Unlimited Treats from Cravings Restaurant

Last October, Ken and I were invited to try out C2 Classic Cuisine Restaurantâ€™s Signature SeriesÂ featuring Pinoy Favorites like their own version of Kare-kare and Bangus Belly (our post about this is up next!). Since the closest to us was C2 in Cravings Katipunan, there we went.

As soon as we entered the restaurant, this display of cakes made us look forward to the end of our meal. Our invite from C2 didnâ€™t include desserts, but we found out Cravings has an Unlimited Cakes and Coffee promo for only Php 150 per person. How can we pass that up?! 😀

Their unlimited menu includes a wide selection of cakes, but you can only order their four featured cakes at the time you were dining in. When we were there though, we had five different cakes because we had to stay a bit longer as Ken prepared a list for our shopping for our birthday celebration.

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Yurakuen Teppanyaki in Manila Diamond Hotel

Manila Diamond Hotelâ€™s award-winning Japanese restaurant Yurakuen is proudly offering a totally unique Teppanyaki Eat-All-You-Can experience for all us buffet lovers out there. Instead of getting food from buffet spreads and cooking them on your tableâ€™s hot pot and griddles, Yurakuen lets you sit back and relax as you watch your personal chefs prepare food at your very own tables.

Available during lunch and dinner, enjoy the Teppanyaki Eat-All-You-Can with unlimited flow of local drinks, local beer, and Japanese Kirin beer, all for the price of Php 1,970++ per person. My sister, Mhel, and I got to experience it ourselves when they invited us to experience a Teppanyaki dinner. It may be a little pricey, but we can seriously say that itâ€™s worth every penny! Not convinced? Let me walk you through it.

First, above are photos of the long lists of food you can order with the Teppanyaki Eat-All-You-Can promo (click to zoom), which include appetizers, soups, noodles, meat dishes, and even desserts!

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Our Top Picks in the Ultimate Taste Test 6.0 in Rockwell

We know, this is an uber late post. But, we still think itâ€™s worth posting about our top picks for UTT 6. Itâ€™s better late than never, I guess. Stay tuned for our faves the last UTT 7 at Mercato. 🙂

We first told you about our experience at the Ultimate Taste Test in Rockwell. Now, let us share with you all the yummy food we had that day.

It took us a couple of days to finalize our top picks for the Ultimate Taste Test because we couldnâ€™t agree on all of our choices. Thatâ€™s what you get when you have 2 people (and siblings) with different tolerance to flavor intensities and with varying preferences. 😀 So, we agreed to not rank anything and just feature the ones we absolutely loved and those that were worth mentioning. 🙂

But, before we continue, please take note that we only got to taste what 38 out of 55 food suppliers have to offer.

Without further ado, in no particular order, here are our Top Picks for the Ultimate Taste Test 6.0 in Rockwell, starting with the sweet stuffâ€¦

Sweet Delights

Carmenâ€™s Best and Hollyâ€™s Milk

Paco Magsaysay, the owner of Carmenâ€™s Best Ice Cream and Hollyâ€™s Milk, was the very first food supplier who approached us. Even before we got to taste his products, we were totally convinced!

We first got to try the Salted Caramel and Coffee flavored ice cream (sorry, we didnâ€™t get to take a photo of the actual product :D). And let us tell yah it was the creamiest ice cream weâ€™ve ever had! We both nodded at each other in total agreement. 😀

Paco proudly continued on to tell us that their ice cream and milk are all fresh, even using this very catchy tagline â€œFrom Cow to Coneâ€. And you can truly taste the freshness from the milk and the ice cream. The flavors and creaminess of the spoonfuls of frozen delights served to us lingered in our mouths. 🙂

They donâ€™t have this available in supermarkets yet so if you want to have a taste of their products, contact them to order:

Carmenâ€™s Best
Contact info: 809-2042 or cb_icecream@yahoo.com
Carmenâ€™s Best on Facebook

Hollyâ€™s Milk
Contact info: 813-1385 / Website: http://www.hollysmilk.com/ Hollyâ€™s Milk on Facebook

Update: They were the #1 pick by the UTT 6.0 foodies! 🙂 Congrats!

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Marios : 40 Years of Great Food and Memories

For most local restaurants in the Philippines, surviving 10 years in the business can already be considered an amazing achievement, which gives Mario’s restaurant all the reason to celebrate for lasting an astounding 40 years in the industry.

Mario’s: A History

Mario Benitez’ great passion for customer service married well with Nenuca’s perfect execution of her family’s long tradition of Spanish cuisine, which, together, gave birth to the establishment of the very first Mario’s Restaurant in 1971 along Session Road in Baguio.

Former location of the original Mario’s restaurant, where a branch of KFC now stands.

After the original venue got burned down, Mario’s transferred to a more open and spacious location.

It didn’t take long until the restaurant received great reviews from both locals and vacationers alike, some even encouraging the couple to branch out in the big city of Manila. Finally in 1974, the Benitez Family, confident that their fusion of Filipino and Spanish cuisine will have a special place in the hearts of the ManileÃ±os, opened the doors of their second branch situated along the bustling streets of Tomas Morato, Quezon City.

The faÃ§ade of Mario’s in Tomas Morato, Quezon City.

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Chocolate Lover : A Baking and Confectionery Store

There are many things Iâ€™m currently enjoying about Ken being in culinary school. First, of course, is everything he bakes or cooks at home so he can practice or prepare for an upcoming test or lab activity in school. I especially loved these cream puffs and Ã©clairs he made for our birthday celebration weeks ago. Everyone loved them! 🙂

Secondly is shopping with him for ingredients and tools heâ€™ll need at home. One of our favorite stores now is Chocolate Lover in P. Tuazon in Cubao, Quezon City.

If youâ€™ve passed through their area in QC, we bet you saw the eye-catching design of their building. I mean, seriously. How can you miss this castle?

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Enjoy these Holiday Indulgence from Starbucks this Christmas

Last week, we were at SM Sky Garden to try something from the list of Starbucks Philippines new food items this Christmas 2011. We ordered a slice of their Triple Decker Cheesecake with Snickers (Php 130 / slice, Php 1,250 whole) because the name just sounds so delectable.

Itâ€™s a 3-layer cheesecake with a chocolate cookie crust, caramel, chocolate fudge icing and chunks of Snickers candy bar mixed in, topped with roasted chopped peanuts. Being a Snickers chocolate lover, I enjoyed every bit of this. The mixed textures in my mouth lingered â€˜til we got home. 😀

We also ordered two (2) of their delightful seasonal drinks â€“ the new Cranberry White Chocolate Mocha for me and Peppermint Mocha for Ken.

The Cranberry White Chocolate Mocha is a combination of, as the name implies, white chocolate, freshly steamed milk, and topped with a generous serving of whipped cream, a tart cranberry drizzle and crystallized cranberry sugar. I enjoyed sipping it as itâ€™s not too sweet even with all the extra sugar added. Or maybe I just have a sweet tooth, I donâ€™t know. Try it and let me know. 🙂

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Start Your Day Right with Jollibee Breakfast Joys Meals + Contest Alert!

The giveaway has already ended. Click here for the winners announcement.

Enjoying a fulfilling breakfast to start off your mornings is one thing most of us neglect. Breakfast is indeed the most important meal of the day and there are scientific facts to back that up. Our nanay knows this thatâ€™s why itâ€™s been a family bonding moment for us since itâ€™s actually the only time we get to enjoy a meal together during weekdays. 🙂

We believe that starting your mornings by having a delicious breakfast can affect your mood and can get you energized for a busy day ahead of you. Now, thereâ€™s no excuse to skipping breakfast no matter how hectic your schedule gets with the new Jollibee Breakfast Joys line-up of heartwarming meals.

Chicken Sausages with 2-piece Pancakes â€“ Php 52.00

Chicken Sausages with Rice and Egg â€“ Php 52.00

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Celebrating 10 Years of Heartwarming Goodness from Bizu Patisserie

Last week, Ken and I, along with fellow foodies, were invited to Bizu Patisserie and Bisroâ€™s Bloggers Party over at their Greenbelt branch. Having been there during the Cadbury Chocoholic night, we were both looking forward to having a taste of more dishes from this pastry shop / restaurant.

I took this photo using my new Nikon D3100. Woot! Stay tuned for better photos soon 🙂

The dinner was graced with the presence of Aaron and Annie Tanco who started it all. They shared with us how their pastry shop was conceptualized, including how they came up with the name of their restaurant. It was all very interesting, especially the part where Aaron told us that Bizu came about after her mom Annie dreamt of people kissing each other on the cheeks (beso-beso) at a restaurant. They decided to use the French word for â€œkissâ€, which is “bisousâ€, but added a twist by spelling it the way itâ€™s pronounced.

I just want to mention this – I enjoyed how Aaron and Annie spoke to us about their restaurant. You can really feel theyâ€™re truly passionate about their food and the service they offer to their diners. They were all very accommodating, even laughing and sharing stories with us throughout the night. Even Chrissy, the lovely lady in the middle of the photo above, was very cheery. 🙂

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Certified Foodies at the Ultimate Taste Test 6.0 : Part 1

Last Saturday, it was on. We prepared our tummies for the Ultimate Taste Test in Rockwell and we thought a couple of days of eating light will help. But, no. Out of the 55 food suppliers that were there, generously giving us a taste of their best-sellers or new products, we only got to try 38. WEAK you might say, but hey, we did that in 5 hours! We had to go to an event with our media partner so it was quite an achievement for foodies like us. And it was an experience we wonâ€™t forget. So, brace yourself for our two-part feature on this ultimate foodie adventure. 😀

First, let us tell you about our experience before we tell you our top picks. We were at Rockwell Tent a couple of minutes past 11am after the doors officially opened. We wanted to get first dibs on what the food suppliers had to offer, but there were already about 20-30 people there. 😀 Hereâ€™s our ticket:

We handed out our tickets at the reception area and were tagged. We were then given our own UTT passports.

The passport had the whole place mapped out for us to find which ones weâ€™d love to try first.

Inside the passport is the official score sheet where you can rate the food and leave comments for each supplier. Listed there are all the dishes the food suppliers were serving that day. But there were some hosts who offered more than what was initially listed. Woot! 🙂

Continue reading Certified Foodies at the Ultimate Taste Test 6.0 : Part 1

Cadbury Chocoholic Night + Joy Shots Promo for a Trip to Boracay

A few weeks ago, we were invited by Cadbury Philippines to a chocoholic night at Bizu Patisserie and Bistro in Greenbelt 2 in Makati. Our family LOVES Cadbury chocolates because of its creamy, milky goodness so it was an event we wonâ€™t ever pass up.

We invited a fellow chocoholic friend Geejay of Mga Luto ni Lola to join the Certified Foodies team for the night. Hereâ€™s a shot of us at the photo booth. It was so fun that I think we took home 3-4 photos each! 😀

The event was graced by the lovely Georgina Wilson, Cadbury Philippinesâ€™ brand ambassador. She shared with us how much she loves Cadbury and how relishing these milky chocolates brings back memories of bonding times with her family, particularly her dad. And I feel her. We all did. Food and the enjoyment of it can really bring back memories and fun times we had with people we hold dear.

FYI: Each chocolate bar of Cadbury Dairy Milk contains a glass and a half of milk. No wonder itâ€™s the richest and milkiest chocolate bar Iâ€™ve ever tasted! 🙂 I love the plain milk chocolate; my bro and parents are into their Fruits and Nuts variants.

Anyway, the chocoholic bloggers night was intended to announce the launch of their latest promo, Cadbury Dairy Milk Joy Shots where a barkada of four can win a 4-day, 3-night round trip to Boracay inclusive of hotel accommodations and transfers. How exciting is that?!

How to join the Joy Shots promo? All you have to do is take a photo of you with 3 of your friends while you enjoy Cadbury Dairy Milk Bar/s (at least one 75g bar OR two 40g bars). The photo should be of you sharing a joyful moment with your friends.

Send in your photo, along with a brief caption (maximum of 60 words) about why you and your barkada deserve to win that Boracay trip. Email it to cadburyphilippines@gmail.com.

Photos will be judged based on the following criteria:

– Depiction of Sharing the Joy with Cadbury Dairy Milk (40%)
– Originality of depicting bonding (30%)
– Creativity (20%)
– Caption (10%)

The best photo based on the above criteria will win the trip. 5 consolation prize winners will also get Cadbury gift bags. Promo runs until September 16, 2011 only so HURRY! 🙂

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