It was a rainy day in Manila last weekend when my girlfriend and I purposely went to Max’s Greenbelt 3 upon Max’s invitation for the online media launch of their Php 95 Max’s Merienda Mix. It was a challenge but we knew it would be worthwhile and fun-filled. We were not mistaken.

Max’s Restaurant Team with WIlma Doesnt

Celebrity and program host Wilma Doesnt was already pumping-up the food blogger crowd when we arrived and the event just started. If you still remember, Lynn Ching alsoo guested for the Max’s Mother’s Day promo last May.

Blogger event niceties aside, Max’s Restaurant presented the main star of the rainy day – Max’s Merienda Mix at only Php 95 in three simple steps: Choose, Add, and Complete.

Choose

Start creating your set by selecting from any of the following Max’s Corner Bakery products: Cheese Roll, Ensaimada, or 1/4 Cake slice which can come in any of the following flavors: ube, mocha, mango, chocolate, and jelly.

Add

For the next step, choose a Filipino-inspired main Max’s Classic Merienda dish which would complement well with your Max’s Corner Bakery product. Go Filipino with a small serving of the traditional Max’s Pancit Canton or the rich taste of Pancit Luglog plain. But since it was a stormy day, I choose the third option – the petite champorado (chocolate porridge) with milk

Complete

Finally, add the beverage of your choice from regular Pepsi in glass , brewed coffee, or the Filipino-sweet-fancy drink Sago’t Gulaman. I had to pass-up all three however and opted for a glass of hot water because I was feeling a bit under the weather. :p

Max’s Classic Merienda’s Pancit Canton with 1/4 Sliced Ube Cake

Fly to the US Promo

Max’s also announced their generous promo where they are giving away 5 pairs of US airfare tickets to 5 lucky raffle winners to all customers availing of the P95 Max’s Merienda Mix promotion.

Surprisingly, it includes accommodations for two and pocket money to go along with it; plus a surprise concert! What more can you ask for?

Lastly, if you’ll add up the bakery product, a main dish, and a beverage, it can sum up to as much as P194 which means the P95 Max’s Merienda Meal Mix promo can save you up as much as P99.

Max’s Pancit Luglog with Cheese Roll

Our Max’s Corner Bakery Reached Singapore

Max’s Corner Bakery Goodies

Immediately the next day, my girlfriend and I were on board a plane bound for Singapore and decided to give Max’s Bakery Corner goodies as pasalubong (traveler’s gift) to the honorable Philippine Ambassador to Singapore Minda Calaguian-Cruz whom we will visit at the Philippine Embassy in Singapore. We have been thinking about something Filipino to give her this past few days and something from a known reputable Filipino brand such as Max’s was a good choice.

By the time you are reading this, the Max’s Corner Bakery goods might have well been consumed. So anyway, back in the Philippines, try the new Max’s Merienda Mix every 2pm-4pm until September 16, 2012. :p

After 2 weeks, 9480 entries, 70++ participants and 70++ comments, we have identified the 3 winners of the pair of Jamba Juice Beverage Vouchers through Rafflecopter online random raffle tool.

They are:

• Entry #7751 Almira P.
• Entry #6618 Kristine J.
• Entry #7068 Alston C.

Jamba Juice Winners

This is actually for announcement purposes only. The list of the Jamba Juice Beverages winners is also reflected in the Rafflecopter widget of the original contest post. Winners shall be contacted via their Facebook profiles on record today. The Jamba Juice  Beverage Vouchers will be shipped tomorrow July 18, 2012 and delivered within their Metro Manila address as per mechanics and term & conditions.

Jamba Juice Beverage Vouchers

Thank you to all who joined and sponsor Jamba Juice Philippines! If you want to join more contests, there’s another ongoing Auto-Gard Car Care Products giveaway here!

I was excitedly anticipating the Food Styling 101 seminar for the media I attended 2 weekends ago at CCA Podium in Ortigas. It was my first to be in a food styling class.

Chef Gigi Angkaw of CCA

As a food blogger who often takes photos of what I eat, styling food and angling my shots has always been a challenge as the thought process involved in presenting a dish sets the first impression and somehow tease the readers into wanting them.

Our lecturer was no less than renowned chef and food stylist Chef Eugene Raymundo. He has worked with several big brands for print and TV including Red Ribbon, KFC, and Nestle Ice Cream, to name a few. He is also currently associated with Five Cows Resto and Ice Cream Bar in Trinoma and Kitch’ Cafe, among others.

He started with defining what food styling is and proceeded with the goals and what it takes to be a food stylist.

Introduction to Food Styling at CCA Podium

Chef Eugene Raymundo

Chef Raymundo shared that food styling is not just about making the food attractive in the way it is put together, it is an art that requires skill and knowledge.

He surmised that one should at least have some basic knowledge about cooking so you would understand more about the dynamics of food.

Dishes without Food Styling (top) ; dishes WITH Food Styling (bottom)

Food Styling Tools

Food Styling

In the latter part of the afternoon, we proceeded with the actual styling and the tools of the trade. We were exposed to propping, and using mock-up ice creams, syrups and flans.

Nonetheless, Chef Eugene Raymundo encouraged the use of actual products in foodstyling as much as possible. In the case of ice creams, it is highly understandable why using the real ones would be impractical. It would have already melted even before the cameras are rolling. 🙂

Food Styling Demo

Sample of Food Styled by Chef Eugene Raymundo

More about Food Styling at CCA

Artificial Ice Cream

Center for Culinary Arts Podium recognizes this increasing interest and delivers a project that focuses on teaching food styling as well as food photography. Through the Continuing Education Programs, they welcome individuals interested or passionate to learn about food styling and techniques in food photography. Taught by a top notch food stylist and noted food photographer, participants of the course will acquire skills in preparing food for editorial materials. The course aims to develop the participants’ style, creativity, and ingenuity particularly in food styling.

So if you want to learn how to creatively style food and photography, you may get in touch with CCA Podium Culinary School Market Café at the 5th floor of The Podium along ADB Avenue in Ortigas Center, Pasig City. You may also call CCA Podium at 696-9083. They still have 3 more Saturdays to go for the whole course for the month of July.

NomNom’s Baked Dory Lunch at CCA Podium (somewhat food-styled) 🙂

Thanks to Chef Gigi Angkaw for inviting us at CCA Podium’s Food Styling 101

Thanks to CCA Podium for the gracious invitation and Chef Eugene Raymundo for the insightful introduction to food styling 101 seminar.

Croquetas are basically croquettes which are famous in European countries like Spain and Netherlands, hence the ‘Dutch croquetas‘. The Dutch word means a ‘little, round ball‘. In the Philippines, mashed potatoes has replaced the bechamel-filled ones like those from Spain. It is then rolled, breadcrumbed, fried and branded as Kroketten.

Kroketten SM MOA

From Croquetas to Kroketten

Slowly being pushed in to the mainstream Filipino snack diet, Maribel Bosch of Kroketten has played with the ‘Croquetas‘ word and made it more Filipino with the “K” and adding the last syllable – “ten“. They further brought it within the common Filipinos’ reach with their chain of stalls, mall kiosks, and transport terminal branches.

Banking on Filipinos’ love for carb, they hope that the new potato snack would ‘click‘. Further innovating on more flavors that makes it more yummy, appealing, and extra healthy, they introduced three varieties: Original Kroket, Kroketballen, and the Miniballen.

Kroketten Terminal Transport Kiosk

Kroketten Miniballen

Kroketten Menu

The Original Kroket (Php 35) is the oblong-shaped croquettes with ground beef, chicken, and cheese. On the other hand, a Kroketballen (Php 35 for 3pcs) is a set of three crunchy potato balls that come with dips.

Lastly, the Miniballen bite-sized potato balls is considered best for sharing and are the best sellers, perhaps due to its variant offerings with five pieces mini ballen for Php 20, four pieces mini ballen with the 6.5 oz revitalize 10 or Nutri 10 fresh fruit drink for Php 35. It is further made interesting with the assorted flavors including cheese, chicken, beef, bacon, hotdog, longganisa, pork adobo, mango, and tuyo flakes.

Kroketten Menu

Kroketten with Tuyo Flakes breadcrumb

Kroketten Fresh Fruit Drink, I Like!

I tried several dips and they were surprisingly good! Honestly, since the one we tried was at the terminal of SM Mall of Asia, I initially have somehow managed to lower my expexctations. 🙂 Moreover, as much as I liked the potato balls and the dips, I loved the drinks even more! They were the Nutri 10 fresh fruit drink served in 6.5 oz cups. They tasted like simplified Jamba Juice concoctions at street prices!

I later got to learn that they’re made of the natural fruit juice minus the white sugar and has no preservatives, branded exclusively by Vers En Snel for Kroketten.

Their two signature thirst quenchers are the Nutri 10 (mango and guyabano) and Revita 10 (strawberry and passion fruit) for a vitamin boost and revitalization, respectively. They’re so good Kroketten is working on having them sold in bottles in the near future. On the other hand, when I tired it in SM MOA, they only had two drink dispensers and only the Nutri 10 Mango and Revita 10 strawberry were available.

4pc. Kroketten Miniballen + 6.5oz Drink = Php 35

Kroketten Branch

Kroketten: Fried and Healthy?

I asked one of their managers with regards to their tagline “Fun and Healthy Potato Dutch Snacks.” I inquired how it can be healthy if it’s fried. And he said that they use corn oil instead of the regular oil, that even if corn oil was bit more expensive, they wanted to ‘walk the talk‘ when they claim that thier krokettens are healthier.

Fried Kroketten

Croquetas For Filipinos and Franchise

Frequently touring other countries with her husband and kids, Ms. Maribel Bosch discovered that croquettes deserve to be in the Philippines for its simple and delicious taste which she thought will appeal to all levels of people.

Confident about the potential of the product, the company is also open for franchise for a total investment of P195,000 (vat exclusive). For inquiries on franchising, please call (632) 822-5711 or 09178596623.

Cross Section of Original Kroket

Minballen with Dip

Kroketten Take-Out

There are currently thirteen branches / outlets including SM Mall of Asia (transport terminal) in Pasay City. The others are in Festival Mall Alabang, Albang Town Center, GT Tower Makati, Market! Market!, Starmall Edsa Shaw, Robinsons Galleria, Robinsons Metro East, SM North Edsa (Foodcourt), SM Lipa Batangas, and soon at SM Megamall.

I also bought a handful of take-out packs to bring home and share with the household. Let’s see how Kroketten, the first healthy Dutch potato snack in the Philippines, will further expand in the country. I will surely be back specially to get the Nutri 10 natural fruit juices. 🙂

J.CO Philippines Twitter

If you frequent Greenbelt in Makati, specially the one near the the Cinemas in Greenbelt 3, then you surely have seen the markers “J.CO Greenbelt Opening Soon!” It came true yesterday as J.Co Donuts and Coffee Philippines–Greenbelt  opened with more than 500 free donuts for its customers ‘shared the JCO way.’

J.Co Greenbelt Grand Opening

The grand opening started with a blessing of the branch followed by the traditional throwing of coins. Four members of the improv group ‘SPIT‘ (Silly People’s Improv Theater) were also there to jumpstart the crowd. Celebrities Karylle and Anton Del Rosario of the Azkals were some of the celebrities who dropped by to get some J.Co dounts and coffee.

Celebrities Karylle and Anton Del Rosario of Azkals Dropped by J.CO

Did you know that Karylle’s favorite is the J.Co Green Tease?

Karyll’s Favorite J.Co Donut is the Green Tease

Located just beside Figaro Greenbelt, enroute the entrance of Greenbelt 3 Cinemas, the 3rd branch of J.Co Donuts and Coffee in the Philippines is now giving you another foodie option to take with in the cinemas or simply something to munch on while hanging-out with your friends in the posh gimmick spot.

J.CO Orange Yogurt Frappe

They are specifically located at

J.Co Donuts and Coffee
3/F Greenbelt 3, Makati City

J.Coffee

When you do visit, NomNom recommends his favorite J.Coffee Cappuccino Avocado at Php 120/135 (12oz/16oz). I tried their new citrus-y Orange Yogurt Frappe and Mix Berries Frappe (Php 130/150 [12oz/16oz]) yesterday and it was a refreshing treat. I recommend you get the Mix Berries Frappe.

J.CO Mix Berries Frappe (foreground) Orange Yogurt (background), Tiramisu (donut)

J.Cool

You may also try their J.Cool fat-free frozen yogurt. I got the ‘single’ serve (Php 95) but the best worth-for-money to order is either the ‘couple‘ (Php 140) or the ‘sharing‘ (Php 190) which comes with 3 and 4 toppings, respectively.  I’m not much into the J.Cool Twist, however.

J.Cool Yogurt

J.Co Donuts Recommendations

For the filling doughnuts, get J.Co Philippines‘ signature J.Club Cheezy Rich at Php 45/piece. Pair it up with coffee of the day for Php 110, a cappuccion for Php 135, or an iced chocolate for Php 140.

And of course my favorites almond-topped ‘Alcapone‘ and Avocado Dicaprio (pair this with my favorite J.Coffee Favorite Cappuccino Avocado) should be in your list too.

J.CO Alcapone (left); Tiramisu Donut (right)

J.Co Greenbelt 3

But since yesterday, I got 2 new variants which I just added in my list of favorites- the Tiramisu and Choconuttzy. The latter is ultra yummy!

J.CO Choconuttzy

More J.CO Donuts

J.CO is a popular lifestyle café chain in Indonesia and some parts of Southeast Asia. It first opened in Jakarta, Indonesia in 2005 with the thrust to fuse the popular donuts of the West with … touches of the East. Other countries in the Asian region soon got into the J.CO craze, including Malaysia, Singapore and, more recently, Shanghai in China.

JCO Donuts & SPIT

J.CO Greenbelt 3 Grand Opening

J.CO Donuts & Coffee

For J.Co Donuts Philippines, they also have branches in SM Megamall and SM Mall of Asia. See you more often at J.Co Donuts Greenbelt! 🙂

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.

We’ve just recently concluded the Starbucks Tumblers and Gift Certificate Giveaway whose winners will be announced this week. And now, we have a new giveaway starting today – July 1, 2012 – the Jamba Juice Vouchers Giveaway!

Jamba Juice has recently opened in SM Mall of Asia and have introduced 4 new Guimaras Mango – inspired juices. They are the ‘Mango-a-go-go‘, ‘Mega Mango‘, ‘Peach Perfection’, and ‘Five Fruit Frenzy’. NomNom’s favorite is the ‘Mega Mango‘!

Contest Mechanics

Now, Jamba Juice and NomNom Club are giving away 3 pairs of Jamba Juice Vouchers so you and a friend can try the new Jamba Juice Guimaras Mango inspired beverages!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Jamba Juice Beverage

Just join the rafflecopter-run contest tool above from July 1 to 15. Winners will be announced on the 3rd week of July. The Jamba Juice gift certificates will be delivered for FREE within Metro Manila.

If you are looking for more contests, there’s another Starbucks Gift Certificate Giveaway here.

Enjoy NomNom’s Jamba Juice contest!

Ms. Josephine Chua & NaiCha Mascot in Grand Opening

It’s actually redundant to call it “NaiCha Milk Tea” because ‘Nai Cha‘ is the literal translation of ‘milk tea‘ in Chinese. Hence, allow me to call it just ‘NaiCha‘ moving forward. 🙂

I, together with some food bloggers, were recently invited to the grand opening of NaiCha Philippines‘ 12th store in Metro Manila which is in Banawe, Quezon City.

Simple ceremonies, blessings, and the usual ribbon cutting was held, but it was the taste test which food bloggers await. I was able to try their best-selling Wintermelon Milk Tea and the Oolong Milk Tea.

Oolong Milk Tea for the Win

Taste-wise, the Wintermelon Milk Tea was similar to what others have to offer but I love their Oolong Milk Tea which had the authenticity of four season tea and goodness of milk tea combined.

And although I did not customize the sugar level of the Oolong Milk Tea, it still didn’t come off too sweet. However, in contrast, I suggest you adjust the sugar level of the Wintermelon Milk Tea to 50%–75% since wintermelon is already sweet by itself. The same tip applies to all other brands of wintermelon milk tea.

NaiCha Oolong Milk Tea

Ms. Jospehine Chua (CEO of Grand Pillar International Development, Inc. – parent company of NaiCha Philippines), said that they import the tea  from Taiwan through her two Taiwanese nationals partners. Mrs. Chua has worked in Taiwan during her younger years where she developed her business network. So getting them to invest in the Philippines as her business partners was a logical consequence of events.

NaiChastarted in December 2010 from its main store located across Royal Duty Free Mall and has since grown to several branches in Subic. By October of last year, it ventured to Manila with it’s first branch in N. Domingo St., Quezon City. They now have branches in Fairview, Makati, Ortigas, and more.

NaiCha Philippines Milk Tea

Interesting Observations

NaiCha Philippines as a milk tea business is still in their growing stage and the simplicity of their menu is evident of it.

Some interesting observations I made was that their pearls are not as big as the pearls/tapioca of other milk tea shops. Did you know that they don’t call their pearl as ‘sago‘? Try ordering the “Sago Milk Tea” and you’ll not get pearl/tapioca in the drink but “nata” (coconut gel). 🙂

The price range of the milk teas and juices are actually very affordable with their wintermelon tea (not milk tea) at P40 for the 16 oz.

But most noticeable of all is their gigantic 32 oz. serving of milk tea in what they call “Tabo” in their colloquial jargon equivalent to a small pail. At Php 120, tabo size pearl milk tea can be more than enough for two persons.

They also have novel teas such as the black tea, jasmin green tea, and matcha. NaiCha specials include Signature Taiwan Tea and Choco NaiCha. Another favorite of mine is from the ‘Jelly Delights‘ which is the Coffee Jelly Tea. They have juices as well while their add-on options are pearl, pudding, almond, sago (nata), and coffee jelly.

Hopefully they would also add food items and maybe variants of milk-lid or rock-salt milk teas in the menu very soon.

NaiCha Wintermelon Milk Tea “Tabo” (left); Nai Cha Coffee Jelly Milk Tea (right)

Franchise Opportunities

I learned that they also offer franchising options to business hunters. You may contact them at the following

• Subic Head Office: M6 Aguinaldo St., Central Business District, Subic Bay Freeport Zone
• Manila Office: Unit 3D, Megalink Bldg, Banawe Ave. Brgy Sienna, QC
• http://www.facebook.com/MilkTeaPinas

So if you’re from Quezon City or Manila, check out NaiCha Philippines in their Banawe branch soon.