Thumbs Down for Jollibee's Crisscut Fries

I said in the previous post that I want to taste the Crisscut Fries and chocolate-flavored Float of Jollibee. Well, I finally got the chance to taste the two new items on Jollibee menu. The verdict is that I did not like them.

Crisscut Fries is a weird looking potato fries. The potatoes were not cut in strips like in the usual French fries. It was cut to look like hash browns. The hash-brown-wanna-be fries were then sprinkled with either cheese or sour cream.

Fried potatoes taste good if they are served hot. Jollibee’s Crisscut Fries was as cool as room temperature when it reached our table. The cut potato is also soggy. The worst thing is that I tasted one potato that is stale. The stale potato tasted terrible so I am forced to spit it out of my mouth.

The coldness of the Crisscut Fries sent an impression that it is not popular to Jollibee’s customers. The Crisscut Fries were cooked, in anticipation that people will order them, but just sat on the line getting cold. Jollibee’s Crisscut Fries is terrible. I hope that Jollibee will remove this item from the Jollibee menu.
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Jollibee's Chocolate Float and Crisscut Fries.

Chocolate-flavored Jollibee Float has no soft drink and that surprised me. This float has chocolate Sundae placed on chocolate drink. The chocolate-flavored Jollibee Float is just Chucky or Chocolait with Sundae. This float is a good alternative for those who are avoiding soft drinks.

The new items on Jollibee menu received a thumb down from me. The novelty of Crisscut Fries is OK but Jollibee should have ensured that it tastes good so that customers will not be horrified by it.

New on Chowking Menu: Chow Pao

Chowking, which is the county’s largest food chain that offers Chinese dishes, just unleashed their new creation: the Chow Pao.

This new item on the Chowking menu made me wonder. Is the Chow Pao the reinvention of siopao or is it the reinvention of sandwich? This musing came to an end when I visited Chowking last night and ordered the Chow Pao.

Chow Pao is sort of a sandwich that has some of our favorite ulam (viand) squeezed between mantao buns. There are three Chow Pao choices to choose from the Chowking menu. These choices are the Chow Pao with chunky beef, Chow Pao with braised chicken, Chow Pao with Chinese sausage and the “special” Chow Pao that Chinese sausage and some veggies.

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Chowking sells the Chow Pao for 25 pesos per piece, which is I think is affordable.

I chose the Chow Pao with Chinese sausage. My mind is filled with thoughts of siopao the moment I sink my teeth to my Chow Pao. The mantao bun gave the feeling I was eating a siopao. The Chinese sausage tasted like normal Chinese sausage, which can also be placed on normal siopao.

I like this new item on Chowking menu. The fast food restaurant reinvented siopao to give it a new appeal. Now I wonder what the other three choices of Chow Pao taste like.

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New Float and Fries on Jollibee Menu

I just saw new items on Jollibee menu that I want to try. These items are the new flavors of Jollibee float and the weird looking French fries.

I remember the time when Jollibee is offering the University Floats last year during the height of UAAP hype. I like the flavors of those floats especially the Green Apple Float. The University Floats were removed from the Jollibee menu after the UAAP season. Jollibee floats returned to their “normal” flavor, which is the regular Coke Float.

Now, Jollibee offers two new floats and these are the Coffee Float for the coffee addicts and the Chocolate Float for the chocolate lovers. 

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Jollibee's chocolate float.

Another new item on the Jollibee menu is the Crisscut Fries.

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Jollibee's Crisscut Fries

I guess that this new fries replaced the Jolly Crispy Fries which were in cheese and cream sour flavors. The Crisscut Fries comes in a weird shape and the only flavor is cheese. I hope that Jollibee will add new flavors for Crisscut fries soon.

It is good that Jollibee is keen in adding new items on Jollibee menu. At least its patrons will taste something new. As for me, I might try the chocolate float and the Crisscut Fries when I eat at Jollibee again.

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Images came from Jollibee website.

My Favorite Mang Inasal Menu Items with Unli Rice

Of the many restaurants in Metro Manila, I can say that Mang Inasal is the most visited one by me and my beloved. We always go to Mang Inasal whenever we like to have a super-heavy meal because this fast food restaurant offers unlimited rice on selected items on the Mang Inasal menu.

There are so many items on the Mang Inasal menu but the ones I am most acquainted with are those that have unlimited rice. These meal items are the so-called Paborito Meals (PM).
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The Paborito Meals are the paa, spicy paa, pecho, pork inasal, bangus sisig, pork sisig, boneless bangus and grilled liempo.

I have only two favorites on this set of the Mang Inasal menu. These two are the:
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and:
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Sometimes I order PM 1 (paa) if PM 1.5 (spicy paa) is not available.

Why I prefer the PM 2 and PM 1.5 over the other unli rice items of the Mang Inasal menu? The reason is that these two Paborito Meals have the most meat compared to the other items. I only go to Mang Inasal if I want to eat plenty. I always order Mang Inasal menu items with unli rice and I want to have a lot of ulam for my unlimited rice.

How about you? What is your favorite Mang Inasal menu item?

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Two Yummy Cakes from Red Ribbon Bakeshop

It’s been a long time since I tasted a cake from Red Ribbon Bakeshop. That is why last month I am sort of a super-fortunate person when I ate not one but two kinds of cakes from Red Ribbon Bakeshop. The first cake is the one I bought for Mother’s Day and the other one is a surprise for my beloved.

The cakes that I bought from Red Ribbon Bakeshop are the Chocolate Caramel Roll for my mom and the Mocha Roll for my beloved.

Red Ribbon Bakeshop is still my favorite cake shop. As I had said in a previous post, the cakes from Red Ribbon Bakeshop are way better than the Goldilocks cakes. The breading of Goldilocks cakes crumbles easily unlike the cakes from Red Ribbon.

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(Source: Red Ribbon Bakeshop)

Chocolate Caramel Roll is chocolate chiffon with caramel filling and chocolate icing. The toppings of this cake are white chocolate squares and caramel drizzle.

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(Source: Red Ribbon Bakeshop)

Mocha Roll, on the other hand, has mocha-flavored chiffon covered by French mocha butter cream.

I find the Chocolate Caramel Roll as little bit bitter for my taste. I guess there is too much chocolate in it. Of the two cakes from Red Ribbon Bakeshop, my favorite would be the Mocha Roll.

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New Item on Jollibee Menu: Chicken and Mushroom Pasta

Another visit to Jollibee allowed me to see a new item on the Jollibee menu. That “langhap sarap” item is the chicken and mushroom pasta. I know that I need that order it the moment I saw it on the Jollibee menu. Good thing that this 70 pesos meal already has a regular-sized soft drink.

I think that Jollibee is trying to diversify its pasta meal. The popular pasta found on the Jollibee menu is the Jollibee spaghetti. It is a big hit for the kids and fans of Jollibee. Jollibee created the chicken and mushroom pasta for those who are not fan of the sweet Jollibee spaghetti.

The chicken and mushroom pasta that I got was placed in a box.

I was disappointed when I opened the box. What I saw is just the pasta.

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I actually expected Jollibee’s chicken and mushroom pasta to have one piece Jollibee Chickenjoy. Silly me. The chicken in this pasta meal are the small bits of chicken meat not the big Chickenjoy.

I am not disappointed with the flavor, though. I think that it tastes better than the Jollibee spaghetti. It taste more like a respectable pasta (for adults), which is very unlike the Jollibee spaghetti that is too sweet (but is appealing to kids).

It is good that Filipino’s favorite fast food restaurant added another spaghetti meal on the Jollibee menu. People who want to eat pasta will have option other than the Jollibee spaghetti.

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New on Chowking Menu: Chef Bowls

Me and my beloved saw new items on Chowking menu when we visited a Chowking branch last month. The new items that we saw on the Chowking menu are the chef bowl meals. We had three items to choose from. Written on Chowking menu are Oriental Beef Bowl, Fish Tausi Bowl and Honey Garlic Chicken Bowl.

I chose the Oriental Beef Bowl while my beloved chose the Honey Garlic Chicken Bowl.

The Oriental Beef Bowl tastes OK. I like the fact that they place a slice of egg in that rice bowl meal. I think that it is a good addition to the Chowking menu.

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My beloved commented that the Honey Garlic Chicken Bowl is too sweet for her liking. She said that she will not order it the next. She will choose another item on Chowking menu than eat another Honey Garlic Chicken Bowl.

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I guess that it is a matter of preference. My beloved does not like sweet dishes that's why she disliked the Honey Garlic Chicken Bowl. Other people, especially those with sweet tooth may like it.

The only Chef Bowl that I haven't tried is the Fish Tausi Bowl. I might try it when I return to Chowking. Even if I haven't eaten that dish, I can still say that the Chef Bowl meals are good addition to the Chowking Menu.

Want to know more about Chowking? Read about my favorite dishes on Chowking Menu for more yummy goodness.

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Images obtained from Chowking website.

Jollibee Menu: Grilled Pork Tenders

My stomach grumbled while I was waiting for the start of the movie, There be Dragons. So, I decided to have a dinner just to silence my tummy. I was in Trinoma and I decided to visit the Jollibee branch located on the ground floor of the mall. 

I have visited Jollibee a lot of times and I already tasted the regular items on the Jollibee menu. I already tasted their chicken (two-piece or one-piece), burger yum, Jollibee spaghetti, and that macaroni soup. I even tried a breakfast item on Jollibee menu, which is the Chicken Sausage with Pancake.

That night, I saw a meal item on the Jollibee menu that I haven’t tasted yet. That item is Jollibee’s Grilled Pork Tenders.

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Grilled Pork Tenders of Jollibee.

I chose Grilled Pork Tenders as my dinner. It costs almost the same as the other regular meal item on the Jollibee menu.

Grilled Pork Tenders lived up to its name. It is tender, which is perfect for senior citizens who already have weak set of teeth. Grilled Pork Tenders tastes sweet and peppery. Grilled Pork Tenders has a toyomansi (soy sauce with calamansi) dip but you can opt not to use the dip because the pork tastes well even without it.

Grille Pork Tenders is another good addition to the Jollibee menu. I believe, however, that its taste is just a notch higher than your home-cooked grilled pork.

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New on Jollibee Menu: University Floats

The UAAP fever for this year is already over but Jollibee is not yet done with it. My beloved and I visited a Jollibee branch for some refreshments and we saw the University Floats on the Jollibee menu. Since my beloved is somewhat addicted to floats, we decided to order two of Jollibee’s University Floats.

My beloved chose Green Apple float while I chose the Blue Bubblegum. Other University Floats on the Jollibee menu are Red Watermelon and Yellow Dalandan. I know that University Floats are just Sprite soft drinks that were mixed with flavoring and a sundae on top.

Here is our Blue Bubblegum and Green Apple floats:

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Green Apple and Blue Bubblegum floats.

We rated both flavors of the University Floats as “OK.” This is means that they are not bad but not excellent either. Well, it is good that Jollibee keep on placing new items on the Jollibee menu. Personally, I believe that the Green Apple tastes better than the Blue Bubblegum.

We will try the Red Watermelon and the Yellow Dalandan the next time that we visit Jollibee. However, the University Floats may be gone on the Jollibee menu soon since this year’s UAAP is over. If that happens then we will wait until next year for the next batch of University Floats.

If there are no University Floats, then there will always be the regular Jollibee float.

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A Taste of Jollibee Menu in the Morning

I usually eat at Jollibee either during lunch or dinner that is why I am not that familiar with the Jollibee Menu for the early morning. I usually eat the Jollibee Chickenjoy or the chicken barbecue. I usually choose any of the meals that I listed in my top five items in Jollibee menu.

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Just like McDonalds, Jollibee also offer breakfast meals. Jollibee dubs these early morning meals as “Jollibee Breakfast Joys.” There are only four meal items that are included in the “Jollibee Breakfast Joys” and these are:

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Clockwise from top left: Hotdog with Pancake, Longganisa with Pancake,
Chicken Sausage with Pancake and Chicken Sausage with Garlic Rice.

Last week, I got a chance to drop by a Jollibee store in the early morning. I was surprised to see some of my “favorite” meals removed from the Jollibee menu and was replaced by the Breakfast Joys. I welcome the change, however, because the available meal items are perfect for breakfast.

I did not choose the Chicken Sausage with Garlic Rice because my breakfast usually has rice or fried rice. I want to try something different so I chose the Chicken Sausage with Pancake meal from the Jollibee menu.

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The Chicken Sausage with Pancake breakfast meal has to pieces of chicken sausage and two pieces of pancakes. The meal is OK for me. It is not excellent but it is not terrible. I just hope that Jollibee is more generous for their syrup because what they gave me is not enough to cover the pancakes.

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New on Jollibee Menu: Jolly Crispy Fries Sour Cream

Jollibee keeps on pumping out new items on Jollibee menu. Last time I talked about the Jollibee Float. Now, Jollibee reinvented its French fries by creating two new flavors. The two new flavors of Jollibee's French fries are the Jolly Crispy Fries Cheese and the Jolly Crispy Fries Sour Cream.

Me and my beloved saw these new items on the Jollibee menu that's why we gave it a try. My beloved chose the Jolly Crispy Fries Sour Cream. The cashier told us that the new fries are only available in “large” size only. There is no such thing as regular sized Jolly Crispy Fries Sour Cream. I wondered why because it is easy to offer French fries in “regular” size no matter what the flavor is.

According to iSoda, he found the Jolly Crispy Fries Sour Cream as tasteless. He said that he ended up eating it with ketchup just for it to have a taste. We did not have the same experience with our Jolly Crispy Fries. Our Jolly Crispy Fries Sour Cream taste what it should taste and it tastes as fried potatoes with sour cream.

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Jolly Crispy Fries Sour Cream. Source Jollibee.

Maybe iSoda's fries became tasteless because the Jollibee crew did not put enough sour cream flavor on his fries. That is possible because fastfoods have notorious reputation when it comes to controlling the quality of food that they serve for their customers.

I do agree with iSoda and I say that potato fries taste much better on stalls that specialize on selling fried potatoes. I remember one stall where sister and I bought fried potatoes on sticks that have delicious flavor. I forgot the name but their shops are located on MRT and LRT stations and along corridors inside major malls.

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Go for Jollibee Delivery

I noticed that during the days after pay day, my office mates have their usual special merienda. I said that it is special because it is not their usual merienda of chips, bread or boiled bananas from the canteen. Their special merienda came from a Jollibee delivery.

Days after pay day, an office mate of mine will ask each of us in the office if we want to have merienda from Jollibee. Since I am a cheapskate, I always say “no.” Jollibee delivery is fast because the delivery boy is already in our office few minutes after my office mate ordered their merienda.

I think that Jollibee delivery is one of the fastest in delivering the food that you ordered as compared with the other food establishments in Metro Manila.
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If you want some Jollibee delivery of your favorite items in Jollibee menu, then I suggest that you dial their hotline: 8-7000

Also, Jollibee set-up a Jollibee Online Delivery that allows customers to order their favorite langhap sarap meals via the Internet.

Thus, if you are craving for a langhap sarap meals on Jollibee menu even during the evening, then I suggest that you order through their hotline 8-7000 or Jollibee Online Delivery.

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My Top Five Jollibee Menu

Ask any kid who lives in the Philippines on what is his/her favorite fastfood restaurant and it is highly probable that that the answer that you will get is Jollibee. I don't know how the big red bee managed to get into the hearts of the Filipino people. Is it because of Jollibee's jolly-looking mascot? Or is it because of a wide array of Jollibee Menu or food that are perceived by the people as “masarap.”

Jollibee is so popular in the Philippines that almost every block in Metro Manila has one Jollibee store. Jollibee somehow thwarted McDonalds goal of invading the Philippines.

As I had said, Jollibee Menu has a wide array of food items. So, in Jollibee Menu, what are the top five food? Here is my list:

1. Yum Burger

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Jollibee Yumburger

Leading on my list of best food in Jollibee Menu is the Yum Burger. I believe that it is one of the top food in Jollibee Menu because of its popularity. As far as I know, Yum Burger is not the best burger in the Philippines. The patty is not pure beef and can be liken to the ones being sold by Angel Burger and other food stands located on sidewalks. However, I observed that Yum Burger is the most ordered food in Jollibee Menu.

2. Sundae
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Jollibee Sundae

Looking for sweets in Jollibee Menu? I bet that you will order Jollibee's Sundae as your dessert. Sundae is the counterpart of Yum Burger in terms of popularity. The simple Sundae of the past now has various flavors. On the Jollibee Menu, you will find Chocolate Sundae, Choco Crumble Sundae and Rocky Road Brownie Sundae.

3. Jollibee Chickenjoy
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Jollibee Chickenjoy

This is another popular item on Jollibee Menu. If a Jollibee costumer wants to eat a heavy meal or a meal with, you can bet that it is very likely that the customer will choose the Jollibee Chickenjoy with rice. As for me, the Jollibee Chickenjoy is OK. It is crunchy and yummy. However, I still prefer the fried chicken that is cooked in my home.

4. Jollibee Chicken BBQ
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Jollibee Chicken BBQ

When I ordering a heavy meal at Jollibee, I usually pick the Jollibee Chicken BBQ on the Jollibee Menu. I think that it taste better than the Jollibee Chickenjoy because it is less bland because of the honey sauce. My only complaint with the chicken bbq is that sometimes it is burnt or charred.

5. Creamy Macaroni Soup
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Jollibee Creamy Macaroni Soup

This is my favorite of all the food on Jollibee Menu. When I am still working in a small company, my co-worker and I usually eat at Jollibee. I always choose either the Shanghai Rolls or the Burger Steak, which I partner with creamy macaroni soup. Too bad that Jollibee removed it from the 39ers Value Meal. Seems like Jollibee noticed that it is a quite popular item on Jollibee Menu.

So, that’s my top five food on Jollibee Menu. How about you? What's your favorite on Jollibee Menu?

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A Cake from Red Ribbon Bakeshop

I always go to Red Ribbon Bakeshop, whenever I need a cake for a birthday celebration or any celebration. When my beloved celebrated her birthday, she especially requested the Black Forest flavor of Red Ribbon Bakeshop's cake. Black Forest is a chocolate cake that is infused with cherry. Black Forest is the best-selling cake of Red Ribbon Bakeshop. Well, it is no wonder why it became the best-selling cake because it is indeed delicious, like what I had said in a previous post.

Red Ribbon Bakeshop is a sister company of the popular fastfood chain, Jollibee. Red Ribbon Bakeshop is a classy cake shop but have cakes that is at par with the ones offered by Goldilocks Cake Shop. I believe Red Ribbon Bakeshop is better than Goldilocks because Red Ribbon Bakeshop's cakes taste better than the ones being sold by Goldilocks.
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Red Ribbon Bakeshop cakes.

My beloved loves Red Ribbon Bakeshop's Black Forest and because of this, I will come back to Red Ribbon Bakeshop to buy cakes f there is celebration in our home or in our office.

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Otap of Many Flavors

It is common for me to encounter hopia that are sold in different flavors but I never thought that otap is also available in different flavors. That is why I am surprised when my brother brought home packs of otap that are in different flavors.

For those who are wondering, otap is an oval biscuit that is quite thin and fragile. That is why otap is eaten very carefully to avoid it from being shattered into bits and scattered to the floor. Otap is a biscuit famous in Cebu and many people coming from that island buy otap as their pasalubong.

My brother brought the otap made by Magic Melt. The flavor that he brought is the ube flavored otap and the regular otap.

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Well, the otap of Magic Melt is ok but I believe that there are better kinds or brands otap that can be bought from Cebu. If I ever return to Cebu, I will try to find the best shop to buy some otap.

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Hopia

When I was a kid, one of favorite merienda (snack) is the sweet bread called as hopia. My favorite back then is the hopia that is called as hopiang Hapon (Japanese hopia), which can be bought from the neighboring sari-sari store and is sold for 6 pesos per pack. Another hopia that my parents buy as snack when I am still a kid is hopiang baboy (pork hopia). I don’t like hopiang baboy as much as I like hopiang Hapon, which has a filling of sweet mongo. There is another hopia that is more special than the hopiang Hapon and that hopia is the one that is brought my dad as pasalubong whenever he visited my grandmother. That hopia usually comes in a red box and it is larger and thicker than the hopiang Hapon of the sari-sari stores. I can’t recall the name of the hopia though, but I know that that hopia is delicious. I believe that I still such hopia being sold in bakeries and sari-sari stores.

What is a hopia?

Hopia is a bean filled pastry. The bean used as filling is sweet mongo paste. It is usually circular in shape but other shapes (like the square shaped hopia) are available. The two variants of hopia are the hopia with sweet mongo fillings (hopiang mongo) and the hopia with candied winter melon and candied pork backfat (hopiang baboy).

Where to Buy the Best Hopia?

Most of the shops that I know that sells the best tasting hopia are located in Manila, particularly in Binondo Chinatown area. Hopia is one of the most sold food products in Binondo Chinatown and many people just go to this place to buy hopia. Here are the following shops that sell the best tasting hopia in Manila:

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1. Eng Bee Tin is the leading Chinese food shop that sells hopia, siopao (that is colored purple), tikoy, moon cake and other Chinese delicacy. If you are looking for good tasting hopia, then I suggest that you try Eng Bee Tin’s hopia. Just go to Binondo Church in Manila and many branches of Eng Bee Tin can easily be spotted in the vicinity. Eng Bee Tin sells various flavors of hopia. I recommend the “pastillas ube” hopia, which is my favorite hopia. I suggest that you stay away from the “pandan” hopia.

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2. Polland is the next best shop that sells hopia. Polland also sells other Chinese delicacies like Eng Bee Tin. Polland shop is located along Escolta, right after you crossed the Pasig River via Jones Bridge. Another Polland shop is also located near the Binondo Church. The hopia that I recommend is the Red Mongo Hopia, which I think is the best hopia in this shop.

3. Salazar Bakery is located in Binondo Chinatown and has branches in other places. As a bakery, this shop sells various kinds of bread. Actually, I have never bought anything from Salazar Bakery. However, my friend Anney recommends their hopiang baboy (pork hopia). If I ever get a chance, I will buy their hopiang baboy to know if it is really delicious.

So, those are the shops that sell the best tasting hopia in Manila. I am sure that there still many shops that I failed to mention and many of you might disagree. If you know of other shops that sell hopia, I suggest that you leave a comment about that shop so that if I will know where to buy my next hopia.

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Pasalubong

Pasalubong is a Filipino tradition of bringing home items after a vacation or a journey from faraway places. An example is whenever I travel to various places; I made it a habit to bring home some pasalubong. For instance, when I visited Mactan Island and Cebu City, I brought home broas, dried mangoes and danggit. Also, when I visited Davao, I brought home the local delicacies there like durian and durian candy.

Bringing pasalubong for your family and love ones is a good tradition because people who came from far places are bringing tokens or items that will also make the people back home experience a little bit about the place that you visited. Like many traditions, pasalubong is also abused and there are people who care more about the pasalubong than the person bringing the pasalubong.

If you are a Filipino, then I am sure that you either brought home pasalubong or received pasalubong from your family and friends.

Foods, especially sweets, are the usual pasalubong items. Other pasalubong items are key chains and other small souvenir items that are not heavy on the pocket. I have a friend who buys key chains as his pasalubong for his office mates.

What if you are in Metro Manila and you want to bring home pasalubong when you go home. Where can you find great pasalubong? Here are few of the shops that I can recommend.

1. Dolor's Kakanin - this is the shop famous for its sapin sapin, which is a kind of kakanin that is a mixture of various kakanin. Dolor's sapin sapin has ube halaya, malagkit, and other kakanin that are suitable pasalubong. Aside from sapin-sapin, Dolor's sells other kakanin like puto, kutsinta and ube halaya. Dolor’s sapin-sapin is in demand during holiday seasons like Christmas and New Year. During the holiday seasons, I suggest that you call Mommy’s Pride first to reserve a sapin-sapin. See Dolor's Kakanin website for more info about their available pasalubong.
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Dolor's sapin sapin

2. SM Hypermarkets – if you want a convenient place to buy your sweet pasalubongs, then I suggest that you visit SM Malls that have SM Hypermarkets. SM Hypermarket is the supermarket of SM Malls and they have booths there that sell kakanin and other food pasalubong.

3. Local markets – puto, kutsinta, and other kakanin can also be bought from local palengke (supermarkets) around Metro Manila. Most of the kakanin in the local markets are home-made but cheaper as compared to the ones in Mommy’s Pride and SM Hypermarkets. If you are in a tight budget, I suggest that you buy your pasalubong in the local markets.

4. Goldilocks – this is a cake shop that expanded their offerings. Now, Goldilocks also sell the usual pasalubong items like puto and kutsinta. They also have pulburon (polvoron) which is a kind of candy made from powdered milk. There are many Goldilocks shop around Metro Manila so it is convenient to buy your pasalubong there. Visit Goldilocks' website for more info.

5. House of Polvoron – if you are wishing to make pulburon (polvoron) as your pasalubong when you leave Manila, then I suggest that you buy your pasalubong in House of Polvoron. This shop sells the best polvoron in Metro Manila. The problem is that there is not much booth of House of Polvoron because they can only be found in selected malls around Metro Manila. However, I like their polvoron and their polvoron is better than the one I tasted in Goldilocks. Visit House of Polvoron website for more info.

So there! Those are some of the shops around Metro Manila where you can buy pasalubong. If you are a foreigner visiting Manila, then I suggest that you bring home our best pasalubong items, especially the kakanin. Let you family and friends have a taste of Filipino sweets.

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Chef Tony's Popping Popcorn

Last Saturday, my brother brought home another Chef Tony’s Popcorn. This is the second time that my brother brought home this kind of popcorn. I am not complaining, but rather, I am glad that his pasalubong is Chef Tony’s Popcorn, even if we are not in the cinemas.

The very first puffed corn that I tasted from Chef Tony’s is the Dark Chocolate (with honey roasted almonds) flavor. At first, I thought that I will never like that kind of popcorn because it will be both sweet and salty. I am not fan of sweet and salty foods because I remember the boiled kamoteng kahoy (tapioca) that was both mixed with salt and sugar.
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Chef Tony's Dark Chocolate

The Chef Tony’s Dark Chocolate popcorn is just fine and suited my taste buds. The sweet flavor overpowered the salty taste that’s why I liked it.
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Actually, it is yummy. The photo is just bad. :-P

Last Saturday, my brother brought White Country Cheddar flavor, and I also liked it.

Now I wonder when my brother will bring home another Chef Tony’s Popcorn.

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Visit Before the Eastern Sunset and read my prayers for the All Soul’s Day.

Also visit Digital Think Tank and read about a possible reason why your blog display public service ads from Adsense.

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Drinking My First Vodka

There are always drinking sprees whenever my friends have outings and gatherings. Our trip to Lucban for the Pahiyas Festival is not an exception. Since the morning of the festival, some of my friends are already thinking what they want to drink for the night. By chance, my friends discovered Antonov Vodka from a promo girl in Lucban.

It is my first time to drink Antonov Vodka that night and I have no complaint. The apple flavor is just fine and the vodka’s spirit is not that strong. Antonov Vodka is so light that I could even empty one bottle of it in just one swig. We had a good time drinking without any of us getting drunk. We finished about 20 bottles of Antonov Vodka.
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Antonov Vodka, apple flavor.

I like the apple flavor of Antonov Vodka but its peach flavor sucks. First, peach flavor Antonov Vodka’s spirit is stonger than the apple flavored ones. The peach flavor also does not enhance the taste of the vodka.

If my friends will look for vodka, then I will not hesitate to recommend Antonov Vodka. However, I will just recommend the apple-flavored vodka and not the peach-flavored one.

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Visit Before the Eastern Sunset and read about my experience with extortionists and the Budol-Budol Gang.

Image of Anotonov Vodka is from Totoo.com.

Sbarro Pizza

Last weekend, I finally got the chance to taste a pizza at Sbarro. One of my good friends told me that she found Sbarro’s pizza as delicious. I took her word since she is a pizza fanatic and had eaten on the different restaurants serving pizzas. Before Sbarro, I have already tasted the pizza offered by Pizza Hut, Shakey’s Pizza, Dominoes Pizza, Greenwich Pizza, 3M, and other small time pizza companies.

Sbarro Restaurant

Sbarro is not only limited to pizza but also have other food like pasta, lasagna, salads, and desserts. Their branches could be found on major mall throughout Metro Manila. The branch that I visited is the Sbarro that is located inside SM Megamall.
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Unlike in Shakey’s, where the waiters and waitresses will come to give you the menu and take your order, you have to go the counter and tell the Sbarro crew your. The set-up is very much like in the local fastfoods like McDonalds and Jollibee, sans the long queue.

The Food

I was surprised that the whole pizza in Sbarro is quite large. A slice is just enough to fill my hunger. Even the serving of coke is large than the ones offered in other restaurants.

I ordered a slice of Hawaiian pizza for me, and a slice of Pepperoni pizza for my friend who is with me. The Hawaiian pizza is good but the Pepperoni taste better.  A slice of pizza cost 110 Philippine pesos, which is not bad considering that the food is good. I did not order their pasta or lasagna so I can’t make a review of them here.

The Verdict

Sbarro is a nice restaurant and their pizza is nice. Because of this, I will definitely place Sbarro to my list of nice restaurants in Metro Manila. My good pizza fanatic friend is not mistaken in telling me that Sbarro’s pizzas are delicious. However, I still believe that Shakey’s pizza is better.