Starbucks Philippines officially launches the new Starbucks Card in the Philippines today. It’s no ordinary card similar to what you have now in your purse or wallet. It’s a stored-value card, a gift card, a rewards card, and a loyalty card without expiration rolled into one.

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It’s a journey from East to West as Starbucks Philippines introduces a cool twist to their Green Tea and Dark Mocha Frappuccino – they infused it with White Chocolate Pudding!

Starbucks Green Tea White Chocolate Pudding Frappuccino

Green Tea & Dark Mocha White Chocolate Pudding Starbucks Frappuccino

Starting today, all Starbucks Philippines store will be offering their newest pair of blended beverage called Green Tea White Chocolate Pudding Starbucks Frappuccino and the Dark Mocha White Chocolate Pudding Starbucks Frappuccino.

Green Tea White Chocolate Pudding Starbucks Frappuccino

I love the added soft and chewy texture of the white chocolaty pudding to the Green Tea Frappuccino which lends it an extra decadent taste to the oriental take of the Green Tea Frap.

Topped with whipped cream, a Tall serving is at P 180 while the Grande is at ₱190. Venti comes at P200. I say get the Venti with a small addition to maximize the enjoyment,

Dark Mocha White Chocolate Pudding Starbucks Frappuccino

At first thought, the White Chocolate Pudding Dark Mocha Frap would sound like an overdose of chocolate. Given the dark mocha frap, adding more chocolate, albeit white, seem to be overdoing it.

Starbucks Dark Mocha White Chocolate Pudding Frappuccino

But hold that judgement and test it to the taste. I was not disappointed as the beverage came out to be a good combination as well. If you think about it, the white chocolate pudding is soft and does not provide an overwhelming white chocolate taste hence complementing the dark mocha in a good way.

Chocolate lovers would find the combination of the dark chocolate and smooth white chocolate pudding to satisfy their chocolate cravings. It is also combined with Starbucks roast coffee, dark cocoa, chocolate chips, and milk blended with ice and topped with whipped cream and chocolate powder.

P10 more than the Green Tea counterpart, the Dark Mocha variant costs : Tall – P190, Grande- ₱200, Venti – ₱210)

Newest Starbucks Frappuccinos with White Chocolate Pudding

Verdict:

As much as the Dark Mocha is good, I’m settling for my good ‘ol refreshing Green Tea frap enhanced by the goodness of my white chocolate pudding.

Try it now as it is only available from today until September 9, 2013.

Buy One, Get One

Check out Starbucks Philipines’ Facebook App: SNAP OF THE WEEK from today until August 8, 2013 (my birthday) where fans will be asked to upload photos based on a weekly theme via the Facebook application.

Chosen photos will be winners of various Starbucks items and merchandise.

Starbucks Philipines is also now on Instagram! Check them out at @OfficialStarbucksPH. I’m at @JonelUy. 🙂

But wait, there’s more! 🙂

Starbucks Dark Mocha and Green Tea White Chocolate Pudding Frappuccino Blended Beverages is offered today on Buy One, Get One promo only from 2pm to 5pm in any Starbucks store in the philippines!

New Starbucks Frappuccino: Dark Mocha White Chocolate Pudding and Green Tea White Chocolate Pudding

So which one is your favorite Starbucks Frappuccino – the Green Tea White Chocolate Pudding or the Dark Mocha White Chocolate Pudding?

After almost a year now when it last came out, Starbucks’ Red Bean Green Tea Frappuccino is back together with another Starbucks returning favorite – the well-loved Mocha Cookie Crumble Frap.

Starbucks Red Bean Green Tea Frappuccino

For the unfortunately unfamiliar, the Mocha Cookie Crumble Frap combines the goodness of Starbucks’ signature roast coffee and the classic Mocha Frappuccino® Blended Coffee. Add to that the lovely chocolate cookie bits.

Starbucks Mocha Cookie Crumble

It is made with rich mocha sauce, vanilla syrup, milk and ice, topped with chocolate whipped cream, chocolate drizzle and a dash of cookie crumble. Price starts at P170 for the tall size, P180 for grande, and P190 for venti.

Now, for my second all-time favorite (after Hojicha Tea Jelly) Red Bean Green Tea Frap blended beverage – it is your traditional finely-milled green tea called matcha combined with whole kernels of red azuki beans.

The invigorating combination of green tea with the sweet- savory azuki beans give this beverage a rich distinct flavor that will be loved by everyone from children to adults.

Starbucks Broccoli And Mushroom Quiche

It is slightly cheaper that the Mocha Cookie Crumble at  P160 for Tall, P170 for Grande, and P180 for Venti.

Starbucks Food Items

Starbucks also came up with new food items including the Blueberry- Licious Cheesecake, German Pretzel, Grandma’s Classic Meatloaf On Brioche Bread, and Broccoli And Mushroom Quiche.

However, so far, we were only able to try the Broccoli And Mushroom Quiche(P95). Flavorful and packed with eggs, the unsweetened pastry combination of mushrooms and broccoli did not disappoint.

Starbucks Red Bean Green Tea Frap

The quiche goes well with both Starbucks returning favorite beverages mentioned above which are completely customizable as well. Make sure to try them soon as these beverage offering will last until July 14, 2013 only.

Starbucks Asian Dolce Latte in clear glass (not served in clearglass in actual Starbucks branch; for visual purposes only)

06 March 2012, Philippines - ‘What is Asian coffee?‘, you may ask. That actually kept me thinking. If Europe has their espresso and the Americas got the cafe Americano, Asia seems to drink from the sweeter side of the cup, albeit retaining the strong coffee flavor.

With that in mind, Starbucks highlights the unique flavor of Asia this new month of March with the introduction of the locally inspired Asian Dolce Latte since yesterday.  Add to that a revelation of the new food items, and finger sandwiches:

Asian Dolce Latte

Asian Dolce Latte (T/G/V- ₱115,₱130, ₱140 )

Starbucks puts an Asian twist to their line with the smooth textured latte with sweet dolce sauce combined with freshly steamed milk, topped with velvety foam.

Don’t forget a double-shot of the premium, dark-roasted Starbucks® Espresso Roast.

The uniquely flavored dolce sauce is a blend of different milk that gives the coffee a smooth and rich velvety texture.

Iced Asian Dolce Latte

Iced Asian Dolce Latte (T/G/V- ₱125,₱140, ₱150 )

The Asian Dolce Latte also has a cold counterpart known as Iced Asian Dolce Latte.

It is made with fresh milk, ice layered with roasty shots of espresso and topped with espresso whipped cream plus a dash of espresso dusting.

– – –

New Starbucks Food Items

Dark Chocolate Turtle Cake (slice-₱120, whole-₱1350)

This is a moist and dense chocolate buttermilk sponge cake layered with caramel pecan fudge on a chocolate cookie pecan crust, covered with dark chocolate icing. Highly recommended by NomNom for its chocolate factor!

Dark Chocolate Turtle Cake

Chocolate Hazelnut Éclair (₱85)

It’s a delicious and decadent pastry filled with creamy and velvety chocolate hazelnut cream custard. Make sure to pair it with a hot  tea or coffee!

Chocolate Hazelnut Éclair

Crab Stick Salad On French Butter Croissant (₱120) [Top Photo]

Flaky and crisp, this croissant is filled with a creamy crab stick salad, chopped crunchy celery and hard-boiled egg with hints of wasabi. Filling and good!

Kung Pao Chicken Wrap (₱155)

Chicken breast cubes, fresh asparagus strips, carrots, tomatoes, ginger, onions and garlic sautéed in a sweet soy sauce then sprinkled with roasted chopped peanut go hand-in-hand as a package wrapped in pita bread. East meets west.

Kung Pao Chicken Wrap

– – –

New Finger Sandwiches

Forest Ham And Monterey Jack Cheese On Brioche Loaf Bread (₱110)

Simplicity is the keyword. This sandwich holds a Forest ham and Monterey Jack cheese on a soft sweet bread loaf.  A great light snack for those who want a quick bite.

Forest Ham And Monterey Jack Cheese On Brioche Loaf Bread

Salmon And Capers On Parmesan Bread (₱110)

Salmon spread meets tart chopped capers with lemon juice, cucumber and parmesan cheese. This sandwich is loaded with heart-healthy omega 3 fatty-acid.

Salmon And Capers On Parmesan Bread

Cheesy Egg And Bacon Salad On Simple Bread (₱110)

There’s always room for the classics! The egg salad is made cheesier with a twist of bacon in bits sandwiched in between a simple soft pair of bread.

Cheesy Egg And Bacon Salad On Simple Bread

Make sure to drop by at a Starbucks Philippines branch soon as the new Asian Dolce Latte will only be around until May 14, 2013!

Starbucks Planner 2013 Philippines

It’s that time of the year again when Starbucks Philippines releases their annual Starbucks Planners. Now on it’s 10th year, the Starbucks Planner 2013 set comes in 3 symbolically fiber leather cover colors representing their brand – black, white, and green. If you’d notice, it’s the 3 colors of their continually evolving logo.

This year’s theme of the limited edition Starbucks Philippines 2013 Planner is “Moments of Connection.” They chose to highlight this throughout the planner to emphasize shared moments over coffee as a form of genuine connection to uplift someone’s day.

Inside Pages: First Calendar Month – January

Here, I have also compiled 13 reasons why you should get the Starbucks 2013 Planner:

1. White & Green Covers

Apple aficionados and La Sallites would rave about this, no doubt. The white one will surely complement my white iPad and imaginary white iPhone. The Starbucks La Salle branch along Taft Avenue would surely always run out of the green one.

Although I found the blackl one generic, it’s for the ‘classic‘ lovers who want to keep it low, plain, and simple. The white and green ones just stand out, they are for the creative-types who doesn’t mind the extra attention…like me. LOL

Starbucks Planner 2013: Green, White, Black

2. Textured Pattern Cover

Front-facing, the jagged-polygons / star-like pattern on the cover start from the left fading to right which lends a textured feel while not leaving the impression of being overly designed nor too plain, externally. Two thumbs up for this.

Textured Planner Cover

3. Environment-Friendly & Inside Cover Flow Design

The external pattern was intrinsically reiterated on the first page upon opening. It reminds us of the environment-conscious efforts of Starbucks traditional in their planners every year. The same goes for this year’s planners which are 70% made of recycled materials.

4. Reusable Notebook Cover (Refills maybe?)

Awesome is awesome. I never thought SBX would make a planner with a reusable cover like this. I only see plastic reusable notebook covers in standard bookstores. But Starbucks was able to consider about making this awesomely designed covers (refer to reasons #1 & #2) actually reusable.

Reusable Planner Cover: Notice the attachments of the paper notebook and the cover in the photo.

I’m just not sure if this is a preemptive move in preparation for Starbucks Planners 2014. Maybe the future ones would even be more environment-friendly as refills? I don’t know, this is just a hunch. 😛

5. Charity: SparkHope

Customary as well with the journal is a charity beneficiary for the project. Every redeemed Starbucks Planner 2013 comes a donation for the children of SparkHope – an early childhood care and development program. It’s Christmas season after all and it would be great to be of help with every sip of your favorite coffee.

Charity beneficiary: SparkHope

6. Weekly and Monthly Calendars

Of course, since it’s a planner, there are calendars (lol). Weekly and monthly calendars are there for you to actually fill and somehow organize your life schedule beyond just lugging around these awesome planners.

7. “Moments of Connection”

In line with their “Moments of Connection” theme, inspiring ‘connection‘ notes are placed in random dates to remind the planner aficionado to give a friend a pat at the back or to say ‘hi’ to a relative.

“Moments of Connection”

8. Post It notes, double adhesives & Postcards

To further enhance reason #7, built-in post-it notes and postcards are inserted in different months to share special thoughts and moments with someone you care for. It’s similar to your Facebook like and share button, only offline. 😛

Make an effort to make that someone feel extra special by giving him or her something non-digital (this reminder goes for me as well). 🙂

Post-Its & Postcards

9. Magnet Lock

I hate buttons for binders, they usually don’t last long and easily gives up to wear-and-tear even before the whole year is over. Solution – magnets! It makes that interesting tapping sound as well. Tap!

(See top photo)

10. Magnetic Bookmark

Remember the previous Starbucks Planner bookmarks with strings to divide the page? This year, they’re out. Magnet bookmarks are in. It’s a back-to-back hot beverage single-attached magnetic bookmark. However, since it’s basically two magnets, they tend to be too tight sometimes.

Magnetic Bookmark

If magnetic bookmarks are not your thing, you can cut it and viola, you have two Starbucks ref magnets! 🙂

11. Coupons

They’re calling them “kindness cards” this year. Call it whatever you want – freebies, discounts cards, promos, coupons!

Starbucks Planner 2013 Coupons

12. More Coupons

As they say, you can never have enough. So, you have a second page of more “kindness cards!”

More Freebie Coupons

13. Flip Book Style
Again, awesome is awesome, the inside pages have a Starbucks cup on the lower right side which starts empty in January and fills-up through the days and pages to a fully-filled beverage by December! An instant Flip Book!

Although I thought having the reverse would be more cute depicting ‘time running out‘, mine is a pessimistic way of looking at it. This one’s better, more positive. 🙂

Flip Book Pages

So how do you already have one of the 2013 Starbucks Planners? Click here to see how to get a Starbucks Planner 2013!

The 2013 Stamp Card which is more of a ‘paper’ than a card. 🙂

2013 Starbucks Planners

For my final verdict – the 2013 Starbucks Planners are the best Starbucks Planner set they have released in the Philippines in all 10 years. Reasons #1, #4, #10, and #13 are the major turn-ons for me which contributed to its minimalist and modern look. I love the green one best, followed by the white.

One day to go and Starbucks is officially releasing their Starbucks Planners 2013 in the Philippines; something much anticipated by coffee lovers and planner aficionados every Christmas season at about this time of the year.

Starbucks Planners 2013

But together with this announcement, it has been Starbucks Philippines‘ custom to launch festive parties in their coffee shops as well. They used to call it ‘Cheer Party‘ in the previous years. This year, they’re calling it the “Christmas 2012 Kick Off Party.“

Happening on November 3, 2012 in the open area fronting Starbucks Bonifacio High Street, you are all invited to this festive celebration from 5pm to 8pm and be ready for treats, activities, and freebies such as the following:

• Buy 1 Christmas beverage, get a second one FREE!
• 30% discount of selected merchandise.
• Food tasting and samples of new Christmas beverages
• Photo Booth
• Live Music Performance
• Partners Cup Design Contest
• More

NomNom Club Joins Partners Cup Design Contest as Judge

As mentioned above, one of the activities in the Christmas 2012 Kick Off Party is the Partners Cup Design Contest where 23 baristas will turn the Starbucks white cup into a Christmas cup by artistically drawing on it.

NomNom Club is honored to participate in this activity as one of the judges joining Nelz Mali of WeeWillDoodle and Starbucks’ Learning and Development Manager.

Starbucks Christmas 2012 Kick Off Party

Let us enjoy an early holiday season and see the new 2013 Starbucks Planners at the Starbucks Christmas Kick Off Party on November 3, Saturday, from 5-8 pm at the open area in front of Starbucks Bonifacio High Street. Cheers!

If I’m not mistaken, this would be the first time Starbucks Philippines is offering breakfast tapa in their menu. Probably a come-on for those looking for a local taste, the new Starbucks sandwiches for breakfast are available starting today which also includes the Spam Black Pepper, Forest Ham, Breakfast Tapa & Egg, and Ratatouille & Mozzarella Cheese.

Released on a significantly historical day of September 11, the all-day breakfast sandwiches are made available in all Starbucks stores around the Philippines. I hope you are trying one now as you are reading this food blog so you can relate to my feedback.

The new Starbucks breakfast sandwiches has somehow made my breakfast more sophisticated as I’m simply used to either the usual Filipino breakfast of rice with egg and tapa or corned beef, or the more western style of milk and sandwich combo.

Starbucks Forest Ham Sandwich

For example, the Forest Ham is made with slices of forest ham, scrambled egg white and smoked Gouda cheese which makes it more flavorful as a sandwich but with less fat and on healthy toasty oat bread.

The second one is a vegetarian sandwich – the Ratatouille And Mozzarella Cheese (TOP PHOTO). It’s a healthy blend of cheese, spinach, tomatoes, zucchini, eggplant, portobello and shiitake mushrooms, garlic and onions – all packed in-between a multi-grain bread. The usual perception on vegetarian sandwiches is being bland, but this one isn’t. In fact, I love it and wouldn’t have known it was vegetarian.

Starbucks SPAM Black Pepper Sandwich

Beef Tapa with Egg Sandwich

I’d predict the third would be a blockbuster – the Spam Black Pepper. Everyone’s favorite SPAM® is spiced up with black pepper, creamy scrambled egg and layered with melted American Cheddar cheese on cornmeal bread

And finally, Starbucks puts a twist to the traditional favorite Filipino breakfast – the ‘Breakfast Tapa & Egg‘.

Starbucks Philippines added garlic mayonnaise and put it in a whole wheat bread, instead of the staple rice (of course, we’re talking about sandwiches). It was an interesting approach for someone used to having their beef tapa in the morning with rice. 🙂

New Starbucks Breakfast Sandwiches (Starting Sept 11, 2012)

I’ve got the chance to try all the new Starbucks breakfast sandwiches which are all priced similarly at Php 115 (US$2.78), Generally all four are good but my recommendations are the Ratatouille & Mozzarella cheese on multigrain bread and Spam Black Pepper w/ egg & Cheddar cheese on cornmeal bread.

After 2 weeks, 16465 entries, 150++ participants and 170++ comments, we have identified the 5 winners of the set of Starbucks Tumbler + Starbucks Beverage Gift Certificate care of the Rafflecopter online random raffle tool.

They are:

• Entry #7957 Kenichi Y.
• Entry #15722 Agnes D.
• Entry #16358 Aine G.
• Entry #4477 Nael S.
• Entry #6141 Shirley M.

Starbucks Tumbler + Gift Certificate Winners

This is actually for announcement purposes only. The list of winners is also reflected in the Rafflecopter widget of the original contest post. Winners shall be contacted via their Facebook profiles on record within this week. The Starbucks Tumblers + Starbucks Gift Certificates itself will be shipped one week from now – on July 10, 2012 and delivered within their Metro Manila address as per mechanics and term & conditions.

If you want to join more contests, there’s another ongoing Starbucks Tumbler and Gift Certificate giveaway here:

http://www.livingmarjorney.com/2012/07/name-one-of-two-starbucks-asian.html

Thank you to all who joined and sponsor Starbucks Philippines! We have more contest and giveaways in line for NomNom Club readers and our Facebook Page Community! Check out this giveaway of 3 pairs of gift certificates from another juice brand ongoing from July 1 to 15, 2012.