Pasalubong Ideas Archives - Certified Foodies

Julie’s Biscuits – Baked With Love, From Malaysia to the Philippines

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 havenâ€™t tried any of their biscuits or cookies yet, youâ€™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. 🙂

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Where to Eat in Malabon : A Food Tour

Growing up in Navotas and then moving to Malabon almost a decade ago, my bro and I have always had easy access to really good food. This has shaped our lives, which is why we now have this unconditional loveÂ forÂ food and cooking.

Malabon, in particular, is known for hearty and flavorful dishes, so it’s no wonder that there are many hole-in-the-wall places here that would surprise you with their straightforwardly delicious food.

I’m sure many of you are already familiar with Dolors Kakanin (a staple in parties here), Pancit Malabon and Arny-Dading’s Peachy-Peachy. To be honest, we’ve been busy scouring the Metro for new restaurants that we haven’t finished discovering all the local and must-visit food places here in Malabon (we’ve already started since we were planning on a The Burp Society Malabon food tour).

After the successful Malabon Kulinarya Festival that we attended in 2012, we were more than glad to help out when we were contacted by Cleah (from the Office of the Mayor) about organizing a bloggers food tour in time forÂ the 400th anniversary of San Bartolome Church, one of the oldest churches here in the Philippines.

Early Sunday on Mother’s Day, we met our fellow bloggers at the city hall. Ken and I didn’t have breakfast since we knew we were going to be stuffed by the end of the tour. Well, ‘stuffed’ is an understatement. Let me just say that we all underestimated what Cleah and the participating food places had planned for us. 😀 Read on.

Update:Â We know there are many other places here in Malabon that we weren’t able to cover because we had limited time to go to all of them during the food tour.Â We’ll have a separate post to feature the rest of the ones thatÂ have been around for ages and other scrumptiousÂ dishes you can find here in Malabon. 🙂

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Have a Merry Cremas with Alaska Crema!

All year round, especially during the cold months of December and January, we find ourselves longing for some good ol’ comfort food. But not just any kind of comfort food, we crave for something rich, hearty, delectable and, most of the time, creamy. That’s why, they say, calories don’t count during the holidays. 😉

We were invited as judges at the Merry Cremas Food Bazaar in Eastwood last month. Good thing it was a Sunday so Ken and I were able to go together.

We know, from personal experience, that there’s a wide range of dishes you can prepare using Alaska Crema all-purpose cream. We knew there’ll be a ton of desserts and pastries there, but we were really hoping to see more savory dishes. There were only a few who did. Thankfully, they were all quite successful with their dishes too along with the food purveyors who served desserts.

With that said, let’s begin with our top favorites from the Merry Cremas Food Bazaar in Eastwood. These might help you with recipe ideas for your celebrations or any holiday, especially for Noche Buena and Media Noche.

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Bizu Patisserie’s Christmas 2013 Collection

We may be weeks away from Christmas 2013 and New Year’s Eve, but you can still feel the holiday because of the cold weather we’re experiencing the past few days. And there’s Chinese New Year coming up. If you’re still in the mood for some foodie gift-giving, Bizu Patisserie’s Christmas 2013 collection of treats are still available for you and your loved ones.

Bizu is well-known for their delectable pastries and their yearly holiday goodies. We blogged about them here and here. They usually have a theme, and for 2013, it’s Tchaikovskyâ€™s Land of the Sweets (from The Nutcracker). You can check the list of their 2013 holiday collection below this post. Most of them are still sold at your favorite Bizu store, so make sure to inquire if there’s something you fancy.

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Brownies! Unlimited New Flavors and Brownie Chips : Your Kind of Brownies

If you’re looking for more foodie gifts for the holidays, here are our last minute recommendations: Brownies! Unlimited‘s new flavors and their addictive Brownie Chips. 🙂

First, let me tell you about their Brownie Chips. When we posted about the Brownie Brittle we recently got to try from Joe & Cherry, we found out (from a fellow foodie) that there’s actually a local version of it and it’s from Brownies! Unlimited.

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Get Your Cookie Butter Fix from Joe and Cherry

2013 is the year when a ton of tasty goodies from abroad, specifically the US, made it to the Philippines and became more accessible to us foodies here. Thanks to the number of online sellers who made it all possible. The thing is, there are just too many of them out there that first time buyers often think twice about who they should order from. Well, we’re here to help – our cookie butter fix will now be coming from Joe & Cherry. 🙂

Joe & Cherry is a partnership between two sisters – one who’s living in the US and another living here in Manila. They started their business just this March when they saw the opportunity to bring the most sought-after food products from the US to us here in the PH. They wanted to keep the prices as affordable as they can so more Pinoys can get a taste of some of the yummiest treats that are sadly not readily available here. And this all happened through their Facebook page.

If you’re wondering who Joe is, I was told they got it from Trader Joe’s. 😛

Since I badly needed to find out why there’s such a high demand for Biscoff and Speculoos cookie butter spreads, back in April, I went online to check the sellers who offer them. I browsed fellow foodies’ social media posts and blogs, including their online reviews of various online sellers here, and most of my close blogger friends were buying from Joe & Cherry.

When I checked their prices and compared with other sellers’, I was immediately convinced I should buy from them. So, before my first bottles of Biscoff cookie butter (bought from somewhere else) were depleted, I sent my order form and, just to make sure, I also sent them a message. The transaction was pretty smooth, though I had to patiently wait, just like the rest of their foodie customers.

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Biscoff vs Speculoos : The Cookie Butter Battle

Being certified foodies ;), my bro and I have always been curious. We LOVE talking about food and how much people enjoy recommending restaurants and food products we simply must try. On our spare time, we check on social media and our favorite food blogs for what other foodies’ are eating or craving for. And early this year, probably the most talked about was the cookie butter, specifically Lotus Biscoff and Trader Joe’s Speculoos.

We’ve always loved peanut butter. We buy from the market here and not the commercial ones you see at the grocery. A spoonful of peanut butter is our usual indulgence after a meal. We thought it couldn’t get better than that when it comes to simple guilty pleasures. Well, we were wrong. A rich spoonful of cookie butter makes a whole lot of difference. 😉

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Cronut #1: Croughnuts by Dolcelatte

As soon as the cronut craze hit Manila, I got so curious to find out what the hype in New York was all about that I began listing all the places that offer their own version of this popular pastry, and it eventually led to my post on where you can buy cronuts here in the Metro which now has over 10 places listed (I think I’ve updated that post 4 times this week). I planned on how we’ll finally try most of them (we’re skipping a few) and concluded that the easiest local cronuts one can get hold of are Dolcelatte‘s.

So, over 2 weeks ago, I texted Dolcelatte. It was a Wednesday night and no one was answering their hotline. I think I was calling past 7pm. 😀 My friends Badeth and Joanne (my new food trip buddies!) wanted to have a taste too, so I listed all the flavors we all wanted and sent our orders through text. Early morning of Thursday, they called me up to confirm my orders and the time of the pickup – 5pm, Saturday, at their South Triangle branch along Quezon Avenue.

It was hassle-free. No need to wait in line for hours just to be disappointed when the store or restaurant runs out of stock. No need to prepay either. The thing is, if you’re pre-ordering, you have to order a box of 6 of Dolcelatte’s version of cronuts – they call them croughnuts. They do have stock they reserve for walk-in customers at Php 110 each. Pricey, I know. We suggest you split a box with a couple of your friends since you can all pick your own flavors anyway. 😉

Fast forward to Saturday, we hurriedly left our prior meetup to head on over to Dolcelatte. We thought people would be lined up, ready to take our croughnut orders if we’re not there on time. Silly me. 😀

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Mezza Norte Now at Trinoma!

Probably the best foodie news we received this past month was this: Mezza Norte has moved to Trinoma in Quezon City! Finally, a food market thatâ€™s closer to our home! 🙂

Dubbed as the Mercato Centrale of the North, Mezza Norte is finally opening this Friday, May 3rd, at the Trinoma Mindanao Open Parking Lot. Starting this week, theyâ€™ll be open from 4pm to 3am every Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Woot! 🙂

We canâ€™t wait to find out the food purveyors whoâ€™ll be selling their yummy goodies at Mezza Norte. Itâ€™s a night market so foodies who are living or working at night in QC, particularly those from West Ave and even those around Munoz, will be happy about this. If youâ€™re looking for a place to go at night, finally, we know where to go when weâ€™re craving for some tasty snacks. 🙂

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Macaron Day at Bizu : FREE Macarons!

Calling all French macaron lovers out there! April 20th is Macaron Day. To celebrate, on Saturday, Bizu Patisserie will be giving a FREE MACARON to every diner/patron who visit their branches (see below this post for the list). Weâ€™ve had a taste of their macaronsÂ and we loved them! 🙂

Commonly mistaken for the pastry with 2 Os (yes, I mean macaroons), a macaron is a light French almond meringue cookie with that nice, subtle crisp on the outside and a filling of crÃ¨me ganache in the middle. Macarons have become a favorite because of the many flavors and twists you can do with them to suit anyoneâ€™s palate.

In case you didnâ€™t know, these cute pastries were first introduced by Bizu here in the Philippines back in 2001. Now, theyâ€™re serving 13 macaron varieties, all with less sugar and more almonds. Yum!

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