.

It was no easy task for the judges from Magnolia and NomNom Club to score the entries as most of them are outstanding and made us want to get some ice cream as well. It was good that we were in the San Miguel Corp office when we had our first meeting and deliberation of the entries. It was easy to have some servings of Magnolia ice cream around. 🙂

The scores were completed and averaged based on the contest criteria:

Creativity and Writing Style – 50%
Originality, Grammar & Adherence to Theme – 20%
Photo Quality and Relevance – 20%
Overall Impact – 10%

Some entries were very creative but suffered from grammatical errors while some were also affected with the photos they used (remember the mechanics stated early on that it should be yours and does not infringe any copyright).

Fast forward to today and without further adieu, the winners are:

First Place (90%) – “Head Over Heels with Magnolia’s Limited Edition Apple Strudel Ice Cream”
– by Mona of Eyes on Manila (http://mverdida.wordpress.com/)

"Head Over Heels with Magnolia Ice Cream..."

Second Place (85.5%) – “Enjoy While It’s Here”
– by Vivian of Trips & Falls (http://divineviva.blogspot.com/)

Enjoy While It's Here

I Love Magnolia Ice Cream

Third Place (85%) – “My Magnolia Ice Cream Experience: Enjoy while it’s here”
– by Gerald of I Love Magnolia Ice Cream (http://ilovemagnoliaicecream.wordpress.com/)

Third Place (85%) – “Magnolia Ice Cream New Limited Edition Flavors -Enjoy While It’s Here!”
– by Marie of Anything Under the Sun (http://eamangaliman.wordpress.com/)

Magnolia Ice Cream

Congratulations to the first placer! You will receive P3,000 worth of MIC gift certificates while the second placer will receive P2,000 MIC GCs.  You read it right, there are two who tied at 3rd place so each of them will receive P750 worth of MIC GCs. You will receive an email in the addresses you provided in the comment section within this week.

“But wait, there’s more!” 🙂 To the fourth to ninth placers, you automatically get exclusive invitation to an upcoming Magnolia Ice Cream product party to be held by end of February 2011. Details to be announced by mid-Feb in this blog as well.

Again, congratulations to the winners and thank you to all for participating in this Magnolia Ice Cream Holiday Limited Edition flavors blog-writing contest.

Magnolia Ice Cream recently launched its newest limited edition flavors for the holidays – Vanilla Praline, Caramel Cheesecake, and Apple Strudel.

In line with this, Magnolia Ice Cream is holding a blog writing contest where you could share your Magnolia ice cream experience with your family. The flavor in the blog story could be any one of the holiday limited edition flavors.

Complete mechanics are as follows:

1) Concept

Write a blog about an experience you and your family had with any or all of the Magnolia Ice Cream Christmas Limited Edition Flavors with the theme “Enjoy While It’s Here“.

2) Article

The entry should contain at least 200 words and a maximum of 500 words. The words ‘Magnolia Ice Cream’, ‘limited edition’, and at least one of the three variants (Vanilla Praline, Caramel Cheesecake, Apple Strudel) should be mentioned at least once anywhere in the whole article or blog. At least once, the word ‘Magnolia Ice Cream’ should be a link to http://www.magnoliaicecream.com.ph/

3) Photo

The blog should contain at least one photo containing any of the three variants/flavors relevant to the article. Make sure the photos are yours and does not infringe any copyright.

4) Share

Encourage other readers to join the blog writing contest as well and link to http://NomNomclub.com/affairs/2010/magnolia-ice-cream-blog-writing-contest. Leave your blog post URL as a comment below including your email address where you will be notified in case you will emerge as the winner.

5) Duration

The writing contest will be from December 6, 2010 to 25 January 8, 2011. Announcement of winners will be on December 31, 2010 January 16, 2011.

6) Criteria

•    Creativity and Writing Style – 50%

•    Originality, Grammar & Adherence to Theme – 20%

•    Photo Quality and Relevance – 20%

•    Overall Impact – 10%

7) Prizes

The winners’ gift certificates (GCs) shall be couriered to any valid address in the Philippines:

• First Prize – P2000 P3000 worth of Magnolia Ice Cream GCs
• Second Prize – P1500 P2000 worth of Magnolia Ice Cream GCs
• Third Prize – P1000 P1500 worth of Magnolia Ice Cream GCs

Magnolia Ice Cream Flavors

Your Filipino Christmas festivities are not complete without Magnolia Ice Cream in the table. Try one or all  of the three limited edition variants (Vanilla Praline, Caramel Cheesecake, Apple Strudel) today!

The 1st Philippine Chocolate & Ice Cream Show in the Philippines will soon open its doors to chocolate addicts & ice cream lovers like me.:)

There has been a lot of food shows and trade fairs in the past years but never before was there a food show that concentrated on these two heavenly comfort foods. As if chocolates are not enough, they paired it with a similarly delectable ice cream.

The website adds:  “Attendees to this event will look forward to the best chocolate and ice cream shopping in the Philippines.  Consumers and entrepreneurs will discover the remarkable and surprising range of chocolate and ice cream products that the Philippines and the world have to offer.  Visitors will be able to savor the widest variety of chocolate and ice cream delicacies under one roof for three straight days!“

1st Philippine Chocolate & Ice Cream Show

Exhibitors profiles include Cacao Bean Growers, Suppliers of Nuts, Preserved Fruits, Jams and Fillings, Chocolate Manufacturers-Suppliers & Distributors, Suppliers of Chocolate Processing Machineries, Equipment Manufacturer, Distributors of Kitchen Supplies & Equipment. Furthermore,  Ice Cream / Sundae Manufacturers Suppliers & Distributors, Ice Cream Machineries, Supplies & Equipment, Culinary Schools, Logistics & Distribution Companies, Authors on Books of Food, Publishers & Distributors, among others.

The event also hosts the 1st Hotel-Hostel And Restaurant Expo Philippines. Moreover, attendees will get to witness a Chocolate Spa Treatments conducted by professionals and experts in the beauty industry.

Registration Fee is P100 but you may pre-register here until June 30 (extended to July 10), 2010 and get 50% off.

Check out more details from their website here.

From the organizers of Outdoor Advertising Philippines 2009 and Bakery Fair, BMT Events Solutions, in partnership with Pastry Alliance Of The Philippines, presents the First Philippine Chocolate & Ice Cream Show happening on July 14 to 16, 2010 at the World Trade Center in Pasay City, Metro Manila, Philippines.

Mini Stop's Ube Halaya Sundae

While walking along the streets of Makati the other night, I passed-by Mini-Stop along Pasong Tamo to satisfy my usual craving for cheap soft serve ice cream.

The last one I had was when it was still the Hershey’s Chocolate sundae flavor (which is yummy by the way).

To my surprise, I saw an ube colored poster and asked details about it. It turned out that it’s a new flavor which just started last Dec 28 in all of their branches – it’s Ube Halaya Sundae!

However, it’s on a Limited offer basis and most probably would only last for a week or two. So hurry up!

It seems that Mini-Stop is just testing the market for the flavor. It may come back later on if it does well.

Ube Halaya or Halaya Ube is a rich dark lavender purple color of sweet yam-jams usually stored in bottles found in local grocery shelves. It is  made from a variety of sweet potato called purple yam (ube)

almost done 🙂

more Ube Halaya Sundae

It almost tastes like its real ice cream counterpart.

At P15 (USD 0.33), Mini-Stop‘s Ube Halaya Sundae is love. 🙂

Just have it in moderation though; powder-based soft serve ice-cream/sundae are not exactly healthy food. One Ube Halaya Sundae per day would do. 🙂 (kidding!) Nomnomnom….