Entries Tagged 'Affairs' ↓

Chef Christopher Gallaga

If an all-American buffet sound good to you, then you should waste no time in trooping down to Diamond Hotel at the heart of Manila City.

Continue reading →

I had lived within the vicinity of Kapitolyo in Pasig for a year or two sometime between 2001 to 2004. It was already a foodie haven back then. Home-based food establishments can be found left and right and I used to have a simple dinner in a street corner restaurant called Cafe Juanita.

Spam Sandwich Waflle

Ten years later, surrounding towns have  developed such as the nearby community of Avida Towers Centera along Reliance Street. A stone’s throw away from the Kapitolyo food streets, Avida Towers Centera is a residential condominium located at the corner of EDSA, Reliance, and Mayflower Streets.

Kapitolyo Food Tour

Last weekend, a day before the recent typhoon Maring devastated parts of Metro Manila, we had a day of food tripping around Kapitolyo together with some guys from Avida Land. I immediately noticed that there were a lot of new food establishments, with some replacing even formerly non-food establishments.

Milky & Sunny

First stop was Milky & Sunny for our breakfast. With interiors in the theme of baby-blue and white, it really sets you in the mood for the morning sunshine. Milky & Sunny had just opened in October of 2011 and I’m loving their fluffy soft waffles and tasty-toasty french toast.

Milky & Sunny in Kapitolyo Pasig

I ordered the Choco Hazelnut French Toast (P150) and Spam Sandwich Specials (P150). The others ordered the famous Breakfast Platters which is a big plate consisting of a choice of three from bacon, hotdog, sausage, spam, and corned beef. Then add a choice of bagel, toast, waffle, or pancake. And finally, take a choice of scrambled egg or sunny side up. The big plate also includes hash potatoes.

Although I found the combination of their Spam and egg in the ‘Spam Sandwich‘ a bit too salty together, the Choco Hazelnut french toast was a good one and is worth coming back to.

Chocolate Hazelnut French Toast

Since it would be crazy to immediately jump to Poco Deli for lunch, we found it a perfect time to check out the model units of the nearby Avida Towers Centera. Check out my photos of Avida Centera here.

Poco Deli Kapitolyo

Poco Deli

Giant sausages, bacon rice, and bacon slabs were the celebrities for lunch.

It was raining different kinds of sausages in our table inside Poco Deli. It gave me flashbacks of the movie “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs” which I watched recently through ClickPlay app.

Anyhow, our group made sure we ordered different entrees so we can try out as much. I ordered Mom’s Pot Roast (P320) while the rest had a German Sausage Platter/sampler, Bacon Slab with Bacon Rice, and Beef Stew, among others.

Although my order didn’t came through, I told the waiter that it was ok since I had enough from tasting all the entrees around me and was satisfied.

Blackout Chocolate Cake (lower left); Italian Sausage with Cheese (right), White Mountain Cake (upper left), Citrus Delight (upper right)

The German sausage platter is a good idea to share in a group of 3 to have some guide on what to order next. Bacon lovers should try the Bacon Slab with Bacon Rice (P320) [TOP PHOTO]. For a change, have your bacon in chunks. I had high expectation from the bacon rice. But it turned out to be a simple cup of rice with generous sprinkles of bacon bits on top. I think it’s ok, I just expected a lot.

Although that was a  let down, you should not miss the Citrus Delight (120). A bit citrus-y and sweet, it was ultimately refreshing. Make sure to press on the orange slices and stir well so you get maximum pulp bits with every sip.  Pizza, pasta, cold cuts, cheeses, and gourmet sandwiches are the other options.

The desserts were also a killer. The Blackout Chocolate Cake(P155) is aptly named and will get all praises from chocolate lovers, most probabaly. If you are not, the other cake behind is tamer – the White Mountain Cake (P150).

Poco Deli has another branch in Ayala Triangle Gardens, or so their poster says. Checking that out is something I look forward to.

Charlie’s Grind & Grill

Charlie’s Grind and Grill

Natural-Cut French Fries

Straight from lunch, we headed to the next for merienda [snacks] (yes you read that right). That’s what we did all day – eat; this is a food tour after all.

Store design wise, don’t expect much from Charlie’s. It is beside a car wash station which I think also belongs to the owner. That says it all. But believe it or not, their menu board consists of Black Angus Burgers, Wagyu CheeseBurgers, natural-cut french fries, and related burger variants with a commanding price of P200 up for each burger.

But what caught my fancy most was something I saw for the first time in all the burger joints I’ve been to – the San Miguel Beer Burger. I knew at that moment that I’m not going to leave this place without trying that Beer Burger.

And so I did.

San Miguel Beer Burger

Wagyu Cheeseburger with Mushroom

10 minutes later, it came as served by a rowdy-looking but courteous waiter. Even before you take a bite, you can smell the hint of beer right from the aroma. I uncovered the top bun first and a slew of seemingly sauteed onion and mushroom greeted me. This was followed by the bacon, the meat patty resting on a huge fresh onion and the usual burger conspirators.

I had a bite, turned my tongue upside down and back. Aside from the burger patty, I can taste a hint of beer even with the onion and mushrooms. This was confirmed by the server. It had griddle mushrooms, bacon baked onions, cheddar cheese, mayo,  SMB BBQ Sauce , and the toasted beer bun.

At P350, it is not cheap but worth the experience and having the right to say “I have tried a San Miguel Beer Burger“. It tasted good too! 🙂

Needless to say, I didn’t have to eat dinner that night.

Avida Towers Center 2-Bedroom Model Unit

Avida Towers Centera

In a similar way, the lifestyle being offered by the Avida Towers Centera to its future residents are filled with dynamic activities and food scene such as the Core @ Centera for the fitness and sports buff, the Hub @ Centera for the techie, the Peak @ Centera for a magnificent views of the cityscape; the Serenity Park @ Centera for the peace seeker, and the Shops @ Centera for the city dweller. Know more about Avida condominiums via www.avidaland.com and www.facebook.com/AvidaLandCorp, or call (+632) 848 5200 (within Metro Manila) and 1-800-10 848 5200 (outside Metro Manila).

And that was my fattening Kapitolyo Food Trip last weekend. The following days of being stuck at home, care of typhoon Maring, didn’t help in burning all the calories I gained. 🙂

Milky & Sunny Pancakes

Kidding aside, it was great to discover these new foodie spots in nearby the residential area of Avida Towers Centera and the Kapitolyo food scene.

This. is. life.

It was an intense 7-Day food photo challenge as a total of almost 200 photo submissions tagging @SamsungPH & @JonelUy with the hashtags #GalaxyMega #FoodPorn and #NomNomClub were sent as entries for the Samsung Galaxy Mega Food Photo Challenge.

We observed that Instagram raked in the most number of photo uploads with almost 120 photos. Facebook and Twitter followed which sum up to almost  200 in total among the different social media channels in the first week of August.

Here is a photo collage I made from the 120++ Instagram photo entries.

Some of the 150++ Samsung #GalaxyMega #NomNomClub Food-Photo Challenge Instagram Entries

A Word of Thanks

We would like to thank Samsung Mobile Philippines (@SamsungPH and @SamsungMobilePH) for sponsoring this blog contest with a Samsung Galaxy Mega 5.8 Duos unit as prize. NomNom Club have been using the Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3 and has been extremely happy with the unit for almost three weeks now.

I have been shooting and uploading rich media content such as Instagram photos and Instagram videos, Facebook posts, and Twitter updates using the Mega smartphone. Add to that watching movies using the ClickPlay application – a true multimedia gadget indeed! 🙂

Samsung Galaxy Mega 5.8 Duos Winner

As per the choosing of the photos, it took us several days not only because of the 200 photos but because a lot of them were very good as well. After validation, there were 51 set of entries with at least 3 photos each who followed the requirements.

We were able to round it up to a few top entries including an entry which took the challenge beyond the 3 photos into a complete 7-day “Cook my own lunch‘” challenge by Kim. There was also an entry set of 5 photos in Instagram which was one of the top contenders with its rich color and great composition as submitted by Iana. There was even a mom-participant which featured her “Nanay Lunches” photos of healthy bento box by Lourdes.And lastly, there were Facebook Notes and status which added a story into it which made it a good read such as the one by Joy. (if only I could give away five Samsung Galaxy Mega Smartphones). Their story were so good I would even like to invite them to write for NomNom Club as contributors, What do you think? 🙂

However,  we had to select the best from the best entries and we had to choose only one. And without further delay, the winning set of photos is from Jenn Valmonte with her Facebook note entitled “Play With Food, Unleash the Creativity“.

“Play WIth Food”

You can see the three photo links from Twitter here:

https://twitter.com/janujennifer/status/364617004302360576/photo/1
https://twitter.com/janujennifer/status/364949072651636736/photo/1
https://twitter.com/janujennifer/status/365368535825907712/photo/1

Congratulations Ms. Jenniffer Valmonte for winning a box-sealed Samsung Galaxy Mega Smartphone 5.8!

All three photos had great composition, a hint of color, and played with light, producing a dramatic and impactful effect. It was more than a photograph of food, it was a story in itself that enamors your soul to know more about the image.

Invitation for all Participants to the Awarding

We are holding a simple awarding ceremony at Greenwich Pizza at the 2/F of  SM Megamall SM City North Edsa at 1pm August 20 22, 2013 where we will award the Samsung Galaxy Mega 5,8 Smartphone to the winner. All participants who submitted their entries at the comment section of the contest post are welcome to attend for free and the Greenwich pizza is on NomNom Club! We will also be giving away some tokens in a raffle for all the participant-attendees in the event. Kindly send an email to < admin AT NomNomClub.com > for headcount purposes until 12noon of August 20 21. See you!

Thank you to all participants and stay tuned for more giveaways from our sponsors. Continue to read and share your foodie thoughts in our articles’ comment section. You may also tag #NomNomClub in your social media posts and we’ll like/repost them when possible.

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.

Continue reading →

An anniversary is a great milestone in the Chinese culture; from an individual’s birthday to a couple’s wedding anniversary. We witnessed several weeks ago, June 2013 to be exact, the 1st anniversary of King Chef Seafood Restaurant in a festive Chinese tradition in their Lucky Chinatown Mall branch at the 2nd floor.

King Chef Lucky Chinatown Mall

We first got a taste of King Chef‘s dishes in its Banawe branch where it all started a year ago. So it was a delight to join them again  in this momentous event.

Parade of Waiters

Although lunch started a bit late at past 12 noon, it was worth the wait. The program emcee opened the ceremonies with a prayer and a game to perk up the crowd. This was immediately followed by the parade of waiters serving the traditional dumplings in Seafood Spinach Soup.

It was welcomed with eagerness by the guests’ hungry stomachs and was wiped-out in a minute or two in each table seated with 10-12 guests.

King Chef Seafood Restaurant “Pan-To” Tables

Dumplings in Seafood Spinach Soup 

Another traditional dish served was the Assorted Cold Cuts Combination for appetizers. Chunks of chicken, pork, and duck were carefully placed about the plate section with seaweeds and century egg slices at the center.

The first main dish that came about was the Deep-fried Suahe with Salted Egg. Deep fried in Chinese style, the shrimp was cooked just right and not too salty.

King Chef Chinese Tea in an exquisitely designed tea pot

Assorted Cold Cuts Combination

Deep-fried Suahe with Salted Egg

It was shortly followed by the colorful stir-fried Kung Pao Chicken.

But what I liked most about the entree was the fried spareribs. It’s called the Fried Spareribs with Eight Spices. I guess it’s the latter which lent it the burst of flavors from aroma to the meat. Best of all, the meat was tender which most spareribs dishes fail at.

Stir-fried Kung Pao Chicken

Fried Spareribs with Eight Spices

King Chef Restaurant Anniversary

Sadly I had to miss the subsequent dishes such as the Stuffed Eggplant in Japanese Sauce, Fried King Fish in Mango Sauce, Typhoon Shelter Crabs, and the Birthday Noodles. The desserts Almond Fish Gelatin and Mango Balls missed me as well.

This was because I had to leave earlier than the rest at a little past 2pm due to a prior commitment. It was a great Chinese lunch nonetheless and we wish King Chef Seafood Restaurant more years to add to their success!

Are you a NomNom Club reader and a #foodie who likes to take photos and share them on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook? Did you know that the Samsung #GalaxyMega phablet‘s 8MP camera and smart settings can give you full creativity in making it a winning food shot?

Samsung Galaxy Mega 5.8

Then you’re in for a treat as your creative skills in food photography can be rewarded with a brand new spanking Samsung #GalaxyMega with a 5.8″ large display for all the world to see and dual sim to boot worth about P16,990! See the detailed specs of the Samsung Galaxy Mega here.

What You Need to Do (Mechanics):

1. Like and publicly share this post in your Facebook account and tag four of your friends including http://www.facebook.com/NomNomClub on FB so we can monitor.
2. Since this is a gveaway for NomNomClub readers, you should be an email subscriber of NomNom Club. If you are not, you can enter your email here.
   
3. Shoot 3 of your most creative food photos and publicly upload them on Instagram or Twitter or Facebook, or in ALL OF THEM within 7 days anytime from July 29 upto August 8, 2013. 
4. Share your experience / adventure about the photo and include the hashtags #GalaxyMega #FoodPorn #NomNomClub and tag @SamsungPH and @JonelUy.
5. Once you are done with all your 3 photo uploads or more, create a Facebook Note or Facebook Status with all your 3 URL links indicated with hashtags #GalaxyMega #NomNomClub and tag @SamsungPH, @NomNomClub, @JonelUy for judging on Aug 9-11, 2013.  Finally, post your Name, Email, and the URL link of your Facebook Note / Facebook Status at the comment section so we can contact you back in case you win. Yey!

Examples:

Awesome @SamsungPH #GalaxyMega shot of the California Chicken Burger frm B&T Resto! Join http://Bit.ly/SGMega58 @JonelUy #FoodPorn #NomNomClub

Notes:

• A food photo is defined as a photo with food in the picture. This means you can make it a collage of small photos like the J.CO Philippines Donuts collage below or even a #selfie food photo shot like mine with the new Greenwich PIzza THINS.

The #box of J.CO Donuts would surely fit in my future @SamsungPH #GalaxyMega large screen! #Merienda #Sweets #@JonelUy #NomNomClub Join http://bit.ly/SGMega58

#SELFIE shot with Greenwich Pizza THINS & @SamsungPH #GalaxyMega ! #NomNomClub @JonelUy #FoodPorn

Pinikpikan Manok #lunch in #Sagada!  Hoping to have my @Samsung #GalaxyMega soon. Join http://bit.ly/SGMega58 @JonelUy #FoodPorn #NomNomClub

I <3 @SamsungPH #GalaxyMega’s smart editing tools. Join http://bit.ly/SGMega58 @JonelUy, pls feature @OfficialStarbucksPH Salami & Cheese on Marbled Rye Bread #NomNomClub #FoodPorn

Tip:

• You can submit different sets of 3 photos for each of the social networks IG,TW, and FB (but only 1 photo set from each social network). This means you can send a maximum of 3 photoset entries and get more chances of winning!

Winner of Samsung #GalaxyMega

The most creative set of 3 photos with minimal photo-editing would be chosen and announced through a blogpost in NomNomClub.com anytime from August 9 to 12, 2013. The judges decision within bounds of the mechanics is final.

• Although this contest is open to anyone in the Philippines, the winner should be able to claim the prize in any SM Mall in Metro Manila where the meetup and prize turnover would happen a few days after the announcement.

Samsung Galaxy Mega 5.8 Giveaway: http://bit.ly/SGMega58

Take the Samsung Galaxy Mega 7-Day Food-Photo Challenge and bring home the Samsung #GalaxyMega smartphone!

I have attended a number of food bazaars and exposition in the past years but the recent Electrolux Discover-E Food Festival held at the NBC Tent in Taguig last month was exceptionally fun. Beyond just tummy filling, the food festival was also a great event.

Electrolux Discover-E Food Festival @ NBC Tent

What made the Electrolux Discover-E Food Festival a Success

The two-day first Electrolux Discover-E Food Festival held last June 2013 was a resounding success for the brand after being able to come up the big event.smooth and easy.

Here are the following reasons which I think made the first Electrolux Discover-E Food Festival a success:

• The Food Festival

First, of course, is the food. There were a lot of food kiosk and stalls serving great food.

Moreover, with a theme focusing on Filipino cusine and pinoy specialties, most of the food stalls and exhibitors, even those not necessarily have a pinoy inclination came up with specific pinoy specialties to showcase exclusively during the event only.

Vigan Empanada

Inutak

The Juice Barista & Pedro’s Buko

Choco ATBP. & Mrs. Grahams

Some of which that were substantial are the following: Inutak, Teue Deli, Kesong Puti Tsiskeyk, The Juice Barista, Mrs. Grahams, Choco ATBP, Manongs Bagnet Station, Tiltilan, Vigan Empanada, Pinoysilog, Whisk, Pedro’s Buko, Double Delights, Manila Bake,

My favorites were Inutak, Mrs. Grahams, The Juice Barista, and True Deli‘s Litson baboy Ramo with Sarsa ng Kabote which I had for lunch albeit it costs P270. I think it was my first time to eat baboy ramo. 🙂

Litson Baboy Ramo with Sarsa ng Kabote

True Deli

Tamarind Dressing from Whisk & Localized Premium Chocolates

Greek Yoghurt & Frabelle’s Ocean Fresh

• Chef Bruce Lim and Chef Rosebud Cooking Demos

Chef Bruce Lim and Chef Rosebud each held one or two cooking demos which exhibited great Pinoy cuisines using practical Electrolux appliances in the kitchen.

Chef Bruce Lim

Chef Rosebud

• Partner Brands

Second, there were a lot of partner brands relevant to the food industry. Some of the them include Anolon by Meyer, Chefs Lab, The Orange Project, CIF, and Corelle.

Anolon by Meyer

Dole Philippines

CIF

The Orange Project

• Sagip Kapamilya Kitchen Project

The evemt also showcased the construction of Sagip Kapamilya Kitchen project where Electrolux Philippines donated a kitchen showcase gave the ABS-CBN Foundation a kitchen make-over to give the group voluteers a great kitchen to work on essential to their daily operations.

Electrolux-Sagip Kapamilya Kitchen Project

Ms. Andrea Pionilla, Group Product Manager of Electrolux Philippines, also delivered a speech.

• Contests

There were a number of contests held for the audience and the media during the program proper. Electrolux gave away kitchen goodies and appliances including a pair of Electrolux microwave ovens for the top prize in the on-the-spot cooking contests for the unsuspecting crowd participants.

Winners of the On-The-Spot Cooking Contest: Byahilo and Pinoy Adventursita

• Freebies

Electrolux DiscoverE Activities

More than just giving away lootbags and freebies, exhibitors made sure it was an interacive one where participants were only able to recieve the loots upon completion of the Discover-E passports after completing some easy tasks.

The social media hastags #DiscoverE with the @ElectroluxPH tags were also encouraged from the blogosphere, Twitter world, Facebook, and Instagram.

More Photos Here (to be updated soon)

Electrolux Discover-E Food Festival

Kudos and congratulations to Electrolux Philippines and the organizers of the Electrolux Discover-E Food Festival. I hope there will be another one in 2014! 🙂

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?