QUEZON CITY: My Experience of "Foodgasm Goes to Maginhawa"

QUEZON CITY: My Experience at "Foodgasm Goes to Maginhawa"

This event is the 5th installment of the Foodgasm event sponsored by the UP Economics Society. This is to share with you my experience at the Food Tasting Event.

Congratulations to UP Ecosoc for holding a successful and well-organized event!

Apologies for the foggy photos. It was raining during the event and it was hard to take clear photos.

This is my experience of the food event:

AFTER BUYING TICKETS:

We went to the booth to get our passports.

Tickets are attached to our wrists.

We chose which passport we're getting:

Set A, which is the blue one OR
Set B, which is the pink one

Since there were 4 of us, 2 chose set A and 2 chose set B.

So we got to taste both set A and set B.

We were given a sfork and a paper plate together with the passport.

This is Set A

This is Set B.

MECHANICS OF THE FOOD TASTING EVENT

The food participant signs at the box as you claim your food.

SET A

Food Participant: Brazo
Food: Iberian Chicken

Sample of the Iberian Chicken

Food Participant: Crazy Chef
Food: Buffalo Wings

Spicy Buffalo Wings

Not so spicy buffalo wings

Food Participant: Cookie ng Ina Mo
Food: Bomba

Sample of Bomba

Food Participant: Teritopps
Food: TeriFlakes

Food Participant: Maniego's Plate
Food: Fish Stix

Fish Stix

Food Participant: Blush Pastries by H&S
Food: Oreo Cheesecake Cookie

Food Participant: Saj's Cakes and Pastries
Food: Choco Chip Banana Cupcakes

Food Participant: Bagnet Rice Patong
Food: Double Bagnet

Food Participant: Food Clinique
Food: Mac'n Cheese Pops

Food Participant: The Fahrenheit
Food: Silly Chocolate Cupcake

Silly Chocolate Cupcake
It has chili flakes on top.

Food Participant: CJSS Griddle Steak and Chicken House
Food: Honey Bagoong Wings

Honey Bagoong Chicken
It's fried chicken dipped in sweet bagoong.

Food Participant: Dorissimo Cakes
Food: Brown Brazo

Food Participant: Stoners Soul Food to Go
Food: Fried cheese and fried chocolate

Food Participant: Big B Burgers
Food: Hangovurger

Food Participant: Roar Blue Raspberry
Food: Bugle Boy dirnk

Food Participant: Egg-It Asian Street Food
Food: Cucumber Lemonade

SET B

Food Participant: Only the Best Cafe and Dining
Food: Magiting Yum Yum Sandwich

Food Participant: Chewy Treats by Claire
Food: Blueberry Cheesecake

Food Participant: Keyks by Kai
Food: Choco Chip Cookie

Food Participant: Master Bakers
Food: Bacon Banana Bread

Food Participant: Meal Point Burger House
Food: Treasure Burger

Treasure Burger

Food Participant: Don Day
Food: Chicken Toppaki

Chicken Toppaki

Food Participant: Saj's Cakes and Pastries
Food: Chocolate Chip Cookie

Food Participant: Beeth's Oven
Food: Pork and Tofu Sisig

Pork and Tofu Sisig

Food Participant: Lola Seseng
Food: Puto Cake

Puto Cake

Food Participant: Mandi Persian Grill
Food: Beef Kebab

Beef Kebab

The best of all the food I tasted!

Food Participant: FAT Cupcake
Food: Champorado Cupcake

Champorado Cupcake
Yema Pastillas Cupcake

Food Participant: Crazy Chef
Food: Lechon Bagnet

Sample of Lechon Bagnet

Food Participant: Sancho Churreria Manila
Food: Churros Con Chocolate

Churros Con Chocolate

Food Participant: Sugar Mommy
Food: Red Velvet Cake

My review:

1. At 250 pesos per person (200 per person if you buy before the event), this is VALUE FOR MONEY. You're able to taste at least 20 food items from different concessionaires. 

2. This is a great way to get to know new food suppliers based in Maginhawa Street.

My tip:

Bring a friend with you so you can share the food and taste food offered by participants in both sets A and B, unless of course, you're able to finish around 40 bite-sized food items. 

JETSTAR AIRWAYS: Are they Enforcing the Strict Carry-on Bag Weight Policy for Economy Class Passengers?

JETSTAR AIRWAYS: 
Are they Enforcing the Strict Carry-on Bag Weight Policy 
for Economy Class Passengers?

Since November 25, 2014, budget airline Jetstar Airways cut its carry-on baggage weight allowance from 10 kg to 7 kg. Other budget airlines, like Cebu Pacific, weigh only the carry-on bag and exclude additional items such as a handbag, laptop bag and camera bag from the weight restriction. (check out my post Cebu Pacific Carry-On Bag). In real terms, this translates to at least 10 kilos allowed as cabin baggage.

The Jetstar cabin bag crackdown not only reduced the carry-on bag allowance from 10 kg to 7 kg, it also included in the weight restriction all the items you  are carrying with you . This means that they weigh the ff: the carry-on bag (with dimensions that must not exceed 56 cm x 36 cm x 23 cm.) AND all items you'll be carrying inside the plane like your handbag, camera bag, laptop, etc.

ARE THEY ENFORCING THE POLICY? YES!

They require passengers to go to a separate counter to have their cabin baggage and all items they're bringing inside the plane to be tagged. So the cabin officers at the boarding gates can identify if the cabin baggage have been weighed.

This means, whether or not you're checking in at the airport check-in counter, self check-in kiosk, or have done web check-in, you're still required to pass by another counter to have your cabin bag tagged.

MY EXPERIENCE AT MANILA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT:

At Manila International Airport Terminal 1, they put a tag on all your carry-on items while you're in line at the check-in counter. Then when it's your turn to check-in, that's when they weigh all your carry-on items.

If you're in a group, your bags are weighed together and weight allowance is 7 kg multiplied by the number of persons in your group. 

MY EXPERIENCE AT CHANGI AIRPORT

At Changi airport, after checking-in at the airport counter, we go to another counter to have all our carry-on items weighed. If the items/bags meet the weight limit, the items/bags are tagged. If you checked-in at the self check-in kiosk or via web check-in, you still have to pass by this counter to have all your carry-on items tagged. If you don't have your carry-on bags tagged, it will not be allowed onboard the plane.


If you're in a group, your bags are weighed together and weight allowance is 7 kg multiplied by the number of persons in your group. 

The notice at Changi Airport

The notice shown above states:

1. You are allowed only 1 main carry-on baggage and a small item with TOTAL COMBINED WEIGHT of 7 kg.

2. Certis Cisco Security Officers are employed by Jetstar to verify that your carry-on baggage conforms to the baggage policy. 

3. Certis Cisco Security Officers can check your bags at check-in, at entry points to immigration and at the boarding gate. 

4. Bags not tagged will not be allowed onboard.

What the tag looks like

BONIFACIO GLOBAL CITY: Complimentary Degustation to usher the New Aubergine Restaurant

BONIFACIO GLOBAL CITY:

Complimentary Degustation

to usher the New L'Aubergine Restaurant

Last June, my husband and I were invited to sample the latest 9-course Degustation Menu before the new Aubergine opens to the public.

As stated in the invitation, Aubergine was closed for the past 6 months to develop the new menu and to expand their service to include breakfast, afternoon tea and dinner. Before opening it to the public, they decided to have some of their patrons sample the new Degustation menu.

We were lucky to be among those invited to sample the new Degustation Menu. And it didn't disappoint.

AMUSE BOUCHE

We decided to order a glass of wine each of
2013 BERINGER PINOT GRIGIO
to pair with the following meals

(320 pesos per glass)
(not included in the complimentary meal)

TOMATO JELLY
with
Fresh goat cheese (the white dot)
Basil (the green dot)

TOMATO-CRAB MILLE FEUILLE
Arugula, avocado, mango

(It means thin layers of tomato-crab, arugula, avocado, mango)

CURED SALMON
cucumber tea, pickled gherkins, horseradish granite

(The horseradish granite is the snow-like  topping.)

FOIE GRAS SYMPHONY
foie gras, veal aspic, chocolate, beetroot, brioche

(The foie gras is the cream sauce.)
(Veal aspic is veal stock set in gelatin.)

CHICKEN RAVIOLO
Chicken wing confit, mushroom nage, savoy cabbage

(Chicken wing confit is slowly cooked chicken wing.)
(Mushroom nage means mushroom flavored liquid.)

BUTTER POACHED GIANT PRAWN
Black pepper corn sauce, coconut foam

APPLE SORBET
Cilantro coulis, apple caviar

(Cilantro coulis is a thick sauce made from pureed and strained cilantro.)
(Apple caviar is an apple solution made into shapes of caviar,
which is an example of molecular gastronomy.)

We decided to order a glass of wine each of
2012 LAYER CAKE CABERNET SAUVIGNON
to pair with the Iberian Pork.

(650 pesos per glass)
(not included in the complimentary meal)

This wine was recommended by the waiter and perfectly pairs with the pork.

IBERIAN PORK
Cheek, Belly, Secreto, braised vegetables, pommes maxin, truffle jus

(This menu is composed of different parts of the Iberian pork.
It allows you to taste the different textures and tenderness of the different parts of the pork.

The best part is the SECRETO.
It is so tender because it's marbled with fat on the surface.)

PINEAPPLE CONFIT
Dehydrated banana milkshake, orange soup

CHOCOLATE REBEL
Chocolate trilogy, stracciatella ice cream, salted caramel, roasted almond flakes

It's called Chocolate trilogy because of the 3 layers of chocolate.
The stracciatella ice cream is a gelato made of milk ice cream with chocolate chips.

Coffee
Petit fours, chocolates