Big Bite! the Northern Food Festival 2015

Celebrate Northern Cuisine at MarQuee Mall’s Big Bite!

Food fans gear up for MarQuee Mall’s Big Bite! The Northern Food Festival on October 16, 17 and 18. 

In partnership with Department of Tourism, Department of Trade and Industry, Angeles City Tourism Office, North Luzon Expressway and Lifestyle Network, Big Bite delights festival goers with food markets, "Sisig Festival", cooking demos, culinary cook-offs and live entertainment.

Now on its third year, the gastronomic feast will feature over 100 food merchants from Region I,II, III and the Cordillera Administrative Region with regional delights from condiments, spices to coffee and jams to local favorites such as the Ilocos empanada, bagnet, pastillas and longganisa.

Big Bite's main event highlight is the “Sisig Festival”. Sisig is the quintessential Kapampangan dish, traditionally made of pork parts, mixed with spices, served on a sizzling plate with a side of calamansi and chili peppers. Northern regions take part in the celebration by cooking their own version of sisig such as the bangus sisig from Pangasinan and dinakdakan from Ilocos. The “Sisig Festival” is a culinary spectacle of regional cuisine at its best. 

Boosting tourism in the North, Big Bite reinforces the city’s growing reputation as the culinary capital of the Philippines and is part of Angeles City’s Fiestang Kuliat, a month-long fiesta celebration in the city. 

Visitors will also see culinary masters Chef Sau del Rosario, Lifestyle Network’s “Chef Next Door” Jonas Ng and Center for Asian Culinary Studies founder Chef Gene Gonzales whip up northern favorites in the live cooking demonstrations. 

Competition heats up in the three-day cook-off among top culinary schools from the region. 

So come and celebrate the biggest gastronomical festival in MarQuee Mall’s Big Bite: The Northern Food Festival on October 16-18,2015. 

For more information, contact (045) 304-0110 to 11. Like and follow MarQuee Mall’s social networking sites, Facebook: facebook.com/MarQueeMall, Twitter: @MarQueetweets and instagram: @iloveMarQueemall.

Pearl River Cafe's Cantonese casual dining dimsum resto in TriNoma mall

The Pearl River Café specializes in fresh and authentic Cantonese cuisine serving only the best dimsum, noodles, congee, appetizers, vegetables, fried rice, rice toppings, as well as stir-fried, deep-fried, stewed, and roasted dishes. For the finishing, they have plenty choices for desserts, beverages, and organic hot teas.

Margette is delighted by this bamboo steamer with Crab Roe and Shrimp Shaomai in it

It is a Cantonese casual dining dimsum resto in TriNoma mall’s Sky Garden.  We have been there last week during the Trinoma food crawl co-presented by the Yummy Magazine of Yummy Philippines. Mr. Carlo Lorenzana, the owner of the Trinoma branch, served us their Steamed Crab Roe and Shrimp Shaomai and the Steamed Bun with Custard Paste and Salted Egg, both of good taste and fulfilling our desire for dimsum delicacies.

Crab Roe and Shrimp Shaomai

Their four pieces of steamed Crab Roe and Shrimp Shaomai (PHP99.00) served in bamboo steamer are quite big in sizes.  The tasty fillings are so tender and soft to bite that we end up craving for more.

Steamed Bun with Custard Paste and Salted Egg

The Steamed Bun with Custard Paste and Salted Egg (PHP65.00) are molded and shaped like a spiky dragon-like eggs or much like a thorny dwarf aloe cactus. The yellowy bun is scrumptious and soft with delightful filling.

This tray of Steamed Bun with Custard Paste and Salted Egg looks like a nest of golden spiky dragon-like eggs.

 

The first Pearl River Cafe branch in the Philippines is in the 4th level of TriNoma Mall in Quezon City. It opened formally last February 2014.

The ambiance is casual and homey.

Edgie having a selfie in the mirror

Related posts:

• The first Trinoma Food Crawl - we almost crawled the floor after
• Wee Nam Kee's Two Great Dishes in their 2014 Brand New Menu
• Hanamaruken's Bowl of Happiness & Drunk Man Rice Bowl
• Dining authentic Japanese food heritage at Ginza Bairin
• Mango Tree Bistro's Two Thai Signature Dishes This year

 

Pearl River Cafe
4th Floor, Cinema Garden
Trinoma Mall, North Triangle
Quezon City
Cellphone No. 0927 688 0206
Tweeter: @pearlrivercafe
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pearlrivercafe

Wee Nam Kee's Two Great Dishes in their 2014 Brand New Menu

The Wee Nam Kee, a Singaporean-Chinese restaurant, opened its first branch in Trinoma Mall in North EDSA,  Quezon City.  When we had our "foodcrawl" in Trinoma, Mr. Bob Vallar, the Marketing Manager, introduced us to their two signature dishes listed in their Brand New Menu for 2014: the Salted Egg Chinese Fried Chicken and the Hainanese Chicken Curry Noodles.   

This set of Salted Egg Chinese Style Fried Chicken (on serving platter in the middle of the table), Hainanese Chicken Curry Noodles (in serving bowl in the middle of the table), and the Hainanese Chicken Rice (in small bowl beside each of diner's plate) is quite enough for a group of  4 to 5 average diners.

Most of Wee Nam Kee's servings are good for sharing in a small group of diners.  

Our personal set of Salted Egg Chinese Style Fried Chicken  and Hainanese Chicken Curry Noodles. 

Their Hainanese Chicken Curry Noodles (PHP225.oo for solo, PHP368.oo for sharing) is basically the Wee Nam Kee's version of Singaporean laksa noodle dish. The chef  employs a twist from the traditional laksa by  using chicken broth instead of the usual oyster soy & shrimp sauce, and they used Hainanese chicken as the main source of protein, then added and mixed with Thai noodles, a whole leaf of bok choy (Chinese cabbage), and mild curry sauce that add color and flavor to their clear chicken broth. 

The curry-flavored chicken broth is poured on a serving of cooked Hainanese Chicken and noodles.

The Salted Egg Chinese Fried Chicken (PHP295.00) is a boneless (deboned) chicken coated in rich and sumptuous egg batter seasoned with curry leaves and chili, then deep fried till the coating  turned crisp.  

For added texture  and taste,  mashed "salted egg" is added in the batter for use in coating the chicken. However, the mashed salted egg has that grainy or sandy effect on the dish. Nevertheless, the dish is still good and tasty. 

It gets better if you dip it first on the dipping sauce on the side before munching.   

The actual serving presentation of Salted Egg Chinese Style Fried Chicken.

The Wee Nam Kee Chicken Rice (PHP50.00 per cup)  is the Singapore's authentic Hainanese Chicken Rice that accompanies with the mentioned two dishes, above. It is recognized by many food lovers to be the best from Wee Nam Kee.  Their traditional chicken preparation methods require boiling the whole chicken in flavorful chicken bone broth, seasoned with garlic, ginger, and other spices.

A cup of tea helps wash down the stuff and  refreshes the appetite if taken before dining.

The Wee Nam Kee branch in the TriNoma mall of Quezon City

Wee Nam Kee has other more Malaysian and Chinese dishes to offer in their Brand New Menu as shown in the photo, above. You need to download this image to get the actual size of the photo. Do it by clicking first the image and wait the full view to appear, then right-click the mouse and then select "Save Image  As..." 

Related posts:

• The first Trinoma Food Crawl - we almost crawled the floor after
• Mango Tree Bistro's Two Thai Signature Dishes This year
• Hanamaruken's Bowl of Happiness & Drunk Man Rice Bowl
• Dining authentic Japanese food heritage at Ginza Bairin
• Pearl River Cafe's Cantonese casual dining dimsum resto in TriNoma mall

Mango Tree Bistro's Two Thai Signature Dishes This year

The Mango Tree Bistro branch in Trinoma Mall is a casual Thai dining at its best that is sexy, spicy, and fun. You'll be assured that the Thai foods it serves are of authentic Thai cuisine delivered directly from Thailand to the Philippines.

Mango Tree is the world's biggest Thai restaurant brand. It opens and operates high-end Mango Tree restaurants in many of the world's major capital cities, such as in London, Tokyo, Dubai,  Hong Kong, Pattaya, and in Metro Manila.

 

Gai Tha Krai  Yang and Grapow Moo served in one plate. The latter is laid on the leaf of iceberg lettuce.

In our recent "foodcrawl" in Trinoma, co-sponsored by the Yummy PhilippineS, we had the opportunity to savor Thai contemporary  cuisine. Ms. Bettina Esguerra, the Marketing Officer, offered us their two signature dishes this year: the Gai Tha Krai  Yang and the Grapow Moo.

The Gai Tha Krai Yang is the "lemongrass chicken" which is a grilled herb chicken skewered in fresh lemongrass stem and served with northeastern Thai dipping sauce.  While the Grapow Moo is a stir-fried pork with garlic, fresh basil, and sliced red chillies.  

The actual serving of Gai Tha Krai Yang (lemongrass chicken) lined with fresh green banana leaf. 

The Mango Tree Bistro - Trinoma branch

The Trinoma branch has that lively, modern interior, wonderful food presentations, and good service.  

The organizers of Trinoma foodcrawl

The interior of Mango Tree Bistro in Trinoma mall

Mr. Trevor McKenzie, the Mango Tree managing director, shares to the Yummy girls and food bloggers his attachment to Thai foods and how he embraced the Thai culture on food.    

Trays of condiments in see-through canisters and imported wines

Related posts:

• The first Trinoma Food Crawl - we almost crawled the floor after 
• Wee Nam Kee's Two Great Dishes in their 2014 Brand New Menu
• Hanamaruken's Bowl of Happiness & Drunk Man Rice Bowl
• Dining authentic Japanese food heritage at Ginza Bairin
• Pearl River Cafe's Cantonese casual dining dimsum resto in TriNoma mall

Mango Tree The Fort
7^th Avenue, Bonifacio High Street Central, Global City, Taguig
Mobile (0917)534-9145
Duo (02)217-2367
Landline (02)621-3233

Mango Tree Bistro TriNoma

3/F Trinoma Mall, EDSA cor. North Ave. Quezon City
Mobile (0917)890-2166
Duo (02)585-5460
Landline (02)916-0297

Mango Tree Bistro Greenbelt
Ground Floor, Greenbelt 5, Makati City
Mobile (0917)524-2273
Duo (02)975-9574

Hanamaruken's Bowl of Happiness & Drunk Man Rice Bowl

We had a delightful experience at the Hanamaruken branch in Trinoma Mall, the first branch in the Philipines. It started to operate just last year. It was a treat from a great Japanese restaurant that originated in Osaka, Japan.

Hanamaruken was founded in 1982 by a Japanese butcher and meat seller in Osaka named, Takaku Arakawa. The resto is a subsidiary of his Arakawa Pork Company, a reputable supplier of premium meat in Osaka, Japan. His dishes became so popular in Osaka that people are falling in lines patiently waiting for their turn to be served. Hanamaruken put up 40 branches in the city of Osaka alone to accommodate everybody.

A bowl of Signature Happiness Ramen (PHP480) garnished with two halves of tamago (boiled chicken egg with slightly runny yolk), chopped negi spring onion, and that pastry distinctively designed decorative pastry.

The host, Oya Olalia (PR Director), served us the famed bowl of Signature Happiness Ramen. It is the kind of ramen with same authentic ingredients used by Hanamaruken in Osaka, Japan. It was like you got what the  Osaka locals are queuing for everyday there from afternoon till midnight. 

The bowl is of ramen topped with slow-braised pork rib, which I supposed was grilled first before it was braised, is so tenderly done. The meat has a hint of smoky taste and that adds more flavor to this soupy dish. The secrets of this dish lies along the many phases of tedious processes that would take about 20 hours to complete. Hanamaruken strictly follows the philosophy that their dishes should be made with excellent, high-quality meats and prepared by passionate chefs.

A serving of happiness and another for a drunken man

The dish, a Bowl of Happiness, is the gustatory union of dark-browned, slow-braised, soft bone pork rib and Shoyu Tonkotsu ramen noodles. The unification becomes a perfect combination of tastes and satisfaction. As you will notice, there is that piece of black nori sheet at the edge of the bowl  with Japanese characters inscribed on it that can be translated to mean “marriage."

The Hanamaruken served us another bowl of dish with an intriguing name, the Drunk Man Rice Bowl.  Practically, a bowl of cooked rice topped with cubes of tenderly braised kankuni or potbelly pork and two sunny-side-up fried eggs, garnished with home-made braising sauce, chopped negi spring onion, and red chilies.  So called, because it is offered as a perfect dish, or at least ideally for, after having a drinking  spree or simply put it as an ideal dish for those who got drunk in the inuman. Of course, it is also perfect fill for anybody who's is hungry.

A bowl of Drunk Man Rice Bowl

A set of Hanamaruken famous dishes. Now you don't need to go Osaka, Japan anymore to get a taste of these.  You can now easily have it from Hanamaruken branch in Trinoma Mall in North Edsa, Quezon City

We were served with two choices of drinks to pair with the sumptuous authentic Japanese dishes: a mug of ice green tea  and  a cup of Japanese tea. Either of the two makes a refreshing wash down. 

My dear Margette with her mug of refreshing ice green tea. 

A mug of ice green tea and a cup of Japanese tea

Now, you don't have to go Osaka to have what the Osaka folks are patiently queuing long for every night. Hanamaruken has a branch now in Trinoma Mall in North Edsa, Quezon City which you can easily reached by MRT train, buses, taxis, and even jeepneys, or by driving your car along EDSA or any of its connecting major thoroughfares.

The Hanamaruken branch in Metro Manila is in the 2nd Floor (Garden Restaurants) of Trinoma mall.

Lamps with costumed-made circular frames are hanging  strategically on the ceiling, giving a slight old-world feel to the restaurant.

The Trinoma branch is good enough for a number or few groups of diners. Its interior decorations are filled with artistry. Some ancient Japanese music are played here to add more old-world ambiance.

Margette with the group of select food bloggers takes her time taking photos with the famed Osaka dishes

For those in the south of Mertro Manila, there's a second branch of Hanamaruken in Alabang Town Center, Alabang, Muntinlupa City. It opened just recently.

The Hanamaruken place in Trinoma has the feel of Japanese homey  ambiance. Lamps and trinkets are hanging pieces of art balanced with Japanese paintings hanged on the wall.      

Related posts:

• The first Trinoma Food Crawl - we almost crawled the floor after
• Wee Nam Kee's Two Great Dishes in their 2014 Brand New Menu
• Mango Tree Bistro's Two Thai Signature Dishes This year
• Dining authentic Japanese food heritage at Ginza Bairin
• Pearl River Cafe's Cantonese casual dining dimsum resto in TriNoma mall

HANAMARUKEN PHILIPPINES

Location   : 2F Garden Restaurants, Trinoma, North EDSA, Quezon City (location map here).  Another branch is in Alabang Town Center, Alabang, Muntinlupa City

Website    : http://hanamaruken.ph/

Facebook : Hanamaruken Ramen Philippines

Twitter      : Hanamaruken_PH

Instagram : @Hanamaruken_ph

Phone       : (02) 720 9283