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Foodgasm II : Our Top 6 Picks

Because of our current jobs, Ken and I barely have time to go out together to dine out (we really couldn’t complain because we love what we’re doing 🙂 ). When we received the invite to be part of Foodgasm II by UP EcoSoc, since it was a Saturday, I thought we could go together. Sadly, Ken had to work and so I tagged my high school friend along with me.

By the way, and you probably already know. this post has been delayed for 3 months. I thought I already posted this in March only to see it in my Drafts. 😀 Sheesh.

We arrived past 7pm (I think) and already, there were many foodies there. I think Foodgasm II was more organized than last year, especially because we survived the tasting without getting too sweaty even on a humid weekend night.

There were two sections at Mercato Centrale that were dedicated to the event. It was funny though that we didn’t know there was another section outside the main Mercato tent. 😀 I didn’t hear anyone announce or see any signs that there’s a whole bunch of Foodgasm II stalls on the other side of Mercato, just outside the tent. Good thing I noticed while we were busy rating the ones we already tasted.

Anyway, I’m quite happy with what we’ve tasted at Foodgasm II since there were many new food purveyors with dishes that stood out for us. I wish Ken was with me though ’cause my friend Tina was feeling guilty to continue with the tasting mid-way. Now I know who I shouldn’t invite at events like this. Hahahah 😀

Okay, enough blabber. Here are our top picks from Foodgasm II.

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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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Bizu Patisserie Delighftul Holiday Gift Sets

It’s that time of the year again when people are specially sweet and giving towards others. For many, finding the perfect holiday gift may be an issue. But, with Bizu Patisserie holiday gift sets, you can’t go wrong. 🙂

Bizu Patisserie is a French-inspired pastry shop where one can indulge in exquisite breads, pastries and even savory treats. We’ve written about them before when they celebrated their tenth year, and have visited them a couple of times after and we can attest to how they live up to their motto, “A taste of Joie de Vivre” (joy of living).

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Philippine Restaurant Week 2012 and Wine Depot Sale

All you foodies who have a special fondness for wine pairings or simply good food, over 100 of the best restaurants and hotels across the country are participating in Wine Depotâ€™s Philippine Wine and Food Week, dubbed Restaurant Week 2012.

This is the fifth consecutive year of this special foodie event where the finest restaurants offer special menus and vino from Wine Depot for less than Php 1,000. You have until October 14, 2012, thatâ€™s Sunday, to wine and dine at our very own Restaurant Week.

Here are just some of the restaurants that are participating:

Thereâ€™s Marioâ€™s restaurant, The Cake Club (weâ€™ll be posting about them next), and even restaurants in Cebu, Bohol, Cagayan de Oro, Boracay and Baguio. If youâ€™d like check out the restaurantsâ€™ menus before you head over, click here.

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Top Picks at 2nd Ultimate Taste Test in Rockwell

If there’s one day we allow ourselves to completely indulge on good food, it’s at the Ultimate Taste Test. This time is no different. Upon seeing the lineup of food purveyors that will be presenting their new products for the coming holidays, we couldn’t wait to be there.

Sadly, Ken couldn’t come because he had to work, so I invited a long-time friend of mine to join me. He’s a food lover too and we both genuinely enjoyed the experience together. Thanks, Alex! 🙂

Since I came from work, I wanted to take a few winks before I went to Rockwell. We finally started our UTT food trip at around 3pm and we finished past 6pm. Take note that we didn’t get to taste everything. Some of the purveyors there are already familiar, so we chose to head on over to the new ones that piqued our interest the most. Plus, the fact that we were already too full at 30+ food items tasted, we just had to skip some.

Just like before, it was hard to pick our (mine and my friend’s) top favorites since there were many standouts, but the decision on who makes it here was all on me. 😉 In no particular order, here are our top favorites from the 2nd Ultimate Taste Test in Rockwell:

Bayani Brew Iced Teas

Since there’s only one beverage at the event that we absolutely loved (except for the beer, of course), I’m putting Bayani Brew on top of our list. Dubbed as Filipino iced tea, their line of products are made of nutritious, local ingredients from Gawad Kalinga Enchanted Farm in Bulacan. Their section at the UTT was mostly crowded because they were very enthusiastic in telling people about their products. And it’s good to see that many were genuinely interested, including us. 🙂

We were given a taste of 2 of their iced tea flavors. The original variant was a combination of calamansi, lemongrass and pandan. It has this refreshing aroma, and as soon as I took a sip, the exciting combination wanted me to drink some more.

The other flavor was Purple Leaf, brewed from sweet potato, purple leaf tops and lemongrass. What made this iced tea pink was the talbos ng kamote extract. It changes color after brewing, as we were told, thus, staying true to Bayani Brew’s promise of no artificial colors or flavors. If you like your iced tea with an extra dash of sweetness, you’d definitely love this one.

Ron Dizon, the Social Enterprise Head of Bayani Brew, said that they haven’t officially launched Bayani Brew yet, but the price is Php 35 per bottle when they become more readily available here in Metro Manila.

There’s one thing that Ron said that resonated in me – the fact that foreigners are more aware about the hard work of our very own Filipino farmers and the abundance of quality local ingredients that we have available. The beautiful lady pictured above is French, and she was very eager to tell us about the product and what they do, which is just amazing. That’s why we appreciate events like the Ultimate Taste Test where those businesses who can’t go on full-blast marketing are given a chance to let us know that they exist or what they have to offer.

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See You at the 2nd Ultimate Taste Test in Rockwell!

Last year, we went to the first Ultimate Taste Test in RockwellÂ (UTT 6.0) and we feasted on a ton of delicious new discoveries like Carmen’s Best Ice Cream, Tina Pie’s tarts, Theo and Philo Chocolates, and more! It was indeed a very memorable foodie experience and we cannot wait for Rockwell’s 2nd Ultimate Taste Test, as presented by Our Awesome Planet and San Miguel Lifestyle Brews!

This time, instead of just one day, this Ultimate Taste Test will be for TWO DAYS to accommodate 2,000 foodies. The 2nd Ultimate Taste in Rockwell will now be on September 15, 2012, Saturday, ONLY! At UTT 6.0, the whole Rockwell Tent was packed with food lovers ready to take on what 50+ food purveyors at the event had to offer. We know you would be excited about the 2-day this food tasting event. Double the fun! 🙂

This is just perfect for the upcoming holidays. I’m sure many of you enjoy gifting goodies come Christmas and New Year like us, so this is your chance to discover something new from established food suppliers / businesses or from up and coming entrepreneurs. 🙂

Tickets are now on sale! Here are the details:

When: September 15 to 16, 2012 – Saturday and Sunday – 11am to 9pm
Where: Rockwell Tent
Php 585 per ticket per day.
If you choose to come on both days, you’d get a discount. Just Php 1,000 for 2 days.
The ticket price includes the following:
– Food tasting of products from at least 40+ food vendors and Power Plant Mall’s restaurants.
(They should provide different products per day)
– A bottle of San Miguel Super Dry, Premium All Malt or Cerveza Negra (for 18 years old and above)
Maximum of 1,000 foodies only per day.
For tickets:
– Rockwell Customer Care: call 898-1702 during mall hours
– Creative Juice Office: call 570-7827 during office hours

If you are a food business owner and you would like to be part of the Ultimate Taste Test in Rockwell, check Anton‘s post on Our Awesome Planet. It’ll be a great opportunity to showcase your products.

Ken and I will be there on the 16th, Sunday, probably in the afternoon (he’s currently working). We can’t wait! 🙂 Since the event will be on the 15th, I think it’s just going to be me and a foodie friend. Ken has to work.

See you at the 2nd Ultimate Taste Test in Rockwell and let’s all be food critics for a day (or two). 😉

Check our past posts about the Ultimate Taste Tests we’ve been to:

Asia Food Expo, Food and Drinks Asia 2012 : Win FREE Tickets Here!

This September is looking like a very eventful month for foodies, food businesses and new entrepreneurs alike. I guess everyone is getting ready for the coming holidays, and we’re as excited as you are. Among the many events, the Asia Food Expo 2012 and the Food and Drinks Asia 2012Â are the food expos we’re looking forward to the most. And, together with Breakfast Magazine, we’re giving away TEN (10) tickets to these 2 events, so read on. 🙂

If you are planning on opening up a business or you’re thinking about expanding a current one, then, you’d be glad to know that these 2 events are specially focused on different sectors of the food industry.

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Foodgasm : A Competition for Food Entrepreneurs

Â Updated: See ticket prices below the post.

We’ve posted about this before – we support up and coming food entrepreneurs, young and old, because we believe that there are many more creative foodie minds out there that need exposure. And in what we believe could be the yummiest event this year, we invite aspiring food business owners to join Foodgasm, a food entrepreneur competition brought to us by UP Economics Society happening on August 25, 2012 at Mercato Centrale.

The deadline says August 4th and on their Facebook page it says August 11th, but they’re still accepting registrations, so contact them.

If you own a food business, we encourage you to join Foodgasm 2012. It’s a wonderful opportunity to gain more exposure for your products and a way to show people what we can expect from you. Here are the mechanics:

MECHANICS:

Foodgasm is open to all young and aspiring, up and coming food business owners â€“ student entrepreneurs, food business existing for no more than 4 years, and those who just previously launched a new product.

Each participant should serve free samples of their best seller during the event, which will serve as their official entry to the competition.

Participants are also allowed to sell additional products in the event, provided that their allotted space will be able to accommodate the additional products. The allotted space will have dimensions of 2.2 x 2.2 meters. This may change depending on the number of participants.

Each entry will be carefully judged by all 1,000 foodies which includes bloggers and judges from Knorr and San Miguel Foods.

Certified Foodies will be one of the 13 food blogs that’ll be gracing the event as part of the panel of blogger judges. The winners will get a chance to be featured here. And, if your products also stood out during the event, we’ll write about you here too. 🙂

This is a competition, so as a food entrepreneur, give us your best shot for a chance to win prizes, awards/trophy and a feature on Appetite Magazine! Here’s a teaser video about UP Economics Society’s Foodgasm event:

For more information on how to register as a participating food business, visit Foodgasm’s Facebook page.

To our fellow food lovers who want to come, tickets will be on sale very soon, so stay tuned! And see you at UP EcoSoc’s Foodgasm in Mercato Centrale! 🙂

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

UPDATE:

If you’d like to be there, tickets will be available during the event:

Pre-selling and door price until 8pm: Php 200
Door price after 8pm: Php 220

Program strictly starts at 7pm, so be there early so you can sample the products that are available for food tasting.

For tickets and inquries,Â contact 0917-885-0738 or email upecosoc.finance@gmail.com. You can pre-order your tickets now.

See you! 🙂

Haagen-Dazs Bids Farewell to the Philippines

After what we would consider a brief period of delighting us with their high quality ice cream, HÃ¤agen-Dazs is closing operations in the Philippines. They have made this announcement official on their website and on their Facebook page.

We’ve only had Haagen-Dazs ice cream twice – once at the Haagen-Dazs store in SM Mall of Asia and the last time was when we bought their ice cream bars at a grocery store. Though we absolutely love their ice cream, we find it too pricey for us, even on those days when we desperately need a creamy pick-me-up.

And we believe this is the reason why they’re closing their stores here. Pinoys are not keen towards buying ice cream at Haagen-Dazs’ price range when they can be satisfied with a more affordable alternative, like Magnum ice cream that only costs Php 50, or frozen products from Magnolia, Selecta, Nestle and the Korean ice cream brands ( watch out for our upcoming ice cream series 🙂 ). This is sad news for those who love Haagen-Dazs ice cream. But, I bet we can still buy their ice cream from S&R.

Haagen-Dazs stores in SM Mall of Asia and Robinsons Mall (Ermita)Â are closing after June 30, 2012. Their Shangri-la Plaza Mall and Eastwood Mall branches will stop operations by August 31, 2012. So, if you want to give them a proper adieu by treating yourself to their ice cream, take note of these dates.

Haagen-Dazs Promo Alert:

As a show of appreciation to everyone who supported Haagen-Dazs here in the Philippines (plus, you wouldn’t want all those ice cream to go to waste, right?), they’re offering some delicious promos for all.

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6th Manila Foods and Beverages Expo : Back to Basics (Win Tickets Here!)

On June 13 to 17, at the World Trade Center Metro Manila and WTCMM East Wing, the biggest and most anticipated food event of the year is set to satisfy every food enthusiast with yet another impressive line-up of activities in this 5-day expo – it’s the 6th Manila Foods and Beverages Expo or MAFBEX 2012.Â You’ll bear witness to the skils of culinary experts in the scheduled cook-offs, learn from the seminars led by the food and beverage industry experts, and sample a wide variety of international cuisines from renowned local and international chefs.

With the gaining popularity and enthusiasm of Filipinos towards discovering new dishes inspired by flavors from around the world, it’s no wonder businesses in the F&B industry continue to grow and we see more and more people delving into the world of food. And through MAFBEX, this potential is maximized. It’s exclusively dedicated to food suppliers, distributors, manufacturers and retailers that cater to food service and hospitality industries.

This year, the theme for MAFBEX is “Back to Basics“. Since the demand for organic food and healthier choices are increasing and becoming more popular all around the world, it’s important to showcase the organic and healthier food products that are out there and are available for us to consume.

MAFBEX is organized by the leading exhibition and trade show organizer Worldbex Services International (WSI), in cooperation with the De La Salle – College of Saint Benilde (DLS-CSB) and for the benefit of ABS-CBN Foundation. This year, there’ll be over 500 booths that should keep all expo-goers busy. Last year’s turnout was at 50,000 visitors, and this year’s MAFBEX is bigger with the addition of the World Trade Center East Wing as an extension venue for the seminars and competitions.

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