Celebrating Christmas at Max's Restaurant

For three years now, Max's Restaurant hosted Christmas party for their family in the blogosphere, but unlike the first two parties, this year's celebration was different ad more memorable and touching.


I started blogging for Max's Restaurant February 2011, and over the years I have made good friends with people from Max's Restaurant as well as with my fellow bloggers, that each event became a place for us to share stories, laughter, and good times... making us a part of one big happy family. For this get together, we first exchanged a goodie box and our prayers, hopes, and wishes to our fellow bloggers then shared a sumptuous dinner -


Pancit Canton


Pancit Luglug


Lumpiang Shanghai

...all served in Cater Tray and good to be shared.


Of course, a party at Max's Restaurant is never complete without the Sarap to the Bones fried chicken. Umm umm good!


For this Christmas season, Max's Restaurant offers two Holiday food packages

Max's Holiday Meal - Crispy Pata 4 Sharing
Lechon may be too much for small families or small group of friends to devour on, so the best next thing is to have Crispy Pata on the table! This awesome fork-tender goodness is now available for only 399 pesos, giving you a savings of as much as 225 pesos. To complete the meal, you may also opt to go with the Crispy Pata 4 Sharing, comprising of one Crispy Pata, paired with either Chopseuy or Sizzling Tofu, plus rice and any Pepsi product for only 799 pesos.

Holiday Party Package
For bigger groups, Max's Holiday Party Package is just the perfect choice. Good for 10 to 12 people, this package is made up of: 2 whole servings of Fried Chicken, Lumpiang Shanghai Cater Tray, a choice between Pancit Luglug or Pancit Canton Cater Tray, and 12 pieces of Max's Corner Bakery Ensaimada. Available for take out or delivery, this Holiday Party Package can be availed starting today, 16 December 2013 until 05 January 2014 for only 2,199 pesos.


For dessert, we were served the Max's Corner Bakery Holiday Chocolate Cakes - {clockwise from top} Salted Caramel Tableya, Choco Moist, Triple Treat, Toffee Torte, and Choco Merengue Delight. I tasted each of the cakes, and I personally loved the Choco Moist the most.


This year has been a very tough one for the Philippines. After the war in Zamboanga, it was followed by a typhoon that hit the same province, then an earthquake in Visayas, and one super typhoon, which also hit the Visayas region. It was so devastating that relief efforts were launched worldwide. The Max's Group of Companies took part of this, but instead of collecting donations, they launched HOPE #BeStrongPhilippines, encouraging diners to share their donations thru the Philippine Red Cross, which had the capacity to collect and distribute donations collected.

Last year, the Christmas Party hosted by Max's Restaurant was made up of dinner, followed by the Bloggers Got Talent and a raffle. This year, as much as we all have to move forward and carry on with lives, the essence of Christmas is by sharing, so instead of hosting another videoke night with raffle, Max's Restaurant decided to donate the amount intended for this party to the Philippine Red Cross in behalf of their blogger friends. This was a very touching thing for them to do. Personally, just having a time shared together - regardless of what food we eat - is already enough to make it a great Christmas Party, but because Max's Restaurant thought of their blogger friends and donating some money on our behalf made this party a truly memorable one.


Before we left, we were given a HOPE T-Shirt as well as 2014 Calendar. My sister and I attended the event so each of us received these gifts, but when we got home, mom liked the shirt so much that she borrowed sister's shirt so we can have a picture together.

Christmas season may be a busy one for us, so if you think preparing dishes can be a little overwhelming for you, do know that Max's Restaurant is always ready to cater for your Christmas Party, Noche Buena, and Media Noche needs!

For more details, please check www.maxschicken.com or their Facebook page.

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Kumpletuhin ang Sarap ng Pasko with Jollibee Chickenjoy Bucket Treats!

Second week of December is usually the time for Christmas parties left and right, and last Sunday, my mom and I attended our first Christmas Party when we attended the party organized by Jollibee, attended by different bloggers and their families. The moment we arrived, my mom and I quickly lined at the photo booth and had fun posing for pictures using the different props.

It is a party for families and for the kids, so when the host - Ms. Tricia Chiongbian formally opened the party, she quickly called in different families for different games.


Game 1 was the Picture Finder game, families were given magazines, cartolina, scissors, and glue and they had to cut out five images that depicted things they love doing as a family. The winning family was given 1000 pesos worth of Jollibee GCs.


Game 2 was the Trivia Game, which was divided into two levels. First set of questions were to be answered by the kids and the second set of questions were intended for the adults to answer. The winning pair won a Jollibee dancing doll.


Game 3 was Charades. It was also divided into different categories and the winning family won 1000 pesos worth of Jollibee GCs and a Jollibee dancing doll.


Of course, a Jollibee party is not a Jollibee party if a Jollibee mascot won't be there!



Jollibee aims to have families enjoy time together, so for this event they invited celebrity couple Lander Vera Perez and Regine Tolentino with their daughters. One of the things their family enjoy doing together is dancing, and aside from having a boutique, they also do Zumba together. Regine Tolentino is well known for her dancing skills (she even has dance workout DVDs), so it was a surprise news that her husband is now a certified Zumba instructor and today was his debut to the world. Zumba is one of the things I like to do but still struggle with because Zumba is quite heavy on the legs and just 5 minutes of doing it makes my legs dead tired.


What we feasted on for that lunch was the new Jollibee Chickenjoy Bucket Treats, featuring their new side dishes - the Buttered Corn and Mashed Potatoes.

Priced at 599 pesos, the Chickenjoy Bucket Treats consist of a bucket of Chickenjoy (8 pieces), 4 cups of rice, two sets of the new side dishes, 4 regular cups of Coke, and 4 cups of sundae (Chocolate or Strawberry).

For couples or those who enjoy solitary eating, Jollibee is also offering the Chickenjoy Super Value Meal which consist of 2 piece Chickenjoy, rice, two new side dishes, sundae and regular Coke for 169 pesos.


Both new side dishes aren't new to the taste for I think all of us have tasted mashed potatoes and sweet corn, but I loved these both side dishes. It is refreshing to see these served in Jollibee because of course not everybody wants rice with their Chickenjoy, some prefer other kinds of carbs and these were good choices.

This Christmas, it will just be us three girls and we were still deciding what to serve. Sister was thinking of purchasing cooked food while mom prefer for us to prepare food no matter how simple the dish would be, and should we decide to go with cooked food, this would be a good option.

The new Jollibee Chickenjoy Bucket Treats featuring the new side dishes are now available in Jollibee stores, go try it out!

Before the party ended, they gave out raffle prizes, and I unfortunately didn't win anything. Sad as it may be, I was still thankful I was invited for this event, that I spent it with my mom, and I am definitely thankful for the gift they gave before we left.

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Media Noche Memories at The Maya Kitchen

Last Saturday, my mom and I attended November's featured class - Media Noche Memories with Chef Fern Aracama at The Maya Kitchen. I first knew about Chef Fern from the culinary magazines then later on as a celebrity host/judge for the Philippine version of  Master Chef. Aside from being a celebrity chef, Chef Fern is the man behind Aracama Filipino Cuisine and is also the culinary consultant for Philippine Airlines.


This event focuses on dishes one can serve for the upcoming holidays, and were inspired by dishes the chef grew up eating as well as those inspired by his travels.

Dishes prepared:


Malunggay and Cheese Dip
A signature appetizer at Aramaca Filipino Cuisine, this one was the local response to the well known Artichoke and Spinach Dip, using Malunggay or Moringa to replace the artichoke. A very, very easy dish to make and was mom's favorite from all the dish prepared. Will prepare this at home this week and share you the recipe on Friday.


Patatas Riojana
A dish inspired from Chef Fern's Spanish trip. Another simple and easy dish to make, but I found the broth a little too salty for my taste. The chorizo tasted great, by the way.



Grilled Ensaimada - Media Noche Style
The heartiest and the richest dish of the day... Ensaimada cut in half and turned inside out and filled with Chinese Ham, mustard, Quezo de Bola then pressed and grilled in a butter greased pan. The dish prepared for the photo shoot was a little burnt, but the dish served at the end of the event was grilled perfectly. I loved this one as it had a great balance of sweetness and saltiness.


Insalata Uva
To counter the richness of the Grilled Ensaimada, Chef Fern prepared Insalata Uva, a signature salad dish chef's old restaurant called Uva. I do love to eat salad, but I rarely prepare vinaigrette, so this was something I am thankful for. Means I can now include vinaigrette on my salad as well.


Bunuelos with Spiced Chocolate Dip
A dessert that was my favorite dish that day. It was like profiteroles, but this one's lightly crunchy on the outside and very soft and moist inside. At the demo, this was paired with a chocolate dip, but at the buffet, this was served with another dip - Dulce de Leche. The Spiced Chocolate Dip was great, but I personally loved the Dulce de Leche more.

With the Christmas coming around the corner, people are not only stressed with thinking which gifts to wrap, stress from thinking what to serve also wears us down. All these dishes were very easy to make and not only would these make the Christmas table look great, these were also great Christmas gifts to family and friends.

I am not sure if there will be a featured class this December... if there will be one, I will share details here on my blog as soon as possible.

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The Maya Kitchen Features "Breaking Bread With Our Heroes"

The Maya Kitchen gave Filipino cuisine another spotlight as it featured "Breaking Bread With Our Heroes" cooking demo last 26 October 2013.


"Breaking Bread With Our Heroes" was a culinary event Ilustrado Restaurant had in cooperation with the National Museum. It aimed to showcase different dishes in relation to certain Filipino heroes, and a few years after, these dishes are passed on to those who attended the event. Now, it's my turn to pass on this knowledge to you, my dear readers.

For this featured class, four dishes from the said event were demoed, but the people behind Ilustrado Restaurant, headed by its president - Mr. Boni Pimentel, also shared two dishes from the restaurant. Here were the dishes:


Umbuyan
A dish that traces its origin from Tondo, Manila where the hero Andres Bonifacio hailed from. Back then, that part of Manila was still known for its smoked fish, which was the main ingredient for this dish. Flaked smoked fish wrapped in Pechay leaves and drizzled with olive oil was a good appetizer, although I found it a little salty. Maybe it needed to be paired with steamed rice to mellow the saltiness, but it was a very easy dish to do that my mom and I wanted to try it one time at home. We just have to find a not so salty smoked fish or maybe add a little something to tame that sodium level a little.


Bagnet with KBL
A very famous Ilocano dish for the sons of Ilocos, Juan and Antonio Luna. Not for the weak of heart as this was a cholesterol rich food, but even if the process of making this was a little tedious (from boiling to baking to frying), it was still very delicious! In Ilocos, the best partner for this would be the KBL or the Kamatis - Bagoong - Lasona (tomatoes, fish paste, shallots), but it was made better with the addition of minced ginger.


Manok ng Mga Bayani
A dish that was said to be served in one of the events hosted by the former Philippine President, Manuel L. Quezon. A very interesting dish because it tasted like a cross between Kare Kare (because of the toasted peanuts and rice) and Adobo (because of the tangy flavor brought by the Kamias or Bilimbi). So delicious and so tasty!


Halayang Bayabas
A dish inspired by the National Hero, Jose Rizal because of the abundance of guava in his hometown. Tasted a little bit like guava jam, but made creamy because of the milk. A simple way to end a historic dining experience.

Like I said, Mr. Boni Pimentel and his team also shared two dishes from Ilustrado Restaurant:


Paella Ilustrado
I love fried rice, but I admit I am not a fan of flavored rice, Paella included. However, there was something in this dish that made me like it - rice not resembling the texture of the suman. I truly don't like mushy flavored rice, but since this one wasn't mushy, I quite enjoyed eating it.


Sampaguita Ice Cream
As a treat to the people who attended the event, we were all served Sampaguita Ice Cream, one of the most unique ice cream flavors I have tried. The jasmine scent and flavor was prominent, but the ice cream's consistency and feel in the mouth was so awesome that it made me really thankful to have tasted such delight.

A country's history isn't just measured with the words from the books, or the pictures taken... it can also be seen through food. Thank you, The Maya Kitchen for making me a part of this event.

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