Entries Tagged 'Mandaluyong' ↓

Mom says that as much as girls like flowers, giving something edible as a gift on Valentine’s Day is more practical. I think this is what Max’s Restaurant – Max’s Corner Bakery had in mind for this Valentine’s. 🙂

Max;s Cupcakes

It start early this month and until February 29, 2012, Max’s Corner Bakery cakes and pastries offers the following to complement you Valentine gift ideas:

• Valentine’s Pastry Bites  – it’s a box chocolate bites with choices of dark or milky chocolate,  some are covered with almond slivers and filled with caramels. (P199 – box of 15)
• Valentine Cupcakes  – cupcakes of 3 in one gift box (P135 for a box of 3 or P50 a piece)

– Black Forest Cupcake  – combination of rich and smooth chocolate flavors with ganache swirls without missing the cherry on top and a chocolate base.
– Blueberry Cupcake – your favorite cupcake with real blueberries.
– Choco Banana Cupcake  – a moist banana cupcake with choco cookies topped with cream and a big heart-shaped black and white chocolate flat.

• Valentine Chocolate Moist Cake -  a medium-sized heart-shaped chocolate cake, coated with a layer of chocolate ganache and garnished with chocolate curls, topped with cherry and sprinkled with powdered sugar (Php 199).
• Sugar Cookies – fancy sugar cookies with a choice of either the Valentine Heart or the Valentine Bear.  (P25 – pack of 2)

Max’s Pastry Bites

Max's Cupcakes for Valentine's Day: Blueberry Cupcake, Black Forest Cupcake, & Choco Banana Cupcake (left- right))

Sugar Cookies (Valentine Bear and the Valentine Heart)

Highly Recommended

Among the above, It’s the Valentine Chocolate Moist Cake which NomNom recommends best. It lives up to its name and would surely be loved by most. It’s visually appealing and can easily be consumed by a couple because of it’s size.

Chocolate Moist Cake (P199 - medium size; one size)

Max's Restaurant Cake

Valentine’s Promo from Max’s Restaurant

Starting today, until February 14, 2012, a minimum purchase of Php 1,500 on your favorite meals in Max’s Restaurant such as Max’s sarap-to-the-bones Fried Chicken, Sinigang, Crispy Pata or Kare-Kare, entitles a customer a free box of Pastry Bites from Max’s Corner Bakery worth P199.

All Cakes in Heart Shape

Chocolate Cake

Highlighting the mood of the season even further, all Max’s Corner Bakery’s  cakes will be heart-shaped from February 10-14! Talk about Valentine cakes! 🙂

Check out more of Max’s Corner Bakery Cakes and Pastries at Max’s Corner Bakery’s FB Page, Max’s Restaurant FB Page, and http://www.maxschicken.com.

Valentine Cake

I already got three of the heart-shaped cakes from Max’s branch in Gateway Mall this morning for my love. How about you?

And do you know why I got THREE heart-shaped cakes as a gift for Valentine’s? You guessed it right. 🙂

Filipino coffee company Figaro taps into satisfying its market from breakfast ’til night with it’s newest offering for dinner – Figaro Dinner Meals.

I got two try the first two variants namely the Chicken Rice Bake and Tofu Steak Rice.

Chicken Rice Bake

The Chicken Rice Bake is a cup of flavorful chicken, bell peppers, mushrooms, carrots, rice in creamy white sauce baked and topped with mozzarella cheese baste.

Paired with a cold glass of lemonade it is priced at P150.

Figaro Dinner Meal - Chicken Rice Bake

Tofu Steak Rice

Next is the Tofu Steak Rice. It’s a deep-fried Tofu glazed with a flavorful special sauce with hints of onions and topped with white sesame seeds on steamed rice garnished with parsley.

Tofu is known to be rich with health benefits such as being a good source of protein. Check out the health benefits of Tofu here. It would make a healthy vegan meal for those looking for one and is paired with a complimentary cold glass of lemonade (Price: P150).

Recommendation

Being familiar with the common Chinese dish Mapu Tofu, the Tofu Steak Rice was no stranger to my taste buds. The sauce tastes good, however, paring tofu alone with rice as “ulam“, falls short to my expectation for a filling meal. My thumbs-up goes to Chicken Rice Bake, instead.

On the other hand, I had a crazy idea/recommendation of combining the two – Chicken Rice Bake + Tofu Steak (without the extra rice). Chicken, Tofu, and baked cheese as a comfort food fills the complete meal set.

If you have a big appetite and welcomes the extra rice from the second meal, try ordering both and ‘taste‘ what I mean. 🙂 If ever Figaro would be reading about this and happen to combine the two and logically offer it at around P200, that would be great! 🙂

Figaro Milk Tea Craze

Taro Pudding Milk Tea

Figaro Milk Teas

In that visit, I was also surprised to see Figaro Milk Teas. They have cached-up with the milk tea fever. 🙂 Curiosity piqued and I tried the Raspberry Milk Tea. It turned out to be just average and  instead, I liked the Taro Pudding Chiller Frost Milk Tea my other friends ordered.

Try Figaro Healthy Dinner Meals of Chicken Rice Bake and Tofu Steak Rice. It started to be available at all Figaro stores and outlets nationwide since the start of the new year.

This is the first time cocktail mixing will be featured here and it was really quite an interesting experience. The Canadian Tourism and Hospitality Institute (CTHI) invited NomNom Club late last year to seat in and participate in one of their lifestyle courses entitled Cocktail Mixing 101.

Cocktail Mixing 101

Popular cocktail drinks featured during the seminar were Strawberry Margarita, Frozen Pina Colada, Strawberry Mango Daiquiri Frozen, Mojito, Strawberry Mojito, and Tequila Sunrise. And as expected, we tried all of them! 🙂

Strawberry Margarita

Strawberry Margarita is a mixture of pureed strawberry, Tequila, lime juice and crushed ice served in a sexy margarita glass.

I personally love the Pina Colada Frozen. It’s a mixture of rum, pina colada mix and crushed ice served in hi-ball glass and garnish with pineapple wedge and straw.

For the Strawberry Mojito, you can use 7 mint leaves, strawberry halved and 2 lime wedges, rum, fresh sour rocks mix, pureed strawberries topped with soda.

The Tequila Sunrise is the easiest to prepare with few ingredients just the Tequila, orange juice and grenadine with orange juice and straw to garnish and serve in a hi-ball glass.

Canadian Tourism and Hospitality Institute

June Bug

Strawberry Mojito

Tequila Sunrise

Cocktail Surprise

Moulinex

Love vodka? Try the Melon Ball, a mixture of vodka, melon liqueur and orange juice. Serve it in a double old fashion/rock glass and garnish with orange wheel.

Melon Ball

This three hour long cocktail mixing 101 seminar was delivered by Sir Joel. It was an information-overload for me, but I learned a lot from choosing the right glass, mixing and garnishing, and knowing how to prepare popular cocktails in a professional way.

Here’s video taken during the seminar.

Special thanks to Canadian Tourism and Hospitality Institute.

Canadian Tourism and Hospitality Institute (CTHI)
2nd Floor Paragon Plaza, EDSA Cor. Reliance St. Mandaluyong City
Telephone Numbers :861-1061/ (+632) 584-7343
Website: http://www.canadiantourisminstitute.com/9/home

CTHI

The Canadian Tourism and Hospitality Institute (CTHI) is the first international franchise of the Canadian Tourism College (CTC) based in Vancouver, Canada. With its thirty (30) years of providing real-world quality tourism education, Food and Beverage Services is just one of the many programs being offered at CTHI.

Programs are divided into three areas- Diploma Courses, Certificate Courses and Professional Development.

Cocktail Mixing 101

Before the Cocktail Mixing 101 seminar ended, Sir Joel did us some flair bar tending exhibition. It was an interesting show as he juggled and flipped bottles and shakers with amazing skills.

And the Starbucks Philippines  series is not yet over this Christmas season! After sharing with you the Starbucks 2012 Planners, and the Starbucks Holiday Foods, it’s the turn of the Starbucks Christmas beverages to be highlighted.

Cranberry White Chocolate Mocha

The two new and one returning Starbucks Christmas Beverages flavors of the season are:

Cranberry White Chocolate Mocha

This is the new beverage available this season only. Starbucks signature espresso is combined with freshly steamed milk and luscious white chocolate, then topped with whipped cream, a tart cranberry drizzle and crystallized cranberry sugar.

Toffee Nut Latte

Toffee Nut Latte

Back by popular demand! The rich, buttery flavor of sweet toffee combined with toasted nuts, blended with Starbucks smooth espresso and velvety steamed milk, topped with whipped cream and toffee-flavored sprinkles.

Peppermint Mocha

Peppermint Mocha

Good news to all peppermint lovers, watch out for the return of Peppermint Mocha! Enjoy the warm combination of espresso, steamed milk, bittersweet chocolate and peppermint flavor in this seasonal favorite. It is topped with classic whipped cream and red sugar sprinkles.

Christmas Coffee Blend

This Christmas, as you gather your friends and family offer them the warmest of greetings by welcoming them with a delicious cup of Starbucks coffee. Choose from the spicy, full-bodied flavor of the Christmas Blend, the rich, caramelly flavor of Starbucks Christmas Blend Espresso Roast or the instant Starbucks VIA Ready Brew Christmas Blend.

Starbucks Christmas Blend

Starbucks Christmas Blend

This full-bodied favourite combines the liveliness of superb Latin American coffees with the mellow smoothness of Asia-Pacific coffees, but is truly noteworthy for the spicy notes from aged Sumatra beans. This coffee is best paired with White Chocolate Cranberry Cookie – big and chunky, chewy and crunchy. Perfect for this season!

(Retail Price P500)

Christmas Blend - Espresso Roast

Starbucks Christmas Blend Espresso Roast

Made from Sumatra and aged Sumatra coffees, combined with beans from the Bella Vista F.W. Estate in Tres Rios, Costa Rica, and finally roasted in Starbucks signature Espresso Roast for an intense flavor and spicy finish.

(Retail Price P500)

Starbucks VIA Ready Brew Christmas Blend

It is an instant and microground coffee that provides a comforting taste if the holidays wherever you go.

(Retail Price P495)

Starbucks VIA Ready Brew Christmas Blend

By now, most of you would have probably tasted the Starbucks Christmas beverages in some branches of Starbucks. Which one was your favourite? How about among the Christmas Coffee Blends?

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! 😛

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.

In celebration of our 2nd anniversary this month, “everyone’s food blog” – NomNom Club, together with the KFC Tower Burger, challenges you to “Demolish the Tower Burger with NomNom Club!“

KFC Tower Burger

In addition to the existing official “Demolish the Tower Burger” contest, “Demolish the Tower Burger with NomNom Club!” encourages all bloggers in Metro Manila to participate in this special and limited activity for you to try!

What’s in it For You:

1.) Get to Demolish the Tower Burger for FREE complete with the set meal of fries and a drink.

2.) Be successful in demolishing the Tower Burger completely within 2 minutes (while being recorded with your own video camera) and get an instant P300 KFC Gift Certificate!

3) Be able to upload your video on YouTube, join KFC’s official contest, and get a chance to win and experience the much-awaited Night Race in Singapore! Click HERE for the official KFC contest mechanics.

How To Join:

1) Know Where NomNom Club Is

Monitor the NomNom Club Facebook Page and await the wallpost schedule to be announced everyday from Sept 13 to Sept 16 anytime from 12nn to 8pm. At least 1 wallpost per day will reveal at least 1 KFC branch where NomNom Club is located and what time you can catch him there.

For example (on the NomNomClub FB wallpost):

“Hello guys! catch @NomNomClub at KFC Cubao Branch  (back of Gateway Mall) from 5pm to 7pm and get the chance to demolish the KFC Tower Burger!“

2) Perform the required Facebook wall post

— Post the link of this blogpost in YOUR Facebook wall ‘link’ section: “https://nomnomclub.com/restaurants/2011/kfc-tower-burger-nomnom/” anytime from now until 4:00pm of September 16, 2011.

— Add a message with this format:

“I’m going to KFC <insert branch> at <time> to take on @KFC Philippines Demolish the Tower Burger Challenge with @NomNomClub !”

Don’t forget to tag @KFC Philippines and @NomNomClub (tag by writing “@” first) in the message.

3) Join On-The-Spot

Be there within the announced time, easily look for NomNom and participate! Come early because only 5 contestants per hour can be accepted. When you come late beyond the announced time, he’s not there anymore! (Although you can still buy for yourself a Tower Burger and participate in KFC’s official Demolish the Tower Burger Contest ).

This is how NomNom looks like in person 🙂

Requirements:

1) Subscribe to NomNom Club HERE or join NomNom Foodie Club HERE to get insider tips (through your email) of the locations in advance.

2) Bring your camera. If you don’t have company, NomNom can hold your camera and time you while you devour the KFC Tower Burger.

3) Bring a Valid ID. I will be carrying a tablet with Wi-Fi to verify on-the-spot if your FB profile was able to post the required message and tags and if your FB profile photo actually looks like you! 🙂

Demolish the Tower Burger with NomNom Club!

The big box of KFC Tower Burger got buns, creamy mayo, crisp and fresh lettuce, a hash brown and the original recipe chicken patty. It also stands as a 2-inch high burger (or more) that stack up high!

So who’s up for the KFC Demolish the Tower Burger Challenge with NomNom Club? Tower Burger’s on the house! 🙂