Gift Ideas Archives - Certified Foodies

Noche Buena Ideas with Alaska Crema from the Merry Cremas Festival 2015

When December comes and we all start feeling the cool breeze, I can’t help but get all giddy with excitement for Christmas. Ken and I always look forward to Noche Buena because that’s when our nanay prepares extra special dishes for the whole family to enjoy. In the past few years, nanay and Ken have made it a habit to prepare something new every Noche Buena. This is why we always look forward to the annual Alaska Merry Cremas Festival where we get to see what new dishes we can add to our Christmas feast.

This year’s Merry Cremas Festival was held at the Trinoma Activity Center. As expected, there was quite a delicious lineup of sweet and savory dishes made using Alaska Crema All-Purpose Cream. We weren’t able to taste everything, but it’s fun to see how creative you can be and how one ingredient – Alaska Crema – can be incorporated in a variety of dishes to give them that extra creamy goodness. Let’s start off with our top favorites from the 2015 Alaska Merry Cremas Festival.

KISS’ Mille Crepe Cakes

During our first round of food sampling, KISS wasn’t open yet. Good thing we came back because we would’ve missed their creamy tower of mille crepe cakes. From the endless stream of people crowding their booth, I can say that their cakes were on the top of the best-sellers at the Merry Cremas Festival. We bought a slice of their Salted Caramel Cake. They used Alaska Crema in their buttercream, so it was oh-so velvety! Since I don’t have an oven now in my condo, this is one dessert I can’t wait to recreate! 🙂

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Make Someone’s Christmas Delicious with Mondelez

It’s a few weeks before Christmas, and I haven’t done any gift shopping yet. Thankfully, I share many interests with the people I’m buying gifts for, particularly, my love for chocolate. If you’re in the same situation as I am, you’d be delighted to know that Mondelez Philippines has a lineup of goodies that you can give away as instant gifts this Christmas.

I love receiving and giving personalized gifts, and in the past years, I can no longer count with my 2 hands the number of times I’ve received and given personalized Toblerone bars as gifts for birthdays and the holidays. It’s cute, personal, and, not to mention delicious too. I especially love the Crunchy Almonds variant. 🙂

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Our Top Favorites from Merry Cremas Festival 2014

We’re sure many of you would agree that it’s the most wonderful time of the year. We kicked off our Christmas celebrations last weekend at the Merry Cremas Festival 2014 at Eastwood Mall Open Park. We were at last year’s event, so we already have a yummy idea of what’s in store for us.

Merry Cremas Festival 2014 at Eastwood Mall

Merry Cremas Festival is a yearly event where various food purveyors showcase their products that they made using Alaska Crema All Purpose Cream. Ken and I didn’t have breakfast before going to the event since we know we’ll be full by the end of our food tasting. 😀 Here are our top favorites:

Pumpkin Soup from Kuya Pao’s Grill

Creamy, with bold, spicy flavors. We couldn’t get enough of their soup, and the chunks of pumpkins that came with it. It’s the perfect hearty dish for the cooler days ahead. 🙂

Pumpkin Soup from Kuya Pao's Grill with Alaska Crema

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See You At The 12th Ultimate Taste Test in Rockwell

The much-awaited food event of the year – the 12th Ultimate Taste Test – is happening this coming Saturday, September 27th, at the Rockwell Tent. And if you haven’t bought your tickets yet, you still got time! 🙂

This year, there are over 40 food purveyors who will be there, so just imagine how much food you get to taste and discover in this 1-day event. You can see the full list of Ultimate Taste Test 12 concessionaires here.

Last time we were at the Ultimate Taste Test, here were our favorites:

Premium Roast Angus Corned Beef from The Plaza

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Celebrate Valentine’s Day with Villa del Conte’s Box of Chocolates

I’m not a big fan of flowers. So, when I think of Valentine’s day, the first thing that comes to mind when we talk about the perfect romantic gift is a box of exquisite chocolates. 😉 And if you’re thinking of sending some AMORE (Italian for “love”) to your special someone this Heart’s day, here’s a sure-fire hit: a box of Villa del Conte’s chocolates.

Villa del Conte is an Italian artisanal chocolate shop well-known for their expertise in the creation of the finest cioccolato (Italian for chocolate) using handpicked cacao beans and premium quality ingredients. You might have heard of them already as they have shops all over Metro Manila. They’ve been in the art of making chocolates for 81 years, and so our expectations were high when we received this gorgeous box of their chocolates.

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Have a Merry Cremas with Alaska Crema!

All year round, especially during the cold months of December and January, we find ourselves longing for some good ol’ comfort food. But not just any kind of comfort food, we crave for something rich, hearty, delectable and, most of the time, creamy. That’s why, they say, calories don’t count during the holidays. 😉

We were invited as judges at the Merry Cremas Food Bazaar in Eastwood last month. Good thing it was a Sunday so Ken and I were able to go together.

We know, from personal experience, that there’s a wide range of dishes you can prepare using Alaska Crema all-purpose cream. We knew there’ll be a ton of desserts and pastries there, but we were really hoping to see more savory dishes. There were only a few who did. Thankfully, they were all quite successful with their dishes too along with the food purveyors who served desserts.

With that said, let’s begin with our top favorites from the Merry Cremas Food Bazaar in Eastwood. These might help you with recipe ideas for your celebrations or any holiday, especially for Noche Buena and Media Noche.

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Bizu Patisserie’s Christmas 2013 Collection

We may be weeks away from Christmas 2013 and New Year’s Eve, but you can still feel the holiday because of the cold weather we’re experiencing the past few days. And there’s Chinese New Year coming up. If you’re still in the mood for some foodie gift-giving, Bizu Patisserie’s Christmas 2013 collection of treats are still available for you and your loved ones.

Bizu is well-known for their delectable pastries and their yearly holiday goodies. We blogged about them here and here. They usually have a theme, and for 2013, it’s Tchaikovskyâ€™s Land of the Sweets (from The Nutcracker). You can check the list of their 2013 holiday collection below this post. Most of them are still sold at your favorite Bizu store, so make sure to inquire if there’s something you fancy.

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Brownies! Unlimited New Flavors and Brownie Chips : Your Kind of Brownies

If you’re looking for more foodie gifts for the holidays, here are our last minute recommendations: Brownies! Unlimited‘s new flavors and their addictive Brownie Chips. 🙂

First, let me tell you about their Brownie Chips. When we posted about the Brownie Brittle we recently got to try from Joe & Cherry, we found out (from a fellow foodie) that there’s actually a local version of it and it’s from Brownies! Unlimited.

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J.CO Donuts Jolly Merry Treats

When you’re at the mall and you see this long queue of people at a store, you’re most likely looking at a J.CO Donuts & Coffee store. People can’t help but love their donuts, and we completely understand all the hype.

If you’re looking for the perfect gift this holiday season for your favorite foodie, falling in line at a J.CO store for a box of their Jolly Merry Treats might just do the trick.

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