Upon arriving, we exchanged our complimentary pass (given by Yummy Magazine - thank you so much) for the Yummy Eats 2012 passport. A very awesome piece of souvenir, and because the tent was packed with lots of people, the passport had everything foodies need to know - Things to do, the directory of all the concessionaires, and a map where to locate each concessionaire.
The passport also has a page for the stamps. Each concessionaire offers free taste, but of course, to prevent someone from visiting the booth over and over for free food, one must surrender the passport for stamping - means you already visited the booth for the free food, but of course, everyone is welcome to come back and buy the products as each concessionaire has enough stock for selling.
There were about 51 concessionaires, but I wasn't able to stop by every booth to sample their dishes. Based on the ones I tried, here are my Top Ten choices. No ranking as they are all good - I just picked my 5 favorites from the Sweets Lane and 5 favorites from the Savory Lane.
Let's start with the Savory Eats Lane. My top 5 favorites in alphabetical order:
Chicken Delish
Annalyn Jusay | 09163361833 | annalyn.jusay@gmail.com
I first got to taste Chicken Delish at the Best Food Forward event, but was able to taste the Pinoy BBQ flavor. At the Yummy Eats event, they were giving a piece of chicken with the Sweet and Spicy glaze (their best seller) for the free taste and I find it something really interesting. At first bite, it was like "just fine," but as I eat more and more of it I started loving it. The glaze was really tasty and the chicken had a very light flavor - making me taste more of the chicken goodness with the glaze.
Pepita's Lechon
Dedette dela Fuente | 09178660662 / (02)425-4605 | pepitaskitchen@gmail.com
The lechon, or roasted pig is definitely part of Filipino's rich gastronomic culture and history. I didn't quite like the sauce as it was a little runny for my taste, but the lechon itself was sooo good! The meat was tender and juicy and the skin was just heavenly! My sister and I cannot really get over its taste that up until now - nearly a week after we tasted it, we still are raving about it.
Qitchen Queens
Shar Tan | 09228380308 / (02)721-5360 | qitchenqueens@gmail.com
Everything we tasted from Qitchen Queen's booth were all good, but it was the Crab Artichoke Dip that I loved the most. It was creamy, I could taste the artichoke and the crab and it was a good pair for toasted bread.
Wabi-Sabi
Ibarra Padolina | 09189622935 | wabidashsabi@gmail.com
Quite a lot of veggie cracklings were made available to public maybe over a year ago, but most were made from green peas. Wabi-Sabi's veggie cracklings are made from tofu and oh my gosh, they taste like real pork!
Whisk Salad Dressings, Dips, and Sauces
Czarina Yu | 09285050335 | facebook.com/ilovewhisk
They had a few dips, salad dressings, and sauces they let people taste, but it was the Spinach-Artichoke Dip that I loved the most because it was chunky and it had the right flavor.
My Top Five Choices from the Sweet Eats Lane, in alphabetical order:
Choclery Artisan Chocolates
Kathy Ong | 09178958168 | choclery@gmail.com | facebook.com/choclery
What I loved about their chocolates was the surprise inside. Looking at it from the outside, you might think it's just a chocolate bar and that the flavor was incorporated to the chocolate mix...until you bite it. I especially loved the chili chocolate as even if the kick of spice was there, one could still enjoy the goodness of the chocolate.
Cupcake Boutique
Klar Joseph | 09175335527 | thespoonisflat.com
I am a big fan of cupcakes (that is no secret), and I just love Cupcake Boutique's red velvet cupcake!
J.Co Donuts & Coffee
Alvene Ngo / Trina Lim | 8448441 loc 114 | alvenengo@cfi.com.ph / trinalim@cfi.com.ph
I have been reading and hearing a lot of raves about J.Co Donuts and I was thankful that they were part of Yummy Eats 2012. I got to taste two flavors - Green Tea and Alcapone - sister loved the Green Tea, I loved the Alcapone, and I am now eager to visit a J.Co Donuts & Coffee branch to buy my family a whole lot of donuts.
Mochiko
Nowie Potenciano | 09998840624 | facebook.com/mochikomochi
Mochicko is something my sister and I love the moment we tasted it. I told myself I will not include them on my list as it's already a favorite of ours, but tasting the Oreo & Milk mochi just blew me away!
Pinkerton Ice Cream
Alexandra Rocha | 09173611329 | pinkertonicecream@gmail.com
Guava Basil Sorbet. Something that seemed to be a weird combination, but believe me when I say that this one's awesome! My tummy cannot tolerate that much dairy product, so tasting this was a great change.
I come from a family who loves cooking and eating. I never had any formal training in cooking and that I taught myself how to cook based on the handed down recipes, but I could say that I can cook good food. In 2008, I started documenting my food trips for my