Weekend Eating | My Yummy Eats Experience

Last Saturday, my sister and I started the day attending a different event (details about that will be shared later in the week), and around 2PM we arrived at the NBC Tent to take part of the Yummy Eats event.

If you happen to read my post last Tuesday about this event, I told there that I thought this event was scheduled on the 28th, and because I have an out of town trip scheduled that day, I didn't check Yummy Magazine's website and Facebook page because it will just make my heart break. A few weeks ago, I did receive an e-mail from their media relations associate as well as their associate publisher inviting me to the event. I didn't make a response to it (because I didn't want to give any bad news), but because in my heart I thought I would not be able to attend this one, I just cleared my inbox quickly. A few days before the event, I realized this one was scheduled 21st and not 28th, and I seriously banged my head on the wall for clearing the inbox that quick.

Thankfully, I received another e-mail from Yummy Magazine, asking if I would prefer my tickets to be mailed or should I get it at the registration table. I was like, "I have tickets?!?" See... so stupid of me to clear my inbox without reading it carefully. One big lesson learned there.


I have two tickets for the event, and as soon as sister and I got the "seal of yummy-ness" (they stamp the guests' wrists with "Yummy," so the guards will know which who already registered), we were off to treat our tummies with so much treats.

Yummy Magazine selected 31 concessionaires for the event, and it was just a great experience sampling foods from the booths, so a lengthy story about that will be up tomorrow.

When sister and I arrived, they were just wrapping up the Hunt's Culinary School cook-off, following the Hunt's Cooking Demo by chef Nino Logarta. Anyway, the schools that competed were from the De La Salle - College of Saint Benilde school of hotel, restaurant and institution management, institute of culinary arts and food services of the Far Eastern University, and St. Paul University Manila.

Between food sampling and chit-chatting with fellow bloggers and the booth owners, my sister and I were able to have a picture taken with chef Aileen Anastacio. Other celebrity sightings there include chef Jun-Jun de Guzman (who we also wanted to have a picture with, but he seemed busy, so we weren't able to approach him), bloggers Lori Baltazar and Joey de Larrazabal - Blanco, and Issa Litton, which co-hosted the programs. I heard chef Bruce Lim was there, too, but I wasn't able to see him.

Food sampling done, sis and I stayed at the back area of the NBC tent to listen to the Sarangani Bay Cooking Demo by chefs Gigi and Aileen. Somewhere in the middle, they called out raffle winners, and I remember telling my sister, "I wish we get to win something..." and surprise, surprise, my name was called! I won a box of Sarangani Bay bangus in corn oil, which made me ecstatic because my mom and my brother loves that kind of food - kinda like Spanish sardines in bottle, but it's milkfish.

We weren't able to finish the event because we live quite far away and we knew mom would be going to the church that night - leaving cousin alone in the house as brother is in Batangas with his girlfriend. It was quite sad not to be able to hear stories from business owners Nowie Potenciano (of Mochiko), Pamela Cinco (of Risa Chocolate), and JJ Yulo (of Pinoy Eats World), but sometime during the sampling of foods, we got to have short chats with the people in different booths, and I think one of the lessons I learned just by having all those small talks is that - in order to make a business grow, you really just got to have the passion for it.

Guests also had the privilege to have their pictures taken at the photo booth, and because sister and I had a ticket each, we got to do two sets! Awesome! This picture above, I grabbed from BaiCapture.

Before we left, we left a message at their board...there's a question posted there actually, "My YUMMY find is _____ because..." but of course, I took this picture first before writing my Yummy Find because I want to make a separate post for that. Oooh, I also bought their newest cookbook "100 Everyday Recipes" and they gave me a Yummy Magazine back issue. I chose their Jan/Feb 2011 issue, because I didn't have that one. My list of recipes to try will surely get longer again! :)

My sister and I truly had a wonderful time at the event. This was one of the events where I really thanked the heavens that I am a food lover. The Yummy Eats event is truly a foodie heaven, and I do hope they get to do this every year.

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So... what did you have last weekend? If you're new to the Weekend Eating meme, you can read the rules HERE.

*** Jenn ***