Imagine how it would be like to have Iron Chef, American Idol, and Survivor rolled into one cooking competition? That is how this year’s SM Super Chefs will be.

SM Hypermarket recently launched its latest edition of the Super Chef series by turning it into a reality show where participants can create their own versions of Adobo, Kaldereta or Menudo to be submitted with a proof of purchase in appointed Hypermarket branches.

SM Super Chefs 2010

Are you a housewife, a culinary school owner, a carinderia cook, or a food blogger like me? It doesn’t matter because Super Chefs is open to anyone who can cook, be they students or professional chefs.

The competition is divided into three stages: the audition, elimination, and grand finals.
The Super Chefs grand finals will be aired on the Asian Food Channel and hosted by Chef Tristan Encarnacion.

To get qualified for the audition round, interested participants just need to present a P1,000 single or accumulated purchase from any SM Hypermarket inclusive of the sponsors’ product together with your cooked dish on the submission day. Throughout the competition, their creations will be judged by celebrities Winnie Cordero and the country’s top chefs like Reggie Aspiras, among others.

The SM Hypermarket Super Chefs Grand Winner will take home a kitchen showcase worth P100,000 and go on a 4-day all-expense-paid trip to Singapore for a culinary training. Runner-ups will also win a P50,000, P25,000, P15,000 or P10,000 SM gift certificates.

The contest runs from May to July 2010. For details, visit any SM Hypermarket branch, log on to www.smhypermarket.com, or like Super Chefs on Facebook.

Super Chef Complete Contest Mechanics:

1.Contest is open to all cooking enthusiasts.
2.To join, just present a P1,000 single or accumulated purchase from SM Hypermarket, inclusive of at least one product from the following sponsors:
3.The contest is composed of 3 stages: audition, elimination and finals.
4.Criteria for judging:

• 50% Taste
• 25% Originality
• 15% Plating/Presentation
• 10% Affordability

Audition Stage

•Create your own version of Adobo, Kaldereta or Menudo and submit the finished product with proof of purchase at the appointed Hypermarket branch (see schedule below. You may submit as many dishes and join in any branch.

Submissions will be accepted from 2 pm to 4 pm.
DISH TO SUBMIT: ADOBO
June 15 – Centris Station, Valenzuela
June 18 -  Marilao Molino, Sucat, MOA

DISH TO SUBMIT : KALDERETA
June 16 – Bicutan, Pasig, Clark
June 19 – Novaliches, Mandaluyong
June 30 – Makati, North Harbour

DISH TO SUBMIT : MENUDO
June 17 РNorth EDSA, Las Pi̱as, Taytay
June 23 – Muntinlupa, Rosales, Baliwag
June 25 – Fairview

•Three (3) winners from each branch will be chosen (or a total of 60 winners) who will qualify to the next round.

SM SuperChefs Cooking Competition

ELIMINATION ROUND

•The 60 winners will be clustered into 3 branch locations and will be competing in a live cook-off at SM Hypermarket
•Contestants will be given 45 minutes and a P250 budget to shop for ingredients and prepare a dish using a secret ingredient which will be revealed on contest day.
•Four (4) winners from each cluster (or a total of 12 contestants) qualify for the Finals.

FINALS

•In the grand finals, contestants will be grouped into teams of 3.  They will go through four (4) rounds,  each preparing “themed” dishes (themes will be revealed on contest date) good for 6 persons.
•Contestants will be eliminated as each round progresses until only two (2) are left.  They will then face off for the grand prize.
•The Finals will be aired over the Asian Food Channel (AFC) and will be hosted by Chef Tristan Encarnacion.
• Super Chefs 2010 winner will receive aP100,000 kitchen showcase and a 4-day, all-expense-paid trip to Singapore for Unilever Cuisine Training.

Join SM Super Chefs 2010!

By good fortune and friend Rowena, I recently had a satisfying lunch at 22 Prime in Discovery Suites at Ortigas, Pasig.

22 Prime Wines

I was ecstatic when the invitation came as I am aware of 22 Prime‘s reputation including a recent distinction including the recent Gold Spot Awards recognizing Manila’s Best Restaurants which I also covered. 22 Prime won in the Best Steak House category, as they also did the previous year.

The star of the day was 22 Prime’s Australian Tomahawk Chop.

It all begun when Discovery Corporate Chef – Chef David Pardo de Ayala, presented the Tomahawk Chop in its raw form and enormity – including the extra-large rib bone (in photo).

“Wow, that’s what we’re having for lunch in a while!” I said in my mind. 🙂

Australian Tomahawk Chop

It’s a 1 kilogram 6-star tenderplus Australian Beef Rib Eye Steak. You don’t actually order it by ‘serving‘ since each individual will have varying capacity to consume the Grilled Tomahawk Chop. But I say, on the average, you could share it with 4 of your other friends. 🙂

Chef David Pardo de Ayala

Chef David adds that meat should be prepared in room temparature before cooking.

This helps the cook have more control on the cooking temparature and hence achieve the desired browning of the outside meat.

When asked about his secret, “It’s all about the meat – quality, sourcing, and how it’s prepared“.

And so the Grilled Tomahawk Chop was finally served.

It came sliced with a casserole of baby vegetables and a bowl of Caesar Salad of which 22 Prime is also famous for.

Grilled Tomahawk Chop with Vegetables and Caesar Salad

Verse 1 by Brookland Valley

As expected, the beef rib eye steak was juicy and its prime cut meat, tender.

The sides and the Caesar Salad are also commendable.

At P4800, this specialty menu is paired with a bottle of Verse 1 Cabernet Sauvignon wine by Brookland Valley to complete the meal.

22 Prime in Discovery Suites

Get your power lunch or filling dinner of the Grilled Tomahawk Chop as this is only available starting today, June 1 until June 15, 2010.

22 Prime is located at the 22nd Floor of Discovery Suites. For reservations, call 683-8222.

Yummy Magazine May Issue

Aside from regularly checking out www.yummy.ph, this month’s Yummy Magazine issue is one of my favorite as it featured “easy to cook” dishes.

Lazy as I am, I found a truly easy one in the “Quick and Easy” section – Tinapa Rice with Salted Eggs and Tomatoes. I thought this would be a good one for my entry in their bloggers’ contest as well. I had one problem though, we don’t have tinapa (smoked fish) at home.

It was for Sunday dinner and I don’t have time to buy so I was forced to look for a substitute. I came up with a great idea for a substitute, Bangus – Fried Bangus!

I also consulted some friends online (specifically in social networking site Plurk) and they approved of my tinapa substitute. 🙂

Online Consultation for a Good Tinapa Substitute

And so it was. 🙂

Bangus Rice with Salted Egg and Tomatoes Ingredients

Here are the ingredients I used as patterned from the Yummy Magazine: (for one preparation)

• Half Bangus Fish
• Cooking Oil
• Some Garlic, peeled and minced
• 1 Cup of white rice
• pinch of salt
• minute dash of pepper
• 1 red egg, peeled and sliced into eights
• 1 tomato, sliced into six

Procedure:

1. Debone the Bangus and fry. Flake afterwards
2. In a large wok, heat the oil and fry the garlic until lightly browned. Add the cooked rice, salt, and pepper and stir together.
3. Add and mix the flaked bangus strips and stir well. Remove from the heat.
4. To serve, pour the rice into a serving bowl and top with salted eggs and tomatoes

Fry the Bangus and Flake After

Heat the Oil, Fry the Garlic

Add the cooked rice, salt, and pepper and stir together.

Thankfully, my cooking escapade was a success! My Tinapa Bangus Rice with Salted Eggs and Tomatoes tasted great (if not better than with tinapa). :)  And that concludes My SundayYummy Adventure!

My Hardwork: Bangus Rice with Salted Egg and Garlic

Top View of My Delicious Bangus Rice on our kitchen table

Also, do check out Yummy’s Facebook and Twitter accounts:  facebook.com/yummymagazine and twitter.com/yummyph

My Bangus Rice with Salted Eggs and Tomatoes and the Tinapa Rice with Salted Eggs and Tomatoes from the Magazine looks the similar isn’t it? 🙂

Yummy

East for Eastwood, that is. About a month ago, I found myself with some friends trying out the new Korean restaurant in Eastwood City Libis, Quezon City – Kogi Bulgogi.

Kogi Bulgogi Appetizers

They are conveniently located at the second floor of the new Eastwood Mall. Because of our large group, we had to dine alfresco. From the outside, the interior looks simple but stylish and cozy.

Now, the food. We started with the traditional Korean complimentary appetizers consisting of potato slices, crispy dilis, string beans, vegetables, and of course – Kimchi.

We had the pan fried Korean Tofu Steak and California Roll for appetizers. The fresh crabsticks, mango, cucumber strips and rice rolled in fish roe packs the California rolls.

Tofu Steak

California Roll

Japchae Noodles

Japchae Noodles (stir fried vermicelli) with beef and mixed vegetables came next. Japchae noodles never fail me as I love the soft noodles made flavorful with the spices.

The main dishes came in droves with Chicken Kalbi, Bulgogi, and Kimchi Rice served at the same time. There was an instant rush of desire to indulge but we had to restrain ourselves and take some photos first (blogger’s nature).

Chicken Kalbi is a set of grilled spicy chicken thighs accompanied by three sauce variants (which I cannot remember anymore 🙂 ) while Bulgogi is marinated beef with mushrooms. The owner also mentioned that the beef they use are all imported US Prime.

Chicken Kalbi

Bulgogi

The stir-fried Kimchi Rice came with pickled cabbage, white radish, and cucumber flavored with garlic, green onion and chili pepper.

Dulsot Bibimbap

The highlight of the dinner for me would be the Dulsot Bibimbap (Beef with raw egg). Bibimbap is steamed rice with beef, seasoned vegetables, and egg served in a heated stone pot.

The dish is served with ingredients neatly placed separately within the bowl. The traditional prepration is to stir-mix all the ingredients inside the bowl and pour the raw egg while it is smoking hot. This will lightly coook the egg which mixes well with all the ingredients (top photo).

After dinner, as the usual me, I was already anticipating dessert. However, my seatmate Rowena enlightened me that traditional Korean cuisines are not actually fond of the usual sweet desserts we Filipinos are used to. They are usually limited to simple servings of mixed fruits. With this, I managed my expectation and realized that this is the reason their menu is not fond of desserts.

Kogi Bulgogi Eastwood City

Expect the possibility of some changes in their menu as they were only about a month in operations when we dined in (which makes two months as of this writing). The serving sizes are also good for two to three persons only. We failed in this area as there were five of us in the table. It’s good that there were a number of dishes.

Overall, it was a good Korean dinner at Kogi Bulgogi highlighted by the Bibimbap. 🙂

I was recently invited by a friend to try out Angel’s Pizza Pasta in their Ortigas-Pasig branch at CityGolf Plaza , Julia Vargas Ortigas Center corner meralco Avenue beside Ortigas Home Depot.

It was a simple and homey pizza store with enough space for about 20 dine-in customers. My friend also mentioned that Angel’s Pizza * Pasta * Combo‘s owners were previous franchisers of the Domino’s Pizza we were familiar with a few years back.

They offer 11 variants of original hand-tossed pizza in Medium, Family and Big Family sizes with price range from P249 to P555.

We tried out a number of pizza from their menu including Tuna Pesto and the flagship Extra Feast; but two variants caught my attention well.

Angel's Double

First was the Angel’s Double Cheesy Melt. Angel’s Double are double-decker thin crust pizzas with literally two kinds of pizza on top of the other for a standard Big Family size (P599 ).

Tthe Angel’s Double Cheesy Melt consists of Mozzarella and Cheddar cheese on top and a spread of pepperoni between the 2 thin crusts. This reminded me of what I sometimes do with my pizza – having two slices and making a sandwich out of them; although this time with two different flavors 🙂

Angel's Double Cheesy Melt

As far as I know, this is the only pizza chain which offers this style of pizza preparation. The other two Angel’s Doubles flavors are BBQ and Cheesy Burger.  You could also order three extra sauces namely: sour cream, cheddar and tangy tomato.

Second to surprise me was the Angel’s Style hand-tossed pizza. It has the usual pizza toppings such as Mozzarella cheese and onion (mushroom too) but what sets it apart are the chicken chunks in barbecue sauce! Yummy! To put it plainly and direct to the point, NomNom recommends this for the pizza lovers with discriminating palates. 🙂 I so love it!

Angel's Style

The Angel’s Style pizza is available in size choices of 14“, 12 Slices(₱555), 12“, 8 Slices(₱435), 9“, 6 Slices(₱315).

My imagination wishes for an Angel’s Doubles of Angel’s Style – that would be a truly doubly amazing combination!

Angel's Style with Chicken Barbecue and Angel's Double

As of this writing, my fingers are itching to call their delivery hotline  922-22-22, but I know there’s none near me; yet. However, they have  branches in Makati, Kalayaan QC, Pasig, Sucat Paranaque, Fairview, Recto, Malate, UN Avenue, and Dagupan.

Most of their stores are for take-out only with a few dine-in stores  like the branch where I had my pizza in Ortigas (I also hope they can fix the air conditioning system immediately).

Angel's Pizza * Pasta * Combo

Angel’s Pizza Corp Stores PROMOS
Buy 1 Take 1 Promo
(DI – dine in;  TO– take out; DE – delivery)

Makati Store
10am-1pm DI TO DE
12mid to 3am DI TO only

Kalayaan Store
10am to 1pm DI TO DE

Fairview Store
All day dine-in/take-out only —Buy BF free BF
10am to 1pm DI TO DE

Pasig Store
10am-1pm DI TO DE
10pm-12mid DI TO DE

Sucat
10am-1pm DI TO DE
10pm-12mid DI TO DE

Recto
10am to 1pm DI TO DE

Malate
All day B1T1-DI TO DE

SM Advantage Card, Prestige, BDO Rewards cardholders & Boardwalk members get 20% discount on every pizza purchase or get free Medium Pizza for every purchase of Big Family Pizza in Angel’s Pizza Pasta Combo.

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The Philippine national weather agency recently announced that the Philippines will experience a lengthened summer extending from May to end of June.

Figaro Summer Frost Peach Lychee Sunrise

This means that the 38 or so degrees Celsius temperature everyday would most likely to be experienced up to next month.

Thank goodness that in this country, drink coolers abound. One such to be sought for is Figaro‘s Summer Frost line of icy cool drinks to quench that heat-drenched throat.

Figaro Summer Frost Summer Beverages

Figaro‘s Summer Frost is a mix of finely blended ice for that smooth refreshing gulp that comes in three varieties namely Watermelon Grape Breeze, Green Apple Cucumber Whirl, and Peach Lychee Sunrise.

Having tried all those three, my favorite is the sweet Watermelon Grape Breeze with grape skin fiber. Peach Lychee comes next with the strong lychee flavor and finally the Green Apple Cucumber.

Try one now as Figaro‘s summer quencher Summer Frost is available only until June 22, 2010 at P125 each.

Early this month, Yummy launched a blog contest for food bloggers where they would be giving to life to any of the recipes published in this month’s issue.

Yummy Magazine released the following mechanics:

* Each blogger is invited to try any of the recipes featured in Yummy’s May issue and blog about it. Attach the cover photo of the recipe at the end of the entry.

Yummy May 2010 Issue

* They should share what made them choose the recipe they are blogging about and how the experience was. Photos are highly encouraged.

* Each entry must have the following:
(1.) Cover image (May issue)
(2.)mention of www.yummy.ph
(3.)Mention Yummy’s Twitter and Facebook accounts (facebook.com/yummymagazine and twitter.com/yummyph)

* A contestant may submit up to 3 entries each

* They should email their entries (blog entry URL only) with the subject line My Yummy Adventure to fran.haw<at>summitmedia.com.ph or georgia.delosreyes<at>summitmedia.com.ph

* The winning entry will win a 6 months subscription of Yummy Magazine plus Php2,000 worth of Mr.Jones‘s Gift Certificate!

Yummy Magazine Blogger Contest

The Yummy Blogger’s contest is ongoing until May 31, 2010.

The online community is abuzz since yesterday about the said fastfood chain cameo appearance of Jollibee in the latest episode of the American hit TV series Glee.

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May 19, 2010 – 1pm UPDATE

The video of Jollibee appearing in Glee is now out proving the authenticity of the photo above. Apparently, it appeared much more than once. 🙂

Here is the embedded video from Yahoo Video

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Jollibee is considered to be the biggest fast food chain in the country. It has also branches / stores in other countries including the United States of America which makes the cameo appearance not impossible.

I checked out the sources of the photo and it led me to this (with a more specific post here) and this.

Aside from the question of  the photo’s original source, its authenticity is more important. As this blog pointed out:

“But is this for real?” – quoted from Technogra.ph

If it is, it can be an effective viral marketing strategy for Jollibee (like what’s happening now) especially that the said American TV series Glee is a big hit nowadays to the younger generation both locally in the Philippines and abroad.

On a completely off-topic side note (except that the two mentioned fast food chains are industry competitiors), NomNomClub has a new McDonald‘s ad on the header and below this article. Feel free to check it out especially if you are a CATS musical fan looking forward to watch the Cats Now and Forever Musical here in the Philippines. 🙂

*Photo used with credits to and sourced from http://inothernews.tumblr.com/

So how about you, what do you think? Is this screen shot of  Jollibee in Glee TV series that is currently circulating around the web for real?