What do you call the act of devouring food at the Ultimate Taste Test event? – ‘Ultimate Taste Testing’. 🙂

Anton Diaz of Our Awesome Planet, NomNom, & Tricie (R-L)

Ok, I made that up.

A week after the Ultimate Taste Test 6.0, people have been asking how many food stalls was I able to try. And when I answer 51, they seemed to be amazed and ask how I did it.

It’s simple actually.

If you approach it mathematically, ~50 stalls in 5 hours is equal to 10 stalls per hour or 6 minutes per food stall. Thinking about it, 6 minutes is already a good rate which includes taking photos, lining up, and asking  a little background about the food from the owners.

Here are some tips on how I was able to make it through 51 of the 55 food stalls in Ultimate Taste Test 6.0:

1) Skip Breakfast – this readies your tummy with maximize space available. 🙂

2) Come Early – I came 15 mins. ahead of time. There were only a handful of people and you’ve got the food suppliers pulling you by the arm just to try their delicacies. You’ll never feel unwanted. 🙂

Conquering 51 Food Stalls at the Ultimate Taste Test 6 (2011)

3) Relax, Don’t Panic – Eat in pace, one at a time. You’re not in a race. Get rid of the greedy mentality and trust the organizers that they prepared enough food for everyone and that you will not run out of food to taste.

4) Take a Sip after every food stall visit – this helps clear your palate for objective tasting of the next, and pushes down the previous. You can also bring a water bottle just in case the event lacks beverage suppliers.

Nomnomnom...

5) Eat in Line – when rush hour strikes, you might find yourself waiting in line specially if the stall is a blockbuster hit. This is the best time to eat your haul from the previous stall. By the time you’re finished, your’re in front of the line. Efficiency is key. 🙂

6) Bring an Eating Buddy – (preferably with the same level of appetite)  nothing beats peer support. If you see your friend eating along with you, you will be more determined. Although I came by myself, we didn’t fall short of having the other food bloggers around for company (and critique).

7) Strategize – being my third UTT, I already learned from my previous mistakes. I utilized a different strategy this time. For the first hour (11am-12nn), I just took photos. The title should actually be 51 Stalls in 4 Hours. 🙂

8 ) Alternate Main Dishes and Desserts – my first approach was from left to right, but there came a point when there was a series of dessert food stalls which overwhelmed even my sweet tooth. I decided to drop my sequence and just remember to go back to the ones I skipped.

6 Ultimate Finds from the Ultimate Taste Test 6.0

This was my alternate title for this article. But since a lot of food bloggers already came out with theirs days ago. I surmised mine was old news.

Anyhow, so here’s NomNom Club‘s Top 6 Ulitmate Finds from the Ultimate Taste Test 6.0 last week:

Symphony of Flavors

6.)  Symphony of Flavors – Best Leche Flan Cheesecake ever! The goodness of Lech Flan and Cheesecake combined.

Carmen's Best - Holly's Milk and Ice Cream

5.)  Carmen’s Best – Using 100% fresh cow’s milk, I love the Salted Caramel Ice Cream.

Chef C's Paella

4.)  Chef C’s – I can’t remember if they served other dishes but I was extremely satisfied with their Paella De Andaluz.

Dek A Thai Authentic Cuisine

3.)  Dek A Thai Authentic Cuisine – The Popia and Thai Milk Tea were indeed authentic and very good. You’d want to dine in and ask for a full serving. 🙂

Luigi's

2.)  Luigi’s -  They almost made my top spot with their awesome Phillychangas and Chicken Cordon Bleu with Aligue Mayo. Yummy!

PinakBest

1.)  Pinakbest – Aptly named, Pinakbest was my pinaka-best pick with their Bagnet and Ilocos empanada. They also got the longest line.

But…but…I have  more recommendations! Allow me to give my next 6 as well:

Spring By Ha Yuan

7.)  Spring by Ha Yuan – Their Ka-Pao variants Pulled Pork, Beef Shortrib, and Monk’s Dream were a sight. I was only allowed to try one though – Beef Shortrib – and it was good!

Theo & Philo Artisan Chocolates

8.)  Theo & Philo Chocolate – these Artisan Chocolates come in interesting packages and chocolate flavors combined with the not-your-usual chocolate partners. 🙂

5 Loaves & 2 Fish

9.)  5 Loaves and 2 Fish – not sure if I should call it nachos or tortillas, but the baked chips were crunchy and the dips were interesting and flavorful

Chori Chori Burger Joint

10.)  Chori Chori Burger Joint – they got the Chori Burger taste from Boracay. You should try the Chori Burger with Egg.

The Sweet LIfe's 'Sweet Surrender'

11.)  The Sweet Life – You should try their “Sweet Surrender” which is a frozen soft meringue with custard and French Vanilla ice cream. It is held by a graham cracker crust.

Eat My GF (Garlic Fries)

12.)  Eat My GF – Aside from the interesting name, it’s basically Garlic French Fries at it’s best.

An additional special mention would be  Chef Bruce Lim’s Chef Table’s Buco Pie Martini for its creativeness. 🙂

Chef's Table Buco Pandan Martini

For more photos of the other exhibitors, check out the photo albums in our NomNom Club Facebook fanpage.

Ultimate Taste Test 6

And those are my 13 Top Picks form the recent Ultimate Taste Test 6 and how I made it through 51 of them in 5 hours. See you next year! 🙂