Entries Tagged 'Cravings' ↓

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!

This is for the hardworking men and women of today. Regardless from which industry you come from, you deserve to reward yourself from time. This Friday and  weekend is a good start as the salary also just came in. 🙂 Reward yourself with Jollibee’s new Ultimate Burger Steak!

Jollibee Chicken Joy, et al.

The Ultimate Burger Steak Meal

From the same food chain who gave you the Chicken Joy, Breakfast Joys, the 39ers, and the more recent Grilled Pork Tenders, Jollibee offers something new for the hefty foodies – the Ultimate Burger Steak Meal.

Without having to wait for 5 to 10 minutes anymore, Jollibee supersized their burger steak meal into a pan-grilled 1/3 lb. CHAMP patty, smothered with mushroom gravy, mushroom slices, and a dash of toasted garlic on top. A bed of crunchy french fries supports the ultimate patty from below while a  a sunny-side-up egg rests on a serving of rice on the side.

For the Ultimate Appetite! #TheUltimateMeal

Priced at P109 for solo and P119 with drink, I say this is one power-filling meal for the demanding appetite.

NomNom Verdict

Together with a group of foodie bloggers, we got to take first dibs of this new offering in an intimate gathering at their Research and Development Center in Ortigas.

It was a filling treat of 100% Pure beef but it didn’t stop me from being among those who finished the whole serving in just a few minutes (including photo-taking, instagraming, twitting with #TheUltimateMeal, and Facebook-ing; have you seen the photos of Jollibee Singapore circulating around Facebook yesterday? They said it’s located at the 4F of the Lucky Plaza. 🙂 ).

Back to the ultimate story, it’s “The Champ” meets “The Burger Steak” kind of thing and consuming them altogether. 🙂 I was quite hungry then but I held half the rice; the rest disappeared in an instant, nonetheless.

I would also like to share the same sentiment of another food blogger last night – Melo from Pinoy Cravings, that the combination of the french fries and the mushroom gravy (which spills over to the fries) made an interesting combination you might also want to try.

Jollibee Ultimate Burger Steak: 1/3 lb. CHAMP patty + mushroom gravy + mushroom slices + toasted garlic+ french fries + egg.

Available all day, come and celebrate with Jollibee the ultimate 35th year anniversary with the Ultimate Burger Steak Meal to satisfy your ultimate cravings! 🙂

Likas sa pamilyang Pilipino ang palaging magkakasama – sa hapunan, sa pamamasyal, at sa iba’t-iba pang okasyon. “Isang malaki at masayang pamilya,” ika nga.

Max’s Restaurant in Lipa City, Batangas

Ang aking pamilya ay mula Lipa City sa probinsiya ng Batangas. Doon nagkatagpo ang aking mga magulang at doon sila nagsimula ng kanilang pamilya. Subalit ako’y ipinanganak sa Maynila, dito rin ako nag-aral at nagtapos. Sa makatuwid, dito na ako lumaki…malayo sa kanila. Ngunit tuwing may mga okasyon tulad ng kaarawan at Pasko, sinisigurado kong makakauwi ako.

Ngunit may mga panahon talagang mahirap maiwasan tulad ng nakaraang Disyembre kung saan ako’y nagbagong taon sa Bulacan kapiling ang aking kasintahan at ang kanyang pamilya. Ito ay aming napagkasunduan dahil sa Batangas naman kami nag-Pasko, kasama naman ang aking pamilya.

Max’s Restaurant Website & Online Delivery

Ngayong ako’y nagbabalik-tanaw, bigla kong naalala ang Max’s Restaurant at ang kakaibang paraan nila nang pag-order at pag-deliber. Sa pagsipat ng www.maxschicken.com gamit ang iyong kompyuter o telepono na konektdo sa Internet, makikita na isa sa paraan ng pag-order ‘online‘ ay ang ‘Delivery Now‘ o ‘Deliver Later‘ at pwede ko itong ipa-deliber sa iba’t-ibang lugar sa Pilipinas.

Naisip ko na kahit wala ako sa Batangas sa piling ng aking mga magulang, pwede ko itong gamitin na pang-sorpresa sa kanila. Pwede akong magpa-deliber ng ‘sarap-to-the-bones‘ fried chicken, Kare-Kare, Crispy Pata, Pancit Canton, o kahit Sinigang! Kakaiba, hindi ba!  Para kaming ‘sama-sama kahit malayo!’ 🙂

Max’s Chicken on facebook

Magandang ideya rin ito para sa mga kababayan nating OFWs (Overseas Filipino Workers). Kahit nasaan man sila sa mundo, kahit wala sila dito sa Pilipinas, pwede silang umorder at magbayad gamit ang internet at surpresang darating ang Max’s Chicken sa kaarawan ng kanyang mahal sa buhay o sa pagtatapos ng kanyang anak na parang nandoon din siya sa kasiyahan.

Salo-salo kahit malayo!

Panoorin ninyo ang napakagandang video na ito:

At siyempre, nandiyan parin ang Max’s Delivery hotline 7-9000 para sa regular na pagpapadeliver. Nasasabik na akong subukan ang kakaibang pag-order na ito sa www.maxschicken.com. Sino ba ang may nalalapit na kaarawan? 🙂

Choco-Chip Pancakes

I have to admit, I’m not a morning person; but I always try to be one for health purposes. So when KFC Philippines made a surprise delivery of their Fully Loaded Breakfast Meals at about 10 am this morning, they woke me up to my liking. 🙂

I’m a night person so I sleep late and expectedly get up late as well. But for office people on the go who have to go to the office from 8 am to 5 pm, they have to be morning people. Just the other day, I had to wake up at 330 am to catch the day 1 of the Philippine International Hot Air Balloon Festival 2013 in Clark.

And it’s good that KFC gives us additional options to power-up their day with their new KFC Fully Loaded Breakfast Meals. As they say, breakfast is the most important meal of the day.

KFC A.M. Breakfast /Fully Loaded Meals

First in line is the Filipino Breakfast FLM which includes chicken longganisa, chicken tocino slices, garlic rice, scrambled egg, and soft chocolate chip pancakes with maple syrup and whipped butter. It also comes with free coffee.

Second is the Breakfast Steak FLM (top photo) which includes your favorite original recipe chicken fillet with steak sauce, garlic rice, scrambled egg, and chocolate chip pancakes like the one above plus free coffee.

These two new Fully Loaded Meals joins the Longganisa Burger and A.M.Snacker in the KFC A.M. Breakfast range which is served until 10 am (9 am for delivery).

KFC Filipino Breakfast Fully Loaded Meal: Chicken Longganisa, Chicken Tocino slices, Garlic Rice, Scrambled Egg, and Chocolate Chip Pancakes with maple syrup and whipped butter, free Coffee

KFC A.M.: KFC Fully Loaded Breakfast Meals

Verdict

As mentioned above, it immediately became my actual breakfast at home this morning. :) Both are tummy-filling and good-tasting but the Filipino Breakfast FLM gets my recommendation if I needed to choose only one. It satisfies my craving for a Filipino breakfast not just with one, but two iconic Filipino breakfast symbols – the longganisa and tocino! Add to that the aromatic garlic rice, scrambled egg, and the filling pancakes.

I love the pancakes as well, they’re not your ordinary regular pancakes, they have chocolate chips hidden at the back which can surprise yet again the unfamiliar. 🙂 Make sure you consume them hot just like any other pancakes or you’ll end up disappointed. I hold half of the maple syrup and whipped butter for health purposes though.

Price

Both the Filipino Breakfast and Breakfast Steak Fully Loaded Meals are priced at P105. Value-wise, it is a good deal, a street-wise deal perhaps since the set is really ‘loaded‘.

You may also have it delivered via 887-8888 KFC Delivery (Metro Manila) or through their website KFCdelivery.com.ph. Follow them at Twiiter @KFCPhilippines and Faceboook at /KFCPhilippines.

Alpenliebe

The surprise came in as eccentric as the name of my new found eclair candy brand – Alpenliebe. It was delivered to our place in a sweet wooden bucket full of Alpenliebe candies in two flavors – Caramel Cream and Strawberry Cream.

At this point, I’m still not too sure how it is pronounced. But the foreign sounding name is due to the fact that Alpenliebe is from the same makers of Mentos and Chupa Chups, which we are more familiar with in the Philippines. It is from Perfetti Van Melle.

If ever you receive such a surprise package, what would you do with it?

Alpenliebe Candies (Caramel & Strawberry)

Alpenliebe – Caramel Flavor

Of course, you try out the flavors, which I did. Among the two flavors, I liked the Caramel more although the Strawberry (top photo) is also ok. Both are milk-based deposited candies which is already available in Italy as far back as 1984.

I think Alpenliebe candy éclairs will do well in the Philippines since Filipinos have a penchant for sweet things like chocolates and varied desserts. In the Philippines, they come in bags of 50s at a friendly price I’ll reveal soon.

Gino Quillamor hosted the event last Jan.31 at the new J.CO branch in Eastwood City

Finally, J.CO Donuts in Eastwood City had its much awaited grand opening last week with the prestige of being the largest branch and soon-to-be the first 24/7 store.

(Center) Trina Lim, VP for Operations, Lesley Chan and Alvene Ngo, Marketing Assistants – J.CO CFI Philippines

Sadly, me and my fiance had to miss the opening as it coincides with our pre-nup shoot at Pico De Loro in Nasugbu, Batangas. Nonetheless, J.CO donuts lovers will have another reason not to miss their delectable donuts paired with freshly brewed Italian coffee or healthy J.COOL frozen yogurt treats anytime.

The special media event was also graced by J.CO Donuts and Coffee founder Johnny Andrean who flew in from Jakarta to witness firsthand the growing appreciation J.CO in the Philippines.

The 7th and largest J.CO branch in the Philippines also welcomed JCO executives Mr. Oszen Chan – President, CFI; Mr. Carlos Chan – Chairman, CFI; Mr. Edgar Sia – Vice Chairman, CFI; Mr. Kevin Tan – First Vice President and Division Head, Megaworld Commercial Division, Megaworld;. Trina Lim, VP for Operations – J.CO CFI Philippines, Alvene Ngo and Lesley Chan, Marketing Assistants – J.CO CFI Philippines.

The brains behind the success of J.CO donuts -Mr.Carlos Chan – Chairman, CFI, Mr. Johnny Andrean – Founder of J.CO Donuts, Mr. Edgar Sia – Vice Chairman, CFI and Mr. Oszen Chan – President, CFI

J.CO Eastwood

Moreover, guests were treated to a hands-on making of J.CO’s bestselling donuts – Green Tease, Oreology and Al Capone. In a friendly competition, each guest was tasked to pick a donut of his or her choice then pair it with a beverage to come up with the best “Pair Me Up” donut and coffee combination. Guess what, JM Bueno of Kumagcow.com won that activity which entitled him to free donuts for the entire year.

The first J.CO Philippines branch opened in SM Megamall last year and is now also found SM Mall of Asia, J.CO Greenbelt 2, Alabang Town Center, SM Fairview, Trinoma Mall, and now J.CO Eastwood City.