#ColorUrLife with a sweet surprise!

Have you seen this video of Enchong last week? Check it out. What do you do to #ColorUrLIfe? For me, I spend time in the beach, enjoying the island life, the sea, the breeze, and the wonders of nature and the marine life. For some, like famed actor and sports enthusiast Enchong Dee, he has something in store for his fans. Watch this video below to know what it is. Fans of Enchong Dee will really love this special treat he is preparing. He’s very thankful for the blessings and opportunities coming his way, most especially to his fans, which he will always cherish. A way of saying “thank you” to each and everyone, he has prepared a sweet surprise, a special treat, which you will get to experience, straight from Enchong himself. So, come one, come all...

Best Desserts in a Filipino Restaurant, Sentro 1771

You would not probably expect to get the best and yummy desserts from a Filipino restaurant. At most you would ask or be offered with their best selection of cakes, sometimes halo-halo, purple yam or more known as ube, or probably leche flan. But you can easily get halo-halo probably from Razons or ube and leche flan from your trusted bakeshop. 

Sentro 1771 invited some bloggers today to sample their food, which for me is my personal favorite, anytime of the day! But what I want to highlight now, is their dessert menu, which is filled with really delicious and noteworthy entrees.

Let's start off with their signature Sentro's Cheesecake, a baked but light, no crust cheesecake served with queso de bola and red egg. "Parang bibingka na hindi!" they say. You can distinctly taste the deep flavored cheese in the cheesecake, just perfect rendition of the popular "leche flan," but made differently.

If you are not into cheese, then probably their Coffee Bean Sans Rival is for you. It is more exciting and upbeat that the regular Sans Rival you see arround. Look at how it was presented! It is like a work of art which you hesitate to destroy, but you have to because it is really yummy.

Their Fried Suman and Magoes is made of rolled out suman fried to a light crisp and topped with ripe mangoes and served with sweet coco jam. Perfect Filipino dessert to end your meal.

Another must try is their Maja Blanca Crepe, a delicate and thin rice crepes filled with melt-in-your-mouth coconut milk custard with corn.

Last but definitely not the least, is their bestseller, which is really heavenly - the Coffee Pie. I love coffee, and infusing it in your pie is just so genius and satisfying. The coffee pie is one of its kind. Chocolate-cashew crust with coffee fillings topped with cream cheese and tofee sauce. Spell dessert porn.

Thanks to Kirk and Vannah for the invitation for lunch. :)

#SmartiPhone5 in the Philippines starting December 14, 2012

After a little more than 3 months since Apple released to the world the iPhone 5, yesterday, it announced that the iPhone 5 will be coming to 50 additional countries in December starting with South Korea this Friday, December 7, and the Philippines on December 14.

Early today, Smart Communications, tweeted "Save the date! The iPhone 5 will be available via Smart beginning December 14." with the hash tag #SmartiPhone5.

Together with a lot of Filipinos who are patiently waiting for an iPhone 5, I too am excited for its arrival in the Philippines. And where else can you get the best data service deal in the Philippines - only from Smart. So you can live more and be able to do more. :) 

Edit: Get the #SmartiPhone5 from the #betternetwork! Sign-up here: http://bit.ly/iPhone5Smart

P.S. This post is not sponsored; artwork by blogger.

Cantonese at the Jasmine Restaurant of the New World Makati Hotel

The Jasmine Restaurant of New World Makati Hotel is offering something special this season, with the playful presentation of authentic Cantonese cuisine by Chinese Executive Chef Wong Kam On, who brings with him more than 20 years of extensive experience in the Chinese culinary industry.

Chef Wong introduces a new and creative menu to the already famous Jasmine selection, bringing the restaurant to a higher level of world-class dining. We were fortunate enough to be able to try for ourselves some of the notable and exciting dishes by Chef Wong.

First in the dinner sampling menu was the Dim Sum Basket with three kinds of dim sum, namely the Shrimp Dumpling "Har Gao," or more commonly known as Hakaw; the Chicken and Abalone dumpling and the Scallop dumpling.

 

Another appetizer, which was really well plated, was the Chicken and Jelly Fish Salad in Black Vinegar Sauce. I must admit that I do not really eat jelly fish just because it is such, but when I decided to try this dish, I could not help but finish my entire plate. Chef Wong was able to present it nicely to hide the jelly fish with the chicken salad, so as not to turn off those who are picky with what they eat. Overall, I would say I really enjoyed it. Props to the chef!

 

Another interestingly plated and tasty dish was the Pan Fried Egg Bean Curd and Seafood. It was fried tofu with mixed seafood and broccoli flower. All the ingredients were fresh and done marvelously well, which all tastes so good.

By this time, all the flavors and colors that passed our taste buds are screaming "yummy!" and we could not wait what's next in the menu, and how Chef Wong will wow us more. It was time for the Steamed Cod Fish Fillet, Egg and Soy Sauce to come out, and again, it was plated well. The taste did not fail, as expected.

One of the best dishes of the night was the Pan Fried Diced Beef Tenderloin in Barbecue Sauce. The beef was really so tender, it melts in your mouth. Who could have thought that the chef would make this ordinary Chinese dish tastes even better?

Together with all the food, we were also served this rice.

Another interesting and delicious treat from the chef is the Bailing Mushrooms, Shrimp Mousse in White Sauce. They say that it is aesthetically unappealing, but once you get a bite of this, I bet how it looks like does not matter. Shrimps are my weakness.

Last on the dinner tasting menu was the Braised Chicken with Basil Leaves. This was the least favorite among the dishes, but it does not mean it does not taste good. Chef Wong has mastered the taste of Cantonese/ Chinese cuisine, that I bet anything he does tastes really good. I could not help but feel full after the special meal for us that night.

To cap off the fun night with our hosts, our dessert is Chef Wong's specialty, which happened to be named after, who else, but the chef himself! Meet Chef Wong's Sesame Balls. We were all wondering what's so special about the sesame balls. When it came out, a humongous sesame ball was plated, and served in front of us. He said that it was best that we eat it with our bare hands, while it was still hot; so that is exactly what we did.

Jasmine at the New World Makati Hotel is open daily from 11:30am to 2:30pm for lunch and 6:00pm to 10:30pm for dinner.