Mooncake Treat and more at Edsa Shangri-La, Manila

Mooncake is a pastry originated from China which is considered as an indispensable pastry during Mid-Autumn festival.  It is made of crust with rich thick filling and yolk from salted duck eggs in the center.  Tradition dictates that moon cakes are best shared and eaten during this festival.

Ongoing until the 30th of September 2012, Edsa Shangri-La Manila offers majestic mooncakes, stays, and dining specials in line with their celebration for Mid-Autumn Festival of the Chinese calendar.

The hotel’s Chinese restaurant, Summer Palace is offering special mooncake packages available daily from 7:30am to 9:30pm at the Moon Cake Counter in the hotel’s main lobby.

Makanan Lazat: A Malaysian Food Festival at Corniche Restaurant, Diamond Hotel Philippines

Diamond Hotel Philippines celebrates culinary diversity of Malaysia as they present Makanan Lazat, a Malaysian Food Festival at Corniche. Malaysian cuisine is known for its variety of flavors and cooking style influenced by Malay, Indian, and Chinese together with other ethnic group hailing from its region. With this delightful combination of palate pleasers prepared by guest Malaysian Chef Cheong Yan See of Enderun Colleges, lunch and dinner buffet at Corniche Restaurant is made all the more special.

Ongoing until the 16th of September 2012, Makanan Lazat features gastronomic feast of Malaysian cuisine to add to the already festive buffet spread at Corniche Restaurant. 

Homemade Treasures Ensaymada, How Do I Love Thee?

Despite countless recommendation for best ensaymada in Metro Manila, there are only two ensaymada I normally enjoy; one is Diamond Hotel’s Ube Ensaymada for its luxurious decadence, the other one is Hizon’s Ensaymada for its pleasantly rich panache.  I have tried several other ensaymadas but still, these two are by far are the best, at least in my book. I guess I am loyal that way.

Then recently, I was introduced to Homemade Treasures Ensaymada.  I had a strong grip to the notion that this can be just another ensaymada which will try to lure me into including it to my top three best ensaymada but will fail miserably in the end.  Yet, after tasting a forkful of this impressively delicious treasure, dare I say, life is never the same again.

Love at first bite can be such a cliché for foodies like us. But cliché is a cliché because it holds certain truth in it.  I was bitten by this cliché as I bit into Homemade Treasure Ensaymada’s cheesy and buttery glory. 

So, how do I love thee, you might ask.  With all respect to Elizabeth Barrett Browning, read on and let me count the ways.

The Fog City Creamery Ensaymada Ice Cream

Ice cream and ensaymada.  Who would have thought that these two unlikely pair could yield a beautiful marriage meant to be savored in this lifetime?
 

Enter The Fog City Creamery’s new addition to its line of artisanal ice cream, ENSAYMADA ICE CREAM.  The first ever ensaymada ice cream to hit the market. 

Of the many collaboration I have witnessed, The Fog City Creamery and Homemade Treasures is definitely one of the best.   A combination of The Fog City Creamery’s Brown Butter Ice Cream and chunks of Homemade Treasures Ensaymada made from an heirloom recipe of the 1930s. 

Casa Armas Tapas Bar Y Restaurante

When you are scheduled to attend two dinners in one night, with a daunting 15 minute interval from the end of the first to the start of the second, begging off to either one seems like the most humane thing to do.  But if you are a twenty something foodie who believes that given your age, you can stuff yourself silly and still get away with it, you held your head high and man up. 

A dinner at Casa Armas Tapas Bar Y Restaurante located in Greenbelt 2 is not something you would just pass up. Even if you are scheduled to revisit another restaurant which you deem as one of the best restaurants in Metro Manila on the same night, Spanish cuisine at Casa Armas is well worth the extreme degree of satiety you’ll be nursing hours after. So, unless you fancy being haunted by the drool worthy sight of Casa Armas’ Cochinillo in your sleep, you carry on.

That epic dinner I was talking about happened couple of months ago. Yet, the memory remains as vivid as the glistening skin of the cochinillo hinting of brittle candy-like crispiness.  Definitely a memory I will not soon forget.

The Asian Food Channel: Autumn Treasures with Martin Yan

Catch internationally acclaimed master chef and prolific author chef Martin Yan as he showcases his amazing cooking skills on a live demonstration here in the Philippines through The Asian Food Channel’s Autumn Treasures with Martin Yan.  Prepare to be enticed with his specially crafted culinary masterpieces, as shown on the AFC Original Production, True Passion – Martin Yan!

Autumn Treasures with Martin Yan

September 2, 2012
Venue: Lucky China Town, Atrium
Time: 5pm

September 3, 2012
Venue: The Eastwood Mall, Atrium
Time: 7pm

Toki Q in San Juan, The First Rotating Barbecue in the Philippines

I have mentioned here on my blog several times before how I adore San Juan City because of the numbers of restaurants sprouting everywhere. If you are a foodie like me, you know how things like these matters. New addition to what I consider foodie haven in the metro is Toki Q. Boasting of being the first Rotating BBQ Grill food spot here in the Philippines, Toki Q is a fast served yakitori restaurant one should not miss.

While Yakitori is defined as grilled bite-sized marinated chicken pieces on skewers that is of Japanese origin, Toki Q also offers other skewered meat which can be grilled on the rotating bbq griller. That is what I have found out when Zodio Philippines invited me to try and see what Toki Q is all about.

Located right smack in the corner of Wilsons and P.Guevarra St. in San Juan City, Toki Q occupies a small place which can accommodate around 15 diners.  Although small, with its dominant colors of red and black, the place exudes a vibrant feel which I find rather inviting.

Chocolate Tart: A Recipe from Around The World in 80 Plates

One of the best things I love about long weekend if I do not have a scheduled travel is the ample time I can spend in our kitchen.  Owing to the crazy schedule I normally have, rarely do I have the time now to create a decent dish I could share here on my website. Luckily, the past long weekend that transpired gave me the freedom to finally get my hands dirty in the kitchen.

Inspiration came from a recipe book which my mother gave me last year, Around the World in 80 Plates.  It is a recipe book published by Hinge Inquirer which boasts of a flavorful collection of recipes from expert chefs around the world. Having forces such as F&B World and Unilever Food Solutions behind the book, it is a perfect book for people who want to get their hands on trying recipes hailing from different parts of the world.

One recipe which got my attention immediately while browsing the book was Chef James Antolin’s Chocolate Tart.