Appetizers Archives - Certified Foodies

Noche Buena Ideas with Alaska Crema from the Merry Cremas Festival 2015

When December comes and we all start feeling the cool breeze, I can’t help but get all giddy with excitement for Christmas. Ken and I always look forward to Noche Buena because that’s when our nanay prepares extra special dishes for the whole family to enjoy. In the past few years, nanay and Ken have made it a habit to prepare something new every Noche Buena. This is why we always look forward to the annual Alaska Merry Cremas Festival where we get to see what new dishes we can add to our Christmas feast.

This year’s Merry Cremas Festival was held at the Trinoma Activity Center. As expected, there was quite a delicious lineup of sweet and savory dishes made using Alaska Crema All-Purpose Cream. We weren’t able to taste everything, but it’s fun to see how creative you can be and how one ingredient – Alaska Crema – can be incorporated in a variety of dishes to give them that extra creamy goodness. Let’s start off with our top favorites from the 2015 Alaska Merry Cremas Festival.

KISS’ Mille Crepe Cakes

During our first round of food sampling, KISS wasn’t open yet. Good thing we came back because we would’ve missed their creamy tower of mille crepe cakes. From the endless stream of people crowding their booth, I can say that their cakes were on the top of the best-sellers at the Merry Cremas Festival. We bought a slice of their Salted Caramel Cake. They used Alaska Crema in their buttercream, so it was oh-so velvety! Since I don’t have an oven now in my condo, this is one dessert I can’t wait to recreate! 🙂

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Our #ClaraOlePotluck Fiesta, Boodle Fight Style!

We’re from Malabon, and if you know anyone from there or you’ve attended at least one fiesta or party hosted by someone who lives in our hometown, you know how festive ourÂ celebrations could be. And if you’ve been to one of our parties at home, you’ve seen how lavish we are when it comes to preparing food for our guests. We did just that when we hosted our own Clara Ole Potluck Fiesta party a couple of weeks ago.

The party took almost a month to prepare. The Clara Ole team gave us one task – to prepare a menu showcasing the wide variety of dishes you can make using their products, and how convenient and easy it is for anyone to serve delicious dishes, whatever level your cooking skills are and however small your kitchen is. We personally use Clara Ole products in my little kitchen in my Makati condo, and I tell you, everything I cook with their products come out perfect. 🙂 My favorites would be their pasta sauces and marinades.

Going back to our party, Ken and I thought of hosting a boodle fight, and we all agreed on the Pinoy Fiesta theme for our friends. Since it’ll be a boodle fight, Ken knew serving a couple of dishes won’t be enough. So, he came up with a menu composed of 14 dishes + the punch, which serves as my only contribution. 😀 All of the dishes were made using Clara Ole products, as listed below.

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Surrender Your Taste Buds at Cops and Robbers in San Juan

Last week, I received a warrant of arrest from Zomato for being found guilty of gluttony. They ordered me to surrender myself at Cops and Robbers in Greenhills, San Juan. I had to turn myself in to answer for my crime. 😀

The Concept

When I got off the cab, the first thing I noticed was the scarcity of food businesses in the area. Cops and Robbers shares the location with only two other restaurantsÂ – Maria Maria and La Contessa Delicatessen. Strategically situated in front of Xavier School’s Sports Complex, there’s no doubt Cops and Robbers triumphs over its contemporaries for having a fun ambiance, a straightforward menu of comfort food, and a price range that students, the restaurant’s main demographic, wouldn’t findÂ so heavy in the pocket.

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Hearty Pan Chicken Set from Pancake House

We wereÂ invited by Pancake House to try their newest offering – the Hearty Pan Chicken Set, so, yesterday, one lazy Sunday afternoon, we decided to pay them a visit at their Dela Rosa, Makati branch.

@PancakeHousePH’s new Hearty Pan Chicken set includes 5 pieces of their crispy Classic Pan Chicken, Mashed potatoes and house salad for only Php 568. It’s good na for 2-3 hungry foodies heheh. #CravingSolved!

A photo posted by Mhel and Ken Ignacio (@certifiedfoodies) on Feb 7, 2015 at 9:45pm PST

It was our first time at this branch. Quaint is the perfect word to describe it for its limited seating capacity. We usually frequented the one in SM North EDSA when we were still staying at Malabon. Even then, we’ve always ordered their crispy pan chicken.

You can get the Hearty Pan Chicken Set for only PHP 568, which is already good for 2-3 persons. The store manager informed us that it can even be shared by up to 5 persons. Yes, we believe that it’s possible, but not with the voracious appetite we were sporting when we arrived.

The Hearty Pan Chicken Set comes with 5 pieces of Pancake House’s classic pan chicken, 3 scoops of mashed potatoes, and a big plate of their house salad.

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Highlands Gold Corned Beef: Premium Taste of Steak and Angus Beef in a Can!

Corned beef has always been our go-to alternative when weâ€™re too lazy to cook dinner or when weâ€™re just looking for a quick bite. It may not be the most delicious food out there, but it does the job in satiating our sudden pangs of hunger. But all that has changed when we discovered Highlands Gold Corned Beef.

Highlands Gold Corned Beef puts the luxurious taste of steak and Angus beef in a can. Itâ€™s quite affordable, too. A 320-gram can is priced at Php 150.00 (SRP), and you can prepare multiple dishes with all its meaty contents.

When youâ€™re not in the mood to cook, you can just eat it right out of the can. Simply serve it with some steamed rice and that makes for a very satisfying dinner already. Trust me; Iâ€™ve done it a couple of times. 🙂

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Shed Off Your Holiday Weight with Healthy Foodie Manila

The Christmas and New Year season is the time of year when everyone can eat all the food that they want and gain a few pounds (or even 10) without receiving judgment from family and friends. But after all these festivities, when weâ€™re back to living our regular lives, that is when the pangs of guilt and regret come to haunt us with the horrific sights of our puffy cheeks and jiggly muffin tops. We immediately subject ourselves to crazy fad diets like water therapy and fasting. But whereâ€™s the fun in that, right? What if we tell you that you can shed all that holiday weight off but still get to eat delicious food and enjoy 4 meals a day? Yes, you can, and itâ€™s with the help of Healthy Foodie Manila. 🙂

What is Healthy Foodie Manila?

Healthy Foodie Manila is one of the best diet food delivery services in the Metro that provides calorie-counted and portion-controlled meals according to their customersâ€™ specific health needs, whether it be to lose or to gain weight. Itâ€™s important to note that they can cater special kinds of diets like vegetarian, pescatarian, and paleo. You may also avail the services of their registered nutritionist / dietician for a free nutrition consultation to help you determine the type of program you can most benefit from.

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Our Top Favorites from Merry Cremas Festival 2014

We’re sure many of you would agree that it’s the most wonderful time of the year. We kicked off our Christmas celebrations last weekend at the Merry Cremas Festival 2014 at Eastwood Mall Open Park. We were at last year’s event, so we already have a yummy idea of what’s in store for us.

Merry Cremas Festival 2014 at Eastwood Mall

Merry Cremas Festival is a yearly event where various food purveyors showcase their products that they made using Alaska Crema All Purpose Cream. Ken and I didn’t have breakfast before going to the event since we know we’ll be full by the end of our food tasting. 😀 Here are our top favorites:

Pumpkin Soup from Kuya Pao’s Grill

Creamy, with bold, spicy flavors. We couldn’t get enough of their soup, and the chunks of pumpkins that came with it. It’s the perfect hearty dish for the cooler days ahead. 🙂

Pumpkin Soup from Kuya Pao's Grill with Alaska Crema

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Fun Times, Good Food at Detalle Bar + Kitchen

Because we’reÂ food bloggers, Ken and I are usually our friends’ go-to resource personsÂ when it comes to restaurant recommendations. We haveÂ manyÂ favorite places (we haven’t written about most of them yet though), and so we have an arsenal of personal recommendations. One place that has been on top of my list since we went there a few months ago is Detalle Bar + Kitchen in Ortigas.

Detalle is sort of a hidden hangout. They don’t have a huge sign that’ll help you pinpoint their place, but that’s one of the reasons whyÂ I love them. The thingÂ that’ll help you locate this restobar is the Century Tuna billboard at the corner of Meralco Avenue and DoÃ±a Julia Vargas Avenue – they’re right below it. 😀

Detalle is owned by sisters Bernice and Denise Lim, with cousins as partners who also happen to be their friends, which is why you’ll get that friendly vibe as soon as you enter their restaurant. Detalle has this particularly chill environment where you can spend time catching up with friends or even getting to know someone new… and special. 😉 It’s the perfect venue to enjoy their cool drinks, aÂ relaxing ambiance and delicious food.

My favorite spot is on the second floor lounge where you’ll find big couches and coffee tables. They also have a bar there so you can easily order food and drinks whenever. Their staff has been quick in attending to our orders or needs the 2 times we’ve been there. 🙂

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See You At The 12th Ultimate Taste Test in Rockwell

The much-awaited food event of the year – the 12th Ultimate Taste Test – is happening this coming Saturday, September 27th, at the Rockwell Tent. And if you haven’t bought your tickets yet, you still got time! 🙂

This year, there are over 40 food purveyors who will be there, so just imagine how much food you get to taste and discover in this 1-day event. You can see the full list of Ultimate Taste Test 12 concessionaires here.

Last time we were at the Ultimate Taste Test, here were our favorites:

Premium Roast Angus Corned Beef from The Plaza

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VIP Experience at Chef’s Table in Finestra of Solaire

One might wonder why Italian food thrives in the Philippines when most of our cuisine’s influences resulted from years of colonization or inter-country trades, neither of which the Italians were ever involved. However, there’s one possible answer: Filipinos and Italians are both innately family-oriented. Cooking and eating are always a family affair, and the servings are, more often than not, geared to accommodating big families. And that was exactly what the Chef’s Table of Finestra Italian Restaurant in Solaire Resort and Casino aimed to do â€“ to submerge an intimate group into a one-of-a-kind culinary experience.

Finestra Italian Restaurant

Solaire Resort and Casino brings the authentic colors and flavors of Italy closer to home at Finestra Restaurant. Among the four world-class food establishments that are housed in Solaire, only Finestra has a breathtaking panoramic view of Manila Bay â€“ the best place to enjoy a sumptuous meal while watching the sunset.

Aside from the big smiles and courteous greetings, the bar welcomes you like an old friend, egging you on to try their imported wines and special drinks that are not available anywhere else in Manila.

But the real center of attraction in Finestra is their show kitchen, where you can see your chefs hard at work in preparing exquisite Italian dishes.

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