Entries Tagged 'Cuisine' ↓

No, it’s not a new drink offering by Krispy Kreme. But the same owners of the Krispy Kreme franchise in the Philippines – Max’s Group of Companies – is bringing the brand from the US to our local shores – Jamba Juice.

Jamba Juice is one of the top fresh juice brands in the United States catering to health buffs who want their juices natural and pure (You might have heard of the brand in some western movies shown recently).

Celebrities Vanessa Hudgens, Paris Hilton, Fergie of The Black Eyed Peas and football superstar David Beckham with their Jamba Juices!

“No sugar, no chemical preservatives” -  says Krispy Kreme Marketing Manager Mark Gamboa who shared the news to NomNom Club 2 months ago during the Krispy Kreme Alabang branch opening and gave hints of this upcoming development.

Jamba Juice Launch and Location

And here we are, tomorrow, November 11, 2011, Jamba Juice Philippines formally establishes its presence locally as they open their first branch in the new extension of the posh Bonifacio High Street – 7th Avenue Boni High Street SOUTH – in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig. It is right across R.O.X. (Where is R.O.X.)

Even though I’m currently in Taiwan and will miss this, I am just as excited as I am fruit juice lover myself who prefers them natural. Moreover, they will be having the same launch date of 11-11-11 as my newest gadgets and tech blog – GadgetGambit.com (GG)!

Know more about Jamba Juice Philippines in their website JambaJuice.ph, Twitter @JambaJuicePH , and Facebook facebook.com/jambajuiceph.

I surely hope to have a taste of Jamba Juice concoctions soon when I come back tot he Philippines in December!

Jamba Juice Fruit Juices and More

Jamba Juice Menu

Some of the Jamba Juice Menu and fruit juices I’m looking forward to are the nutritious “Freshly Squeezed Juices,” fiber-rich “Steel Cut Oatmeal,” and “Creamy Smoothies” when I want it rich. 😛 Feel free to share you Jamba Juice Philippines experiences below when you’ve tried it in the next few days. Share some photos as well in our NomNom Club Facebook Page. 😛

It’s Christmas season once again! Christmas decors all over, we hear our favourite Christmas songs, and start planning gifts for our family and love ones. Christmas without food is not-so-complete, so this year, Starbucks brings more reasons to be merry -  15 of the Starbucks Christmas Food items.

Are you ready for the treat?

Starbucks Hazelnut Stollen Bread

Christmas Food Items (New)

1.    Pecan Butterscotch Twirl (Top Photo)
A delicious, light and flaky spiral roll stuffed with aromatic cinnamon and creamy vanilla pastry filling topped with roasted pecans drizzled with butterscotch sauce and white chocolate.

Retail Price P85

2.    Hazelnut Stollen Bread
A German festival bread that is popular during Christmas season not only in Germany but all over Europe. A sweet yeast bread packed with scents of toasted hazelnut paste perfectly balanced with raisins.

Retail Price P65 slice/ P595 whole

Starbucks S'mores Cake

3.    S’mores
With its buttery graham crust filled with gooey melted marshmallow cream and intense dark chocolate then topped with chocolate ganache.

Retail Price P70

Starbucks Triple Decker Cheesecake with Snickers

4.    Triple Decker Cheesecake with Snickers
Love peanuts, chocolate and caramel? This one is for you! A scrumptious three (3) layer cheesecake loaded with chunks of Snickers candy bar in a chocolate cookie crust topped with a chocolate fudge icing and topped with roasted chopped peanuts.

Retail Price P130 slice/P1250 whole

Warm Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake

5.    Warm Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake
Serve your loved one with this giant chocolate chip cookie made into a cake then topped with thick and chocolaty dark chocolate mousse filled with mini chocolate chip cookies. Best served warm from the oven topped with whipped cream and drizzled with Starbucks caramel drizzle.

Retail Price: P110 slice/P950 whole

6.    Sun-dried Tomato and Basil Roll (served with butter and jam)
A crispy, crunchy crust with a slightly chewy and soft center made more flavorful with sundried tomatoes and basil. Best served with jam and butter but you can eat on its own.

Retail Price P50

Starbucks Sundried Tomato & Basil Roll

7.    Chicken Alfredo Turnover
A light, buttery and flaky crust filled with moist and juicy chicken breast cubes marinated in Italian seasoning then sautéed in a rich and creamy exhilarating Alfredo sauce.

Retail Price P90

Texas Chicken BBQ Wrap

8.    Texas Chicken BBQwrap
You’ll love the sweet, spicy, smoky flavour of strips of chicken breast fillet fried to perfection tossed in barbeque sauce with Texas style salsa, grated cheese and drizzled with sour cream wrapped in a soft chewy flour tortilla.

Retails at P140

9.    Glazed Ham with Apricot Spread on Multi-grain Bread
Juicy slices of glazed ham and creamy mozzarella cheese with tangy and sweet apricot dressing on a hearty crisp, crunchy and soft center multi-grain bread.

Retail Price P140

Glazed Ham with Apricot Spread on Multi grain Bread

Turkey & Chicken with Apple Stuffing on Whole Wheat Walnut Bread

10.    Turkey & Chicken with Apple Stuffing on Whole Wheat Wallnut Bread
This spells Christmas! With slices of moist and tender turkey and chicken breast served with delectable apple stuffing and cranberry spread on a crusty whole wheat walnut bread.

Retail Price P140

Returning Favorites

11.    Chocolate Toffee Nut Loaf
Christmas will never be the same without the intense rich, moist and dense chocolate loaf frosted with smooth chocolate icing and topped with chewy, crunchy toffee. A great Christmas treat for all chocolate lovers.

Retail Price P55/P495 whole

Starbucks Chocolate Toffee Nut Loaf

12.    White Chocolate Cranberry Cookie
This cookie has it all – chunky white chocolate, fresh roasted walnuts and chopped dried cranberries. Big and chunky, chewy and crunchy.

Retail Price P55

White Chocolate Cranberry Cookie

13.    Peppermint Brownie
Fudgy, chewy chocolate brownie and creamy, smooth peppermint cream cheese filling topped with chocolate ganache, finished with white, red and green chocolate drizzle and small golden beads for a festive look.

Retail Price P75

Starbucks Gingerbread Cookie

14.    Gingerbread Cookie
Ginger, allspice and cinnamon makes a cookie that is as fragrant as it is delicious. This is a wonderful gift this Christmas and children will surely love the snowman Gingerbread cookie!

It reminded me of the ginger bread from Shrek, only dipped in snow. 😛

15.    Molten Chocolate Cake
Intensely chocolatey, filled with dark chocolate and caramel truffle ernrobed in moist chocolate sponge cake topped with whipped cream and drizzled with Starbucks caramel sauce.

Starbucks Molten Chocolate Cake

*Text & Photos by Marjorie Pineda for NomNomClub.com

Sundried Tomato & Basil Roll

All these Starbucks Christmas Food started to be available since November 3. Aside from those delightful treat, in case you haven’t started, you can  start collecting stickers for the Limited Edition Starbucks Planner 2012.

Have a very Merry Christmas from NomNom Club! 😛

The Oakroom International Restaurant is located at the 6th level of Oakwood Premier Joy Nostalg Center in Ortigas and it’s a haven for culinary cravings spearheaded by Chef Jerome Cartailler.

From November 7-27, 2011 Oakroom together with the US Department of Agriculture and Robert Mondavi Wines will hold the Great American Taste Festival where in you will be able to taste the richness of good old American cuisine paired with the right wine from no less than the winery of Napa Valley’s finest, Robert Mondavi.

For most Filipinos, wine is reserved for special occasions and pairing it with food is a rare indulgence but as culinary experts start to ease us to the goodness of proper wine pairing, many Filipinos embrace wine as part of their meal. Did you know that a glass or two of red wine a day will do your body wonders? Of course, moderation is still key to a healthy lifestyle.

Let’s learn a few tips on how to taste wine:

How to Taste Wine

Continue reading →

Old Vine Restaurant

Venice Piazza once again becomes a perfect place for friends and family to get-together with mouth-watering line-up of great food, good booze with the “Platter for 8“.

Ramen Bar

Venice Piazza recently launched the Party Platter Promo. All your food favourites in just one plate! Platter for 8 is available on  all weekends from October 15 – November 2011

The Food

For only P800 satisfy your taste buds with scrumptious pasta dish from Empire Deli or Blackwood Bistro.

How about a food trip from Japan, Korea and China – all these restaurants are participating the Platter for 8 too!

Yoshi’s Platter from Ramen Bar

The Restaurants:  choose from 14 participating establishments.

• Pasta Trio Platter from Blackwood Bistro
• Fantastic Four Platter from Carlo’s Pizza

Stackers Burger cafe

• Empire Italian’s Platter from Empire Deli
• Korean Group Meals Platter from KBOP
• Salo-salo set from Kuse
• Little Asia Symphony of Flavors from the Little Asia
• Fish and Steak Platter from the Old Vine Grille
• Nachos and Wings Platter from Pinchos Bar & Restaurant
• Yoshi’s Platter from Ramen Bar
• Arianne’s Platter from The Red Crab Alimango’s House
• Cheaper by the Dozen by Sol Gelato
• Auss’m Party Platter from Stackers Burger Café
• James Dean Platter from The Sweet Pea
• Nakayoshi Platter from  Tokyo Café

Nachos Platter from Pinchos Bar & Restaurant

Wings Platter from Pinchos Bar & Restaurant

Blackwood Bistro

Aside from the Platter 8, here are other things you can do at the Fort:

• Enjoy Everyday Happy Hour with colleagues and a bottle of beer for only P30 on weekdays. But if that’s not enough, enjoy buy 1 take 1 cocktails for only P40.
• Rockeoke  from Wednesdays at 8pm with 88.8 band. Listen to the music of The Beatles, The Ramones, The Rolling Stones, Oasis, Gin Blossoms.
• Draybers every Saturdays at 7pm. With classic rock bands inspired by the likes of Lep Zeppelin, The Easgles, and Samantha.
• Spirit of ’67 every Sundays at 7pm. Enjoy good music from the 70s and good repertoire for the classics.

Yoshi's Platter from Ramen Bar has of course, Ramen! 🙂

12 Scoops of Ice Cream Dessert called 'Cheaper by the Dozen' from Sol Gelato - Yum!

So bring a healthy appetite when you come to the Venice Piazza Platter for 8!

Red Crab Alimango House

The Verdict

With the myriad of choices, NomNom’s Top 3 Picks of Recommend platters from among those we were able to try are the following:

• Korean Group Meals Platter from KBOP

• Salo-salo set from Kuse

• Yoshi’s Platter from Ramen Bar

Kuse

Ironically, only one of those three have photos in this article. I think we were too overwhelmed and busy eating hence the absence of their photos. lols 🙂

*Written by Marjorie Pineda and Jonel Uy for NomNomClub.com
There’s always room for more fun at Venice Piazza so bring your family and friends of 8 and celebrate good times. For more inquiries, call the concierge at 709-0888, 709-9888, and +63917817655.

So when are you visiting Venice Piazza for the Platter for 8? 🙂

Customers await this time of the year for the return of their favorite Starbucks Christmas products and to start collecting stickers to redeem their favorite Starbucks Planner 2012. But before I reveal the 2012 Starbucks Shared Planet Planner, let’s take a look at the old Starbucks Planners of the past 8 years. 🙂

2012 Starbucks Planners

Thanks to Starbucks, I was privileged to join a group of bloggers at the recent unveiling of the 2012 Starbucks Planners! Everyone was excited to see how the 2012 planner would look like!

Now, on its 9^th year, and for the first time, this year, your favorite Starbucks Planner will be available in five (5) unique covers (Polar, Cherry, Spruce, Bamboo and Oak).

Starbucks Shared Planet

The design and materials used reflect this year’s Starbucks Shared Planet theme.

Starbucks Shared Planet is the company’s commitment in doing business in ways that are good to each other and the planet. This year’s planner supports these pillars through the Ethical Sourcing, Environmental Stewardship and Community Involvement.

The planner was produced in a facility that is FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certified. This is an organization established to promote responsible management of the world’s forest. How cool is that? 🙂

Features and Designs

This year’s planners are made from recycled paper and engineered wood cover.

Starbucks Planner is Hard bound and has Strap

It is hard bound, light and handy. The size is small enough to fit in your bag. It also has a strap to hold your planner.

Moreover, each planner comes with a pouch – you can place a pen, money or even your mobile phone inside. It is available from light to dark color.

Aside from the sleeve, it comes with a cute bookmark and a freebie – nine (9) different coupons that can be redeemed at all Starbucks stores in the Philippines in 2012.

Starbucks Planner Coupons

At the back is a pocket to keep your coupons.

Starbucks Planner Pages

Starbucks Planner for a Cause

The Starbucks Planner 2012 was made for a cause! For every planner redeemed, a donation will be made to Spark Hope, a program for early childhood care and development in partnership with UNICEF.

Exactly three days from now, you can avail of a Starbucks Christmas traditional  promo card and collect stickers! From November 3, 2011 to January 8, 2012. One sticker is awarded for each Starbucks beverage purchase.

How To Get A Starbucks Planner and Coupon Redemption

Customers have two (2) options in collecting stickers to redeem one (1) Limited Edition Starbucks Coffee 2012 Planner.

• Option 1.  Collect stickers by purchasing nine (9) Christmas beverages plus eight (8) core beverages except bottled drinks.

• Option 2.  Purchase 23 core beverages aside from bottled drinks

Starbucks Planner 2012

* Words and photos by Marjorie Pineda, Contributor

The Starbucks Planner tradition begins on November 3! Support the cause, buy a drink, collect stickers and have your Merry Christmas and a Planned New Year with the 5 Starbucks 2012 Planners! Which one will you choose? 🙂

We Filipinos are very familiar of festivals. With more than 7000 islands here in the Philippines, just imagine the number of festivals we celebrate in a year. Do we think that’s enough? Apparently, one cannot have too many festivals. On the 13th of October 2011, Appetite, together with Shangri-la Mall presented the Appetite Restaurant Festival to food writers, food photographers, food bloggers, and every kind of food enthusiasts.

Pages' Deli Meat Platter

Before going to the Appetite Restaurant Festival, I have prepared myself for a night of feasting so I did some chores which required walking from one mall to another. Finally, hungry from all that walking I headed to Shangri-la Mall for the upcoming festivities at the Appetite Restaurant Festival. Oh boy, did I have plenty to feast my eyes and mouth!

Cravings' Chicken A La Pobre

By now you might be thinking “what kind of festival is cooking at Shangri-la Mall”?

That was also my question when I arrived at Shangri-la Mall so I first stopped by at C2 Cuisine which I later learned is also one of the participating restaurants in the Appetite Restaurant Festival. The friendly C2 Cuisine staff instructed me to go to the ground floor where the Appetite Restaurant Festival will be held. I was thirty minutes early which is a good thing because I had all the pleasure of taking pictures of the different food selections at my pace.

I also had time to think about what to eat and try. There are lots (and I mean lots to choose from) and one can easily feel prey to gluttonous indulgences. After reaching the end of the station for pictures, the beginning of the festivities started.

Appetite Restaurant Festival Passport

Airplane Flight Theme

Apparently the theme is an airplane flight and that the guests are the passengers. Each passenger is given a passport which they have to show to each restaurant station for them to partake what the restaurant is offering. After the passenger receives his or her food, the passport is stamped which means that you have visited that station already. Apparently return visits were discouraged that time to accommodate other passengers.

Appetite Restaurant Festival filled the Shangri-La Mall Activity Area

By the way, the head flight crew is Sam O who donned a sexy flight attendant outfit. She introduced the representatives from Appetite Magazine and Shangri-la Mall who welcomed all the guests to try this one stop shop at the Appetite Restaurant Festival. The idea for the Appetite Restaurant Festival is to enjoy different cuisines coming from different locations: Asian, Mediterranean, American and European in just one stop which is Shangri-la Mall.

The Best from Classic Cuisine - C2

Lemongrass

What do I think of the concept? I love the idea! This is simply because it gives me choices on what to eat. I have a few favorite restaurants from the participating restaurants like Cravings and C2 Cuisine but I can’t go there every time. At the Appetite Restaurant Festivals I can still get something from the restaurants I frequent to and at the same time try also something new from other restaurants in just one stop. You have the elements of convenience and variety going on in just one location. I can imagine Sunday lunches with family or birthday celebrations being spent in the Appetite Restaurant Festivals.

Dessert Time!

It gives you that Sunday feeling of a laid-back eat-all-you can one-stop shop like the one in San Lorenzo’s place or the Sunday Market at the Lung Center (now moved somewhere!) but inside the mall. So for people who want to enjoy the comfort of an air-conditioned room with the feel of Sunday market menu, I highly recommend trying the Appetite Festival Restaurant.

Other participating restaurants include Lemongrass Asian Bistro, Cafe Provencal, Crustasia, Cyma, Pages, Pepper Lunch, Clawdaddy, Green Tomato, Secret Recipe, Pho Hoa, and Sing Hainanese Chicken House.

Appetite Magazine Dinner Event

Good food from Clawdaddy

I haven’t been back to the Appetite Restaurant Festival but I told the boys we ought to try it out after we get back from our diving trips. So far I want to know who has tried it too. Have you?

What was your experience during the Appetite Restaurant Festival? Drop me a link, a comment, or anything! I am really interested to know what you think of the Appetite Restaurant Festival.

For the whole second anniversary month of Marriott Hotel Manila this October 2011, Marriott Cafe is promoting their Lunch Buffet at 50% off until October 31!

Grilled Prawns

Feast on Marriott Café’s stuffed turkey, butter fried prawn on a bed of asparagus, blue marlin with tomato coulis, and Arabic chicken. All that even from appetizer, soup, salad, and dessert!

Together with some foodies, we got to try once more Marriott Cafe‘s international dishes last weekend.

I usually go around the buffet and pick only those that I liked. But this time around, I tried them by areas. 🙂

My first plate was Chinese-inspired with oriental dishes.

Oriental Dishes: (Japanese - left; Chinese - right)

The second plate was a Japanese special with maki, sushi, and one of my favorites – tempura, among others.

My third plate was from the Middle-East with beef skewers and grilled meat. 🙂

Middel Eastern & Western Plates (L-R)

The fourth plate has a western theme filled with steaks and some seafood.

Here are the other luscious photos I got during our lunch buffet at Marriott Cafe.

Salads

Steak

Marriott Cafe Dimsum

Chicken Dishes in various preparations

Roast Duck

Prawns prepared in a different away and served in singles

Desserts!

Marriot Cafe Desserts: Sweets, Cream Puffs, and Ice Cream!

Tiramisu Cream and Tarts!

Marriott Hotel's Marriott Cafe Buffet Lunch Promo

Visit Marriott Hotel and avail of this opportunity from October 1 to October 31, 2011 (Mondays-Saturdays) at the Marriott Cafe Lunch Buffet promo and get to enjoy a 5-star hotel dining experience with flowing ice tea at only half the price – P875 . 🙂

Do you have the passion in promoting Filipino Cuisine?
Are you a creative writer with a knack for food?
Are you on a search to discover the best Filipino dishes?
Do you believe na “masarap” maging Pinoy?
Are you game for the challenge of going to 10 Philippine destinations and 101 restaurants for a total of 30-day foodtrip and P25,000 cash prize in hand?

Sooo Pinoy Kare-Kare

If you say yes to all of the above, then you should join Sooo Pinoy‘s The ‘Search for the Ultimate Food Blogger!’ (This reminded me of BloggerManila.com’s Search for the Blogger Apprentice, lols)

What is the Search for the Ultimate Sooo Pinoy Blogger?

“It is a nationwide search to help us find the best blogger who best embodies the Sooo Pinoy advocacy and will help best promote Filipino cuisine”, according to Unilever Food Solutions who hosted a launch dinner last night at Milky Way in Makati.

Sooo Pinoy

Sooo Pinoy is inviting all bloggers to join its Search for the Ultimate Food Blogger for chance to go on a once-in-a-lifetime food trip – an all-expense paid journey to ten beautiful Philippine destinations to dine in more than 101 different Filipino restaurants.

This is in line with their Sooo Pinoy advocacy to heighten appreciation and awareness for Pinoy food as Sooo Pinoy intends to tap the blogger community to promote Filipino cuisine.

Sooo Pinoy Advocacy

Criteria for Judging

• 50pts. Creativity – how good the story is told
• 40pts. Technical Writing Skills – grammar, technical structure, logical flow of paragraphs
• 10pts. Number of shares/follower engagement
• 100 points – TOTAL

Mechanics:

Composed of three rounds, the Search will not only measure the bloggers’ writing skills but their ability to engage readers as well. Each round is designed to test the bloggers’ creativity and passion for the advocacy. The winning blogger should be able to encourage Pinoys to discover our cultural identity through Filipino cuisine with articles that will leave readers hungry for more.

See detailed Search for the Ultimate Sooo Pinoy Blogger Mechnics here.

Sooo Pinoy Food around the Philippines

How to Join

Bloggers must submit an entry for round 1, a blog article that explains why they deserve to be the Ultimate Food Blogger. All entries must be received before October 24. Entries will be judged according to creativity, quality of the write-up, and popularity among readers. Only those who pass the first round will continue to rounds 2 and 3 in the hope of becoming the Sooo Pinoy Ultimate Food Blogger. Those who want to join may visit www.facebook.com/SoooPinoy to see the detailed mechanics.

October 24 is the date to hold as this is the last day of submission for Round 1!

I Want To Join!

Adobo: one of Pinoy Food Signature Dishes

Search for the Ultimate Sooo Pinoy Food Blogger

Readers of my Adventure-Travel   blog LetsGoSago.net knows just how much I would love to participate in these type of challenges. However, due to my upcoming academic trip to Taiwan, I have a problem with the round 2 and round 3 dates if ever I qualify moving forward. I guess that’s good news for the rest of you guys! lols. 🙂

Sooo, what are you waiting for? Join the search for the Sooo Pinoy Ultimate Food Blogger! (I’ll just wait for the 2012 edition, if ever)