Entries Tagged 'Cravings' ↓

We hereby declare this whole week a Nomnom Promos Week. We will be featuring five food and restaurant related promos, discounts and freebies within these seven days!

We’ll start with the soon-ending Coca-Cola Jollibee UAAP Bottles Promo.

Even with the recent UAAP season concluded, continue to flaunt your school spirit with 72^nd UAAP season’s hot collectibles, the limited edition Coca-Cola Jollibee UAAP bottles!

Jollibee has extended this offering until October 15 31, 2009. UAAP fans and supporters can take home the eight uniquely designed bottles for free by simply ordering any Jollibee Burger Value Meal with Double Go Large upgrade of your fries and Coke!

The limited-edition Coca-Cola UAAP bottles eye-catching designs  are inspired from the competing UAAP squads—the Adamson Falcons, Ateneo Blue Eagles, De La Salle Green Archers, Far Eastern University Tamaraws, National University Bulldogs, University of the East Red Warriors, University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons and the University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigers.

Complete your Coca-Cola Jollibee UAAP bottle collection now!

Krispy Kreme Philippines initially provided relief efforts for victims of typhoon Ondoy in their own simple way by giving away free doughnuts to typhoon victims and relief operation volunteers as part of its immediate action.

As a follow up, they are holding a special day tomorrow in their branches. They are encouraging everyone to help them in their fund raising efforts to provide relief for Ondoy victims, by simply purchasing an Original Glazed doughnut this coming Sunday, October 11, 2009.

For every Original Glazed doughnut you buy, the sale will automatically go to Krispy Kreme’s relief fund which will distributed to the Philippine National Red Cross–Rizal Chapter and ABS-CBN Sagip Kapamilya.

Krispy Kreme is inviting you to join hands with them in rising from this occasion and prove that heroism is truly a Filipino trait.

You may visit the following stores on October 11 to join the fund raising –

• Bonifacio High Street
• SM Megamall
• Greenhills Drive-Thru
• Trinoma Mall
• SM Mall of Asia Main Mall and Drive-Thru
• Robinsons Galleria
• Gateway Mall Ground Floor and Cinema Level
• Glorietta 4
• The Annex SM North EDSA
• SM Fairview Annex

I”ll be at the KK BHS branch. 🙂

Here in the Philippines, the Chinese community is usually in a festive mood even a week before the Chinese Mooncake Festival. But this year, I hardly saw mooncake in our dining table.

October 3 passed just like any usual Saturday.

Aside from the given economic crunch, the gloomy atmosphere is part of the recovery phase from the recent typhoon Ondoy.

Nonetheless, that doesn’t stop this food blog from sharing a bite from the Chinese’s Mooncake Festival culture.

The Mooncake Festival, also referred to as the Mid-Autumn Festival, marks the end of a good harvest season for the farmers.

Regarded as a legal holiday by the Chinese, it is annually held on the fifteenth day of the eighth month of the Chinese calendar. This year, it fell on an early October on our local calendar.

Wikipedia.org describes it as

“…a date that parallels the autumn and spring Equinoxes of the solar calendar“

The festivity references to the ‘moon’ in the famous Chinese pastry in festivals – the ‘Mooncake‘. The Chinese term is pronounced as “yuèbÄ­ng” with a literal English translation of “Moon biscuit“. Generally about the size of a palm and half way thick. Dense, heavy and regularly rounded. Sweet in taste and at about Php 60 a piece, fillings vary from ordinary mongo to the premium lotus seed paste. It’s never a real mooncake without the egg yolk inside symbolizing the full moon.

Last Year’s Mooncake Festival

Last year, we ate out at a Chinese restaurant and played the traditional Mooncake Festival Dice Game after meal. Yes, at the restaurant; they allowed us. 🙂

The Mooncake Festival Dice Game is characterized by a group of people surrounding a round table throwing 6 dice in a glass bowl. The players take turns. Each numeric and die-color combination results has corresponding values with all-four dice (all six dice has the mark of four red dots in each) as the highest.

Prizes are traditionally mooncakes and hopia while more affluent families give away bigger prizes or ampao (cash in red envelopes).

I remember during that time last year, it was the height of the the melamine issue. Despite that, we still used hopia. We just made sure we got it from a credible melamine-free source.

* Mooncake image and some info sourced from Wikipedia.

All our relatives enjoyed the Chinese Mooncake Festival. Hopefully, we could have a repeat of that next year.

In celebration of the launch of its newest cake, Red Ribbon is once again holding an online writing contest for the online community. Simply share an experience you and your family had with the new Red Ribbon White Forest cake with the theme “A Deliciously Memorable Dessert Experience with the new Red Ribbon White Forest cake“.

Entries will be accepted from now until Oct 17, 2009. Announcement of winners will be on Oct 24, 2009.

Qualifications:
1) This blog writing contest is open to all Philippine-based bloggers and online writers who love the Red Ribbon White Forest cake.

Mechanics:

1) Write a blog about an experience you and your family had with the new Red Ribbon White Forest cake with the theme “A Deliciously Memorable Dessert Experience with the new Red Ribbon White Forest cake“.

2) The blog entry should contain at least 250 words.

3) The title should contain the words ‘White Forest’.

4) The words ‘Red Ribbon’ and ‘White Forest’ should be present, at least once, anywhere in the whole article/blog. At least once, the word ‘Red Ribbon’ should be a link to http://www.redribbonbakeshop.com.ph

5) The blog should contain at least one photo relevant to the article. The White Forest cake should be inclusive in the photo. The product could simply be part of a bigger picture. (e.g. Mother feeding her daughter with a slice of the cake).

By uploading the photo in the blog, the writer/blogger guarantees that he/she has the copyright to use the photo. This is to avoid any copyright issues. Many photo may be placed in the article, but only the first one would be considered in judging.

6) One blogger can only post one entry in one blog. But he/she can post many different entries in his /her different blogs. One blog- one entry policy. However, a blogger can only win once and win the higher price.

Criteria for Judging:
Concept & Creativity : 40%
Writing Style : 20%
Photo Relevance : 20%
Over-all Impact : 20%

Prizes:
1st Place: P3000 worth of Red Ribbon Gift Certificates
2nd Place: P2000 worth of Red Ribbon Gift Certificates
3rd Place: P1400 worth of Red Ribbon Gift Certificates

Judges:
Red Ribbon Management

Submission:
The entries could be posted in your blogs anytime from Oct. 01 to 17, 2009. The winners will be announced on Oct 24, 2009.

Submit your specific blog entry URL to admin@NomnomClub.com and carbon copy mari.aldecoa@redribbonbakeshop.com.ph with the subject: “A Memorable Dessert Experience” Also include in the email body your Name, Blog, & Mobile Number/s for easy communication when you win.

The winning entries or their links may also get published at the official Red Ribbon Website and White Forest Facebook Fan Page later on.

Dates to Remember:
Oct 01 – 17 – Contest Proper
Oct 17 – Last Date of Submission
Oct 19-23 – Judging
Oct 24 – Announcement of winners

Winners shall be contacted through their email to indicate in which Red Ribbon branch nationwide they wish to pick up the gift certificates.

Start sharing your experience with the new Red Ribbon White Forest cake now!

The “Best about C2 Life” music-video making contest finals night was an evening of music and finalist video viewing!

Hosts Nikki Gil and Monica Yncierto

C2 Cool and Clean Green Tea’s create-your-own music video competition enjoined crowds with great music last Friday at the SM Mall of Asia Music Hall. The event showcased the creations of the country’s young and talented minds, as well as dynamic performances from some of today’s top bands Sinosikat, Pedicab, Kyla, and Imago.

Kyla

C2 Music Video finals night was hosted by MYX VJs Nikki Gil and Monica Yncierto and aired via the Myx channel Along with the exciting live band performances. Audiences got to watch their top 10 favorite music video entries that featured C2’s Best About Life song by Sinosikat and expressed living life to the fullest through various ways.

The competition drew massive interest and participation through the contest portal in Multiply.com (www.thebestaboutc2life.multiply.com).

Winners

The winning entry “Experience the C2 Life!” (alternate  video source) with the highest score from the judges and the highest number of online votes took home P150,000 in cash and C2 products worth P20,000. It was submitted by the group of Peter Ian Mancao and Angelo Agojo . The group is from Cebu. Included in the team is fellow blogger McBilly.

The winning video:

The 1st runner up received a P100,000 cash prize and P10,000 worth of C2 products, while the 2nd runner up took home P50,000 cash and P5,000 worth of C2 goodies. The other 7 finalists walked away with P10,000 each.

Best About C2 Life - 1st Runner Up

Best About C2 Life - 2nd Runner Up

Here are the links of the other 9 winners:

Sinosikat

• http://thebestaboutc2life.multiply.com/video/item/202 C2_VIDEO_CONTEST_BEST_ABOUT_C2_LIFE_Mindanao_Cagayan_de_Oro
• http://thebestaboutc2life.multiply.com/video/item/70/Ballad_Version_-_Best_about_Life
• http://thebestaboutc2life.multiply.com/video/item/39/The_Best_about_C2_life_0001.wmv
• http://thebestaboutc2life.multiply.com/video/item/220/Best_About_Life_by_Matthew_Baguinon
• http://thebestaboutc2life.multiply.com/video/item/30/100_Best_About_Life
• http://thebestaboutc2life.multiply.com/video/item/159/The_Best_About_Life_by_Barong_Tagalog_Inc.mp4
• http://thebestaboutc2life.multiply.com/video/item/90/Very_Nice
• http://thebestaboutc2life.multiply.com/video/item/54/C2_Life_even_these_tough_times_Pinoy_Style_ver.2_by_REPACOL
• http://thebestaboutc2life.multiply.com/video/item/199/Loving_the_C2_Life

More photos HERE. Want to use the photos? You may contact admin@NomnomClub.com

C2 Cool and Clean Green Tea’s create-your-own music video competition music was inspired by the appeal of online video in today’s generation. It’s theme was celebrating creativity, music and the best things in life, as C2 advocates holistic well-being and encourages consumers to live life to the fullest with simple yet meaningful joys and inspirations. Although it was the night before typhoon Ondoy came, it was memorable for all and the winners. 🙂

Texas Roadhouse Grill became one of my top choice in steak restaurants since I discovered their Bonifacio High Street branch back in April of 2008. Their grill menu is made of win and their steaks are imported from the US.

All the while, I didn’t know until a few weeks ago that they have an Ortigas branch at El Pueblo as far back as November 2007.

Anyhow, as I expected, dinner was awesome. I don’t really eat that much during dinner but this one is irresistable. It’s good that I was with friends to share the large servings. Allow me to share the three main stars of that night:

Shrimp and Salmon Skewer

Shrimp & Salmon Skewer

Three skewers of shrimp and salmon. Three medium shrimps and two chunks of salmon on each stick to be exact.

It’s good that the salmon was still juicy, despite being grilled; coz others fail at that.

Herbs and spices are visibly sprinkled on top. Texas rice, the sauce, and some veggies complete your serving of Shrimp Salmon Skewer.

Priced at P420 (US$9), it is also a ‘Sheriff’s Recommendation.’

Jesse James Sampler

Jesse James Sampler

Texas Road house Grill’s Jesse James Sampler is a combination of three starters : Chicken Tenders, Buffalo Wings, and Wild Cheese Fritters.

I love the cheesy-ness of the Wild Cheese Fritters, the other two are so-so. The serving size is not that much also since it’s just a starter and the three had to share plate space; not to mention the three types of dips/sauces occupying the middle area. :)  P375 (US$8).

The Great Ribeye

The Great Ribeye

This is it. It’s not called The Great Ribeye for nothing.

The Great Ribeye is a 10 oz. US ribeye steak seasoned with herbs and garlic. You have the option to have it cooked rare, medium rare, medium, medium well or well done. We had ours at medium well. The meat was so tender and juicy; but of course we already know this.

The chef generally advised to shy away from ordering well done steaks to be able appreciate the tenderness of the meat.

Texas Roadhouse Grill in El Pueblo, Ortigas

The large serving took the three of us to shared it and almost had leftovers. However, with a big size also comes a great price (it rhymes!). 🙂 P1100 (US$23.50) might sound expensive but the size and quality of the beef makes it worth it.

It also comes with a serving of mashed potato and veggies; another ‘Sheriff’s Recommendation.’

Texas Road house Grill in Ortigas is open daily from 11 am to 12 mn Sundays to Thursdays but until 2 am on Fridays and Saturdays (Tel. nos. 635-6715 to 16).  The Bonifacio Global City branch in Taguig can be found at Bldg 1, Bonifacio High Street. They have the same operating schedule.  (Tel. nos. 856-1547 to 48).

It’s ‘yeehaw‘ time at Texas Roadhouse Grill. nomnomnom 🙂

Balut is a Philippine street fare which is rarely welcomed by foreign tastebuds, especially when they are oriented on what it is.

Philipine Balut

Balut is fertilized duck embryo, cooked, kept warm, and usually sold as street food.

The concept is generally a taboo in western countries but also available in other south east asian neighbors like Vietnam and Laos. A famous source of balut in the Philipines is Pateros where incubation and selection of the eggs are carefully done.

NomnomClub.com @ WordCamp Philippines 2009

Eating balut has also been featured in a number reality-TV series as part of daredevil tasks like Survivor, Amazing Race and Fear Factor. It is also considered an aphrodesiac.

In a WordCamp Philippines 2009 conference held last Saturday, we had Beau Lebens and Seth Bindernagel as guests speakers from WordPress and Mozilla, respectively.

WordCamp Philippines 2009

On a gathering at the night after the wordcamp conference, a balut vendor passed by Whistlestop where we were having our dinner. And being foreigner and guests, we dared them to take on a balut-eating challenge. Seth was game and ready, although Beau needed a little more convincing.

The Japanese guy, also from Mozilla, was tough. He compared the probable experience to Japan’s serving of fish sperm. This totally deserves a completely separate blog (perhaps next time). 🙂

Seth Bindernagel

Anyhow, it was Autralia versus the USA with Seth on the right corner and Beau on the left. The Wordcamp organizers, volunteers, and friends taught them the step by step procedures as to how to eat a balut and proded them on in the process mentioning “don’t look” (at the embryo) so as not to visually discouraged them. LOL.

How To Eat A Balut

1. Lightly tap the tip of the egg shell on any hard surface just like a hard boiled egg. This is done with caution so as not to spill the young duck’s juice.
2. After a hole has been punctured, one could immediately sip the warm juice. The broth essence is full of protein.
3. Peel off the rest of the eggshells to reveal most parts of the yolk and the young chick.
4. Give it a dash of salt to enhance the flavor. The embryo is slightly moist as some of the juice still remains. This is perfect for the pinch of salt to mix with.
5. Eat while still warm. Swallowing it whole is possible but bite-after-bite is recommended. (do not forget to remove the “white part” which is hard and rubbery – this part is not eaten as it is hard to digest).
6. Congratulations! You have just proven that you are as tough as the Survivor, Amazing Race and Fear Factor contestants! 🙂

Peel off the Balut Shells

Add a Pinch of Salt

Chew Away 🙂

With the recent interest in balut, the delicacy has found itself  served in different ways including as appetizers in restaurants, preserved in bottles, or cooked as adobo. Unsold balut in the streets are eventually fried and sold as a different delicacy alltogether.

Here’s a video of the “How To Eat Balut” incident.:

A good tip is to choose your balut young, with the embryo as undeveloped yet as possible. This means that the young chick is “not yet” a chick. Otherwise, you’ll feel some feathers/hair in your tongue or end up chewing out the balut‘s “beak“. Eeewww. LOL. 🙂 Nomnomnom.

Light finally shed on the drumbeat on the recent “Let There Be White,” today. It was Red Ribbon‘s newest cake – the White Forest.

Inspired from Black Forest

It was named so as it was inspired from the Black Forest Chocolate Cake of which Red Ribbon has been greatly known for and has become a classic cake through the years. With the release of the White Forest, it aims to tap the white chocolate lovers out there in a similar way.

The White Forest is a light combination of white chiffon layers and cherry bits filling. Covered with light cream all-over and held by sweet wedges of premium white chocolate, the White Forest is also adorned by whole red cherries on top.

It is one of the softest and lightest cake I have ever tasted. In Filipino, “Hindi siya mabigat.” (It is not heavy)

Unlike other cakes, the White Forest is both light and soft which does not overpower the meal you just had. A friend remarked that it does not have the “liquor after-taste” apparent in the Black Forest; which she liked.

White Forest - Red Ribbon

Price

A junior sized cake is priced at P335 while the regular one is at P560.

In summary, I think the White Forest is perfect for the white chocolate lovers out there; or simply those looking for a soft and light cake that would deliciously cater to their sweet desires. Nomnomnom. 🙂