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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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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Finally, the McRib! We’re Loving It!

Seeing all the hype online about McDo’s McRib sandwich only made Ken and I salivate with anticipation to finally taste it. Only select stores had them available when we first heard that it’s finally here in the Philippines, so we had to control our craving for it. 😀

Fast forward to over a week ago, McDo sent us McRib sandwiches, and I invited my office friends after work to taste it with me. We had a McRib party! 😀

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Hole in the Wall: Not Your Typical Food Court

Filipinos love dining at food courts for three main reasons: variety, convenience, and affordability. However, there also exists two major drawbacks that are quite off-putting to diners. First, most food courts allow similar food concepts to compete with each other, so itâ€™s a familiar scene to see 2-3 sizzling or Filipino cuisine concepts in one food hall. Secondly, some of the food being offered are so mediocre that one would wonder how they were permitted to put up their shops in the first place. What if we tell you that thereâ€™s a new food spot in Makati that has all three reasons why we love food courts, minus all the drawbacks? Yes, there is and itâ€™s Hole in the Wall at Century City Mall.

Hole in the Wall

Hole in the Wall at Century City Mall is redefining the term, â€œfood court,â€ by featuring a curated and hand-picked list of food purveyors in a space one would not typically associate with a food court. At first glance, the place would remind you of hawkers in Singapore, but once youâ€™ve taken a good look around, you would know that food courts donâ€™t look as fancy and modern as Hole in the Wall.

The Greenhouse

The dining area is divided into 5 sections: The Greenhouse, The Den, The Barn, Al Fresco area, and the whole second floor. The Greenhouse is the first area that would greet you once you come into Hole in the Wall. The tables and seats here are a good mix of plush couches, wooden chairs, and benches.

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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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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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Kimukatsu: Japan’s Favorite 25-Layered Tonkatsu

Just when we thought the katsu craze is over, Japan’s favorite 25-layered mille-feuille style tonkatsu finally arrives in Manila, giving Yabu: House of Katsu a run for their money! Kimukatsu opens their 5th international branch in the Philippines after their great success in Hawaii, California (2 branches), and South Korea.

Imagine our delight when we received an invite from Kimukatsu to try their famous tonkatsu. With our extreme love for Japanese food, how could we say no? 😀 We headed over to their Shangri-La branch for lunch and met with Kenji Komuro, Kimukatsu Philippines Director of Public Relations, who gave us a quick tour and a rundown of their menu.

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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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Burger King BK Stacks and Chicken Crisp Fillet

With all the burger shops opening all over the Metro, ranging from affordable to really pricey, it’s good to know that there’s one place you can easily go to when you need a burger fix – a place familiar and you know won’t disappoint. I’m talking about Burger King.

Burger King was our go-to place for burgers from way back and so we trust them to always deliver, with their 100% flame-grilled beef burgers. Ken and I always order Burger King’s Whopper. When they came out over a month ago with the BK Stacks burgers, we just had to go and try it. They also sent us gift certificates, which was perfect timing. 😉

When you order the BK Stacks, you have the option to pick how many patties you want – 1, 2, 3 or 4. Obviously, Ken was more than willing to take on the 4-patty King Stacks burger, I got the next one in line – the Chief with 3 patties. Our nanay wanted the Chief, but she went for the next best thing – 2 patties, the Boss. 😀 We took home the Dude with 1 patty.

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Jollibee Mix-in with Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Kisses

I don’t know anyone who is not fond of Hershey’s Kisses. I prefer to enjoy them by letting them linger on my tongue as the chocolate goodness melts in my mouth. So, when we found out Jollibee came out with their new Sundae Mix-in with Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Kisses, we immediately wanted to try it.

Good thing there’s a nearby Jollibee here in Malabon. Okay, not really nearby – a tricycle and a jeep away is what we meant by that. 😀 We received gift certificates to try their new Mix-in, so we had lunch with my BFF Jasmin and our nanay’s BFF, Tita Beth. We all were eager to try the mix-ins, but we haven’t had lunch yet so we decided to order their chicken meals first.

We were all surprised to know that Jollibee now offers buttered corn and mashed potato alongside your ChickenJoy with rice orders (SuperValue Meal also comes with a drink and sundae). They also have bucket meals now that include these side dishes. Of course, Ken and I picked 2-piece ChickenJoy with rice. 😀

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