Excluded Archives - Page 2 of 16

Tokyo Tokyo’s Maki and Shrimp Katsu Donburi + GIVEAWAY!

We’ve talked about Tokyo Tokyo before, but it was mainly because of their Chicken Karaage, which we LOVE! It’s one of our guilty pleasures. We have other favorite dishes on their menu, but we’re here to talk about the new Maki and Shrimp Katsu Donburi that we’re sure many already tried and enjoyed.

We’ve also mentioned about how much we’re into Japanese food. It even tops Ken’s favorite cuisines. What we like about Tokyo Tokyo is that we can have our tasty Japanese food fix at affordable prices. So if you’re craving for Donburi, you might want to try these 2 new delicious options.

The Maki Donburi bowl is Tokyo Tokyoâ€™s play on their popular California Maki, which includes a combination of crunchy Kani and crisp onion rings drizzled with zesty Japanese Mayo and a savory sauce.

The Shrimp Katsu Donburi, on the other hand, is a variation of Tokyo Tokyoâ€™s Katsudon. Crunchy shrimp patty smothered in rich sauce on top of hot rice. I think this will be Ken’s pick, and I’ll go with their Maki Donburi.

You can order these Donburi bowls for Php 85 a la carte, and Php 99 if you want the meal with your choice of soft drink.

Continue reading Tokyo Tokyo’s Maki and Shrimp Katsu Donburi + GIVEAWAY!

Reward Yourself with Jollibee’s Kit Kat Mix-ins

Do you love Kit Kat? How would you like to enjoy it with a serving of Jollibee’s soft serve sundae? Now you can enjoy it with the new Jollibee Kit Kat Mix-ins.

I remember back when I was still working the night shift at one of ePLDT’s call centers in Taguig, I frequently rely on coffee or chocolate bars to keep me awake while I listen to agents’ calls and evaluate them throughout my 8-hour shift. One of my favorites was Kit Kat. I love the sweetness of the chocolate that wraps the chunky, crunchy wafer inside.

I think this is my favorite Jollibee Mix-ins variant because of the crunchy chocolate goodness of Kit Kat that’s mixed in with Jollibeeâ€™s creamy vanilla soft serve. Best eaten right away, especially in this warm weather we’re experiencing now. I suggest you order it after you’re done with your main meal at Jollibee.

Continue reading Reward Yourself with Jollibee’s Kit Kat Mix-ins

What to Look For in Great Ribs

Ribs are unfortunately overlooked in a lot of foodie circles. They can be a very diverse dish, but most tend to associate them with less-refined or lower-quality food. There’s absolutely no reason this has to be true, however, if you know where to look. Rib City, located on the web at ribcityutah.com and in person in Salt Lake City, is a great example of a rib place that takes things to the next level. If you’d like to give great ribs a shot, the following is what you need to look for to find the best.

BBQ Ribs

First, always go with barbecued ribs. Barbecuing ribs has a very different result as compared to baking them. Baking ribs is great at home; it can soften up the meat and lead it to nearly fall off the bone. However, this isn’t what you want to look for in restaurant ribs. You want to look for barbecued ribs specifically because these create a very different consistency. This will produce firmer meat that shreds when bitten into, as well as a crispy skin. This is great for actually experiencing the flavor of the sauces, rubs and other things offered on them.

Ken's BBQ Ribs

Ken’s BBQ Ribs – recipe soon here! 🙂

Continue reading What to Look For in Great Ribs

It’s All About Sharing + WeChat’s New Features

We’ve had Certified Foodies since 2010. Let me tell you, maintaining a food blog is not an easy task. That is why whenever someone asks us for tips on how to start a food blog, the first thing we always, always say is you have to have a passion for food blogging. Not just love for food, but a passion for sharing because that’s what blogging is all about: sharing a part of you and your life to others in the hopes that they’d be inspired, in our case, to try out other restaurants, food products and ingredients, to start cooking and to enjoy food with people you love. 🙂

Our blog’s old layout from 2010. 😀

If you’re already following us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, you know that we love to share there too. Some of the food or dishes we post to our social media accounts don’t make it to our blog, but we still want to share it with you. To be able to do that efficiently without spoiling the enjoyment of the food we ordered, Ken and I have to share tasks when we’re eating out. I usually take the photos using our DSLR and Ken shoots through our smartphones, which we then share mostly real-time on our social media accounts. I’m glad to be sharing this food blog with him, and thankfully, there are many apps that provide us with features that make sharing easy and fast so we can spend more time enjoying food and the experiences. 🙂

WeChat is one of those apps that make sharing more fun with the smooth navigation and unique features they offer. Check out below the 6 new features they recently introduced.

Continue reading It’s All About Sharing + WeChat’s New Features

WeChat : A New Way to Connect

There is no doubt that the emergence of technology in the past 5 years has been instrumental in uniting people all around the world. Ken and I can attest to how the existence of social media networks and smartphone chat apps like WeChat have improved our lives, serving as vital tools in reconnecting us with relatives and long-lost friends (including my dearest college friends I haven’t seen since 1998!).

WeChat - new way to connect

Contrary to what many say, technology has given us more ways to improve and even initiate real life connections. I can say that I’ve met new friends through social media and online chat, and these tools have helped me keep in touch with people I value.

Continue reading WeChat : A New Way to Connect

Live Without Regrets with Metrobank’s Prepaid Card!

Ever since Ken and I started working online, we have enjoyed all the perks of staying at home for work. So we are all for convenience nowadays, especially when we go out to shop or on a food trip. As much as possible, we avoid long lines at the ATM. That’s why it was definitely good news to hear about the all-new Metrobank Prepaid Card.

Imagine enjoying all the advantages of a debit card and the perks of a credit card, but with more security and safer features, plus a more convenient application process. That’s what the Metrobank Prepaid Card is all about. Oh, and it’s a MasterCard! So you can use this even when you prefer online shopping.

We were invited to the launch of the prepaid card at Vyne restaurant (of Hyve) at BGC, which also happens to be a partner merchant. There, we learned more about the features of the Metrobank Prepaid Card that we know you’ll all be excited about. First, let us tell you about our experience using the card.

Continue reading Live Without Regrets with Metrobank’s Prepaid Card!

Show Off Your Personality with WeChat Stickers!

I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but I LOVE using emoticons or smileys when I’m writing. Some of my friends might even say I can’t finish a sentence without an emoticon when I’m chatting with them. Since most of my communication now is done online because of the nature of my work and what I do on the side, I want to make sure I send my messages and emotions across through these smileys. 😉 And I love that there always seems to be an emoticon that can convey what I’m feeling at a specific moment. I think smileys lessen the chances of you being misunderstood by the recipient of your messages, don’t you agree? 🙂

Whenever I’m writing a review or a feature about a restaurant or a product that I’ve tried, may it be just recently or sometime in the past few months (or years 😀 ), not only do I remember the flavors that I experienced, but everything I felt at that very instance when I took my first bite or spoonful. For instance, I’m reminded of the delightful sensation I got when I first tasted the zesty tartness of the MalacaÃ±ang Frozen Souffle (lemon custard with dark chcoolate, pistachio and lemon lavender sauce) from Casa Roces, which made me smile in pure happiness while I exclaimed, “Ang sarapppp!”. 😀 So when I finally write about this restaurant, you can be sure there’ll be a whole bunch of smileys on there to show you how giddy I was about their food and ambiance. 🙂

I don’t think I can go a day chatting or writing (even on my personal journal) without using even one smiley or emoticon. That’s why I’m easily amused by the amount of smileys available in the many apps we use nowadays, just like on WeChat. Check out the smileys below and you might find that you have the same WeChat sticker personality as Iya, Drew or Vice Ganda.

Continue reading Show Off Your Personality with WeChat Stickers!

Spending Valentine’s Day + WeChat Valentine’s Day Promo!

In case you don’t know yet, Ken and I are siblings. We are almost always mistaken as husband and wife, barkada or boyfriend-girlfriend. That’s a compliment to me since I’m 7 years older. Can you believe it?! 😛 I guess it’s because of how close we are and how we joke around when we’re together which give people the impression that we’re not siblings, or that I’m not his ate. We also like taking vanity photos together, so we fully understand why people would think I’m not his older sister.

Anyway, the point of telling you that is I wanted to get it out there that we’re both single. We chose to be and we strongly believe that we don’t need to have a special someone to celebrate Valentine’s Day. What we usually do is celebrate this day with our nanay who means the WORLD to us. I guess that’s why we never really make a big deal out of being single on Valentine’s Day because we get to spend it with people we truly love and care about.

So if you’re single too, don’t fret. There are many ways you can celebrate Valentine’s Day. Spend the day with your family and friends who have no plans for tomorrow. I bet you’ll have just as much fun as everyone else. 🙂

And speaking of having fun this Heart’s day, how would you like to win an awesome prize by simply professing your love to your significant other, or by showing the world who or what makes you happy this Valentine’s day? We found this Valentine’s Day giveaway from WeChat, the hottest mobile social communications app to-date.

WeChat is giving away an iPad Air (woot!) this Valentine’s Day in their Facebook promo, “A Photo with My Valentine“. Whether you’re in a romantic relationship or not, you can still join since your entry can be about your significant other, a family member or even your pet! Check out the details below and good luck! 🙂

Continue reading Spending Valentine’s Day + WeChat Valentine’s Day Promo!

Casinos with Good Restaurants

If you have never visited an actual casino before then the first time you really do it will be a great shock to you just how lively and exciting the places really are, as you walk in the atmosphere will overcome you and you will notice all the happy people enjoying their games and hopefully winning some money. This is not the only thing they can do at a casino. Most people seem to think a casino meal means playing at a casino online with a takeaway. If youâ€™re visiting a world-famous casino, often times there will be a restaurant that is just as good as the casino itself.

The Venetian casino in Las Vegas is a great example of this as, not only does it have won great restaurant, it actually has two and both are highly recommended by everybody who visits them. The first of the two restaurants is an Italian restaurant that goes by the name of Valentino and offers the most authentic Italian food possible without being in actual Italy. No matter what you like from the Italian palette, they will surely serve it and along with this they also have an award-winning wine cellar so you can match each dish perfectly with a wine to top the whole experience. The second restaurant within the Venetian casino is a Tex-Mex restaurant called Star Canyon. What makes this restaurant so special is that the usual peasant food of Tex-Mex has been changed into a gourmet experience for everybody to enjoy unlike anywhere else in the world.

Far away in the world of Europe there are many casinos however probably the most famous one is the Casino de Montecarlo in Monaco. This casino also has a world-famous restaurant in it named Les PrivÃ©s, and here you can get incredible quality food while having a view of the entire bay to enjoy while you eat.

Celebrate Valentine’s Day with Villa del Conte’s Box of Chocolates

I’m not a big fan of flowers. So, when I think of Valentine’s day, the first thing that comes to mind when we talk about the perfect romantic gift is a box of exquisite chocolates. 😉 And if you’re thinking of sending some AMORE (Italian for “love”) to your special someone this Heart’s day, here’s a sure-fire hit: a box of Villa del Conte’s chocolates.

Villa del Conte is an Italian artisanal chocolate shop well-known for their expertise in the creation of the finest cioccolato (Italian for chocolate) using handpicked cacao beans and premium quality ingredients. You might have heard of them already as they have shops all over Metro Manila. They’ve been in the art of making chocolates for 81 years, and so our expectations were high when we received this gorgeous box of their chocolates.

Continue reading Celebrate Valentine’s Day with Villa del Conte’s Box of Chocolates