Pinoy Food & Other Cuisine :: Food PhotoBlog and Events |

For students on a budget and on a diet (without necessarily wanting to eat nothing), Jollibee’s new line of soups are like manna from heaven.  I’ve always been a big soup nut and I can’t really remember when Jollibee included sopas (macaroni soup, pictured above) and sotanghon (a noodle soup with thin glass noodles) on the menu but I was really happy when they did that.  You can get the soup on its own for 27 pesos or as an add-on to your meal for 25 pesos.  I haven’t tried the sotanghon yet because I don’t really like sotanghon, but the macaroni soup is well worth the price.  It’s got a creamy base, which makes the soup rather filling, and they don’t scrimp on the macaroni, carrots, and meat either.  The sopas is also very flavorful, but I suppose you can attribute that to the MSG.  If you’ve got a small appetite, or are trying to cultivate a small appetite, the macaroni soup alone will keep your tummy quiet for the next few hours.  Just try not to order their extremely crunchy Crispy Fries or their ice cream if you want to maintain that diet.

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Chili crab is not actually a Filipino dish; it’s a Singaporean delicacy and in fact, the first time I ever tried it was when I was at Singapore. Heralded as Singapore’s unofficial national dish, chili crab is cooked in a thick tomato-chili sauce and served with Chinese buns and a nutcracker so you can break the crab’s thick shell. I’m not sure if there are any restaurants in the Philippines that serve Singaporean-style chili crab, but if I find one I’ll blog about it for sure. I’m totally craving for it right now. >_>

Red Horse Extra Strong beer (from the San Miguel Beer Company) is a staple in any Pinoy inuman.  The 330 ml bottle (also known as the “Stallion”) has been around since 1992 and is supposed to sell for around 16 pesos. Of course it’s slightly more expensive than that at supermarkets, bars, and convenience stores but it’s still cheaper than a San Miguel Beer, which costs around 25 pesos (or more if you’re buying from a restaurant).  Part of Red Horse Beer’s popularity is due to the fact that it’s got about 7% alcohol content - perfect for when you want to get pretty wasted on a very low budget.  Personally I’m not a big Red Horse fan because I don’t like how crude it tastes - give me San Miguel Light or Strong Ice any day.  I do drink Red Horse when I’m a little low on cash; two Stallions gives me the buzz of three San Miguel Lights, and the taste is fairly easy to ignore.

Filipinos now have the license to drink and drive.

This never before heard statement was made as Candy Corner unveils its cool selection of Jelly Belly Mocktails. The world’s no. 1 gourmet jellybean ushers in the metro’s favorite party mixes in safe but nonetheless, sexy concoctions.

“Jelly Belly recognizes the fact that drinking alcoholic beverages is already an integral part of Filipino celebrations. However, we also want to make our roads a safer place to stroll. The Jelly Belly Mocktails presents a stylish way for drivers to enjoy the same goodness of their favorite alcoholic drinks without putting lives in peril,” says Ricky Andres, President of Candy Corner.

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The night’s designated driver is no longer the designated loser.

The hottest shindigs have one common element –booze. Unfortunately, most partygoers find the allure of alcohol so irresistible they tend to forget that they have to get behind the wheel and drive home. Vehicular accidents due to drunk driving is more than just a painful hangover with one person dying every 30 minutes, amounting to 17, 000 fatalities annually. Not to mention the 51 billion dollars worth of property becoming unrecognizable scrap material. And with a 2001 World Health Organization survey revealing that 12% of the population are heavy and hazardous drinkers, no one is safe from the next road mishap resulting from an alcohol impaired driver.

And so a hero comes in the persona of the designated driver who swears not to get wasted for the night. But you have to admit – ordering a glass of orange juice isn’t anywhere sexy as compared to a glass of margarita.

Jelly Belly, the world’s #1 gourmet jelly beans, brings back the fun in sobriety with its exciting mix of Jelly Belly non-alcoholic, but still cool, Mocktails. Boasting of real flavors of the party scene’s most beloved cocktail drinks, Jelly Belly Mocktails spare designated drivers the “uncoolness” of ordering a glass of orange juice while everyone is having margaritas and tequila but still spares them from the intoxication of these alcoholic beverages and the tragic stories that may follow on their way home.

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