Nomnomnom, Eat, Nomnomnom, Eat, Nomnomnom

Kusina ni Kambal caterer also served us lunch

We have recently visited the Pinoy MasterChef house which serves as the temporary home of the Top 14 Cooks of the first ABS-CBN kusinaserye.

Myra – Chef Accountant of Muntinlupa

We also got to know the Top 14 cooks in a personal level in the same visit. But NomNom Club got extra close to some of them and even tasted their dishes. Here are six of them up close.

The Ladies

Ivory – the Bubbly Cook

We first met Myra. She is an employee by day and wife & mom by night. The Chef Accountant of Muntinlupafirst worked her way around the kitchen when she was still little. Her forte are home-cooked meals as she now cooks for her family of two.

With her in the room is Ivory. As a nurse, her parents initially wanted her to become a doctor bur her love for cooking made her pursue her culinary passion. Aside from that, she loves to eat, as she herself claims.

In contrast to other cooks and chef who prefers not to fully consume what they have cooked and leave it to guests, she likes eating what she has prepared. Her bubbly character will also help you enjoy your meal.

Myra has prepared a black and white chocolate crepe which served as a complementary dessert to the Italian-inspired potato-based masterpiece by Ivory. As much as Myra’s crepe was ok, Ivory’s dish was outstanding.

Myra’s Crepe & Ivory’s Potato Entree

Mac – the Kitchen Mac-Kulit of Tarlac

The Gentlemen

A former seaman, the Kitchen Mac-Kulit of Tarlac seem to be the jolliest of them all. I wasn’t initially sure if this is to compensate for his broken marriage, but I think Mac is naturally a happy person.

Ronnel – Boy Labong of Pampanga

Our second male cook is Ronnel. He is your typical husband from the province of Pampanga who is not surprisingly good in cooking and cooks over an open fire using twigs.

Known as the Boy Labong of Pampanga, he is the reserved type but have the looks for showbiz.

Tolits – Chief Cook of Police

Sorsogon’s Chief Cook of Police, Tolits, wanted to take up Fine Arts in college but was not able to because his family couldn’t afford it, and it was only in cooking where he was able express his passion for art.

He eventually joined the police force while being in charge of cooking tasks at home for his family as it was not the forte of his wife.

Ronnel prepared a very good tasting sisig which he claims to have prepared in the traditional way, Kapampangan style. Tolits served us a simple but also good-tasting shredded meat on bread. Mac, surprisingly and out-of-character, crafted a leche flan.

Ronnel’s Sisig (left) & Mac’s Leche Flan (right); Tolit’s Dish is Top Photo

Cons – Kitchen Siren of San Juan

The light-hearted conversation led us to Mac’s love-interest among the Pinoy MasterChef Top 14. He confessed his childish attraction to Cons. This led our group of media to interview Cons on our way downstairs.

Known as the Kitchen Siren of San Juan, Cons once auditioned in Pinoy Dream Academy to become a recording artist. A disease, however, temporarily damaged her voice and deterred her from reaching her dreams. This set off her love affair with cooking and has since then vowed to master cooking.

However, she cleared that Mac is just a friend.

Who do you think will be crowned as the first Pinoy MasterChef and will win the P1 million grand prize? Who will stand out?

ABS-CBN MasterChef Pinoy Edition

Pinoy MasterChef Top 14 Cooks

Catch MasterChef Pinoy Edition and the Top 14 cooks as they cook their way to their dreams, Mondays to Fridays, 10:30 a.m. before Be Careful with My Heart on ABS-CBN’s Umaganda block. Follow them at Twitter @MasterChefPHL, www.masterchefph.tv, and www.facebook.com/MasterChefPH.

Wendy’s Greenbelt 1

Wendy’s recently introduced the new BBQnator exclusively to the Philippine market. To be exact, it was just last November 30, 2013 when it came up into the menu boards of their branches.

Wendy’s BBQnator

Wendy’s BBQnator is composed of two 2-quarter pound imported beef patties, 6 strips of tasty smoked bacon, 2 slices of American cheese, and a dash of hickory barbeque sauce to give it the BBQ taste. Finally, it is topped with Wendy’s own real onion rings. It doesn’t come cheap at the price of P255 per sandwich, but this mouthful two-handful meal will certainly leave you full. The Combo meal version with drinks and fries costs P315. Upgrade to onion rings for an additional P8.

Wendy’s Son of BBQnator Combo with Drinks + Frostee

Baconator versus BBQnator

Son of BBQnator

We are all familiar with Wendy’s Baconator. So how is the BBQnator different from the Baconator?

They share a lot of similarities, actually; so much so you may say the BBQnator is a variant of the Baconator. They both have 2-quarter pound beef patties, strips of bacon, and cheese. But the BBQnator has an added hickory barbeque sauce for the distinction that I believe would appeal more to Filipino’s love for anything sweet. Moreover, the BBQnator has onion rings on top just below the buns.

Wendy’s onion rings are served as slices of yellow Spanish onions with mild, sweet flavor, lightly battered & breaded making it crispy on the outside.

Wendy’s BBQnator

Wendy’s BBQnator Combo

Son of BBQnator (top photo)

And just like the Baconator who has a Son of Baconator, the BBQnator also has a Son of BBQnator. The more manageable size is priced at P156 only for ala carte and P198 for the combo.

So who’s the winner?

The Baconator is a hit with bacon-lovers and those with a big-appetite. It has been a long-time favorite for Wendy’s aficionados, but I think Wendy’s BBQnator would be able to exceed the Baconator’s success. As mentioned above, the sweet hickory barbeque sauce will appeal more to the Filipino taste. And who knows, Wendy’s international franchise might even adopt this innovation in its international branches. 🙂

Greenwich Better Than Any Other Christmas Party

Filipinos continue to be innovative in their Christmas celebrations with or without a big budget as long a they have fun during the Christmas party. Just like Greenwich, the country’s leading pizza chain, they recently threw a fun-filled bash for those who contributed to the brand’s success.

Anne Curtis & Kelly Misa

The Greenwich Barkada, composed of officers from Greenwich and celebrity endorsers filled up the stage of a Makati Shangri-La ballroom in front of the media and their friends. Joining in the fun were the Pizza Gang composed of Vince Canizares, Mika Lagdameo, and Lloyd Zaragoza. The Greenwich pasta girls Anne Curtis, Solenn Heussaff and Kelly Misa also brought Christmas cheers through a song.

Cookie Cabrera of Greenwich (right)

The Greenwich Barkada entertained the guests with their rendition of popular Christmas tunes. They also shared their fun moments with their Greenwich family and gamely answered questions from the members of the media. Rockeoke session with the guests kept the night alive.

“This Christmas get-together is our way of showing our heartfelt gratitude to our friends from the press. They play an important role in helping us get our messages and stories across our market and in making the Filipinos aware of our latest offerings,” said Cookie Cabrera, Greenwich PR and Corporate Affairs Manager.

The Greenwich Barkada & The Pasta Girls

@ Makati Shang-ri La

Greenwich Special Overload Pizza – 15in Party Pizza

The star of the night though is Greenwich’s latest Christmas offering- Greenwich Special Overload Pizza 15in Party Pizza fit for Christmas parties. The highlighted flavour Greenwich Special Overload Pizza has 13 premium toppings. The party pizza has 16 square cut slices and more of the overloaded toppings making Greenwich truly the Favorite ng barkada.

Greenwich 15-inch Party Pizza (Greenwich Special Overload Pizza)

I think the new Greenwich 15-inch Party Pizza is a good additional idea for our upcoming Christmas parties. Of course, I’m ordering my favorite Greenwich Special Overload Pizza flavor.

KFC is challenging its customers in the Philippines to MAN UP and eat big with its newest product – the KFC Double Decker.

KFC Market!Market!

I myself  just had a spa session over the long weekend at Neo Day Spa in BGC, Taguig. After which I headed straight to KFC MarketMarket branch and enjoyed an order of KFC Double Decker Man-Sized sandwich and an original singles meal with rice.

With two big Original Recipe Chicken fillets, bacon strips, sliced cheese, fresh lettuce & creamy mayo, sandwiched in between Kaiser buns, having a 10th of a bite of the KFC Double Decker is already a mouthful.

KFC Double Decker

It is the newest addition to KFC’s Man-Sized Meals – BIG meals for men with BIG appetites, and ladies too, if you want! It is now available in all KFC branches nationwide for P 145 for ala carte and P 175 as a combo meal with fries and drink. The rest of the Man-Sized Meals are also available as follows:

• Double Decker Fully Loaded Meal = P 215
• Classic Fully Loaded Meal = P 146
• Supreme Bowl Combo Meal = P 100
• Original Recipe Sandwich Combo Meal = P 136
• Zinger Combo Meal = P 136

Man-Sized Meals & Sandwiches

Man Up Mondays Challenge

Double Decker: Man-Sized Sandwich

In line with the launch of the Double Decker and the rest of the Man-Sized Meals, KFC now challenges everyone to dress up and ‘Man Up‘ for a series of ‘Man Up Mondays‘!

Go to any KFC branch wearing white pants today – December 3, 2012 – and get P 25 off from any one of the Man-Sized Meals!

If you missed this today and last week with floral shirts, you still have a chance for the next two weeks through the following:
• December 10, 2012: Pink Shirt
• December 17, 2012: Wildcard

Man Up Mondays!

Follow KFC Philippines on Twitter @KFCPhilippines and like their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/kfcphilippines.

Man up with the KFC Double Decker Man-Sized Meals!

Pinkberry Greenbelt 5

What’s better than a chocolate yogurt? A chocolate hazelnut yogurt, that is! It’s Pinkberry Philippines‘ newest frozen yogurt replacing the former for this season, or at least until enough of you want them to.

It’s been out as one of the five Pinkberry yogurt flavors in the menu for quite a while, actually. Made with Nutella, Chocolate Hazelnut promises to be both sweet and decadent balancing the two flavors while maintaining a light and refreshing taste. I think it’s going to replace my favorite ‘original yogurt‘ flavor. I just need a little more push. 🙂

Pinkberry Chocolate Hazelnut Yogurt Combinations sampling

Chocolate Hazelnut with Toppings

Pinkberry Philipines has also revealed variants of Chocolate Hazelnut with toppings for your ready choices; but you could always craft your own according to your liking.

One of which is the Chocolate Hazelnut Classic which includes roasted hazelnuts and chocolate sauce topped by wafer rolls.

The other four are the following:

• Chocolate Hazelnut Decadence (dark chocolate crisps and mixed nuts)
• Chocolate Hazelnut Trio (Nutella, strawberry and banana)
• Chocolate Hazelnut Crunch (honey almond granola, banana and almonds)
• Chocolate Hazelnut Truffle (milk chocolate crunch and strawberry)

I was able to recently try a sampling of these and my favorite turned out to be the Chocolate Hazelnut Decadence mainly due to the rich taste of the dark chocolate crisps. I thought it was kiddie-like since the dark chocs were small pelletes. But the taste turned out to be rich. It complemented well with the sweet-tangy choco-hazelnut yogurt.

In customizing my own, I added my favorite dark chocolate crisps, toasted almonds for texture and the colorful fruity pebbles simply because I want too. 🙂

Customizing my Chocolate Hazelnut Yogurt

Pinkberry 12 Swirls of Christmas

In time with the gift-giving and card-stamping collection season such as that of the 2013 Starbucks Planner, Pinkberry has one somewhat similar called the ‘12 Swirls of Christmas.’

Simply fill up the 12 stamps and viola – you get a Pinkberry Shirt! It should consist of the 5 Chocolate Hazelnut combinations and 7 Pinkberry flavors of your choice.

Pinkberry ’12 Swirls of Christmas’

Pinkberry Waffle Cookie Sandwich

Pinkberry Waffle Cookie Sandwich

More good news! Pinkberry also came out with a new product range – the Waffle Cookie Sandwich! I’m forced to reminisce on the ice cream sandwiches we had in Singapore. I always make an effort to try one whenever I’m there.

The Pinkberry Waffle Cookie Sandwich is basically a chunk of flavored yogurt spread with a topping and sandwiched in between two wafer cookies.

The three variants are Chocolate Hazelnut (Chocolate Hazelnut yogurt topped with Milk Chocolate Crunch), Coconut Lemon (Original Pinkberry with Lemon Cookie Crunch and shaved coconut) , and the Pomegranate Chocolate.

My favorite is the latter which is composed of the tangy Pomegranate yogurt topped with Milk Chocolate Crunch. I love their combination – the waffle is softly sweet in contrast to the yogurt while the topping provide the playful crunchy texture.

Chocolate Hazelnut (Chocolate Hazelnut Yogurt w/ Milk Chocolate Crunch), Coconut Lemon (Original Pinkberry w/ Lemon Cookie Crunch & shaved coconut) , and Pomegranate Chocolate (Pomegranate Yogurt w/ Milk Chocolate Crunch),

Made fresh in store every day, the Waffle Cookie Sandwiches are my new favorites pushing back the yogurt and the smoothies. 😛 But I’ll definitely be back for the new Pinkberry Chocolate Hazelnut Yogurt!

Watami Salad

Watami is now in the Philippines and I missed their opening day blow out at SM Mall of Asia (MOA)  last November 16, 2012 where customers enjoyed half-off their total bill (50% off)! So I did not let this chance pass when blogger-friend Spanky invited us over for lunch.

New Watami Teas

Watami is a famous Japanese casual restaurant in Japan with 700 branches in their country alone. They are also in Hongkong, China, Taiwan, Singapore, and Malaysia, among others.

It was a good and filling Japanese lunch and here are the 4 Top Watami dishes NomNom Club highly recommends among those we have tried:

1. Beef and Kimchi Rice in Stone Pot  
   

   Beef and Kimchi Rice in Stone Pot (P245)

2. Sapporo Seafood Ramen Salad (Top Photo – P375)
3. Salmon & Vegetable in Rice Paper 
   

   Salmon & Vegetable in Rice Paper (P185)

4. Beef Rice Bowl with Hot Spring Egg in Tokyo Style 
   

   Beef Rice Bowl with Hot Spring Egg in Tokyo Style (P195)

All four were great-tasting and not too heavy on the budget. I must admit there are some items on the Watami menu which is priced above-average for a ‘casual’ restaurant. On the other hand, the premium pricing is reflected in the quality of service the customer can get. The taste is also authentic Japanese.

We also had the Self-Grilled Short Ribs (P295) and Assorted Sashimi (5 kinds). For beverage, I tried Kiwi Tea with Agar.

Self-Grilled Short Ribs (P295)

Assorted Sashimi (5 kinds) P425

Kiwi Tea with Agar (P145)

I also look forward to ordering the Clams cooked in stone pot with Japanese style sauce (P285) and the Watami Salad is my next visit.

Aside from SM Mall of Asia, Watami is also opening soon at the new Glorietta – also known as the new Glorietta Vibe.

I have loved the Smart C+ beverage since it first came out in the market. In fact, I already blogged about Smart C+ highlighting its Vitamin C content way back in 2011.

Smart C+ Everyday!

Until today, Smart C remains to be my favorite ready-to-drink juice. I like that it is not similar to the usual juices we have in the market nowadays which are just overly-hyped and overly sweet.

A few days ago, we got another surprise from Oishi  emphasizing Smart C+ as a healthy drink to boost the immune system for everyday drinking. It  is also the company’s first venture in the ready-to-drink category.

Slater Young of PBB

“…refreshing way to boost your immune system – Smart C+ Fruit Drink. With 500mg of Vitamin C in every 500ml bottle, you can cope with the daily demands of your life which then makes you unstoppable and ready whenever, wherever.“

They also introduced Slater Young, the latest Pinoy Big Brother Big Winner, as their newest celebrity endorser.

Smart C+

Smart C+ comes in three thirst-quenching flavors – Lemon Squeeze, Orange Crush, and Pomelo Grapefruit – the last one is my favorite!

One 500ml bottle’s 500mg Vitamin C is equivalent to either 11 lemons, 8 oranges, or 4 grapefruits! Vitamin C also enables the body to produce collagen, a protein essential to every cell of the body.

Moreover, Smart C+ contains no added preservatives, zero artificial coloring and zero artificial sweeteners. It also comes in 350 ml PET bottles and soon in 1 liter bottles. How about you, have you tried Smart C+?

XinWang Hong Kong Cafe

XinWang Hong Kong Cafe in SM Mall of Asia is turning a year old in the Philippines next month. I’ve always seen and passed by this restaurant beside IMAX but it was only last week when I first dined-in.

It was upon the prodding of Marj and her friend from XinWang that I was finally able to try the place. We’ve seen this as well in Singapore last July.

It was a late lunch for us on a week day so we almost had the whole XinWang restaurant to ourselves. The interior was cozy and well-lighted, it was easy to the eyes.

New Menu (same as in SIngapore)

It also came to our knowledge that the restaurant refreshed its menu last October while retaining most of its best sellers. This development was in-sync with it’s international franchise from Singapore. Yes, I thought about that too – a Hong Kong cafe from Singapore which we are trying in the Philippines. To make it more trivially interesting, there’s not one branch in Hong Kong, but they have several in Singapore. 🙂

Iced HongKong Milk Tea (P75)

Back to the menu. For the unfamiliar with Hong Kong cuisine, one would find the new menu a bit overwhelming as it was a combination of Chinese specialties, pasta, western food including burgers, a number of sweet desserts, and a gamut of beverages including milk teas, as expected.

But giving it a second thought, this is how Hong Kong food is – a mixed bowl of different culture dominated by Chinese tastebuds with a huge influence from the West. XinWang Hong Kong Cafe‘s new menu certainly reflects that.

So instead of getting overwhelmed, just enjoy the variety and take it one step at a time. You don’t have to try everything in one sitting.

Mango & Prawns Roll (P100)

And this is what we did. We tried a bit from the different pages of the menu.

Chicken Chop Cream Sauce Spaghetti (P245)

For the appetizers, we dared the oriental combination of prawn and mango in a soft roll. At P100, we got three – not bad considering the prawn content. The taste was ok but it could be enhanced. It has great potential, nonetheless.

This was followed by the Chicken Chop Cream Sauce Spaghetti. Basically, your good Carbonara pasta with a quarter of a chicken on the side. The cream sauce spaghetti was good but the chicken tastes better, I would order it again because of the chicken. At P245, you’re getting a fair deal.

With an effort to go healthy, we ordered the stir fried minced Kai-Lan with Silver Fish. At P220, it was a good try as the dish was not a common fare in regular restaurants and it tasted fine as well.

Stir Fried Minced Kai-Lan with Silver Fish (P220)

XinWang Stir Fried Noodle (P235)

Recommended Dishes

The stars of the day came in at the latter part. The XinWang Stir Fried Noodle is recommended at P235 for its ‘sahog‘ which consisted of seafood and veggies.

HK Braised Beef Brisket with Bamboo Rice (P215)

The HK Braised Beef Brisket with Bamboo Rice comes highly recommended. This was the best fare for the day for it’s authentic-tasting beef brisket. At P215, it was a good deal.

The desserts were also not a disappointment. I think we were lucky enough to get the good ones in such a series. 🙂

The Mango Pudding with ice cream on top is a treat for the sweet lovers. Highly similar to ice kachang, the price of P85 is at par and competitive with Lugang‘s. I’d suggest though that you order this for a group of 3 or 4.

Mango Pudding with ice cream (P85)

The French toast should be relabeled as ‘Big French Toast‘. The huge serving was like a three/four slices loaf packed into one. Covered with beaten egg yolk and fried, the butter melt atop was a sinful delight; best shared in a group.

French Toast (P95)

Coconut Cream with Sago  (P145)

Finally, you should not miss the Coconut Cream with Sago. The price tag of P145 might seem a bit steep but the tastes makes up for it. It is also good for two servings.

It’s a hot serving of rich and thick coconut cream with small tapiocas to merit. It may be too sweet for some but this is just how coconut creams are. Best paired with your favorite buchi covered with toasted sesame seeds. 🙂

It was a good and filling lunch at XinWang Hong Kong Cafe. Check it out beside SM Mall of Asia IMAX. You’ll surely not miss its banner lights and brightly-lit advertisements.

XinWang Hong Kong Restaurant