Our New Yummy Favorites from Jollibee

Jollibee has been a part of our lives since we were really young kids. I know we’re not alone in this. Throughout the years, their menu has evolved and almost every year, we get to taste their new offerings that have proven to tickle the Pinoy’s fancy, young and adult alike. We love their Chickenjoy,Â Jolly Hotdog and spaghetti, but let us share with you the most recent additions to our Jollibee favorites:

The Jollibee Hash Brown Burger is the ultimate comfort food. Potatoes and the tasty beef patty Jollibee is known for – it’s like a complete meal rolled into one. 🙂

The Jolly Crispy Fries that come in Cheese and Sour Cream flavors. Ken prefers the latter, while I like the salty-sweetness of the cheesy fries.

Jollibee Chicken and Mushroom Pasta – I swear, when I found out about this new pasta offering from them, I couldn’t wait to try it. My nanay and I share a common liking for it. 🙂

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J.CO Donuts : Now in SM Mall of Asia

Oh, you know how much we love J.CO Donuts. We’ve blogged about them here before the opening of J.CO’s first branch in the Philippines. We also featured their J.Pop bite-sized donuts, which we absolutely adore. They’re definitely one of our top favorites from the past year. 🙂

Their first branch is in SM Megamall at The Strip. ~~This Thursday, May 24th,~~Â (update!) On May 28th, Monday next week,Â J.CO Donuts & Coffee is opening their SECOND branch in SM Mall of Asia! We know that’s definitely good news for all you foodies who are from the South or Manila area. 🙂

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Nescafe Decaf Summer Picks Promo

Everyone in our family loves coffee. Okay, Ken used to, but he thinks he reached his caffeine limit while studying for the Nursing Licensure Exam (NLE). 😀 Even though I also switched to drinking tea more often, I still miss the kick coffee gives me whenever I needed it the most. Whenever I smell the aroma of coffee, I can’t help, but to longingly whiff and smile. It has that effect on me. 🙂 Well, with Nescafe Decaf now widely available to everyone who wants to enjoy coffee without the stimulation, there’s no stopping me from drinking coffee again. 🙂

I prefer making my Nescafe coffee with ice. I also like it a bit dark and nicely bitter to the taste. When I have work, I prepare it hot. Our nanay usually adds cream to it too. However way you want to enjoy this coffee, surely, it’ll still give you that comforting satisfaction in every cup.

Now, how about enjoying a cup of Nescafe Decaf while relaxing, say, in Hongkong, Malaysia or Singapore? You can and for FREE! Join Nescafe Decaf Summer Picks promo:

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Malabon Kulinarya Festival 2012

Before I tell you what happened at the launch of the first ever Malabon Kulinarya Festival last Tuesday, we’d like to invite you first to the bazaar happening until tomorrow, May 18th, 8am to 5pm, at the parking lot of Malabon City Hall. It’s a 3-day event, but I only got to post today, so you only have until tomorrow to come to the bazaar. There’ll be 30 food and non-food establishments participating. So, if you like anything you see in this feature, you might want to visit the Food Bazaar and Tiangge.

On May 21st, which is the official Malabon Day celebration, there’ll be a cooking competition among senior citizens and cooking enthusiasts aged 18-35 years old at the Malabon Amphitheater. Pinoy Junior Master Chef finalist Miko Manzano will be there for a cooking demonstration too. His family originates from Malabon, which is most likely one of the reasons why he has such passion in cooking at a very young age of 12. Miko was also present at the launch of Malabon Kulinarya Festival 2012, which was held at Dampa sa Paseo restaurant.

The launch of Malabon Kulinarya Festival was aimed at showcasing the diversity of Malabon cuisine and our rich culinary tradition. We’re originally from Navotas and we moved to Malabon 6 years ago, but we can honestly say that the flavors that Malabon has to offer have played a big part in our love and passion for food. And we do hope that this project by the city government, headed by Acting City Mayor Lenlen Oreta and the Malabon Tourism Council, would indeed boost the tourism and economic activities here in Malabon.

The launch of the festival was graced by none other than Annie Pascual-Guerrero, the founder of Center for Culinary Arts, Manila. I was surprised to learn that she is from Malabon, and she couldn’t be any prouder. She told us stories about how growing up here in Malabon and being influenced by her mother developed her deep passion for cooking.

At the event, Ms. Annie Guerrero shared her recipes for Sumpia with Garlic Vinegar Dip and Adobong Pusit Malabon Style (we’ll share these recipes on our next post). She was assisted by Chef Mira Cruz (she’s also from Malabon) and Chef Melissa Sison (not in the photo) from CCA. They gave really helpful tips on cooking, which I know the audience appreciated.

I didn’t get to taste these dishes, but our nanay also prepares them at home and they have almost the same recipes, so I know they are delicious. My fellow bloggers who were there could attest to that. 🙂

If you ask me about the food in Malabon, I would tell you that we serve ultimate Pinoy comfort food. You might be all familiar with Pancit Malabon, Dolor’s Sapin-Sapin, and Arny-Dading’s Peachy-peachy (they have products at the event too, but I wasn’t able to take photos), but there are so much more food that we have to offer. Let me share some of them that were showcased at the launch of Malabon Kulinarya Festival 2012.

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Nominate Your Picks for Tatt Awards 2012!

A few weeks ago, we were invited to the launch of Globe Tatt Awards 2012 at the roofdeck of Buddha Bar in Makati. We were looking forward to the event because it’s a chance to meet fellow social media addicts like ourselves. The event was hosted by Tim Yap and Petra Mahalimuyak (Ashley Rivera), the hottest Pinoy YouTube sensation to-date.

The launch marks the beginning of nominations for the 10 categories in this year’s Tatt Awards: Stylisimo, The Explorer, Game Changer, The Visualizer, #Thought-mover, Video Slinger, Indie Rocker, The Advocate, Tech Junkie, and The One.

After the success of last year’s Tatt Awards, nominations this 2012 will definitely be interesting. With the wave of new online celebrities emerging from various social media platforms, surely, we’ll be introduced to a new batch of must-follow personalities.

"This year’s Tatt awards will honor a new batch of digital rockers," explains Dong Ronquillo, head of the Tattoo Nomadic Broadband Business. "What sets Tatt awards from other web-centric awards is that we look beyond mere statistics and acknowledge individuals who have expressed an opinion, created inspiring works or ignited social change. This is not a mere popularity contest but a recognition of people who used the social media space to share what they are most passionate about and, in the process, created positive influence and stirred action among people," he adds.

During the launch, they also introduced the new group of remarkable individuals composing the 2012 Tatt Council:

The Council members include award-winning journalist and ABS-CBN News & Public Affairs social media pioneer Maria Ressa; Filipino singer, comedian, and YouTube sensation Mikey Bustos; TV Personality-columnist and style guru Tim Yap; former music director for the rock station NU107.5 FM and musician Francis Brew; Multi-awarded humor blogger and one of Tatt Awards 2011 winners, The Professional Heckler, Loi Landicho; one of the most sought-after corporate, fashion and advertising photographers in the Philippines, Wig Tysmans; TV Host, Editor, Columnist, Endorser and Actor Raymond Gutierrez; model, host, magazine editor and sports enthusiast Rovilson Fernandez; Commissioner to the National Youth Commission and Outstanding student leader Gio Tingson; and Internet and Mobile Marketing Association of the Philippines (IMMAP) Vice President Pao PeÃ±a.

Judging by the diversity of personalities of the members of this year’s Tatt Council, we can be sure the recipients of the awards will be meticulously picked among the nominees. So, we suggest you nominate people who you believe are truly deserving. 🙂

You only have until MAY 20th, THIS SUNDAY, for nominations. If you want to know how, you can visit the Tatt Awards website directly (www.tattawards.com), visit Globe Tattoo’s Facebook page, follow them on Twitter (@choosetattoo) or the hashtag #TattAwards.

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Sariwon Korean Barbecue at Bonifacio High Street

Sariwon Korean Barbecue, a newly opened restaurant in Bonifacio High Street Central, proves that Koreans and Filipinos are not only similar with their love for music and cheeky telenovelas; they also share a discerning palate for good food.

Awarded “Best Korean Restaurant” by NBC Broadcasting Company in 2005 and by the Seoul Metropolitan Government in 2007, Sariwon had a rather humble beginning. Her husband suffering from diabetes pushed Mrs. Bun-Im Koo to create her own bulgogi sauce from a mixture of various fruits and vegetables without using a single speck of sugar. Urged by neighbours and friends, they established their first restaurant in 1938, which transformed from a small diner with 27 seats to a whopping sitting capacity of 350 at their main branch in South Korea.

Every table in Sariwon is equipped with imported ceramic smokeless grills that have exhausts on the sides that suck out smoke from grilling, so you don’t have to worry about your clothes smelling of smoke upon leaving.

After we’ve settled into our seats, we were warmly welcomed by our server, Joy, who was carrying a tray with six side dishes called Banchan. The first thing I recognized was Korea’s national dish â€“ Kimchi.

The names of the other side dishes, I asked our server to write down because there’s no way I could spell them myself. Shigumchi is blanched spinach leaves. Moosangchae, or seasoned Korean radish, reminded me of our very own achara. Kochu Meolchi Dokkeum is roasted anchovies with green chilli. They also have seasoned Korean bean sprouts or Kongnamul. Finally, there’s Tanhobak Sarada, which is mashed sweet pumpkin and potato, perhaps the Korean version of mashed potatoes. We forgot that these were side dishes, not appetizers, so when the other food arrived, there’s barely anything left on the plates.

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A New Year, New Blog Design and a Series of GIVEAWAYS!

This month of May, our food blog, Certified Foodies, is celebrating its SECOND anniversary. And we can’t be more excited about the future. 🙂

Back in 2010, after months of conceptualizing on how we can make our food blog unique, we threw in the towel and decided that our passion and love for food will get our message across – that food should be enjoyed and shouldn’t just be for nourishment.

The past two years have been CRAZY… in a VERY good way. Here are some of our achievements so far:

We were voted #1 in the Top 10 Emerging Influential Blogs for 2011.
Voted #10 amongst all the international food blogs competing for FriendsEAT’s Best Food Blogger in 2011.
Our food blog was a finalist in the Philippine Blog Awards 2011 for Food and Beverage category (National level).
We are now contributors for Breakfast Magazine, which was launched in February.

We are so thankful for all the blessings and recognition we’ve received through this food blog. Who would’ve thought that the food (mis)adventures of 2 siblings would take us this far? 😀

Thank you to all our fellow foodies and friends who have visited, left a comment or even lurked on our food blog to look at our food photos and articles. It means so much to us that you all find the time to drop by here, “like” our posts on Facebook or tweet with us. 🙂

New Design

Because of everything that has happened in the past 2 years, we believe this blog deserved a major makeover. After almost 2 years of slow loading time and unorganized, less personalized theme…

…this food blog is now sporting a brand spanking new theme, designed to our own personal tastes.

The theme was mainly designed by me (Mhel), but all the design elements and additional contents were from a collaboration of bothÂ our ideas (me and Ken). We wanted a less cluttered look, almost minimalistic design, to bring more focus on the photos.

Now, the blog loads much faster after we moved to a new server. Even with the slideshow above and gallery below, feedback has been positive about our blog’s loading time (If you have violent reactions to this, let us know at the comments section!).

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Vegetarian Delights at Bliss Cafe in Baguio

I cannot imagine myself ever becoming a vegetarian. I love meat. Just the sight of a thick, succulent slab of beef roasting on the grill makes me salivate like a rabid dog. But, that doesn’t necessarily mean vegetarian dishes have no place in our table. In fact, they are very welcome, especially when they’re as delicious and flavourful as the ones we had at Bliss Cafe located in Hotel Elizabeth, Baguio City.

Bliss Cafe, the brainchild of Jim Ward and his wife Chef Shanti, has finally found its third and, hopefully, permanent home in Hotel Elizabeth.

In a corner of the hotel’s main lobby stands a door that opens to a small restaurant. Design pieces from various countries and cultures are perfectly placed into a controlled chaos, giving an atmosphere of being laid-back, peaceful, and eccentrically artistic. Jim informed us that the design of the restaurant changes every six weeks to provide different designers and artists a venue to feature their works. That’s pretty cool in our book. 🙂

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Why You Should Stay at Hotel Elizabeth Baguio

In the first week of March, we were invited to go to Baguio by Mario’s restaurant in celebration of their 40th year. We were quite excited about it because it was the best way to escape the early summer heat here in Manila, especially after we found out that we were staying for 2 nights at the very luxurious Hotel Elizabeth.

Hotel Elizabeth Baguio, awarded as Baguio’s Hotel of the Year for 3 years, is managed by Fersal Hotel Group, the umbrella company that established Fersal Hotels here in Manila. Just by these facts alone, you’d expect a very memorable stay at the hotel. And that’s exactly what we got.

We arrived just in time for dinner at Hotel Elizabeth on a Friday night, March 9th. This was the day that they were also celebrating their 7th year as one of the top hotels in Baguio. We joined in the celebration and it was a truly fun night.

By the way, as soon as we made it to the hotel, we were all in awe at how beautiful it was. I had to take a photo of the hotel at night and just scroll down for the photo I took in the morning.

I absolutely adore these gazebos (photo was taken on the 5th floor). And the breeze wasn’t just cool, but it smelled of pine trees. Ahhhhh…. Baguio! How I love thee… let me count the ways! 😉

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