Yes! It's the Ice Cream and Not The Other One

So what about this new product of Selecta called Magnum?

Well Magnum is not actually new to other countries but it is newly introduced here in the Philippines by Unilever and RFM. Just on time for summer! :) Magnum is an ice cream bar coated with Belgian chocolate. So tempting.

Since it was a new talk of the town, I can't help but to try one. Simply to know if what the netizens say is true. The vanilla ice cream has a thick and luxurious taste, and the chocolate is just lovely. It comes in 3 variants here in the Philippines: Classic, Chocolate Truffle and Almond. Each bar costs P50 in supermarkets and P60 in 7-11 stores. Yeah, it sounds expensive for a bar of ice cream but hey! Its coated in Belgian chocolate. One of the best chocolate in the world. You should try getting one. Creamy and chocolatey!

Have You Tried These Drinks Already?

Lots of new beverages are introduced in the market lately. There were fruit juices, flavored water, varieties of milks, different blend of teas, energy drinks, sparkling drinks, yogurts etc. Among all of these new products, here are my top 3 favorites.

(Photo by Jenni Epperson)

Vitamilk is made in Thailand and distributed here by Asia Brewery. I first saw this soymilk drink in 7-Eleven stores last year but I'm seeing these already available in supermarkets. There are three flavors to choose from: the original soymilk, chocoshake, and vitamilk energy. It comes in a bottle packaging which is not so easy to handle when you're on the go. Each bottle costs 25 pesos, a bit pricey though. What I love in this product is the richness of the flavor and the thickness. It's not the usual soy drink that has this beany taste. Some find this too sweet though, but for me it's delicioso!

I'm just ignoring this product when looking for orange juice at beverages stalls before. Maybe because its packaging isn't attractive. For me atleast. But man! I never thought that this product would really taste so good. Smart C+ is a product of Liwayway Marketing, makers of Oishi products. It comes in three variants: Orang Crush, Lemon Squeeze and Pomelo Grapefruit. I was able to taste all three and I say to you that all of the three tastes close to real fresh fruit juices of its flavors. It's really thirst quenching and refreshing. For a price of 17 pesos per 500ml, you'll have 320% of RDA of your Vitamin C needs. Sulit di ba!

My recent discovery is Farm Fresh Low Fat Vanilla Milk of Pure & Best (ang haba ng tawag! haha). This is a local product made by Hacienda Macalauan Inc. in Laguna. It comes in a very cute tetra packaging which has really attracted me to get one. And it doesn't disappoint me. It tastes so good! Each pack costs 27 pesos, same price with most of sterilized milk products in tetra packs. What I love in this product is that has a rich flavor yet it is light. It has this nice sweet taste that is really addicting. Plus it is a milk! As they say, milk is an almost perfect food. So good!

Malagkit-lagkit

Yaaaaaaaakkk! Yak talaga! Ayoko naman talagang tikman nung una, ang kaso parang na-curious lang ako sa lasa, ayun. Nung una medyo nagdadalawang-isip pa ko, pero nung nasa harap ko na sige na bigla ko nalang sinubo. In a few moment para kong masusuka, ang dulas-dulas kasi tapos ang lagkit-lagkit. Nahihiya lang akong iluwa kasi nakatingin sila sakin. Waaahh! Yun na talaga ang una't huling kain ko ng Laing! Haha. Si Lanie naman kasi pinilit ako! (Ows? pinilit ka ba talaga?)

Hindi talaga ko nakain ng Laing ever since. Ang pangit naman kasi ng itsura. Hehe. At syempre lalo na ngayon na nalasahan ko na. Eeee. Lasang gumamela. Haha. (Arte lang) (Nakakain ka na ng gumamela???) Hindi ako nakakain pero kasi di ba nung bata ka nagpapalobo ka ng gumamela, ganun yung lasa! (Alam ko yung mga laking maynila dyan katulad nila Aldino hindi naranasan magpalobo ng gumamela dahil panay bougainvillea[nose bleed] lang ang meron dito. Haha.) Nako pasensya na sa mga mahilig sa Laing ah, pero ayoko lang talaga. Parang kambing kasi. Hehe. Sino ba naman kasi naka-imbento ng Laing??? Ok lang sakin kumain ng dahon ng malunggay o usbong ng sampalok pero yung ginataang dahon ng gabi??? Anyway, bago pa ko kuyugin ng mga mahilig sa Laing, anu ba ang alamat ng dahon ng gabi Aldino? Hehe, 'wag ka na magpanggap dahil alam kong meron kang alamat para dyan. Sige ikwento mo nalang sakin kapag nagkita tayo ah. Ehe.

Meron pa kong hindi kinakain. Yung sisiw sa balot. Ang weird kasi. Mabalahibo tapos may paa pa! Ang weird siguro ng feeling sa bibig non. Hehe. Kayo meron ba kayong hindi kinakain na popular sa mga pagkaing pinoy?

Chiffon Cake

Last night tinuruan kami ni Kuya Jao mag-bake! Kakaiba di ba! Sa totoo lang hindi ko alam na may ganun pala kagabi. Nung pumuna kasi kami kagabi kila Cy, akala ko talaga magha-household kami. Tapos pagdating ko nalang dun biglang may mga harina na, mga itlog, lard(asuuuu, lard. kunyare alam ko yun! hehe), baking pan at kung anu-ano pang parapernalya ni Kuya Jao sa pagluluto. Hehe.

Actually napag-usapan na namin yun nung huling nag-household kami, na magbe-bake nga kami ng cake. Pero hindi ko naman alam na kagabi na pala yun, kung alam ko lang eh di sana nagdala ko ng malaking lalagyan na pang take-out. Ahehe, joke lang.

Oh baka mapasukan ng langaw ang mga bibig nyo, haha (Aldine at Mark). Habang naghahalo si Kuya Jao todo explain sya sa mga ginagawa nya, parang cooking show lang sa TV. Ehe. At kami naman na curious, walang katapusan ang mga tanung. Pero yung mga mas gustong kumain (alam nyo na) ayun at nakatahimik lang at inaabangan nalang na maluto yung cake. Haha.

At syempre kung nasan si Kuya Jao nandun kami't mga nakatanghod. Kanya-kanyang pwesto. Nakakatuwa kasing panoorin. Pero syempre pinapa-try din nya samin yung mga steps para matuto din kami at ma-experience. Buti nga pasensyoso tong si Kuya Jao sa makukulit at maiingay. Hehe.

Di rin naman nagtagal eh hands-on na rin kami sa paggawa. Syempre papayag ba naman kami ng hanggang sulyap lang? Ayun kanya-kanya ng hugas ng kamay. May nagsasala ng itlog, naghahalo, nagsusukat ng ingredient, nagpe-prepare ng lalagyan at kung anu pa! Oh di ba parang T.H.E. subject lang. Haha.

Habang kami naman ay busyng-busy sa mixtures namin para sa brazo, si Cy at Kuya Jao naman eh nandun, sila na nagbabantay ng cake sa oven. Nauna na kasing magawa yung mixture para sa chiffon cake. Naka-dalawa pa nga kaming tray, isang nanay tsaka isang baby. Mga 15mins palang nauna ng maluto si baby chiffon, ang kaso ganito ang nangyare...

...nagmukang brownies. Haha. (sige isipin nyo nalang chocolate cake yan) Pero ok lang dahil masarap naman "DAW". Eh mantakin nyo ba naman, hindi pa man din natatanggal sa tray eh natikman na agad. Haha. Pero nung tinikman ko ok naman nga pala, parang mamon tostado lang. At heto, ang nanay chiffon, dyaraaaaaaan!

...oh di ba bumawi naman si nanay chiffon. Tamang-tama lang ang pagkaka-bake. Medyo na-out of place tuloy si baby chiffon dahil naging mag-kasing kulay sila ni Aldine. Ahaha. Pagkatapos maluto ni nanay chiffon, sinunod na rin namin ang brazo de mercedes. Ginawa na rin nila Kuya Jao yung custard para sa cake. Sila Mark naman eh yung butter icing. Mga 11:30PM na yata nun. Pero sandali lang din naman naluto kaagad yung pinaka-bread ng brazo, and the most exciting part...ang mag-design!

(Dapat naka-ngiti pa habang nagde-design?)

(Singles For Christ - POLA Chapter)

 (Aldine & Jan-Jan)

 (Jap & Jao)

 (Tanggapin nyo na... Cy & Chiz yan... Hehe)

 (JD & Mark)

...kunyare marunong kaming maglagay ng icing at mag-lettering. Haha. At ayun, pagkatapos ng aming pagkukunwaring mga pastry chef, natapos din namin ang Chiffon Cake at Brazo de Mercedes. Ang ganda kaya ng mga letterings namin. Di ba! Di ba! Bawal tumawa! At syempre, ang pinakahinihintay ng lahat...KAINAN NA!

Hmmmmm... Sarap talaga! Napansin lang namin mas mabilis talaga kainin kesa gawin. Haha. Pero ok lang, it's worth the time and effort. Pwede na kaming magpa-cake raffle. Hehe. Sobrang naging masaya 'tong activity na 'to. And I think first time sa chapter namin ang magkaron ng fellowship na katulad nito. At take note, brothers ang unang gumawa ng baking! Hehe. Thanks kay Kuya Jao sa pagshe-share nya ng knowledge at talent nya at kay Cy sa panggugulo namin sa bahay nila. Hehe. 'Til next time.