Entries Tagged 'Cravings' ↓

Greenwich Carbonara Pasta

Have you experienced craving for something but not really too sure what you want yet at the same time? It’s the craving we had over last Saturday, and a pleasant surprise came over courtesy of the Greenwich Barkada! Continue reading →

Magnum Gold

“It’s coming…”, says the teaser of an ice cream brand with a golden shadow on its side. Came Sunday – 02.09.14, Selecta ice cream announced the coming of the newest Magnum variant in the Philippines – Magnum Gold?!

After the luxurious Belgian chocolate ice cream bar came to the Philippines since two years ago, the premium ice cream on a stick has already made mark in the local market .

Not resting on its laurels, Magnum ice cream kicked off 2014 with its big news for loyal pleasure seekers with the new Magnum Gold. This new level of indulgence mixes a swirl of sea salt caramel with the silky vanilla ice cream. Moreover, it is the first double dipped Magnum bar wherein the ice cream bar is first coated with a layer of Belgian milk chocolate and dipped again in a layer of golden-colored white chocolate!

In a campaign prior to launch, Magnum hinted the public with the hashtag #GrabTheGold while SM Supermarket complemented it with #GRABtheGOLDatSM to highlight its convenient availability in SM Mall’s SM Supermarket areas.

Furthermore, Magnum has tied up with Hollywood acclaimed director Bryan Singer (XMen 2014), Oscar winner Benicio del Torro (The Collector – The Guardians of the Galaxy,  Avengers), and Brazilian supermodel and actress Caroline Correa to create a golden cinematic trailer to launch the newest flavor that is Magnum Gold.

Magnum Gold Philippine Launch

Magnum Gold Price

Here in the Philippines, celebrity Raymond Gutierrez led the pre-launch teaser at SM Aura‘s Director’s Club theater for the media three days prior to the grand reveal.

On the field, motorists around Metro Manila, particularly Makati, have caught a glimpse of a massive golden vault, marked only by the letter ‘M,’ being escorted through traffic. The 7×7 foot-large vault of shining gold was hauled from the RCBC Tower on Ayala Avenue to the Fort Bonifacio Activity Center, guarded by an entourage of BMWs ensuring its safe arrival. At the Fort, the golden vault was held under security until its unveiling last February 9.

Online, Magnum lovers were also teased with ‘unlocking the gold‘ through mysterious activities at www.magnum.com.ph.

Magnum Gold revealed

Magnum Gold Bite

NomNom Club w/ Raymond Gutierrez

NomNom Club & Magnum Gold

And so it came. NomNom Club was among the first to try the new Magnum Gold 3 days prior to the reveal.

The vanilla ice cream we love maintained its silky smooth quality and is now even more enhanced with the sea salt caramel swirls. The double coating made the experience more interesting with its thinker coating and stronger-pitched crackling sound. :) The golden white chocolate was also a welcome twist.

Grab the Gold at SM

The golden day came and mini gold vaults popped up in cinema lobbies and SM Supermarkets of malls around Metro Manila. These malls included: SM Megamall, SM MOA SM Hypermarket, SM North Edsa, SM Southmall, SM Aura, and SM Makati, among others.

At exactly 3pm, the first 100 consumers to line up at the cinema lobbies at the malls got the chance to experience the Magnum Gold standard.

In SM Supermarket groceries, shoppers got instant rewards to claim their free Magnum Gold at the “Unlock the Gold” booths where they also got the chance to win one of five iPhone shuffles that day among the 200 lucky SM Supermarket customers. #GrabtheGoldatSM

2 for P100 at SM Supermarkets

Magnum Gold in SM Supermarket

One Magnum Gold is regularly priced at P55 each but from February 10 to 28, you can get 2 Magnum Gold for only P100 in all SM Supermarket, SM Hypermarket, and Savemore Market.

Know more about the new Magnum Gold in the Philippines at www.magnum.com.ph, So spread the word and let everyone know, it’s now time to #GrabtheGold, or better yet, #GrabtheGoldatSM !

If this is your first time to hear about heart-shaped pizzas, where have you been? 🙂 NomNom Club was able to try Angel’s heart-shaped pizza for Valentine’s Day for the first time about two years ago. Continue reading →

Crystal Jade Shanghai Delight

Traditionally, Chinese New Year in the Philippines is celebrated with the colors red and gold. ‘Red’ symbolizes luck in the Chinese culture while ‘gold’ represent prosperity.

But in the new Crystal Jade Shanghai Delight restaurant in Greenhills, you have more colors to celebrate it with care of their multi-flavoured Xiao Long Bao!

New Look

Aside from changing their old name Crystal Jade La Mian Xiao Long Bao, Crystal Jade Shanghai Delight also revamped its look. In my second visit to the restaurant a few weeks ago with my wife,  I was surprised to know that they had a renovation sometime mid of last year. I didn’t know about it since my first visit was perhaps back in 2012. I felt it was a let down at first since the see-through noodle kitchen was gone. It provided an interesting view from the outside whenever I pass by V-Mall in Greenhills.

New Crystal Jade in V-mall Greenhills

On another thought, the changes were also good in a way that the new ambience was refreshing to the eyes dominated by light purple shades and the skyline of Shanghai on one wall adding to the casual dining experience.

Xiao Long Bao

Xiao Long Bao

Having grown-up in a Chinese family, Xiao Long Bao (a steamed soupy pork dumpling) was a common sight in big family gatherings in Chinese restaurants. But I have never seen a Xiao Long Bao other than its traditional plain and white form. Needless to say, the Multi-colored Xiao Long Bao (Php 229) came as a surprise. 🙂 Wifey and I discovered that the rainbow-colored Xiao Long Bao set was a mix of 5 flavors including Shrimp (orange), Spicy Chicken (dark orange), Spicy Beef (red), Vegetable and Dried Beancurd (green), and interestingly - Cheese (yellow). :) You can mix and match any of the five as a package for only Php 229. One piece is about P49-P59 each. I think this is the only colored Xiao Long Bao in the Philippines.

Multi-Flavored Xiao Long Bao

With a more piqued interest, we just had to try it! 🙂 And so we did. For a spice-averse couple like us, you can easily guess our favorites. The seafood-lover in me cherished the shrimp while wifey went for the cheese. The spicy chicken and beef flavors were tolerable for our standards so you need not worry either. The vegetable and dried beancurd was a good one; it was my second choice, actually.

Yummy Beverages

Crystal Jade Shanghai Delight Menu

Beyond the signature Xiao Long Bao,  Shanghai dishes are mostly represented by La Mian noodles, Tan Tan Mien, Spicy and Sour soup, and sauteed chicken with cashew nuts, among others. Here are some more new and interesting dishes we tried from their menu over lunch.

Braised Pork with preserved vegetable in Claypot (Php 300) [NomNom Recommended]

Lion’s Head – braised minced pork & mushroom with cabbage (Php 358)

Crispy Eel in “Wu Xi” Style [NomNom Top Choice]

Deepfried Mushroom in Salt & Pepper (Php 288)

Mango Pudding (Php 120)

Glutinous Rice Dumpling with Taro (Php 120 3pcs)

We also got a ‘Fried Mixed Rice in Hot Stone Pot‘ (Php 348) but organic red and brown rice is not for everyone. They usually turn out tougher than ordinary rice; so think twice about this. We liked it for it’s health benefits though. Check out our Costales organic farming adventures here.

The Braised Eggplant with Pork in Claypot (Php 300) from the menu looks interesting as well so I think we will try this in our next visit.

Moreover, Crystal Jade is open for breakfast in the morning from 7 to 10:30 a.m with a special breakfast menu. Pair up your favorite dimsum with a bowl of their signature congee or pulled noodle offerings and conclude with a Chinese tea.

Crystal Jade Shanghai Delight
Address: Unit 117-121 Ground Floor, V-Mall, Greenhills
Operations: 7 to 10 p.m. Monday to Sunday
Telephone: (+632) 570-5233 & 570 6910
Website: www.crystaljade.com

Crystal Jade Shanghai Delight also delivers via City Delivery at (02) 87878.

Crystal Jade Shanghai Delight Restaurant

Did you know that Crystal Jade also offers Black Truffle and Foie Gras Xiao Long Bao flavors? 3 pieces cost Php 188. So why not celebrate your colorful Chinese New Year with the family at Crystal Jade Shanghai Delight tomorrow? 🙂

Bottomless Tostada Chips with Skillet Queso (P390)

NomNom Club recently visited Chili’s at The Atrium of SM Megamall in Mandaluyong City for the first time.

Here’s a short photoblog, aka ‘photo-chips‘, of what we had in the filling dinner a few days ago.

Chili’s SM Megamall

• Triple Dipper (P495) – a combo of three well-loved appetizers in Chili’s: Chicken Cripsers, Wings Over Buffalo, and Southwestern Eggrolls. The latter is a crispy flour tortilla filled with smoked chicken, black beans, corn, jalapeno jack cheese, red peppers and spinach. Triple Dipper also comes with avocado ranch dressing, among other sauces.
  

  Chili’s Triple Dipper (P495)

• Bottomless Tostada Chips with Skillet Queso (P390) – never tire with your unlimited crispy tostada chips with flavorful house-made salsa and skillet queso which is a combination of chesse dip and soft beef.
• Classic Nachos (P435) – It certainly looks like pizza, but they are nachos! These nachos has melted cheese on top, jalapenos, and beans served with house-made pico de gallo and sour cream. You have the option to add grilled beef for (P195), grilled chicken for (P95), and guacamole for (P55).
  

  Classic Nachos (P435)

• High and Mighty Pie (P380) – Definitely a dessert to share (although I can finish this all by myself)! 🙂  It’s indeed high for a pie and mighty for a cake! It has Heath candy pieces in rich vanilla ice cream piled high on a crushed Oreo cookie crust and drizzled with caramel and hot fudge.
  

  High and Mighty Pie (P380)

  

  Big Mouth Burger Bites

Lastly, we had the Big Mouth Burger Bites. We also had smoothies which are as good as desserts by the name of  Fresh Strawberry (P195) and Molten Chocolate (P195).

Molten Chocolate (left) & Fresh Strawberry (right); both Php 195

The former is a generous serving of vanilla ice cream blended with chunks of strawberries at the bottom. The latter is special chocolate coating blended with vanilla ice cream and milk. It’s creamier than the first.

Chili’s chilisphilippines.com 2F Greenbelt 5, Ayala Makati (729.3022) Northeast Greenhills, San Juan (727.2959) Tomas Morato corner Scout Fernandez, QC (372.5017) Power Plant Rockwell, Makati City (659.65627) SM Megamall (631.0380) Twitter/Instagram: @Chilis_PH

Chili’s SM Megamall

We used to go to Chili’s in Greenhills and the one at the Timog / Tomas Morato Area. Chili’s SM Megamall is surely a welcome addition to their list of branches which is more accessible.

Tik-Tok Food Cart

New year, new opportunities. This is what the food industry leaders behind a number of well-loved brands such as Mister Donut had in mind when they developed their newest foray into the food stall franchising business called Stallmart.

Siomai Central Food Cart

Stallmart Inc.

Stallmart, Inc. aims to become the strongest in the stall and kiosk industry. Having started way back in 2012, Stallmart already offers affordable packages for aspiring businessmen and provides support to franchisees such as site evaluation assistance, staff training, and operations and marketing support.

“There are always new and innovative ideas waiting to be materialized…Franchising allows brands to have multiple branches in strategic locations opening simultaneously, dominating the market even before competitors develop their own businesses,” says Terry Yap, Business Development and Franchising Director of Mister Donut Philippines.

Tik-Tok Offerings

Franchising in the Philippines

On the concept of franchising, it has been more than a trend in the local entrepreneurship scene of the Philippines. It started to boom about a decade ago but the busniess model continous to prosper. This is apparent with the influx of different franchise brands in the Philippines.

And one of the strongest factor in the success of franchise businesses in the Philippines is name recognition. In cases wherein numerous players in the market offer generally the same products, consumers tend to gravitate towards brands that are familiar to them.

Stallmart Franchise Business Products

ThirTea

More about Stallmart

In our meeting a few months ago, we came to know that Stallmart’s particular action point is the low-investment, high-profit businesses in the Philippine franchising sector. Hence, they recently launched three new food cart brands—ThirTea, Fold N’ Roll, and Little Mexico.

Fold ‘n Roll

ThirTea aims to provide the best milk tea experience especially for consumers on-the-go, offering pocket-friendly milk variants. Stallmart is optimistic that the milk tea boom is beyond trend but is more because of a concious market choice leaning toward a healthier lifestyle. Second is the Fold N’ Roll which aims to highlight the company’s version of New York-style folded pizza. Lastly, Little Mexico brings a taste of Mexico through bite-sized tacos, nachos, and burritos.

Little Mexico Food Cart

Today, Stallmart has over 90 franchised stores all around the country and more are expected soon considering the brands ThirTea, Fold N’ Roll, Little Mexico, Siomai Central, and Tik-Tok.

NomNom Club was able to try a variety of products from the above-mentioned brands. As per taste, the products of Fold N’ Roll piqued out interest. If it is able to maintain a consistent quality, Fold N’ Roll will go far.

ThirTea Food Cart

Fold N’ Roll Food Cart

If you are interested with the franchsiing opportunities offered by Stallmart among the brands of ThirTea, Fold N’ Roll, Little Mexico, Siomai Central, and Tik-Tok, you may contact them at the following channels:

Stallmart Inc,
Wesbite http://www.stallmart.com.ph/
Telephone: +632.370-1236
Email: foodcartfranchising@foodventures.ph

Stallmart Franchise Business

Stallmart Food Carts

NomNom Tip: If you are new in business, starting up using the franchise business model will really help a lot in ensuring the success of your first venture. And one of the most important aspect of that is a reliable franchise supplier. In the case of foodcarts, with the years of experience of the owners of Stallmart with Mister Donut and other brands such as KFC, I believe you will be in good hands with them.

Before indulging yourself, try smelling the new Starbucks Chestnut Macchiato as it debuts in all Starbucks Philippine stores today – January 9, 2014. Take a sniff from the hot lid and you will discover the sweet-scented aroma I am talking about. Continue reading →

C2 Sarap Ng Christmas Winners

C2 Christmas Tree Entry

The National College of Business and Arts Fairview‘s Hotel and Restaurant Management Society emerged victorious among the top 10 finalists in last night’s C2 Cool and Clean “Sarap Ng Christmas” Tree-Making Contest awarding ceremony at Market-Market in Taguig City.

C2 Cool and Clean, the country’s pioneering and leading ready-to-drink green tea beverage launched the C2 Sarap Ng Christmas Tree-Making Contest with the aim of bringing relevant and memorable Christmas experience to the youth and young-at-heart.

The top 10 finalist C2 Christmas Trees with an average height of 13 feet are currently on display near the main entrance of the Market Market mall in Taguig.

At Market!Market!, Taguig City

Some of the Top 10 Finalists

“C2 Sarap Ng Christmas” Christmas Tree Making Contest

C2 “Sarap Ng Christmas” Tree-Making Contest Winners

NCBA Fairview, the grand prize winner, received the Php 75,000 cash prize on stage with teary-eyed student representatives who expressed gratitude to the judges for appreciating their craft. Moreover, a Php 30,000 endowment went to the school. A key highlight to their entry was the presentation of a complete table set-up as to be expected from HRM students.

The winning group, composed of 24 students, used 1,211 bottles to decorate their 12-ft Christmas tree .

The National College of Business and Arts Fairview Hotel and Restaurant Management Society bags the top prize

NCBA’s Winning Christmas Tree (foreground) complete with dinner setup

The 2nd prize went to 1st runner-up winner – Philippine Women’s University Student Choir Group – for their brightly-lit rendition of the Christmas Tree with a dominant “C2” at the center. They received Php 50,000 in cash prize and an endowment of Php25,000 for the school. 12 students from the PWU group used 1,200 C2 bottles to build the 12-ft Christmas tree.

Philippine Women’s University Student Choir Group got the 2nd Prize

PWU’s brightly-lit C2 Christmas Tree

The 2nd runner-up winning the 3rd prize of Php 25,000 went to Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila Supreme Student Council (Finalist #3) for their tall entry hhighlighted by a “C2 Star” at the top. The school also received an endowment of Php 15,000. The 12-ft tree used-up  a total of 2000 C2 bottles assembled by about 100 students.

Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila Supreme Student Council got the third prize

PLM’s proud C2 Christmas Tree at night

Criteria

The finalists were narrowed down to the top 10 in the duration of the search where different schools from Metro Manila were invited to build thematic Christmas trees using hundreds of C2 bottles in less than a month.

The C2 Christms Tress from University of the Philippines Artist’s Circle Sorority

The entries were judged based on the following criteria:

• C2 Sarap ng Christmas Theme: 40%
• Creative Execution: 30%
• Technical Execution: 30%

Ms. Viveca Singson, Corporate Communications Manager of JG Summit,  Ms. Cat Velayo, Account Director of PC&V,  Mr. Mark Acosta, Manager of URC Corporate Marketing Services Group, and Ms.Carla Chaves, Marketing Manager of URC Beverages – Tea Category, were among the judges of the said competition.

One of the crowd’s favorite – the creative entry from the University of the Philippines UP Artist Cricle Sorority – unfortunately was not able to get a place in the top 3 probably due to missing the first criteria where the judges were looking for a traditional Christmas tree. Nonetheless, it won the hearts from most of the crowd who got themselves some “selfies” with the attractive pinkish-red tree.

Top 10 Finalists: C2 “Sarap Ng Christmas” Tree-Making Contest

1. Philippine Women’s University University Student Choir
2. University of the East College of Engineering and Recognized Organizations
3. Jose Rizal University Central Student Council
4. University of Makati College of Allied Health Studies
5. University of the Philippines Artist’s Circle Sorority
6. United Architects of the Philippines Graduate Auxiliary
7. Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila Supreme Student Council
8. NCBA Cubao Future Educators Club
9. NCBA Fairview Junior Philippines Institute of Accountants
10. NCBA Fairview Hotel and Restaurant Management Society

The other Top 10 Finalist Christmas Trees

Over all, C2 Cool and Green gave away over Php 200,000 worth of prizes. The other finalists also received Christmas gift packs as consolation prizes.

“C2 has always been at the forefront of supporting the youth and encouraging them to adopt a healthy lifestyle. Through the C2 Christmas Tree Making Contest, we hope to showcase the artistic talent of these young students ..this Holiday Season” says Mr. Edwin Totanes, VP and General Manager for URC Beverage Division.

The winners of the C2 Sarap Ng Christmas Tree-Making Contest

C2 Colors of Christmas

Celebrate Christmas with C2

With the success of C2 Sarap Ng Christmas Tree-Making Contest this 2013, we are sure to anticipate its 2014 run next year. Keep yourselves updated at C2 Cool and Clean Facebook page : http://www.facebook.com/C2CoolandClean.

As the year 2013 closes and we anticipate the upcoming new year of 2014, let us celebrate a healthier and more delicious new year with C2’s latest flavors – C2 Red Tea and C2 Iced Tea – which best fits the holiday season to make us exclaim with more vigor: “Sarap ng Christmas!“