Yummy Eats 2012

Guys, it’s that yummy time of the year again when you can sample all sorts of yummy food items in just one place!

Last year, I attended Yummy Eats 2011 with my sons and we thoroughly enjoyed the gastronomic experience of walking from stall to stall sampling everything from beverages to pica pica to main dishes to desserts. I was especially amazed that there were so many more food stalls that were moving into healthy and organic dishes then. Maybe there will be more now as I hear there will be around 50 food concessionaires.

Throughout the day, there will be cooking demos too so that would be fun to watch for.

My post on that Yummy Eats experience in 2011 is HERE.

Brought to us by Yummy Magazine, Yummy Eats 2012 will be at The Rockwell Tent on May 26, 2012 from 10AM to 9PM. That is a LOT of hours walking around and taste testing.

Watch this TVC.

Mother’s Day Flowery Doughnuts from Krispy Kreme

What do you give your Mom on Mother’s Day? Flowers? Chocolates? Perfume? Whatever it is, do something different this year.

Krispy Kreme is offering, for the first time, flower-shaped doughnuts that come in yellow, pink and white. in celebration of its 75th birthday.

This promo is only available from April 13 to May 31, 2012.

Make this Mother’s Day a special one for the Mom in your life.  These flowers won’t just wilt away. She’ll be able to look at it – and taste it as well.

DiabetaMil: Healthy Food Choices Not Just for Diabetics

Diabetes is one of the top causes of death worldwide. A study done by the World Health Organization in August 2011 showed that in the Philippines, more than 2.7 million deaths in 2000 were diabetes-related. And most of the time, people do not die of diabetes. They die of complications arising from diabetes, such as heart disease, stroke, blindness, amputation, kidney disease and nerve problems. My own dad was a diabetic who died 10 years ago from heart complications.

Because diabetes is in our family history, I have to be conscious about what I eat. Thankfully, my sugar level does not seem to show any signs of diabetes but I still had to learn to tame my once sweet tooth. I also try to teach my kids to choose healthier meal and snack alternatives since diabetes can oftentimes skip a generation and manifest in their generation.

I recently got a sample of a cookie snack item drink made specifically for diabetics as well as for those who just want to have healthier food choices.

DiabetaMil Nutritious Drink can be a meal substitute for diabetics. It comes in two flavors: vanilla and chocolate. Cereal and oat flakes in the drink give that feeling of fullness and curb appetite. Each box contains 6 sachets and based on directions, each serving involves mixing 2 sachets of the drink with warm water. One serving is 250 calories.
The DiabetaMil Cookies come in Nutty Chocolate and Vanilla Dried Fruit variants. I got the dried fruit variant and liked the dried raisins that were embedded in the cookies. Each box contains 5 sachets, two cookies per sachet. One serving (2 cookies) contains 100 calories. I ate the cookies in one sachet and they taste good.

 

Both the drink and cookies are sugar-free. They are flavored using Tropicana Slim Sweetener, a sugar-free sweetener known for a low glycemic index (GI) which helps to control blood sugar. (Note: I had no chance to test the exact effect on the GI so I am relying on the representations made)

All variants of DiabetaMil are said to contain a higher amount of chromium polynicotinate, which is believed to help keep blood sugar levels in check by improving the way the body uses insulin.

If you have diabetes, this could be something you may want to add to your list of food choices. But, as it is with any medical condition, I recommend you check first with your dietitian.

Book Launch: “Home-made for the Holidays”

Wondering what to give for Christmas to someone who loves to bake? Or are you yourself wondering what new treats you can bake and give away as presents to friends or serve up at your family reunion?
Authors and chefs Aileen Anastacio and Angelo Comsti combined their efforts to produce a book they lovingly call “Home-made for the Holidays”. Published by Marshall-Cavendish, the book features over 60 treats. Each dish’s recipe comes with vivid photographs and a complete list of ingredients.
Aileen Anastacio and Angelo Comsti
I enjoyed looking around a table filled with some of the treats featured in the book. Just take a look at all these goodies. 
Smoked Salmon Spread
Rosemary Breadsticks

Chocolate Mint Cupcakes

Cheese Torta

White Toblerone Cheesecake
Caviar Pie
Whisky Brownies

Olive Tapenade

Holiday Sugar Cookies and Gingerbread Cookies

Holiday Snowballs
Mini Cups

Cake Popper

Home-made for the Holidays is available exclusively at National Book Store and Powerbooks for PhP 895.

Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf’s Brunch Series features Randell Tiongson

Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf recently launched a new concept “Out with the old and in with the new” through a new brunch series – Small Talks for Big Changes. And its very first expert guest speaker was none other than my friend, Randell Tiongson, Director of Registered Financial Planners of the Philippines.

About two months ago, I spent a whole day in a financial planning workshop, “Steps to Financial Peace” where Randell and some of his friends spoke. My post on that can be found HERE.
At this first-of-three brunch series attended by people from all walks of life, Randell once again pursued his advocacy to improve people’s lives by changing their financial habits. His easy-to-grasp, personal style that included personal stories, aimed to empower people through a more conscious approach to their finances.
It never ceases to amaze me when Randell presents startling statistics about savings in the Asian region. Countries like China, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand average about 30% savings while the Philippines does not even reach 20%. And even if we do save, it is often not enough to provide for us when we retire. Randell is hoping that through his talks and workshops, more people will learn to get a grip on their lives and map out an effective financial plan that will adequately provide for them and their families.
This series is part of CBTL’s Great Exchange program, an ongoing trade event that highlights its Single Serve Beverage System which coffee aficionados have dubbed as the future of coffee and tea.
While listening to Randell from the back, I actually got to see how the Single Serve Beverage System works. The barista had me pick out my kind of coffee (or tea) from over 70 varieties and he was able to brew me my very own single serve coffee in no time at all. Nice. I think I want one for Christmas! I can have my very own cappuccino any time of the day.

Catch the last of the series on November 19 at Shangri-la Mall where Preview Magazine’s Associate Editor, Eunice Lucero, leads a fashion talk and make-over session.

Goldilocks Launches a Bakebook

Goldilocks was the name I grew up with when it came to cakes and pastries. The popular fluffy mamon and ensaymada were staples during my growing-up years.

When I started my own family, it was a regular trip for me to cross from Unimart to Goldilocks (where Gloria Maris restaurant is now) and buy mamon, ensaymada, and polvoron (both classic and pinipig) for the kids’ baon (school snacks) the following week. And during my kids’ birthdays, I remember poring over Goldilocks’ various albums filled with different themed cakes trying to decide what kind of cake I’d order for them.

So when I was invited to the launch of Goldilocks’ bakebook, I made sure I’d drop by even if my day was packed with events. I was curious as to why Goldilocks would, after all these decades, share its successful recipes with the world. And I was hoping that I’d meet the people who made Goldilocks a household name.

The ladies behind Goldilocks are sisters Mrs. Milagros Leelin-Yee and Mrs. Clarita Leelin-Go and their sister-in-law Doris who first opened Goldilocks along Pasong Tamo, Makati in May 1966. The two sisters eventually carefully developed each Goldilocks recipe to make it what is now.

To celebrate 45 years of Goldilocks, both sisters are now sharing the very recipes that built Goldilocks into what it is now with us through a bakebook. I asked one of Goldilocks’ executives if they did not think it risky to share these recipes. I was told that the recipe ingredients were tweaked so that it is a lot easier to prepare at home. Their original recipes are meant for commercial preparation. So I guess you shouldn’t expect the results to be exactly the same as what you can get from Goldilocks. But close enough…
A selection of goodies whose recipes are in the bakebook
The Goldilocks Bakebook contains 108 recipes in 211 pages that includes beautiful photos as well as an overview of the company’s beginnings. The last part of the bakebook contains actual stories from Goldilocks customers including my friend Noemi’s story about how Goldilocks played a part in her son’s birthday party.
This bakebook is not meant to be a coffeetable book or simply a collection for one’s library. This bakebook is meant to be kept in the kitchen, its pages used and re-used, with pages that probably show stains from dough, butter and other things that a baking mom usually uses.
Here’s what Goldilocks calls its Winning Recipe:

The Goldilocks Bakebook retails at PhP 799 and is available in all National Bookstore branches and select Goldilocks outlets.

Starbucks Christmas Offerings 2011 are spelled M-O-R-E

Watch out on November 3, 2011. Starbucks will be bringing to you their Christmas food, beverages and Christmas blends and I can say that it’s MORE and MORE this year.

This year, Starbucks is coming up with — guess how many?

15 CHRISTMAS FOOD ITEMS
3 CHRISTMAS BEVERAGES
3 CHRISTMAS BLENDS

That many.

I asked Celine Clemente, Starbucks’ person in charge of whipping up all the delicious food offerings – why 15? Celine said that they really wanted to give a wider array of food items spanning breads, wraps, cookies and dessert. Okay, I’m not complaining about that, hahaha…

So are you ready now for a mouth-watering trip? Here goes…

CHRISTMAS FOOD OFFERINGS (new)

Pecan Butterscotch Twirl (Php 85)

Pecan Butterscotch Twirl is a light and flaky spiral roll stuffed with stuffed with cinnamon and creamy vanilla pastry cream filling. On top are sprinkles of roasted pecans drizzled with butterscotch sauce and white chocolate.

Hazelnut Stollen Bread (PhP 65/slice, PhP 595 whole)

Hazelnut Stollen Bread, as you can guess from the name, originates from Germany. It’s a German festival bread popular during Christmas but not only in Germany but throughout Europe. It is a sweet yeast bread with toasted hazelnut paste balanced with raisins on the insides.

S’mores (PhP 70)

S’mores are made of a buttery graham crust. When you bite into it, taste the gooey melted marshmallow cream and dark chocolate topped with chocolate ganache.

Triple Decker Cheesecake with Snickers
(PhP 130/slice, PhP 1250/whole)

The word “triple decker” to describe a cheesecake is enough to make me say “I want!”. The Triple Decker Cheesecake with Snickers is loaded with chunks of my favorite Snickers bar in a chocolate cookie crust topped with a chocolate fudge icing and roasted chopped peanuts.

Warm Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake
(PhP 110/slice, PhP 950 whole)

The Warm Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake is served warm from the oven. It’s your chocolate chip cookie baked into a cake then topped with thick chocolate mousse illed with mini chocolate chip cookies. When you take this in a Starbucks branch, they can put a dollop of whipped cream on top and drizzle it with their very own Starbucks caramel drizzle.

Sun-dried Tomato and Basil Roll (PhP 50)

The Sun-dried Tomato and Basil Roll is a crispy, crunchy outer crust with a slightly chewy and soft center. Sun-dried tomatoes and basil were added to this French roll as a flavorful twist. While Starbucks serves this with butter and jam, I prefer just putting butter on it because the jam overwhelms the bread’s taste too much. But again, that’s just me. Others prefer adding the sweet jam to it.

Chicken Alfredo Turnover (PhP 90)

A light, buttery and flaky crust is what you see with the Chicken Alfredo Turnover. It’s filled inside with moist and juicy chicken breast cubes marinated in Italian seasoning then sauteed in Alfredo sauce. This is best served warm.

Texas Chicken BBQ Wrap (PhP 140)

Strips of fried chicken breast fillet, tossed in barbecue sauce with Texas-style salsa, grated cheese and sour cream wrapped in soft, chewy tortilla is what Texas Chicken BBQ Wrap is all about. This is best served warm.

Glazed Ham with Apricot Spread on Multi-Grain Bread (PhP 140)

This was my favorite of the non-dessert offerings – Glazed Ham with Apricot Spread on Multi-Grain Bread. Slices of glazed ham and creamy mozzarella cheese with tangy and sweet apricot dressing is inside a crisp, crunchy and soft center multi-grain bread. Serve it up warm too.

Turkey & Chicken with Apple Stuffing on Whole Wheat Walnut Bread (PhP 140)

The whole name describes already what Turkey & Chicken with Apple Stuffing on Whole Wheat Walnut Bread is all about. Turkey and chicken breast make for a healthy stuffing and apple stuffing with cranberry spread add to its flavors. I loved this one too.

RETURNING FOOD OFFERINGS
Chocolate Toffee Nut Loaf (PhP 55/slice, PhP 495 whole)

Chocolate Toffee Nut Loaf is a rich, moist and dense chocolate loaf frosted with chocolate icing and topped with crunchy toffee.

White Chocolate Cranberry Cookie (PhP 55)

The White Chocolate Cranberry Cookie is big, chunky, chewy and crunchy all rolled into one. It’s got chunky, white chocolate, fresh roasted walnuts and chopped dried cranberries.

Peppermint Brownie (PhP 75)

Fudgy, chewy, chocolate brownie and creamy smooth peppermint cream cheese filling topped with chocolate ganache – that’s Peppermint Brownie. To give it a Christmas-y look, it was finished with white, red and green chocolate drizzle.

 Gingerbread Cookie (PhP 55)

The children will love the snowman Gingerbread Cookie! This is great as a gift. Ginger, allspice and cinnamon combo makes this cookie smell good even before you bite into it.

Chocolate Molten Cake (PhP 120)

Moist, chocolate sponge cake filled with dark chocolate and caramel truffle – that’s the Chocolate Molten Cake. It’s served warm, topped with whipped cream and drizzled with Starbucks caramel sauce.

CHRISTMAS BEVERAGES
Cranberry White Chocolate Mocha

This is the new beverage offering this Christmas – Cranberry White Chocolate Mocha. Starbucks’ signature espresso is combined with freshly steamed milk and white chocolate then topped with whipped cream, a tart cranberry drizzle and crystallized cranberry sugar.

Peppermint Mocha

My favorite Peppermint Mocha is back! Warm espresso, steamed milk, bittersweet chocolate and peppermint make a yummy combination. Topped with whipped cream and red sugar sprinkles.

Toffee Nut Latte

Toffee Nut Latte seems to be a favorite among most of my friends. It has the rich, buttery taste of sweet toffee combined with toasted nuts, blended with smooth espresso and steamed milk. It’s likewise topped with whipped cream and toffee-flavored sprinkles.

CHRISTMAS COFFEE BLENDS
Christmas Blend (PhP 500)

The Christmas Blend is a full-bodied coffee combining Latin American coffees with the mellow smoothness of Asia-Pacific coffees. Aged Sumatra beans give it its spicy notes.

Christmas Blend Espresso Roast (PhP 500)

This Christmas Blend Espresso Roast is made from Sumatra and aged Sumatra coffees combined with beans from the Bella Vista F. W. Estate in Tres Rios, Costa Rica. It’s roasted in Starbucks’ signature Espresso Roast to give it an intense flavor and spicy finish.

VIA Ready-Brew Christmas Blend (PhP 495)

Instant coffee in the Starbucks tradition is the VIA Ready-Brew Christmas Blend. No need to grind beans. This one comes straight out of the pack and into your coffee mug, ready to be mixed with hot water. 

On November 3, head out to your favorite Starbucks branch. I already know which ones I’d like to try first.

Which ones are you trying out first?

Add a PLUS to life with Enercal Plus

Do you find your days so busy that you hardly notice what you are putting into your mouth? Busyness and stress make a deadly combination for those of us in the urban jungle. We skip meals or eat unhealthy fast foods. We sleep late and wake up early. Stress constantly bombards and attacks our immune system, filling up our bodies with toxins that eventually manifest as illnesses.

Is that what living life to the fullest means? Of course not! And well, I can be guilty of forgetting to take care of myself at times too due to the things I have to do not just as a Mom but as a blogger too.

So it was interesting to find that there is a new adult nutritional supplement in town – Enercal Plus.

If you’re a label reader (and I hope you are because the label never lies), then you’ll be interested in seeing exactly what’s inside Enercal Plus.

It’s got antioxidants such as Vitamins A, C and E; zinc and beta carotene to combat oxidative damage by boosting and strengthening one’s immune system; and macronutrients to support the body’s energy needs. It’s also high in Vitamin D which helps the body utilize calcium and phosphorus, which are important in bone maintenance. It also contains whey protein, a good source of essential amino acids needed by the body, is easily absorbed to provide quicker muscle repair. Enercal Plus has no transfat and its cholesterol content meets the criteria prescribed by the American Heart Association.

You can take a glass of Enercal with your meals or in between meals. We were made to sample it at the event and it tastes like soya milk, one of my favorite beverages.


Three of Enercal’s brand ambassadors were presented to us and truly, each one of them was the epitome of a busy life.

Paolo Bediones is a broadcast journalist with TV5 and now anchors the late night newscast, Aksyon JournalisMo. As Paolo was describing his work schedule with just a few hours of stolen sleep in between, going from a morning show to tapings for his programs, running his businesses, performing with his band and supervising his soccer team, I was thinking — MAN, when do you sleep?

I got to meet and speak with model-turned-actress and host, Angel Aquino. With tapings for her ABS-CBN drama series, “Maria la del Barrio” and doing other shows as well as indie movies and commercials, she still finds time as a full-time mom. In spite of all her work, she manages to look always refreshed. No signs of eyebags at all!

Jett Pangan, the third brand ambassador, is an icon in the local music scene. He fronts for a popular Filipino rock band, The Dawn, as a singer and guitarist. And he is part of the cast of the musical play, Next To Normal.

How inspiring that despite their marathon schedules, they are able to go around looking refreshed and energized. Well, of course, it helps that they now drink Enercal Plus.

I’ve got my own sample of Enercal Plus. You can be sure I’ll be trying this out soon.

For more information on Enercal Plus, call the Wyeth Careline at 81-WYETH (99384) or the provincial toll-free number 1-800-10-884-2222.

Free Coffee at McDo from Aug. 8-12, 2011

Hold your horses!!! You did not read it wrong, my dear readers!

From Aug. 8-12, 2011 you can get a warm, wonderful 8-oz. cup of McCafe Premium Roast Coffee — FOR FREE!

From 4AM to 10:30 AM, you will be treated to freshly-brewed coffee. Coupons will be distributed in selected offices, universities, terminals, colleges, churches and outside McDo stores nationwide starting August 5.

So if you are an insomniac who’s still up at 4AM, a wanna-be-like-J. K. Rowling writer who hangs out in coffeeshops while creating your dream book, or a blogger like me who may be suffering from writer’s block sometimes and needs something to jumpstart my writing day, head on over to McDonald’s on the days mentioned above and get your cup of 100% Arabica coffee.

For more details, head on over to McDo’s Facebook page and see how you can avail of this offer.

My Yellow Cab epic fail dinner

(UPDATE: Yellow Cab responded proactively to my complaint and the store manager herself invited me and my family to another meal at their branch so that we would end up with a positive experience. And we did! Thank you, Yellow Cab. We still love you!)

There are nights when luck isn’t on your side and tonight I struck out on dinner. Rather, Yellow Cab struck out on us.
Since I only had 3 kids at home, we decided to treat ourselves to Yellow Cab pizza and baked potato wedges. To be fair, we love Yellow Cab and have not had any bad experience with them in the past.

But tonight went down as a true Murphy’s Law dinner.

I placed my order at 789-9999 and spoke with an Eric, who took my orders down: one 18″ pepperoni and mushroom pizza (I specified crisscut and Eric specifically told me it would be 32 crisscut slices) and an order of baked potato wedges. Total bill: P987.

When one of my boys called me to the dinner table, we excitedly opened up the pizza box and this was what we saw.

Pepperoni and mushroom – Yes
18″ pizza – No

At first I thought they just forgot to cut the pizza into crisscut but when I opened the box that was supposed to contain the baked potato wedges, this was what was inside:

They call it Charlie Chan Chicken Pasta

So I call the Yellow Cab hotline again to complain (the same Eric answered the phone). A while after he put down the phone, someone named Hatch called me apologizing about the misdelivery. But he insisted that the pizza was really ours, it was just not cut. He suggested that a rider would bring over our baked potato wedges and bring a pizza cutter to cut the sliced pizza into crisscuts. WHAAAAT?

Look, sliced or crisscut, it’s just a shape. I don’t like the idea of strangers coming into my home at night to what, cut a pizza up?

So I told Hatch no thanks, we’d eat the pizza the way it was. Hatch also said they’d be refunding me money representing a discount they are giving me for the inconvenience. My bill was to be P888 instead of P987.

We were a bit hungry already by then and I knew the pizza had gone cold so I agreed to just get the money back and get a fresh batch of the baked potato wedges in exchange for the pasta. But by the time I went down to tell our househelp that, their rider had already come by and got BOTH the pizza and pasta. He said both orders belonged to a condo nearby and his plan was to retrieve our orders from the condo and deliver what he retrieves to us.

Did he expect us to eat the pizza and potato wedges that some other people probably already opened up in their condo unit?

For a third time, I called the hotline and spoke with Hatch. Yes, he understood why I didn’t want to eat food that is no longer fresh. And yes, he’d send over an entirely fresh batch of both pizza and baked potato wedges.

Wait. wait, wait. Finally another rider came along (nope, he wasn’t the one who misdelivered. That guy went off-duty already, said this rider). We checked our orders at the gate. This time, they got it right. And I got P94 back as my discount for the inconvenience.

We finally sat down to dinner with our true order at around 9 pm already. And guess what. Good thing we did not settle by eating that first pizza because, as it turns out, our true order was a lot bigger than the first one delivered! Sus hindi pala 18″ yung unang pizza! It was not true after all that our pizza was not just cut crisscut style. It was really the WRONG pizza! Because here’s the right one:

Our real order: 18″ Crisscut pepperoni and mushrooms
Finally, THE baked potato wedges!

To be fair to Yellow Cab, your people on the phone were quite apologetic and understanding. But if you are to improve your service, allow me some suggestions in light of this incident:

1. Improve the dispatching procedure so mix-ups are reduced or better still, totally eliminated.
2. Before you tell us that the pizza was just not cut up crisscut style, make sure it is the same size as the pizza we ordered. What would have happened had we eaten the 1st pizza on your say-so, only to find out what was due us was a bigger pizza?
3. Never, ever let your riders take back misdelivered orders and expect us just to accept them. Once food is opened up by someone else, elsewhere, it should not be re-delivered to the right people. It behooves a true food company to order up a fresh batch for sanitation purposes.

I was assured that this incident would be elevated to the higher-ups of Yellow Cab. I really hope it gets to them so that this incident will never happen again. As for me, what was supposed to be my comfort food tonight unfortunately turned out to be a very stressful dinner.