7-Election GULP Cups

I’ve been itching to publish my article on my senatorial bets for the upcoming Philippine national elections come May 13, 2013. Until that serious post comes to fruition in my other blog, let me settle for a bit fancier and informal one via the 7-Eleven “7-Election Campaign“!

NomNom Club @ 7-Eleven with Lipton Red Tea

Although it started since last month, you still have about two weeks to catch up on the 7-Eleven “7-Election Campaign” fever of choosing your candidates online and preferred parties by simply purchasing a 473ml (16oz) GULP cup and make your vote count!

You have three cup choices:

• Team PNOY
• Team UNA
• Team Independent

The 7-Eleven crew registers your chosen cup in the cashier. On the other hand, you can mock vote for your Senatorial candidates online at 7-election.com.ph. A cup is about P18.

How To Vote:

How else do I show you these unless I try it myself, right? 🙂 So here’s what I did:

How To Vote

1. Go To 7-election.com.ph (connected via Facebook / Twitter)
2. Choose My Senatorial Candidates
3. View the Results

7-Election Cups: (L-R) Team PNOY, Team UNA, Team Independent

My Senatorial Bets. 7 Team PNOY, 2 Team Independent, & 1 Team UNA,  2 more slots open for the 2 more weeks remaining. 🙂

You can also view the results per area from the homepage if you are curious. For lazy people, here’s the link. 🙂

7-Elections Results Board at 7-Eleven Roosevelt/Munoz where we bought our GULP drinks

Online Area Results

Although the 7-Election Campaign is not official (of course), it kind of makes you think and decide as early as now which are your preferred candidates come election day while at the same time having a refreshing drink from 7-Eleven. 😛 Who are your bets?

Eastwood Central Plaza rocked as Oishi claimed a night of music by announcing its very own The Marty’s Band.

Ramon Bautista as Host and judge

Starting from young aspiring musicians from different universities around the Metro submitting their online auditions, the Final 8 proved themselves in deserving their respective spots. The Marty’s Band was after all a creation of the people together with a diverse pool of judges: comedian Ramon Bautista, Rock Ed founder Gang Badoy, actress Saab Magalona, music composer Francis De Veyra and rocker-director RA Rivera.

Marty’s Fancy Guitar

Oishi, maker of Marty’s Cracklin’ vegetarian chicharon spearheaded the event and made sure their tasty crunch was felt having Ramon Bautista as host made it livelier as he drew energy out of the supporters.

Paving the way in announcing the winners was a rocking roster of local bands. But to start things off and to set the night’s tone, the finalist performed their debut song, “Chicharock Chicharoll.” This was intensely followed by Gracenote, Banda ni Kleggy, Ebe Dancel and 6 Cyclemind.

Judges RA Rivera, Gang Badoy and Francis De Veyra (without Saab Magalona)

As the Final 8 were called on-stage, one could see the anticipation in the finalists’ faces knowing that only 4 of them would be part of the Marty’s Band. The prizes lined-up includes P 100,000 each and the full band experience under one of the most reputable band management groups in the industry. The Top 4 would include a vocalist, Lead Guitarist, Bassist and a Drummer. The crowd made sure that their favorite finalists felt the support and possibly what is yet to be their careers.

Oishi Marty’s Crowd

The Marty’s Band

Finally the winners were announced having Sud Ballecer as vocalist (University of Santo Tomas), Nokie Dalangin as Lead Guitarist (De La Salle University), Bam Butalid as Bassist (Asia Pacific College) and Christian Malubay as Dummer (STI). Oishi made the crowd go for an extra O, Wow! moment as Eunice Grace Gatdula (Asia Pacific College) was also announced as a surprise winner and the fifth member of the band, receiving the People’s Choice Award.

Final-8-Martys singing ‘Awit ng Kabataan’

The Marty’s Band Winners- Sud Ballecer (vocals), Eunice Gatdula (peoples choice award), Nokie Dalangin (lead guitarist), Bam Butalid (Bass)

Pedicab

In the end, the final 8 gave their parting words capped by performances from Pedicab and Radio Active Sago Project, the band of their mentor, Francis De Veyra. Kudos to The Marty’s Band!

The food-filled summer weekend food fair is back on it’s 3rd year – Best Food Forward! It will fill your tummies on April 20-21, 2013 at the NBC Tent in Bonifacio Global City.

Opening as early as 10am,  Best Food Forward is expected to house over 6,000 food-lovers in this two-day stint. It will showcase various specialty food stalls, cooking demonstrations, celebrity chefs, showbiz guests, and of course, foodies like you and me!

Best Food Forward 2013

The events’ beneficiary will be the Unang Hakbang Foundation who hosts a weekly feeding for program kids. Chef Bruce Lim will also be doing a cooking demo on Saturday, April 20 at 2pm!

7 Food Stalls to Check Out

• 

  Earl Grey Almond Crips

  Delicakes by Joy

I love 2 things from Delicakes by Joy, the tea-infused pastries Flavored Macarons and the Earl Grey Almond Crips.

The former looks like a fusion of the traditional Filipino macarons and cupcakes which are moist to the taste inside and out. A box of original macaroons box of 12s mini costs P160; the assorted one is P180.

The latter is even better with its crispy texture hihglighted by my favorite almond slivers. It’s not cheap at P150 per 80 grams but the experience eating ’em is worth the amount.

Delicakes by Joy Tea-Infused Macaroon Flavors

• Kalookies

As simple as it looks, these fudge-centered cookies will grab your taste buds at first bite and leave you wanting for more. It comes in 3 flavors too!

Kalookies

• Our Kitchen

Our Kitchen provides varied food offerings but hihglighted their brownies and microwave-ready meal packs.

Our Kitchen Brownies and Meal Packs

• Mrs. Graham’s Bakery

Mrs. Graham’s Bakery has a gamut of macaroon surprises in different flavors.

Mrs. Graham’s Bakery Macaroons

• Kewpie Salad Dressings

And just when you thought, you’ve got ye our favorite salad dressings at home, wait ’til you taste Kewpie Salad Dressings in bottles.

Kewpie Salad Dressings

• Curly Pepitas Magic Drinks and More (Butter Beer)

From the creators of the famous Butter Beer in Mercato Centrale, they came up with new products such as the Speculoos Pulvoron, Speculoos Shake, and Speculoos Milktea

Curly Pepitas Speculoos Variants

• Eat My GF (Garlic Fries)

It’s not just the burger, the bacon or the ingredients, it’s the combinatin of them all which makes Eat My GF (Garlic Fries) stand out form the others. Take a big bite!

Eat My GF servings with Gold Leaf Tea to balance the fight 🙂

Best Food Forward Tickets:

Tickets to the event will be available on the day itself! Just go to NBC Tent to purchase your tickets! Entrance fee is just P 75 or get some tickets for free from NomNom Club! 🙂 Reminiscing about Best Food Forward 2012. 🙂

Partners and Sponsors:

Best Food Forward is partnered with Electrolux, Alaska Milk Corporation, Kewpie, Flyace Corporation, Jolly and Philips. Special thanks go to Gastro Chef, Mac Graphic Carranz, Outcomm, Gourmet Farms, Enzo’s Shawarma and Tapa King. Media partners include ClicktheCity, Lifestyle Network, Crossover 101.1, Nuffnang, Food, Appetite, Flavors, Yummy, Yummy.ph, the Asian Food Channel, Openrice.com, BusinessWorld, Highlife, Wedding Flavours, MyWeb.ph, Media Magnet, Herword.com, Zodio and When In Manila.

Delicakes by Joy

Best Food Forward
NBC TENT
8th avenue corner Katipunan Circle, Bonifacio Global City
(across the FORT STRIP, walking distance from ROX,Bonifacio High Street)
0917.8871933 or 2119644
www.bestfoodforward.com.ph
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Best-Food-Forward/148077355228746

See you at the NBC Tent for the Best Food Forward 2013 Summer Food Fair this weekend!

It was a quaint afternoon at home last week when a strangely huge and ultra-colorful box was delivered to our new house in Quezon City. It had the ‘Mentos‘ brand, a popular mint candy in the Philippines, boldy printed on it.

Inside the big box were 6 more smaller boxes bearing written riddles on the cover. One of the riddles said: “The sun bakes them, the hand breaks them, the foot treads them, and the mouth tastes them. What are they?“

NomNom Club Foodie Jonel carrying the huge box!

I wasn’t able to answer this one. But opening the box reveals the answer through a related object – in this case, a small violet notebook – which means Grape. There were a total of 6 riddles and objects which revealed the 6 answers representing 6 of the 7 new fruity sensations of Mentos namely grape, raspberry, orange, pineapple, strawberry, green apple, and the mystery flavor.

Mentos Rainbow Mystery Riddles

What’s your guess?

Mentos Rainbow Mystery

Finally, a longer black box is seemingly hidden at the bottom which contained 6 packs of  the Rainbow variant. The pack contains 2 of each of the flavors mentioned above plus two of the mystery flavor. In total, Mentos Candy enthusiasts will be experiencing 7 exciting fruit flavors in one rainbow roll aptly dubbed “Rainbow Mystery Roll.”

Check out more details at the Mentos Philippines Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/MentosPhilippines and join in the fun of the Facebook Rainbow Mystery Rollette game app at http://www.facebook.com/MentosPhilippines/app_111703135666853

The Answer

Rainbow Mystery Roll

I got to try the Rainbow Mystery Roll and my taste buds found the mystery flavor quite familiar. My initial guess was ‘mangosteen.’ But thinking a bit further, I think I know what it is already. To keep the excitement going, I will not share my answer yet.

How about you, have you tired the Mentos Rainbow Mystery roll and tasted the mystery flavor? What’s your guess / answer? My guess starts with the letter “W.” 🙂

TGi Friday’s

The weather man last night just said in the news that the days will get hotter in the Philippines with 35+ degrees Celsius and up! Summer gets more intense and  we need to catch up on the outdoors as T.G.I.Friday’s kicks off the summer with a new bar menu.

The first American casual dining chain in the Philippines that is T.G.I.Friday’s has updated their bar list to include a wide array of affordable drinks such as the Ultimate drinks, beer on tap at P60, local bottled beer at P75 and beer by the bucket for only P350.

TGI Friday’s Red Card

Cocktails are also available starting at P125 including your favorite staples Long Island Tea, Bahama Mama, Kamikaze, and 77 Sunset Strip. Moreover, the Refillable Mojito craze continues everyday at P295. Whether you’re the life of the party or just winding after work, TGIF’s new beverage menu has something for you.

Furthermore, T.G.I Friday’s free Red Card is already available starting this month for the buy-one, take-one on cocktails every Thursday.

Stars Behind the Bar and Red Card

Another highlight this month at T.G.I Friday’s is the first leg of the ‘Stars Behind the Bar‘ tour, which includes a showcase of celebrity bartenders, free drinks, and a chance to learn basic flairs and cocktails.

T.G.I.Friday’s is known for popularizing flair tending, and hosted the first known flair bartending competition in the US in 1985. This time, the featured bartenders mostly came from the previous Shake, Rattle, and Pour Bartending Championship now on its 18th year.

The Stars Behind the Bar (left-right, top-bottom): Ronilo “The Showstopper” Bautista (Mall of Asia), Aldrin “The One” Javar (TriNoMa), Michael “Unstoppable”Rabago (Glorietta), Genrev “The Revolution” Bacasno (Tomas Morato), Gino “The Bomb” Simbillo (Marquee Mall Pampanga), Junjun “The Entertainer” Marcelo (Malate),

In partnership with Stolichnaya Vodka, catch the “Stars Behind the Bar” tour at the following venues:

• Bonifacio High Street – March 21, April 11 and 25, and May 9
• Glorietta – March 22, April 12 and 26, and May 10
• Mall of Asia – April 4 and May 16
• Eastwood – April 5 and May 17
• TriNoma – April 14 and May 4
• Malate – April 18 and May 23
• Alabang Town Center – April 19 and May 24
• Tomas Morato – May 2 and 30
• Robinsons Galleria – May 3 and 31

TGI Fridy’s Electric Lemonade, Margarita, ans Smoothie

So, Taste the Love this summer with T.G.I.Friday’s new bar menu, Red Card, and ‘Stars Behind the Bar’ tour! Know more about these at http://fridays.com.ph/, Facebook #welovefridays , and Twitter @Fridaysphil.

Chef Greg Villalon

In a predominantly Catholic country such as the Philippines, Good Friday symbolizes the commemoration of the death of Jesus Christ on the cross. Aside from the prohibition of taking a bath after 3pm, one other observed tradition is the abstinence of eating meat. And so, I found this sardines recipe from Mega Creations Premium Sardines (from the creators of Mega Sardines) a fitting post today. 🙂

Mega Creations Premium Sardines (L-R, Natural Oil, Spanish Style)

A few weeks ago, Mega Creations Premium Sardines, together with Global Academy Head of Operations Chef Greg Villalon, demonstrated that tasty meals can be easily prepared even using common household ingredients in less than half an hour.

The sardines come in two variants: in natural oil and in spanish style. One of the dishes / recipes cooked with a twist was the Moroccan Sardine and Sweet Potato Casserole. It was my favorite and deserves a feature here:

Moroccan Sardine and Sweet Potato Casserole Recipe:

Ingredients

• 6 Cans – Mega Creations Premium Sardines Spanish Style (chopped)
• 2 Cups – Spinach leaves (chopped)
• 2 Cups – Red Bell pepper (strips)
• 1/2 Cup – Raisins
• 1 Cup – White onion (minced)
• 2 Tbsp – Cinnamon powder
• 2 Tbsp – Cumin powder
• 1 Tbsp – Turmeric powder
• 6 Tbsp – Tomato paste
• 1/2 Cup – Olive oil
• To taste – Salt
• To taste – White pepper

Sweet Potato Mash

Moroccan Sardine and Sweet Potato CasseroleSweet Potato Mash

• 1 Kilo – Orange sweet potato (peeled and cubed)
• 2 Cups – Milk
• 6 Tbsp – Butter (softened)
• To taste – Salt
• To taste – White Pepper

Cheese Crust

• 1 Cup – Cheddar cheese (grated)
• 1 Cup – Japanese bread crumbs
• As needed – Butter

Procedure:

1. Peel, chop, and boil sweet potatoes until soft enough for a knife to go through it. Drain off the sweet potatoes before mashing with a fork.
2. Place mashed sweet potatoes in a pan, then incorporate milk and softened butter until desired consistency is achieved. Season to taste then set aside.
3. Heat olive oil in a sauté pan then add onions, peppers, spinach, and raisins. Briefly saute, then add all the spices and leave in the pan until fragrant.
4. Add the potato paste and stir well. Next, add the Mega Creations Premium Sardines and mash thoroughly until a “spreadable texture” is achieved. Season to taste, then set aside.
5. Assemble the dish on a casserole or a Pyrex dish. The ingredients will be layered similar to a lasagna dish, with the first layer made of sweet potato puree, and then topped with the spinach mixture. Repeat the process until you fill the casserole.
6. Sprinkle the cheese crust on top then add slices of butter to cover the whole dish.
7. Bake in a 375° F oven for about 30-45 mins or until the crust has browned.
8. Serve and enjoy!

Chef Greg Villalon with Chef Rose Bud

Asian Style Sardines Sub-Sandwich using Mega Premium Sardines

Catch more of the Mega Creations Premium Sardines recipes with Chef Villalon in an exciting new cooking show entitled “Everyday Creations,” premiering on April 5 at 6:30 p.m. on The Lifestyle Network. There will be replays on Sundays, 11:30am and Wednesdays at 6:00 pm. Check My Everyday Creations page on Facebook for additional sardines recipes as well.

Garlic Shrimp Pizza

Lent is just a week away! Aside from the fact that Filipinos are again anticipating a long vacation courtesy of the Philippine holidays 2013, the religious are also observing certain traditions including veering away from eating meat.

And Angel’s Pizza has prepared something interesting for their clientele for this season - Garlic Shrimp Pizza and Margherita Pizza!

The new Garlic Shrimp Pizza is oozing with mozzarella cheese with a spread of real shrimp. The combination might not be the usual but its surely worth a try specially for seafood pizza lovers.

The medium size pizza is P329; the family size is P470 and big family is P556.

Shrimp on a bed of mozarella cheese

Angel’s Pizza – Garlic Shrimp

The second one got the better of the health-conscious me – the Margherita Pizza! Perhaps due to the basil leaves, this classic Italian pizza was customized the Angel’s Pizza way. It’s cheaper than the Garlic Shrimp pizza as well. 😛

Be sure to have it hot out-of-the-oven for your ultimate enjoyment of the crispy crust. The medium size Margarita pizza is P297; the family size is P416 and big family is P491.

Angel’s Margherita Pizza

Moreover, you might as well check out the new variants of the calzone and the soon-to-be-released Angel’s Pizza Club Card.

Angel’s Pizza Club Card and a New Calzone Variant

 Try these new two pizza flavors and more and have them delivered this Lenten season by calling the Angel’s Pizza delivery hotline 922-2222.

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!