Make It Fresh with Oster (December 8, 2016)

Last week, I attended a demo event at Gourdo's SM Megamall featuring Oster's Versa Blenders. They are expensive (at Php18,700 ish per unit), but the price is justified by the additional features and benefits that it has. For one, its extremely fast blades give the user the real power to make ice smooth (like legit smoothies we'd get from Starbucks or Jamba Juice). It also has a soup function wherein it not only mashes the ingredients you put in but also heats it up so that the moment the process is done, the soup you have is literally ready to serve. This can, in theory, turn all sorts of foods into a mashed form the way you have never imagined before. 

Char Casual Dining Philippines Menu

Please bear with me. This is still a post in progress till I get the actual menu from the marketing team!

Char Casual Dining Opens In Manila

Hungry and tired office people, rejoice! The ultimate hunger busting comfort food from Singapore has made its way to Manila. And this is the kind of comfort food that's not just comfort, it's a fancy kind of comfort. This restaurant made it to Singapore's Michelin Guide for this year! And you better dine here quick because who knows, one of these days they might get bestowed their own Michelin star?

The lines at Char Casual Dining are often long in Singapore, and in Manila, I think reception will be just as warm, if not hot (is there even such a term as "hot reception?). And perhaps if their Michelin-star-deserving food does get a star for real, the lines will even be longer. Dine now or fall in long lines in the future! It's also worth saying that this place is all about the right kind of Cantonese food to hit the spot for hungry souls, with dishes that are made for sharing.

Landers Goodie Basket!

Soooo you may have actually discovered this blog because of a post I did over Landers Superstore's opening weekend a few months back that went viral. I honestly was just having a great time with my family shopping and just took photos here and there. I thought that they must have tapped a lot of bloggers already for a pre sale event. Apparently, there seems to have been no pre sale event and I was among the first to talk about the store. 

I never thought that the post would go viral because it was not my usual blog photography. To those who go to my beauty blog you know how much time I spend getting the right angle. That day I just kept on snapping photos of items I thought were interesting or unique with a phone and didn't even think much about framing or angles given the sheer number of shoppers. 

But weeeell, fast forward to this post, to my more extreme shock, the folks at Landers apparently noticed that post that went viral and had wanted to send over a gift to show their appreciation. This is the gift basket! 

Unilever Food Solutions' Knorr Golden Salted Egg Powder and Rock Sugar Honey Sauce Launch (September 9, 2016)

2016 is indeed yet another strong year for foodies, as things are about to get more experimental! I am so happy that Knorr (technically Unilever Food Solutions in this case since this is not going to be a consumer product) has already brought in two strong players in the food crazes of today-- Knorr's Salted Egg Powder and Knorr's Rock Sugar Honey Sauce. 

What this means is that as diners, we should be ready for a whoooole new wave of marvelous dishes featuring salted egg and rock sugar sauce in restaurants and food businesses in the country. Salted egg powder is not only for chips-- it is such a rich and umami-loaded flavor profile that there are sooooo many possibilities!!! It can be used in virtually any dish, actually, but I am particularly looking forward to a wave of lava buns, salted egg cheesecakes, salted egg ice cream, and a whole lot of fried foods. The same goes for the rock sugar sauce--think of it as Chinese salted caramel, it has the taste of oyster and soy sauce but with the kick of sweetness from the honey and rock sugar profiles. It is a very unique taste in itself that I can say that it's its own sauce. It's not oyster sauce, not soy sauce, not teriyaki sauce either. 

A photo posted by M. Perez (@marileneperez_) on Sep 9, 2016 at 4:17am PDT

Food News: Knorr Golden Salted Egg Powder Now Here!!!

The food game in Manila is getting more and more exciting each day as new dining concepts spice up every corner of the metro. New and interesting flavors are racking up the palates of diners, too, especially with the latest Asian food trend hitting the city—the salted egg craze.

In light of the demand and buzz for this new flavor that has made Southeast Asians crazy over salted egg chips and salted egg-filled custard buns, Unilever Food Solutions Philippines (UFS)—the maker of Knorr®, Lady’s Choice, Best Foods, and Lipton—brings to Manila the key ingredient in the latest trend taking over the commercial kitchens in Manila: Knorr® Golden Salted Egg Powder. Aside from this, making Asian sauces has also become easier with the availability of the highly versatile and premium Knorr® Rock Sugar Honey Sauce that gives dishes a nice sheen and aromatic sweetness.

“We at UFS understand the ever-changing palate of diners and the needs of our chefs and cooks across the country.  Because of this, we make sure to help them keep up in satisfying their diners’ cravings,” said Pat Mallari, Country Marketing Manager of UFS Philippines. “That is why we are happy to bring these latest innovations—the Knorr® Golden Salted Egg Powder and Knorr® Rock Sugar Honey Sauce—to our Filipino chefs to make sure that they stay ahead of the game in light of the growing demand for more creative and gastronomic dishes Filipinos are looking for.”

”We bring various kinds of kitchen staples from different parts of Asia closer to Filipino chefs because we want to break geographical barriers for them. We also want to enable them to bring to life their international concepts with ease and at most creativity for the delight of local diners,” she added.

Knorr® Golden Salted Egg Powder is a one-step solution for salted egg dishes. It is made only with the best quality egg yolks for better flavor, color, and aroma and to save on labor and time in the kitchen. Chefs and operators no longer have to deal with fluctuating supply or quality of salted eggs because of its consistent availability and quality.

Meanwhile, Knorr® Rock Sugar Honey Sauce is another kitchen delight as a premium one-step honey sauce that can be used on its own or as a base sauce. Made from premium yellow rock sugar and real honey, it saves time and labor, perfect for dishes like marmite chicken, glazed spareribs, or any new dish creations through the creativity and boldness of brilliant chefs.

Make sure your palate and menu are on trend. Visit www.ufs.com to get your hands on Knorr® Golden Salted Egg Powder and Knorr® Rock Sugar Honey Sauce and create exciting and gastronomic dishes. Both products will tentatively NOT be available in groceries and malls, and instead will be available through UFS' distributors and professional food solution suppliers. Salted Egg Powder is Php899 for 800g "SRP" (since they won't really "retail" in stores, this is the suggested price). 

Landers Superstore is Now Open!

Weeee! The last time I decently got to shop was a few months back before this weekend, which is why it's so nice to find a new place for foreign favorites. So hooray, welcome, Landers Superstore! I'm not exactly sure of which holding company or group owns this so I have no idea of the business history per se, but this is basically your big superstore filled with imported goods kind of shopping experience. 

This will be very hard to miss because if you drive by EDSA northward, once you see Home Depot, you are already almost here. It looks so small in this photo but it's very big in real life, so you will surely not miss this. 

Food News: PRINGLES GETS THE PARTY STARTED IN PHILIPPINES WITH NEW MUSIC CAMPAIGN

 

Weeee! Pringles launches its first music campaign in Philippines this month with its limited edition Pringles Party Speakers!!! Having brought life to parties around the world from the United States to Australia, Japan and Thailand, the highly anticipated Pringles Party Speakers offers crisp sound for party-goers, audiophiles and snack fanatics.

Designed to embody the Pringles philosophy, “You don’t just eat ‘em, you party with ‘em”, the speakers offer a unique portable device that easily attaches to the top of any iconic cylindrical Pringles can. Its ability to interconnect seamlessly from speaker to speaker helps amplify the overall volume and atmosphere just by plugging to your phone, MP3 player or laptop. The result is a pop-and-play party, anytime, anywhere!

Juice Time

Yaaaay it's always nice to drink juice more so it's so hot nowadays. I super love this Pomegranate juice from Woongjin because it's sweet and mild and not so tart. I have tried a lot of pomegranate juices and they're always too tart or too sour. Or you can't taste the fruit anymore because they mix it with cranberry juice. This is the best brand I've found after buying a bottle from Merkado for fun to let my mom try. My mone loved it a lot so I got her a case of the stuff for Christmas.

Eating Out at Shang Shang Shanghai Cuisine in Hong Kong

The best part about Hong Kong is the food! The last time my parents were there, they were talking about how much they loved a restaurant near the hotel they stayed in. We stayed in that hotel again, so we went to the restaurant. It's called Shang Shang Shanghai Cuisine. 

Dining at Crystal Jade Hong Kong

I know this isn't blog post worthy anymore since we have a Crystal Jade branch here in the Philippines, but for those who have also eaten in the Singapore and HK branches, you get what I mean when I say that there's a whole lot missing here. Like I am not very sure how the business deal was forged, but I am sensing possible franchisor-franchisee issues as the food here lack authenticity...

Complaints aside, we went to Hong Kong last December, and while we were out and about most of the time, we made it a point to eat at Crystal Jade somehow. 

Lunchbox Diet Day 5

Day 5! My tooth was actually fully healed by this point, but I let my brother eat this last meal so that he can really complete this experience.

Lunchbox Diet Day 4

Wee! This is Day 4 with the Lunchbox Diet. This is a 1500 calorie plan worth Php2000 for the week.

Everything is laid out here already. Breakfast is an egg rice bowl (right), lunch is pork wrap with japaleño salsa (center), dinner is chicken asparagus stir fry rice (left), while the snacks are yoghurt and crackers.

Lunchbox Diet Day 3

And today is day 3 with Lunchbox Diet!

Lunchbox Diet Day 2

This is day 2 with lunchbox diet! These are the foods for June 9, 2015. I paid Php2000 for this week's 1500 calorie plan.

Lunchbox Diet Day 1

So hey guys! I basically had a ghost take the lunchbox diet for me hahahahaha. Okaaay, so when I ordered these foods, my wisdom tooth still hadn't erupted, and of course I did not know at the time that it would erupt. So when my tooth had erupted and I had already paid for these foods, I decided it'd be better for my brother to take the foods instead of having to deal with the hassles of cancellation with a swollen tooth. This was for the week of June 8-11 (they skipped 12 and served the food for the 12th on the 15th instead). For the curious folks out there I had my tooth extraction on the 10th.

Healthy Foodie Manila Review

Okaaay, so you guys now have seen my foods from Day 1-5 that came from Healthy Foodie Manila! I paid Php1900 for this after a Php200 discount, for a 1200 calorie plan.

My verdict: It's only 100% worth if it's discounted...

I normally do not give out such harsh opinions, but for the diet delivery industry (that charges sooo much), I felt that I had to bring this up. I felt that the week's food was a hit or miss kind of thing. There'd be dishes that were stellar, and there were dishes that were no longer fresh or were not delicious to begin with. I'm sure they have improved in the last half year since I ordered, but at the time, I felt that there were a lot of foods where they did not put its longevity or reheating method into consideration...

Today's Dinner (January 28, 2016)

Yaaay today I made simple spicy dumpling stew and had strawberry milk. i also had California Maki made by Cold Storage but i had it so fast it just went down hahaha. 

I like how our family has this tradition of always stocking store bought dumplings at home, and i definitely am thankful for buying an amply sized tub of gochujang because it helps me to instantly make spicy stews. All I need to do is boil water, dissolve some broth cubes, pop the gochujang and dumplings in and dinner is served. 

And wee I also made strawberry blueberry milkshake sinply using those fruits in frozen form, milk, and sugar. I know it looks like a scary mush but it tastes super good. 

 

Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory

Can I just say how smitten I am by Rocky Mountain's caramel apple? I bought one for fun today albeit some reservations as it's quite pricey for Philippine standards (at Php215). The last time I had caramel apple was from legazpi market, and before that from the US. I was longing for that thick, chewy, caramel coating formula, and I am so happy I got it with their apple. 

The "downside" though is that this is not ideal for eating on the go. You need to have it sliced or slice it yourself because it is so difficult to sink your teeth into the thick caramel coating. You also need a foll because it'd be too sticky to eat bu hand. I was eating it on a chopping board hahaha 

The caramel is so thick and sticky but I really like the taste and the feel to it. It's decadent, luxurious, and has the perfect roasted taste. The high class equity of the store comes into light when you pay attention to the quality of the caramel. 

So yes i have yet to brush all of this caramel off...

Healthy Foodie Manila Day 5 Review

And I am back with day 5! So sorry this took soooo long to make. I got busy over a gazillion other things.  And as for why Day 4 is not here, the photos magically disappeared for some reason huhubells.