April 7th, 2014 — Affairs, Casual, Cravings, Cuisine, Dessert, Fusion, New Brews, Promos / Events, Restaurants, SM Aura Premier, Sweet Shops, Taguig, Western, Where To Eat
Magnum Manila
The opening of Magnum Manila at SM Aura Premier SkyPark tomorrow is all-abuzz around the metro and in the social media-sphere where those who got first dibs, including NomNom Club, have been sharing their photos online, much to the jaundiced eyes of those who haven’t.
But the day has come, tomorrow, Magnum Manila opens it’s first pop-up ‘pleasure store‘ in the Philippines, following other branches around the world including Paris, Jakarta, Shanghai, Amsterdam and New York, among others.
Magnum Manila Signature Combination
Magnum Manila Pleasure Store
Mr. Bryan Chanyungco
So before you hit the store in it’s grand opening tomorrow, here are 10 Things You Need to Know About Magnum Manila:
1. Magnum Manila is not a Café
No, it’s not  a cafe, as Magnum Manila brand manager Bryan Chanyungco has confirmed in an interview with NomNom Club.
Strictly, it’s a “Pleasure Pop-Up Store“. It means that their main purpose is to support the brand – Magnum.
It would be open for only a little more than a year and the objective of success is then attained!
Magnum Manila @ SM Aura Premier
2. Dessert Dishes were Crafted by Chef Miko Aspiras
Chef Miko Aspiras
The Magnum concoctions forming all the dessert dishes were crafted by Chef Miko Aspiras, a globally award-winning pastry chef and is currently one of the pastry chefs in a well-known Philippine premier hotel.
3. Food is by Chef Him Uy de Baron
You may consider Magnum Manila a restaurant since aside from the Magnum Ice Cream creations, there are other sumptuous dishes you could order from appetizers to soup and salad to mains.
Some names from the menu include Asian Steak Salad, Pumpkin Soup, Magnum Braised Beef Cheek, and Carbonara.
The entrees are the creations of Chef Him Uy de Baron, the executive chef of Chef Cuisine Catering and owner of Nomama.
Asian Steak Salad
Make-Your-Own-Magnum
4. The “Make-Your-Own-Magnum” only costs Php 100
Since Magnum Ice Cream‘s launch about two years ago, the brand has already made it’s mark in the Philippine ice cream industry. And with Magnum Manila, the customer’s experience will be elevated by offering them the chance to create their very own Magnum bar for only Php 100!
Most of your favorite desserts from other restaurants costs more!
5. Step 1 Make-Your-Own-Magnum: “Coat It”
The DIY process starts from the choice of ice cream. Choose between vanilla or chocolate truffle.
After selecting your Magnum ice cream base, you get to “Coat It” by choosing a chocolate coating from white, infinity dark, and classic.
Step 1: “Coat It”
6. Step 2 Make-Your-Own-Magnum: “Top It”
To ‘Top It’ is to make you Magnum Bar more exciting by experimenting on 18 different toppings to choose from. You could create more than a hundred thousand combination with all 18 of them!
The default is to add 3 toppings from the varied choices. The toppings include pistachios, almond, chocolate chip cookies, dried raspberries, gold nuggets, and even sea salt or chili flakes for that surprise kick!
Step 2: “Top it” – 18 Toppings to Choose From
7. Step 3 Make-Your-Own-Magnum: “Drizzle It”
Finally, you get to drizzle your Magnum Creation with the same chocolate choices from the coating section. Select either white, infinity dark, or classic Belgian chocolate.
Step 3: “Drizzle It”
8. Magnum Manila contemporary architecture and sleek interiors is designed by Ed Calma.
Magnum Pleasure Store @ SkyPark
Magnum Manila Interiors
9.  NomNom Club’s Top Dessert Choice is the Cookie Dough Skillet
The Magnum Manila menu is quite handy but there are a lot of options to order. So to help you make the right choices, allow us to give you NomNom Club’s top choice which we believe you’ll never regret – the Cookie Dough Skillet.
The Cookie Dough Skillet is a warm chocolate chip cookie dough topped with two vanilla Magnum bars, dark chocolate and chopped pecans.
At P250, it has earned to be one of my favorite desserts of all time. It’s also good for sharing!
Other Magnum Manila creations include the Rainbow Dream & Pink Friday.
The “Rainbow Dream”
The “Pink Friday”
10.  NomNom Club’s Main Dish Recommendations are the Seared Salmon and Mushroom Burger.
For the ‘mains‘, please do try the Seared Salmon with Basil Creme and Chorizo Confit and the Mushroom Burger.
While the Seared Salmon is good for a meal, the Mushroom Burger has that unique meaty texture perfect just before a Magnum Manila dessert creation for snacks.
Seared Salmon with Basil Creme and Chorizo Confit
Mushroom Burger
Free Magnum
But wait, there’s more!
Free 500Â Make Your Own Magnum
Magnum Manila in SM Aura opens its first day with a big crunch! A free crunch for the first 500 customers, so to speak.
They will get their own Make Your Own Magnum dessert creation for FREE!
Be one of the First 500 guests to get a taste of the Make Your Own Magnum experience. Doors officially open at 12NN on Tuesday, April 8 2014. Patrons may physically line up ahead of time (no phone reservations).
1-patron-1-MYO-Magnum-Bar Rule
Magnum Manila Signature Creations
Magnum Manila Pleasure Store
Being a pop-up store which will only be open until sometime in 2015, you should then grab the earliest chance to taste the cold and luxurious Belgian chocolate bar of Magnum made the way you want in thousands of possible combinations.
Know more about Manila’s Magnum at Magnum.com.ph, @Magnum_PH on Instagram, and MakeMyMagnum.com.
And considering that the newest Magnum Gold retails for Php60 each in convenience stores, the Magnum Manila P100 DIY Magnum plus 3 toppings in a full dine-in premium store is actually pocket-friendly.
May 21st, 2013 — Affairs, Promos / Events, SM Aura Premier, Taguig, Where To Eat
We were able to witness the soft opening of the new SM Supermarket Aura a few days ago at the lower ground floor of the similarly newly opened SM Aura Premier in Taguig, SM Supermalls‘ 47th mall.
SM Aura Premier
Inevitably, together with my wife, we satisfied our foodie curiosity with the new supermarket and went around to see what they have to offer.
Fresh Every Day!
So I wore my “cart- pusher” hat/role which I earned since I got married a few months back while wifey does the actual grocery shopping. 😛
Interestingly, the new SM Supermarket Aura is pretty big at 9,300 sqm floor space and has several interesting new sections compared to other SM groceries we frequent. We do our weekly grocery shopping at SM Supermakret North Edsa since we live near Munoz.
Fruits & Veggies
Ready-To-Eat Food Stalls
It has the usual sections on bread, health & beauty, fruits and veggies, poultry, seafood, meat, and frozen goods, among others. But they also has new and surprising ones.
Here are the new sections and discoveries we saw which made it to our ‘10 Reasons Why SM Supermakret Aura is a Grocery Haven‘ list :
Wine & Liquor Section
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Premium Wine & Liquor Section & the P 230K Wine Bottle
On the right side of the entrance are situated stand alone stores such as Watsons, and a couple of ready–to-eat food stalls but the Wine & Liquor section at the right most is obviously bigger and has a wider selection than usual.
Moreover, what caught our attention was a very premium cognac brand by the name of Camus Cuvee 5.150 which costs P 230,000 for one bottle beside other similarly premium wine bottles on display. It is the highlight of a masterpiece collection of 5 Camus Cognacs aged 22-37 years minimum by  Cyril Camus celebrating 150 years of family tradition.
Camus Cuvee Cognac 5.150 worth P230,000 !
We later came to know that this is the only SM Supermarket so far to carry this line of expensive wine and that the aforementioned Camus Cuvee is one of the only two bottles in the Philippines!
Buy 1 Take 1 Gardenia Bread at only P57!
On the other end of the supermarket is a bigger bread section as well which greets customers from the left side entrance.
Chateau de France will be your bread at first sight. A famous bread line from France, this is Chateau de France second branch in the Philippines with the first one in SM Makati which also just opened a month ago.
You would find French macarons, baguettes, croissants, and quiche, among others from their selection.
Chateau de France in the Bakery Section
Moreover, did you know that these French breads and pastries are imported directly from France ‘as is‘ and shipped utilizing cryotechnology to preserve it’s goodness?
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Fruit Carving Section
Fruit Carving Station + Soup Section
Near the bread section is a small but distinctive stall serving as a fruit carving station. It is a free service to customers who buy fruits from SM Supermarket. This is best suited for businesses in the catering or food service industry which can easily have the fruits carved here.
A little push of the cart further is a  soup stall serving fresh and hot, well, soup!.
Simple as it is, I was surprised seeing it at first but if you are looking for a quick soup-fix in an air-conditioned grocery, this might be worth a try.
Soup Stall
Aside from the usual fruits and vegetable varieties you would see in an ordinary supermarket, SM Aura Supermarket has a substantial section devoted to fresh organic fruits and vegetables such as lettuce, carrots, tomatoes, papayas, and chico. Packed and canned items for customers on the go are also available.
Organic Vegetables and Root crops
SM Supermarket Aura
Herbs & Spices
Of special interest is the shelf with mushroom varieties I found in the organic section.
I got to chat with Ms. Cherry Lo of Crystal Jade Dining-In at the nearby Bonifacio High Street restaurant a week ago when we tried their dishes. One of which is the “Sauteed Prawn & Scallop with Chicken and Assorted Mushroom Served in Pumpkin“. She mentioned how she gets these very good mushrooms fresh from the generous variety available at the nearby mall Market! Market!.
Mushroom Variety Shelf in SM Supermarket Aura
I guess I could now recommend SM Aura Supermarket mushrooms for her to try one of these days.
At the center of SM Supermarket Aura are 12 shelves of inviting imported products. Most of the items are from the countries of France, Germany, Japan, US, and Korea.
Asian Imported Goods
Western Goods
Although we focused on buying fresh goods and products for our upcoming house blessing that time, I guess we’ll check out more of the international goods / imported goods in our next visit.
10 Reasons….Part 2 Teaser: Bahay Kubo: Bataw (96/kg) & Patani (392/kg)
NomNom Wifey at the SM Prestige Cashier Counter
This is only the first half of our ‘10 reasons why SM Aura Supermarket is a grocery haven’.
Stay tuned for the second and final installment of our SM Supermarket Aura grocery experience in the next few days!