I have something to confess. I haven’t been to Boracay. Supposedly, after Ken’s graduation from Nursing (yes, he’s an RN and an RM too! ), we were going on a vacation there. But, I was sick so they went without me. I’m pretty jealous of the stories I’ve heard from them and from my friends who’ve been to Boracay because of their stories about the beautiful beaches, the people, activities and, of course, the food. One of the restaurants I’ve heard people raving about was Aria Cucina Italiana.

Briefly, Aria Cucina Italiana is an Italian restaurant in Boracay (D’Mall) known for its modern and contemporary take on the flavors of Italy, particularly inspired by the coastal regions of the Mediterranean.They opened in 2003 and became popular for their homemade pastas, salads, woodfire oven-baked pizzas, and excellent wine list.

A couple of days ago, we received news that they’re coming to Manila. They are finally opening a store in Bonifacio High Street Central in Bonifacio Global City in Taguig on January 28, 2012. Along with the news was an invite to dine at their restaurant. So, we just can’t wait for Aria Cucina Italiana to open its doors this coming week.

Here are a few teaser photos of the food you can savor at Aria Cucina Italiana:

Fettucine Nere in Crema di Mare

First off, HAPPY NEW YEAR, fellow foodies! 2011 has been a very fruitful year for us and we can’t thank you enough! We’ll be doing a separate year-ender post of our favorite food / dishes / restos for 2011 PLUS our blog’s new theme. For now, though, we’re excited to bring you another giveaway where you can win Php 5,000 CASH from Unionbank My Easy Loans.

Some of you may ask how we came up with the name of our blog. Why Certified Foodies? It’s truly because we love everything and anything related to food and its enjoyment.  The discovery of different flavors, how it affects our mood and even relationships, how every one of us has our own capacity to tolerate certain levels of a certain flavor, the welcome modern twists that we now see being applied on traditional cuisines, the wonderful memories a dish or even a certain aroma can bring back, and the adventure of challenging your tastebuds or just trying out something new are among the reasons why this blog came to existence.

With that, we’ve got good news for you fellow certified foodies! Tell us about your love for food for a chance to win Php 5,000 in CASH in Unionbank’s My Easy Loans Twitter contest. It’s not yet too late to treat your friends or family to an ultimate food trip!

CONTEST PERIOD: January 2 to 8, 2012 (yayyy for the new year!)

PRIZE: Php 5,000 CASH

MECHANICS:

1. Eligibility: This contest is open to Filipinos residing in the Philippines for at least a year, at least 18 years of age at the time of joining, and must have a Twitter account with at least 15 Twitter followers.

I know, it’s December and the cool breeze we get now even in the afternoon might not put you in the mood for anything iced or cold, but I just got to tell you a promo Gelatissimo is offering to anyone who’s subscribed to their newsletter – a free scoop of their featured gelato for every scoop you buy.

Currently, you can avail of their buy one, take one promo on their 16 chocolate gelato flavors with their Christmas of Chocolate promo. Take note that this is only available until January 8th!

These are the 16 chocolate flavors you can choose from: Veronese Chocolate, Chocolate Fondant, Chocolate Sorbet, Belgian Chocolate, White Chocolate, Chocolate Truffle, Black Forest, Milk Chocolate, Chocolate Almond, Chocolate Orange, Chocolate Ganache, Chocolate Rum Cake, Chilli Chocolate and Sugar-free Chocolate.

You MUST present the voucher that they send out to their newsletter subscribers for you to avail of this. Simply go to the Gelatissimo website and click on the register link under “Join our Mailing List” on the right. If you’ve already subscribed and haven’t received the voucher yet, leave your email below and we’ll forward it to you.

Last October, Ken and I were invited to try out C2 Classic Cuisine Restaurant’s Signature Series featuring Pinoy Favorites like their own version of Kare-kare and Bangus Belly (our post about this is up next!). Since the closest to us was C2 in Cravings Katipunan, there we went.

As soon as we entered the restaurant, this display of cakes made us look forward to the end of our meal. Our invite from C2 didn’t include desserts, but we found out Cravings has an Unlimited Cakes and Coffee promo for only Php 150 per person. How can we pass that up?!

Their unlimited menu includes a wide selection of cakes, but you can only order their four featured cakes at the time you were dining in. When we were there though, we had five different cakes because we had to stay a bit longer as Ken prepared a list for our shopping for our birthday celebration.

Manila Diamond Hotel’s award-winning Japanese restaurant Yurakuen is proudly offering a totally unique Teppanyaki Eat-All-You-Can experience for all us buffet lovers out there. Instead of getting food from buffet spreads and cooking them on your table’s hot pot and griddles, Yurakuen lets you sit back and relax as you watch your personal chefs prepare food at your very own tables.

Available during lunch and dinner, enjoy the Teppanyaki Eat-All-You-Can with unlimited flow of local drinks, local beer, and Japanese Kirin beer, all for the price of Php 1,970++ per person. My sister, Mhel, and I got to experience it ourselves when they invited us to experience a Teppanyaki dinner. It may be a little pricey, but we can seriously say that it’s worth every penny! Not convinced? Let me walk you through it.

First, above are photos of the long lists of food you can order with the Teppanyaki Eat-All-You-Can promo (click to zoom), which include appetizers, soups, noodles, meat dishes, and even desserts!

We haven’t completed our holiday shopping yet so it’s just timely that The Big Holiday Outlet Sale 2011 is happening this December 16th up to the 18th at the SMX Convention Hall in SM Mall of Asia. There are a TON of popular lifestyle brands and a couple of new ones joining this sale so it’s something you shouldn’t miss!

Yes, you can get up to a whopping 90% DISCOUNT on your favorite brands like Adidas, Nike, Puma, Maldita (likeee!), Plains & Prints, R.A.F, JB Sports, Daniel Hechter, CMG, Melissa Shoes, Giordano Ladies, BOSE, Switch, Hush Puppies, Sebago, Cushe, Ipanema, Grendha, Digital Walker, Light Room, Skechers, Desigual, Repetto, HTC (weehhh!), Lenovo, Nokia, Philips, Canon (woot!), Timex, Monster Cable, And1, Gola, Ryka, Reva, Triumph and a ton more!

If you’re a BPI cardholder, you already get FREE entrance as long as you present a valid ID. And all BPI Express Credit Edge cardholders also get additional perks plus a chance to win in the hourly raffle draws!

Again, here are the details of this mega-sale event of the year:

• What: The BIg Holiday Outlet Sale 2011
• When: December 16 to 18, 2011 – 10am to 9pm
• Where: SMX Convention Centre Hall 4, Mall of Asia Complex, Pasay City

But, WAIT! We here at Certified Foodies are giving away FREE entrance tickets to all our readers and friends. All you have to do are the following and you can get up to THREE (3) free tickets each: