My Best Food Forward Finds

I just love food events. Not only do I get to be surrounded by yummy food, I also get to sample and discover new food finds. 

Last weekend was yet another yummy weekend as Best Food Forward held yet another foodie event at the NBC Tent. I was quite sick that day so the pain of seeing sweets was too much to handle. I had to force myself from taking samples.

 

Fortunately, there were still a lot of other savory dishes that I was able to sink my teeth into. Here’s my top 5 finds:

Carlo’s Kitchen Crunchy Belly (PHP130, comes with rice)

 

I just love how the crispy the pork belly was and that it was not oily at all making it less sinful. My mom can’t help buying two orders of it. It was like eating chicharon with more pork meat. If your order is from a newly cooked batch, let it cool for a while to make sure that it’ll be crunchy. :D

My First Bite: The Kebab Factory

(A prequel to the Mega Mall Food Sale entry)

Some colleagues and I went to SM Mega Mall to have lunch as one of them needed to shop. We had several options. There’s JiPan, Sbarro, The Kebab Factory, and Pho Hoa. We decided to consult the powerful and all-knowing eenie meenie miney moe to help us decide and the finger landed on JiPan. For some reason though we wanted to eat somewhere else so we decided to choose one and say at the same time where we want to eat… The Kebab Factory won.

*Off to The Kebab Factory*

It was my first time to dine there so I read the menu “Curious George” style. The dessert G’ulab Jammu (sugar milk balls dipped in syrup) got my attention as my friend gave it her seal of approval. I didn’t order it though since I was saving up for my ultimate food galore trip next month.  I promised myself that I will try this in the near future. I heard that it has a bit of herbal taste. Dessert? Herbal? Interesting…

Since I was on a tight budget, I decided to order C2, Chicken Mast Kebab (PHP180) and Papadum Masala (PHP95) but what I really wanted to order were M1, Chollo Sultani Chicken Mast and Beef Kebab (PHP275), Spinach and Feta Cheese Dip (PHP200), Mango Kulfi—The Kebab Factory ice cream with pureed mangoes and hint of cardamon flavor (PHP150) and Sweet Lassi (PHP120). My bill would have reached PHP745 (exclusive of tax and service charge) if I gave in to my tummy’s request. 

Anyway, featuring my affordable picks!

Pantry Surprise: Mochiko Cookie Dough

I just love pantry surprises! Oh wait, let me define “pantry surprises”. It is when you get a call that there’s a delicious treat waiting for you at the office pantry. This time, the treat that was chillin’(okay, that was not funny) was Mochiko’s newest flavor… Cookie Dough!!!

I love cookie dough and my lovely relationship with it all started last year.

I first got a taste of cookie dough in 2010. It was the Pizza Cookie Dough of Joey Pepperoni—literally a cookie shaped like a pizza (it’s been a long time and I wasn’t able to take a photo of it). I still remember that the dough itself was a bit hard and we had to exert a lot of effort to take a bite. But we did not mind it at all for the chocolatey taste compensates the effort. Oh, did I mention that it was also topped with a generous serving of vanilla ice cream with chocolate syrup? 

My second encounter was even sweeter. It was with Carmen’s Best cookie dough ice cream. I just love how creamy and smooth the ice cream was with a bit of crunch (from the cookie bits). It was really flavorful yet not extremely sweet kind that make you hate it after a few spoonfuls. I must remember to place an order soon (and also some of its rich milk).

I also had some cookie dough chocolates from Chocolate Fire and it was quite weird because the texture reminded me of shaved coconuts. Maybe the one handed to me by the server was wrong. Nonetheless, I will still claim it as cookie dough.

I got a taste of Mochiko’s latest flavor when I went to the Ultimate Taste Test and it was one of my top 5 concessionaires but I remember telling Nowie of Mochiko that I still prefer Azuki… then.

Well, after round two with this sweet goodie, I take it back. 

I just hate it that I had to wait for it to thaw. It was plain torture that you couldn’t take a bite right after getting it from the fridge. A colleague of mine attacked his mochi right away though; and he’s a-ok! He must be using a certain branded toothpaste (blind item?).

Cute packaging. :)

Anyway, I waited for my mochi to become softer… 1 minute… 1 minute and 30 seconds… 2 minutes… oh whatever.

The first bite was a bit bland for it was all mochi. As for the second bite… it was a different story.

I got a bite of the cookie itself with chocolate chips with creamy vanilla ice cream (which I assume is FIC). It was quite sweet but it was somehow addicting. The crunch from the cookie and the soft mochi was a very interesting combination. I had to stop myself from getting another one as the box of mochi was for the team.

I just hope that there’s a smaller mochi (Mochiko Jr.?) so that it will be easier to eat. 

Thanks Nowie and the Yummy editorial team for sharing it with us! :)

Steak Heaven: Myron's Steaks Ribs & Seafood

I’ve been targeting to dine at Myron’s Steaks Ribs & Seafood for weeks now and I finally got the chance to have lunch there last weekend.

I thoroughly read the menu to check which ones to order. I wasn’t very hungry that time since I had a late breakfast thanks to morning traffic and that crazy food service (which I’m still thinking if I should post or not). However, my gluttonous tummy promised me that it can take in some more thus I happily ordered some dishes. 

Since I am a sucker for pumpkin (hey, it’s yummy and good for the eyes), I ordered pumpkin soup along with Myron’s best seller… The President (tagged as the REAL. GREAT. STEAK.). Since the restaurant was pretty confident about it, we made sure to order it. We were told that the steak was good for 2-3 so my dad didn’t order anything and shared the steak with me. 

My sister, the birthday girl, ordered Fried Hainanese Chicken as for the past few months, her name and Hainanese Chicken were synonymous.

First served was my Cream of Pumpkin (PHP125). It was… very flavorful… in fact, it was way too much. The soup was very creamy and thick that it does not serve its purpose… to boost one’s appetite. There was this (as we Filipinos call it) suya factor—will make you not want to eat it anymore after a few bites (or in this case, slurps/sips). I found it a bit too sweet and that made me miss the bacon sprinkled on top most restaurants do.

 

Next served was the President Steak (PHP2,010) which was described as “crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, swimming in its juices, sprinkled with Himalayan Pink Salt.” It was served with the plate tilted as to put the juice on one side of the plate. We had it cooked medium well thus the meat was still a bit reddish.

Oh my steak goodness! It was really good. The meat was very tender and it was seasoned just right. Be careful though of getting a mouthful of the Himalayan Salt as it could make that part super salty. 

 

How I wish I could have that as my lunch every day. It will surely put a hole in my wallet though.

Next served was the Fried Hainanese Chicken (PHP295). It was pretty dry thus making it hard to swallow. I guess that’s why it was served with soup. 

My sister didn’t like it because she was expecting that it would be similar to the one from Hainanese Delights which was swimming in sauce.

My dad being a coffee addict ordered coffee and I asked for one too since I noticed that they serve Illy. My sister fondly calls it “I Love Love You”. Well, there’s nothing to hate about Illy coffee. 

As an added bonus, Myron’s gave us a free dessert… Old Fashioned Bread Pudding with Dark Caramel Ice Cream and Rhum Sauce (PHP180). Yes, it was screaming CALORIES. But it was a great dessert to cap off the meal. The Bread Pudding added texture to the Dark Caramel Ice Cream and the warm pudding and cold ice cream was simply delectable.

I look forward to trying the other dishes soon. 

Myron’s Steaks Ribs & Seafood is located at Level P1, Power Plant Mall, Rockwell Drive, Makati City.