Ever since I let go of my 5am to 2pm workshift and started working for a PR firm I've become more selective of events I would go to. I prefer to steer clear of events that go well into the night especially on workdays, even more so when it will be held somewhere far. I also began to cherish my weekends more as these are the only two days I can exercise my right to be a slob rest at home and play Chefville to my heart's content. But when I received an invite to go on a foodtrip out of town, I just had to say yes!
I woke up early last Saturday to prepare and go to our meetup place in TriNoma as I was so excited. It helped that I wore an outfit that I think looked cute ;p A little after 11am, we reached Marquee Mall.
Approximately an hour's drive from Manila, Marquee Mall is a regional shopping center that brings together a "rich and unique experience reminiscent of a town plaza infused with an urban vibe." Its contemporary indoor and outdoor design provides a perfect setting that showcases an exciting mix of popular and specialty stores of local and international fashion brands, fastfood outlets, restaurants, four digital cinemas, cafés, and entertainment centers. It actually reminded me of TriNoma but I am not sure which of the two is bigger.
Ayala Malls and MNL-MRM made sure the trip was worth it, as we visited and ate at 17 restaurants/ dessert places that day! Yup, you read that right, 17! Some of the restaurants can be found in Manila while some are unique only in Pampanga, and they all presented to us their specialties or the newest additions to their menu. My tummy loved it!
Ladies and gents, I hope you're not feeling hungry when you come across this post. Prepare for food photos overload as I present to you our itinerary that day:
To be honest, I don't like Japanese food that much and I don't eat mayo. I've also never eaten sushi in my life so I only got to taste the Chicken Teriyaki (which is really good!) and the Classic Milk Tea. I wanted to try the Red Kimochi but I don't want to to go through the event with an upset stomach if it doesn't fare well with the other dishes ;p
That's a LOT! What an overload, indeed! This feast (which comes with a free pitcher of iced tea) costs P1,888 and is good for 12 persons. Good for a mini party, yes?
I especially liked the tender boneless short plate steak, I could eat it all day ♥ Each "feast" costs P1,125. Perfect for three to four people.
Out of all the restaurants we visited that day, this one beats all the restaurants we visited that day when it comes to production design. The owners were also very hospitable and answered all our questions patiently. They say that your Pampanga experience is not complete without eating frogs or crickets, but (no offense to those who did and enjoyed it!) I just couldn't picture myself eating those. Sure, I've eaten frogs before (they taste like chicken) but I thought of Kermit that day and begged off haha.
Although I think Aria Cucina Italiana's Rucola e pinoli pizza is still my favorite, I still enjoyed this new offering by Pizza Hut. All those cheesy goodness! Sigh, I love.
Again, I don't like Japanese food that much so I didn't get to taste almost everything in this selection save for the Yakisoba, which I liked. I forgot to check if they have katsu, but I woud've preferred to taste that instead.
We were already almost bursting at this point so we just requested for the waiters to brown bag everything as we didn't want the food to go to waste. I got to take home one whole chicken and my family loved it. Thanks, Classic Savory!
Finally, desserts! I love Buko Pandan but I have the tendency to get sick of the taste pretty easily. I couldn't get enough of Nathaniel's Buko Pandan, though. It's just so good! Unlike others, it's not too sweet so you just want to have scoop after scoop of it. Try it to see what I mean!
What sets Kabigting's Halo-Halo apart from the rest is the fact they use pastillas instead of sugar as sweetener. I don't know whether I prefer this from the regular halo-halo found in Manila... I better try it again just to be sure ;p
Heaven in mini cups of vanilla-choco banana and strawberry-and-cheese, I tell ya. ♥
My tummy and I really had a great time sampling all of Marquee Mall's newest and best offerings. I wish we did a weigh-in before and after so we can gauge whether we gained weight =^_^= I'm typing this now while munching on sweets from Honey & Daisy's and Carreon's, want some?
Glad to have met new people from other parts of the Philippine blogosphere, too!
Now when my friends and I go on a roadtrip to the North, I hope we can drop by Marquee so I can show them around and make them eat frogs and crickets at Apag Marangle. Thank you so much, Marquee Mall and MNL-MRM for this one-of-a-kind experience!
PS: Help me improve my blog by voting on a poll at the upper-right corner of this website? Thanks! ♥
I woke up early last Saturday to prepare and go to our meetup place in TriNoma as I was so excited. It helped that I wore an outfit that I think looked cute ;p A little after 11am, we reached Marquee Mall.
Approximately an hour's drive from Manila, Marquee Mall is a regional shopping center that brings together a "rich and unique experience reminiscent of a town plaza infused with an urban vibe." Its contemporary indoor and outdoor design provides a perfect setting that showcases an exciting mix of popular and specialty stores of local and international fashion brands, fastfood outlets, restaurants, four digital cinemas, cafés, and entertainment centers. It actually reminded me of TriNoma but I am not sure which of the two is bigger.
Ayala Malls and MNL-MRM made sure the trip was worth it, as we visited and ate at 17 restaurants/ dessert places that day! Yup, you read that right, 17! Some of the restaurants can be found in Manila while some are unique only in Pampanga, and they all presented to us their specialties or the newest additions to their menu. My tummy loved it!
Ladies and gents, I hope you're not feeling hungry when you come across this post. Prepare for food photos overload as I present to you our itinerary that day:
Friday's
Boneless Buffalo Bites | Baby Back Ribs
Red Kimono
Crispy Prawn and Dilis Maki
loaded with prawn and sweet crispy dilis then sprinkled with white sesame seeds
Okonomiyaki
made with shredded cabbage, shrimps, bacon bits, corn kernels, Japanese mayo and tonkatsu sauce
Chicken Teriyaki
grilled chicken in Red Kimono's signature teriyake sauce served with potato hay
Red Kimochi Ice Cream | Classic Milk Tea
To be honest, I don't like Japanese food that much and I don't eat mayo. I've also never eaten sushi in my life so I only got to taste the Chicken Teriyaki (which is really good!) and the Classic Milk Tea. I wanted to try the Red Kimochi but I don't want to to go through the event with an upset stomach if it doesn't fare well with the other dishes ;p
Seafood Island
Sizzling Plate Overload
Lechon Manok Inasal, Seafood Tortang Talong, Tocino BBQ, Classic Bagnet, Grilled Ulang, Pancit Macau, Crispy Sisig Rice, Ensaladang Mangga, Ensaladang Lato, Itlog na Maalat at Kamatis, Binagoongang Baboy
That's a LOT! What an overload, indeed! This feast (which comes with a free pitcher of iced tea) costs P1,888 and is good for 12 persons. Good for a mini party, yes?
Italianni's
Country Classic
Tender boneless short plate, Grilled Chicken, Creamy Marinara Pasta with smoked salmon and bell peppers
Farmer's Feast
Tender slow braised Baby Back Ribs with Bourbon Sauce, Herb Roasted Chicken, Aglio Olio
I especially liked the tender boneless short plate steak, I could eat it all day ♥ Each "feast" costs P1,125. Perfect for three to four people.
Apag Marangle (Hapag sa Bukid)
Binulu | Suam sa Mais
Camaru (crickets) | Humba | Frog BBQ
Out of all the restaurants we visited that day, this one beats all the restaurants we visited that day when it comes to production design. The owners were also very hospitable and answered all our questions patiently. They say that your Pampanga experience is not complete without eating frogs or crickets, but (no offense to those who did and enjoyed it!) I just couldn't picture myself eating those. Sure, I've eaten frogs before (they taste like chicken) but I thought of Kermit that day and begged off haha.
Pizza Hut
Aglio Olio | Spaghetti Bolognese with Meatballs | Parmesan Cheesy Crust Pizza
Mango Shrimp Salad | Mango Pannacotta
Although I think Aria Cucina Italiana's Rucola e pinoli pizza is still my favorite, I still enjoyed this new offering by Pizza Hut. All those cheesy goodness! Sigh, I love.
Sumo Sam
Las Vegas Roll | Japanese Carbonara | Seafood Yakisoba
Sumo Sam's Pride Salad
Again, I don't like Japanese food that much so I didn't get to taste almost everything in this selection save for the Yakisoba, which I liked. I forgot to check if they have katsu, but I woud've preferred to taste that instead.
Classic Savory
Lomi | Pancit Canton | Roast Chicken
We were already almost bursting at this point so we just requested for the waiters to brown bag everything as we didn't want the food to go to waste. I got to take home one whole chicken and my family loved it. Thanks, Classic Savory!
Giligan's
Sizzling Pork Sisig | Kare-Kareng Gulay
Fried Garlic Chicken
Nathaniel's
Buko Pandan
Puto-pao | Mochi with red beans dipped in coconut milk
Finally, desserts! I love Buko Pandan but I have the tendency to get sick of the taste pretty easily. I couldn't get enough of Nathaniel's Buko Pandan, though. It's just so good! Unlike others, it's not too sweet so you just want to have scoop after scoop of it. Try it to see what I mean!
Kabigting's
Halo-Halo | Pancit Palabok
What sets Kabigting's Halo-Halo apart from the rest is the fact they use pastillas instead of sugar as sweetener. I don't know whether I prefer this from the regular halo-halo found in Manila... I better try it again just to be sure ;p
Honey & Daisy's Pastries
Auntie Anne's
Pretzels dipped in almond, chocolate, cream cheese, or cheddar
Carreon's Sweets & Pastries
Dakasi
They served us all their best-sellers and I got the Charcoal-Roasted Milk Tea which I took home. My sister loved it, I loved it, and now I am craving for Dakasi at 11pm huhu what is this life.
Fruits in Ice Cream
Heaven in mini cups of vanilla-choco banana and strawberry-and-cheese, I tell ya. ♥
Coco Fresco
My tummy and I really had a great time sampling all of Marquee Mall's newest and best offerings. I wish we did a weigh-in before and after so we can gauge whether we gained weight =^_^= I'm typing this now while munching on sweets from Honey & Daisy's and Carreon's, want some?
Glad to have met new people from other parts of the Philippine blogosphere, too!
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| With Zaya of MNL-MRM and Aileen |
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| Earth, Kat, Andrew, Zaya, Aileen |
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| With Kath |
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| MJ, Ning, Marcelo, Richard, Flow |
PS: Help me improve my blog by voting on a poll at the upper-right corner of this website? Thanks! ♥
wish i got to go to this! seems awesome! food!!:D haha halatang gutom!
ReplyDeleteMy gulay! You've blogged about this already. hahaha! I'm having a hard trying to compose a post for this event. :p
ReplyDeleteAnyway, it was nice meeting you and yes, I also like your blog post with Marcelo! :)
Hope to see you next time ;)
Super dami talaga and I loved everything! :D
ReplyDeleteExcept for the crickets as I didn't get to taste them ;p
Nice meeting you too, Kat! Hope to see you again soon, too :)
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