Entries Tagged 'Where To Eat' ↓

SM Hypermarket Cainta Now Open!

SM Hypermarket brought life to a gloomy, rainy day last August 14, 2012 as the 34th branch of SM Hypermaket opened along Felix Avenue (former Imelda Ave.) in Cainta, Rizal.

The new store brought some festive mood to Cainta recovering from the recent calamity as it opened with exciting promos and discounts. There were also celebrity meet and greet segments which included Georgina Wilson, Jake Vargas and Tippy dos Santos.

Papa Dan of 97.1 Barangay LS also entertained first day shoppers, plus trivia games for extra fun before the store opened at 3pm..

SM Hypermarket Cainta Ribbon Cutting

SM Hypermarket Cainta, Rizal

Some media personnel were given a brief tour of the supermarket showcasing its different sections and areas catering to different needs of the mass market from consumer goods to apparels, appliances, and electronics.

SM Hypermarket Sections

SM Hypermarket Areas

SM Hypermarket Fresh

SM Hypermarket Hydro Spray

SM Hypermarket Cainta in the same way upheld SM Hypermarket‘s focus of being a one-stop shop of almost everything a consumer needs from food to non-food items; plus services such as bills payment and money transfer.

SM Hypermarket Outreach

In related relief efforts, SM Hypermarket reached out to its new community and donated food relief packs for victims of monsoon floods in the municipality. Over 2,000 packs of food relief items were donated.

SM Hypermarket Cainta Relief Donations for Rizal

Photo shows SM Hypermarket president Robert Kwee handing over the packs to (L-R) Cainta Mayor Mon Ilagan, Rizal Vice Governor Ross Glenn Gongora, Bgy. Sto. Domingo chairman Boy Sulit and Ms. Veron Ilagan.

Opening promos and discounts

• Bonus with SM Hypermarket’s Value Packs – save as much as 80% in bundled items that come with free SM Bonus products.
• Buy One Get One – free on breads, eggs, meat and other grocery items
• Price Markdowns – on your favorite brands and home essentials to make the opening truly rewarding for Cainta shoppers.
• SM Advantage Card, BDO Rewards and Prestige card holders can enjoy member exclusive promos when they swipe their card into the SWIPE machine located at the store entrance.

SM Hypermarket Cainta Grand Opening Programme

SM Hypermarket Tagline: “Happy To Serve”

It was a rainy opening day indeed, but it did not prevent the people from flocking to SM Hypermaket Cainta. Congratulations to SM Hypermarket and may you continue to “serve happily.”

Mondo Juice

You must have read my previous blog about Mondo Juice Megamall for you to fully appreciate this post. You can consider this a part two-of-sorts. 🙂

Having an awesome first experience, my fiance and I made sure we’d drop by the second Mondo Juice branch – and that is the one in Robinsons Galleria. And so we did.

It was a bit smaller than the Megamall branch but the interiors played with curves and lines, perhaps to give the small space more fluid and spacious dimensions. Kudos to the designer. The walls were also decorated with principled health statements from Mondo Juice itself such as “Hide and Seek: We don’t play games with your smoothie…” and “Made by Nature: Assemnled by Mondo Juice.”

Mondo Juice Robinsons Galleria

Mondo Juice Galleria

Hide & Seek

Made by Nature

What to Order

Now for the beverage-choosing part, we made sure to order something else from which we have already tried. My Mondo Marjorie chose the Sippin’ Strawberry premium fruit smoothie while I tried something from the “Exotic” fruit smoothies category for the first time – Raspberry Rush.

Mondo Juice Menu

Mondo Juice Menu Board

The Sippin’ Strawberry sticker labels says that it’s a mix of strawberries, mangoes, cranberry juice, and nectar. The solo is priced at P135 while the ‘Mondo’ size is P180.

Mondo Juice Sippin’ Strawberry

My Raspberry Rush is a combination of well, raspberries, strawberries, low-fat yogurt, and cranberry juice. Although the price is more premium at P160 for solo and P220 for mondo, I liked its taste better, perhaps due to the low-fat yogurt which made the juice’ texture slightly thicker but still natural and in good taste.

Mondo Juice Raspberry Rush

To complete our meal, we shared the Beef Pastrami sandwich (P165) which was also our first-time to order.  Aside from the beef pastrami, it has lettuce, onions, mild cheddar, and honey mustard on a black sesame whole wheat ciabatta. It was one protein-filled sandwich with a healthy bunch of stuff. 🙂

Beef Pastrami

NomNom and the Mondo Juice Advocate

WIped-out Mondo Juice Fruit Juices

I consider this a good closing article to our brief back-to-back Mondo Juice mini-series. It somehow felt complete having visited both the SM Megamall and Robinsons Galleria branches of our newest beverage place of choice that is both healthy and refreshing –  Mondo Juice!

Mondo Juice Megamall

So called ‘fruit juice bars‘ and ‘smoothie stands‘ have sprouted around the metro in the recent years, trying to ride on the “healthy lifestyle” bandwagon. But only very few can claim to serve an all-natural, real fruit smoothie without added sugar, syrup or sweeteners – that’s Mondo Juice.

Being a ‘Megamall guy,’ I’ve been passing by Mondo Juice in SM Megamall for so long as I can remember. But it was only recently that I actually tried it upon the prodding of my fiance who have tried and blogged about Mondo Juice way back in mid-2011.

Mondo Juice Fruit Smoothie

And so I tried, and regretted it. I regret why it was only now that I gave-in to my fiance’s recommendation to try Mondo Juice. 🙂

We came from a full-house Starbucks shop so I eventually agreed to her suggestion of trying Mondo Juice as I always welcome the thought of trying restaurants I have never been to.

Mondo Juice branch interior

Mondo Juice High-Powered Blenders

My Order #1: Blushing Mango & Turkey Pesto

Mango has always been one of my favorite fruits so I decided to go ‘safe‘ and chose the “Blushing Mango” from the Premium Fruit Smoothie category. It costs P135 for the solo size and P180 for the ‘Mondo‘ (big) size.

The other smoothie categories were ‘Homegrown‘, ‘Buzz Smoothies‘, and ‘Exotic‘, among others.

I was also offered add-on options such as yogurt, oatmeal, soy milk, and honey whose prices ranged from Php 15 to Php 35. As much as I would like to have those healthy add-ons, I decided to have the smoothie as it is. I wanted to know how it fares without the extras.

Blushing Mango Smoothie

Hungry as I was, I ordered a Turkey Pesto sandwich to match my smoothie. The smoked turkey breast slices were calling out to me complete with the green peppers and rustic pesto in between two Italian herb Focaccia breads. 🙂

As so it was served.

My Blushing Mango smoothie came in a transparent cup where you can see all the goodness of the fruit and pulp (no rinds/roots), and an informative sticker at the back. Mine turned-out to be a blend of mangoes, respberries, and nectar amounting to 3.5 big servings of fruit hitting upto 140% of my vitamin C need.

I had my first ‘sip‘ and I can almost feel the toxins flushed down. 🙂

Grilled Turkey Pesto Sandwich

Her Order #1: Mango Magic with Ham & Cheese

Not to be outdone, my Mondo Juice advocate and fiance named Marjorie ordered her all-time favorite ‘homegrown‘ fruit smoochie smoothie called Mango Magic (P125 Solo). She partnered it with the traditional – Ham & Egg sandwich.

Based on the back sticker label, the magic in her Mango Magic is a mix of mangoes, nectar, and orange juice with a whooping 161% of vitamin C! It goes further saying “the only thing fresher grows on a tree.” 🙂 With the 1/3 pound of fruit in each Mondo Jucie cup, the recommended five servings of fruit daily has just been met!

And without hesitation, she made her ‘sip‘ and said “ahhh.”

Mango Magic with Ham & Cheese Sandwich

My Order #2: Blueberry Bonanza + Kiwi Fruit & Jello

An hour after, needless to say, we wanted more. Round 2 was imminent.

I then consulted the sales crews and asked which one is their bestseller. The unanimous answer was the “Blueberry Bonanza“! Again from the premium fruit smoothie category, it had the same price as my first one at P135 per ‘solo size‘ order and P180 for the Mondo.

Blueberry Bonanza Smoothie

Mondo Juice Jello

Adventurous as I am, a group of jello encased in interestingly hard plastic containers on the left side of the display piqued my curiosity. I browsed through and selected the Kiwi Fruit & Jello over the Lychee and Mandarin Orange-infused ones.

Kiwi Fruit & Jello

On first ‘sip‘, I already knew why the Blueberry Bonanza is the bestseller. The natural blend of blueberries, mangoes, bananas, and cranberry juice was harmonious. You have to try it for yourself.

The Kiwi fruit & jello was fine with good kiwis and jello fruit juice. It’s something different for a change. I think the kids will love it too. For something healthy, parents out there should seriously consider this as a snack for their kids.

Her Order #2: Proteinzone Super Smoochie Smoothie

From the start, I never doubted she would take seconds for Mondo Juice.

My Mondo Marjorie scanned through the menu board for quite a while similar to how she scans through dresses, gowns, shoes, and bags while shopping in department stores.

I was afraid.

Three mondo minutes after, she finally exclaimed: “I think I will try something different this time!”

I was even more afraid.

Ready to face my fears, I gathered enough courage and asked her straight to the point: “What’s your order as the cashier is waiting?”

She looked at me intensely into the eye and finally said … that she wanted to try the Proteinzone Super Smoothie booster (P145/solo;185 /Mondo). In the same category are the ‘Detox‘ & ‘Power-Up‘ smoothies.

My Mondo Model: Marjorie (with her Proteinzine Smoothie)

Proteinzone Back Sticker Label

Surprisingly, on the other hand, she’s passing up the sandwich and hinted to share with my Kiwi jello instead; which is not a problem of course. 😛

The smoochie smoothie finally came and it turned out to be a concoction of raspberries, bananas, nectar, cranberry juice, a shot of soy protein at 4g and fiber of 2.35g per serving! (I don’t know what’s the standard, but it impressed upon me that it’s much!) 🙂

‘Sip‘!

Completing the menu board of Mondo Juice are fresh pressed juice, hot drinks such as coffee, tea, and chocolate. Other cold drinks include iced coffee, brewed ice tea, and lemonade.

There are even honeyed nuts and mango cashew nuts available by the counter.

Her Proteinzone and Mango Magic!

The Mondo Juice Advocate & NomNom

Undoubtedly, it was a no-fuss afternoon of all-natural fruit smooches smoothies with my fiance at Mondo Juice Megamall where we can drink it straight, without the sugar and syrup bait.

So where were the ‘smooches‘ in the story? It went in-between ‘sips‘. 🙂

Dessert comes first 🙂

Acaci Buffet Restaurant debuts at the new Filipino five-star luxury hotel - Acacia Hotel Manila – last month as the newest buffet dining spot in Alabang (south of Metro Manila). Situated in Filinvest Corporate City, Acaci coffeeshop offers a buffet with sumptuous spreads of Asian and international dishes for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Located above the lobby with its own floor, the restaurant offers an “East meets West” theme without loosing the inspiration of each dish to ‘fusion‘.

Appetizer & Salad bar Station

Appetizers Salad Bar Station (Gravlax – Top Left)

Diners can have their fill of local and international dishes starting with the appetizer salad bar station located in the middle of the restaurant where they can choose from an array of fresh greens and dressings. There are also a selection of cold cuts, patés, and terrines while enjoying the crustacean selections, cocktail, tacos salad options, and the sushi bar

Don’t miss the Gravlax and Thai Prawn with Green Mango and Lime Salad.

Sushi Bar & Other Cold Cuts

Crustacean Selection (upper left)

Filipino & Asian Station

I decided to skip the bread and cheese section, however, as I intended to focus on the main dishes.

The Asian section consists of a variety of local and international dishes with our very own pork sisig (a spicy Filipino pork dish) and Sinigang. If I’m not mistaken, I think this is the first time I’m having ‘sisig‘ in a hotel buffet. 🙂

Asaian Station & Pork Sisig (right)

Sinigang, soup & condiments

Other options included the the Seared Cod Fish Fillet, Cajun Spiced Chicken with Pumpkin and Asparagus Tips, and Braised Bean Curd with Assorted Mushrooms. Surprisingly, there was only one simple rice variety in the buffet – fried rice with ham and vegetables.

Western Station & Carving Station

For the Western cuisine, they have a pasta section right beside the Mongolian station followed by popular choices including lamb, tender prime rib, and flaky salmon.

The Carving Station hosted the Herb-Roasted U.S. Rib-Eye with corn on the cob, roasted spiced potato wedges and a gazillion sauce options.

Bread & Cheese Station

Avocado and Chicken Salad with Coriander Dressing

Dessert Station

The dessert station offers an array of cakes, pastries, chocolate fondue fountain, and sliced fruits. Albeit quite limited in this part, I highly recommend the customizable crepes station with condiments, sauces, & ice cream.

Dessert Station

Crepe Station

Other stations include the Wanton Station, Filipino Soup, and Deep Fried Thai Fish Station. Watch out for the upcoming shawarma station and an interactive Caesar salad station where attendants will assemble the salad according the preference of the guest.

Pasta Station

Wanton Station (left) & Dimsum Station (right)

Deep Fried Thai Fish

Executive Chef Raffy Hubilla

We were also able to briefly interview Executive Chef Raffy Hubilla who is a veteran in the industry having been in the hospitality food scene for 22 years including a stint with Marriot Hotel.

Acaci is named after a species of flower-bearing plants in the Amazon. The interior is spacious with four panels of paintings done by the Filipino artist Jomike Tejido which are proudly displayed as part of the restaurant décor.

Executive Chef Raffy Hubilla

Acaci Restaurant

Acacia Hotel Manila – Acaci
Business Address: 5400 East Asia Drive corner Commerce Avenue, Filinvest Corporate City, Alabang, Muntinlupa City
Email: enquiry@acaciahotelsmanila.com
Tel no. 720 2000 or 588 5888
www.acaciahotelsmanila.com
Follow them on Facebook (Acacia Hotels Manila) or in Twitter (AcaciaHotels)

Acaci in Acacia Hotel Manila

Dine at Acaci Buffet Restaurant for only Php995 nett per person inclusive of one round of Iced Tea or Pandan Juice.

Kido Master Burger

The Japanese fastfood chain Karate Kid is now open at the 3rd Level of Farmer’s Plaza in Cubao. It is conveniently located near the walkway that connects to Gateway Mall. I have been passing by this area and wondered when the opening will be. Finally, there’s now a good alternative to the usual burger, fried chicken and pizza fare at the Araneta Center.

The fastfood chain, which had been in operation for over 10 years now, offers a fusion of Japanese and American cuisine. This is in keeping with its original concept taken from the American movie in the same title starring Ralph Macchio.

Karate Kid Farmer’s Plaza

Karate Kid Chicken

Naturally, there are the classic Japanese fare for those who love Japanese food — Katsudon, Ramen, California Maki, Teppanyaki, Takoyaki, Gyoza and Ebi Tempura. But their original creation combining Japanese and American elements are equally delectable. I had the Japanese Creme Chicken Pasta and I was very delighted. Generously served in extra creamy sauce, huge chicken chunks and mushroom, it’s really delicious and filling. I noticed that they also have burgers — Kido Master Burger and Eli Katsu Burgers. I thought they’d go well with the pasta; perfect if you’re really hungry.

*Story & Photos by Alwin Aguirre of The City Roamer

In addition to good food, the place also has good interiors. I’m happy that I now have an alternative dining spot to visit with Karate Kid Farmers Plaza. I’m sure this place will be filled with diners in no time, especially because the restaurant is very accessible from the MRT Cubao Station.

Karate Kid Desserts

We were invited to the launch of Segafredo Zanetti MyEspresso machine on a rainy Friday afternoon. I sensed that I might be going alone since my boyfriend has been sick for two days. With the unpredictable weather outside, I wouldn’t allow him so I decided to go on my own to the Net Plaza at The Fort, armed with an umbrella and cardigan.

Segafredo Zanetti Espresso – Net Plaza, The Fort

Segafredo Zanetti

I’ve been consuming coffee for almost half of my life and to spice up my coffee experience last year, I decided to buy a coffee maker. I wanted to wake up my senses with the aroma of freshly brewed coffee. When I learned about espresso machines I dreamt of owning one someday, much more when I tried Segafredo’s espresso and cappuccino.

Every sip of espresso gives a brand new coffee experience. I’ve never really appreciated the true meaning of “perfect cup of coffee” until recently. It became more satisfying and more delicious with the sandwiches and pizzas they served us. Just before I left, I had a smooth, creamy and perfectly made cappuccino. I cannot be too descriptive, all I know is that cappuccino is delicious!

Segafredo Zanetti MyEspresso

Segafredo Zanetti MyEspresso

Segafredo Zanetti

Segafredo Zanetti brought the Italian espresso tradition in the country by introducing two world-renowned espresso masters from Italy and Japan to share their knowledge about authentic Italian Espresso.

Mr. Ilija Naumovski, the Grand Chef Barista & Supervisor of Segafredo Zanetti in Asia together with Mr. Andrea Borghesan, Export Manager of Segafredo Zanetti Coffee Systems Italy demonstrated how to concoct an excellent cup of espresso. Fashion icon and celebrity Ms. Tessa Prieto-Valdez arrived in her red long gown.

Lifestyle Icon Tessa Prieto-Valdez with Segfredo Top Honchos

Segafredo Cafe is located at the ground floor of Net One Plaza

The Company

Segafredo Zanetti is the leading espresso producer in Italy and throughout the whole world, with more than 100,000 clients and millions of espresso drunk each day. The company belongs to Massimo Zanetti Beverage Group, a holding which unites 37 companies across the world.The company owns green beans plantations in Brazil and Costa Rica and has 11 roasting plants all over the world.

Ove the years, SZE developed four unique brands, Segafredo Zanetti a brand for wholesale market which incldes hotels, cafes and domestic users. Another is the Zegadredo Zanetti Espresso, a brand exclusive for espresso bars such as this place, the SZE Net Plaza, SZE Podium and SZE Greenhills.

Segafredo Pastries

The third is Segafredo Coffee System, a brand for retail market for home and office coffee machines. Last but not the least is the La San Marco handling large-scale espresso machines. With different offerings for different industries and uses, the Segafredo Complete Coffee Solutionsexcellently cater to specific production needs.

Segafredo Zanetti

Segafredo Zinatti has more than 500 outlets of Segafredo Zanetti Espresso Bar and 150,000 tons of coffee manufactured each year. Segafredo Zanetti continues to innovate the authentic Italian espresso experience with the new MyEspresso machine, we can now enjoy strong, creamy cup available in the comfort of our homes and work place.

* Story and photos by Marjorie Pineda of Living Marjorney

In Manila you may visit Segafredo Zanetti Espresso located at Net Plaza Bldg inThe Fort; The Podium Ortigas and Greenhills, San Juan.

I think this is the first time I’m blogging about Starbucks while in a Starbucks coffee shop, and finishing the whole article, that is. As of this writing, the rain is  heavily pouring on a Tuesday afternoon just outside Starbucks 6750. It’s also the first day of Starbucks’ new beverage called Starbucks Refreshers offered in Cool Lime and Very Berry Hibiscus.

I’ve tried it last week actually and I thought I’d know just what to order now – but I was wrong. I like them both and I don’t know which to choose so my girlfriend and I choose to order both of them, one for each of us. 🙂

Very Berry Hibiscus Starbucks Refreshers Beverage

The new innovative drink is a combionation of green coffee extract with either lime (for Cool Lime) or blackberries (for Very Berry Hibiscus).

Very Berry Hibiscus Starbucks Refreshers Beverage

The Very Berry Hibiscus Starbucks Refreshersâ„¢ beverage is made from real fruit juice, green coffee extract and whole blackberries.

Cool Lime Starbucks Refreshers Beverage

Cool Lime Starbucks Refreshers Beverage

The Cool Lime Starbucks Refreshers beverage contains real fruit juice as well, green coffee extract and a slice of lime.

Both are hand-shaken with ice for a moderate-calorie, thirst-quenching drink and priced as follows: Tall – ₱115, Grande- ₱125, Venti – ₱135.

What is Green Coffee Extract?

It is interesting to note that the Green coffee extract is an entirely new way to experience coffee – one that doesn’t taste like coffee but has about a quarter of caffeine from the regular roasted coffee.

First, the green coffee bean is picked from the coffee cherry from the coffee tree. Now, instead of roasting it after harvest which usually brings about the bold distinctive taste of coffee, the caffeine naturally found in coffee is extracted from the unroasted arabica coffee beans. This is then used as the liquid base for the Starbucks Refresher Beverages plus a right amount of water and ice for the refreshing taste.

Starbucks Refreshment Tumbler Offer / Promo

Refreshment Tumbler Offer

From July 31 to September 10, 2012, get a complimentary Tall Starbucks Refreshers Beverage for every purchase of 16 oz. Customizable Cold Cup Tumblers (with flat lid and dome lid) .

Starbucks Refreshers

It’s actually a ‘summery‘ drink for me. Ironically, it’s the rainy season here in the Philippines. 🙂 Anyhow, you’ve got to try the new Starbucks Refresher Beverages. I find the Cool Lime more refreshing being in the citrus-y side. The Very Berry Hibiscus has the same effect but has the sweeter aftertaste primarily due to the blackberries.

Are you one of those who collects a lot of discount cards from different shops and brands? From the SM Advantage card to Jollibee’s Happy Plus Card, to Mercury’s Suki Card, down to the 0.1111% discount coupon of your favorite sari-sari store? Well, I’ve got good news for you to add to your collection of discount cards – the Greenwich Ultimate Greencard!

Greenwich Ultimate Greencard

Benefits of Greenwich Ultimate Greencard

Further supporting its tagline of being “better than any other,” Greenwich recently launched its new Ultimate Greencard and they were kind enough to share one with us. I will surely try it soon!

How to Get Your Greenwich Ultimate Greencard:

You can avail one Greenwich Ultimate Greencard in any of the three ways:

• Greenwich Delivery – calling 5-55-55 Greenwich delivery
• Over the Counter – starting August 2012
• Order Online – through www.greenwichdelivery.com

In all three, simply add P199 for the Ultimate Green Card.

To check out the latest deals you may visit http://greenwichdelivery.com/greencard.

Benefits of the Greenwich Ultimate Greencard:

• Buy 1 Take 1 Pizza** (delivery only)
• 10% Discount (dine-in and take-out)
• Save as much as P1000 (delivery only)

** When you order a 12″ Barkada size or 15″ Party size pizza with 1L Coke

The Greenwich Ultimate Greencard also comes with FREE discount coupons!

This is the greencard you have always wanted to have; just don’t mistake it for  your US Green Card. Get your own Greenwich Ultimate Greencard soon!