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

Quick service restaurant giant McDonald’s today announced it will soon start serving half-rice to customers in response to the government’s call to help conserve the country’s rice supply.

In a statement, McDonald’s Vice President for Marketing Margot Torres said the decision came after Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap and Malacanang officials called on Filipinos to help in government efforts to avert a possible rice crisis.

Since early March, rice prices have been steadily rising reportedly because of global shortage in supply.

McDonald’s is one of the first restaurant chains to express support to the government’s call.

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Heaven in a Box is a superb bake shop that really ought to have their own mall franchise. There are two things that make their goodies worth five stars in my book: the quality of their food and the value for your money. Most bake shops charge you an arm, a leg, and a pound of flesh for a small cookie that’s barely satisfying. But not only does Heaven in a Box charge very reasonable prices for their ensaymada, brownies, and cookies. One bite is enough to tell you that they are made out of high-quality ingredients you wouldn’t get from other pastries of the same price.
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Sometimes, you just have to go out of your way for the best coffee and dessert in town. Kohikan is the Diamond Hotel’s coffee shop, well-renowned for their award-winning ensaymada and rich, brewed-by-hand coffee made from organic coffee beans. Kohikan coffee blends are uniquely different from the Starbucks variety. There’s the Sumibi, their best-selling brew with an unforgettable aroma and distinct, bold and bitter flavor. If you like your coffee mild, the Kageboshi blend is roasted with coffee fruits to give you that natural, semi-sweet flavor. Finally, there’s the Emerald Mountain, made out of nothing but top quality beans with a twist of sourness and mildness.

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At 6 am on March 28, 2008 (Friday), the doors of Krispy Kreme Ayala Branch will be open to everyone, making this the sixth Krispy Kreme store in the Philippines. Make sure you’re there before the store opens because the very first customer to ring the cash register will win a YEAR’S supply of Original Glazed donuts (one dozen donuts per week). The second customer will get six months’ supply (a dozen donuts per week) and the third customer will get three months’ supply (one dozen per week). The fourth to 300th customer will get a month’s supply of Original Glazed donuts (one dozen per week).

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Banoffee pies were made popular in the Philippines by Starbucks about over a year ago and shortly after everyone started raving about it, other bakeshops started coming up with their own version of the banana, toffee, and chocolate dessert. Red Ribbon has their own cake-sized version of the pie (as opposed to the Starbucks one, which was about as compact as a small plate) and yesterday, I got to try it out for the first time.

What I like about the Red Ribbon Banoffee Pie is that it’s not cloyingly sweet - you can eat about two slices without feeling sick. The sugar in the graham cracker crust gets neutralized by the bananas and is complemented by the toffee and the chocolate. I don’t like how the first half of the cake is made up of a thick layer of whipped cream though; I feel like there should be more bananas and toffee in there. Overall, it’s not a very bad buy if you want to keep a stock of banoffee in your house. One pie costs around Php 590.

To say that Mr. Kabab is one my favorite restaurants is an understatement. It’s the kind of place where, when you suddenly get the craving for their delicious chelo beef kababs, you would find a way to commute or drive there no matter what part of the city you’re at. Part of why I love Mr. Kabab so much is because of the price range of their food. Most Persian/Mediterranean restaurants will charge you an arm, a leg, and a pound of flesh for a dish, but a meal at Mr. Kabab will only cost you Php 70 - 90. This includes rice, a viand, and a juicy grilled tomato. And where else can you get a cold, creamy, yogurt shake for only 35 pesos?

If you ever pass by Mr. Kabab at West Ave, Quezon City, I highly recommend the dish I always get. The special chelo kabab is made up of two pieces of beef kabab smothered in garlic sauce and butter, two tomatos, and a cup of rice. Nowhere else will you feel obscenely full and satisfied for under a hundred bucks.