Red Ribbon’s Chocolate Fudge Cake

I know we all have had those moments in our lives when the only thing that we needed was some comfort food to warm our souls. The food that we would crave for may be different on person-to-person basis, but they all serve the same purpose: to make you feel like it’s summer on a gloomy and rainy day.

Whenever I feel sad, or sometimes frustrated, I always turn to food to console me. Sweet and buttery things, to be specific. There’s this feeling of healing whenever I stuff my mouth with sweet foods, especially chocolates! Scientists would even explain that there are chemicals in the chocolate that stimulate the body to produce endorphins or something that the body creates to make you feel happy, basically.

I am a big fan of Red Ribbon’s cakes and when I found out about their new Chocolate Fudge Cake and saw a photo of the actual cake. I was like, “OMG! That’s comfort food galore right there!”. I’m hoping I’d get a taste of it real soon. It’s Red Ribbon so there’s no doubt that it’s very delicious.

  Red Ribbon's new Chocolate Fudge Cake - CertifiedFoodies.com
  Red Ribbon’s new Chocolate Fudge Cake

 

Red Ribbon’s all new Chocolate Fudge Cake is now available nationwide. It’s available in regular size at Php 460.00, and Junior size at Php 275.00

 

P.S.
I even wrote a song about this cake.
“I love chocolate. I love cake. Put them together, it’s chocolate cake!”
Real catchy, eh?

 

‘Til next time!
Written by Kien

Strawberry Sinigang?!

Update: Our nanay prepared her own Strawberry Sinigang recipe.

After seeing posts from a couple of bloggers who were invited to stay at one of the hotels in Baguio, I am now desperate to go back there for at least a week’s stay. I so miss Baguio because of the weather, the tourist spots, shopping, and, of course, strawberries!

  Fresh Strawberries - CertifiedFoodies.com
  I can have fresh strawberries for breakfast, lunch or dinner! Anytime!!

 

I love, love, love strawberries. I kinda dislike strawberry-flavored food, but, I love actual strawberries. The last time we were in Baguio, we weren’t able to buy a lot of it ’cause my mom prefers strawberry jam. The next time we go there, I’ll make sure we buy at least a kilo of it so I can enjoy fresh strawberries at home.

Going back to the bloggers who went to Baguio recently, one of the most talked about food amongst them is the Strawberry Sinigang. When I first read it from one of their tweets and on Plurk, I was like, “Seriously?!”

  Strawberry Sinigang - Photo by EntrepreMom.info
Strawberry Sinigang
Photo by EntrepreMom

 

I love Sinigang. It’s a very popular Philippine soup that’s sour in flavor. It’s usually cooked with tamarind (sampaloc), but, some use green/raw mangoes and guava (bayabas). So, discovering that people in Baguio actually cook their sinigang with fresh strawberries was really something for me. I want a taste of it!

I’m really intrigued because strawberries have a li’l taste of tangy sweetness to it. I would love to make strawberry sinigang at home when I find fresh strawberries in the grocery. I heard from the bloggers that it’s not the season yet for strawberries so I might have difficulty buying some good bunch of them at the market. But, I swear, I want to try it. I might just end up having a taste of it in Baguio when we go there next time so I can really enjoy the authentic taste of strawberry sinigang from people who are already experts in preparing it.

I wonder when we’ll be able to return to Baguio. We’re planning on visiting my mother’s childhood friend, who now lives with her family in Baguio, this December. I know I would need my cashmere sweaters when we do ’cause it’ll be really cold up there. But, definitely, a serving of freshly cooked strawberry sinigang will make me warm in no time.

Have you already tried strawberry sinigang?

How was it? Let me know at the comments section.

 

In case you’re wondering where you can find or get a taste of strawberry sinigang, I know for sure that Mines View Hotel serves it. Let me know if you know of other places in Baguio that serves this.

 

Enjoy!

Written by blankpixels

Max’s Delivery in the Philippines through BDO Remit

BDO Remit and Max's Restaurant - CertifiedFoodies.comMax’s Restaurant, one of the country’s leading fast-casual dining restaurants, recently sealed an agreement with BDO Unibank Inc. through its remittance service brand BDO Remit. The partnership pioneers a Food Remittance Delivery Service that will benefit Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) and their families in the Philippines.

Through BDO Remit, OFWs can now surprise their loved ones by sending them their favorite Max’s dishes here at home, in the Philippines. To do so, they just need to visit any BDO Remit office in HongKong, Macau, USA, Italy, Germany or any of the bank’s participating remittance partners in Asia, Middle East North America and Europe.

The meal packages are good for 5, 10 and 20 people. This is available for delivery to Metro Manila and selected provincial areas. For non-serviceable areas, the beneficiaries or the OFWs families may dine in instead at their preferred Max’s branch or enjoy Max’s meals at home.

Jim Fuentebella, Max's Vice President for Corporate Marketing & Genie T. Gloria of BDO- CertifiedFoodies.com

“This is our way of paying tribute to hardworking Filipinos abroad. Through this initiative with BDO, Filipinos overseas can now surprise their loved ones by sending their favorite Max’s dishes to their families even if they’re far away from home,” said Jim T. Fuentebella, Max’s Vice President for Corporate Marketing.

“Through our expanded food remittance services, we can help Filipinos abroad reach out to their families in the Philippines.” said BDO’s First Vice President and Head of Remittance Domestic Operations Genie T. Gloria.

Bake & Churn Ice Cream Cakes : My New Favorite!

I love ice cream and I love cakes. And these 2 combined is just heavenly! The first time I’ve had a slice of ice cream cake was back in Cebu. Since then, I was looking forward to the next time I’ll enjoy another slice of its yumminess. I know of Dairy Queen‘s ice cream cakes, but, I was looking for a more affordable alternative. And, thank goodness for Bake & Churn Ice Cream Cakes!

Bake & Churn Ice Cream Cakes mini-store at Malabon Citisquare - CertifiedFoodies.com

Last time we went grocery-shopping at Malabon Citisquare, I was surprised to see that Bake & Churn has their own stall inside the grocery. I actually had a pint of my favorite Vanilla ice cream in my grocery cart, but, I immediately changed my mind and decided to try one of Bake & Churn’s ice cream cakes.

Bake & Churn offers a wide range of choices of ice cream cakes. I was a bit skeptical if I’m going to like it, so, I picked the safest choice – the chocolate ice cream cake! Just look at their other flavors.

Bake & Churn Ice Cream Cakes - the choices - CertifiedFoodies.com

You can opt to buy a slice or a whole ice cream cake. The prices are very reasonable and affordable, if you ask me. You can try a slice of their cake for Php 40-50. I chose to buy a whole Bake & Churn’s Classic Ice Cream Log for only Php 199.00. Nice, eh?

Continue reading Bake & Churn Ice Cream Cakes : My New Favorite!

Lunch at Best Friends in Monumento

We’ve been meaning to eat at Best Friends in Monumento and we only got to finally do it a few weeks ago. Their branches are open 24 hours a day, so, I’ve dined at some of Best Friends branches all over Metro Manila back in the days when I used to party late at night. *grin* So, in case you crave or want to eat late at night, you can drop by the nearest Best Friends branch for a hearty meal.

Best Friends branch in Monumento - CertifiedFoodies.com
Best Friends in Monumento – Open 24 hours!

 

What I love about Best Friends aside from their operating hours is that their prices are very affordable and the quality of their food has been pretty consistent across all their branches I’ve dined in. Some people, though, might not be comfortable eating at a very open area, but it’s actually one of the things I liked about them.

Dining area inside Best Friends in Monumento - CertifiedFoodies.com
Dining area inside Best Friends

 

One of the famous dishes on Best Friends menu is their Beef Pares. So, of course, it’s one of the dishes we ordered. But, they have a wide range of dishes on their menu.

Continue reading Lunch at Best Friends in Monumento

Wild Willy’s Real American Chicharrones – New Tasty Snack!

Here’s another great-tasting snack that we discovered. I know all of you would love it, too – Wild Willy’s Real American Chicharrones!

  Wild Willy's Real American Chicharrones from Leslie's Snacks - CertifiedFoodies.com
Wild Willy’s Real American Chicharrones – new snacks from Leslie’s

 

Wild Willy’s is the latest product from the company that gave us our all-time favorites Clover Chips, Cheezy and Nacho. So, when we discovered Wild Willy’s at the grocery and found out they’re from Leslie’s Snacks, we decided to try them out.

  Wild Willy's Real American Chicharrones - Made with Premium Quality US Pork Rinds - CertifiedFoodies.com
Real American Chicharrones made with Premium Quality U.S. Pork Rinds

 

I was completely intrigued by the description on the package. It says “real American chicharrones” and that it’s “made with premium quality U.S. pork rinds“. I’m a chicharon lover, so, I was pretty excited to try this new snack. I was a bit skeptical at first because I thought it’ll just be plain chicharon that was just given a fancy packaging and all.

Well, guess what, I was surprised. Actually, all of us were surprised – Kien, Mai and both my parents enjoyed it so much! Definitely not your ordinary chicharon. We still had stock of Marty’s vegetarian chicharon, so, I got to compare it with this new snack – not as tasty as Wild Willy’s, trust me.

Continue reading Wild Willy’s Real American Chicharrones – New Tasty Snack!

Cebu Style Pork Steamed Rice Recipe

This recipe is from our previous contributor, Mai who is a Cebuana and now a chef. Oh, and yes, we’ve been to Dimsum Break at SM North Edsa many times already. Check out our review.

Everytime I go home to Cebu (fyi, I’m a pure Cebuana), I always see to it that I get to eat at Harbour  City Dimsum. One of their most popular, and my favorite, dish is their Pork Steamed Rice. For me, they serve the best steamed rice in Cebu! They also serve the best dimsum I’ve had in my life. Seriously!

Dimsum Break's Original Steamed Fried Rice

We’ve actually tried finding a place here in Manila where they serve Steamed Rice cooked just like in Cebu. But, so far, we haven’t found any Chinese restaurant that serves it (if you know of one, let me know at the comments section!). (UPDATE: Dimsum Break finally opened in Metro Manila in 2012! Woot!)

So, just like with any other dish I crave for, I decided to make it at home and serve it the same way Harbour City Dimsum does. And, I’m sharing my homestyle recipe with you.

Cebu Style Steamed Rice Recipe

INGREDIENTS:
(Apologies if there are no measurements. We’ll try to improve on that next time! But, we usually just taste, adjust or add more, ’til we get the desired taste — We added the measurements.)

Servings: 3-4 bowls

  • 1/4 to 1/2 kg Pork Tenderloin – depends on how much pork you want in there
  • 5-8 pieces Shrimp
  • 1/4 cup Green Peas (not the canned ones please!)
  • 1 small Onion,  chopped
  • 2-3 pieces Garlic, crushed/pressed
  • 2-4 tablespoons Soy Sauce – adjust based on your preference. We used Kikkoman.
  • 2 teaspoons Worcestershire Sauce
  • 2 tbsps. Cornstarch
  • 1 cup Pork Broth
  • Rice

Note: Please read the comments as one of the posters mentioned that adding rice wine and clam juice, plus a different soy sauce, made a difference.

Note 2: There’s another recipe shared by one of the comment posters (Ann), and you can see it at the bottom of this post.

 

PROCEDURE:

1. Pour oil in a hot pan and sauté onions and garlic for about 1 to 2 minutes.

2. Add pork and mix until the pork’s fat starts to ooze out. Then, add shrimp and stir for about 3 to 4 minutes. Then, add 3 tablespoons of soy sauce.

3. Adjust heat to medium and stir. Add a cup of pork broth (you can use pork cubes dissolved in a cup of warm water) and let the mixture boil for 5 minutes. Then, add 2 teaspooons of Worcestershire sauce.

4. Dissolve cornstarch in a half cup of cold water, then, add it to the pan, just enough to thicken the sauce. Stir continuously, then, add the fresh green peas.

Note: Please do not use the ones in can.

Cebu Style Steamed Rice Recipe - CertifiedFoodies.com

 

5. Let it boil for about 3 to 5 more minutes and, then, serve it on top of rice.

I served ours in our soufflé bowls so they’ll look a bit closer to how Harbour City Dimsum serves their Steamed Rice.

Cebu Style Steamed Rice - CertifiedFoodies.com

 

Cebu Style Steamed Rice in Manila - CertifiedFoodies.com

I wasn’t really able to get the exact taste from Harbour City Dimsum, but, the result of this recipe really tastes good. Michelle and I both enjoyed it. It sure did help satisfy my craving and how much I miss Cebu Style Steamed Rice.

Update: We’re sooooo happy to know that Dimsum Break finally opened here in Manila!! Check out our review (branch: SM North Edsa).

This recipe is from our previous contributor, Mai who is a Cebuana and now a chef.

 

Steamed Rice Version II

UPDATE 2: We received a ton of suggestions on how to make this taste closer to Dimsum Break or Harbour City. Here’s one of the recipes shared by Ann (see comment below this post) that you might want to try. Many have mentioned that the actual recipe calls for sesame oil, which is included in the recipe below.

1. Fry the rice with garlic and oyster sauce, then set that aside.

2. In another pan, sauté garlic until brown.

3. Add the cubed pork with some fat (tastes better than just lean pork) and sauté.

4. Add chicken stock or if using chicken Knorr cubes, add water.

5. Let it boil until pork is tender, then add chopped shrimps (you can use the cooked salad shrimps too), then the frozen peas.

6. Add soy sauce per your taste, a tsp. of rice wine to enhance the taste, and sesame oil.

7. Then add cornstarch, diluted in cold water, gradually, to your topping mixture, while stirring until it reaches a thicker consistency.

8. Sprinkle chopped green onions. Place the fried rice in individual bowls, and pour your gravy/topping over the rice.

Marty’s Baconette Strips – Oishi’s New Snack!

My partner and I love munching on different snacks or chips when we’re watching our favorite TV series or movies at home after a long day at our internet cafe. And, for the past week, we are in love with Oishi‘s new product – Marty’s Baconette Strips.

Oishi Marty's Baconette Strips Snacks - CertifiedFoodies.com

Marty’s Baconette Strips are bacon-flavored snacks so if you’re worried about too much fat or calories, then, this snack is for you. It’s actually very light and Mai can’t stop munching on them. The flavor is close to how bacon should taste like so I’m also addicted to it.

Continue reading Marty’s Baconette Strips – Oishi’s New Snack!

I Love Red Mango Frozen Yogurt!

One of the things that I’m absolutely addicted to nowadays is frozen yogurt. I’m addicted to the regular yogurt, too, but, enjoying a cup or tub of froyo can really freshen up my mood. I mean, it’s healthful and really yummy! So, I now opt to having frozen yogurt over ice cream anytime!

So far, I’ve only tried frozen yogurt being offered by 3 stores – Red Mango, The White Hat, and Yoh-Gurt. All I can say is I enjoyed all of them, but, I love the first 2 more.

Red Mango at SM Mall of Asia - CertifiedFoodies.com

Last time we were at SM Mall of Asia, Mai and I headed out to Red Mango to try out their frozen yogurt. I told Mai that I HAVE TO try all the frozen yogurt stores in MOA because I want to compare them to know which store offers the best frozen yogurt in town. And, I’m happy to say that Red Mango did not disappoint.

Continue reading I Love Red Mango Frozen Yogurt!