Entries Tagged 'Fusion' ↓

If you’re looking for a new chill-out place without the pretensions of being cool-and-all-that, Big Bad Wolf is the place to be at.

Big Bad Wolf in Fort Bonifacio

Effortlessly, the relaxed and homey setup of Big Bad Wolf just makes you feel at home and in the company of your favorite friends with good food. This is what I felt the first time I went there and got to meet 2 of the three owners, Neil Paras and Ponch del Rosario. 

I wasn’t really expecting to meet them since my meeting there was supposed to be with the people of Brieo Deals. Anyhow, it was a good chat. I came to know  that all three were high school buds who had a common goal of establishing a restaurant just like how they envisioned Big Bad Wolf now – cozy, good ambiance, and great food.

Speaking of great food, they serve different preparations of steak, grilled meat, pasta, light meals, and appetizers they call little plates.

Best of all, they also serve the not-so-usual preparations of dishes we know. I’m can be a little adventurous when it comes to food so I do appreciate restaurants who creatively comes up with new fares to gear away from the usual stuff which can become boring in time.

Let the photos and names sell themselves (Top photo is Santol-smoked Pork Belly with Dirty Rice). 🙂

Potato Skins with Boursin Dip (P120)- highly recommended

Grilled Cheese with Tomato Soup (P230)

Fresh Tuna Wrap with Wasabi Mayo (P220)

Honey-Soy Glazed Chicken Wings (P170) - I call this the Big Bad BonChon Chicken Wolf. 🙂

Poached Egg Carbonara Pasta - very good while it's hot

Goat Cheese & Chorizo Rolls (P240)

Bacon Wrapped Middle Eastern Dates (P280) - I loved this specially if you prefer it sweet

Peppered Chuck Steak (P490)

Dorado Fillet Wrapped in Bacon (P350) - for bacon lovers

They just had a promotions deal with Brieo Deals last month, but you can get updates form their Facebook page as well.

Big Bad Wolf
G/F Fairways Tower, 5th Ave. Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City
+632.822.5833

Big Bad Wolf Restaurant Interiors

Tell your closest friends of this new hideaway called Big Bad Wolf, tucked quietly at the back of Fairways Tower at the corner of 5th Avenue and McKinley in Fort Bonifacio, share some wine or beer, and enjoy the night.

What do you call the act of devouring food at the Ultimate Taste Test event? – ‘Ultimate Taste Testing’. 🙂

Anton Diaz of Our Awesome Planet, NomNom, & Tricie (R-L)

Ok, I made that up.

A week after the Ultimate Taste Test 6.0, people have been asking how many food stalls was I able to try. And when I answer 51, they seemed to be amazed and ask how I did it.

It’s simple actually.

If you approach it mathematically, ~50 stalls in 5 hours is equal to 10 stalls per hour or 6 minutes per food stall. Thinking about it, 6 minutes is already a good rate which includes taking photos, lining up, and asking  a little background about the food from the owners.

Here are some tips on how I was able to make it through 51 of the 55 food stalls in Ultimate Taste Test 6.0:

1) Skip Breakfast – this readies your tummy with maximize space available. 🙂

2) Come Early – I came 15 mins. ahead of time. There were only a handful of people and you’ve got the food suppliers pulling you by the arm just to try their delicacies. You’ll never feel unwanted. 🙂

Conquering 51 Food Stalls at the Ultimate Taste Test 6 (2011)

3) Relax, Don’t Panic – Eat in pace, one at a time. You’re not in a race. Get rid of the greedy mentality and trust the organizers that they prepared enough food for everyone and that you will not run out of food to taste.

4) Take a Sip after every food stall visit – this helps clear your palate for objective tasting of the next, and pushes down the previous. You can also bring a water bottle just in case the event lacks beverage suppliers.

Nomnomnom...

5) Eat in Line – when rush hour strikes, you might find yourself waiting in line specially if the stall is a blockbuster hit. This is the best time to eat your haul from the previous stall. By the time you’re finished, your’re in front of the line. Efficiency is key. 🙂

6) Bring an Eating Buddy – (preferably with the same level of appetite)  nothing beats peer support. If you see your friend eating along with you, you will be more determined. Although I came by myself, we didn’t fall short of having the other food bloggers around for company (and critique).

7) Strategize – being my third UTT, I already learned from my previous mistakes. I utilized a different strategy this time. For the first hour (11am-12nn), I just took photos. The title should actually be 51 Stalls in 4 Hours. 🙂

8 ) Alternate Main Dishes and Desserts – my first approach was from left to right, but there came a point when there was a series of dessert food stalls which overwhelmed even my sweet tooth. I decided to drop my sequence and just remember to go back to the ones I skipped.

6 Ultimate Finds from the Ultimate Taste Test 6.0

This was my alternate title for this article. But since a lot of food bloggers already came out with theirs days ago. I surmised mine was old news.

Anyhow, so here’s NomNom Club‘s Top 6 Ulitmate Finds from the Ultimate Taste Test 6.0 last week:

Symphony of Flavors

6.)  Symphony of Flavors – Best Leche Flan Cheesecake ever! The goodness of Lech Flan and Cheesecake combined.

Carmen's Best - Holly's Milk and Ice Cream

5.)  Carmen’s Best – Using 100% fresh cow’s milk, I love the Salted Caramel Ice Cream.

Chef C's Paella

4.)  Chef C’s – I can’t remember if they served other dishes but I was extremely satisfied with their Paella De Andaluz.

Dek A Thai Authentic Cuisine

3.)  Dek A Thai Authentic Cuisine – The Popia and Thai Milk Tea were indeed authentic and very good. You’d want to dine in and ask for a full serving. 🙂

Luigi's

2.)  Luigi’s -  They almost made my top spot with their awesome Phillychangas and Chicken Cordon Bleu with Aligue Mayo. Yummy!

PinakBest

1.)  Pinakbest – Aptly named, Pinakbest was my pinaka-best pick with their Bagnet and Ilocos empanada. They also got the longest line.

But…but…I have  more recommendations! Allow me to give my next 6 as well:

Spring By Ha Yuan

7.)  Spring by Ha Yuan – Their Ka-Pao variants Pulled Pork, Beef Shortrib, and Monk’s Dream were a sight. I was only allowed to try one though – Beef Shortrib – and it was good!

Theo & Philo Artisan Chocolates

8.)  Theo & Philo Chocolate – these Artisan Chocolates come in interesting packages and chocolate flavors combined with the not-your-usual chocolate partners. 🙂

5 Loaves & 2 Fish

9.)  5 Loaves and 2 Fish – not sure if I should call it nachos or tortillas, but the baked chips were crunchy and the dips were interesting and flavorful

Chori Chori Burger Joint

10.)  Chori Chori Burger Joint – they got the Chori Burger taste from Boracay. You should try the Chori Burger with Egg.

The Sweet LIfe's 'Sweet Surrender'

11.)  The Sweet Life – You should try their “Sweet Surrender” which is a frozen soft meringue with custard and French Vanilla ice cream. It is held by a graham cracker crust.

Eat My GF (Garlic Fries)

12.)  Eat My GF – Aside from the interesting name, it’s basically Garlic French Fries at it’s best.

An additional special mention would be  Chef Bruce Lim’s Chef Table’s Buco Pie Martini for its creativeness. 🙂

Chef's Table Buco Pandan Martini

For more photos of the other exhibitors, check out the photo albums in our NomNom Club Facebook fanpage.

Ultimate Taste Test 6

And those are my 13 Top Picks form the recent Ultimate Taste Test 6 and how I made it through 51 of them in 5 hours. See you next year! 🙂

Food lovers, connoisseurs, and foodies, hear ye, hear ye! One of the most exciting food event of the year is back – the sixth edition of the Ultimate Taste Test!

Brought to you by Our Awesome Planet, in cooperation with San Miguel Lifestyle Brews, Rockwell’s Ultimate Taste Test 6.0 is happening on September 3 at the Rockwell Tent from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. as food blogger Anton Diaz  embarks on this first partnership with Rockwell.

Be a food-critic-for-a-day by sampling mouth-watering food preparations and concoctions from over 50+ home-based food businesses and some of Power Plant Mall’s own restaurants. Participants also get to rate the food samples and exhibiting food concessionaires on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the highest. The hihgest scorers get to be featured in Anton’s site.

Each ticket costs P585/person and covers the ff:

• Food Taste Portions from 50+ Home-Based Food Vendors & Power Plant Mall Restaurants (new) for the entire Saturday
• A bottle of San Miguel Super Dry, Premium All-Malt or Cerveza Negra (18 years old and above only)
• Exclusive to 1,000 foodies

Ultimate Taste Test 6.0 2011

For ticket inquiries, call Power Plant Mall Office (Tel. # 8981702) during mall hours or Creative Juice Office (Tel. # 5707827) during office hours.

Here is a list of Food Exhibitors you might expect:

If you want to be a food supplier, contact Rockwell UTT Application Form and submit  via email to admin@ultimatetastetest.com.

See related Posts:

• Ultimate taste Test 4.0
• Ultimate taste Test 4.0 Photos

Rockwell’s Ultimate Taste Test Event
September 3, 2011, Saturday, 11.00 am – 9.00 pm.
Rockwell Tent
Email admin@ultimatetastetest.com.
P585/head. Tickets available at Power Plant Mall Office (Tel. # 8981702) during mall hours or Creative Juice Office (Tel. # 5707827) during office hours.

See you fellow foodies at the Ultimate Taste Test 6.0 on Saturday! 🙂

This one’s way overdue…by more than two months 🙂 I may not be able to let you taste the good finds through this article but I can at least let you see how delicious they looked like at the Yummy Eats event held last May 2011.

Starbucks at Yummy Eats

In celebration of Filipinos’ love for good food, YUMMY magazine held its first-ever cooking and eating fair, YUMMY Eats at the NBC Tent, Bonifacio Global City.

“For years, YUMMY magazine has been featuring amazing food finds in the metro. Now that we’re on our fourth year, we feel it’s high time to bring the magazine closer to our readers by having 31 food brands under one roof,” says Frances Ang, associate publisher of YUMMY Magazine.

The event gathered 31 concessionaires specially handpicked by YUMMY magazine.

I think it’s been almost a year since my last Food Foto Fiestaso a photo feature on Yummy Eats is begging.

Here are some which caught our attention:

Plants and Zombies Cupcakes

Hunts and McCormick Rosemary Iced Tea

Wha Pao Siopao

Low Cal Cafe

Fruits In Ice Cream

Lechon

Longaniza

Angry Birds Cupcakes

Participants were also treated to cooking demos from McCormick, Hunt’s, and Saranggani Bay Prime Bangus. It was also an afternoon of learning, as Francis Bautista and Constancio Arabejo from Petron Gasul talked about kitchen safety, while Nowie Potenciano of Mochiko, Pamelo Cinco of Risa Chocolates, and JJ Yulo of Pinoy Eats World discussed new food business ideas.

Hosted by three self-confessed foodies –TV personality Issa Litton, Magic 89.9 deejay CJ Rivera of The Big Meal, and YUMMY magazine’s resident contributor, Chef Aileen Anastacio—YUMMY Eats proved to be one big gathering of food lovers.

And of course, this Yummy Eats article ain’t ending without our NomNom recommendations: The top three spots goes to Divine Desserts, Risa Chocolates, and Tina’s Pie Outlet.

Divine Desserts

Divine Desserts
Home-style dessert shop featuring specialty cakes and desserts made with all natural ingredients baked fresh everyday. The desserts are luscious! I got to try the Wasabe Kitkat Mousse and Double Fudge Cake.

Risa Chocolates

Risa Chocolates
Risa Chocolates is known for delicious handmade chocolates. Their delectable line up includes melt in the mouth truffles, chewy choco chip dough, satisfying chocolate bars, and healthy and tasty cacao nibs.risa’s Chocolate Truffles are simply unforgettable. 🙂

Frozen Merengue Pies

Tina’s Pie Outlet
Although they are famous for  savory pies, it’s the Frozen Merengue Pies which I liked at the event.

Completing my Top 10 Finds are:

Also commendable according to my notes are Chef’s Table, Balamban Liempo Cebu, Goodies N’ Sweets, Gourmet Dips and Dressings, and Mochiko.

Chef's Table Dishes

Balamban Liempo Cebu

Gourmet Dips and Dressings

Goodies N' Sweets

Mochiko

Check out the rest of the photos and concessionaires are here:

• Amaya Frozen Caramel
• Big Daddy’s Chicken
• Carmela’s Best Ice Cream
• Cebu Balamban Liempo
• Chef’s Table By Chef Bruce Lim
• Classic Confections
• Divine Desserts
• Farm N Deli Enterprises
• Fruits In Ice Cream
• General’s Lechon
• Gold Leaf Teas
• Goodies N’ Sweets
• Gourmet Dips And Dressings
• Honest JuiceJaq’s Kitchen
• Kusina Ni Maria Catering
• Kusina Teatro
• Little Miss Oc Kitchen
• Lowcal Café Co
• Merry Moo
• Mochiko
• Oriental Basket
• Pinoy Eats World
• Pipino Vegetarian
• Risa Chocolates
• Simply Pie!
• Starbucks
• The Fruit Garden
• Three Instia Road Kitchen
• Tina’s Pie Outlet
• whaPao!

I hope there wil be another Yummy Eats next year ! 🙂 For more of YUMMY online, visit www.YUMMY.ph, become a fan on Facebook via Facebook.com/yummymagazine, and follow them on Twitter via Twitter.com/yummyph.

I was excited to have the privilege of visiting Gardenia’s bread factory yesterday. The Philippines’ top brand in delicious and healthy breads conducted a bloggers’ plant tour for food and lifestyle bloggers. Interestingly, their plant is located along Star Avenue, LIIP Mamplasan, Biñan, Laguna, which is also from the south and near my place in Batangas.

Mr. Nestor Constancia

In the first part of the program, Mr. Nestor Constancia (Marketing and Sales Manager), shared Gardenia’s history and distribution system. We also watched a short AVP about the company’s processes and fully-automated machines. QAF Limited through Gardenia International Pte. Ltd. established Gardenia Bakeries Philippines Inc. In 1997 and started construction of its bakery plant in Laguna Industrial Park (LIIP), Biñan, Laguna. Operation started in 1998 with the state-of-art bread factory rated as one of the most modern large scale bread manufacturing facility in the country. Its highly-automated and major equipments come from bakery suppliers from Germany, Holland, UK and USA.

Gardenia Bread

Moreover, it now has the largest distribution network in the baking industry covering the whole Luzon archipelago; eastern and some western parts of Visayas including Mindoro, Panay, the Negros islands, and Samar; and even as far away as Mindanao. Their efficient distribution system utilizes a fleet of company-owned feeder and delivery vans, as well as the public Roll-On-Roll-Off (RORO) nautical highway system.

Afterwards, we began our plant tour. Once you enter the plant area, you’ll hear a recorded voice-over explaining the processes of each machine in each station. Here is the step-by-step procedures:

1.    Ingredient Preparation

Ingredient Preparation

2.    Sponge Mixing

Sponge Mixing

3.    Fermentation

Fermentation

4.    Dough Mixing

Dough Mixing

5.    Dividing

Dividing

6.    Rounding

Bread Rounding

7.    Intermediate proofing

Intermediate Proofing

8.    Moulding

Moulding

9.    Final Proofing

Final Proofing

10.    Baking

Baking of the Breads

11.    Depanning

Depanning

12.    Cooling (Top Photo)

13.    Slicing

Gardenia Bread Slicing

14.    Automatic Bagging

Automatic Bagging

15.    G-lock

G-lok / G-lock System

16.    Metal Detectors

Metal Detectors (staples) 😛

17.    Distribution

Gardenia Bread Distribution

It was an awesome sight to see the actual breads being made before you eyes, way beyond what the AVP can share.  However, we had to view it from a higher angle in an enclosed and air-conditioned viewing section intended for visitors. This is to maintain the quality standards of the factory.

A bread making demo using Gardenia breads, of course, and an open forum with Gardenia officers including Mr. Simplicio P. Umali Jr. (President & General Manager), Mr. Nestor E. Constancia (Marketing & Sales Manager), Ms. Cristina P. Domondon (Manufacturing Manager), Ms. Thea Tan (Marketing Manager), Ms. Merlie Barcelos (QA Manager), and Ms. Aine De Guzman (Nutritionist) followed the interesting plant tour.

Gardenia Plant Tour with the Bloggers

Let me give you some interesting points I learned from the open forum with the officers and this Gardenia Plant Tour experience:

• Gardenia delivers round-the-clock (24-hours) to ensure all convenience stores (or mini-stores) receive freshly baked breads everyday.
•  Gardenia uses a “G-lock’/’G-lok’ system that is distinguished with a color-coded scheme so that it will be easy to locate, open, and re-seal. The plastic clip also indicates the best before date as well as its retail price.
• Upon suggestion of the a guest, Gardenia may consider having a no-crust (edges) bread product in the future. But this merits a prior careful study and a lot of considerations including maintaining the quality of the bread.
•  Gardenia exerts efforts to be the environment-friendly by collecting old/left-over stocks of bread and gives them to fisheries for feeding.
• Gardenia incorporates big advertising banners and  posters on each company owned-feeder and delivery vans as a way of effective advertising in the field.
• It was also interesting to know that Gardenia is open to beneficiaries and discussions with charitable event/institutions in need of bread products.

Open Forum with Gardenia Officers

As their tagline “OH I LOVE GARDENIA! So good… You can even eat it on its own!” (masarap kahit walang palaman) suggests, Gardenia maintain its promise of providing the best quality breads to Filipinos in all possible aspects – freshly baked at all times, smells good, tastes even better, feels soft, and of course, nutritious.

It was an educational Gardenia Plant Tour experience indeed! For more info, you may visit the Gardenia website at http://www.gardenia.com.ph, ‘like’ their page on Facebook, follow them on Twitter, and watch their videos on YouTube.

*Contributed by Shekinah Armenta

Latte Art fun on a Sunday! Figaro is currently hosting their company-wide Figaro Latte Art Competition 2011 and we’re live blogging ’em from Figaro Emerald branch.

On it’s third year, the Figaro Latte Art Competition is participated by 28 branches this year, both from company-owned branches and franchisees. It aims to enhance the barista’s latte art design skills and to foster camaraderie among the different barista representatives.

Below are some of NomNom’s favorite among the 28 entries in the elimination round. For the complete set of 28 entries, check out NomNomClub’s Facebook Fanpage here.

Figaro Latte Art Competition 2011 (Eliminations Round Participant)

Figaro Latte Art 2011 Contestants

Figaro Latte Art Competition 2011 (Eliminations Round Participant)

Figaro Latte Art Competition 2011 (Eliminations Round Participant)

Who’s your bet for the Top 10 that’s going to qualify for the final round? Watch out for the results of the Figaro Latte Art Competition 2011 tomorrow!

This is my first OpenRicers‘ Meet gathering and it was great meeting fellow OpenRicers and food bloggers. It was held at Tender Bob’s in Greenbelt a few weeks ago.

We had a good time and Tender Bob’s dinner was filling. Here are some of my photos taken with Samsung Galaxy S2.

Tender Bob's Salsds and Appetizers

Oriental Chicken Salad

Tender Bob's Steaks and Lagarde Wines

Ice Cream and Sizzling Bread & Butter Pudding for Desserts!

Until the next OpenRice meet! Thanks OpenRice.com and Tender Bob’s.

Why stay at home on a Sunday if you can have a good time outside right? Specially if it’s matched with a great meal. Since late last month, Restaurant 101 in Enderun has been open on Sundays for brunch!

Restaurant 101, Enderun Colleges

Break bread and catch up with the family as Restaurant 101 features appetizer and dessert buffets, and main course served a la carte. Diners can choose one of four main courses, served à la carte from the kitchen. The dessert station and crepe station, meanwhile, cater to every diner’s sweet tooth.

The special brunch buffet is available weekly at P 1280 per person, and P 680 for children from 7 to 12 years old.

Restaurant 101 is the application restaurant of Enderun Colleges. The school offers international-caliber bachelor’s degree programs in Entrepreneurship with special focus on Family Enterprise; in Business Administration, aInternational Hospitality Management, and Culinary Arts, among others.

Restaurant 101 is open from Monday to Saturday, from 11:30am to 2pm for lunch, and from 6 to 10pm for dinner, and from 11am to 3pm every Sunday. For reservations, call 856 5000 local 101. For inquiries on banquets and special events, call 856 5000 local 534 or 560.

Restaurant 101 Dessert Buffet

They are located at :
Enderun Colleges
1100 Campus Avenue
McKinley Hill, Fort Bonifacio
Taguig City 1634 Philippines
Telephone: (632) 856 5000
Facsimile:   (632) 856 4656
www.enderuncolleges.com
www.101.enderuncolleges.com

So, did you just spend your Sunday at home today? Give Restaurant 101 in Enderun a visit sometime soon.

🙂