Entries Tagged 'Cuisine' ↓

Magnum Manila

The opening of Magnum Manila at SM Aura Premier SkyPark tomorrow is all-abuzz around the metro and in the social media-sphere where those who got first dibs, including NomNom Club, have been sharing their photos online, much to the jaundiced eyes of those who haven’t.

But the day has come, tomorrow, Magnum Manila opens it’s first pop-up ‘pleasure store‘ in the Philippines, following other branches around the world including Paris, Jakarta, Shanghai, Amsterdam and New York, among others.

Magnum Manila Signature Combination

Magnum Manila Pleasure Store

Mr. Bryan Chanyungco

So before you hit the store in it’s grand opening tomorrow, here are 10 Things You Need to Know About Magnum Manila:

1. Magnum Manila is not a Café

No, it’s not  a cafe, as Magnum Manila brand manager Bryan Chanyungco has confirmed in an interview with NomNom Club.

Strictly, it’s a “Pleasure Pop-Up Store“. It means that their main purpose is to support the brand – Magnum.

It would be open for only a little more than a year and the objective of success is then attained!

Magnum Manila @ SM Aura Premier

2. Dessert Dishes were Crafted by Chef Miko Aspiras

Chef Miko Aspiras

The Magnum concoctions forming all the dessert dishes were crafted by Chef Miko Aspiras, a globally award-winning pastry chef and is currently one of the pastry chefs in a well-known Philippine premier hotel.

3. Food is by Chef Him Uy de Baron

You may consider Magnum Manila a restaurant since aside from the Magnum Ice Cream creations, there are other sumptuous dishes you could order from appetizers to soup and salad to mains.

Some names from the menu include Asian Steak Salad, Pumpkin Soup, Magnum Braised Beef Cheek, and Carbonara.

The entrees are the creations of Chef Him Uy de Baron, the executive chef of Chef Cuisine Catering and owner of Nomama.

Asian Steak Salad

Make-Your-Own-Magnum

4. The “Make-Your-Own-Magnum” only costs Php 100

Since Magnum Ice Cream‘s launch about two years ago, the brand has already made it’s mark in the Philippine ice cream industry. And with Magnum Manila, the customer’s experience will be elevated by offering them the chance to create their very own Magnum bar for only Php 100!

Most of your favorite desserts from other restaurants costs more!

5. Step 1 Make-Your-Own-Magnum: “Coat It”

The DIY process starts from the choice of ice cream. Choose between vanilla or chocolate truffle.

After selecting your Magnum ice cream base, you get to “Coat It” by choosing a chocolate coating from white, infinity dark, and classic.

Step 1: “Coat It”

6. Step 2 Make-Your-Own-Magnum: “Top It”

To ‘Top It’ is to make you Magnum Bar more exciting by experimenting on 18 different toppings to choose from. You could create more than a hundred thousand combination with all 18 of them!

The default is to add 3 toppings from the varied choices. The toppings include pistachios, almond, chocolate chip cookies, dried raspberries, gold nuggets, and even sea salt or chili flakes for that surprise kick!

Step 2: “Top it” – 18 Toppings to Choose From

7. Step 3 Make-Your-Own-Magnum: “Drizzle It”

Finally, you get to drizzle your Magnum Creation with the same chocolate choices from the coating section. Select either white, infinity dark, or classic Belgian chocolate.

Step 3: “Drizzle It”

8. Magnum Manila contemporary architecture and sleek interiors is designed by Ed Calma.

Magnum Pleasure Store @ SkyPark

Magnum Manila Interiors

9.  NomNom Club’s Top Dessert Choice is the Cookie Dough Skillet

The Magnum Manila menu is quite handy but there are a lot of options to order. So to help you make the right choices, allow us to give you NomNom Club’s top choice which we believe you’ll never regret – the Cookie Dough Skillet.

The Cookie Dough Skillet is a warm chocolate chip cookie dough topped with two vanilla Magnum bars, dark chocolate and chopped pecans.

At P250, it has earned to be one of my favorite desserts of all time. It’s also good for sharing!

Other Magnum Manila creations include the Rainbow Dream & Pink Friday.

The “Rainbow Dream”

The “Pink Friday”

10.  NomNom Club’s Main Dish Recommendations are the Seared Salmon and Mushroom Burger.

For the ‘mains‘, please do try the Seared Salmon with Basil Creme and Chorizo Confit and the Mushroom Burger.

While the Seared Salmon is good for a meal, the Mushroom Burger has that unique meaty texture perfect just before a Magnum Manila dessert creation for snacks.

Seared Salmon with Basil Creme and Chorizo Confit

Mushroom Burger

Free Magnum

But wait, there’s more!

Free 500 Make Your Own Magnum

Magnum Manila in SM Aura opens its first day with a big crunch! A free crunch for the first 500 customers, so to speak.

They will get their own Make Your Own Magnum dessert creation for FREE!

Be one of the First 500 guests to get a taste of the Make Your Own Magnum experience. Doors officially open at 12NN on Tuesday, April 8 2014. Patrons may physically line up ahead of time (no phone reservations).

1-patron-1-MYO-Magnum-Bar Rule

Magnum Manila Signature Creations

Magnum Manila Pleasure Store

Being a pop-up store which will only be open until sometime in 2015, you should then grab the earliest chance to taste the cold and luxurious Belgian chocolate bar of Magnum made the way you want in thousands of possible combinations.

Know more about Manila’s Magnum at Magnum.com.ph, @Magnum_PH on Instagram, and MakeMyMagnum.com.

And considering that the newest Magnum Gold retails for Php60 each in convenience stores, the Magnum Manila P100 DIY Magnum plus 3 toppings in a full dine-in premium store is actually pocket-friendly.

Mao Jia Hunan

Hunan province in China is famous for its spicy fares and that’s what Mao Jia Hunan Cuisine restaurant along Bagtikan street in Makati is bringing to its customers and nearby residents.

Continue reading →

Todd English Food Hall Manila

Todd English Food Hall, a 900-square-meter specialty culinary hall that offers a mix of fresh and prepared international gourmet food, opens in Manila today. Continue reading →

Watami Shangri-La Mall

Watami, a Japanese Casual Restaurant, recently opened their 3rd branch in the Philippines at Shangri-La Plaza Mall in Ortigas. They serve a wide variety of authentic Japanese dishes infused with special sauces and spices that ranges from appetizers, sushi, skewers, hot pots, various meat and seafood dishes.

Watami Short Ribs

Watami also have a good costumer service, staff who are happy to help out, and cheerfully welcome you upon entry. As NomNom Club’s contributor, it’s my first time at Watami. It enriched my appreciation of what Japanese food is all about.

Japan has invaded our tummies with mouth-watering dishes and beverages. A modern but homey place and delicious food.

What I found interesting was the Watami Ramen. Its pork was tender and nicely blend with spices which makes it one of my favorite being tasty and satisfying.

If you’re a rice person, then you must try Special Curry with Deep Fried PorkTenderloin Cutlet Rice Set. The Tempura Rice Set is also a must try.

Watami Ramen

Watami in Shangri-La Plaza Mall

Special Curry with Deep Fried PorkTenderloin Cutlet Rice Set

Passion Frut with Mango Tea and Kiwi Tea with Agar

Short Ribs after Grilling

Moreover, I enjoyed the food without the hassle of smoke while having the fun to choose and pair food choices. Try theur refreshing glass of Passion Frut with Mango Tea and Kiwi Tea with Agar as well.

*Photos and article by contributor Tina Qunies

Watami prices are at par with its value for taste. Drop by and visit their 3rd and newest branch at 6th level, East Wing of Shangri-La Plaza. You can also visit Watami in Glorietta 2 and SM Mall of Asia. Visit their Facebook page here.

Cheesy Cheese

Me and my wife are a little picky when it comes to chips. There’s just so many brands in the market that sometimes it can overwhelm you.

Just go to the supermarket and check out the snacks section and you’ve got lines of shelves stacked with bags of chips.

We’re picky in a way that we check what we eat. SImilar to other foods, we check the back of the snack bag for information on its contents. Although, we’re no where near the skills of a nutritionist, knowing what’s inside what you eat helps.

Back Labels

And we’re glad there’s Chacho’s. In contrast to usual corn-based chips, Chacho’s tortilla chips is actually flour-based, which is better. It’s also  new to us since we haven’t tried them before. I’m just not too sure if it’s new in the Philippines as well. Anyhow, so we decided to give it a try.

Chacho’s Variants

Chacho’s come in three flavors — the Cheesy Cheese, BBQ Bonanza, and Spicy Curry. Wifey and I couldn’t settle which one to try first so we considered all three variants.

Chacho’s Flavors

They also come in 80g and 185g packs. The smaller one is about P35-40+, not bad for an imported chips such as Chacho’s.

At home, we first tried my top choice – BBQ Bonanza and it did not disappoint. It’s thin, light, and crunchy-crisp, just like how tortilla chips should be.

My cheese-lover wife got her Cheesy Cheese next. Both of us are not a fan of anything spicy, so the Spicy Curry was the last to get opened. 🙂

I’m actually torn between the BBQ Bonanaza and Cheesy Cheese. I like them both. Wifey obviously went for the latter. :p

Enjoy More with Dips

Consider however, getting some dips to enhance the flavors like salsa and even more cheese. At that time, we didn’t have them at home so we settled for the good ‘ol mayonnaise.

The dips can make snack time more fun and flavorful specially if you have kids.

Chacho’s with Dips

Chacho’s Chips!

You can try strawberry jams and peanut butter too!

I was then reminded of the memory of my Chili’s  Nachos / Tostada Chips experience in SM Megamall a few months ago. 🙂

So if you’re looking for a new snack or chips to feast on, try the new Chacho’s from your favorite supermarkets in Metro Manila. Hopefully they are available in SM Supermarkets too, if not yet.

Tokyo Tokyo’s “Halo-Halo”

Can you feel the afternoon heat rising as the days go by? Although the Philippine weather bureau says it’s not yet officially summer in the Philippines, Pinoy foodies are certainly already looking for summer heat quenchers such as the famous Halo-Halo….and Tokyo Tokyo might just have what you are looking for! Continue reading →

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 →

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 →