For the love of food: Valentine's Day 'FebIbig' feast to have and hold
MANILA, Philippines — This weekend is going to be super busy for most people since apart from Chinese New Year, Valentine's Day comes two days after.
Whether you are celebrating self-love or is spending the day with loved ones, here are some options you can check out to make staying at home or dining out extra special.
Use your relationship status to get food delivery discounts
This February, set the mood (and the table) by having your go-to food orders delivered right to your doorstep in 20 minutes or less. Whether you’re raising your glass to romance or celebrating your independence, fill your heart with warmth and your belly with food you love the most using Foodpanda’s hearty deals and discounts.
Starting February 13 to 20, splurge on a rich meal and use the special Valentine’s codes depending on your relationship status: SINGLE, TAKEN, or it’s COMPLICATED to enjoy exclusive discounts.
Order from Goldilocks’ selection of cakes and snacks all at 20% off. Aside from the 20% off, you can apply your complicated status by using the code COMPLICATED to get additional P38 off for a minimum order of P234 (valid all day for food delivery).
Nothing quite expresses the burning passion of the heart than giving your loved one his/her favorite milk tea drink. Taste love in a cup with Macao Imperial Tea’s special Valentine’s Bundle on foodpanda. A bundle perfect for your taken heart, use the code TAKEN to get P143 off for a minimum order of P699 (valid all day for food delivery).
This Valentine’s, find serenity when you get Serenitea fix on a Buy-1-Take-1 offer through the Love Bundles promo. Choices include the Emperor Milktea and the Hokkaido Espresso, among others. Find self love, and order two milk teas for yourself by using the code SINGLE to get P111 off for a minimum order of P499 (valid all day for food delivery).
As the food delivery service continues to help the food and beverage industry survive and thrive in the new normal, the on-demand food delivery service takes a moment to honor the outstanding establishments that embody the inspiring Filipino traits of determination and resilience.
“Cooking and concocting something new is a way of life for food and beverage businesses, but the recent year proved to be a test of their character that was beyond their comfort zone. Through pandawards, we are able to highlight inspiring figures whose hard work, creativity, and positive attitude led to their success. Their stories are an inspiration for homegrown and start-up brands in fighting and winning in the business,” said Daniel Marogy, foodpanda Philippines managing director.
In true food delivery fashion, the awards were delivered straight to the winners in their award-winning food establishments. G Who and Zyberus of Filipino beatbox group Microphone Mechanics, disguised as foodpanda riders out to pick up orders, before dropping the beat in an impromptu awarding ceremony. Here are the best of the best, according to customers:
- Summa Cum Panda Award: 24 Chicken (one of the best-sellers is the Jack Daniels Chicken or boneless deep-fried chicken tossed in a special Jack Daniels sauce)
- Sarap na Binabalik-balikan Award: Mark & Grace Bakeshop (popular for its hopia ube topped with sesame seeds, the hulking Spanish bread and the must-try crunchy fried ube)
- Diskartepreneur Award: Jackson’s Fried Chicken (known for its chicken popcorn and "winning" take on the Pinoy spaghetti).
- Juan for All, All for Juan Award: Yumzie (Yumzie’s selling point is a hodgepodge of intensely savory snacks from siomai to shanghai, fries to smoothies, and other affordable selection of snacks.)
- Go Forth and Multiply Award: EmoTEAra Cafe (Owner Jeffrey made sure to help his family and friends during the roughest stretch of the pandemic last year by giving them branches of his business.)
Bring the world's love capital to your home
Staying true to its name (Bizu is coined from bisou, the French word for “kiss”), the French-inspired restaurant and catering chain showcases love and affection with beautifully packaged Valentine-themed treats for this special occasion.
The brand celebrates love with two signature Valentine’s Day cakes. Exclusive to this time of the year, the Romance Cake is made with layers of dark chocolate ganache, crème brûlée and caramel, generously topped with farm-fresh local strawberries.
The special edition Valentine’s Day drip cake, La Vie en Rose (Life in Pink) is flavored with strawberry sauce and rose essence and dripping with Chantilly cream. This heart-shaped creation is decorated with lavish toppings of fresh strawberries, meringue and petit Macaron de Paris.
The special Valentine’s edition Macaron de Paris, dubbed “Valentin,” is a bite-sized ruby-red delight of award-winning Malagos Chocolate ganache with strawberry filling, dipped in chocolate playfully dusted with praline. For those who love a classic confection, there's the Chocolate Dipped Imported Strawberries available in heart-shaped packages of three, five and 10 pieces.
The Love Boxes are a modern take on the classic love letter. Chocolate Dipped Imported Strawberries, Valentin Macaron de Paris, forever flowers, or a bottle of a miniature Moet & Chandon Champagne Rose Imperial are just some of the products that can make your loved ones' Valentines a memorable experience. Choose from nine different Love Boxes and have them delivered on time for Valentines, available until February 15. The Date Boxes combine the best-selling dishes from the brand's restaurant and catering menu into a beautiful box complete with all courses. Indulge in the iconic 10-hour Roast Beef, Linguine Truffle pasta, and Halibut in Dill Beurre Blanc sauce. All these are available via bizu.ph, any of its branches, or via 0915-3006082.
New twist on Valentine Black Forest
Love leads us to the delightful discovery of new traits and qualities that make us fall even more in love every day. While 2020 brought with it its own set of challenges to all our relationships — family, friends and significant others, it also allowed us to rediscover the many things that we love and continue to love about them.
With Valentine’s Day being just around the corner, for many people, this creates the perfect chance to express their love in the most special ways to those that matter the most.
Red Ribbon has always been a part of many people’s Valentine celebrations with its beautifully crafted cake for the occasion — the heart-shaped Valentine Black Forest! This year, the brand amps it up as it weaves in the All-New Ruby Chocolate in its specially baked creation to give this year’s Valentine’s Day a new flavor.
Offering a new taste experience, Ruby Chocolate is known to be the world’s fourth kind of chocolate - next to milk, dark, and white - and also known as the biggest innovation in chocolate in the last 80 years. Ruby Chocolate’s signature blend of fresh fruitiness and luscious smoothness provides a new and exciting chocolate taste experience to all chocolate lovers.
With the incorporation of this special ingredient in this year’s limited-edition Valentine Black Forest, the new cake features layers of decadent, moist chocolate fudge cake, creamy icing, topped with Maraschino cherries and of course, the limited-edition Ruby Chocolate to add that romantic, sophisticated, and exciting touch to a classic favorite.
Along with the launch of this limited-edition product, the brand also released a new video material starring its Valentine Black Forest cake ambassador, Paulo Avelino. The limited-edition Valentine Black Forest cake will be available in all of the brand's stores nationwide from February 12 to 14.
Have a classic chic(k) date
Share the love with family and those dearest to you this coming season of hearts as Mang Inasal offers the Valentine edition of its Take-out and Delivery Blowout deal — from February 5 to 19.
Get a free one-piece Chicken Inasal Large for every takeout or delivery order of Chicken Inasal Family Size Large. Priced starting at P355, the Family Size comes with four pieces of Chicken Inasal Large Paa or Pecho, original or spicy. The freebie will be the same variant as the type of Family Size purchased.
Customers can buy only up to a maximum of three orders of Chicken Inasal Family Size Large meals per transaction. This is to allow more customers to enjoy the Blowout treat.
Have your orders delivered via GrabFood or foodpanda. For takeout, go to Mang Inasal's Facebook page for the list of stores you can visit, or join its Viber community for more deals.
Write your feelings on a bar
Toblerone ups the ante of VDay by providing a means for its loyal customers and Filipinos who have been giving this heavenly bar every heart's day yearly to share their thoughts and feelings.
By this Valentine’s Day, it’s been almost a year since some Filipinos have seen and spent time with their loved ones. People have been staying at home as much as possible and have avoided congregating in big groups to help flatten the curve. Due to the pandemic, everyone has missed out on many opportunities to bond and show thoughtfulness to those they care about.
For a limited time only, the chocolate brand is offering a special Valentine’s Day gift for your loved ones through its special vouchers that promise to make up for the lost time we all missed last year. Each voucher represents a coupon that gives your loved ones a pass for bonding moments like having a movie night, preparing homemade dinner, or outdoor vacation. Through these special packs, you can send a unique touch through personalized messages in the notecard section.
The confectionery label partnered with Designer Blooms for flower bundles that include fresh flowers and plush toys. The Limited Edition Thoughtful Toblerone Vouchers are available in 100g (P106), 200g (P206), and 360g (P400).
Give from the heart
The pandemic may have changed the way we connect with our loved ones. But we know, love surely endures. The virtue of giving has not left people’s hearts and minds. People still find it in their hearts to see the bigger picture by donating to good causes, sending care packages, and expressing their thoughts for the people they can’t physically reach. As simple as these gestures may be, they are grounded in sincerity. That’s why this Valentine’s Day, Cadbury Dairy Milk encourages everyone to give from the heart with the limited-edition Valentine products.
Through simple yet meaningful and sincere gestures such as gifting everyone’s favorite chocolate, you can share the love, and put a smile on people’s faces. Featuring the chocolate brand's Valentine’s Pop-heart bar, you can share the love in a unique way by quite literally popping a heart out of the chocolate bar. The brand will also feature chocolate bars with designed sleeves, where you can add your own sweet and personal message.
“This Valentine’s Day may be different, but we can still show people we care about them whilst social distancing. We know people are still very eager to spread the love, and no gesture is too small as long as it comes from the heart.” Stefano Andrei Soriano, Mondelez Philippines Chocolates Category Lead said
Ring in VDay with 'sorbetero' treats
Across our islands, the ringing of the sorbetero bell would make one immediately head outside, towards the cart filled with sorbetes to enjoy this treasured treat that is uniquely Filipino. But what happens when during the pandemic, where lockdowns and shutdowns are common, these iconic carts cannot visit your area?
With this in mind, C. Valley Creamery’s chief Sorbetero, Paul Perez went to work to recreate this traditional delight, crafting a new premium ice cream that brings the familiar goodness of the street sorbetes, without having to wait for the sorbetero’s cart to pass.
Aptly called Kalye Sorbetes, it is produced in small batches, to ensure every batch is fresh to be enjoyed across the metro.
For its maiden offering, five flavors – all named – you guessed it right – after main Metro Manila streets or areas. Chocolocan is an exquisite milk-chocolate flavor using local tablea topped with choco bits! Manggahan is an all-out mango flavor with dried mango bits, celebrating the true flavor of the national fruit. Ubelt celebrates the Pinoys love for Ube Halaya – and is matched with cheddar cheese bits. Quezo Avenue is an ode to the quintessential cheese flavor peddled by the tireless sorbeteros while coffee takes center stage with Kape Del Pan, an Arabica beans flavor matched with some bread bits, a very Filipino habit of dipping bread in their coffee. All these flavors can be ordered via the brand’s Facebook or Instagram page (@kalyesorbetes) and it will be delivered the following day.
Valentine’s Day is coming up – and your neighborhood ice cream shop has something different to offer. Papa Diddi’s, the homegrown brand who prefers making ice cream handcrafted, is offering new flavors plus a sundae board to match. Paul Perez, the company’s chief sorbetero shares that “It’s similar to your cheese board, except that we replaced your favorite cheese with different topping to push your ice cream experience to a higher level."
For Valentine’s, Papa Diddi’s prepared three types of Sundae boards: "Me, Myself & I" is for those who are going solo (the ice cream is made of chocolates from Malagos and studded with bits of red velvet cookies, baked in the creamery’s own bakeshop. For the board, this is matched with marshmallows, choco bits, mini pretzels, nuts and home baked peanut butter cookies); Couple Date with different flavors: the Valentines regular Pure Love (white chocolate ice cream flavor with roasted strawberries) and a new release called Cookie Butter (a Biscoff-flavored ice cream). The Couple Date boards include Lengua de Gato, Choco Chip cookies, nuts, choco bits, marshmallows, coated chocolates and mini pretzels.
Meanwhile, the Third Wheel sundae board includes all the goodness in the Couple Date board plus a new flavor called Burnt Honey, brought in from Palawan. To order, visit Papadiddis.net/order-now or 09178823434. Advance booking required.
Safety assured for buffet lovers
A restaurant in Seda Vertis North is now open for dinners who wanted to indulge with sumptuous buffet without worrying about the COVID-19.
Open only at lunch from Thursday to Sunday for now, Seda Vertis North’s serviced buffet curated by the culinary team of the Misto outlet is back and has been busy, attesting to clients’ confidence in its health and safety protocols.
However, only half of its seating capacity is available in deference to social distancing thus diners have made sure to book in advance.
Part of the buffet includes homemade honey-glazed ham and premium roast beef as well as 30 other dishes, including Asian specials like laksa, tempura and handmade noodles, and all-time Filipino favorites kare-kare, crispy pata, callos and lengua.
“We relish these times when what matters most is being together just like good old times. The only difference is greater mindfulness on our part to make our guests feel comfortable and safe while making the best of the holiday season, staying connected and just being together over a meal,” Seda marketing and sales director Cinty Yniguez said.
For its health assurance to its patrons, servers and food handlers, and safety systems have focused on ensuring that contact with handles, plates and serving utensils is limited only to the certified employees confined by dividers within the food preparation area. As a diner goes through the buffet line, he does not touch any serving utensil but only points to the dishes he wants.
Waiters serve at the table of guests the current buffet favorite -- individual servings of churrascaria style barbecue skewers pre-selected at the buffet line by the diner, grilled to perfection then plated to feast the eyes.
Last New Year’s Day, the hotel's executive chef Kerpatrik Boiser served porchetta or slow-roasted rolled pork belly flavored with lemongrass and topped with crackling pork skin in addition to all of the above. The holiday spirit will also be captured by the hotel's homemade bibingka and puto bumbong as well as moist chocolate cake, mousses and a variety of fruits.
New Yakiniku to open on Valentine's Day
A new yakiniku, hot pot and buffet restaurant will open on Valentine’s Day at SM North Towers, offering the first 50 customers free of charge while the rest of the diners on that day will enjoy 50% discount.
Hosaku International Buffet promises to bring new experiences of being able to harvest a holistic gastronomic journey to Filipino diners.
Meaning a “bountiful harvest” in Japanese, the whole Hosaku experience is a harvest of many things. A grand buffet of internationally-inspired food, it is a harvest or gathering of only-of-its-kind food stations and its over 30-meter-long conveyor looping around the area to bring its sumptuous dishes right next to you.
For safety measures, however, the conveyor will not be utilized for the meantime to reduce contact between guests.
Argentinian cuisine and heritage of hospitality
El Gaucho Argentinian Steakhouse restaurant is not just another restaurant concept. It is a unique, family operated business founded on the established tradition of "gaucho" grilling,
The family of the founder and CEO Dany Himi is strongly committed to running this successful restaurant operation. The owner’s sons and brothers are at the helm in top executive positions at the restaurants' branches worldwide.
Over the past 10 years, El Gaucho is proud to have seen 3.8 million customers walk through our doors, serve up more than 1,000 tons of the highest quality cuts of beef and indulge in 650,000 liters of its signature El Caramel vodka. The owner’s well-balanced mix of market knowledge and experience, highly professional team, and most importantly, intimate understanding of today’s client demands - has proved to be the silver bullet for propelling the growth of the restaurant brand.
With 17 successfully established venues and three more on the horizon in Vietnam, Thailand, The Philippines, and Hong Kong, plus Slovakia and soon the Czech Republic on the old continent, El Gaucho is found in the Philippines at Ground Floor Trump Tower At Century City, Kalayaan Avenue, Salamanca Street, Poblacion, Makati City, and in 5th Avenue, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City.
The owner Dany Himi reveals how he feels about the hospitality business he has been mastering for several decades: "I have been in the food and beverage business for quite some time now and this is where my true passion lies. Living this kind of passion is of course work, and it’s hard work, to say the least, but when I see my guests walking out of the restaurant fully satisfied, I feel the actual reward. I am often asked about our unique concept of the restaurant, the style we bring...To be honest, I am not a man who overthinks things and spends hours on end on a possible interpretation. I like it straight forward. I am serving the best quality products, pairing steakhouse classics with a modern culinary approach and elevating the standard of service, wine, and dining experience."
To support this increasing request, Vietnam, Thailand, Philippines and Hong Kong locations have launched their own online shop offering the full assortment of fresh and cooked meats, menu items, and wines, plus our signature El Caramel vodka, souvenirs and digital gift cards.
Chomp on meaty burgers
Aedan's Burger combines value and quality for its burger concept. From burgers to rice meals and combo meals, enjoy Aedan's Burger offerings all at below P200. Using fresh local ingredients, each burger is handcrafted and loaded with an oversized beef patty topped with crisp lettuce, onions, cucumber and tomatoes, slathered with the brand's proprietary "secret sauce" on a freshly baked bun. Burgers can be customized by choosing your own garnish. Pair this with the Triple F Fresh French Fries.
The diner offers seven burger variants, from the basic Hamburger and Cheeseburger to the hefty Double Wouble and Krunchy Chicken Burger. There's also Awesome Hawaiian Burger and Baconic Burger. Visit aedansburger.com or drop by the store at 92C K-1st Street corner Judge Jimenez, Kamuning, Quezon City.
