While walking at the grocery last weekend, at the biscuits aisle, I recognized a brand that has been there for quite some time and it was only now that I paid attention to it. I guess I was used to picking the more familiar brands in this aisle. Now that I know more about Julie’s Biscuits – the history of the brand, how they make them, the culture and the people behind the company – it’ll be pretty hard to resist grabbing packs of it to take home whenever I go grocery-shopping. 😀
Contrary to what most Filipinos know, Julie’s Biscuits is not in any way connected to the local bakeshop that bears the same name. Julie’s is a Malaysian brand that has been around since 1981, and they are available globally, in 75 countries to be exact. They have 3 factories in Malaysia where all their products come from. They don’t have factories outside Malaysia because they want to ensure the consistency and quality of their products, starting from the ingredients down to how their biscuits and cookies are made. They have been available here in the Philippines for 4 years now, and so you might already be seeing them at the grocery. Trust me, if you haven’t tried any of their biscuits or cookies yet, you’ve got to!
I was one of the lucky bloggers who were invited to visit Julie’s factory in Melaka, and to experience the culture and the food in Malaysia. I’ll tell you more about our whole Malaysian trip on a separate post, but you can read the highlights as you read on. 🙂
On Day 2, as soon as we got to their factory in Melaka, Julie’s staff welcomed us with a song and dance performance. We were all quite amused, especially with the 2 Julie’s mascots who performed with them too.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BJjgpByjeVp/
Before our factory tour, Director of Perfect Food Manufacturing, makers of Julie’s, Martin Ang, shared with us a brief history of their company and the brand. He told us how much they value and put focus on quality of ingredients. Their philosophy is, “What we don’t eat, we don’t let people eat.” and they ensure everything is “Baked with Love.”
And they mean it. You can feel and taste it in every bite of their biscuits and cookies. The delicate crispness, followed by the soft, almost melt-in-your-mouth texture of the biscuits… So good! 🙂
After the briefing, we prepared for our factory tour of Julie’s. We had to wear lab coats, hair nets, mouth masks and shoe covers, and were required to wash our hands thoroughly to ensure we don’t contaminate their factory, which was at sauna level temperatures, by the way. 😀
No picture-taking was allowed inside (the temperature may damage your camera or phones, anyway), so I don’t have any photos. They toured us and we went through the whole process of making their biscuits – from the mixing and preparing of the dough, to flattening them to create multilayered biscuits, to the 4-minute baking time in their longgggg oven, till they add the cream filling that I wanted to scoop up from the conveyor belt. 😀
They also have people who are responsible for quality control. Burnt biscuits go to recycling, usually crushed and used as fertilizer or animal feed, as we were told.
We got to try the freshly-baked biscuits, and they’re oh so yummy! I didn’t mind that they’re way too warm for eating. 😀 The thing is, their biscuits are packed while they’re still fresh. No wonder their products taste and feel like they’re fresh off the oven.
Before the tour, we were told about their partnership with Hershey’s. They’re proud to say that even when Hershey’s can produce their own cookies, they chose to partner with Julie’s, most especially because of their global presence. Since we came back, I’ve tasted all the variants of the Julie’s + Hershey’s cookies and I’m a big fan! 🙂
After our tour, Julie’s prepared a sumptuous lunch spread for us composed of various Malaysian dishes and delicacies.
I particularly loved the Cendol, which is a Malaysian dessert made with shaved ice, coconut milk, red beans, gula jawa (their version of arnibal) and cendol – worm-like, pandan-flavored jelly.
After lunch and a brief Q&A with the Julie’s team, we had a dessert class where we learned how to create a layered cake using Julie’s Butter Crackers and their new Hershey’s Dark Chocolate Cookies (I cannot wait for it to be available here!!). We were grouped into 3s and 4s, and I joined Melo (Out of Town Blog) and Rowena (Animetric’s World).
I had fun during the class, and we were busy preparing a layered cake for our own consumption, completely clueless that there’ll be a contest or judging afterwards. 😀
Martin, Director of Julie’s, chose the 3 winners, and I CANNOT believe I won. Mine was very simple, so I’m not sure why he picked mine. Maybe because it looked less complicated than others, I don’t know. 😀 I won a custom Julie’s powerbank. Yay!
Here’s the recipe for the layered cake in case you want to try making it at home. It’s pretty simple, and quite yummy too! 🙂
Tour of Malaysia with Julie’s
We had an amazing time with everyone from Julie’s who joined us during our Malaysian trip. They made us feel really welcomed, and they were quite excited to share with us pieces of their culture… and most especially their food. 😀 I loved every minute of it! I especially had a good time with Julie’s Business Development Manager Mint Chin, who knew all of our names, took candid photos of us and made sure we were all well taken care of throughout our trip. 🙂
Here are just some of the highlights from our 4D3N stay in Malaysia. I’ll be writing more about this in a separate post and on Travelsilog:
Our first dinner was at Restoran Hao Xian in Melaka (not quite sure if I got the name of the resto right). When we arrived, they were preparing Bak Kut Teh, one of the famous Malaysian dishes that everyone was telling us we just had to try.
My top dish was the dry Bak Kut Teh. It tasted like tocino or asado. The minute I took my first spoonful (with rice, of course), I immediately thought about Ken. I know he’ll absolutely enjoy this dish ’cause of its sweetness. 🙂
We stayed for 2 nights at Holiday Inn in Melaka, which was a few minutes away from the shopping centers in the city. I wasn’t able to buy any pasalubong there though, but I loved the food in Melaka. 🙂
On Day 2, we had dinner at Samfu Nyonya, a restaurant inside Hotel Mimosa. Everything was so good, I had 3 (or maybe 4) servings of rice. *burppp*
I couldn’t get enough of their Pongteh, which is stewed chicken and pork.
After dinner, we went on a Melaka River Cruise. The city is beautiful, and many of my artsy friends would’ve loved that boat ride.
Jonker Street was our next destination. I wanted to stop and try some of the street food, but I was afraid of getting lost. 😀 I just promised to myself that I’ll return here with Ken and nanay.
We went for a quick drink at Geographer Cafe along Jonker Street. I love the rustic interiors of the cafe. I ordered their Apple Strawberry Mojito, which was refreshing and quite strong. 😀
The next day, after breakfast, we checked out to go to our next destination, which is Kuala Lumpur. Before heading out there, we visited Dutch Square Malacca and Christ Church, a picturesque attraction that you wouldn’t miss because of its pinkish red color. I didn’t complete the tour here ’cause it was really hot out, so I just bought a few souvenirs to take home and played Pokemon Go. 😀
We went back to Jonker Street for some shopping. I’ll tell you more about this on a separate post. 🙂
Lunch was at the famous Hoe Kee Chicken Rice Ball restaurant in Melaka, where you’ll see people lining up like crazy! We were served the asam fish (the spiciness was superb!), the Hainanese chicken, and, of course, their flavorful chicken rice balls. I was too full to walk right after. 😀
We went straight to Kuala Lumpur and checked in at Novotel, which was just a few blocks away from the Pavilion shopping center. My roommie Jill and I went there to shop, and, of course, Sephora!! 😀
Our final dinner in Malaysia was at Saloma Restaurant. It’s like a big ballroom turned into a restaurant. Buffet included some of Malaysia’s popular dishes, and other delicacies from other Asian countries.
We were entertained by the Saloma performers. I kinda regretted sitting right smack at the center in front of the stage. Details of which, I’ll tell you in my next post. 😀 Suffice it to say, some of the people at my table were called on-stage to join the performers. 😀
Since it was my first time in Malaysia, I really, really wanted to go see Kuala Lumpur. I initially thought we wouldn’t have time for a quick KL tour. Thankfully, the itinerary included a short visit to one of the most photographed tourist attractions in KL – the Petronas Twin Towers.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BJnX55Cj1aN/
Special thanks to my pretty roommie, Jill aka The Food Scout, for this awesome photo. 🙂
The following day, we were all giddy to visit the Philippine Embassy in Malaysia. It was an honor to meet our Ambassador, Ed Malaya, and take a selfie with him. 🙂
He shared with us stories about their achievements in Malaysia and how they’re promoting Philippine tourism there.
After our brief meeting with the Philippine Ambassador, we headed to the French bistro The Pressroom at the Pavilion for lunch. We were delighted by a sweet surprise for the birthday celebrants among our group. I was touched, so I can only imagine how they all felt. 🙂
Before lunch was served, we all shared what we thought about the whole trip. Everyone was grateful for everyone from Julie’s who made our stay so memorable. Their warmth made me want to come back to Malaysia as soon as possible. 😀
Our final meal in KL ended with 2 desserts made with Julie’s biscuits. First was the strawberry cheesecake. The base is made with Julie’s Oat 25 Strawberry Cookies.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BJpGhEMDP7s/
Lastly, the Julie’s Hershey’s Cookies & Cream ice cream. They used the chocolate chips hazelnut cookies here. I couldn’t get enough! I wanted another serving!! 😀 It was the perfect ending to our lovely stay in Malaysia. 🙂
Julie’s Biscuits and Cookies
I bought a ton of Julie’s products in Malaysia even though I was well aware they’re available here in the Philippines. I brought some home for nanay and Ken, and also for my friends and officemates. When I was packing up, my box was filled to the brim with Julie’s products and other pasalubong that I bought. It looked like a balikbayan box. 😀
I knew Ken loves peanut butter, so, of course, I had to give him the tub that we received from Julie’s. I also bought him and nanay some of my favorites ’cause I know they’ll enjoy them too. Ken said he kept the tub of peanut butter biscuits in his room ’cause he knew nanay will take some to her friends at work. 😀
All the Julie’s biscuits and cookies I brought to our office were wiped out in just 2 days! 😀 I even bought this cute canister for them, which I initially thought contained unwrapped mixture of different biscuits and cookies, so I was surprised to see the contents were individually packed. This ensures the flavors of the different goodies inside don’t get all mixed up. 🙂
It’s hard to tell which ones are my officemates’ favorites, but I remember them fighting over the Le-Mond Puff Sandwiches in Lemon flavor. 😀 I think only one person hoarded the peanut butter biscuits though, without anyone noticing. 😀
After a week, I had to go back to the grocery to buy a fresh stash of Julie’s biscuits for my own enjoyment. I tried picking a favorite among all their products that I’ve tasted, but it’s too hard! So, might as well tell you all about the ones I can’t get enough of. 😀
My ultimate favorite is Julie’s Le-Mond Puff Sandwich in Lemon. I love citrus-flavored anything, so imagine my glee when I first bit into this biscuit sandwich. Mmmmm! I love that they’re generous with the fillings, so you don’t feel bitin when you’re munching on their biscuit and cookie sandwiches.
My next favorite is the Le-Mond Puff Sandwich in Chocolate Hazelnut Cream flavor. Sweet and salty in one sandwich. Yum! I actually thought it’ll just be all sweet, so my mouth started to water after I took the first bite. What a yummy surprise! 🙂
The other Le-mond variants you’ve got to try are the mango and cheddar cheese cream flavors.
I’m in love with cheese, so, of course, I kinda hoarded Julie’s Cheese sandwich. I bought one for my office friends, one for nanay and Ken, and another for my own pleasure. 😀
I knew nanay would love Julie’s Butter Crackers. This is a regular part of her breakfast now. 🙂
I’ve seen Julie’s Hershey’s cookies in FamilyMart even before our Malaysian trip, but it was only when we got back that I got to taste them. I particularly loved the Julie’s Hershey’s Chocolate Chip Hazelnut Cookies.
I also found packs of Julie’s Oat 25 cookies in hazelnut chocolate chips and strawberry flavors in my bag. I hoarded them from somewhere, I can’t remember. 😀 I loved the strawberry variant ’cause of the real strawberry pieces in the cookies. 🙂
While inspecting the contents of the cute Julie’s canister I brought home, I saw that there were some variants I didn’t find at MYDIN grocery (where we bought most of our Julie’s stash that we took home): Love Letters Chocolate Cream Sticks, Finger Lemon-flavored cream sandwiches, Choco More sandwich, and the Rich-Tea Oat cookies. I had to replace some of them with the other variants I bought so I can try everything. And that I did! 😀 Yet, there are still many Julie’s products I haven’t tried! Hah!
There’s not one biscuit or cookie that I didn’t like from all the Julie’s products I tried while I was there in Malaysia and the ones I took back home. I’m glad I discovered Julie’s, and learning more about this brand from Malaysia, including the people and their culture, was just icing on the (Julie’s layered) cake. Thank you so much, Julie’s, and to Nino Martinez for bringing these delectable goodies to the Philippines! 🙂
!! GIVEAWAY ALERT !!
We are giving away Julie’s Biscuits gift packs to THREE (3) lucky readers! Simply follow the mechanics below:
- Like our Facebook pages – Certified Foodies and Julie’s Biscuits.
- Leave a comment on our Facebook post telling us the featured Julie’s Biscuits products on our blog post that you want to try (or is your current favorite) and why.
- Giveaway will run from October 23 until November 6, 2016 (a day before Ken’s birthday!). We’ll announce the winners on November 14, 2016 (Monday).
- Winners may claim their prizes at the Nuffnang Philippines office.
- Giveaway is open to everyone as long as you can claim the prize at Nuffnang’s office (Taguig, BGC).
- Prizes are nontransferable and nonconvertible to cash.
Joined!
I joined this giveaway. Thanks for the chance 🙂