New Starbucks Hot Lunch Sandwiches

Starbucks will introduce its new lunch sandwiches this August 9, to replace all the existing sandwich lineup it has, in all the Starbucks stores in the Philippines. "It is part of our commitment in providing our customers with additional food options for a satisfying and rewarding lunch," says Starbucks. There will be seven (7) new sandwiches you can choose from.

Four (4) sandwiches will be available in all Starbucks stores in the Philippines, while the other three (3) will be available in select Starbucks stores nationwide.

1. Ultimate Grilled Cheese - A sinfully delicious gooey grilled cheese sandwich coupled with six type of cheese (Gruyere Emmenthal, Feta, Provolone, Mozzarella, and Cheddar) with sliced Hungarian sausages, and subtly seasoned with roasted garlic and Italian herbed butter on bread. A classic ultimate comfort food. This is probably my favorite among the seven (7) new sandwiches.



2. Roasted Chicken Pesto and Shitake Mushroom on Flat Bread - Juicy roasted chicken breast fillet tossed with aromatic pesto mayo sauce and Shitake mushroom topped with melted Emmenthal and Cheddar cheese on grilled flat bread.



3. Roasted Vegetables on Flat Bread - A healthy vegetarian sandwich with Mediterranean vegetables marinated in Italian spices drizzled with mild chili dressing on grilled flat bread.



4. The Beef Brisket - Slices of juicy beef brisket covered with caramelized onions and oozing Emmenthal cheese melted on chewy and crusty bread spread with Dijon mustard.



5. The Clubhouse (Available in all Starbucks stores except in Baguio, Boracay, Bacolod, Cebu, Cagayan de Oro, Davao, Iloilo and Naga) - This sandwich is stuffed with tender roasted moist chicken bread and pickle relish mixed in mayo mustard dressing, juicy sliced tomato, tasty slices of honey ham, cheese slices and greens on toasted flat cranberry bread.



6. Tuna Waldorf on Raisin Walnut Bread (Available in all Starbucks stores except in Baguio, Boracay, Bacolod, Cebu, Cagayan de Oro, Davao, Iloilo and Naga) - A classic mouthwatering tuna salad tossed with red and green apples, roasted chopped walnuts, crunchy celery in yogurt mayo dressing topped with hard-boiled eggs, served in a warm sweet raisin walnut bread.



7. Tuna Melt on Rye Bread (Available in Baguio, Boracay, Bacolod, Cebu, Cagayan de Oro, Davao, Iloilo and Naga only) - Last but definitely not the least, this yummy tuna sandwich is available only in the Starbucks provincial stores. I would like to call this as Starbucks' way to help local tourism :)) This sandwich is a juicy pairing of tuna salad and creamy melted cheese on a toasted Rye bread topped with oozing melted mozzarella then seasoned with Spanish paprika. Substantial and satisfying!

Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint at the Trafalgar Red Carpet in London

The red carpet and the world premiere would not be complete without these following characters, because, they are, of course, the main characters in the Harry Potter books and the movies. Everyone was excited to see them! So, as promised, here are their photos during the Red Carpet World Premiere of the Deathly Hallows Part 2 at the Trafalgar Square in London.

Rupert Grint as Ron Weasley

Emma Watson as Hermione Granger

Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter

David Thewlis as Remus Lupin

Alan Rickman as Professor Severus Snape

Ralph Fiennes as Lord Voldemort
Helena Bonham Carter as Bellatrix Lestrange, and Maggie Smith as Professor Minerva McGonagall

The Harry Potter Cast at the Red Carpet in London

We were all ready and set to leave our hotel, The Washington Mayfair, by 3pm. The staff of Performance Entertainment fetched us. They gave us each an envelope with our access passes for the red carpet and the world premiere of Harry Potter 7.2. In the envelope, there was a hologram wrist band, an ID which says we are contest winners, and a ticket to the premiere of the much awaited movie. We all rode in three coaches, which brought us to Trafalgar Square, where the red carpet awaits!



I have never imagined to be on the longest red carpet event in the world to date. For more, it was a movie, a story, I grew up with. It has been part of me since I was 13 or 14, and I have grown with the story, and with the cast as well. It was surreal! Here are some of the cast members of the Harry Potter movie, taken by yours truly, while they enter and step into the red carpet for the world to see and appreciate :)


7,000 people in Trafalgar Square in London!!! And many many more around the world watching in live-stream.

Tom Felton as Draco Malfoy

Michael Gambon as Albus Dumbledore

Evanna Lynch as Luna Lovegood

Oliver and James Phelps as George and Fred Weasley

Clémence Poésy as Fleur Delacour

Bonnie Wright as Ginny Weasley

Robbie Coltrane as Rubeus Hagrid
The next post will have the photos of the main cast, nameley Harry, Ron, Hermione, Lord Voldemort, Professor Snape, and a lot more :)

London Trip Day 2 - Taking London by Storm

Since we were there for the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 premiere and our schedule was so tight, we didn't get to have much free time to roam around and explore London. The moment we arrived, we were brought to our hotel, Washington Mayfair along Curzon St., we checked in, freshened up, then had dinner at Tempo, roamed around for a while, then we slept.


Our hotel for 3 days, The Washington Mayfair along Curzon St. Meet Tata Enerio, the Philippines' winner for the Harry Potter World Premiere. We also had a room each, all to ourselves. :)


Agnelio. Roasted welsh of lamb, baby aubergine, wet garlic and tomatoes. 28.25
The next day, we had a few hours after breakfast before the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Red Carpet Premiere, so we headed out, bought an all day pass for the Underground (train), and stormed the some of the sites starting with King's Cross Station, where they filmed Hogwarts Express and Platform 9 and 3/4.



By the time we got to the Tower Bridge, commonly mistaken to be the London Bridge, it was already drizzling, then raining hard, so we decided to take the cruise to the the London Eye, and the Parliament and Big Ben, before heading to Bond Street, and back to our hotel to freshen up for the event.

London Trip Day 1 - The Flight

July 06, 2011. It was the day we journeyed to London for the Harry Potter Red Carpet World Premiere! Tata Enerio (Philippines' winner) and I met at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 1. It was my first time to use the NAIA Terminal 1. The first thing I noticed was the stark difference between the terminals we have. Terminal 3 would be best for international flights, in my opinion.



We took the Singapore Airlines flight, which required us to transfer in Singapore, to London. I think I was more excited than her, because it was my first time to go to London, on the other hand, she has been there several times already. One advice, you can already check-in your flight online, so that you won't queue up that long upon arrival at NAIA T1.



Singapore Airlines is one of the best airlines in the world as it is well known for its quality service and, of course, its in-flight amenities and food. Our flight from Manila to Singapore was quite full, but luckily, we were able to get good seats for our 3 hour trip.



Our breakfast was good (Spinach Omelette with Bacon, Tomato Coulis with Potatoes). After I saw our breakfast, I got excited for lunch, dinner, and oh, meriyenda or snacks. I was sure it would be as good or better than breakfast! ;) Upon arrival at Changi International Airport, we took the SkyTrain from Terminal 2 to get to our Singapore - London flight at Terminal 3.



We met with the other Windows Live and Hotmail bloggers and their winners from Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand, and the Windows and MSN representatives who went with us on the trip. We were all actually hyped-up because we are taking the A380 from Singapore to London (Heathrow). It's the largest airbus in the world to date, which has 2 floors of seats; and SQ has a few of them servicing different routes.



After we boarded the A380 from Singapore to London, it was more than 13 hours of watching several movies from the screen, eating, drinking, going around the plane, going to the toilet, trying to sleep, and talking to the others.

The next post will be our first day in London! ;)

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows T-Shirts Giveaway

1 more day until the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows World Premiere trip to London! But first, don't fret if you didn't get selected in the Harry Potter Windows Live Contest I blogged before, because more exciting items are up for grabs! :) Thanks to Warner Bros and Windows Live, I will be giving away some Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows T-Shirts to two lucky Filipinos! :)

HOW TO JOIN?

1. Follow me on Twitter @briankingong
2. Re-Tweet the following: "2 x Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows tees from Warner Bros to be won for Filipinos! RT to win! #hotmail_hp" so it should appear like this: "RT @briankingong 2 x Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows tees from Warner Bros to be won for Filipinos! RT to win! #hotmail_hp"
3. You can start Re-Tweeting today until 11:59 PM of Friday, July 8. Will be raffling/picking the winner when I return next week, with the T-shirts, from London :)

EDIT: 03:01PM - But wait, there's more! Warner Bros & Windows Live are giving the 2 winners more prizes, a Gringotts Magnet with pouch each! :)

GAME!!! :)

Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows World Premiere in 3 days!

3 more days until I leave for the Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows World Premiere in London with Windows Live and Hotmail. The winners from the Philippines (Ana Katerina Olaivar Enerio), Singapore (Justin Ong), Malaysia (Yuen Ying Teng) and Thailand (Kerati Buranaviseskul) have already been chosen and announced. Congratulations! I am sure they are all as excited as I am to attend the world red carpet premiere of the much awaited finale of the Harry Potter movie series.



Here's the 2nd trailer which was released on the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2. Expectations are high with the last installment of the Harry Potter movie. Fans are dying to see the explosive, action-packed scenes of the ending. Personally, I want to see how they made the "epic" battle at Hogwarts. So, Potterheads out there, what do you expect in the last installment of the Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows movie?

I already have a red carpet attire, a piece from the Philippine Fashion Week 2011 Collection of Filipino designer Ulysses King. Thank you!!! Will blog about his piece and Bobon, their shop, in a separate post. I haven't packed my bags yet, so let me get back to that ;) See you on Wednesday!

P.S. Watch out for live updates on the Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows World Red Carpet Premiere here in my blog, The Philippines and Beyond, and in my Facebook and Twitter pages. CLICK CLICK AND FOLLOW! :) Cheers!

HASHTAGS TO FOLLOW: #hotmail_hp and #deathlyhallows