King Bee Chinese Food Opens at Fisher Mall

My very first dining experience at King Bee Chinese Food in Commonwealth was so good that I told my family they just have to taste their food. All of them loved the food, too, and since then, whenever we talk about Chinese food, King Bee will always come to mind.




Last Sunday (16 February), King Bee Chinese Food expands its operation and opened their seventh branch at the upper ground level of Fisher Mall in Quezon City. Attended by its owners, family members, close friends, special guests and friends from the media, we were all treated to a sumptuous spread of food which included:


Pancit Canton
Sweet and Sour Pork


Deep Fried Squid with Salt and Pepper
Shrimp Balls with Salted Egg


Steamed Fish Fillet with Garlic
Beef Brisket with Radish


Pork Siomai
Chicken Feet


Roast Chicken
Masachi

All of which can be ordered at any King Bee Chinese Food branch. I really, really love their Pork Siomai (one of the best I have tasted if you ask me), as well as the Shrimp Balls with Salted Egg. Comparing this branch to the Commonwealth branch, this looked a little modern, but it still has the Chinese feel to it. This branch also has big aquariums for fresh seafood needed in some dishes, although I didn't get to see any function room for office meetings and private parties. One good thing about this branch is that they have a small al fresco side.

As with the other branches, they cater for all occasions and at the moment, they are offering 20% discount on dimsum items and 10% discount on ala carte items. Their dishes are good for sharing, and if there are dishes I would recommend, do try their Bird's Eye siomai (it is my favorite) and any of their prawn dishes. This promo is until 15 March 2014, so take advantage of that offer while it's there. Of course, this promo is not valid in conjunction with sales, disability, senior citizen's and other discounts and privileges.

If you want to have a satisfying Chinese dining experience, do visit any of their branches:

Manggahan Branch - Newhall Commercial Center (General Trias, Cavite)
Cepza Bacao Branch - Diversion Road (General Trias, Cavite)
Sta. Rosa Branch - Sta. Rosa Estate (Sta. Rosa, Laguna)
Marcos Highway Branch - Kingsville Arcade (Marcos Highway, Antipolo City)
Daang-Hari Branch - Parklane Square (Almanza Dos, Las Pinas City)
Commonwealth Branch - Commonwealth Avenue (Quezon City)

This new branch is located at the upper ground level of Fisher Mall. If you're not familiar with this mall, it is located along Quezon Avenue, near Capitol Medical Center. For more information about King Bee Chinese Food, feel free to visit their website - www.kingbeefood.com.

Ramen Craze Plus at The Maya Kitchen

Japanese food is something I am not widely familiar of, but is something I want to explore more as there are only a few Japanese dishes I know of. When I found out that The Maya Kitchen is going Japanese for the month of February, I was very excited to tell my mom about it as my mom has been my classmate for the featured class at The Maya Kitchen since she first attended.


Our teacher for the Ramen Craze Plus class was Chef Seiji Kamura, who has written two Japanese cookbooks with The Maya Kitchen, and has been teaching Japanese cooking. For this class, we were taught four Japanese noodle dishes:


Hiyashi Chuka, a cold noodle dish, perfect to be eaten during summer. Topping the bed of noodles are Japanese cucumber (which I learned is a great kind of cucumber as it has less seeds compared the locally grown cucumbers), crab sticks, crepe egg, wakame, and chasu (pork belly seared in little oil and boiled in shoyu base). It also has a dressing made from soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, sesame oil, garlic and Ichiban.

The dressing was very flavorful and the combination of the noodles, pork, and cucumbers was amazing! It was my first time to taste wakame and I really loved it!


Yakisoba, which I dubbed as Japanese pancit canton, but tasted very different (of course) because of the ingredients used.


Miso Ramen, which had a very intense miso flavor as the base used had a combination of black and white miso. Personally, I am not a big fan of miso, but the ramen was very hearty and comforting.


Shoyu Ramen, my favorite of all the dishes prepared because the soup base was thinner than the Miso Ramen, and also because it had wakame, egg, and big slices of Chashu (yum yum).

Aside from making the noodle dishes, we were also taught how to make the soup base and other secrets to Japanese cooking, allowing us to make our own at home. I realized preparing the dishes weren't as challenging as I thought it would be, but sourcing the ingredients will be the most difficult part.

I am still learning how to fully appreciate Japanese food, but slowly I am getting there.

Foodgasm IV

Are you ready for the fourth serving of FOODGASM?

Since it was organized, I have wanted to attend this event, but was only able to attend once. It is a happy news to know that the UP Economics Society is once again organizing its main fundraising project, which will take place on the 8th of March 2014 at the Mercato Centrale in Bonifacio Global City.

If you're not familiar with the said event, Foodgasm celebrates the joys of being a foodie through its food tasting and friendly competition between concessionaires. Around the venue, 30 promising food businesses will set up their booths, allowing attendees to sample their food and rate them. The business with the highest grade will be the season's grand champion.

800 foodies - including bloggers, guest chefs, students, young professionals, and families will take part of this event, and I hope you can also attend it. It is going to be a fun filled event where you can get to taste innovative food products. If you want to be a part of this, please visit their official facebook
page: http://www.facebook.com/UPEcosoc.Foodgasm.

See you there, fellow foodies!

-----------------
About UP EcoSoc
A non-stock, non-profit socio-civic organization, and one of the leading student organizations in the university since 1958. As one of the country’s leading and most awarded economics organizations, UP Ecosoc also boasts an array of diverse activities geared towards the holistic well-being of its more than 200 members and more than 1,000 alumni.

Fish and Chicks

Now that brother is already based in Cagayan de Oro, we are already feeling how small our family have become. Though sad, the situation can be considered a blessing in disguise because it has allowed us - mom, sister, and I - to be much closer than ever.

Apart from morning badminton, occasional zumba dancing, and doing some baking experiments at home, one thing we love to do is to eat out as it allows us to savor new flavors as well as enjoy well loved food. One time last week, we decided to drop by one of our favorite food places - Max's Restaurant - to enjoy their newest 4Sharing Meal.

Ever since it was launched, we already loved the Max's Restaurant 4Sharing Meals because it's enough for the family and we also get to save a few pesos instead of ordering separate dishes. The 4Sharing Meals changes every now and then, and for the first part of 2014, the 4Sharing Meal consists of:


1 Whole Fried Chicken
4 Glasses of Drinks
4 Cups of Rice

The poster indicated "4 Glasses of Pepsi," but we were served 4 Glasses of Iced Tea. We didn't bother asking them about it anymore as we appreciate both kinds of drinks.


The meal also comes with a big serving of Fish Fillet in Black Bean Sauce, something we tasted for the first time. We loved this dish as we are big fans of creamy dory fish, and that the sauce wasn't overly salty. Personally, I have a little phobia when it comes to dishes with fermented black beans because this ingredient tends to make dishes really salty. Good thing this had the right amount of seasoning, and we also appreciated that it wasn't drowning with sauce, because we want our breaded fish fillet crispy.

This Max's Restaurant 4Sharing Meal cost 799 pesos, giving diners a savings of as much as 221 pesos. It is available for dine in, take out, delivery and online ordering, but is not valid with any other ongoing promos and discount. Promo is good until February 26, 2014.

Crack the Code, #GRABtheGOLDatSM!

I wasn't one of the first ones to taste Magnum Ice Cream when it came out, but I was one of those who truly loved the product, and despite its high caloric content, I still treat myself to a serving every now and then. When brand ambassador Solenn Heussaff (whom I follow on Instagram) posted an image of a golden truck bearing the "M" symbol, I have already anticipated something new from Magnum Ice Cream.



Last Sunday - 09 February 2014, the newest Magnum Ice Cream flavor was launched. Eight SM Supermarkets and two SM Hypermarkets simultaneously unveiled the newest flavor -  Magnum Gold?!, a silky vanilla ice cream with sea salt caramel flavor, covered with two layers of Belgian Milk Chocolate (one in traditional brown color and the other one in gold). Of the ten participating SM Supermarket and Hypermarket branches, my sister and I attended the happenings at SM City North EDSA.


My sister is planning to bake Red Velvet Cupcakes for Valentine's Day and it required two ingredients we haven't used yet - distilled vinegar and buttermilk. Buttermilk was difficult to find, but we were thankful that SM Supermarket had distilled vinegar available. Seeing that it wasn't that expensive, we decided to buy it and buy other things as well. I am very happy with the way SM Supermarket is "expanding," by making more products available. Their baking section not only carries hard to source ingredients like nuts (walnuts, almonds, cashew nuts) and dessert toppers, they also sell different materials like pans, measuring cups, measuring spoon, and a lot more.

Check out was easy breezy, too, as shoppers with baskets and big carts had their own lanes, so that shoppers with less items bought won't have to be sandwiched in between shoppers with big carts. They also have lanes for senior citizens, with bench where the elders could sit as they wait their turn). Staff of SM Supermarket were friendly and efficient as well.

It was 3:00 in the afternoon when the event started, and the first 200 shoppers to complete their grocery shopping were given a golden ticket (that made me feel like Charlie in "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) that allowed them to claim their free Magnum Gold?! and a chance to Crack the Code in taking home a mystery prize inside the vault.


I was the fourth in line. While waiting, my sister and I got to hear that the code had 6-digits, and immediately, my sister whispered the date - 02.09.14. I was a little apprehensive at first, as it seemed such a giveaway, but one thing I learned from school was to always trust your instincts. When the first shopper keyed in 02 as her first two digits, my sister and I felt scared as she might have the same number in mind, but when the vault didn't open, we knew we had our chance (she keyed in 021409 by the way). We weren't able to see what numbers the second and third shopper used, but when it was my turn, I still went on with the digits my sister and I agreed to use. After keying 0 and 2, I felt a sudden rush of excitement that I sort of forgot what would be the next number, so I had to pause and recollect my thoughts. When I was done with the six digits, the light turned green, and I knew I just cracked the cold. Hooray!

The prize inside the vault was an iPod Shuffle (2GB). It was a very nice prize to win, something I could use while walking and jogging in the morning, although I am thinking of giving it to my sister since it was her instinct that really cracked the code.


Soon after, more and more people lined up to get their free Magnum Gold?! as well as try their luck in cracking the code. For that day, each participating SM Supermarket and Hypermarket branches had five iPod Shuffle to give away, and I wasn't sure if there were other winners in this branch, but checking the hashtag #GRABtheGOLDatSM on Instagram made me see other winners who successfully cracked the code.


If you weren't able to participate in this uber fun event, you still have a chance to buy Magnum Gold?! at a discounted prize. From 10 February until 28 February 2014, you may avail 2 Magnum Gold?! for only 100 pesos at any SM Supermarket, SM Hypermarket, and SaveMore branches. This offer is available nationwide, although at the moment, this golden treat is only available across Luzon. It will be available in Visayas and Mindanao starting 17 February.